“Is There a Duty to Die” by John Hardwig Essay

â€Å"Is There a Duty to Die† and â€Å"A Duty to Care Revisited† debate over one’s duty to others when a life becomes burdensome to others. Who is more morally obligated, the caregivers or the sick and elderly? Cohn and Lynn argue that we are morally obligated to care for the dying and allow them to take their time, while Hardwig believes that the dying have an obligation to die rather than burden their loved ones. I believe that a moderate approach should be taken to the issue. I agree with Hardwig that it should be a mutual decision between the dying and their family, but I do not believe that there may ever be a situation where a person is morally obligated to die. The right to life trumps everything, however there may be circumstances when it may be more moral to die rather than burden caregivers and loved ones. John Hardwig believes that â€Å"there is a duty to refuse life-prolonging treatment and also a duty to complete advance directives refusing life-prolonging treatment† (35). He holds this view when one’s illness would cause death and even when one would prefer to live. He backs up his argument by reminding us that our actions affect others, not just ourselves, and he believes that our duty to loved ones is greater than our own right to life. He believes that since medical care and treatment can be financially burdensome to our families, if the benefit to the dying is minor in comparison then there is a duty to die to relieve loved ones of this financial burden. Hardwig provides two compelling examples: the case of Captain Oates and the case of the 87-year-old woman with congestive heart failure. Captain Oates was a member of an expedition to the South Pole when he became too sick to continue on the mission. It became apparent that he would not be able to make the rest of the journey and that he also would not be capable of making the journey home. His team remained stationed with him, trying to bring him back to health even though they all knew he had basically no chance of survival. So, one night he left the tent and disappeared into a blizzard without saying a word to his crew. Was he morally obligated to die or were his teammates morally obligated to care for him? Cohn and Lynn would say that his crew had a duty to care for him, while Hardwig believes that he had a duty to die to save the lives of his team. I find both of these approaches too extreme. Hardwig at least says that it is always circumstantial when one can be morally obligated to die. However, this is where we differ because I strongly disagree with his word choice. â€Å"Obligated† is too severe of a term to apply when life and death are being discussed. It may be more morally correct to die when it one’s life becomes too cumbersome upon loved ones, but to be obligated to die contradicts the right to life. Saying that someone is morally obligated to die is prima facie, morally wrong. For the case of the 87-year-old woman with congestive heart failure, I would again say that it is more morally correct to be willing to die, but if the woman wanted to live no one had the right to tell her to die. The doctors told her she had less than a fifty percent chance to live for six more months. â€Å"She was lucid, assertive, and terrified of death,† summarizes Hardwig (37). The woman demanded the most aggressive treatment because she wanted to live, which she did for almost two years. Although her quality of life lessened through the incessant treatments, she still managed to survive. This sounds like a miracle until you learn that her one daughter was her only caregiver and provider. Hardwig says that her daughter lost â€Å"her savings, her home, her job, and her career† (37). I believe that it can generally be said that the daughter lost more than her mother would have if her mother had chosen to die rather than live for those two more years, but can it be definitively said that the mother had a duty to die? I do not believe so. No one forced the daughter to care for her mother- it was her choice. True, it may have been a greedy decision on the mothers’ behalf to ask her daughter to provide the finances necessary to prolong her life, but the daughter had every right to say that she did not have the means necessary to provide for her mother. I believe that the mother and daughter both made choices that cannot be determined to be morally obligatory. The mother took advantage of her daughters’ love and kindness, but it has not been taken into account whether or not the daughter was emotionally ready to lose her mother. Perhaps the daughter wanted to have her mother as long as she could. Although this may not for certain be the case, it also can not be said that the daughter was forced, or obligated, to provide for her mother. However Cohn and Lynn would disagree because they believe that, â€Å"the better social policy lies not in encouraging an obligation to die but in ensuring an obligation to care for the dying† (103). They confront Hardwig’s view of the emotional impact on the family. He admits that death impacts the entire family and not just the individual, but fails to account for the trauma and guilt felt by survivors even in the case of a â€Å"justifiable† suicide. Family members often have immense feelings of grief and guilt even if they understand the reasoning behind a suicide or if they knew it was coming. There may never be a sufficient classification for how to act in situations like these. Even if the daughter of the 87-year-old woman with congestive heart failure had decided not to fund her mothers’ treatment, she would almost certainly feel remorse after her mother was gone. People often take for granted time they have with loved ones, even if it is a few years. Had she not provided the money for her mother, she might have later realized that there is no price equivalent to a life. If her mother had been living in pain and had no sense of who she was and where she was then it might have been easier for her to say she would not fund the medications and treatments, in that case she would have had more peace of mind for saving her mother pain. However, as Hardwig stated, the woman was conscious of her surroundings and had normal functional abilities for her age, but most importantly she wanted to live. How can it be said that anyone has the right to take her right to life away from her? I do not believe that it can be. Everyone has different dynamics within their family and it is intrusive to say that someone’s’ family member is obligated to die simply to save the rest of their family money. By saying so, Hardwig borders on saying that life can be given a value with a dollar amount. Although he scarcely saves himself by stating that no general rule may be determined because every situation is different, I do not believe that there is any situation that would appropriate saying that any person is obligated to die, let alone a family member. I think that it is much easier said than done. It would be incredibly difficult to condemn a family member to death if they still had the capacity for life. After reviewing the opinions of Hardwig, Cohn and Lynn, I found my view in the middle (or completely outside all of their views depending on how you look at it.) I do not believe that there is a reason to say that a person is obligated to die no matter how sick or old they are. Everyone has the right to life and no one has the right to take that right away. Works Cited Cohn, Felicia, and Joanne Lynn. â€Å"A Duty to Care Revisited.† Ethics in Practice: An Anthology (2007): 103-13. Web. Hardwig, John. â€Å"Is There a Duty to Die.† The Hastings Center Report 2nd ser. 27 (1977): 34-42. JSTOR. Web.

Depreciation and Cost Essay

1. The primary cause of the current system to fail is the use of a single burden rate. Burden costs of the testing rooms as well as other costs such as admin were grouped into a single cost pool and then divided by the total labor dollars. This resulted to a single burden rate of 145% of direct labor dollars (cost driver). This method is not appropriate for Seligram because the information on the case present that direct labor hours and machine hours vary by product line and activity. In addition, the burden cost of the main and test room also significantly vary. Therefore, using a single burden rate does not provide the true cost of the product, as it assumes all products consume direct labor and overhead in the same proportion. 2. Cost for each system are as follows: 3. I prefer the system proposed by the consultant because it is the most detailed, therefore will produce more accurate costs. 4. The ideal allocation base should have a direct cause-and-effect relation with the costs incurred. Based on the data provided in the case, it appears that the consultant’s proposed cost system is adequate because it considers the appropriate cost pool and allocation base. However, it should be noted that developing a cost system that is more detailed require the use of more time and resources. There needs to be a proper balance between accuracy and cost. 5. There is significant cost involved in the purchase of new equipment. Although the machine will be located in the Main Room, I would use a separate cost pool when calculating the burden rate of the new machine. The purchase price of the machine is $2 million. I will add the one-time installation and programming cost to the acquisition cost of the machine since these costs are required in order to get the machine ready for use. I will calculate depreciation based on the machine’s practical capacity over its estimated life, instead of double declining method. It seems that the use of double declining balance method of depreciation is inappropriate for allocation of costs because this method incurs higher depreciation in the early years, although the utilization is lower in the early years. By using practical capacity as the base, I am able to properly match the cost with the use of the machine.

INTERNET MARKETING CAMPAIGN Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

INTERNET MARKETING CAMPAIGN - Assignment Example Due to budgetary constraints, around will be used for the activity (Pro Plan, 2015). Message strategy: Purina Pro plans dog food is the best meal people can purchase for their dogs. The meal does not only make your dogs feel healthy, but also leaves them more energetic and free from diseases. The food has received numerous honors in trade fairs held in more than ten countries. Most of our customers have called to express their gratitude about the quality of the product (Pro Plan, 2015). Media strategy: Purina pro plan dog will be in most social media platforms that exist on the internet. Some of the social-media include Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram among many others. The Web developers will have to develop popup messages that will be on the social media sites. Online visitors will have a chance to follow links that will be so that they can visit the website of the company (Pro Plan, 2015). The web page may designed by taking into consideration the cost and the needs of the company and those of the customer. The web page should be users friendly; it should sell the company easily. The web page below present variety types of dog meals that customers can buy at an affordable price. It aims to create awareness among new and existing customers. It also focuses to stimulate market demand as discussed. The target market for the Internet Marketing tool is the dog owners who usually visit the internet to search food for their dogs. Many markets have been established with the advent of the internet. It has opened new markets across the world markets. Numerous opportunities exist for the platform because some of the markets are yet to be. With the possibility of customers purchasing goods and services from any point in the world, the internet has become the ideal advertisement tool for most organizations. Curious customers spend their time on the internet searching for quality products. The method

Current Event Review 2 Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Current Event Review 2 - Article Example In my opinion, the fears of parents are valid to a good extent because a large number of children throughout the world are using social networks, and consequently, revealing a great deal of personal information on these websites as well. Most of these children are not conscious of the intricate online privacy settings which are designed in a way to gain as much personal information as possible. Besides, I believe the uneasiness of the parents associated with advertising is justifiable too, as advertisers on social networks often use personal information of the individuals to market products which are close to their liking. These tactics employed by the social networks breach the fundamental concepts of Business Ethics, in terms of use of information, security and advertising. However, the negative impact of such measures is also being felt by the businesses themselves as their reputation faces a serious challenge from not only parents but also groups like Common Sense Media, which ar e launching campaigns for legislation in this regard. The article explains an important issue which is of significance and concern for parents as well as business groups. Proper legislations and measures should be taken for the protection of privacy of people as well as for maintaining the policies of business ethics for maintaining the integrity and credibility of businesses. Ingram, M. (2010, October 10). â€Å"Parents Say Social Networks Dont Protect Childrens Privacy.† Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved from:

Group field work report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Group field work report - Essay Example It is aggravated by shortage of entry points into the city and roundabouts. Currently, Parramatta is going through a development program that will focus mainly on transport within the area to encourage economic growth. The city council resurfaces roads, installs traffic lights and takes measures to enhance usability of the roads by motorists. In addition, it is putting up new footpaths and paid parking meters. not fully aware of the traffic rules and various road signs. Motorists, who over speed under the influence of alcohol or drugs, ignore safety measures results into accidents. Children usually get excited when they are on roads. The motorists have to limit their speed in the school zones, drive ways and car parks. Drive ways and car parks pose a bigger risk to children because the vehicles move slowly which they may misinterpret thinking the vehicle has stopped or they may start motion without children noticing or the driver noticing the children (Kids and Traffic 2010). According to Preston (2010), bicycles, scooters, rollerblades and skateboards are popular with children who use them for playing. The parents should advise them to use proper safety gear. These play wheels should be used within adult supervision preferably in parks away from active traffic or on safe routes prescribed by the City Council. Recent statistics show that road crashes are the biggest killer of school going children: a fact that is quite frightening (Kids Safety 2010). When children are travelling by bus, it is essential to fit and maintain child restraints. According to the new laws implemented by the RTA, all children under the age of four should travel in the rear seat while children between the ages of four and seven can only travel in the front seat if all the rear seats are occupied by younger children. Children Road Safety (2010) is of the opinion that restraints are

Do violent video games lead to violent behaviour among young people Essay - 1

Do violent video games lead to violent behaviour among young people - Essay Example Such games have a very negative impact on the mind-set of the young children who play such games. The fictitious events are often considered reality by innocent children who lack a proper sense of direction. The events portrayed in the game change the mind-set of young children. Children very often try stunts on their friends which are shown in violent video games. Playing violent video games increases aggression among people who play it and there are no two ways about it. â€Å"One study reveals that young men who are habitually aggressive may be especially vulnerable to the aggression-enhancing effects of repeated exposure to violent games," said psychologists Craig A. Anderson, Ph.D., and Karen E. Dill, Ph.D. "The other study reveals that even a brief exposure to violent video games can temporarily increase aggressive behavior in all types of participants† (Violent Video Games Can Increase Aggression). â€Å"On average, there is a significant tendency for the studies to yield an increase in aggression by those who have played the violent games," said Craig Anderson, an Iowa State University professor and leading researcher on the effects of media violence.† (Violent Video games under Attack). There are enough evidences which prove that playing violent video games give rise to violence in the society. This is extremely bad for the society, it is high time that this is realized and something should be done about it sooner rather than later. Every coin is two sided, playing games also has benefits. It relaxes a person and it is very entertaining to play games. The relaxation derived from playing games is immense and cannot be out into words. Research also proves that playing games makes the mind sharper and the response rate of the mind goes up by a significant level. â€Å"Nottingham Trent University professor Mark Griffiths said they can be a

Finance Course Work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Finance Course Work - Essay Example A company needs capital to run the normal proceedings of a business and in order to gain such capital; organisations tend to approach financial markets. Such financial markets not only help in generating the finance to run an organisation but it also helps in many other ways. A financial market is a place whereby sellers and buyers meet each other in order to trade financial securities and commodities. The transactions within these markets are usually carried out in such a way that they reflect the supply and demand (Kapoor et al, 2012). Companies which usually trade within the markets tend to keep a record of their business and such record is usually kept within financial statements which are prepared by the financial managers. There are various financial statements but the most important one include: the statement of comprehensive income and expenditure (SOCIE), the statement of financial position (SFP), the statement of changes in equity and the cash flow statement (Kapoor et al, 2012). SOCIE gives an insight to the profit/loss which an entity may have obtained as a result of their operations within a given period of time. The SFP gives the year end assets position of an entity while the Cash flow statement provides a summary of the cash that has rotated in order to carry out the business operations (Madura, 2011). Companies tend to plan their operations in advance and also keep a record of that in order to keep a budgeted record, any deviation within the budgeted and the actual result is scrutinised if it is huge and the aberration is properly addressed to avoid the discrepancy in the future (Kapoor et al, 2012). The concept of time value of money is simple: the value of money in recent or in current terms is going to be higher than in future terms. This can be further explained that money if earned now would have more value than if the same amount

About Sallie martin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

About Sallie martin - Essay Example She was absorbed in a nearby Hospital while pursuing her desires in gospel in her off hours. She had heard of Thomas A. Dorsey that had electrifying gospel then in Chicago church culture that saw her arranged an audition. However, Sallie’s down-home style initially was at odds with Thomas A Dorsey’s fledging movement but later in 1927 joined the Dorsey Trio despite her serious misgivings about her unrefined style characterized with groaning and whooping besides a great deal of physical movement besides being unable to read music (Young 1997). Martin made her debut with his team in Ebenezer Church and in 1933 produced her first solo that instantly connected her with fans. She opened a music store that accrued a lot of profits leading to an adversarial and respectful relationship with Dorsey as they each inter-depended. Following the saturation of Dorsey songs in Chicago, she traveled to Cleveland in 1933 where she organized a chorus setting similar teams in South and Midwest. Martin and Dorsey became the co-founders, and organizers of the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and choruses serving as the vice-president till her death. She went solo in 1940 and teamed up with Ruth Jones, a young pianist. Martin together with gospel composer Kenneth Morris teamed up in 1940 with financial backer Rev. Clarence H. Cobb forming Martin and Morris, Inc. publishing company, the biggest of kind in America and performed with Ruth and arranger Roberta Martin. Sallie formed the Sallie Martin Singers with Roberta Martin, Eugene Smith and Willie Webb, the first female group in gospel history. Martin traveled the Gospel concert circuit as a soloist in conjunction with her singer team that stayed up to mid-1950s. Martin contributed greatly taking the leading role in the French production of ‘Gospel Caravan in Paris in 1979. Her hits were â€Å"Just A Closer Walk with Thee† and â€Å"God Put A Rainbow in the Clouds† and â€Å"He’ll Wash You Whiter Than Snow.† She was an

Evidence based practices Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Evidence based practices - Research Paper Example Hence, the LAPD, as well as other law enforcement agencies, can undoubtedly profit from evidence-based approaches to assessing recruitment programs along with reformation the application process. Using the Los Angeles Police Department and city administrative data from financial years 2007 and 2008, this paper will estimate impacts, in line with applicant numbers, for LAPD’s employment efforts and will revise a model for prioritizing candidates established by Lim et al. (2009). Introduction Recruitment and maintenance are long-lasting worries for large urban law enforcement agencies (Lim, 2009). Over much of the last couple of years, police departments from San Diego to New York City have gone through considerable difficulty in finding and maintaining police officers. Even though, the number of police officers countrywide increased by 3.4% between 2000 and 2004 employment did not keep pace with population increase and was well underneath the rate of law enforcement development in the 90s. In addition, 20 out of the 50 largest local police groups in the country decreased in size between 2000 and 2004, in some departments by as high as 10 to 15% (Matthies, 2011). The countrywide economic recession, which started late in 2007, has attested to be a double-edged knife for law enforcement employment. Many candidates are applying for the job, but the funds for hiring and recruiting have been cut. Sheriff and Police departments around the nation have reported large increases in the number of candidates, as is the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). However, financial woes brought on by the economic recession are stopping agencies from taking advantage of the larger applicant pools. A high number of the applications have cancelled due to the lack of available finances to pay the cadets’ incomes. Nowhere else are these hiring and recruitment challenges more apparent than in the city of Los Angeles (Lester, 2007). The LAPD, in terms of per capita, is one of the token big-city law enforcement departments in the United States. In spite of attaining a considerable lofty force strength of 9895 police officers in early 2009, or one police officer for every 388 citizens, LA is still significantly under-policed compared to other prominent cities such as New York, which has one police officer per 233 citizens, and Chicago, with one police officer for every 213 citizens. Since Los Angeles City spreads over more than 400 square miles, the Los Angeles Police Department is also fairly small in line with the geographic area of its power, with 21 administration points per square mile, compared to 118 administration points per square mile in New York City and 59 administration points per square mile in Chicago. Significant empirical questions linked to LAPD’s hiring, and recruiting can be found in Lim et al. (2009). This paper builds on their publication with an extra in-depth study of marketing data and a simplified candidate processing to ol. This paper, in the section that follows, will explain experimental work, which provides facts, if not ultimate answers, regarding some significant employment research questions. Police Recruitment Studies Given the apparent societal import of having law

Diversification of Agriculture Essay Example for Free

Diversification of Agriculture Essay Diversification in this case (agricultural diversification) involves the realocation of a, or some of a farms resources, to a new product or products. The prime resource of that time being sugar and the new products being the wide variety of crops that were produced and re-introduced by peasants. Peasants are a class of people of a lower status, who depends on agricultural labour for subsistence. The peasant life could be placed and termed in different categories. According to Mintz 1961, a peasant style of life was worked out by the people while they were still enslaved, these people were refered to as proto-peasants. he also makes mension of runaway pesantries or marrons, whome he described as, those who formed communities outside colonial authority, build on subsistance farming in mountainous or interior forest regions. This research will higlight how the peasants produced a wide variety of crops and the reintroduction of old ones. The purpose of this research is to show that the diversification of the caribbean economy was beecause of peasant initiative. had it not been for their efforts, the old sugar monopoly would have prevailed in the post emacipation period sustaining a system of bankruptcy and decay. Woodville K Marshall wrote, our pesantry starts in 1838 an comprises of ex-slaves who started small farms on the peripheries of plantation wherever they could find land on abandon plantations and in the mountainous unknowns of various teritories. the first aim of the ex-slaves was to move away from the forced and unpaid labour. Many others preffered to stay in their own homes amongs friends and relatives with expectations of earning enough cash to purchase certain commodoties that they were unable to gain as slaves. The feeling of complete freedom, of the plantation was only recodnise by free people if they could aquire there own lands. the simplest methods of getting propperty was to buy unoccupied land, either from land belonging to plantations which was not farmed by owner and crown lands. these crown lands was most popular in Trinidad, British Guyana and the interior of Jamaica. Land ownership also came about by squatting on unused land in the the remote interious of the large colonies. People who purchase property outright were more fortunate than squatters, they gainned written proof of ownership and the land they bought was already cleared and close to markets. however outright purchase was the exception, not the rule. The exslaves were aslo able to aquire land in other intances through missionary help. These include popular missionaries such as James Phillips and William Nibb. In 1835 Phillips, bought 10 hectares in the mountains behind Jamaica Spanishtown, subdivided the land into small lots for sale on easy term to his congregation. the new community named sligoville was the only settlement during apprenticeship. In july 1838 William Nibb shared the belief that planters would try to force extra work from their free labour by dramatically increasing rent on estate fig. 1 Newcastle, free village, in the Jamaica blue mountains. homes. William took up the mantel to help his congregation, he told them about a loan of ten thousand pounds that was granted to him by a friend from england. Knibb then said, that sum should be apropriated to the purchase of land on which you may live if your present employer force you to quit the properties on which you now live. Williams predictions came through, the planters acted as he had foreseen and by 1839 he was constructing several Free Villages for labourers who did not want to risk increases in rent on the plantations. The missionary society was quite abdoman in the development of the pesantry. Upon discusing the success of the pesantry one must give an account for the stages of development which includes the period of establishment (1839 1850-60). This was highlighted by the rapid land ownership, and the incresing number of peasants. observers of the caribbean stated, the great and universal object of the ex-slave was the aquisition of land, however limited in extent. Larger population, small size and a long established sugar industry left few oppertunities for land aqusition for peasants of island territories such as Barbados, St. Kitts and Antigua. Ex-slaves from these colonies had to think emigration. However, countries like Jamaica and the Windward Islands the sugar industry left underdeveloped montainous interiors . In Trinidad and Tobago and British Guyana a small population and young industry created many oppertunities for land aquisition. Efforts of the exslaves were so successful in the named countries that emmancipation officials were reporting an almost daily increases in number of free holders. Another stage of development is the period of consilidation in which the peasantry continues its growth in numbers and most important, a marked shift by the peasants to export crop production. For example in Jamaica (only teritory with complete figures for small holdings) the number of holding between 5 and 49 acres increased from 13 189 in 1880 to 24 226 in 1902 to 31 038 in 1930. However the most important phase of the development is what Eisner calls a new pesantry. Eisner national income estimate for Jamacia for 1850 and 1890 reveal a shift from maily provison production to mixed provisions that could be exported by peasants. a very good example of income was the value of the export crops (sugar, coffee, rum, pimento, ginger) in 1850 its estimated by Eisner at 1 089 300 pounds, of which small settlement contributed 133 500 pounds or just over 10%. The variety of products continued to grow, and shares rising until the third period (1900 and beyond). At this stage the pesantry did not expand and evidence shows that it might have been contracting. Table 2 below shows an example of evidence of a decrease in peasant holdings in Jamaica. Initially, before the growth of the peasantry, ex-slaves decided to set up themselves as peasants because although slavery had ended the principle of forced labour, had only changed to contolled labour upon those who remain on the plantations. Many who stayed in hopes of becoming wage owners, plans were shattered within a few years becasue of different reasons. Amongs these different reasons the system of tenancy which compelled the slaves to labour steadily and continuosly on the estates in return for secure residence in the house and ground which he had occupied as a slave, insecurely of tenure, as well as relatively low wages and increases in rent reinforced many ex-slaves determination to seek new and better oppertunities away from the estates accross the caribbean. a small population of the slaves were skilled which meant those who couldnt be masons, carpenters, barrel makers, wheel wrights and cart builders had to turn to the best known alternative, the soil. Only this time there hard labour would of been for their survival and not to fill their masters stock. The peasantry afforded them with the oppertunity to become wage earners. On the basis in which the pesantry was running, it was basically characterise, the pure plantation economy and society. Although the peasants were producing a great quantity and variety of subsistence food and livestock, they strove to expand their boundaries by introducing new crops and or re-introducing old ones. Bananas, coffee, citrus, coconuts, cocoa, spices (ginger and pimento), and log wood in Jamaica; Cocoa, arrowroot, spices, bananas and log wood in Windwards, were the most popular crops introduced and or re-introduced for exports. the Leewards grew arowroot as a staple export crop. It has been recorded that St. Vincent alone sold 613 380 kilograms. Small holders in Grenada exported coffee, cotton, cocoa, copra, honey and beeswax. In Trinidad squatters sold the timber they gainned from clearing crown lands for charcoal burning and export some for boat buiding and later exported coffee and cocoa. The guyanese was one of the few that was into the exportation of the rice crop. Most of the caribbean teritories were at some point in time producing certain crops for export and gathered profitable incomes. It is quit evident , that the pesantry has accumilated musch success. With the help of the missionaries and the income gainned, peasants were able to initiate the convension of plantation socities. they adapted to building local self-generating communities and used funds that they had alocated from exports along with babtist missionaries ( missionary help was popular mainly in Jamaica) who were quite abdoman in helping the peasants organise free villages and the construction of school such as Cadrinton primary school in barbados, which was run by missionaries and churches for learning and worship. They also clamoured for expansion of education facilities, communication and better maketing schemes and facilities. The peasants were able to start local co-operative movement (sou-sou, box hand and partner hand) which later develop banks some which may still be in exsistance today.

Zone fitness market research

Zone fitness market research According to Kotler, P. (1988) marketing is a social and managerial process by which individuals and groups can obtain what they need and what they want. This can be achieved by creating, offering and exchanging products of value with others. The figure below illustrates the core concepts of marketing like needs, wants and demands, Product, value, cost, satisfaction and other concepts. Needs, wants demands Product Value, cost satisfaction Exchange transactions relationships Markets Marketing marketers Fig: 1.0. Core Concepts of Marketing Zone fitness is the new health and fitness company based in Huddersfield. Due to the continued growth of the health and fitness market in the UK, the company was formed. The company offers a range of health and fitness services on a membership only basis. Zone fitness operates 1 mile away from town centre in a place which was previously furniture warehouse. Few of the companys facilities are, rowing machines, exercise bikes, weights etc. One of the important parts of the services to the members is that there is an initial joining fee and the range changes according to the period of membership taken out for. The company was formed by three friends with now previous managerial or marketing experience or knowledge. The company is three years old and now has employs a total of 15 staff. The company is looking to grow in future both in terms of members and also in terms of health and fitness facilities offered but feel it now need to become more effective at marketing in order to face the competition. As a marketing consultant a report has been produced, to increase and improve the companys marketing activities. The overall review of the report covers areas such as, industry analysis, market segmentation, targeting, position, pricing strategy, etc. INDUSTRY ANALYSIS According to Brassington and Pettitt (2006), the industry analysis aim is to determine and understand the evolving opportunities and threats of the markets as they relate to the strengths and weakness of the health and fitness firm. The analysis covers areas such as size, growth, profits, cost structure, competitors, etc. MACRO ENVIRONMENT Economic environment is the general changes the economic conditions and the changes in pattern of the income distribution of the customers as well as the operation of the economic system are responsible for a variety of economic phenomena. These involve factors such as fluctuations, trade, economic growth rate, inflation and recession. (Peter, 2008) Socio-cultural environment is the attitudes towards the physical fitness and general wellness and individual ways of life of the customers and standards formed by the cultures and changing social values. (Johnson, et al., 2008) Political environment is the government with its political involvement and the legislation as the main components which can change the political as well as influence of the key issues in the companies such as policies, regulations etc. (Peter, 2008) Technological environment is responsible for the innovation and changes of the equipments such as tread mills, bikes, weights machines and also supplements. The development and new equipments can have an effect on the future of the Zone Fitness. The technology can change the emergence of the many substitute products. (Armstrong, et al., 2009) MICRO ENVIRONMENT SUPPLIER: Suppliers form an important link to the companys overall value delivery system. It provides the resources needed by the company to produce its goods and services. The Zone Fitness management must watch supply availability such as supply shortages, delays and other events which can cost sales in the short term and damage customer satisfaction. (Gilligan, et al., 2009) CUSTOMER: The Company needs to study the types of customer markets. Consumer markets consist of individuals or households that need services and health care activities for personal consumption. Business markets where the company can sell the services to the employees and for further processing. Reseller markets where the company can buy the facilities for certain profits. (Gilligan, et al., 2009) COMPETITOR: The marketing concept states that to be successful a company must provide greater customer value and satisfaction than its competitors. The Zone Fitness Management must do more than simply adapting to the needs of the customers. They must gain strategic advantage by positing their offerings strongly against competitors offerings. (Armstrong, et al., 2009) MARKET SUMMARY The UK health fitness clubs can be divided into two sectors: health clubs which are privately owned and leisure centres which are owned by the local authorities. Leisure centres which are defined as public facilities are changing to cope up with shifting consumer priorities and financial measures. UK has over 5,750 indoor facilities for keeping fit. The health club is still fairly fragmented, but there are now 10 large chains including David Lloyd leisure, Fitness First, Virgin Active and LA Fitness. (The Leisure Database, 2007) MARKET DEMOGRAPHICS Population of UK: 62,348,447 as of July 2010. Age Structure: 0-14 years: 16.7% (male 5,233,756/female 4,986,131) 15-64 years: 67.1% (male 20,774,192/female 20,246,519) 65 and over: 16.2% (male 4,259,654/female 5,612,953) Median Age: Total: 39.8 years Male: 38.6 years Female: 40.9 years (Mouseprice, 2010) MARKET SIZE GROWTH The UK health fitness industry has a revenue estimated almost  £3.6 billion and 11.9% of the UK population are registered as members in the health and fitness or publicly-owned fitness facilities. The membership has been growing up by 3% since 2006 and now there are over 230 new public and private facilities that have been added to the health and fitness industry portfolio. Almost 90% of the UK population lives within 2 miles of a private health or publicly-owned fitness facilities. UK market for health and fitness club has increased by a moderate of 1% in nominal terms, by 2010. (Research and Markets, 2010) On contrary to this, annual growth rates have been declined from 7% in 2006 to just 1% by 2010. Both of which, exerted a downward pressure on disposable income and consumer confidence, reducing demand for health and fitness centres as the money is spent on necessities rather than luxuries. Moreover, annual growth is also believed to have slowed due to increased saturation and competition in the market, which has led to a reduction in membership fees in the private sector. (The Leisure Database, 2007) The membership penetration is 33% higher in London than the UK average and also obesity risk rates are 65% lower in London. The Southwest region is another area in UK to have lower risk in obesity by 34%, but the membership penetration level is higher by 3% the UK average. The regions of North East and South West have largest membership growth in private club memberships whilst the East Midlands topped the impressive growth rates in the public sector. (Corporate Fitness, 2010) 3.0. PORTERS FIVE FORCES A Porters five forces analyses explore five different principal factors, which determine the attractiveness of a health fitness market. Bargaining power of buyers Zone Fitness Threat of new entrants Bargaining power of suppliers Competitive rivalry within an industry Threat of substitute products Fig.2.0. Porters five forces for Zone Fitness Threat of new entrants: The barriers to the new entrants are very high. The main development of private gymnasium and leisure centres on the country which take years and capital required have put smaller companies out of the picture. Some of the health clubs are combined and franchised, but all existing major big companies have sufficient back up support to make themselves unattractive for acquisitions. The domination of some of the big health and fitness companies insure that they can manage a threshold level of profitability. (Euromonitor International, 2010) Bargaining power of suppliers: Suppliers have low bargaining poor over health and fitness centres due to strong brand power and distribution capabilities of the companies and due to fragmented supplying industry. The need for facilities and equipments is to explore and re-conceive their business models, like by playing on the customers experience issue and to try to arrive at a more profitable but risky mode. These kinds of initiatives might also help moderate the stance of health and fitness companies. (Market and Business Development, 2010) Bargaining power of buyers: Buyers have a strong bargaining power over health and fitness companies because of the range of choices the buyers have. All major companies sell same facilities and at nearly same price so buyer can switch to another company without any doubt. Nearly 94% of customers today have choice of three or more health and fitness companies which can be available to them within 5 minutes of range and many other leisure centres as well. Numerous companies are competing for their business with facilities of varying size and formats. Power of buyers is high and companies that raise prices are likely to lose customers. (Research and Markets, 2010) Threat of substitute products: Health and fitness centres in the available sector are an available alternative for customers, but there has been some convergence between these two sectors as the companies extend their formats. (Euromonitor International, 2010) Competitive rivalry within an industry: The rivalry is intense even though the market is concentrated, especially among the top companies. At a micro level the industry rivalry is centred and a limitation strategy that the major companies resort to if one initiative is successful. The rivalry among major companies is intense and this has led to a price war between companies. This is because the companies sustain the declining profitability without exiting the market and there is no incentive for major companies to rush into extreme and profit eroding price war. (Aaker and McLaughlin 2010) 3.1. COMPETITION Zone Fitness has a highly competitive market in Huddersfield, but the following four will be direct competitors due to their establishment in and around Huddersfield. Bodyzone Fitness Centre Unit 11f/Nortonthorpe Mills/Nortonthorpe Industrial Estate Wakefield R Scissett Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, HD8 9LA Website: www.bodyzonefitnesscentre.co.uk Services offered: gymnasium, beauty centre, health club, aerobics, swimming, and sauna and cardio theatre. (The Fitmap, 2008) Fitness First Lockwood Park Brewery Drive Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, HD4 6EN 01484 429000 Website: http://www.fitnessfirst.com Services offered: gym, cardio theatre, spinning room, x-press workout, crà ¨che, squash, studio, lounge, juice bar, personal trainers, sauna, and steam room, aroma and sun bed. (The Fitmap, 2008) University of Huddersfield Gym Sports Hall Queensgate, Huddersfield, HD1 3DH 01484 472093 Website: http://www.hud.ac.uk/uni/about/campus_facilities/06_sports_hall/1_html/the_gym Services offered: cardiovascular training, step n tones, boxercise, groove n move, hula hoops, kettlebell, boot camp, pilates, abdominal blast, sports team camp, yoga, kung fu, spinning, tae kwon do and swimming. (Bizplan Cover, 2009) MARKET SEGMENTATION, TARGETING AND POSITIONING Market segmentation can be defined as the process of dividing the total market into segments or target market of consumers with common needs or characteristics and selecting one or more segments to target with a marketing mix. Zone Fitness company needs to know the needs and wants of their customers to better enable them to provide facilities and services that will satisfy the customer needs and wants. This may be problematic as there are numerous health and fitness facilities in the consumer market which the company can satisfy. Therefore, Zone Fitness must divide its market into various needs and wants. This is the process of the segmentation. (Cant, et al., 2009) The company must next decide which market segments needs it can best satisfy. The company should develop its marketing offers such as facilities and membership discounts and the process of deciding which segment to pursue is referred to as targeting market. Therefore, targeting deals with the process whereby a marketing mix is tailored to fit some specific customers. (Aaker and McLaughlin 2010) Positioning refers to the creation of a specific image or perception of the facilities and services by consumers in a selected target market. It is therefore the way in which consumers view competitive brands or types of products. For new products it means how the company wants to compare the new item in terms of its predecessors. The company will need attempt to establish a favourable position for its product by means of marketing communication such as advertising, however as it is believed that the product positioning is limited to advertising is no longer appropriate. (Ouwersloot and Duncan 2008) 4. SWOT ANALYSIS Many companies evaluate opportunities utilizing an analysis framework referred to as SWOT. It is an acronym for strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats that can be investigated and can be used in early stages like market planning and decision making for zone fitness. On one hand it operates the matching of vital strengths with major environment opportunities and on the other hand it provides for improvising weaknesses and possibilities of risk in the zone fitness marketing. (Cant, et al., 2009) STRENGHTS: Zone Fitness is more committed towards a result orientated approach to maintain its customers in a highly competitive market. Facilities and health programmes are well taught according to the need of Zone Fitness. Reduction in fees and discount in membership service in entire market of UK. Also Zone Fitness has well trained and qualified staff. Personal services, individual programmes and advice are seen as being a key part of competitive success. (About Health Clubs, 2009) WEAKNESS: Personal training and individual programmes can be expensive. There are no swimming facilities which can be a problem in providing services to a large pool of members. Marketing budget is very short to attract business clients. (NetMBA, 2009) OOPURTUNITIES: Health and fitness clubs are rapidly growing in UK. Increasing health conditions and diseases such a obesity are causing people to join and pay more importance to exercise and health care activities. Health clubs and gym have become a routine of life in the peoples daily schedule. A low income area can be of special focus for zone fitness which is mostly ignored by rival competitors. (NetMBA, 2009) THREATS: One of the main threats could be because of recession and economic downturn, which can slowdown the growth of health and fitness industry. Low cost equipments are also available in the markets for home exercise. Although market is rapidly growing a small level threat can be of low cost offers from well established competitors. (About Health Clubs, 2009) MARKETING MIX Zone Fitness companys marketing mix is based on the factors of product, cost, distribution and advertising. PRODUCT: Health and fitness services: Rowing machines Exercise bikes Weights Aerobics Yoga Steam room Sauna, tanning rooms Massage services and Jacuzzis PRICE: Zone Fitness will be facing a challenge with highly competitive markets such as David Lloyd, Fitness First, etc. Therefore company is offering services at cost less than existing market standards with reduced fees for the under 18s and over 55s and discounts for the family memberships, etc. A new member for yearly membership would pay an initial joining fee of  £100 and a yearly membership of  £500. This would give members an unlimited access of the services and facilities of the company. PLACE: Zone Fitness company is located within the 1 mile radius of the town centre of Huddersfield. The company has a direct supply of their facilities and will not be involving in any kind of franchise or network. PROMOTION: Zone Fitness can use newspapers, magazines, internet, television and radio as the medium of advertising. In addition they could also print brochures for creating awareness in the market about their health and fitness services. (Cant, et al., 2009) INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS (IMC) STRATEGY Integrated Marketing Communications is a cross-functional process of creating and nourishing profitable relationships with customers and other stake holders strategically controlling or influencing all messages sent to these groups and encouraging them. The marketing mix of an organisation for tangible products compress of four elements, these are; marketing communications, price, promotions and distribution. The marketing communication element influences the other three elements; therefore it is important for Zone Fitness to be aware of their relationship between these four elements, while designing and planning the marketing strategy. (Ouwersloot and Duncan 2008) The responsibility of Zone Fitness management is to compile a programme that establishes a framework for the development, implementation, coordination and control of companys marketing communications. The aim of such a programme is to develop an effectiveness IMC programme that targets the customers in an attempt to influence their attitudes and behaviour. STRATEGIES OBJECTIVES Setting the IMC objectives and compiling it with the budget are crucial activities in the marketing communications department. IMC objectives and the budget constitute two basic guidelines and constraint in the formulation of an IMC strategy and for the various elements. The period within which the IMC objectives and strategies must be achieved covers the same period which all activities of the various marketing communication elements are implemented. (Hutt and Speh 2009) IMC objectives and strategies the Zone Fitness can follow are: The objectives must be formulated and once they have been, a provisional marketing communication budget must be prepared on the basis of the formulated goal. Marketing communications development and different strategies for each element are usually the most comprehensive of all phases. Each marketing communications element plays a unique role in achieving the integrated marketing communications objectives. The IMC decisions must be co-ordinated to prevent element being singled out. The decision taken must be synchronised by the company so that the ultimate objective can be reached without any form of duplication and resultant additional cost. After that there should be the development of an action plan for each IMC strategy. This is the operational programme, which is very detailed and contains activities, responsibilities and time frames. The penultimate is the measurement of the IMC effectiveness. It is important to ascertain whether the IMC programme has achieved its objective. The continual feedback on the effectiveness of the IMC strategy and programme so that deviations from the formulated objectives can be evaluated with a view to taking corrective measures. In the overall summary the IMC objectives and strategies must be derives from the marketing strategies and elements such as advertising, personal selling, promotions, publicity, public relations and e-communications must be derived from the marketing communications strategies for Zone Fitness company. (Ouwersloot and Duncan 2008)

the kill artist :: essays research papers

Modern Middle East As the Middle East peace negotiations putter along, Daniel Silva's fictional book, The Kill Artist, could not be timelier. The story is a country-hopping cat-and-mouse game between two master assassins, one Palestinian, one Israeli. The story begins with the assassination of an Israeli ambassador in Paris, pulled off by Tariq, a master Palestinian assassin. Rumors of Tariq's plans to disrupt the ongoing peace talks reach Ari Shamron, head of the Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency. To find and kill Tariq, Shamron calls on ex-agent Gabriel Allon. The story mixes real people and places with fictional characters, providing an authentic feel for the storyline. The main theme is that a retired Israeli deep cover agent is brought out of retirement to face an old terrorist enemy. We learn that Allon was once one of the Mossad's most skilled assassins, tracking down and dispatching terrorist enemies of Israel. But the cost was horrendous. After his wife and child became two of Tariq's targets, he thrust himself into seclusion. Now that he is called back, he along with a female partner masquerading as a model, attempt to destroy the network of terror created by Tariq. More and more people are drawn into the action as time goes on including the American CIA and international businessmen. The terrorist Tariq always seems to be one step ahead of his opponents as they are bested time and time again. The scene changes from country to country as the two groups battle in an international arena, and we finally discover the true purpose of Ta riq's mission as the story arrives at its conclusion. Prior to becoming an author, Silva was a CNN executive producer and journalist who covered the Middle East. The background those experiences gave him only intensify the story, making for a convincing read. Silva's time as a journalist and CNN executive producer, covering everything from Washington politics to Middle East conflicts, is evidenced in The Kill Artist. Details gleaned from his research into the inner workings of the PLO and the cutthroat world of international art brings settings and characters alive, as each comes up against the complications of romance in the rich, and the murky underworld of the spy Although I liked the flow of action in this novel, a large number of superfluous characters are introduced in the first part of the book that never get fully fleshed out. Some of the characters more integral to the story also seemed a little shallow in their presentation.

Underprotective and Overactive Pain Perception: Problems and Possible Solutions :: Biology Biological Pain Papers

Underprotective and Overactive Pain Perception: Problems and Possible Solutions Pain is probably one of the most universal perceptions that humans, or indeed any animal, can experience. From stress headaches to stubbing one's toe, we come into contact with pain on a daily basis. This is normal data about the experience of pain. However, there are several groups of people that do not feel pain in a common way. Either they don't feel enough pain to tell them that something is wrong, as in the cases of lepers and some diabetics, or they have too much pain, as in the cases of some diabetics, people with phantom limb pain, cancer victims, stroke victims, and other diseases of the brain or spinal cord (Casey, 1996). The effects of pain on these people is in many cases debilitating; their normal lives are likely gone or, at best, on hiatus. These reasons are incentive enough for scientists trying to discover more ways to eradicate wanton pain (or the absence of pain) because there is a threat that many of us, at some point, will be subject to these same problems. The first case of underprotective pain perception that will be discussed is that of leprosy. Leprosy is a bacterial pathogen (M. leprae) that attacks the peripherial nervous system in humans and is the leading cause of peripheral nerve disease in the world. The bacteria attack the Scwann cells that form the myelin sheath around nerve fibers. Without the protection and insulation of the myelin sheath, nerve cells fire inefficiently. The net results of this bacterial infection are skin lesions and damage to the nerves, mainly in the extremities and facial area (Henderson, 1998) . The result of the nerve damage that is pertinant to this topic is the loss of sensation. This lack of feeling complicates normal living: the person with leprosy is not able to identify cuts or burns on his or her skin. Without the protection of normal pain responses, this person could conceivably fail to notice for quite some time that he has been injured and therefore not take further conscious protective measures such as cleaning the cut with alcohol or treating the burn with salve. The effects of this lack of protective sensation are grim: lesions and eventual deformities result from the lack of care given to the body. Although luckily the bacteria can be killed with a month-long course of several drugs, unfortunately the nerve damage is permanent (Henderson, 1998).

Death of a salesman on the American Dream

The American dream has stood to be each person's idea of success. The American dream is usually associated with 1940's America depiction of the ideal family, as can be depicted from television shows such as Leave it to Beaver. However, this is one aspect and shallow analysis of the American dream that is not appropriate for all reaching to achieve their American dream. In Arthur Miller's Death ofa Salesman, Miller succeeds in portraying this through the characters Willy and Biff.Their conflict represents two varying perspectives of the American dream, and this very struggle eads to the conclusion that the American dream is rooted in the pursuit of a better life. Throughout Death of a Salesman, Miller portrays two ideas of the American dreams and it is definite that they are â€Å"American dreams† as they both deal with success and that character's idea of success. Though, this is where characters' views differ and conflict with one another.Willys American dream is to have his children succeed and to leave his imprint on the society which he was unable to succeed in doing so in a life long career as a salesman. Furthermore, Willy lived in the ideology that being well liked† was far more important and and necessary than being a Bernard type of person and make a living based on his studies. Willys belief and encouragement of this ideology upon his sons influenced Biff immensely. As a result, Biff did not put the effort into his studies that would have enabled him to pass math and graduate high school and move on to a university.Willy says, â€Å"Because the man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead. Be liked and you will never want. You take me, for instance. I never have to wait in line to see a buyer. Willy Loman is here! † That's all they have to know and I go right through. † (Act 1) According to Willy, someone who is capable of invoking personal interest in tho se around them will be more successful regardless of one's knowledge or intelligence.Biffs American dream is to free himself from the barriers of expectations, specifically those of his father. To free himself from his father's desired dream for him and move towards his own chosen life which is to live and own a ranch is the country. However, Biff only came to realize his dream later in his adult life as opposed to only pleasing is father as he did as a child. It was only after the calamity of discover his father's affair did Biff drift away from Willys expectations.It is as he becomes resolute to follow his own dreams rather than his father's expectations he says, â€Å"Will you let me go, for Christ's sake? Will you take that phony dream and burn it before something happens. † (Act 2) This statement come from his final conversation with his father as Biff shows his last attempt to show Willy the he is not the person he thought Biff would be. Nevertheless, it was fear of Bif f defecting from becoming the ideal person Willy dreamed Biff would be that lead Willy to his downfall.As well as the crumbling of Willys American dream for Biff. The final message of Death of a Salesman is that a person's American dream is whatever one perceives it means be successful. Fear of displacement from that Biff not becoming successful defined by Willys expectations for him, and such fear can destroy one's American dream. Had it not been for Willys insistence on Biff to follow his ideology and become his father's expectations, Biff would not have disregarded his studies and would have been able to graduate high school, and ecome successful in his own way.Biffs American dream differs from that of the standard set by the†American dream† of 1940s America. The lifestyle viewed as being the family of an American citizen of that time would be a young man, a young woman, with three adorable children in the suburbs. However, Biff seems content with living like this, as the lifestyle depicted to be the goals of the American people are not suitable to him. The American dream depicted by the society of that time is Just one of many interpretations of the true American dream: the pursuit of a happy life.

Drinking Age Controversy

In the United States, a citizen is considered an â€Å"adult† at the age of 18, and with that new title comes many responsibilities, such as the right to vote and to join the army. However, the legal drinking age in America is twenty-one. This issue has been a major controversy for some time now that faces both national and state governments. Should the drinking age be lowered to the age when legally a person becomes an adult and assumes all other adult responsibilities, or should it remain at a higher age to allow people to grow more mature and, hopefully, make more responsible decisions? In the mid 1600’s, colonial laws attempted to control alcohol consumption, but drinking per se was not remonstrated. Between 1913 and 1919 there was a lot of controversy between the â€Å"wet† states, which were states that allowed liquor, and the â€Å"dry† states, which were against and had made liquor illegal. On October 28, 1919, Congress enacted the National Prohibition Act, also known as the Volstead Act. The 18th Amendment was to become effective on January 17, 1920, and in those three months before the amendment became effective, alcohol was stolen in mass quantities from government warehouses. Throughout the thirteen years that Prohibition was enforced, the demand for alcohol only grew. The 18th Amendment was repealed on December 5, 1933 following the 21st Amendment, which was effective immediately. The National Minimum Drinking Age Act followed the 21st Amendment on July 17, 1984 stating that all states prohibit anyone under the age of 21 consuming, purchasing, or being in possession of alcohol. If the states would not comply with the law, they would not get funding under the Federal Aid Highway Act. This bill was supported by many people, one being arguably the most influential, was Candy Lightner. She founded the MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) after losing her daughter in 1980 to a car accident involving a drunk driver. On average, according to MADD statistics, a person is killed by a drunk driver every forty minutes. In 2007, about 13,000 people were killed in alcohol impaired driving crashes. A â€Å"binge drinker† is defined as a person who has more than 5 drinks in one sitting, which is becoming a large issue at college campuses worldwide. Presidents from over 100 universities have voted to lower the drinking age in order to cut the amount of underage drinking on campuses. Frequent users† will drink anywhere from three times a week to everyday. A â€Å"moderate user† is someone who drinks anywhere from once a week to once a month. The decision of whether or not to keep the drinking age at 21 or lower it to 18 is continually discussed between groups such as MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, who fight to keep the drinking age at 21 and LAFAA, Legalize Alcohol For All Adults, who fight to lower the drinking age. Karl Marx’s Conflict Theory is one way to explain the disagreements between those who want to lower the drinking age, and those who don’t. His theory states that social organization and change is based upon conflicts within the society. People between the ages of 18 and 21, called stakeholders, feel that they aren’t getting to exercise all of their rights to being an adult by government definition. They given all of the responsibilities and consequences of adults such as the right to vote, the ability to adopt, the right to join the military, the right to be charged with the highest punishment if accused of a crime, the right to get married, the right to buy and create pornography, etc. LAFAA would argue that with given all of these rights, government defined adults would also have to right to choose whether or not to consume alcohol. The families that allow their children to drink give a conflicting message to those who are a part of the underage drinking. Children then grow up thinking that underage drinking isn’t a big deal and is also a fun and â€Å"cool† thing to do. A large part of the â€Å"cool† factor, some would say, has to do with it being illegal to their age group. The thrill is what makes the drinking more exciting. The law also states that government usually follows majority opinion, and if this is fact, then the drinking age would be lowered seeing that two-thirds of Americans consume alcohol. Those arguing for keeping the drinking age at or above 21, such as MADD, argue that lowering the drinking age would enable younger adults to be able to purchase and drink alcohol legally, which would inevitably result in higher mortality rates. Although 18 year olds are considered adults, some think that they are still not mature enough to make to correct choices about alcohol. Those who think that keeping the drinking age at a higher minimum are trying to keep the demand for alcohol down and are also trying to keep the roads safer from drunk drivers. People between the ages of 18 and 20 will have just started college for the most part and don’t need alcohol interfering with their studies and their ability to succeed in life. Condoning the drinking of newly formed adults would only cause chaos and cause more fatalities. To MADD the cost of drinking outweighs the benefits since the highest numbers of fatalities in the United States are due to alcohol related deaths. Evidence tends to support the notion that keeping the drinking age at 21 is the safest and most responsible thing to do. Although it is taking some of Americans rights away, it is also ensuring the safety of thousands of citizens. Depending on whether you are liberal or conservative, opinions on how many rights government should take away will differ tremendously. The safety of American people should always be the most important aspect of keeping the United States a safe and enjoyable place to live. No matter whether the age is kept at 21 or lowered to 18, the controversy between the groups will never end. References http://www.druglibrary.org/Schaffer/LIBRARY/studies/nc/nc2a.htm

Identical Diversity of Mesopotamia, Egypt and Greece

Mesopotamia is a Greek term which refers to the land between two rivers namely Euphrates and Tigris which is now called Iraq. Mesopotamia is known for being occupied by the Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians and Assyrians which helped in making it a very diverse civilization both in culture and design. Due to the fact that Mesopotamia is a land between two rivers, their way of writing, farming (irrigation), astronomy, literature and design all depended on the two rivers. Hellenistic Greece literally means a culture wherein Greeks and Asians are together. This vision started with the conquest of Alexander the great which started with the conquest of Babylon up to the trip to India. All of his efforts helped spread the Greek Culture all throughout Asia. Aside from that, the very first conquest of Alexander the great was Mycenae and then the infamous Egypt was next, which is why there was a city in Egypt called Alexandria. With all the different conquests and all the different cultures coinciding with each other, it is evident that there may be diversity in the three civilizations, but surely there will have been common structural and cultural designs that will clash with each other. Two of the civilizations, namely Mesopotamia and Egypt share common architecture. Seldom do they create towering homes or buildings most especially under the heat of the sun. They create buildings that have ceilings that would bend inwards if not arching upwards. In creating their housing they simply use branches and mud to be able to make their shelter weather proof. Although when it comes to building tombs or monuments such as temples and palaces they make use of bricks and in the case of the Egyptians by 4000 BC they make use of stones such as limestone, granite and sandstone. In both civilizations they creatively made sun dried bricks made of mud to be able to make their infamous monuments. Monuments that still stand until now such as Mastabas in the case of the Egyptians, where they bury their dead and the great Ziggurats of the Mesopotamians were the first monumental buildings made by man kind. On the other hand, Greece was famous for a number of different monuments. In Mycenae tombs such as that found in the other two civilizations is present namely the great beehive tombs and massive palaces. The Greeks are famous when it comes to the pillars with a decorated top or formally called as ‘capitals’. But unknown to many men, these originate in the basic design of Mesopotamian and Egyptian pillars. Pillars in these two countries used to be made of bundle of reeds. When one looks at the bundle of reeds they seem like a circular arrangement pointing upwards in a neat array with protrusions on the bottom and most especially on the top. Egyptians evolved from reeds to stone. Egyptians made pillars made of stone in the way that their previous pillars where made, they placed palm-leaf designs for the ‘capitals’ and ribbed fluting to make it similar to their pillars of reeds. From this design the Greeks altered it in such a way that they made the pillars a lot slimmer for balance but still kept the ‘capitals’ and used it as a horizontal support. Generally there are a lot more different influences are shared by these three civilizations due to the fact that they share common history. Monuments, buildings and pillars are just some of the great identical differences they may have. `Highlights from the Collection: Mesopotamia', Oriental Institute of theUniversity of Chicago, [Online] Available at: http://oi.uchicago.edu/museum/highlights/meso.html ‘Mesopotamia’, Ancient History Sourcebook: Mesopotamia, [Online] `Iraq-Ancient Mesopotamia', Library of Congress; Article on Ancient Iraq, [Online] Available at: http http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/neareast/a/LOCIraq.htm `Greece', Cyber Museum, [Online] Available at: http://members.tripod.com/jaydambrosio/greece.html Fletcher, T. 2006, `A Short History of the World Architecture’, Essential Architecture, [Online] Available at: http://www.essential-architecture.com/MISC/MISC-hist.htm ; ;

Impacts of Total Productive Maintenance Essay

But there are some companies who have failed to gain advantage and some who are skeptic about its implementation. This leads us to know more about how TPM impacts different components of different organizations. This article focuses on some components such as overall effectiveness and cultural impacts of TPM on an organization. It concludes in building and maintaining a supportive culture and how overall effective helps in gaining a competitive edge over a long period of time. Any organization want to chase in world class competition must give customer satisfaction by providing reliable product or service on time at lower prize then others. One of the premises is that good maintenance and plant engineering process gives fundamental success in manufacturing (Hanson, 1995; Madu 2000). So the organization must reduce the unnecessary cost of time and material by reducing maintenance cost. And to reduce the maintenance cost is one of the reason to develop manufacturing technology like TPM (total productive maintenance). TPM is introduced by Seiici Nakajima in late 1970s in Japan, which made major influence over the economic progress of Japanese manufacturers (Willmott, 1994). TPM is basically a program to improve maintenance effectiveness of equipment throughout its life in the organization by the participation and motivation of all workforces from top management to the line employee from all department of an organization (Nakajima, 1988). The main goal of TPM to achieve maximum productivity with only limited investment in maintenance. This goal can be achieve by increase the overall equipment effectiveness(OEE) by reducing the losses, by improving existing maintenance system, by implementing autonomous maintenance and by increase a skill and motivation of operators from individual and group development (Willmott, 1994). And also by proper maintenance of equipment and facilities for best performance in order to reduce their life cycle cost. One of the properties of TPM is that production operators assist to repair the equipments when it is down and thus they share their effort in preventive maintenance and in turns improvement in process (Jostes & Helms. 994) In this term paper we focus on impacts of TPM. Many companies such Steelcase, Tennessee Eastman(Garwood, 1990), Nissan(Suzuki, 1993) adopted TPM are satisfied with the technique and find significant reduction in break down labor rates, lost of production, setup cost and cost per maintenance unit(Koelsch, 1993). TPM helps to planned and controlled the maintenan ce expanse(Adair-Heely, 1989) and reduction in maintenance force. For example a person who pays for preventive works are no more needed after implementing TPM, because TPM terns all activities of PM works to production forces. TPM gives opportunity to all individuals to express idea to improve the process and become a more familiar with tools and techniques to solve the problems and this effect directly to the capability of organization. TPM also helps to maintain consistency in quality of the product as well as reliability of product, the things that expect from the customer which interns helps to satisfy the customer. The basic aims of TPM is to double productivity and eliminate the loses, to create bright, clean and pleasant factory, to empower people and facilities and, through them, the organization itself (Wireman, 1991).

Essay: Obesity Essay

How many times a day do you see an obese person walking down the street? And how often do you see them exercising to overcome their problem? Obesity is one of the biggest problems in the United States due to people not knowing how to eat right, depression and lack of exercise. To begin with, Americans are not very open minded on the idea of healthy eating, they are not well educated on the topic. They think that eating healthy is just eating salad or not eating anything at all, when in reality, that just makes the problem worse because it would be like trying to keep a boat from sinking by throwing rocks at it, you’re just making it worse. Eating right consists of different types f foods: proteins, which are meat and/or chicken and others, fruits and veggies which are the salads, and grains which would be the rice and the beans. Secondly there is another common reason, depression. Depression tends to lead to obesity because people start eating with their minds and eyes instead of their stomachs. In the United States there are many stressed people, from working too much, to having to many kids, and even from having too many pets. Stress leads to depression; therefore from having to much stress in the U.S, we have a large number of obese Americans. Calming yourself and meditating is a very good way to disconnect for some time, and just relax. The third and most common reason for obesity is lack of exercise. I remember when I was 10, I was slowly becoming obese, and little by little I would start eating more and more, until it got to the point that I was considered obese. I was like that for a few months until I got tired of it and started exercising, by the time that I was 13 I was healthy and no longer obese. By saying exercise, it does not mean that you have to work out 24/7, it just means to take 60mins, or if not more, of your day off to do any type of exercise. To sum it all up, Obesity rates in the U.S keep growing for various reasons such as not knowing how to eat right, depression, and lack of exercise.  Eating right and exercising is not too much to do, anyone can do it, you do not need a manual or instructions. Overcoming obesity might be hard, but it is definitely not impossible.

Erich von Daniken claims that Egyptians did not have the technology or Term Paper

Erich von Daniken claims that Egyptians did not have the technology or manpower to build the great pyramids of Egypt. Is this an - Term Paper Example 1) Arguments in Support Erich von Daniken hypothesized that the monuments left behind by ancient civilizations show a level of technology and cultural and political organization of which those cultures were not by themselves capable of. He concluded that in these monuments, we can see the signs of extraterrestrial influence, with ancient astronauts making contact with these people, and being welcomed by them as divinities. He sees the physical presence of such unique artifacts as the pyramids of Egypt, the major stone circles of northern Europe, and the Maoi of Easter Island, as firm evidence for such theories. He even sees some patterns and signs on the world’s surface as evidence of runways and landing strips. Furthermore, von Daniken claims that we can see the enduring influence of these other worldly visitors in the artwork and customs of these peoples. For example, he suggested in more than one book that the practice of mummification in Egypt was developed so that the bod ies of notables could be preserved, awaiting resurrection by the extraterrestrial visitors when they next came to call. Likewise, he saw in ancient Egyptian visual representations some sign of these visitors being immortalized in the local pantheon. Von Daniken, on looking over the immense achievement represented by the Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza, could not believe that the Egyptians, with the primitive technologies of the time, would have been capable of moving the huge blocks of stone into place. He wrote of the ‘heave-ho’ proposed by ‘people with lively imaginations’ (1971: 114) and stated his belief that some technology not indigenous to Egypt must have been used, choosing to entitle his chapter on the subject, ‘Ancient Marvels or Space Travel Centres?’. Furthermore, given that von Daniken believed that each of the large blocks of masonry weighed a staggering 12 tons, he could not conceive that any method known to the Egyptians of the t ime would have been sufficient to move them up into the air and then place them atop each other (1971: 101). As he looked around the local environment, with the desert on one side and the alluvial flood plain of the Nile on the other, von Daniken was struck by the scarce presence of wood in the region, and the large quantities of wood that would have been needed in building the pyramids. He stated that the palms that did exist in the area were much too valuable to fell because of their importance in providing shade, and dates for nutrition. Therefore, having established that large quantities of wood would have needed to be imported from abroad in order to build these structures, von Daniken believed that Egypt at the time of the pyramids had not sufficient tonnage of shipping to bring in the required quantities. He therefore saw the hand of an external power with more advanced technologies in completing the pyramids. Von Daniken also found what he considered to be some intriguing ma thematical aspects to the construction of the Great Pyramid. He asked, for example, ‘Is it really a coincidence that the height of the Pyramid of Cheops [Khufu] multiplied by 1,000 million corresponds approximately to the distance between the earth and the sun? That is to say, 93 million miles’ (1971: 99). Such arguments are interesting, but we will consider below the arbitrary nature of such arguments, which make it

Communication field study Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Communication field study - Assignment Example The staffs of the two colleges need to use a language which is utilized by the majority of people. Any problem can be sorted out if the right guidance is given by CEO rather than directions. It is essential that the faculty members come up with their own creative ideas and lead the meetings in order to achieve the combined goal of the two schools. Every school essentially has formal and informal lines of communication channel which need to be exploited best for the good will of the schools. When working for solutions to problems, it is required for the language to be objective because judgmental and factual thinking can work against the goal of the school. When it comes to communication, there can arise many barriers like ineffective listening, vague conversation, inappropriate language, use of jargons and differences in perceptions. This is because different people have different ideas and perceptions and in order for strategies to work there should be ample interaction among the administrative staff. People from different culture think differently and act differently and when these factors are acknowledged by the CEO objectives of both the schools can be worked out

Multinational enterprises from the Asia Pacific in the global economy Essay

Multinational enterprises from the Asia Pacific in the global economy - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that multinational corporations are enterprises that a base in a particular country, but with a number of subsidiaries abroad. Most of these multinational enterprises are state owned organizations and receive numerous supports from the government. In the recent past, there has been a rise and growing role of multinational enterprises, particularly in the Asia Pacific region in the global economy. In the past few decades, multinational enterprises from the Asia Pacific were not as dominant and buoyant in the global economy as those in Europe and America. Today, the dynamics have changed and the focus has been shifted to the Multinational enterprises in the Asia Pacific. Research has shown that 29% of multinational enterprises from the globe come from the Pacific Asia. This is out of the over five hundred listed multinationals. In essence, it means that of the 500 listed companies, 145 are from the Pacific Asia region. In the recent past, Chi na alone has added close to about 9 multinationals. This to a large extent sensational in the sense that the global index of companies did not previously indicate a surge in the multinational enterprise. Countries like Japan, China, India, and South Korea continue to dominate the markets in unprecedented rates. The growing influence of these multinationals and their role in the global economy is an interesting phenomenon that warrants some keen interest.

History of Botswana Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

History of Botswana - Essay Example There was a high expectation that the northern region of what was to become the Republic of Botswana was under the British colonies that was protecting it. They were located in the north of the Molopo River and their intention was to merge the protectorate with the south of the region. The southern part of that region was under the colony of Cape. The British controlled the area called Bechuanaland after a request to put it under its protection was influenced by the then tribal leader, Khama III. Khama traveled to the United Kingdom to request the British to put their land under the protection of the crown so that it was not disturbed by their hostile neighbors. To but their land under their protectorate, the colonial secretary requested that it allows the British to construct railway line across their land that later came to be an economic opportunity to their land as it had opened them up to trade. In the early twentieth century, particularly 1910, the Cape politicians wanted to jo in the Bechuanaland and this was influenced by the Union of South Africa, but it would later become a challenge to join the state. Before the Cape politicians could join the Bechuanaland, there was to be a signed agreement between the rulers of Bechuanaland and the British. The grandson of Khama III by the name of Seretse Khama went to the United Kingdom to study at the Oxford University. At that time, their neighbors, South Africa, had introduced apartheid laws that restricted the intermarriage and other fundamental rights between different races.

Environmental Law Problem Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6500 words

Environmental Law Problem - Research Paper Example On the first question raised by the plaintiffs, whether navigable waters of the United States include only naturally occurring bodies of water, so that man made improvements to rivers are not considered navigable water, this court denies certiorari, therefore the opinion of the ninth circuit court of appeals, rendered on October 11, 2011, stands. Facts of the Case The County of Los Angeles (hereinafter â€Å"The District†) operates a series of MS4s. An explanation of MS4s is as follows. The cities that comprise the County of Los Angeles all operate a series of storm drains which catches the runoff from rainwater. This is distinguishable from a drain which catches sewer water for treatment at a sewage treatment plant. In this case, what is captured is untreated storm water. That said, this untreated stormwater typically also has a variety of pollutants, such as heavy metals, bacteria, and the like. Also, trash also gets washed into these MS4s. Moreover, the individual MS4s are interconnected. This is because all the municipalities in the Los Angeles County system are able to connect to a centralized system run by the District, which is their flood control and storm-sewer infrastructure. This is comprised of some 2,800 miles of storm drains and some 500 miles of open channels. This stormwater is collected and is channeled into various waterways, including the waterways which are the subject of this litigation – the Los Angeles River, the Santa Clara River, the San Gabriel River and the Malibu Creek. The river waters, in turn, channel into the Pacific Ocean by way of the Santa Monica Bay, the Los Angeles Harbor and the Long Beach Harbor. Statement of the Case The procedural history for this case is as follows. In December 2001, the California Regional Water Quality Control Board for the region of Los Angeles, issued a NPDES Permit to 84 cities, in an effort to regulate stormwater and urban runoff discharges. This permit recognized that there could be extraneous sources for the pollutants in waters, and that these extraneous sources would be sources over which the Permittees had no jurisdiction. Each of the permittees were responsible only for its own discharge. The Permit also had monitoring and reporting programs. On March 3, 2008, the respondents, Natural Resources Defense Council and Santa Monica Baykeeper filed a complaint against the City of Los Angeles and others, on the basis that the water quality standards has exceedances of pollutants, which would constitute a violation of the Permit standards. Part of the Respondents argument was that the District was responsible for pollutant exceedances because the monitoring stations were within the channelized portions of the rivers operated by the District as a part of its flood control system, therefore the District was responsible for any exceedances measured there. This argument was rejected by the District Court, who stated that, due to the decision in South Florida Water Ma nagement District v. Miccosukee Tribe of Indians, 541 U.S. 95, 105 (2004), that a discharge does not result from moving waters from one portion of a body of water to another. The District Court went on to state that, because of the decision rendered in South Florida, a discharge can only be from a point source. Since the District was not discharging pollutants from a point sourc

Production chain in the car indusry and CSR Essay

Production chain in the car indusry and CSR - Essay Example On the other hand, corporate social pesponsibility is the act of a company or an organization to ensure that its activities work in a way that it benefits the society in which it surrounds. The company should also ensure that employees and customers' needs are well gathered for and as a result lead to proper relationship amongst the parties involved thus leading to a sustainable developmnent owing to the fact that each and every member of the society will be feeling considered and hence contribute to the success of the organization in whichever way possible (Bloom and Gundlach, 2001; Darren et al, 2009; Fernanda, 2006). Since production chain should be taken as a single service delivery aimed at achieving a common goal, it should always be appropriate that all the interelated components are brought together, for instance, as a result of variation in characteristics involved in making different types of cars such as speed, capacity and modes of operation which in a way may varry according to the various operations the car undertakes(IB chamber, 2002). For instance, a heavy commercial vehicle will definitely be made in a way that it will not speed beyond a certain limit being exceeded by a small car. As a unifying factor, it is important that over time, the designing and development of processes be improved. This requires making further improvements on the existing car models. This should be done to ensure that the firm or the company maintains its customers and furthemore coming up with what the competitors in the market cannot attain. In essence, production in car industry normally requires that al l the departments in an organization are involved. for instance, the purchasing department will be responsible for the acquisition of raw materials to be used in the actual making of the car, the manufacturing department will ensure that the actual car is made to work, the human resource department will make sure that the labour force is hired and its employees rights and welfare is taken into consideration, finance department is responsible for making the necessary payments to staff and further ensuring that all transactions made by the car production industry are well accounted for, sales department is accontable for all the sales, that is; making sure that the organization is able to achieve the targets as per the needs of the organization and finally the marketing department core responsibility is to ensure sustained competetiveness of the industry by making sure it sources for more markets for the products coming up from the car production industry. Taking all the departments i nto account, it is appropriate to employ good corporate social responsibility as this will ensure that proper morals and code of conduct are put in place and thus ensuring that no

History 1311 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

History 1311 - Essay Example The French later came to the new world with the intention of tracing a new route to the pacific ocean but instead ended up colonizing territories such as Quebec where they planted a variety of crops such as wheat and sugar for the home market. However, other European nations most notably England also put a stake in the new world. Their interest, like the Spanish was also both economic and political but the settlers had a more comprehensive list of reasons for exploration. Many of them were escaping the collapsing feudal system that had resulted in rural-urban migration and consequently abject poverty. Others were escaping political instability and hoping to make a fresh start in the colonies. The British throne used the new world a place to dump their unwanted populations; it was common for criminals to be exiled to the new lands. However, with time as the mercantile culture spread in the British lord realized how important the new land could be as a colony where they could grow food for export back home and to their increasing territories around the world. They encouraged settlements and after a time they took over, eventually colonized, and occupied America until they were finally driven out in the 18th century when American seized her independence. In 1787, Delegates met in Philadelphia to write a new constitution, which was to replace the articles of the confederation; the delegates wanted to create a constitution that would provide both liberty and order for the chaotic government given the size and diversity of the United States. The new constitution was written with the objective of forging a strong union between the various states as well as create a structure of power that could be checked by the people. Their experience with the British government had taught them of the dangers or a tyrannical government and they ensured to put up checks and balances so that the executive, legislature and

Cda Competency Goal Essay Example for Free

Cda Competency Goal Essay To establish and maintain a safe, healthy learning environment. Safe- My goal is to provide a clean healthy environment that meets each Childs physical need. Making sure the class room and playground are clean and safe at all times make sure all my outlets have outlet covers so the children cant access them also make sure inside as well as outside there are no objects that the children can choke on or can ham them self such as sharp objects or small objects. Infants To make sure my classroom is clean and sanitary by cleaning and making sure the floors are clean and free of clutter and washing all toys with a bleach water solution, especially toys children put in their mouth . Also by making sure they don’t have anything in their mouth. Washing hands before and after every meal and diaper change is also very important for the health of the children. Toddlers I make sure that in my toddler class is safe as toddlers touch and explore everything they see by touching and putting in their mouth have to make sure that every night and every morning I check all their surroundings. If any toys are damaged I remove them immediately to avoid and hazards. Healthy- My goal is to promote healthy habits. Infants Keeping infants healthy by promoting good habits such as had washing of both the care giver and the infant threw out the day, after diaper changes and after meals. Also by sanitizing the changing table after each diaper change. Cleaning and sanitizing play areas daily. Mouthed toys are immediately removed from the play area and sanitized at the end of the day. I can help balance the infants sleeping habits, eating habits and their activities in a way that can fit the group’s needs a well as well as their needs individually. Toddlers Promoting healthy habits such as hand washing and eating habits. By washing toddlers wash their hands and having planed meals that encourage the toddler to try new foods also read books and play games that show and teach healthy habits. Learning Environment-

Review of downsizing and its impact on employees

Review of downsizing and its impact on employees This chapter provides a review of downsizing and its impacts on employees. The main objective of this chapter is to provide readers with a picture of the theories applied in such studies. Furthermore, empirical studies specifically associated with the downsizing context and theories applied in this study will be examined too. Finally, the aim of this literature review is to find the research gaps in previous studies and how this study will close these gaps. There are eight main sections depicted in this chapter. First, a general review pertaining to downsizing will be discussed. This section mainly deals with the issues of organizational downsizing strategies, the expected and actual economic impacts of downsizing and the empirical studies which have explored the impacts of organizational downsizing on surviving employees (managers and non-managers). The second section deals with one of the main theories applied in this research which is the stress and coping model by Lazarus and Folkman (1984). Third, six models of turnover and retention will be explored in this chapter. Two models of employee turnover and retention which are Lee and Mitchells (1994) the unfolding model of turnover and Mitchell et al.s (2001) job embeddedness model are two of the main theories applied in this research. Subsequently, empirical studies which employed these two models will be discussed. Then, few empirical studies associated with turnover intention and voluntary turnover specifically in downsizing context will be discussed. The seventh section of this chapter deals with two work-related stressors, namely job insecurity and role overload experienced by survivors following an organizational downsizing and their influences on turnover intention. Finally, the conclusion of this chapter deals with the research gaps identified from the literature review and how this research will close these gaps. 2.1 DOWNSIZINg A large amount of the research on organizational downsizing that has emerged over the past 25 years has entered on two main research questions as identified by Datta et al. (2010). They were (1) What precipitates employee downsizing? and (2) What are the effects of downsizing from the standpoint of individual attitudes/behavior and organizational performance? (Datta et al., 2010). The main focus of this section is the effects of downsizing on individual employees attitudes and behaviors. First of all, the downsizing strategies employed by organizations will be examined. The second section will briefly summarize the anticipated and actual economic impacts on downsized organizations. Finally, empirical studies pertaining to the impacts of organizational downsizing on surviving employees (managers and non-managers) will be discussed. 2.1.1 Downsizing Strategies Three forms of downsizing implementation strategies have been identified: workforce reduction, organization redesign, and systemic strategy (Gandolfi, 2008). The workforce reduction strategy focused on headcount reduction and employed tactics such as layoffs, retrenchments, early retirements, natural attrition, hiring freeze, buy-out packages, transfers, and out-placement. Second, work redesign strategy concentrated on reducing work itself instead of cutting the number of employees. It included tactics such as phasing out functions, hierarchical levels, departments or divisions, redesigning tasks and consolidating units. Third, the systemic strategy emphasized on the organizational culture and the attitudes and values of its employees. Previous studies have shown that most organizations practiced workforce reduction strategies to downsized company (Gandolfi, 2005), while layoffs were the most common way to downsize (Mishra Mishra, 1994). 2.1.2 The Expected and Actual Economic Consequences of Downsizing Organizations adopted downsizing for a number of reasons, the most common reason was to improve efficiency, effectiveness and the productivity in the organizations (Cascio, 1993; Kets de Vries Balazs, 1997; Mone, 1994; Savery Luks, 2000). While efficiency concerned an organizations ability to do things better, effectiveness entailed an organizations ability to do the right things in order to survive (Budros, 1999). Beneficial consequences in terms of cost savings considerations were among the expected outcomes of organizations downsized (Cascio, Young, Morris, 1997). De Meuse, Venderheiden and Bergmann (1994) mentioned that organizations reduced employment costs by cutting employees who were not performing well. According to Cascio (1993) and Kets de Vries and Balazs (1997), expected economic benefits included lower expense ratios, increased return of investment, higher profits and stock prices. Another economic benefit resulted from organizations was being able to increase value for their shareholders (Cascio, 1993; Cascio et al., 1997; De Meuse et al., 1994). Additionally, other benefits as a result from downsizing included lower overhead, smoother communication, increased entrepreneurship, and heightened productivity (Cascio, 1993; Kets de Vries Balazs, 1997). In addition, Mone (1994) suggested that benefits may also be realized in the forms of lower average salaries for the less senior surviving work force, fewer management layer and flatter organizational structures. Finally, downsizing helped organizations to remain competitive in the increasingly global marketplace (Ugboro, 2006). As per Cascio et al. (1997) downsized organizations should be able to lower their labor cost, and as a result in increased earnings or to control product prices to improve competitiveness. As such, organizations have been urged to become lean and mean through downsizing activities, by took into account costs and other competitive consideration on national and international level (Appelbaum, Simpson, Shapiro, 1987, p. 68). Irrespective of the intended benefits as mentioned above, the general consequences of the economic impact of downsizing were negative (Budros, 1999; De Meuse et al., 1994; Gandolfi, 2008). Although a few organizations have reported increased financial performance; however, majority of the downsized organizations have reported decreased levels of efficiency, effectiveness, productivity and profitability (Gandolfi, 2008). Even though downsizing is used as a cost reduction strategy by organizations, there was evidence that downsizing does not decreased costs as desired. On the contrary, costs may actually increase in some cases (McKinley, Sanchez, Schick, 1995). A number of hard-to-quantify costs were listed, including costs of quality as a result of increased rework, scrap, inspection and overtime costs for surviving employees whose workload increased and forgone new business opportunities as they did not have the resources to take on the new work (Mabert Schemenner, 1997). Mirvis (1 997) cited that over one third of the downsizing organizations that were surveyed reported that unexpected increased in number of temporary workers and consultants and the need for surviving employees to work overtime and to be retrained. Moreover, Bruton, Keels, and Shook (1996) reported that the stock price for downsized organizations decreased after two years of downsizing. In a recent study by Yu and Park (2006) which analyzed financial data of 258 listed Korean firms between 1997 and 2002, downsizing organizations suffered more financial difficulties than organizations that did not downsized. Downsizing resulted in an increase in the organizations profits and efficiency but no effects on employee productivity. Furthermore, there was some evidence to suggest that those organizations which had downsized reported lower measures of profitability than those did not (Carswell, 2005; Mentzer, 1996). Empirical studies also found that downsizing had a negative impact on corporate reputation (Love Kraatz, 2009; Zyglidopoulos, 2005). Gandolfi (2008) contend the following statements in review of available studies: Most firms adopted downsizing strategies did not reap economic and organizational benefits; Non-downsized firms financially outperformed downsized forms in the short-, medium- and long-run (Macky, 2004; Morris, Cascio, Young., 1999); While some firms had shown positive financial outcomes, there was no empirical evidence to suggest a correlation between downsizing and improved financial performance (Macky, 2004; Morris et al., 1999); Some firms have reported positive financial indicators in the short term, yet the long-term financial consequences of downsizing have been shown to be consistently negative. 2.1.3 Impacts of Downsizing on Surviving Employees This section will examine the impacts of organizational downsizing on two categories of employees, namely managers and non-managers. 2.1.3.1 Impacts on Surviving managers A number of studies were conducted to identify the impacts of downsizing on managers (e.g. Dopson, Risk, Stewart, 1992; Thomas Dunkerley, 1999; Thomas Linstead, 2002). The literature below will review empirical studies concerning impacts on surviving managers as consequences of organizational downsizing. Foremost, three main aspects were identified which are longer working hour and intensified work regimes, wider roles and responsibilities, and managerial career. Subsequently, surviving managers attitudes toward organizational downsizing will be explored too. Longer Working Hours and Intensified Work Regimes Thomas and Dunkerley (1999) conducted a study to examine the UK middle managers experiences of downsizing and to discover how these experiences influenced their roles and nature of middle management. Data collection was divided into two phases. Phase one comprised of a 50 case-study organizations, involving interviews with key managers (senior line and HR) and middle managers. While phase two involved in-depth analysis of up to ten interviews with middle managers in ten organizations drawn from the original cohort. A wide range of organizations were involved in the study, included oil, brewing, insurance, local authorities, health service, military, civil service agencies, manufacturing, engineering, music industry, retail and distribution from both private and public sectors. Managers interviewed reported longer working hours and intensified work regimes. They experienced a significant increased in the number of hours worked, including at work and at home during evenings and on the weekends. However, majority of the managers pointed that this long hour worked was through their choice and necessity to get the job done rather than through presenteeism or fear of job loss (Thomas Dunkerly, 1999, p. 162). Similar findings were presented by Thomas and Linstead (2002) based on a wider study in the UK of approximately 150 middle managers in 50 organizations that had undergone major organizational restructuring. A wide range of private and public sector organizations included oil, brewing, insurance, manufacturing, local authorities, health, armed forces, engineering, logistics, mineral extraction and privatized utilities were involved in the study. A qualitative, inductive and multi-methods approach had been adopted and specifically involved case studies that focused on an individual middle managers subjective experiences. Likewise, problems of worked longer hours and unpaid overtime were reported by McCann et al. (2004) in a comparison study between Japanese and Anglo-American management systems based on interviews with senior or HR managers and middle managers in 30 large organizations. Both private and public sectors organizations comprised the sample and included steel manufacturing, heavy mechanical engineering, brewing, automotive, electronics, financial services, retail, healthcare, local government and central government. Zemke (1990) also reported that middle managers worked more hours than before downsizing took place. A variety of reasons were being identified which contributed to the intensification of work faced by middle managers. They included wider roles and responsibilities, flatter structures, reduced in number of middle managers, presenteeism through fear and job insecurity, pressure from peer to perform, performance cultures with increased individual accountability and the necessity to keep pace with constant change. (McCann et al., 2004; Thomas Dunkerley, 1999; Thomas Linstead, 2002). Wider Roles and Responsibilities Dopson et al. (1992) conducted a small-scale study to look into the changes affected middle managers and their reactions to these changes in both public and private sectors. Two phrases of data collection were conducted. In the first phase, eight general case studies were conducted by interviewing a senior manager (training manager) and on average six middle managers in each case. The second phase of the research comprised of interviews with twenty middle managers in each of four case studies (a computer company, a car manufacturing company, a new public agency, and an autospares company), two to three senior managers, the personnel and training manager(s), and in the public-sector case the trade union representatives. The interviews results indicated that middle management jobs became more general, with greater responsibilities and a wider range of tasks. These findings were supported by the studies of McCann et al. (2004), Thomas and Dunkerley (1999), and Thomas and Linstead (2002) . The removal of layers of middle management had resulted in an increasing span of control was a common feature of most middle management jobs in studies conducted (e.g., Dopson et al., 1992; Thomas Dunkerley, 1999; Zemke, 1990). Generally, middle managers were responsible for a wider mix and a greater number of subordinates than before (Dopson et al., 1992). On top of that, middle managers experienced significant increased of workload (Dopson et al., 1992; McCann et al., 2004; Thomas Dunkerley, 1999; Thomas Linstead, 2002). Middle managers had a greater responsibility for a wider range of duties for which they were now clearly more accountable (Dopson et al., 1992). Their roles ranged from technical and professional trends to more generic management, with tasks such managing, financing, budgeting and forecasting (Thomas Dunkerley, 1999). They needed to be more flexible (McCann et al., 2004), and obtained more generalist skills such as financial knowledge, ability to manage staff o f different backgrounds and a greater marketing and strategic orientation (Dopson et al., 1992). While McCann et al. (2004) found that middle managers were doing less managing of staff and more short-term, task focused co-operative group work. They were more likely to be managing subordinates in groups and tasks in a flattened hierarchy. Their job titles often bore little resemblance to their actual work tasks. Besides that, middle managers faced pressure from below due to the increased spans of control, constraint of resources and increased customer accountability. Furthermore, pressures were faced from above to perform a range of targets and performance indicators (Dopson et al., 1992; McCann et al., 2004; Thomas Dunkerley, 1999). Newell and Dopson (1996) in their attempt to investigate the impact of restructuring on middle management job and careers discovered that middle managers had to meet more stringent budgetary and quality targets as a result from interviews with 20 middle managers in telecommunication industry. The shift from physical commodities to information implied a shift from hierarchies of specialization to flexible networks of creativity and information sharing (McCann et al., 2004). Middle managers had less opportunity to fall back that their judgments was hampered by a lack of information due to the advancement of information and communication technology (Dopson et al., 1992). A number of middle managers commented on their needs to work in a variety of relationships, with manager and staff in organizations overseas, as well as spending time on oversea visits (Dopson et al., 1992). As consequences discussed above, stress-related problems and illnesses, role overload, tensions with home-life and impoverished life-styles were reported as a result from the long hours worked and increased roles and responsibilities (Thomas Dunkerley, 1999). Managerial Careers after Organizational Downsizing In terms of managerial career, both negative and positive views will be depicted as below. Individual middle manager retained responsibility for his/her own career (Newell Dopson, 1996). The trend towards individual accountability and individual contracts was noticed. Career advancement opportunities were declined due to the wide gaps between levels in the hierarchy and wider spans of control (Thomas Dunkerley, 1999). There were concerns about future career paths as the management hierarchy has been reduced (Dopson et al., 1992). Likewise, career opportunities were thought to have significantly decreased and there were no clear paths for middle managers (Newell Dopson, 1996). Some potential career paths were identified, such as the notion of filling dead mens shoes or promotion by the back door, that was being promoted because your face fitted, or you were good mates with the senior manager (Newell Dopson, 1996, p. 15). Majority of the managers commented on a lack of information provided by the organization about their role and future in the organization and about their feelings of lack of control after changes took place (Newell Dopson, 1996; Thomas Linstead, 2002). Some managers felt more insecure feelings on further changes and complained that the refocusing of tasks made them to lose certain enjoyable aspects of job (Dopson et al., 1992). They faced problems adapting to changes, especially when the changes were unexpected and the employees were not fully consulted about those changes (Dopson et al., 1992). Some middle managers felt that they are stuck in a situation which was continually demanding in terms; however, without the support of proper training and development (Newell and Dopson, 1996, p. 18). Likewise, middle managers felt that they were losing the plot in their organization with increased feelings of insecurity and uncertainty (Thomas Linstead, 2002, p. 88). Middle managers had a great sense of vulnerability that middle managers are an easy target (Thomas Linstead, 2002, p. 85). In contradiction, some middle managers reported positive experiences from downsizing (Thomas Dunkerley, 1999). A number of the middle managers felt a reduction in the frustration of their job (Dopson et al., 1992). Some reasons were identified to address such claim. First, the shorter hierarchy in the organizations meant that the middle managers were closer to top management and the strategic and policy arena (Dopson et al., 1992). They claimed to have greater control over their working lives and resources that they need, greater power of decision making, problem-solving, more innovative and strategic input (Dopson et al., 1992; Thomas Dunkerley, 1999). Thus, middle managers had more entrepreneurial roles. Many middle managers commented on feelings of job fulfillment and enrichment. Some surviving middle managers perceived increased career opportunities as some beneficial retirement packages had freed up the senior end of middle management. As a consequence, the profile of middle m anagement was getting younger (Thomas Dunkerley, 1999). Furthermore, the reduction in promotion opportunities were may be offset in part by the introduction of more performance-related pay (Dopson et al., 1992). Ebadan and Winstanley (1997) conducted a study which focused on getting the managers views of changes occurred and their perceptions of how the new career paths could be and should be forged. As a result, 42 respondents identified worse career prospects. However, despite the overall perception of worsening career prospects, the managers generally felt that their career prospects were better in the reorganized organizations than elsewhere. Work Attitudes of Surviving Managers Levitt et al., (2008) carried out a study to investigate the effects of downsizing on the survivors of layoffs in a large insurance organization. In-depth interviews with four middle managers were conducted to determine surviving middle managers attitudes pertaining to downsizing. Middle managers reported negative feelings of apathy, fear, distrust and anger toward the organization. Middle managers reported no loyalty or commitment to organization anymore. They no longer felt obligated to perform above and beyond the call of duty and no longer do so. These characteristics were consistent with the term as survivor syndrome (Devine et al., 2003, p.110). Similarly, in an attempt to know more about how middle managers responded to the demands of downsizing, ONeill and Lenn (1995, p. 25) found that surviving middle managers were anger, anxiety, cynicism, resentment, resignation, desire for retribution and hope. Middle managers reported high level of stress after downsizing. The type of stress was no longer isolated to the workloads; though, the increasingly feelings of job insecurity. They also indicated they felt stress relative to the constant organizational changes (Levitt et al., 2008). The study conducted by Luthans and Sommer (1999) found that managers reported lower level of organizational commitment, lower job satisfaction and workgroup trust following an organizational downsizing. Middle managers had lower morale and long-term commitment to organization due to the lack of resources and rewards and the constant pressure to reduce costs (Thomas Dunkerley, 1999). Correspondingly, majority of the respondents in the study by Ebadan and Winstanley (1997) indicated that they would have lower morale and motivation due to a possible decreased in promotion opportunities. The lower levels of commitment and trust of middle managers were resulted from the aspect of freedom to make decision. Fr eedom for middle managers to make strategic decisions had not always increased along with the growing of variety and creativity of middle management tasks (McCann et al., 2004). On the other hand, in the study by Thomas and Dunkerley (1999), middle managers reported higher job satisfaction level from increased empowerment over their work roles. Ugboro (2006) carried out a study to determine the relationship between job redesign, employee empowerment and intent to quit measured by affective organizational commitment among survivors of organizational restructuring and downsizing. The respondents of this study comprised of both middle managers and employees in supervisory positions. A total of 438 useable questionnaires have been used for data analysis purpose. The results showed significant positive relationships between job redesign, empowerment and affective commitment. The study showed that both job redesign and employee empowerment that enhanced survivors sense of impact and job meaningfulness could facilitate survivors affective commitment and reduced their turnover intention. In spite of the middle managers attitudes as mentioned above, Allen et al., (2001) revealed that the middle mangers attitudes changed over time after downsizing. The data was collected through surveyed 106 managers experienced a downsizing regarding organizational commitment, turnover intentions, job involvement, role clarity, role overload, satisfaction with top management and satisfaction with job security. The results generally indicated that downsizing had a significant impact on work attitudes, the impact varied over time and that the initial impact was generally negative. The findings indicated that the most negative impact on attitudes occurred during the immediate post-downsizing period (Allen et al., 2001). A later study by Levitt et al. (2008) opposed to the previous findings by Allen et al. (2001). Middle managers reported transitional changes in their feelings over time; however, these changes or transitions were predominantly from positive to negative. They reported posi tive feelings initially that changed to negative feelings and these negative feelings continued to grow overtime (Levitt et al., 2008). 2.1.3.2 Impacts on Surviving Non-managers In 1994, Mone conducted a study to examine how individual-level factors (self-efficacy, self-esteem, personal goals, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment) affected workers decision concerning turnover intention to leave the downsizing organization. A total of 145 employees at a U.S. manufacturing firm that experienced downsizing in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s were the respondents of the study. The findings suggested that self-efficacy was positively related to turnover intention. Furthermore, task self-esteem, but not role and global self-esteem had a negative impact on turnover intention. A 3-year longitudinal panel study was conducted by Armstrong-Stassen (2002) to compare the impacts on employees who had been declared redundant (N=49) in the initial downsizing stage, but who remained in the organization, and employees who had not been designated redundant (N=118). Data was collected in time T1 (early 1996), T2 (6 months later), T3 (1997), and T4 (1999). Employees designated redundant reported significantly higher level of job satisfaction at T4 compared with other three periods. While at T1, they reported lower job satisfaction than those declared nonredundant, but by T4 they reported higher level of job satisfaction than employees designated nonredundant. Additionally, both group of employees reported significant increase in job security between T1/T2 and T3 and also between T3 and T4. Devine et al. (2003) conducted a study to compare the outcomes experienced by both victims and survivors involved in a major downsizing program. The final sample consisted of 608 responses (435 continuing employees, and 173 displaced, re-employed employees). The findings suggested that employees who continued to work in the downsized environment reported higher stress level than those individuals who had been displaced. Additionally, the displaced employees reported they had more job control, or autonomy than continuing employees. Furthermore, the moderating effect of perceived job control on the relationship between the environmental stressors (downsizing) and perceived employee stress was found, indicating that high perceptions of control lowered feeling of stress, and vice versa. Finally, displaced employees reported significantly higher level of job satisfaction, overall physical health and quality of life perceptions, and lower level of absenteeism and licit drug use than contin uing employees. Summary In a nutshell from the review of downsizing research, it revealed that most of the studies pertaining to surviving managers especially middle managers have been in the form of qualitative method in which they explore the work-related stressors experienced by surviving managers and their attitudes. Furthermore, the direct relationship between work-related stressors (role overload and job insecurity) and turnover intention has been underresearched in the context of downsizing.