Friday, November 29, 2019

Starbucks Ethical Dilemma free essay sample

Starbucks, one of the most well-known coffee shops in the world has experienced dramatic growth since the first store opened in 1971. After rising to dominance in its market Starbucks currently operates in 61 different countries with just under 17,000 stores worldwide. Recently the management team have been under severe scrutiny as the organisation has been accused of avoiding tax. An investigation conducted by Reuters discovered the company had paid only ? 8. 6 million in corporation tax since launching in the UK 14 years ago, even though cumulative sales of ? billion have been achieved. Despite the contrary the Starbucks PR team have fought back stating that they paid the correct level of taxes in the UK. (Neville and Malik 2012) An Ethical Dilemma in a Business Context Crane and Matten (2010) state business ethics is the study of business situations, activities, and decisions where issues of right and wrong are addressed. Considering this definition of business ethics it can be co ncluded that the Starbuck’s management team have found themselves in an ethical dilemma in a business context. We will write a custom essay sample on Starbucks Ethical Dilemma or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page As reported by Neville and Malik (2012) Margaret Hodge chair of the Parliamentary Committee stated that she thought it was right for customers to boycott the companies that had been avoiding tax payments. Furthermore when addressing the Chief Financial Officer of Starbucks over the matter she said ‘We’re not accusing you of being illegal, we’re accusing you of being immoral. ‘ Morality is concerned with the norms, values and beliefs embedded in the social processes which define right and wrong for an individual or a community as defined by Crane and Matten (2010) Coupling the morality definition and the statement from Margaret Hodge accusing the Chief Financial Officer of being immoral it can be argued that for businesses operating in the UK it is wrong and unacceptable not to pay the necessary taxes. Thomas Jones (1991) pioneered the idea of moral intensity and proposed it as way of expanding ethical decision-making models in relation to the importance of the issue, and the method decision-makers utilise when faced with ethical dilemmas. Considering the six factors that influence the intensity of a moral issue it could be seen that the moral intensity is high in this dilemma. The direct action group UK Uncut are extremely dissatisfied with the tax avoidance as funding for refuges and rape crisis centres faced cuts unless companies paid their fair share of tax. Sarah Greene an activist stated they plan to boycott Starbucks in the near future. HMRC estimated around ? 32 billion was lost in tax avoidance last year alone. (Neville and Malik 2012) As reported by Ebrahimmi (2012) Margaret Hodge stated that tax avoidance is unfair on hard working honest UK tax payers resulting in overseas companies gaining an unfair competitive advantage over UK companies; this then has a negative impact on the UK’s economic growth. Starbucks’ Chief Financial Office admitted that he had a secret signed deal with the Netherlands government where the Starbucks European headquarters is located. Solutions The Starbucks’ CEO has to compile a solution to the dilemma that will minimise the effect on the brand, and ensure that customers that were once loyal to the brand don’t vote with their feet and transfer to a competitor. A principle that must be followed is that ultimately the customer is always right. Analysing the information available it could be argued that the decision makers within Starbucks have acted in an indefensible manner. This is therefore crucial when deciding on a solution. The Stakeholder view established by Freeman (1984) concludes that corporations should serve a variety of stakeholders. Whereas the Shareholder view established by Friedman (1970) concludes that managers should maximise profit. Considering these two views it can be concluded that the Starbucks’ management have been operating under the Shareholder philosophy. Furthermore to this point it could be stated that the theory Egoism is relevant as Starbucks’ decision-making team have committed to activities that better the business and haven’t considered the consequences. Crane and Matten (2010) state an action is morally right if the decision-maker freely decides to pursue either their desires or interests following the egoism theory. Businesses should act ethically and be seen from a customer perspective to be acting in an ethical manner. Components of business ethics management are elements such as mission statements and codes of ethics. Throughout current business activities Starbucks’ management team have not followed their mission statement with regards to their coffee as it states: ‘It has always been, and will always be, about quality. We’re passionate about ethically sourcing the finest coffee beans, roasting them with great care, and improving the lives of people who grow them. We care deeply about all of this; our work is never done. ’ (http://starbucks. co. uk/about-us/company-information/mission-statement) Considering of all the above characteristics of the dilemma I think it is essential for the Starbucks’ management team to choose a solution which will recover the brand name. Shrivastava and Simokos (1989) established four basic responses that companies can take in a crisis; a super effort, voluntary compliance, forced regulatory compliance and denial as demonstrated in the diagram below. (Vassilikopoulou, Siomkos, Chatzipanagiotou, and Pantouvakis 2009) Analysing each of the actions I believe that the most beneficial option for the brand is a ‘super effort’. Shrivastava and Simokos (1989) state that this action can lead to a speedy recovery of lost business. The Chief Financial Officer could therefore discuss and negotiate with the National Treasury and try and reach an agreement with regards to the potential amount of tax that has been avoided. The decision to pay back tax has been reached as the CEO has been forced and pressured into it. The CEO therefore needs to show the brands credentials and true business ethos, and prove that elements such as the mission statement aren’t just hollow empty words. This could be done by investing in improving working conditions and the infrastructure in the less developed countries that provide the corporation with coffee beans. The investment could be calculated on a ratio basis: for every five million that is paid back in tax one million is invested into developing areas less privileged. This campaign will recover the brand name. The Starbucks’ management team will then have to develop a communication plan that identifies the key stakeholders, their information needs and how these can be filled. (Shrivastava and Simokos 1989) Time is also a crucial factor before implementing the chosen solution as Standrop (2006) identified that the more time that elapses between the crisis occurring and the companies action the harder it is for company customer trust again.

Monday, November 25, 2019

How do Thomas Hardy and F Scott Fitzgerald present the issue of womens choices in The Melancholy Hussar and The Ice Palace Essay Example

How do Thomas Hardy and F Scott Fitzgerald present the issue of womens choices in The Melancholy Hussar and The Ice Palace Essay Example How do Thomas Hardy and F Scott Fitzgerald present the issue of womens choices in The Melancholy Hussar and The Ice Palace Paper How do Thomas Hardy and F Scott Fitzgerald present the issue of womens choices in The Melancholy Hussar and The Ice Palace Paper Essay Topic: Literature Short Stories of F Scott Fitzgerald The two short stories, which are going to be considered, were set over a hundred years apart. Both stories concern the subject of womens choices and were written by men. The Melancholy Hussar written by Thomas Hardy was set in the first years of the nineteenth century although it was written around 1875. The main character in this story is Phyllis who lives with her father on the South Coast of England. Parallel to this is the short story of The Ice Palace written by F.Scott Fitzgerald. This was written in 1919 about contemporary times. The Ice Palace is set in the Southern states of North America which is a totally different continent to that of The Melancholy Hussar. This helps to demonstrate the different social groups and influences. The first short story, by Thomas Hardy, is about a young girl named Phyllis. Phyllis lives with her father on the South Coast and is not very social and is restricted due to her relationship with her father. Phylliss father is not the sociable type and prefers to keep himself away, because of this he feels Phyllis should act in the same way. beyond the seclusion of the girl lay the seclusion of the father The Melancholy Hussar is set along the South coast. Thomas Hardy presents a quiet village in his introduction to the story. He explains the atmosphere first and a field is being described. The scenery is described as sombre and lifeless until the meaning of the scenery is introduced as symbolic. The scenery relates back to ninety years ago when the Kings German Legion slept there in tents. The main subject of the story is about Phyllis meeting a soldier and seeing him regularly. A good relationship was built up while Humphrey Gould, Phyllis fiance, is away. The story concerns love and when all the soldiers visit Phyllis is interested. She finds a soldier and begins talking to him. They meet every night at the same time until her father tries to send her to her aunts house. After a while Mattheus Tina, the German Hussar decides to run away as he does not like England. He wants to take Phyllis with him. you go with mebe my wife there Phyllis main decision is when she decides to join him. Phyllis sees that running away with Matthaus is a way of escaping her dull life. Daringly she risks her life and decides to change everything. Phyllis would not be able to return to her current life if she ran away as her father would be disgusted and embarrassed. Everything is planned and the night eventually arrives when Phyllis is just about to run over to Matthaus and a coach pulls up. It happens to be Humphrey and he talks about a present he is going to give to her for treating her badly. At this point Phyllis reverses her decision and decides to stay. Phyllis thinks to her self that she should stay and suffer for the rest of her life. She would stay at homemarry him, and suffer It is terrible to think that a woman would rather lead a suffering life for security than to run away to be with whom she wanted. Society as a whole was cruel to women and they did not have the status which women have today. Men were of a higher class than women and women had to be married to be respected. This was not always the case but in The Melancholy Hussar Phyllis is happy to be engaged so she can be accepted in the village. In a way Phyllis made the correct decision because that night her lover, Matthaus Tina, and his friend, Christoph Bless, are caught and are killed. Phyllis watches their killing for desertion and sinks down into her garden. Phyllis does not have a happy life, and although Humphrey has bought her a present he asks her to break off their engagement as he has already met somebody else. Phyllis does this as if a man breaks off an engagement it is considered rude and impolite. The Ice Palace however is a story on the same subject, womens choices, as the Melancholy Hussar and is about a young girl called Sally Carrol who is around the age of nineteen. The language style written by F.Scott Fitzgerald introduces this character after setting the scenery of a languid town. The sunlight dripped over the house like golden paint Each sentence is stringed together by words suggesting quietness and laziness and the description and F.Scott Fitzgerald sets the scene perfectly for a nice romantic story. Sally Carrol is middle class and lives in a family house, she is painting when first introduced, painting for her sister and when she kicks over a paint jar leaves it lying on the floor while preparing to go swimming with her best friends. kicked over the painting waterbut let it lay From the quotation above Sally Carrol is suggesting that she has a maid to tidy the house. From the general language style the South is portrayed a family orientated and the houses named after the families show this. The Butterworth, Larkin and Happer houses are the three mentioned and only the Happer house, of which Sally Carrol lives, is in view of the sun. The way in which Fitzgerald has written the story makes it easy reading and concentration is not needed as there are long flowing sentences to help the description nicely and also the main character, Sally Carrol, is convincing. She is portrayed as down to earth and human by the way in which she acts when around her friends. It is clear to see from the choices that Sally Carrol has to make that she is from a middle class setting from the 1920s. When Fitzgerald describes the North, he uses harsher language and short, sharper sentences. The flow of language is faster and more intense. F.Scott Fitzgerald uses the sentences and the language to create the atmosphere and pace of the story. The first sentence of the second part of the story introduces Harry Bellamy. Harry Bellamy, tall, broad and brisk From the quotation above it shows that short and sharper words can create pace and a new atmosphere. Whenever Harry Bellamy, Sally Carrols fiance, is spoken about, the short and quick pace is brought back to the writing and it is easy to distinguish that Harry Bellamy is not from the laid back Southern Georgia like Sally Carrol. Sally Carrol wants to go to places and to meet people and to do this she has made the decision that she is going to go to the North and live with a man whom she met in the summer. This was a hard decision for Sally Carrol but as stated in the text, she wants to make something of her life. I want to go places and see people and tied down herefeel I was-wastin myself The two quotations show how Sally Carrol tries to tell her friends that she needs to move on. After meeting Harry again she visits the North with him to spend some time. The contrast from the South shocks her especially the weather and she feels that the weather reflects the people there, cold. Sally Carrols first vision of the North is when she is on the train there. The train becomes very cold and Sally Carrol wants another blanket. The pace of the writing becomes rather intense, as the Pullman gets closer to its destination. two tracks ran up beside the train-three-four As the train enters the urbanised area, it speeds up the pace until eventually it stops at the frosty station. Sally realises almost immediately that she will not like the North as it is such a contrast to the warmth of the South and there are many unfamiliar faces. Sally finds the people cold and the people seem to be hidden away underneath coats. saw three fur-bundled figures In The Ice Palace there are two main significant places. These happen to be the graveyard of which Sally Carrol loves and has a place in her heart. One gravestone is especially meaningful to Sally Carrol and this is of Margery Lee. Margery Lee is the symbol of the South, a kind of motherly figure like the Southern Belle. The other significant place is the Ice Palace. When Sally Carrol goes to the North to stay with Harry they visit the Ice Palace. Harry is very excited about this and looks forward to it. In the Ice Palace, Sally Carrol loses Harry and all the lights go out. Sally Carrol panics and begins to think of the cold, ghosts and death. The cold and quietness of the Ice Palace symbolises Sally Carrols dying love for Harry and she realises that her relationship will not work with him when Margery Lee talks to her in her head. your tears would just freezeall tears freeze up here! Sally Carrol is rescued by Harry but has already made up her mind to return to the South as she realises her friends are much more important. The language style that F.Scott Fitzgerald uses to continue the South is the same description as in the introduction. It goes back to describing Sally Carrol eating an apple. Sally Carrol seems to have an easy life. She made the decision to move to the North and live with Harry but found that the North did not have the atmosphere to her liking so returned. The two stories are very closely related in both decision-making and also the way in which both women see men as a way to get to be a person society. They have very different decisions to make and for Phyllis her decision could change her whole life and there would be no way out. Sally Carrol experienced her choice and then decided that it would be better to return to her old life and carry on as normal without being thought of a different. It is clear to see that both women needed to marry to have a good life and in Phyllis case she needed to marry young to be respected when older. In Sally Carrols case she returned to her normal life knowing that if she wanted she could get married whenever she wanted as she was in different circumstances and was prettier. A third short story, which I read, was called Desirees Baby and also involves womens choices. Desiree was adopted when a child and managed to make a good marriage with a plantation owner. She had a baby who appeared to be of the slave race and she was rejected by her husband. In the face of her pain and humiliation Desiree decided to choose death for herself and her baby. After Desiree had left, the husband finds a note from his mother to his father. He learns that his mother was of the slave race and he had wronged his wife by dismissing her and her child. All three women had very major and hard decisions to make. They all had to choose what to do, as they could not just live their lives as normal. All three women were in different circumstances and under different social affluences. Sally Carrol is the main woman who could choose to go and then return to her normal life if she disliked it and she took that opportunity. The other two women either had to go or stay. Desiree decided to go and took her life, Phyllis decided to stay and suffer which meant that she did not have a happy life anyway. Life through the years has had a major effect on womens choices and the way they make decisions. If a woman is faced with a major decision today she has the right to do what to do without male interference. Men were respected and if a woman wasnt married, she was not treated the same in society. In the present day, women can have careers without being criticised and live a normal happy life without the need to get married and they are not treated much differently at all. Influences and affluences play a major part in life but in the twenty-first century women can make their own choices and are becoming as dominant as men.

Friday, November 22, 2019

Video case Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Video case - Coursework Example As a result, it has been able to build a good PR by offering consumers with products and services that best suit them and at the same time create good relationships with the companies. Groupon has used the power of the media to grow its reputation and gain trust among consumers and businesses. Groupon has also used personal selling effectively in selling its products and services. For example, through phone calls and emails, the company has been able to reach out to a number of businesses throughout the country. Groupon uses word of mouth to understand some of the best places where consumers can be directed. Through this, the company is able to offer the best deals. In addition, by using review sites such as Yelp and Citysearch, Groupon is able to get the best deals for consumers and get the best businesses to partner with. There is a difference in how Groupon markets itself to consumers versus how it does to businesses and companies. When marketing itself to businesses and companies, Groupon relies on personal interactions and through telephone. This is different when marketing itself to consumers since it is mainly done through the internet. In other words, in order to reach out to businesses, it heavily relies on its sales force to interact with potential companies. This is done through phone calls and emails. However, when reaching out to consumers, the Groupon uses social media and the internet to reach out to consumers. In addition, unlike businesses, Groupon relies on the word of mouth through conversations between consumers to market itself. This is because consumers interact with each other and thus help to market the company to friends and relatives. Business may find it necessary to adapt the promotional mix because of the different tastes and preferences in the market. Therefore, businesses need to adapt the promotional mix in order to meet the demands of the

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

The Cost of Capital; Financial Leverage; Which Counts Most Term Paper

The Cost of Capital; Financial Leverage; Which Counts Most - Term Paper Example The high sale will result in higher profits and a reduction in variable costs signifies that the organization does not have to incur any extra expenses for each unit sold. An increased volume of sales will enable to company to save gain benefits from its fixed costs. The idea of operating leverage was initially developed for utilizing in capital budgeting. Operating leverage is a significant concept as it affects how responsive profits are to transforms into sales volume. â€Å"The Degree of Operating leverage is a function of the cost structure of a firm and is usually defined in terms of the relationship between fixed cost and total costs. A firm that has high fixed costs relative to total costs is said to have operating leverage. A firm with high operating leverage will also have higher variability in operating income than would a firm producing a similar product with low operating leverage† (Choi 20). Other things remaining the same, the high difference in operating income will guide to a high beta for the industry with higher operating leverage. It is helpful to recognize how operating profit will vary with a given change in units formed; operating leverage is helpful to decide the business risks. Operating leverage can also be understood as the degree to which an organization utilizes fixed costs in creating its goods or offering its facilities. A fixed cost contains advertising expenses, equipment and technology, administrative costs, taxes, and depreciation. However, it excludes interest on debt, which is an element of financial leverage. By using fixed production costs, an organization can raise its earnings. If an organization has a high amount of fixed costs, it has a high level of operating leverage. High-tech and automated companies, airlines, utility companies etc commonly have high amounts of operating leverage. The difference between variable and fixed costs is an old idea. This separation of costs by behavior is the basis for breakeven a nalysis. â€Å"The idea of â€Å"break even analysis† is based on the simple question of how many units of product or service a business must sell in order to cover its fixed costs before beginning to make a profit. Presumably, unit prices are set at a level high enough to recoup all direct unit costs and leave a margin of contribution toward fixed cost and profit† (Helfert 193). Once adequate units have been sold to accrue the total contribution required to offset every fixed costs, the margin from any extra units sold will become revenue unless a latest layer of fixed expenses has to be added at any future point to support the high volume. Understanding this attitude will enhance the insight into how operational features of a business involve the elements of financial projections and planning. This information is also useful in setting operational strategies, which, particularly in an unstable business setting might, for instance, focus on reducing fixed costs during outsourcing certain operations. Cost of Capital: The cost of capital means the required rate of return for making capital budgeting. Cost of capital comprises the cost of debt and the cost of equity acquired through different sources. Cost of capital is the average rate of return required by the investors for their long term investments such as equity fund, preference fund and long term capital. When the firm makes long term investm

Monday, November 18, 2019

Corrections trend Evaluation Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Corrections trend Evaluation - Research Paper Example The changes in the correction programs have occurred due to the rising count of the number of prisoners. Moreover, growing concern with regard to the rules as well as the regulations for the safety of public and reducing incarceration cost have resulted in the modification of the correction programs. These changes are majorly made with the intention of reducing inmate population and minimizing cost (Adams, n.d.). The paper intends to discuss the trends of correction programs for the development as well as the improvement of the correction institutions. Moreover, an analysis will be executed with the objective of identifying the issues in relation to prisons and their administrators both in the present and future prospects. Discussion Research Prisoners or offenders are offered with correction programs and are convicted to correction institutions with the aim of minimizing crime rates and changing their criminal behavior and attitude. In the past, prisoners or offenders were observed to be treated in an inhuman manner and they were punished in physical forms which include being tortured and hanged among others. The prisoners were treated as slaves mainly due to inadequate funding or resources availability and development (Hartnett, n.d.). In this respect, with growing number of offenders and inadequate funds, prisons as well as jails were privatized in order to improve the operations and to render enhanced development of correction institutions. The privatization of prisons as well as jails will facilitate in minimizing cost. By the year 2001, in the US, there were around 158 correction facilities owned by private sectors operating in almost 30 states. Privatization of prisons as well as jails was the major trend in the past in order to cope up with the increased demand and operational costs. In this respect, the government has contacted the private sector with the motive of acquiring adequate financial assistance as well as to construct correction facilities at a cheaper rate as compared to public prisons (Austin & Coventry, 2001). Number of Prisoners from 1925 to 2010 Source: (The Sentencing Project, 2012) In the US, offenders or prisoners are observed to be offered with two different sorts of sentences which include treatment and punishment. Treatment implies that society is protected by implementing correction programs with the objective of changing the criminal behavior of offenders through rehabilitation. On the other hand, punishment signifies that society is protected by incarceration of offenders. It has been realized that there are various phases on the basis of which changes are acquired in the correction programs or facilities. The correction programs started with the development of reform movement for the disposition of prisoners to jails in order to minimize and control crime. In 1920, more prisons were developed and various educational and corrective programs were implemented in order to improve the behaviors as well as atti tudes of offenders. In the period between 1930 and 1940, importance was placed to medical model for better treatment of inmates. Moreover, during these periods various therapies including psychodrama and transitional analysis among others had been adopted with the objective of improving the treatment procedures. In 1970s, it was observed that treatment or rehabilitation of prisoners was a failure due to increased crime rate.

Saturday, November 16, 2019

The Anglo French Concorde Project

The Anglo French Concorde Project 1.1) Introduction Faster than the speed of sound comes the plane of the future. It has cost at least fifteen times the original estimates. It is described as a commercial disaster by a review committee of one of the countries that built it. It is besieged by the environmentalists. The Concorde is the benighted offspring of Anglo-French diplomacy and once-and-future dreams of glory in the skies. Now its builders are trying to keep it from crashing in a sea of red ink (Gillman 1977). Concorde was one of the greatest man made engineering design projects of the twentieth century. It was made by the successful handshake between British Aerospace and French Aerospatiale and was therefore termed as the Anglo-French collaboration. Their engineers and designers had put lot of hard work in producing the worlds first supersonic passenger aircraft, which can fly with the speed twice as much of the sound. It was so fast that it could cover the distance between London and New York in almost 3 hours (Design Museum 2006). In 1962, when the project began, its expected cost was between  £150 and  £170 million. It took nearly 20 years to put in front the first ever supersonic aircraft, which was quite efficient than the normal jet planes. Concorde had a take-off speed of 250mph and cruising speed of 1350mph at a height up to 60,000 feet. During its 27 years of service, it was considered as the economic pride for both the nations and also made emotional attachments with the people as it made them cherish, whenever they spotted it in the sky (Design Museum 2006). It was a 2 billion pound project started in 1962 and was completed in 1976. There were a total of 20 Concorde constructed: 14 for commercial service development and 6 for development. The key features about Concorde, was its Delta wings, pinpoint movable nose and sonic boom. Its wings were made by French, engines by British, the centre section by French and the middle section by the British; therefore it was a total collaboration between the 2 nations. It was an aircraft built for the people to whom Time is Money like big Celebrities. But was also protested by some people due to the amount of noise pollution it causes during its flight. In 1990 it earned a profit of almost 20 million pound a year and was considered as one of the safest aircraft and had become peoples attraction (BBC-The Concorde Story 2001). But on 25th July 2000 Concorde had its first massive crash killing about 113 people and all the 100 passengers including the crew members. Thus the aircraft lost its majesty as the peoples confidence on it was shattered and were frightened to fly. Later after much of the investigations the Concorde was finally grounded in both the nations because of the safety reasons stating that there were some design flaws in its construction. Thus it was the end of the 27 years of great service that this aircraft has provided (BBC-The Concorde story 2001). 2) Stakeholder Analysis Stakeholders are any individual, group or an organisation that has demonstrable interest in the outcome of the project. They are the people who actually participate in the project and are actually affected by its results. So, the most critical task of a project is to identify its stakeholders as this would help to predict the demands of the stakeholders which would help in running the project successfully. The following analysis is done by using the STEEPLE model (Mansfield 2008). The major stakeholders concerned with the Concorde project are as follows: 2.1) Environmentalists: Concorde was considered as an environmental disaster as it degrades the ozone layer and thereby lets the suns rays to enter into the environment, which ultimately cause diseases like skin Cancer etc. And the amount of noise that it produces was also intolerable for the human ears and not suitable for the people living nearby. Also, Concorde often creates a shockwave, which is actually a sonic boom and so if it passes over the populated areas, then it could also shake buildings, break glasses and can cause harm to the eardrums which often made people angry. Therefore it was routed only over oceans (Scott 1997, Happenheimer 2008). Their attitude was like Terrorists towards the project. (Mansfield 2008). 2.2) British and French Government: It was recognized as a powerful symbol of ultra modern technology and was considered as a symbol of national pride to most of the people in Britain and France As before this, only USA and Russia were the superior leaders in making of the supersonic aircrafts. So, the British and French wanted to make an aircraft more powerful and faster. This made both the countries to collaborate with each other in the interest of economy and efficiency .So, it was a clean chit given to it by the French and the British government without looking at the economical and environmental effects. Thus an agreement was formed between them as an Anglo-French collaboration. Also they had to overcome with the culture and language barrier, which was also a big challenge (Knowledgerush.com 2003, Design Museum 2006, Beginnings 2008). Their attitude was like Saviour towards the project (Mansfield, 2008). 2.3) Economists: It was considered as an economic white elephant (Owen 2001: 8). It was also considered as a economic disaster as it was failed to complete within the time specified as it got passed the original estimate by millions. The air routes above the sea level also causes intolerable effects to the people living nearby, because of the amount of noise it creates. Another factor that made it uneconomic was that it required heavy fuel consumption as it was launched when the fuel crises was at its highest peak, therefore it was unable to enter into the lucrative trans-pacific market. Thus all these factors like production delays, noise pollution, increase in price of fuel due to its shortage has made the task of selling it more difficult and due to its unaffordable cost, many airports have refused to buy a Concorde. Therefore it was difficult to operate it on an economic standpoint (BBC News 1969, Arnold 2003). Their attitude was like Irritant towards the project. (Mansfield 2008). 2.4) Local Population: The Concorde became the peoples attraction and was residing in almost every heart because of its beauty as well as its speed. It was a marvellous aircraft which belong less to the modern world than to the future. In its 27 years of commercial service, it became one of the best loved engineering design projects of the 20th century. It carried out an example of technological brilliance. The people were so emotionally attached with it, that when they saw it in the sky, they used to cherish a lot by taking photographs of it. Overall it was considered as a safe plane by the people. As it was considered as a national symbol so it made them get closer and gave them an exciting sensation (Design Museum 2006). Their attitude was like Acquaintance towards the project. (Mansfield 2008). 2.5) Stars and Businessman: Concorde was a great boon to them as faster the speed less the time and time is money for them, and if a plane is fulfilling and actually implementing that concept so it was the only medium that they were looking for, which actually they got it in the form of Concorde, which was providing them speed, which was twice the speed of sound and also the comfort that the businessman requires (Supersonic proving, 2008, BBC-The Concorde Story 2001). Their attitude was like Friend towards the project. (Mansfield 2008). 2.6) Global Population: People in Antarctica and other countries were protesting against this project as the amount of noise it generates was intolerable for them and also the speed with which it goes by creating the sonic beam i.e. it pushes the air out by creating a shockwave, which can cause disturbance to the people living in populated areas. So, it was highly opposed by them. Their attitude was like Irritant towards the project (Mansfield 2008). 2.7) Global Government: countries like India ,Russia and Africa didnt allowed this aircraft to reach there because of its certain flaws like noise pollution and depletion of ozone layer done by it, which can cause harmful affects to the human body. Their attitude caused Concordes route to be limited to some places only. Their attitude was like Irritant towards the project (Mansfield 2008). 2.8) Americans and Soviet Union: They were the main rivals for the Concorde project. There were many people in United States who were willing to bubble out the Concordes network to expand due to its noise and environmental pollution. US had a fear that if, Concorde would be able to capture the market forecast for supersonic transport, then USA would be forced to surrender world civil transport leadership and also to face payment deficits (Owen 2001:143pg). Their attitude was like Timebomb towards the project (Mansfield, 2008). Based on the above analysis, I have made a mapping of the stakeholders according to their Level of Interest and Level of Power. L E V E L O F I N T E R E S T LEVEL OF POWER LOW HIGH LOW Local public Stars and businessman Economists HIGH Global public Global government British and French Govt. Environmentalist Americans and Soviet Union Figure: Stakeholder Mapping (Mansfield 2008). According to the above mapping, we can summarize it in the form of Stakeholders Analysis: Stakeholders Analysis Stakeholder Groups Interest Power Environmentalist High High British and French Government High High Economists High Medium Local Public Low Low Stars and businessman High Low Global Public Medium High Americans and Soviet Unions High High Global government Low High 3) Financial slippage Slippage is a minute delay in the progress of a project. If its a single one then it can be managed but it becomes a combination of many slippages then it is often difficult to manage as it becomes overwhelming. So, its the responsibility of all the people associated with the project to report any slippage, no matter how small it is. There were certain reasons behind the financial slippage of the Concorde project: 3.1) Lack of commitment to the Project: There was an overall lack of commitment in the project. The original estimate that was made was around  £150 million for 4 years. But in 1963, when first major design took place then there was first official appraisal of costs which was raised to  £275 million compared with the maximum estimate of  £95 million. Then there was an additional redesign in 1965, where by 1966 the costs were given as  £45 million. As, the effort progressed, there was some problems related to the payload, which represented only 6% of the overall plane weight. As each time the design hurdle increased, the percentage was further reduced. As the original payload was for 150 passengers but was soon reduced to 130. But by 1968, it was observed that it was unattainable so they had to once again design the fuselage, undercarriage and wings. In 1969, due to redesigning, the cost rose up to  £730 million. And finally by 1975 the cost rose to  £1096 million, with a total of around 100 seats (Gillman 1977). 3.2) Too frequent changes: The rise in the cost of Concorde, was not because of the inaccurate estimation of the investors but it was because of increase in inflation rate which was around 37%, 31% due to the change in specifications; and nearly 20%on the new technology. Thus, they had to pay extra cost for reserved resources and have to make modifications in it according to the situation (The Concorde Project 1974). 3.3) Waste of time and resources: As during the making of Concorde, the time and resource management were not given more importance. Knowing that the plane having 4 engines could cause harm to the environment, they were continually investing on it. According to Journalist Mary Goldring, Concorde was a waste of resources on her understanding of airlines at the time which questioned if signing up to Concorde would be financially viable. She says that the project was a waste of time and a waste of resources (Goldring 2008). 3.4) Unrealistic targets objectives: In 1962, when the collaboration between the two nations began, it was estimated to cost between  £150 and  £170 million and for making this huge supersonic aircraft they planned just 4 years as a deadline. But actually, this project was so complex that it took much longer time and cost (Design Museum 2006). 3.5) Inadequate Resources: There was a lack of firm orders, which made workers to believe that their jobs are at risk and enable them to turn out the available work as long as possible. 3.6) Costs of being late 3.6.1) Loss of reputation: During the start of the Anglo-French collaboration, several airlines from different parts of the world, expressed their interest in ordering Concorde. But due to its periodically increasing cost and increasing price, almost all of them stepped back and by the end of its development only two airlines were left to buy planes for a mammoth cost of  £23 million each. They were the two respective national carriers, British Airways and Air France (Design Museum 2006, Gillman 1977). 3.6.2) Extra cost for retained resources: It was developed at the time when the inflation rate was about 37% so ultimately cost of the booked resources also got higher. Thus, the project managers had to put extra cost into it (The Concorde Project 1974). 3.6.3) Maintaining existing equipment to extend its life: As after its development and running for several years, it had no supersonic competitors. So, there was no pressure to improve Concorde or to make investments in new sub-contractors and suppliers. As a result of that the maintenance expenditure had risen progressively, which made it impossible to take a flight because of the increasing expenses. Therefore on April 10 2003, both Air France and British Airways announced that they were withdrawing Concorde from service by the end of year. And finally on 24th October 2003, Concorde retired, being acknowledged as the fastest passenger aircraft in the world (Design Museum 2006). 4) Project Management Methodology Every Project which is going to implement is associated with some particular types of risks. These risks cannot be overlooked but can be reduced to some extent. Thus, we can foresee and avoid these risks by doing proper doing Risk Analysis. 4.1) Risk Analysis Risk Analysis is the systematic use of the available information in determining the occurrence of specific events and characterizing the risks involved in it (Mansfield 2008). Risk Analysis also helps in judging the impact of those risks on the project which may bring either positive or negative effect on the execution of it Several risks and their avoidance are given below Risk Description/Prevention Probability (1-5) [P] Severity (1-5) [S] Score [PxS] Financial Risks Description As per the case study, the project must be completed with the total budget of  £150 million. So, if the project is not completed in specified budget then it can cause the budget to go high resulting in a big loss. Prevention To avoid over budgeting, they must always need to have an eye on their budget. 4 4 16 Political/ Legal Risks Description Usually due to the Governments instability there is always a risk associated with the project. As if the government changes, then it can also result in the loss of contract. Prevention There must be proper deed, stating the security of the order, which can be helpful in minimizing these types of risk. 4 3 12 Scope creed Risks Description This risk is due to poor management and unpredicted moves in the target. This can cause lack of communication between the peers and the higher management Prevention There must be an effective communication channel between the employees of the company. 3 3 9 Environmental Risks Description Natural disasters like noise pollution, earthquakes etc can sometimes obstruct the progress of the project. So, the Concorde project must take all these factors into consideration, as it can lead to loss of money, material and time. Prevention Before proceeding with the project, analysis about its environmental impact must be done. 3 5 15 Technical Risks Description As a project involves different types of technologies, so while designing a product, technical risks must be kept in mind. As one failure can cause redesigning of the product and thereby increase in its manufacturing cost. Prevention To avoid any failure, each step towards the progress must be taken with proper assistance of the supervisor and higher officials. 3 4 12 Quality Risks Description As it was an Anglo-French collaboration, to design the worlds fastest passenger Aircraft, so they need to put lots of efforts in giving out a quality product. If the quality is poor, then they have to suffer from huge losses. Prevention Good quality and environment feasible aircrafts should be made so as to avoid loss of reputation and also several quality checks must be planned on timely basis, so as to avoid any problem. 3 2 6 Time Schedule Risk Description As per the case study, the Concorde project must be completed in 4 years of time. So, if the project is not completed in specified time then it can cause various hurdles and barriers in getting the orders from different airlines and also their payments. Prevention To prevent this to happen, a proper schedule must be prepared, so as to avoid redundant delays. It should be created in such a way that the activities that are more complex and time consuming should be done first. 4 4 16 5) Success and failure of the project 5.1) Success The meaning of success: It is an axiomatic that the goal of project management is to be successful; otherwise the incurring of this management overhead, and the training of staff to do it is a valueless exercise. (Knutson 2001:356pg). If a project doesnt meet all its objectives or achieve its certain objectives, does not mean that the project was a failure. It is also about whether what you are doing is infact the right thing to do (Knutson 2001:356pg). Though, the projects success is not only defined in terms of acceptability of the project deliverables like scope, quality, etc., but also in terms of the internal processes like time, cost, efficiency etc. Thus, success must always be assessed in terms of its contribution to the organisation that is doing the project. It is a multidimensional construct, which means different things to different people (Knutson 2001:356pg). There are four dimensions of success in which the project can be related 5.1.1) Project efficiency: Concorde project was considered as a success because it succeeded in providing the high standards of comfort to the passengers and provided them deluxe travel experience. It was hailed for its beauty and speed and it seemed to belong more to the future than to the modern world. During its 27 years of flying, over 2.5 million passengers have enjoyed the unique experience of travelling at a speed which is twice the speed of sound. Thus, it was quite efficient in reducing the time of the flight. As it made people to fly from London to New York in less than 3 hours. Even though the project was completed well out of its estimated budget but still it was recognized as a powerful symbol of ultra modern technology and was considered as a symbol of national pride to most of the people in Britain and France. Thus, the project was efficient in proving the needs and giving a promising start to the people (Design Museum 2006, Rowell 2008, Knowledgerush.com 2003). 5.1.2) Impact on customer: The Concorde had a great positive impact on the customers. It became the peoples attraction right from its first flight and captured itself into the peoples heart. It was considered as a beautiful, marvellous aircraft because of its quality service and the speed with which it travels. Due to this feature, it provides hours of extra time to the passengers, for some extra amount. It was more meant for the people, who were less fare-conscious, but more time conscious and they welcome those extra hours like stars, as for them Time is Money. Thus, Concorde made a strong emotional relation with the people, which often made them cheer whenever they spotted it in the sky (Supersonic Proving 2008, Design Museum 2003). 5.1.3) Business and direct success: As Concorde was cherished and loved by all the people so it was regarded as a successful project. Although it was an over budget project which took large amount of money and time in its completion, yet it was successful in giving out the final model of a supersonic aircraft, which can actually fly with the speed twice as much of the sound. On an average Concorde earned a profit of about  £30-50 Million per year for British Airways from the first class passengers. British Airways reportedly received  £1.75 Billion in revenue for Concorde services against an operating cost of around  £1 Billion. However, Air France made a much smaller profit with respect to that of British Airways (Concorde FAQ 2008). 5.1.4) Preparing the future: Concorde had no supersonic competitors, so its maintenance costs was raised steadily, which made BA and manufacturers to discuss about the maintenance programs, if they wanted the aircraft to continue the service. Finally it was decided to ground the aircraft, because of the increasing maintenance cost (Design Museum 2006). Thus, BAs chief executive Rod Eddington said: Concorde has served us well and we are extremely proud to have flown this marvellous and unique aircraft for the past 27 years (Concorde grounded for good 2003). So, even though it was retired, it was still considered as a Success. 5.2) Failure of the project A failure is caused if there is an inconsistency in its specification right before the beginning of the project and that inconsistency is overlooked. It can also be caused due to unrealistic and conflicting objectives. It is often caused due to poor planning and management, lack of understanding of contract strategy and process and underestimating costs to get the project to be approved (Mansfield 2008). The Concorde project was a failureà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ As technically the project was considered as powerful symbol of very modern technology, but it had more of the negative effects than the positive in terms of: 5.2.1) Environmental Feasibility: According to Environmental Scientists, the Concorde flights causes erosion to the ozone layer, which ultimately causes the incidences of skin cancer and also the noise it produces when it passes by was absolutely intolerable for human beings. Also it produces a shock wave, which tends to shake buildings, break glasses and can often cause damage to the ear drums. This made other airlines also to move backwards, in buying this disastrous aircraft, as during the beginning of this project they showed their keen interest in ordering it. Thus, it was considered as environmental disaster (Scott 1997). 5.2.2) Uneconomic: As per economic point of view it was considered as an economic disaster. The project took large amount of time and cost in its completion. As it had a range of around 4,143 miles and has a capability to carry 26,286 gallons of fuel, which was around 5,638 gallons of fuel during each hour of flight. This can be calculated as 6 gallons of fuel for every mile and also 1 gallon of fuel can take 1 passenger 16.7 miles only. So, none of the airlines wanted to by Concorde because of the shortage of fuel and rapid increase in its price (Rowell 2008, Design Museum 2006). This was also quoted by Journalist Mary Goldring in a way that: While the venture might be impressive technically, it would in fact prove to be a hugely expensive mistake. As the plane takes its final commercial flights, she says she was proved right. (Goldring, 2008). 5.2.3) Cost Inefficient: There were lots of financial problems associated with this project. It was the project that was started in 1960, with cost estimation between about  £150 million and  £170 million. Of which, France had to complete 60% of work on airframe and 40% of the engine and remaining was to be completed by Britain. But the development was so complicated that it took far more cost and time (Design Museum, 2006). As with the increase in inflation rate which was around 37%, 31% due to the change in specifications; and nearly 20% on the new technology, which made its estimated cost much higher, nearly double, and ultimately Britain fell into the financial crises. Then Britains new prime minister, Harold Wilson tried to cancel the partnership but he couldnt do it as France could collect the funds from London as a charge of breaking the partnership, so fearing from that, he continued the partnership. Therefore the project cost went up year by year causing the project to be over budget (The Concorde project 1974, Happenheimer 2008). 5.2.4) Commercial Impact: As per commercial point of view, the Concorde project was also a failure. Various factors like: The production delays, the environmental pollution, the shortage of fuel and its rapid increase in price, had made the selling of the aircraft more complicated, which was due to the cost estimate of  £20 million that made it quite expensive for the other aircrafts to buy. Thus at last only two of the airlines wished to buy the plane, were the 2 respective national carriers, British Airways and Air France. Thus, it had very limited routes to cover as it was opposed by almost all the nations (Gillman 1977). In a statement, BA said Concorde would cease flying in the autumn because of commercial reasons, with passenger revenue falling steadily against a backdrop of rising maintenance costs for the aircraft (Concorde grounded for good 2003). As the price of fuel was increasing, so was maintenance cost of the aircraft. So, continuing the service with Concorde was increasingly expensive. From this statement: BA has decided that such an investment cannot be justified in the face of falling revenue caused by a global downturn in demand for all forms of premium travel in the airline industry. (Concorde grounded for good 2003). It is clear that, it was no longer profitable, therefore British Airways and Air France decided to retire the renowned aircraft after 27years of its service. 5.2.5) Lack of coordination of activities: The Concorde project also had several problems related to their jobs, resources, orders and cultures like the languages and tradition of the people from Britain and France. And it is clear from the following statements. This statement shows that there was a risk about the future of the project in the mind of the workers. The PM was told by the Department of Trade and Industry, The main reasons are all too clear. A lack of firm orders, and a consequent belief by the workers that their jobs are at risk, causes them to spin out the available work as long as possible (BBC News 2004). The following statement shows that there was no communication medium between the managerial hierarchies. The number of people deployed on the project steadily increased to nearly 50,000. Most of these thousands were able to get on with their work without reference to anyone except their immediate superiors. But their efforts could only be effective so long as there was coordinated direction at the top and close liaison at all executive levels throughout the international organization (Beginnings 2008). These all factors made the project to lack in coordination of activities. 5.2.6) Successive slippages: The Concorde project was considered as the project with many continuous slippages, which made the project to go out of control, which ultimately made it to cross the barriers of its estimated time and cost. As it was scheduled to complete in 4 years of time with the budget of about  £150 million but it actually took 14 years with the increased budget of  £1096 million. It was all due to lack of planning as their milestone was quite blurred and were not set accurately. And also the reason behind their continuous slippage was continuous change in the design and inadequate objectives, which was the ultimate reason for its slippage (Wysocki 2007:331pg, Mansfield 2008). 6) Conclusion According to me the Concorde Project was a Failure Concorde was the first supersonic aircraft to travel with the speed twice as that of the sound, which offers its passengers the ultimate travel experience. And based in this quality it became the peoples attraction and was considered as the safest and luxurious plane ever made. During its 27 years of service, it provided unique experience of travelling faster to more than 2.5 million people. Thus, it was considered as a symbol of national pride to most of the people in Britain and France. However, only fast travelling is not the only factor which declares it as a success. There are certain other factors in which this project was a complete disaster. First of all, the Concorde aircraft was an economic disaster as it was outdated and incredibly fuel inefficient plane. Also it was too costly for any normal airline operations to buy it. And as this aircraft was unique and had no competitors, so its cost of maintenance was rising was increasing year by year. Thus, keeping the aircraft in service would be quite expensive for the British government. Therefore they took the brave decision to finally ground this aircraft and keep it out of service. Another factor was its hazardous impact on the Environment. While flying, it often causes erosion of the ozone layer, which gives rise to various diseases like skin cancer. And also the amount of noise that it produces was intolerable for the human ears. Also it produces a shock wave which can cause damage to the ear drums, shake buildings and break glasses. Therefore it was not possible for it to fly over cities and towns. Th

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Character of Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams A Streetcar Essay

The Character of Stanley in A Streetcar Named Desire   Ã‚  Ã‚   Animals are, by nature, passionately instinctive; that is, when reacting to a situation, they do so forcefully and spontaneously. Therefore, we can think of passionate instinct as an intense, innate reaction to a particular situation. Animals also lack what we call ‘inhibition’ -- the suppression of a natural drive, instinct or feeling. For instance, when a skunk senses danger, it will not restrain its natural, defensive reaction and will not hesitate to spray a foul-smelling substance in the direction of the danger for self-protection. When cattle sense a threat to their environment, they do not try to rationalize their way to safety -- they stampede. If a bull’s passions are aroused, it will either charge or mate with the nearest cow.    Passionate instinct drives us, as well. Although we often try to reason our way through situations as civilized, rational beings should, there is sometimes a point where we can no longer be controlled by reason. This point often comes when we feel some strong emotion, and our rational halves become shadowed by our darker, instinctive sides. We often conceal this darker half because the instinct, which is so much a part of it, may lead to violence when released. It appears that the very idea of being ruled by instinct has become distasteful; people who use their instincts to get through a situation are often labeled as being ‘unpredictable’, ‘maverick’, and ‘dangerous’. Although we consider ourselves to be civilized, we were once a race ruled by instinct -- and still are, to some extent.    A man’s instinct can also reach the point where it nearly drowns his ‘civilized’ side, as in the case of Stanley Kowalski. In A St... ...that cannot be prevented. However, if mankind does manage to squelch all inhibitions and allow his actions to be ruled by instinct alone, then humanity’s tenuous hold on civility will be loosened and the results could be catastrophic. Works Cited Adler, Thomas P.   A Streetcar Named Desire: The Moth and the Lantern.   New York: Twayne, 1990. Brownmiller, Susan. Against Our Will. New York: Bantam Books, 1975. Dworkin, Andrea. Intercourse. New York: The Free Press, 1087 Lant, Kathleen Margaret. "A Streetcar Named Misogyny." pp. 225-238 in REDMOND. Miller, Jordan.   Twentieth Century Interpretations of a Streetcar Named Desire: a collection of critical essays.   New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1971. Redmond, James (Editor). Violence in Drama. Cambridge University Press; 1991.   Williams, Tennessee. A Streetcar Named Desire. Signet: New York, 1947.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Psychological Anaylsis of the Virgin Suicides

Novels have more to them than meet the eye. Past the cover and the first read, there is yet an extra element involved in superb books. Jeffery Eugenides clearly had an understanding of this. Written in 1991, The Virgin Suicides is not just a story. † Bizarre, abnormal, and tragic† is how Jeruen Dery describes the book in his review of it. As more than pages in a cover, The Virgin Suicides has some magic to uncover. To fully understand a novel, one must recognize a precritical response to key element that amount to a written work of art. The setting of the novel is one that is familiar to many Americans.In essence, it is a modern suburbia, complete with youth, adults, and the elderly, along with the old, and the new. This directly contributes to the plot, which involves a man versus society struggle with more than one set of characters. Two main sets of characters are prevalent and neither group show purely protagonist or antagonist characteristics. Both the Lisbon girls a nd the neighborhood boys share the two roles throughout the duration of the novel. When reacting to the structure of the novel, one notices the straightforwardness of the piece.After a glance at the end events, the rest of the book goes through the progression of a year in chronological order while also following a typical rising action-climax-falling action format. The style of the book keeps a continuous flow throughout the piece. The words are sophisticated, as well as the general structure of the sentences and the way they flow together. The words and sentence structure contribute to the atmosphere of the work as a whole. In his review of the piece, Dery says, â€Å"Every aspect of the novel is just dark, and contributes to the overall macabre mood of the piece. The general theme of the novel seems to be how suicide doesn’t only affect those who are directly involved, such as family, teachers, and close friends. It shows how suicide affects the entire community. While re ading the novel, a particular set of characters caught my eye. The narrators have what would be a textbook definition of obsession with the Lisbon girls. They are more than just teenage boys being obsessed with teenage girls. In their case, this is not just a normal obsession like society thinks of today, but something much more psychological than that. This obsession is more of a disorder.By the words of Alex Lickerman obsession is â€Å"a giant tidal wave that crashes through our minds and washes away all other concerns. † In an article from Psych Central symptoms of an obsession disorder include preoccupations with organization, lists, or rules, unable to discard old or worn out items, and has a consciousness of specific details. The neighborhood boys display all of these things. Their preoccupations with organization are clear throughout the novel when looking at how they kept track of the girls’ things through a numbering system similar to that of police evidence. They are also seemingly unable to discard the things they collected from the girls. A third symptom appears through the entire work as a whole, because the boys are speaking as though all of these events took place many years ago, yet they seem to remember almost every detail of the year of the suicides. Just through these symptoms, it is clear that the boys have an obsession with the Lisbon girls, even into their adulthoods. The American Psychiatric Association characterizes obsessions as,†irrational thoughts which keep reoccurring. In the conclusion of the book, the boys are going over a summary of the year and they admit to this kind of behavior. They even kind of blame the behavior on the girls by saying, â€Å"They made us participate in their own madness, because we couldn’t help but retrace their steps, rethink their thoughts, and see that none of them lead to us,† (Eugenides 248). This statement shows an obvious obsession with the Lisbon girls. Therefore, one can see that the neighbor hood boys have an obsession that goes further than just a stereotypical teenage obsession. The other set of characters also have a psychological disorder of sorts.With the exception of Cecilia, the other four Lisbon girls appear to have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). People acquire PTSD by living through a traumatic event in their life. In the case of Lux, Mary, Bonnie, and Therese, the event that sparked the disorder was not a single event, but two with one common source. The first being Cecilia’s wrist cutting and hospital stay. The second is the actual event of her death. Characteristics of PTSD include staying away from places and things that remind one of what happened, feeling alone, and outbursts of acts which are normally out of character.The girls all displayed these in the time between Cecilia’s death and theirs. The narrators have told us through a number of different ways that the girls felt alone as a group. They are pictured as being alone together, meaning that the four of them feel as though they are the only ones that understand themselves. The girls also engage in activities that seem out of character compared to who the rest of the community thought they were. In Lux’s case this is the high amount of sexual activity. For the group as a whole, it is clinging together, not having other friends, and staying in the house and complying with their parents.For the most part the girls seem so uninterested in the activities of their peers it seems as though they died with Cecilia. Another characteristic of PTSD is having suicidal tendencies according to the National Center for PTSD. In conclusion, one can see how the Lisbon girls developed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after the death of Cecilia. When looking at the evidence presented, it is clear that the two main groups of characters have psychological disorders. In the case of the neighborhood boys, their obsession with the Lisbon girls goes further than just being interested.This becomes apparent when one compares the boys with textbook symptoms of obsession disorders. Lux, Mary, Bonnie, and Therese also have a psychological disorder. In their case it is PTSD. This can be proven when examining the year leading up to their death under a lens filtered with the characteristics of PTSD. Because of these facts we are able to see how The Virgin Suicides is more than just a story about five girls’ deaths told by the boys they grew up with. As one can see, the novel is more than meets the eye. Works Cited American Psychiatric Association. â€Å"Anxiety Disorders. †Ã‚  Www. Psychiatry. rg. American Psychiatric Association, 2012. Web. 30 Mar. 2013. Dery, Jeruen. â€Å"Book Review: The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides. †Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Blogcritics Books. Technorati Inc. , 11 Oct. 2011. Web. 30 Mar. 2013. Eugenides, Jeffrey. The Virgin Suicides. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1993. Print. Lickerman, Ale x, M. D. â€Å"Obsession. †Ã‚  Www. psychologytoday. com. Sussex Publishers, LLC, 26 Apr. 2010. Web. 30 May 2013. PsychCentral Staff. â€Å"Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder – PsychCentral. †Ã‚  Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder – PsychCentral. PyschCentral, 1 June 2010. Web. 30 Mar. 2013. Suicide and PTSD. †Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ NATIONAL CENTER for PTSD. United States Department of Veteran Affairs, 1 Jan. 2007. Web. 30 Mar. 2013. The National Institute of Mental Health, and National Institutes of Health. â€Å"Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Easy-to-Read). †Ã‚  NIMH RSS. National Institutes of Health, 15 June 2012. Web. 30 Mar. 2013. U. S. National Library of Medicine, U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, and National Institutes of Health. â€Å"Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: MedlinePlus. †Ã‚  U. S National Library of Medicine. U. S. National Library of Medicine, 28 Mar. 2013. Web. 30 Mar. 2013.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Botox Essay

Question no 1 What are the needs, wants and demands of consumers of Botox products in its different treatment markets? What value does Botox deliver in each market? How does value affect price for Botox? Needs: Treating cross-eye, frown lines, migraine headaches, chronic neck and back pain, excessive sweating, and possible spastic disorders. Wants: People want their face look young, lawyers want to eliminate expression of annoyance and anger. Women concern about their appearance while man want a smoother forehead. Demands: People’s demands are becoming younger, kinder and gentler-looking and dopey looking after a short treatment with high effects. The value Botox delivering in markets are different among each other because of different customer satisfactions. In term of the ophthalmologic market, Botox is the number one solution whereas in the dermatology market, its target is the second position. Botox brings normal eyes to patients as well as beautiful eyes to users. Beautiful appearance is also offered to whom want to own. Other special purpose are satisfied by the same drug. The high value of Botox affect too much to its price range. â€Å"A vial of Botox cosmetic costs about $400 and can be used for four treatments. Depending on the doctor’s pricing scheme, each treatment can be $500 to $1000† for nearly 15 minutes of operation. Question no 2: When Allergan sold Botox as a specialty drug for ocular problems, what marketing management orientation was it employing? When it sells Botox as a cosmetic treatment is it employing the same or a different orientation? When Allergan sold Botox as a specialty drug ocular problems, it just aimed at a small market supported by little marketing efforts. The means it was not employing the clear marketing management orientation. When Allergan sold Botox as a cosmetic treatment, it still kept the same orientation above with helping of doctors. When patients were injected Botox by these doctors, they did not know which exactly name of drug used. Question no 3: When doctors treat patients with Botox in their office, is that an example of a selling concept or a marketing concept? Which concept applies when they hold parties for patients in private home? The doctors have Botox and inject it in their patients. These patients even do not know its name because of off-label Botox injection. When those doctors hold their patients in private home, a marketing concept was used. In this case, 4Ps, the customer satisfaction, and the customer-oriented are used. A party is hold to advertise for Botox; chocolates, brie, and champagne are offered as gifts; patients who part the party will sign a contract with lower cost of treatment; time is also saved for doctors, nurses, receptionists, and patients. Partygoers will receive valuable information from doctors short lecturers, which helps them understand more about their value and the use of Botox.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Academic freedom in Australia Essays

Academic freedom in Australia Essays Academic freedom in Australia Essay Academic freedom in Australia Essay Academic freedom in Australia: a suzerain province? On 24 September, 2013 Deakin University became one of merely four Australian universities with a dedicated policy on academic freedom. The rules and doctrine of academic freedom have been long †¦ What is it about our universities that makes etc What is the province of dissent in Australian universities? This inquiry is surprisingly hard to reply. There is rather a batch of dissent expressed in both professional and public fora, with no troubles anticipated or encountered ; at the same clip, there is rather a batch of suppression and suppression of dissent. There are a figure of ways to near the issue. One attack is to look at policies and official statements about academic freedom. Martin 2002 ; 7 The right to rational freedom and the responsibility of universities non to interfere with that right is a difficult won and long held tradition and is recognised by the most Enterprise Agreements in Australian universities consequently. Academic and rational freedom in the university scene is a negative right or autonomy to print and pass on freely. This imposes a negative responsibility on the university - that is, a responsibility non to interfere in academic freedom of address. [ 1 ] In a study of all 39 Australian universities and their endeavor understandings in 2001, Jackson found that while about half made some mention to academic freedom in their understandings, approximately one tierce contained elaborate clauses on academic freedom. At one terminal of the study, the University of Adelaide understanding contained an extended academic freedom clause, associating academic freedom to professionalism and duty, at the other Deakin University had no academic freedom clause at all, along with half the universities in the state. Jackson observes, nevertheless, that the move to integrate some look of committedness to academic freedom had begun and that by 2003 both the University of Sydney and the University of Melbourne had expansive clauses recognizing academic freedom, the latter committing to defending the academic freedom of all staff and pupils to prosecute in critical enquiry, rational discourse and public contention without fright or favour. [ 2 ] As Jackson indicates, endeavor understandings were non the lone beginning of committedness to the dogmas of academic freedom, with a figure of establishments enshrining it in codifications of behavior. In 2001, the Southern Cross UniversityCode of Conductwent every bit far as showing academic freedom as a warrant: The University shall: ( a ) Guarantee academic freedom of both enquiry and look provided such enquiry and look does non conflict applicable State or Commonwealth statute law ( such as calumny and privateness Torahs ) and provided that if differences arise, the University s difference declaration patterns are observed. [ 3 ] Since August, 2012 the Southern Cross University appears to hold resiled from such a warrant. While the university’s newCode of Conductupholds the right of its staff to take part and freely prosecute in public argument, it does so with considerable making. Such engagement must now associate directly to the academic or other specialized capable country of an employee’s country of expertness, the officer may utilize the University’s name and reference and give the rubric of his or her University assignment in order to set up his or her credentials. [ 4 ] In relation to public remark, most of the universities cited in contained clauses that sought a balance between the right to academic freedom and a duty to show that freedom within the bounds of academic expertness and without bias to the university. Griffith University’sCode of Conductprovinces: This Code does non take away from the academic freedom of staff of the University. As a staff member you are encouraged to prosecute critical and unfastened enquiry and engage in constructive unfavorable judgment on affairs of public concern within your country of expertise. [ 5 ] This is the tenor of the diction in most understandings citing academic freedom and In 2012 all but two Australian universities - the University of Notre Dame and the University of Southern Queensland - have substantial clauses of rational freedom. The jurisprudence associating to academic freedom in Australia In a landmark instance in February 2001, a University of Wollongong academic Ted Steele was summarily dismissed for talking out against ( what he claimed were ) falling criterions due to the soft marking’ he was instructed to use by university disposal. In the Steele Case’ , the University was pursued to the Federal Court for unjust dismissal by the National Tertiary Education Union ( NTEU ) . The full bench of the Federal Court ruled in Steele’s favour the undermentioned twelvemonth and the faculty member was reinstated ( before making a colony with the university ) . While the argument around academic freedom had in fact raged diversely throughout the state during the 50 old ages prior, the Steele instance became a landmark in the defense mechanism of academic freedom in Australia and, significantly, a trial for how a dismissal, perceived as an onslaught on academic freedom and free address, can backlash on a university disposal. [ 6 ] Following the Steele instance, the NTEU escalated its lobbying of the Commonwealth authorities to present legislative protection for academic freedom for Australian universities. This instance - and a figure of abuses on academic freedom Senate Standing Committee on Education, Employment and Workplace Relations ( SSCEEWR ) Inquiry into Academic Freedom in the 2nd half of 2008 In Australia, the Senate Standing Committee on Education, Employment and Workplace Relations ( SSCEEWR ) conducted an Inquiry into Academic Freedom in the 2nd half of 2008. The enquiry had been established in the deceasing yearss of the Coalition-controlled Senate in late June 2008. On 4 December the Inquiry released its study. A study of such an enquiry normally has the same rubric as the Inquiry itself. In a intimation of its findings, this study bears the rubric Allegations of academic prejudice in universities and schools’ ( SSCEEWR 2008 ) . Gelber 2008 The NTEU re-defined rational freedom to include: the rights of all staff and pupils of higher instruction establishments to take part in determination devising procedures and constructions within their establishment, including the right to show sentiments about the operations of that establishment and higher instruction policy more generally. [ 7 ] Macquarie University Jackson makes the of import point that while a codification is non contractual an statement might be made that a codification making or attesting positive rights such as academic freedom would make an estoppel †¦ . Damaging trust by an academic on the codification would do it conscienceless for the university to disregard the statements in the code. [ 8 ] This instance - inter alia - and serious lobbying by the NTEU precipitated a move by the so Labor Government to amend theHigher Education Support Act 2003in 2011.The amendments were to include expressed mention in its objects to the publicity and protection of free rational enquiry in acquisition, instruction and research and to bind support of universities to a committedness to have policy upholding free rational enquiry in relation to acquisition, instruction and research ( s.19.115 ) . The Act now requires all higher instruction suppliers to conform to the amendments ( s.19.115 of the Act ) in order to run into the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency ( TEQSA ) ’s supplier enrollment criterions for continued support. Academic freedom and Victorian universities A study of Victoria’s eight universities by the Deakin University Policy Office indicates all have in topographic point endeavor understandings incorporating commissariats for rational freedom. These commissariats are translated diversely to other policy places across the universities. All but the University of Melbourne contain their in agreement statements on academic freedom within their Media policies. The University of Melbourne addresses the issue of academic freedom within a specific policy on Academic Freedom of Expression. RMIT University, Monash University and Deakin University provide for academic freedom in both their media policies and codifications of behavior. All but the University of Melbourne contain a statement back uping academic freedom with the caution that such freedom must be exercised within an academic’s country of expertness. The universities vary in their application of limitations on other facets of communicating from within the university. The University of MelbourneAcademic Freedom of Expressionpolicy goes good beyond the commissariats of its endeavor understanding, saying obviously the express right of all bookmans at the University to seek for truth and to keep and show diverse opinions. It stresses that such look should be robust and uninhibited and recognises besides that bookmans are entitled to show their thoughts and sentiments even when making so may do offence. The University of MelbourneAcademic Freedom of Expressionpolicy does do a statement of academic duty but without prohibition. The policy stresses that scholars may keep their ain positions and talk freely on all subjects, even outside their expertness, and even placing themselves as members of the University. The policy requests merely that faculty members express themselves reasonably and in good faith and that discourse entered into should be in accord with the rules of academic and research moralss, where applicable. The policy concludes: The University recognises that these rules may change harmonizing to the context in which the discourse occurs. The University of Melbourne Collective Agreement 2010 captures rational freedom merely in its cardinal rules, but is already more expansive than any other Australian university: Intellectual freedom means the freedom of academic staff, and, to the extent consistent with their employment duties and function, professional staff, to prosecute in critical enquiry, rational discourse and public contention without fright or favor, but does non include the right to hassle, intimidate or vilify. Mentions Griffith University. Code of Conduct. hypertext transfer protocol: //policies.griffith.edu.au/pdf/Code % 20of % 20Conduct.pdf. Jackson, J.G. Express Rights to Academic Freedom in Australian Public University Employment. Southern Cross University Law Review 9 ( 2005 ) : 107-45. Martin, Brian. Dilemmas of Defending Dissent: The Dismissal of Ted Steele from the University of Wollongong. The Australian Universities Review 45, no. 2 ( 2002 ) : 7-17. National Tertiary Education Union. NTEU Submission to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs Inquiry into Whistle-Blower Protections within the Australian Government Public Sector. Canberrra: National Tertiary Education Union. , 2008. Southern Cross University. Code of Conduct. hypertext transfer protocol: //policies.scu.edu.au/view.current.php? id=00030 # maj13. 1

Monday, November 4, 2019

World Relief jurnal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

World Relief jurnal - Essay Example Its activity is centered on the material and spiritual support of children refugees and immigrants. World Relief is helping over 4 million people a year and its staff of volunteers is nearly 100,000 (World Relief Website). Career opportunities, offered by World Relief are available at a lot of locations, including the benefit of package of employment status, such as insurance of life and heath, retirement programs and so on. Employment services work collaborate adult refugees in order to help them to find full-time work and provide resources and education to remain employment in their workplace. World Relief is like an intermediator between clients and employers, so one can quickly find employment and become useful for community. Personnel of World Relief are caring about their clients staffing needs and interview them during the process of advocating for placement and job search. World Relief`s aim is to place refugees at work during three months after their arrival. They provide a review of education and work backgrounds and skills to determine tailored plan of service. The organization is trying to build long-term relationships with employers, which leads to the zero cost in job searching of the refugee. In the area of medicine World Relief includes five programs that provide medical equipment and supplies throughout the world for the people with low-income at little cost or in free way. These programs are: Local Shipping Program  (It provides such items as dressings, nutritional supplements. It may give blankets, hygiene and school kits for homeless and the poor. World Medical Relief gives medical support and equipment to local clinics other non-profit health organizations) In 2008 feeding centers of World Relief organization provided people with nourishing food. Thousands of children aged before 5 and their mothers were given corn soya blend and plumpynut (World Relief Website). Others

Saturday, November 2, 2019

International Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 7

International Business - Essay Example In this case, entrepreneurs are able to assess and identify businesses opportunity by evaluating different cultural requirements. As such, a close scrutiny of a specific culture will reveal the types of business opportunities that are viable in that particular area. Therefore, cultural diversity has its indispensible place in the heart of businesses. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that while businesses become big until they break cultural barriers, other regions suffer cultural infringement. This implies that globalization adversely affect cultural diversity. According to Kanuka (2008, p.117), globalization has lead to the loss of individualism and identity of a given group of people. In this case, many societies have blamed globalization for encouraging the Western ideal of individualism. As such, some cultural aspects are regarded as inferior to others. In this case, globalization has promoted a homogeneous set of beliefs and values. Moreover, the dominant population or culture overwhelms others and as such, globalization. Kanuka (2008, p.124) also argues that e-learning and technologies perpetuate colonization by designing prospectus that reflects the cognitive styles of the dominant