Monday, September 30, 2019

John Locke ideas Essay

How did ideas of Locke’s Social Contract influence the Declaration of Independence? John Locke’s ideas influenced the writing of the Declaration of Independence by the discussion of equal rights, purpose of the government, and what the people should do to an abusive government. Both in the Declaration of Independence and in the Social Contract John Locke, they list that men should have equal rights. Also they both state the purpose of having a government. Lastly, they say what the people should do if the government does not protect these rights. In the Social Contract by John Locke and in the Declaration of Independence they state that men have rights. In the Social Contract it says â€Å"Men have rights by their nature†¦ We give up our right to ourselves exact [revenge] for crimes in return for [nonjudgmental] justice backed by overwhelming force. We retain the right to life and liberty, and gain the right to just, impartial protection of our property. † Just as in the Declaration of Independence it says â€Å"We hold these truths to be [obvious], that all men are created equal, that they are [entitled] by their Creator with certain [mandatory] Rights, that among these Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. † Therefore the Declaration of Independence got the idea Life, Liberty, and pursuit happiness from the Social Contract. Another idea both the Social Contract and Declaration of Independence have in common is the purpose of the government. John Locke’s Social Contracts States â€Å". Society creates order and grants the state its [purpose]†¦ The only role of the state is to ensure that justice is seen to be done† Corresponding to what the Declaration of Independence states â€Å"That to [protect] these rights, Government are [created] [by] Men, [coming] [from] their [own] powers from the [permission] of the [people]. † These writings both mean that the government has a duty to protect the rights of the people. The last thing John Locke did to influence the Declaration of Independence is he created the idea of what the citizens should do to abusive governments. â€Å"If a ruler seeks absolute power, if the acts both as judge and participant in disputes, he puts himself in a state of ear with his subjects and we have the right and the duty to kill such rulers and their servants. † this was the idea in John Locke’s Social Contract. This is very similar to what the Declaration of Independence, which says â€Å"That whenever any Form of government becomes destructive of these [rights], it is the Right of the People to [change] or to [get] [rid] [of] [it], and to [create] [a] new Government†. Both of these mean that if the government does not protect the rights of the people, the people can overthrow the government. How did ideas of Locke’s Social Contract influence the Declaration of Independence? John Locke’s ideas influenced the writing of the Declaration of Independence by the discussion of equal rights, purpose of the government, and what the people should do to an abusive government Men have equal rights is both stated in John Locke’s Social Contract and in the Declaration of Independence. Also they share the purpose of what the government should do. Lastly, they share the responsibilities of what the people should do in a abusive government.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Your development and Environmental Influences

The personal development as a child had an impact of my social perception as an adult that provided me with a sense of awareness of culture. The family unit experienced at childhood provided a platform that interacted with siblings and a mother and father. The positive and negative relationships between siblings produced a challenging environment for social learning. The atmosphere was unbalance that could also be defined as fractured during the most intense interaction with family members. The relationships between my mother and father provided a stern perception of leadership and organization within the family unit (Winnicott, 2003). The perceived leadership and organization model my parents incorporated showcased my mother very unsocialable and connecting to her children. This in part relationship created an uneasy atmosphere that limited the social connectivity with outside members of the family. An ongoing challenge for development was to take what was not given as child into adulthood. The relationship with my mother was focusing on the bread and butter of survival. Those areas of focus were keeping food on the table and a place to call home – that did not include a social connection with her children. In doing so, the skills needed to learn how to connect and interpret behavioral trends were not development as a child. The language opportunity that normally begins during childhood didn’t offer much of advancement. Mainly, the reason for the limited language skills was due to my mother being raised in a small town that had limited resources or highly educated people. Therefore, the need to expand on learning strong language was not encourage or sought after to better the existence of her children. The relationship with my father was limited as well as to develop critical social identity development that he was hardly around. The limited interaction provided a sense of loss to self identity and the self concept due to no real foundation developed with my father. The relationship was not a consisted bridge between my mother and father because there was no parallel universe of social building towards their children. Instead, my father felt that my mother should lead and make the decisions of connecting with the children to present a hard approach at all times. My father would take the occasionally approach to put his foot down but were more interested in other matters that centered on his existence. The family unit experience was a major deficient in the social identity development needed for the growth of an individual. The interactions between family members instill the psycho-social-culture environment that translates adulthood. The limited social building relationships as a child provided my teenage years quite difficult due to trying to understanding the definition of the human being. The combination of the relationships between my families provided an incorrect prism of the actual world that was corrected as an older age approached. The fundamental basis of social rendering is the understanding of how our family structure is one out of many ingredients to defining who we really are as individuals. In addition, the family unit is important only on the basis for providing an identity to how adults and children interact that are genetic related. This biological relationship poses an in-depth psycho-social-culture awareness to making sure the trends, styles; perceptions are embedded in one’s mind. Moreover, the benefit of the family unit impression on a child is an opportunity to redefine one’s individual perception on other people as well as experiences (Winnicott, 2003). The developmental psychology stage is crucial to allowing the child to grow as an adult with the basis of the family unit influence, however, the experiences later on in life provides a chance to create a new reality. The stages of individual’s development that opens up a perception windfall to present a newer understanding to interpersonal skills – that encourages the needed growth for long-term achievement. The benefit of understanding the roles that our family units play in the beginning actually empowers us to being able to restructure later years of maturity. In reaching the plateau of achievement for social growth is the number of experiences that human beings encounter that has additional impact as the family unit. The overall focus of what our mother and father did not do is not as important as compared to allowing newer experiences to redirect our mindset. The core vision to be focused on is the ability to learn the lessons that our family unit as a child presented and provide a deeper psychology terminology that doesn’t limits the journey (Winnicott, 2003). The most influential groups that assisted in the growth of social developmental growth is the church, community organizations, school parenting groups of development, and toastmasters. The organizations provided an opportunity to grow as child, teenager, and later on as an adult that empowered my mindset. The benefits of associating with the organizations provided a sense of what is most important to human growth – that learning something new that is different than something is a good thing. The overall perception also allowed a chance to redefine what was shown and taught as a child to create a different observation. The experiences as an adult introduced new and exciting individuals that opened up a wonderful projection to what was true and not a false pretense. Furthermore, the connection of meeting new people and experiencing new episodes of life provided a wealth of new understanding. The final analysis is that the key is having the willingness to learning a new perspective of social interaction that nurtures one’s human growth.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Analysis of Generalization on the Example of Radio Shack’s Audience

Analysis of Generalization on the Example of Radio Shack’s Audience Radio Shacks Sociocultural Environment Radio Shack is a computer-controlled radio that has a recording feature on live programs. It is available in both the United States of America and Canada. The aspect of socio-culture for both countries is different in the sense that, the USA is diverse with many ethnic groups while Canada lacks diversity since it has few ethnic- groups. The culture of a place is typically influenced by the number of ethnic groups that exist. For instance, the United States and Canada are different when it comes to market structure and consumption. For both countries, there is a notable variation, which can be attributed to different cultures. In the USA it needs to incorporate the diversity to a large existent while in Canada it is not necessary. As such, the Sociocultural environment is seen as fundamental in coming up with generalized decisions as well as specific operating needs of each sociocultural cluster (Macky et al., 2008). Geert Hofstede looks at the sociocultural environment as a different way, which individuals of one group are distinguishable from the other. This is a result of how they have adapted to their society and how they can view and react to various elements (Hofstede, 2011). Socio-cultural parts of the States include considering a product on merit, that is, how it meets the need it was purchased for and the cultural aspects of the company involved. Moreover, the company can consider taking part in various social responsibility programs. Corporate social responsibility programs are essential in that; they can help market the products of the company in their localities. Radio Shack is one company that is surviving in different cultures, however, Canada, on the other hand, is more of how collectively a product can meet the desired results. In this case, it is not about a single person but the entire group. Similarly, the corporate social responsibility that the parent company is involved in p lays a role in improving Radio Shack penetration in the market. The socio-culture of the USA is first centered on individualism, which ideally means every person wants a product or a service that perfectly meets their needs and many of the consumers do not consider the tastes of others (Apsalone Sumilo, 2015). As such, Radio Shack is meant to have personal satisfaction. Concerning masculinity, the States is not that divided when it comes to roles, ideas or products that befit a certain gender. From a business perspective, Radio Shark can easily qualify as a unisex product that cuts across the needs of both men and women. Uncertainty in the USA is high because it is tolerant to various ideas and allows businesses to try products without any restrictions. To Radio Shack this is a good environment for trying out new products, as the market allows a variety of products without having to judge and condemn them in totality. Canada, on the other hand, is more into collectivism, mainly because, it has less ethnic groups compared to the USA. As such, there are strong groups such as extended family connections or influence by church groups at different age levels (Dube et al., 2015). Radio Shack has to be spot on when it comes to its programming of a product in that this market takes only a single individual to affect the sales to a huge group due to the collectivism, which represents socio-cultural aspects. The other aspect of masculinity in Canada is pronounced in the sense that men and women tend to be competitive and assertive. As such, for the business, a product has to be tailored to adapt to the competitive nature of both genders. Uncertainties in Canada are very low, in that, the level of tolerance that is accorded to ambiguity is so minimal. Rules and regulations are adhered to strictly as well as the need for safety and security of consumers. Radio Shack’s business in this market is therefo re subject to strict controls from the regulatory authority, and there is no room for any errors. In the business world, there are situations where uncertainties are unavoidable either due to political or economic causes. However, the social-cultural aspect of inequality in both countries is similar. Every person or business is accorded same opportunity to access government services or social amenities. This has been key for Radio Shack in the sense that, venturing into a foreign market comes with a lot of rules and regulations with the outstanding aspect of foreign ventures. Operating business in a foreign land can be difficult, especially when it comes to compliance. Radio Shack has enjoyed relatively a pleasant business season in both cultures. This can be attributed to their mode of operation, which incorporates diversity. In both Canada and USA, the market is friendly for the company in many ways. As such the aspect of equality means ease of accessing market as well as launching the product. The socio-cultural factors have a huge impact on the business of Radio Shack in various ways. The aspect of individualism means that the companys marketing structure need to focus independently on every customer. The reverse is true for the collectivism aspect in that, all required is a good marketing structure at the group level and the product will be accepted. Design of a product is also affected by the element of masculinity in that; in an environment where these aspects are more pronounced, the product should equally make them pronounced. This can be achieved by having labels that distinguish between male and female. The level of tolerance to uncertainty also plays a role. Unfamiliar products that are not from the individual’s country may be unwelcome, and this may affect business negatively. As such, cultures that have low uncertainty tolerance pose a high risk to a business regarding having a competitive edge in the market or not.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Japan politics and the FDI Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Japan politics and the FDI - Essay Example There were multiple parties that were registered to participate in the last general election. These parties included the (LDP), the (DPJ), the (JRP) and (NKP) among others. Under different leadership styles and ideals, all the political parties reason from different platforms/manifestos. Politicians espoused to the ideologies of the different political parties. They conducted their campaigns with varying manifestos that were commonly identifiable to their visions and missions towards the general governance of the republic of Japan. These platforms entailed what individual candidates or parties would do to the people when elected to the governance. This is a common scenario to all political struggles in all nations. However, though the disparities of the parties are evident, close analysis show some likeness and difference between the competing political parties. Economic analysis of the similarities and differences reveal that they have impacts on foreign direct investments. Today’s political landscape of Japan is dominated by political party manifestos. These platforms have changed the politics in that they have now changed into principle and policy oriented. The political campaigns now give the general public the position to evaluate the political parties past performance as regards to the manifestos provided and are able to judge the individual candidates based of the visions advocated by the manifestos. This is one of the similarities between competing parties in Japan. However, much of the manifesto strategies has been criticized as only paper work and only serves to win the peoples votes. They are often designed to the catchy edge on why one candidate is better elected than his/her rival. According to the FX trade magazine, January-March 2013 edition, Shinzo Abe, the leader of the LDP was quoted through an interview with the Wall street journal to have the persistent â€Å"deflation problem† in Japan as a priority of his governance co uld he win the forth coming elections. He argued that with a good spending plan, he would be in a position to curb deflation and this would go a long way in restoring the investors’ confidence (Anon 45). He argued that the bottom line in stabilizing the economy of Japan was through appreciating the value of the yen and had a 2% inflation target. By revaluing the yen, investors confidence and would boost better relations with the investors both local and foreign. The JRP party pledged to ensure minimal corporate dependence by the central bank and minimize the income taxes in the way to boost investment and the earn investors confidence. The party also promised to eradicate nuclear power production by 2030, if elected into office (Martin, para 10). This in itself had economic edge in that western countries that in the past never regarded investing in the country would now be won into the country. Japan future party’s point on economic perspective was to have an overhaul cut of the government expenditure before imposing a tax cut. Led by the founder, Yukiko Kada the party also intends to reduce the reliance on the central government to ease the wasteful bureaucracy (Koh, para 6). By and large, a common feature to all the parties and their platforms was the zeal to restore sanity to the deflation that has been challenging all efforts to economic development of the country since the Second World War. Different regimes of governance have always tried to revalue the country’s currency in efforts to better the lives of the citizens. Different policies and strategies have been proposed and tried thou the currency is yet to rise to the rightful value. The parties also commonly pledged to have the restoration of the image of the country as regards

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Psychoanalytic Film Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Psychoanalytic Film Theory - Essay Example Mulvey's essay can be asserted as a historical document, due to her examinations of the pleasurable and controlling dimensions of â€Å"vision† that several disciplines studied before her and extended after her work. She argued that the â€Å"unconscious† of the patriarchal system has projected itself unto the film narrative. The male gaze had perilously affected the discourse between the dominant and dominated sectors of society, where political binaries of man/woman and active/passive are present. This paper will discuss the reasons why feminist film scholars adopted psychoanalytic film theory. It will also use feminist psychoanalytic spectatorship theory in studying Hitchcock’s Rear Window (1959). Feminist scholars adopted the psychoanalytic film theory, because the latter aims to examine and depict gender identity using cultural, instead of biological, concepts that are present in films, so that the exclusion of women in dominant film discourses can be identified and dismantled for purposes of political empowerment by breaking the domination of the male gaze and reversing spectatorship from male to female gazing. Rear Window (1959) depicts scopophilia through sexual stimulations of visual pleasures and narcissism, and its pervasive use of the sexual objectification of women, where the film sees them as sources of both pleasure and pleasure. Feminist film scholars, during the 1970s, were interested in analyzing the diverse forms of gender oppression that relegated them to a â€Å"secondary† social and political status (Kaplan 1238). Their takeoff was the â€Å"cultural,† and not the biological, aspect of negative female experiences, where cultural semiotic systems present relationships in how women are seen and consumed in films and in societies where they live in. These scholars noted that the â€Å"objectification† of women, which limited their desires and objectives, could be the root cause of their oppressed conditions in real and reel life.

Creative Writing Proposal Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Creative Writing Proposal - Assignment Example I will portray Tamara as a sensible girl with average looks, with maybe one or two outstanding features besides the fact that is a traditionalist. Her unusual knack to be cool, calm and relaxed makes her the voice of reason to her parents and even her friends. Aside from her family Tamara has a social life which she builds up gradually from her high school and university life. Most significantly there is Agatha, whose previous life was ‘dark’ until the day she became a Christian, she is very religious but does not judge Tamara because of her religious believes. On the other hand there is Rajab. He is a young Muslim man living with his Brother Yusuf. They fight a lot because Rajab does not pay much attention to his religion unlike his brother. And they are both secretly attracted to Tamara. I think I will want to portray Rajab as a comic for two reasons. One is to break the whole intensity and monotony of having religion as a theme and secondly to widen contrast between h im and his brother. Though based in Birmingham, I will do a number of researches on Ethiopia, to know their culture in terms of religious practices, their social life and cuisine. This is important because the main characters family is originally from Ethiopia.

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Registered nurse and Registered practical nurse should have individual Essay

Registered nurse and Registered practical nurse should have individual regulatory body - Essay Example As stated by Melrose and Wishart (2013), RN’s study for a longer period of time and have more in depth scope of practice and have greater knowledge in decision making, critical thinking, leadership, research utilization, resource management and healthcare delivery systems. An RN focuses on greater understanding of patient care and identifies the need for involvement of other health professionals (Melrose &Wishart, 2013). RPN’s focus on collecting data such as vital signs, monitoring the progress of patients and reporting any adverse reactions. RN’s not only gather data, they incorporate the data in a more holistic approach for better patient care (Melrose &Wishart, 2013). Considering their educational background, RPN’s have been trained to care for stable patients, where there may not be medical interventions required. The autonomy of an RPN will depend on the complexity of their patient’s condition (RPNAO, 2012). The RPNAO explains that when the care of a patient becomes more complex, there is a greater need for RN’s. This information would imply that RN’s have further educational training that allows them to care for patients with greater needs. On the other hand, one would argue that the nursing knowledge of an RPN is comparable with the educational knowledge of an RN and for this reason they should be regulated under the same body. Along with RN’s; following graduation, RPN’s take a national certificate examination that will allow them to obtain their license to practice. RPN’s also study from the same body of knowledge as RN’s and have a more focused foundational knowledge. In addition, over the past 10 years, it is evident that the RPN program has started to lengthen and their scope of practice has become broader and comparable with RN’s (RPNAO, 2012). Martin and Weeres (2012) suggest that RPN’s are not working to their full scope of practice and are unable to utilize their

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Can Scotland reach it's target of generating 50% of it's electricity Essay

Can Scotland reach it's target of generating 50% of it's electricity from renewable sources by 2020 - Essay Example These areas, should they continue to depend on fossil fuels, they risk the occurrence of being dysfunctional in the future. The problem with using fossil fuels to provide power and electricity is that in addition to not being environmentally friendly, these fossil fuels are easily depleted (Gowdy 1998). In fact, it has been predicted that if the world were to still depend on fossil fuels such as oil, there is a high occurrence for oil to expire in the year 2050. Other fossil fuels have been predicted to deplete within the years 2020 to 2030. Natural gas, on the other hand, has been predicted to not be available in the market anymore by the year 2040. Consequently, coal as an energy resource has also been predicted to expire before the year 2100. Uranium as well, has been said to reach the stage of depletion starting from the middle of the 2030s (Droege 2002). The UK Renewable Energy Advisory Group (REAG) has identified renewable energy to be energy that is produced naturally by the environment to be used by man for his own use and benefit (REAG 1992). In Europe, it has been said that renewable energy resources supply 5.3 percent of the total energy being consumed by the entire continent. In the United Kingdom, renewable resources make up only 1 percent. However, in a green paper presented by the European Commission in the year 1996, it has been revealed that members of the European Commission shall increase its target to 12 percent by the year 2010. This easily translates to a significant decrease in the carbon dioxide emissions to around 250 million tonnes. Of course, over the years, the percentages have increased and according to a report released by the EU, it has been revealed that the target of EU member countries would be to make sure that at least 20 percent of their energy needs are derived from renewable energy resources by the year 2020. Based on the report, it has been mentioned that the

Monday, September 23, 2019

Heart Failure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Heart Failure - Essay Example es the fact that as a disease, heart failure claims more people’s life than the diseases like AIDS and Cancer combined and by 2020, heart disease will be the principal grounds of death all over the world. (The Hearth foundation, 2014) Heart failure is a medical condition categorized by complete perfusion insufficient to encounter bodys metabolic strains as a result of reduced cardiac pump task. The process of heart failure can be split into systolic or diastolic heart failure. In case of systolic heart failure, there is reduced cardiac contractility and in diastolic heart failure there is reduced cardiac lessening along with abnormal ventricular filling to go with it. (Hobbs & Boyle, 2010) The indications of heart failure can differ from person to person. The key signs are breathlessness, great tiredness, and ankle enlargement, which may spread up the legs. All these are the main or the basic symptoms associated with heart failure, apart from above mentioned ones, certain other indicators are a persistent cough, lack of appetite, profuse and sudden weight loss and tachycardia which is in common term known as rapid heart rate. (NHS, nd) Circumstances that harm or overload the heart muscle can be the cause of heart failure. Over the time, as the age of any individual increases the heart weakens. It used to lose its ability to fill with and/or propel blood as well as it used to do earlier. As the condition of heart started to weaken, certain proteins and substances are released into the blood. These materials have a lethal consequence on the heart as well as in the blood flow, and this resultant into heart failure. The common cause of heart disease are Coronary heart disease (CHD); High Blood Pressure, presence of diabetes etc. If proper care can be given to ensure the treatment of these entire then one can prevent or reduce the chances of heart attack. CHD is a disorder in which a Plaque used to develop inside the coronary arteries which acts as a source

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Western Civilization Essay Example for Free

Western Civilization Essay The themes dominating Netos poetry are quite indicative of the fact that the veracity and practice of luso-tropicalism, the idea that the Portuguese went to Africa to civilize and christianize Africans, and the notion that the assimilation project was a widespread one, were more myth than reality. The poems included in Sacred Hope illustrate well the oppression, apartheid, (un)civilization, and (un)Christianity brought to Africa by the Portuguese. The poem which in its English translation is called Western civilization (Civilizacao ocidental), constitutes a good example of that so-called civilization and Christianity brought to Angola (and other parts of Africa) by the Portuguese colonizers. The title of the poem might lead some readers to believe that what is to come is an apology for Western civilization and culture and for its good deeds in Africa. It could be suggested that such readers have fallen into what can be described as the Eurocentric trap that is, they went into the reading of the poem with the preconceived idea that Western colonizers did indeed go to Africa to civilize Africans. These readers will only be disappointed and even confused for what is to be painted in the poem is not civilization but rather (un)civilization. The poems title is in fact highly ironic: it is used by the poet to make the reader reflect about the true nature of Western civilization, see its many (un)civilized sites and make him/her question the motives behind the colonial enterprise. For example, in this poem, the houses of Angolans are described as Tins fixed to stakes / driven in the earth whose intimate landscape is complet[ed] by rugs (18). And these houses are full of cracks through which the sun enters just to awake its inhabitant, who is tired from twelve hours of slave / labour (18). The poet then proceeds to describe the endless hard work performed by the Angolan: Breaking stones / carrying stones / breaking stones / carrying stones (19). The repetition carrying stones / breaking stones, used three times in this stanza, is very successful in transmitting the intensity and never-ending hard work performed by the worker. The worker becomes a slave precisely because he never stops working; he works continuously without even being interrupted by harsh weather conditions; he works in the sun and in the rain (19). The poem ends by explaining and illustrating when, how and under what circumstances this slave worker dies: Old age comes early / A reed mat on dark nights / enough for him to die / thankfully / and of hunger (19). For even though the worker works very hard all his life, he ends up without the most basic necessities: no proper bed, no food and no light, and thus is grateful to die. Death represents freedom from a life of slave work; it represents the end of his physical and psychological oppression and immeasurable pain. This poem is indeed a good illustration of the (un)civilization, the (un)Christianity brought to Africans by the Portuguese: hunger, cold, physical and mental exhaustion, and alienation. To put it metaphorically, if the lights of the civilized did not reach the Angolans (as colonialists have claimed to be the case) before the arrival of the colonialist, they surely were not bright enough to illuminate the life of most Angolans after. The questions I would like to ask in relation to this poem are: will the reader feel enough revolt and disgust against Western civilization that he/she will want to work towards the independence of Angola? Will the sites of Western (un)civilization displayed in this poem be sufficient for the oppressor to see the true nature of the colonial enterprise and convince him/her to refuse to be part of such sordid business? Or will this poem just sound like the unfounded lament of an Angolan who is jealous of the so-called higher successes and intelligences of his colonial master?

Friday, September 20, 2019

CSR Policy At BHP Billiton

CSR Policy At BHP Billiton After thorough deliberation of the research, the analysis indicates that BHP boasts of a good CSR reputation. However the activities that feature in this report are questionable CSR practices and there is a growing gap between BHPs rhetoric and the reality of its operations. The report also evaluates why these controversial activities have not had a significant effect on BHPs corporate image. In particular, outlining BHPs use of its CSR Policy as a Public Relations (PR) tool to manage its reputation. Table of Contents Introduction BHP Billiton was formed in 2001 through the merger of the BHP (a natural resource company) and Billiton (mining company). It now operates in 25 countries, employs approximately 41,000 people and has a market value of over 250 billion (BHP Billiton, Our business n.d.). Milton Friedman describes CSR as a fundamentally subversive doctrine and states that there is one and only one social responsibility of business which is to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so as long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud (Hamilton Fitzgerald 2005). While many leading companies are genuinely moving in this direction, others are simply seeking a relatively short-term improved public perception of their operations. Increasingly CSR has become a major concern in the global mining economy because of the heightened awareness of unethical business behaviour. Most recent examples of this include the devastating oil spill in 2010 by British Petroleum (BP) in the Gulf of Mexico (BP, Gulf of Mexico Restoration n.d.). Price Waterhouse Coopers identify a number of challenges BHP and many other natural resource companies face in todays environment: improving safety and reducing the environmental impact improving performance and operational effectiveness managing risk complying with regulatory reporting requirements and addressing sustainability issues. (Price Waterhouse Coopers, n.d) BHP Billiton BHP responds to community expectations with a combination of policys including a code of conduct, sustainable development policy and many others designed to set the standard of which it conducts its business. At the forefront of this approach stands BHPs CSR Policy. CSR Policy BHP define its CSR Policy as a requirement to address risks, explicitly stating it has zero tolerance for the misconduct of: child labour, forced or compulsory labour, treatment of employees, living wages, workplace health and safety, freedom of association, world heritage sites and protected areas, biofuels, corruption, bribery and extortion, compliance with laws, discrimination, indigenous rights and the environment (BHP Billiton, Corporate social responsibility requirements n.d). Communication and Advertisement BHP uses four communication channels on its website to advertise its CSR Policy: reports, which reference CSR information for stakeholders, announcements, available on its home page which are designed to provide updates on their CSR performance and activities, multimedia, the website also offers effective use of multimedia to enhance their CSR information through relevant images, interviews and other media, feedback, BHP invites stakeholders to provide feedback via their website by submitting online questions (BHP Billiton, Our business n.d.). Uniqueness of CSR Policy The level of CSR differs from each company, however after comparing BHP with Shell and British Petroleum, two of its natural resource competitors; it is clear all three competitors are trying to get value from their CSR reporting by focusing on the environmental and social concerns of their stakeholders. This includes such things as political, economic, environmental, social, legal and cultural factors. Drivers of CSR (Benn Dunphy 2007) argue that corporate social responsibility may in fact be the consequence of profitability rather than the cause. So the question stands, is BHPs CSR Policy driven by true concern for society, or is it another way to increase corporate profit? BHP argue that its decision to report on Corporate Social Responsibility is based on: consideration of the key health, safety, environment, community and socio-economic risks of our business consideration of stakeholder feedback and commentary with regards to issues of materiality a desire to continually improve reporting standards Evidence of Commitment to CSR BHP uses a number of methods to ensure it complies with its CSR Policy. This includes but is not limited to: conducting a progress assessment on its performance in relation to the UN Global Compact principle and the Global Reporting Initiative which are designed to align their operations. holding an annual Forum on Corporate Responsibility (FCR) that brings together representatives of senior management and key non-government organisations and community opinion leaders to discuss and debate social and environmental matters relevant to BHP. Investing in community projects and recording its community contributions spend against the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDG), this presents a consistent framework for measuring tangible progress. The reporting methods noted above are publically available on BHPs website, this is proof that BHP acknowledges the challenges in the nature of its operations. Assurance BHP commissioned the URS in 2006 to provide an independent review of its Sustainability Report (URS Australia, n.d). The results indicated that BHPs Sustainability Report fairly represents the health and safety, environment, community and socio-economic impacts of its operations. Rhetoric or Reality BHP Billiton has argued in theory that it abides by its strong corporate responsibility; however there is a growing gap between its rhetoric and the reality of its activities. The following cases are examples of challenges faced by BHPs operations when policy does not equate to practice: Natural Resource Industry BHPs core business is to provide natural resources, an industry which has had increased social pressures to act responsibly. It can be argued that BHPs CSR Policy was produced as a public relations tool to mitigate the negative impacts of its core business activities and also to maximise profits for its stakeholders. The real test here is does BHP act ethically when it has the opportunity to make a profit (Pratt Nikolova 2006). This was demonstrated most recently when BHP advised of its intentions to supply the Chinese energy market with an additional 10,500 tonnes of uranium annually. The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) warn that once the uranium enters China it will disappear from the safeguards radar, this could potentially lead to devastating outcomes such as nuclear proliferation. Clearly BHP has a greater CSR here but unfortunately the $80 million in revenue was more important than its public image or the health of the wider community. Economic Influence BHPs CSR Policy specifically prohibits the influence of government officials to support the company practices. Most recently in 2010 the Australian Federal Government proposed a super profit mining tax estimating to have made $100 billion in revenue between 2012-13 and 2020-21. However the government was subsequently influenced by three major mining companies including BHP, who explicitly opposed the tax proposal, threatening Australias investment capital (The mining company that cried poor 16 February 2011). As a result the Prime Minister slashed 30 per cent of the tax which means the Australian taxpayers will take a forecast revenue hit of $60 billion over a decade while BHP reports over $10 billion profit for the second half of 2010. Corruption, Bribery and Extortion Clarke (2007) argues that the debate concerning the true extent of the accountability and responsibility continues to the present day. BHP states that: All contract related transactions and payments, including those in connection with gifts and hospitality and other expenditures, must be accurately recorded in reasonable detail in the books and records of any supplier who works on behalf of BHP Billiton (BHP Bilton, Corporate social responsibility requirements). However in April 2010 BHP was investigated by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission after Cambodias Minister for Water Resources told the countrys National Assembly that BHP Billiton had paid US$2.5 million in unofficial payments, to the government, to secure a mining concession (An Alternative Annual Report 2010). BHP has not revealed what over payment was for but controversially the countries BHP operates in have poor records on corruptions and are desperately in need of foreign investment. Protection of the Environment BHP states that: Protection of the Environment: The supplier must operate in a manner that is protective of the environment and comply with all applicable environmental laws, regulations and standards, environmental permitting and re porting (BHP Bilton, Corporate social responsibility requirements). However in 1996 it was sued by Slater and Gordon for one of worlds most devastating environmental disasters when it discharged over one billion tonnes of tailings and waste material into the source of the Ok Tedi River in Papua New Guinea (PNG). This caused more than 3,000 square kilometres of deforestation, turned the tropical rain forests into savannahs, caused 95% decline in fish population (An Alternative Annual Report 2010). Workplace Health and Safety BHP states that it must ensure: the provision of safe and healthy working facilities and appropriate precautionary measures to protect employees from work-related hazards and anticipated dangers in the workplace (BHP Billiton, Corporate social responsibility requirements). However five of its workers in the Western Australia operations died in fatal injuries due to unsafe working practices from 2008-2010 (An Alternative Annual Report 2010). BHP also states that it must ensure: workers receive regular and recorded health and safety training (BHP Billiton, Corporate social responsibility requirements). However in its South African operations employees were not informed about the health and safety risks of handling a chemical element called manganese which causes illnesses such as Parkinsons Disease (An Alternative Annual Report 2010). Effectiveness of BHPs CSR Policy Despite its bad history BHP has usually maintained a good CSR reputation. In fact the Australian Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility went so far as to list BHP in the 2010/11 Top 20 Australian Listed Companies based on its advanced CSR capabilities (State of CSR in Australia Annual Review 2010/11). The real question here is has BHP earned its right to good CSR reputation? History of Public Relations It is a well-known fact that many companies spend a lot of money on Public Relations (PR) to manage their reputation. In the late 1990s BHP employed the Ecos Corp, an environmental PR company founded by former Greenpeace International Executive Director Paul Gilding to help repair its reputation after the OK Tedi Mine disaster in PNG (Ecos 2007). The public relations was aimed at countering the bad publicity through campaigns including advertisements in business publications such as the Financial Review and Australian TV. BHP also offered legal support to the PNG Government for the development of new environmental laws. Unfortunately for BHP, this resulted in an even bigger public outcry, as the company was accused of interfering with its legislation in an effort to protect its own interests (Quester et al 2001). Evaluation The evaluation of BHPs CSR Policy resides in the adequacy of its reporting standards. Clarke (2007) argues that in order for a company to receive creditability they must disclose their processes, procedures and assumptions in reporting. It can be argued that BHP has intentionally chosen not to transparently report on the cases as mentioned in this report, for the simple fact that it leaves it open to more risk and public scrutiny. However this lack of acknowledgement effectively contradicts its stewardship and attests its reliability. Increased public awareness demands that CSR reporting will no longer be used as a public relations tool. This can be seen, as mentioned previously, through the introduction of the Australian Federal Government Mining Tax and other legislation such as the UK Bribery Act, both will inevitably have a significant impact on the way BHP conducts its business. Additionally important are organisations such as BHP Billiton Watch, which was formed to deal with the prominent concerns of communities and organisations across the world regarding BHPs activities (BHP Billiton Watch n.d). Conclusion It is inevitable that organisations such as BHP, in controversial industries such as mining, are never going to be holistically accepted. However, todays forward thinking generation recognise the impacts and challenges of CSR including safety, environmental, community and socio-economic issues. Stakeholders including shareholders demand greater accountability than simply financial returns. Therefore verification and transparency are key to BHPs success and the credibility of its CSR. BHP boasts of a strong reputation and has an opportunity and increased responsibility to enhance and contribute to a safe renewable environment and set an example for other companies alike.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Progressive Era: The Era of Immigration, Race, and Women’s Rights Essay

Introduction: The Progressive era was a period of reform in American history that spanned roughly from the 1890s to the 1920s. Prohibitions, segregation, women's suffrage and immigration arose during this time, like many of the social reforms that shape the way we live and work today. The progressive era in the United States one of the most important times in history with brought permanent changes to the American ways of living. All of these and other factor were vital for the creation of a new American society. Be Gender roles: At the beginning of the 20th century the United States starts to leave behind the old ideas of the 19th century concerning the separate, and indeed distinct natures of men and women, which were more, standardized at the pick of the industrialization which defined merchandize labor as the â€Å"job of men,† and the domestic duties as the natural domain of woman. At this time, the relationships with men and women and of both in society stated to generate a big change thanks to the rapid change that industrialization was creating in society, which provokes a rebirth a new believe an practice of the traditional render roles. In the early 20’s women felt that they were lacking participation in their own communities, which alienated them from providing any type of influence in their own society. For this lack in participation women felt that they needed to take action. Voting was one of the first symbolic movements that women saw as a passage to gain all of the rights that they were denied. During this part the gran majority of men did not think that it was a good idea to support women for various reasons. One of the first reasons was that women were larger number of citizen at the time. Also men thought that t... ...emigration. Garvey wanted African Americans to unify and create a central government centered in homeland Africa where they were supposed to build â€Å"a great industrial and commercial commonwealth.† He wanted â€Å"every negro to make the dream of possibility.† His idea was to buy steamships to take people and goods to Africa where they were going to create a new history were I didn’t start with the slaves. Garvey is still significant till this day big figures like Martin Luther King and Malcon X were influence by his ideal. Conclusion: To conclude, the progressive Era was a time where these three main themes generated in a society that was hungry for progression. It is very important to remember that all of these changes in the late 19th century and the early 20th century were not secluded from each other; instead these developments were all interlined with each other.

Jeffersonian Democratic Republicans :: History

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Jeffersonian Democratic Republicans were characterized as strict constructionists. Which explains why they wanted the United States to be controlled by the states, not a central government.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On August thirteenth eighteen hundred, Thomas Jefferson addressed the nation to let individual know that The United States was much too large to have a central government to direct the affairs of the nation. Meaning that we have the need of state officials and not just the national leaders. Therefore, we have independent states to handle the events and laws within the boundaries of each state. Although at the international level we are as one United Nation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On January twenty-third eighteen o eight, Jefferson informed Samuel Miller, who was a Presbyterian minister that the United States government could not interfere with a citizen’s religious beliefs. According to what was written in the first Amendment of the Bill of Rights â€Å" Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.† This became effective on December fifteenth seventeen ninety-one. There was nothing that can make one participate in religious exercises.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The cartoon illustrates the embargo of eighteen o eight and was confusing to the citizens. Because it was stated as the â€Å"Ograbme†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On December ninth eighteen fourteen, Daniel Webster a federalist from New Hampshire, gave a speech to the House of Representatives. His speech addressed the draft. Webster argued that it was not right to â€Å"take children away from their parents, and parents from their children. Jeffersonian Democratic Republicans :: History   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Jeffersonian Democratic Republicans were characterized as strict constructionists. Which explains why they wanted the United States to be controlled by the states, not a central government.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On August thirteenth eighteen hundred, Thomas Jefferson addressed the nation to let individual know that The United States was much too large to have a central government to direct the affairs of the nation. Meaning that we have the need of state officials and not just the national leaders. Therefore, we have independent states to handle the events and laws within the boundaries of each state. Although at the international level we are as one United Nation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On January twenty-third eighteen o eight, Jefferson informed Samuel Miller, who was a Presbyterian minister that the United States government could not interfere with a citizen’s religious beliefs. According to what was written in the first Amendment of the Bill of Rights â€Å" Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.† This became effective on December fifteenth seventeen ninety-one. There was nothing that can make one participate in religious exercises.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The cartoon illustrates the embargo of eighteen o eight and was confusing to the citizens. Because it was stated as the â€Å"Ograbme†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On December ninth eighteen fourteen, Daniel Webster a federalist from New Hampshire, gave a speech to the House of Representatives. His speech addressed the draft. Webster argued that it was not right to â€Å"take children away from their parents, and parents from their children.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Tupac Essay -- Tupac Shakur 2pac Biography Biographies

Tupac When thinking of the Hip-Hop industry, one of the first names that comes to mind is Tupac Shakur. Shakur was born in the Bronx on June 16, 1971. He was reared by his mother Afeni Shakur who was an active member of the Black Panthers. Tupac's family later relocated to Oakland, California, where he spent much of his time on the street. As a kid, he was always getting himself into trouble, and he was very lonely. He started writing songs to keep himself out of trouble. An article from VIBE magazine "Troubled Times for Tupac Shakur" quotes Tupac. "'I was lonely, I didn't have no big brothers, no big cousins until later. I could remember writing songs.... I remember writing poetry.' " 1 Tupac was talented in the areas of poetry, songwriting and acting from the beginning. He started acting at a young age, and he joined the rap group Digital Underground, performing as a dancer in 1990. In an interview with MTV, John Singelton, the writer-director of Boyz in the Hood and Poetic Just ice, says that Tupac was a natural born actor; he knew how every role should be played.2 Tupac began his public acting career before his music career. After the Digital Underground debut, Tupac signed to Interscope Records and released his first solo album, 1991's 2pacalypse Now. The album quickly went gold thanks to the hit singles "Trapped" and "Brenda's Got a Baby," as well as a high-profile appearance in the hit movie Juice. Tupac's 1993 follow-up album Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z., reached number four and went platinum, spawning the top 10 hits "I Get Around" and "Keep Ya Head Up." Then in 1995, Tupac put out Me Against the World, which debuted at number one, went platinum and established Shakur as one of the most popular and successf... ...world knew Tupac Shakur as a troubled but successful performer. Sex, drugs, and violence encircled his life; however, he overcame and emerged as one of the most successful rappers of all time. Tupac was a man who loved his mother and who held great respect for women, whom he thanked and celebrated in his music. Many adults rejected his music due to the profane language and his gangster lifestyle; however, his fans will always appreciate the awesome quality of his music. His death brought renewed attention to Inner-City violence as well as corruption in the rap music industry and East Coast /West Coast feuds. It also put a dent in the music world and left a void in the hearts of his family and friends. As time goes on, Tupac's music will continue to thrive through radio and album sales, but his legacy will live on through the hearts of everyone whom he touched.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Global Trends in Tourism Essay

Threats of terrorism, pandemic outbreaks, natural calamities and, finally, pesky security checks notwithstanding, the international tourism industry is booming. Tourism has become a key economic driver globally, and is one of the main sources of income for many developing countries today. International tourism receipts totaled $682 billion in 2005 while arrivals, at 842 million in 2006, registered a five-fold growth over the last three decades. The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) estimates that international tourist arrivals will touch the one-billion mark by2010 and the centre of activity will be the Asia-Pacific region. The World Tourism Conference in Kuala Lumpur early this month acquired significance given the recent resurgence in the global tourism industry following several shocks starting from 9/11, continuing through the Bali bombings in 2002, the SARS epidemic, the avian flu and the Asian tsunami. The conference discussed several important issues that the global tourism industry is faced and the changes happening worldwide. The impact of technology and the changing demographics on tourism were among the interesting trends discussed. COMING OF AGE The tourism industry has matured significantly in recent years and is displaying a new willingness to share information and co-operate. The result: A different type of growth, one that is more moderate, more solid and more responsible. More moderate because it is not likely to produce the spectacular double-digit growth rates of 2000and 2004. The industry can, however, look forward to about 4 per cent growth in 2007. More solid because enterprises, consumers and institutions are able to anticipate shocks and respondeffectively to crises. The market shows increased resilience and travellers are better informed; forinstance, they now include security concerns as just another consideration while selecting theirdestination. â€Å"Following each crisis, the ability to respond has improved and the return to normalcyhappens more rapidly,† as Mr Geoffrey Lipman, Assistant Secretary-General of the UNWTO, pointedout, while delivering the keynote address at the conference. More responsible because greater attention is now being paid to the congestion that tourismgenerates and its ill-effects as also its relationship to climate change. According to the World Economic Forum Competitiveness survey, small countries are often better at planning tourism development thanthe big ones. There cannot, of course, be a better example for this than the city-island state of Singapore which was a pioneer in developing its tourism industry in its part of the world.For the smaller countries tourism accounts for 20-30 per cent of GDP. â€Å"For those economies, tourism isnot the icing, it is the cake,† said Mr Christopher Rodrigues, Chairman, Visit Britain.The `greying’ population of several developed countries is proving to be a plus for global tourism. Therising average age means a growing market of people with more discretionary income and time totravel. Rapid economic growth has also created more affluent populations willing to splurge on travel.†Tourists over 55 years of age travel farther away from home, include two or more destinations in atrip, engage in more activities, travel with one or another household member and spend more per tripthan tourists, on an average,† observed Mr Lipman. This is unlike the average tourist in the workingage who may be weighed down by his back-pack as well as work pressure and other compulsions totake no more than a short holiday. Retired tourists have no such compulsions even as they spendliberally from their retirement savings to see the world in a `now or never’ spirit.What may ultimately determine a travel decision is the desire to learn, discover new experiences andadd meaning to people’s lives. Cross-border family travel is becoming frequent and these trends areapparent in the growth of niche products developed by destinations, hotels and resorts.This demographic shift is breeding as a corollary a new set known as `Short Holiday Break’ travellersamong younger folks in double-income families. The concept of a shorter main holiday plus a series of breaks is not only born out of necessity but the norm. The global crisis that shook 2008 to the core (and continues to do so) has impact in industries across the board. One of the most affected fields is tourism as it’s an elected excess and not a necessity. A recently released research by the Tourism Journalists Association shows that people will be more cautious in spending for leisure travels and will engage in more meaningful, rather than extravagant, vacations. Technology. Technology is a driving force of change that presents opportunities for greater efficiencies and integration for improved guestservices. Technology has become a tourism businessactivity in development of strategic resourcesand is considered as a tool to increasecompetitiveness. Effective use of informationtechnology can make significant operationalimprovements. Advanced software andcommunication tools allow enlarging operationalefficiency, for example, orders may be made better, faster and cheaper.In addition, decision-making through decisionsupport tools, databases and modelling toolsassist the manager ’s job. Thanks to expertsystems, sophisticated expertise can be met byany manager (Romanovs, 2000). Technology changes the tourism business rules.More specifically: Information on all tourist services is availablevirtually from all over the world. Potential client can be any resident of the world. More territorial boundaries restrict the number of customers. Decision making turns into a tourism specialist ineach component. Changes in customer service technology andservice personalization occur. Marketing opportunities are expanding.Technology on wireless communication systemsenabling voice, text and data communication amongemployees, managers, departments and guests isnow being adapted by hotels. Comprised of intelligent system software and lightweight, hands-free or handheld communication devices, thesesystems allow hotel staff to deliver the bestcustomer service. Examples of wirelesscommunication solutions for the hospitality industryinclude: communication badges, food and drinksordering systems, as well as devices that allow hotelagents to check-in and check-out guests, processcredit cards, print receipts and program room keysanywhere in or nearby the hotel.Wireless technology offers, among others, thefollowing benefits for hotels and the quality of service they can provide to the guest: Increases staff productivity and reducesresponse time to satisfy guest requests. Improves overall guest satisfaction andservice. Increases efficiency for restaurants (bars,cafeterias, etc.) and caterers by saving time,reducing human errors and by providinghigher quality customer service. Reduces queues at the reception desk andallows guests to check-in and check-outcloser to where their room is. The global financial and economic downturn that affected tourism from 2007 through to 2010and beyond has cast substantial attention to the role that crisis events play in tourism. Theseconcerns have only been exacerbated by natural disasters, such as the 2010 Icelandic volcanic plume, pandemics, and the potential of future global change. The potential affect of crisisevents on international tourism is likely to increase both in size and frequency as tourism becomes increasingly hypermobile and the global economy even more interconnected. The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) (2010) estimated that international touristarrivals fell by 4% in 2009. The seeming increase in impacts of economic and financial downturns, politicalinstability or natural disaster on tourism are arguably not a result of any increase in suchevents but instead illustrate the way in which the world’s economies, transport systems, andmedia and communication networks have now become so integrated that when onedestination or region has been affected then the impacts can reverberate through the entiresystem.Many of the crises that affect tourism are crisis events that are of a specific duration and occur in an identifiable time and space, although their impacts may be longer lasting (Ren, 2000).The notion of an event is significant because the limited duration of a high impact crisis eventserves to enhance the attention a crisis may receive in the media and enhance the perceptionthat the event is of concern and should be responded too (Smith, 1990, 2005; Greening &Johnson, 2007). Many of the crisis events that affect tourism have been occurring for millennia. Yet what haschanged is the dramatic growth in the scale of tourism and other human movement to theextent that the developed world is often described as hypermobile. The definition of hypermobility as â€Å"the maximization of physical movement† (Khisty & Zeitler, 2001, p. 598)is a useful way to characterise the vast growth in temporary mobility in aggregate form insome societies as well as a relatively small number of individuals of extremely frequenttravellers within them (Bell & Brown, 2006; Gà ¶ssling, Ceron, Dubios, & Hall., 2009).There have been substantial changes in mobility and other processes of globalisation since thedevelopment of mass commercial aviation in the late 1960 and early 1970s. This has meant that there has been a transition in aviation from being a luxury form of mobility for thewealthy few to being a relatively cheap means of mass transportation for large parts of leisureand business travellers in industrialized countries (Gà ¶ssling et al., 2009). Shifts in access as aresult of improved affordability and availability also correspond with fundamental changes in perceptions of distance, place and space (e.g. Janelle, 1969; Urry, 2000; Gà ¶ssling, 2002; Adeyet al., 2007). For many people, what was once a distant non-routine environment is now aneveryday routine environment (Hall, 2005a, b; Coles & Hall, 2006). According to Hall(2005a) the routinised space-time paths of those living at the start of this century†¦ are not the same as those of people in 1984 when Giddens was writing or in the 1960swhen Hà ¤gerstrand was examining routine daily space-time trajectories. Instead, because of advances in transport and communication technology, for a substantial proportion of the population in developed countries or for elites in developing countries being able to travel long-distances to engage in leisure behaviour (what one would usually describe as tourism)is now a part of their routine activities (Hall, 2005a, p. 24).The significance in the change of the nature of a routine environment is that the more people participate in such long-distance movement and the more destinations and places depend onsuch relatively fast, large-scale movements in economic terms, the more perceptions of crisisdevelop when such ‘normal’ movement is stopped or slowed down. This point was made in acomment in The Guardian with respect to winter travel ‘chaos’ in the UK in December 2009as a result of heavy snowfalls. ‘My solution to winter travel chaos? Don’t travel. †¦ Yet powered movement is a craving no government is willing to curb. Hypermobility is the totemof personal liberty. †¦ Before the invention of jet travel, the idea of a winter holiday wasunthinkable for any but the very rich’ (Jenkins, 2009). Natural disasters and anthropogenic environmental problems are given some significancegiven their impacts on travel and tourism at various scales as well as their potential to affectthe image of destinations (World Tourism Organization, 1998).

Monday, September 16, 2019

Managed Care

The article seeks to identify the problems that face managed care organization (MCOs) in contemporary competitive environment which include broad public opinion, competitive realities, need for cost reduction. The article also notes that there has been an increase in health care cost despite the establishment of the managed health care systems implemented through the managed care organizations. Increase in cost remains to be a major concern for patients/consumers. Due to this, patients are ready to switch from one plan to another in which cost difference in premium is as little as $15. 0 per month. The article also claims that there has been concern from the society as far as quality of managed healthcare service is concerned. Such concerns encompass: accessibility, and the verification of what is ‘medically necessary’ including the diagnosis tests and referrals. Other concern is freedom of choice. Additionally, perceived quality which is increasingly valued by contempor ary patients/consumers has been lacking in the managed care organizations. (Entrepreneur 1998). Strategies or techniques are used to solve the problem or address the issue. This article proposes application of institutional theory to MCOs performance as well as strategic planning. Over emphasizing of institutional theory at the expense of strategic planning will not help the managed care organization to survive in the contemporary competitive environment. The article proposes a strategy that will respond and conform to the needs of the patients and the society at large. Being cost efficient and conforming with socially accepted norms will lead to superior performing of MCOs. Thus, a strategy that encompasses technical requirements as well as conforming to needs of the patients/consumers is very critical for success of any MCO. Only emphasizing or dealing with cost issue is not a strategy for long-term MCO superior performance and success. The article also proposes that all MCOs must demonstrate what contemporary consumers/patients and society expects. These expectations include accessibility, freedom of choice, and perceived quality i. e. always provide value for all patients. ( Entrepreneur1998). My conclusions and recommendations It is clear that the establishment of managed care and the managed care organizations have not been a panacea to all problems facing patients/consumers. Instead, what the patients would like to have is more accessibility to health care services, freedom of choice, better services emphasizing on perfect diagnosis tests, reduction in cost of this services as well as flexibility of managed care systems. This is yet to become a reality. To ensure this, responding to consumers/patients needs will be of great importance. This should include training the health care workers on the best way to serve the patients better, and carrying out perfect diagnosis tests before treating the patients. Increase in number of medical practitioners in MCOs so as to ensure accessibility of these services should also be considered. The managed care plans should also employ modern technology that will improve the quality of health care services. This should encompass better disease diagnosing equipments, and establishing better information systems. Reduction of cost is also very imperative. All inefficiencies and wastage should be checked through a well planned compliance system that should work closely with the human resource department. (Harris, J. S. 1994; Morton-Cooper & Bamford 1997; Alexander & Amburgey. 1987) Contribution of the article to helping practicing healthcare managers This article is of great help to many practicing healthcare managers. First, it point out the importance of being market oriented i. e. responding to the needs of the patients/consumers and society at large. Factors that determine patients choice of particular health care provider i. e. accessibility of the service, cost of the service, perceived quality such perfect diagnosis test for appropriate medication and so on are also enlisted. The article also emphasis on need of employing a strategy that ensures adherence to technical requirements, cost reduction, high quality, and also freedom of choice to the patients/consumers. Such insight is of great importance to any practicing health care manager who wants to succeed in this career. Managed Care The article seeks to identify the problems that face managed care organization (MCOs) in contemporary competitive environment which include broad public opinion, competitive realities, need for cost reduction. The article also notes that there has been an increase in health care cost despite the establishment of the managed health care systems implemented through the managed care organizations. Increase in cost remains to be a major concern for patients/consumers. Due to this, patients are ready to switch from one plan to another in which cost difference in premium is as little as $15. 0 per month. The article also claims that there has been concern from the society as far as quality of managed healthcare service is concerned. Such concerns encompass: accessibility, and the verification of what is ‘medically necessary’ including the diagnosis tests and referrals. Other concern is freedom of choice. Additionally, perceived quality which is increasingly valued by contempor ary patients/consumers has been lacking in the managed care organizations. (Entrepreneur 1998). Strategies or techniques are used to solve the problem or address the issue. This article proposes application of institutional theory to MCOs performance as well as strategic planning. Over emphasizing of institutional theory at the expense of strategic planning will not help the managed care organization to survive in the contemporary competitive environment. The article proposes a strategy that will respond and conform to the needs of the patients and the society at large. Being cost efficient and conforming with socially accepted norms will lead to superior performing of MCOs. Thus, a strategy that encompasses technical requirements as well as conforming to needs of the patients/consumers is very critical for success of any MCO. Only emphasizing or dealing with cost issue is not a strategy for long-term MCO superior performance and success. The article also proposes that all MCOs must demonstrate what contemporary consumers/patients and society expects. These expectations include accessibility, freedom of choice, and perceived quality i. e. always provide value for all patients. ( Entrepreneur1998). My conclusions and recommendations It is clear that the establishment of managed care and the managed care organizations have not been a panacea to all problems facing patients/consumers. Instead, what the patients would like to have is more accessibility to health care services, freedom of choice, better services emphasizing on perfect diagnosis tests, reduction in cost of this services as well as flexibility of managed care systems. This is yet to become a reality. To ensure this, responding to consumers/patients needs will be of great importance. This should include training the health care workers on the best way to serve the patients better, and carrying out perfect diagnosis tests before treating the patients. Increase in number of medical practitioners in MCOs so as to ensure accessibility of these services should also be considered. The managed care plans should also employ modern technology that will improve the quality of health care services. This should encompass better disease diagnosing equipments, and establishing better information systems. Reduction of cost is also very imperative. All inefficiencies and wastage should be checked through a well planned compliance system that should work closely with the human resource department. (Harris, J. S. 1994; Morton-Cooper & Bamford 1997; Alexander & Amburgey. 1987) Contribution of the article to helping practicing healthcare managers This article is of great help to many practicing healthcare managers. First, it point out the importance of being market oriented i. e. responding to the needs of the patients/consumers and society at large. Factors that determine patients choice of particular health care provider i. e. accessibility of the service, cost of the service, perceived quality such perfect diagnosis test for appropriate medication and so on are also enlisted. The article also emphasis on need of employing a strategy that ensures adherence to technical requirements, cost reduction, high quality, and also freedom of choice to the patients/consumers. Such insight is of great importance to any practicing health care manager who wants to succeed in this career. Managed Care The article seeks to identify the problems that face managed care organization (MCOs) in contemporary competitive environment which include broad public opinion, competitive realities, need for cost reduction. The article also notes that there has been an increase in health care cost despite the establishment of the managed health care systems implemented through the managed care organizations. Increase in cost remains to be a major concern for patients/consumers. Due to this, patients are ready to switch from one plan to another in which cost difference in premium is as little as $15. 0 per month. The article also claims that there has been concern from the society as far as quality of managed healthcare service is concerned. Such concerns encompass: accessibility, and the verification of what is ‘medically necessary’ including the diagnosis tests and referrals. Other concern is freedom of choice. Additionally, perceived quality which is increasingly valued by contempor ary patients/consumers has been lacking in the managed care organizations. (Entrepreneur 1998). Strategies or techniques are used to solve the problem or address the issue. This article proposes application of institutional theory to MCOs performance as well as strategic planning. Over emphasizing of institutional theory at the expense of strategic planning will not help the managed care organization to survive in the contemporary competitive environment. The article proposes a strategy that will respond and conform to the needs of the patients and the society at large. Being cost efficient and conforming with socially accepted norms will lead to superior performing of MCOs. Thus, a strategy that encompasses technical requirements as well as conforming to needs of the patients/consumers is very critical for success of any MCO. Only emphasizing or dealing with cost issue is not a strategy for long-term MCO superior performance and success. The article also proposes that all MCOs must demonstrate what contemporary consumers/patients and society expects. These expectations include accessibility, freedom of choice, and perceived quality i. e. always provide value for all patients. ( Entrepreneur1998). My conclusions and recommendations It is clear that the establishment of managed care and the managed care organizations have not been a panacea to all problems facing patients/consumers. Instead, what the patients would like to have is more accessibility to health care services, freedom of choice, better services emphasizing on perfect diagnosis tests, reduction in cost of this services as well as flexibility of managed care systems. This is yet to become a reality. To ensure this, responding to consumers/patients needs will be of great importance. This should include training the health care workers on the best way to serve the patients better, and carrying out perfect diagnosis tests before treating the patients. Increase in number of medical practitioners in MCOs so as to ensure accessibility of these services should also be considered. The managed care plans should also employ modern technology that will improve the quality of health care services. This should encompass better disease diagnosing equipments, and establishing better information systems. Reduction of cost is also very imperative. All inefficiencies and wastage should be checked through a well planned compliance system that should work closely with the human resource department. (Harris, J. S. 1994; Morton-Cooper & Bamford 1997; Alexander & Amburgey. 1987) Contribution of the article to helping practicing healthcare managers This article is of great help to many practicing healthcare managers. First, it point out the importance of being market oriented i. e. responding to the needs of the patients/consumers and society at large. Factors that determine patients choice of particular health care provider i. e. accessibility of the service, cost of the service, perceived quality such perfect diagnosis test for appropriate medication and so on are also enlisted. The article also emphasis on need of employing a strategy that ensures adherence to technical requirements, cost reduction, high quality, and also freedom of choice to the patients/consumers. Such insight is of great importance to any practicing health care manager who wants to succeed in this career.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Continuous I In Managing Health And Safety, Along With Quality And Environmental Considerations

Introduction Organizations today, in addition to ensuring customer satisfaction and loyalty, must also demonstrate to its broader stakeholders a corporate strategy which underscores social, environmental and health and safety concerns. It should demonstrate commitment to continuous improvement in the management of the health and safety, and working environment of their employees; and should take into account the environmental impact of the business operations and its impact upon the communities and society. A business’s operation in term of what it produces should also be responsible, hence legislation concerning ‘health and safety at work, environmental protection and prohibiting the use of substances hazardous’ have been put in place. Government and other regulatory bodies for instance, Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Environment Agency (EA), have also been set up to ensure enforcement of these regulations. Stakeholder expectations with regards to the organisations corporate responsibility in respect to the above legal requirements has grown in recent years and also incorporates factors such as, corporate image, the reputation of the organisation and competitive advantage. Numerous management standards including ‘ISO 9001 (1994), ISO 14001 (1996) and OHSAS 18001’ are put in place to deal with these requirements. Each of the standards outlines the requirements for management systems to enable organisations to control or eliminate its health a nd safety and environmental risks and to continually improve its performance and the quality of its product, services and operations. The move towards an integration strategy for an organization’s management systems has largely arisen because of Stakeholders’ expectations of continuous improvement, increasingly stringent legislation and greater market demands (Griffiths, 2000). This essay discusses how an organization can improve its performance in terms of health and safety, and environmental and social impact by adopting a total quality management strategy. It will further discuss how the total quality management system should integrate the aforementioned quality standards to implement a integrated management system. Importance of Integrating Health/Safety, Environment and Social Concerns in Business Operations The benefits of an effective corporate strategy in improving health and safety measures, and environmental and social impact include an improved financial performance and turnover for an organization. Secondly, it can improve an organization’s relations with its external stakeholders including investors and community, which can subsequently create better opportunities for it to access capital (Scheme, 2012). Thirdly, such a strategy is good for employee relations and can enable a favorable corporate culture (Scheme, 2012). Continuous improvement can also enhance risk management capabilities or an organization. Lastly, it could foster stronger relations with legal regulators (Scheme, 2012). One of the reasons that make a corporate strategy with health, safety, social and environmental concerns at its core important for a business’s performance is the growing prevalence of social media (Truist, 2012). Such a corporate strategy can help a company create a positive image (Truist, 2012). Moreover, such a strategy can enable an organization to engage with its audience/customers in ways beyond its products or services (Truist, 2012). Another benefit of such a corporate strategy is that it fosters a positive relationship of an organization with governments (Truist, 2012). Companies who continually improve their operation and thus have a positive social perception are better positioned to cope up with government regulators (Truist, 2012). On the other hand, an organization can be faced with a bad public image which can have significant impact on its financial and business performance in case it fails to address these management issues. It has become very important for organizations to implement and accredit with quality, health and safety systems and environmental due to the increasing pressure from their internal and various external stakeholders. These include governments and regulatory bodies, local communities, customers, workers, and suppliers and business partners. However, organisations require considerable amount of resources to implement and maintain of such systems or to make changes to existing ones. This may have a direct affect on the bottom line of the business corporations. Accreditation with quality standards and acquiring certifications can incur hefty costs. If in-house expertise is not available many companies may need the services of external consultants to assist them in adhering to such quality standards. These costs, for many small or medium sized businesses can therefore be prohibitive. Irrespective of this, organisations have to face the demands of their various stakeholders to ensure a p ositive engagement with them. These issues greatly affect what firms decide and what they do. Continual improvement to the complete customer satisfaction implies that business corporations should aim at a point where they meet the requirements of quality in terms of environment and safety standards in addition to product and service quality. It can be critiqued here that adhering to high quality standards has better pay off in long term and thus quality does not incur additional costs. Philip Crosby supports this view in his work titled as Quality is Free (1979). The book turned a light on for many of its readers. The book contended that contrary to the common perception, quality does not add any costs to a product. Indeed adding quality is a break-even proposition at its least and highly profitable at its best since quality always pays off in the long run (Crosby 1979). During the 1970s and 1980s when Crosby proposed this contention, corporate strategies were mainly focused on tasks such as achieving efficiency in manufacturing or improving sales. Corporate managers generally had low priority for quality related issues and similarly lacked experience in such matters. This entire period was generally marred by negligence of quality. However, quality in its various forms has become an integral part of the modern day organ izations and an important corporate agenda due to the highly competitive business environment and increased social awareness. Customers nowadays are judging brands more and more based on ‘how’ these have been sources and produced (De Oliveira Matias and Coleho, 2002). This has implications for a wide array of factors that affect the overall quality of various business processes. These include the quality of the goods/services and business functions, and the overall these operations in terms of environment, workers health and safety and ethical standards. The growing influence of these factors is a shift away from just economic sustainability towards economic, social and environmental sustainability. There is generally more awareness regarding how business entities treat the environment and workers. In a step further, a large segment of the consumers are taking these factors as benchmarks for judging the quality of goods/service produced by corporations (Schema, 2012). With the growing popularity of such wider interpretations of quality standards, companies are required to integrate quality re lated management systems (and related certifications) in their corporate strategy. Management Systems Adherence to Quality Management Systems (QMS) such as ISO 9001 and ISO 9004 can be considered as a starting point for improving quality. This can then be extended to systems related to the environment, social responsibility and occupational health and safety through systems such as ISO 14001 and/or EMAS, SA 8000, and OHSAS 18001 respectively. Adherence to these standards can be accompanied by the development of the model of quality through a shift from simple quality control system towards a Total Quality Management (TQM) approach (Matias and Coelho 2002). TQM,† is an integrative philosophy of management for continuously improving the quality of products and processes† (Ahire, 1997). This philosophy is aimed towards continuous improvement in all processes.Total Quality ManagementTQM system was put forth by Dr. W. Edwards Deming (Deming 1986). He proposed that by adopting appropriate practices of management, businesses can improve quality while reducing costs (due to th e reducing in waste, rework, staff attrition and litigation). According to him, in order to increase quality and reduce costs simultaneously, businesses would have to practice continual improvement and consider manufacturing as a system rather than bits and pieces (Reilly 1994). Deming proposed 14 points as a framework for transformation of organizations from the present style of Western management to a total quality culture. These points can form principles for continuous development in various business aspects including health and safety, and social and environmental responsibility. The points do not constitute much as an action plan but more of a philosophical code for management. These fourteen points are: â€Å"Create constancy of purpose. Adopt the new philosophy. Cease dependence on inspection to achieve quality End the practice of awarding business on the basis of price tag. Improve constantly Institute training on the job. Institute leadership Drive out fear Break down barriers between departments Eliminate slogans, exhortations, and targets for the work force asking for zero defects Eliminate work standards, Substitute leadership Eliminate management by objective. Substitute leadership. Remove barriers that rob the worker of his right to pride of workmanship. Institute a vigorous program of education and self-improvement. Put everybody in the company to work to accomplish the transformation†. (Deming 1986) Organizations can implement such a management system to ensure continuous improvement in managing health and safety, along with quality and environmental considerations.Quality Management SystemFor realizing this management philosophy, the implementation of a formal Quality Management System (QMS) is a desirable objective. To address these specific corporate goals, organizations seek accreditation to specific standards. The ISO 9000 is one such standard which comprises of â€Å"a set of essential elements that enable the design and implementation of quality management systems† (ISO 9001. Generally, the application of these standards will raise the abilities of a company; for instance; improving performance of operations, reputational value, cutting costs, and supplier and sub-contractor selection. Along with the fundamental requirement of quality, many organizations now strive to achieve and demonstrate to their stakeholders a sound environmental performance, by curtailing t he impact from their activities, products and services on the natural environment. These environmental issues are considered in the ISO 14000 Standards (Standards for the Environmental Management Systems). These standards, (quality and environment) emphasize on the importance of similar managerial aspects such as top management commitment, leadership and continuous improvement in performance. Moreover, the OHSAS 18001 standard aims to assist organizations in management and control of their health and safety risks and in the overall improvement of the OH&S performance. Organizations with quality and environmental management systems, which are certified, or aspire to ISO 9001 and ISO 14000 standard’s certification should in addition incorporate a system of management of health and safety such as OHSAS 18001. A strong commitment to these standards can advance to a complete corporate strategy by amalgamating all these three standards into an integrated management system (IMS ).Integrated Management Systems (IMS)An IMS is â€Å"the organisational structure, resources and procedures used to plan, monitor and control project quality, safety and environment† (Griffith 1999). Other definitions are comprehensively detailed in Wilkinson and Dale (2000). The case for integration of the three standards described for quality, occupational health and safety and the environment is now widely discussed in literature and IMS is increasingly seen as part of the organisation’s management portfolio. There are several requirements and points that are common to the three management systems, such as: â€Å"system requirements, leadership (management responsibility), management of resources, management of processes, system implementation and monitoring and measuring† (Griffith, 1999) These three sets of standards con be combined under a common underlying principle of continuous improvements based on Deming’s (1982) TQM cycle of Plan-Do-Check-Act. Furthermore, these three sets of standards can share the same managerial resources such as (1) system documentation, (2) business process records, (3) corporate policies, (4) project planning, (5) managerial responsibility, (6) strategy implementation, (7) management controls, (8) communication standards and systems, (9) audits, (10) conformity, among others. With regards to leadership, these standards require process leadership from the top management in order to allocate maximum responsibility to the top management. Regarding prevention, these standards demand the identification of preventative actions for the mitigation of potential `non-conformities’. Concerning continuous improvements, these standards underscore the improvement of management system in a continuous manner. The structure of OHSAS 18001 has been developed to advance compatibility with the quality management (ISO 9000) and environmental management (ISO 14000) systems. This compatibility eases the integration of the three systems in the organization.Benefits of IntegrationAn organization may attain a number of tangible and non-quantifiable benefits from the implementation of an integrated management system. In term of operational management, IMS ensures that the daily operations are being performed effectively without the need for high level management intervention and input, thereby freeing up of management time to concentrate upon tactical issues and focusing on strategic management. Decision making processes are improved as the IMS provides up-to-date information from a single source. It achieves improvement in resource utilisation through reduction in the duplication of processes and procedures and the time spent in the review of documentation; this accomplishes a tangible cost benefit, as opposed to the duplication of effort required for three totally different systems. An integrated system also provides for a higher level of management control than is the case for the management of separate systems. An integrated system overseen by a single person, who has an overview of all the operations of the company and can provide input into the development of the overall goals and objecti ves of the organization, thereby making it easier to implement changes, rather than the restricted, functional approach in fulfilling individual system’s objectives. The implementation of an integrated system can also lead to enhanced communications in the organization. By delivering effective IMS training programs, confusion can be avoided that may result in contradictory messages being conveyed through the separate system training programs. Hence employees at all level across different departments can exchange ideas and expertise in the same manner and utilise the same approach. As a tangible benefit, organisations can realise a positive cost benefits through efficient operational processes and procedures and improved resources utilisation. By keeping the overheads down through these improvements, organisations can maintain market share and achieve competitive advantage. With regards to reputation and corporate image, organisation may also undergo enhancement social perception, as having an IMS demonstrates environmental and social responsibility. In addition to the positive cost benefits illustrated above, another direct cost benefit that can be achieved by integration is in the internal and external audit requirements. Separate management systems require each individual system to have separate internal and external audits. However, since the procedures are amalgamated in the integrated system, this considerably reduces this requirement. Further, by focussing on issues pertaining workers’ occupational health and safety, for example, through the i ntensification of worker job satisfaction can lead to an increase in productivity which can imply greater efficiency and financial revenue for the organization. Adequate management of occupational health and safety would, thus, also bring a positive influence in shareholder interest and, consequently, in the organization’s suppliers, providing more opportunities for business. Moreover, benefits are also to accrue at the level of product compliance and conformity, bringing satisfaction to customers and a reduction of scrapped material with the implied environmental benefits. One can thus conclude that all the elements interested in the organization would be satisfied.Difficulties in Integration of SystemsThe existing systems of organizations may seem to be sufficient and work well and integrating new approaches in business operations and corporate strategy can threaten the structure and reliability of the current arrangements that may have the support of all within the organis ation. The IMS can become over centralised and over-complex and lack the flexibility to consider local needs and constraints, thus leading to employers and employees becoming unconvinced by what they see as a worsening of this scenario under integration. Organisational vulnerability to against change can cause unforeseen consequences during the integration implementation. Furthermore, whilst IS0 9000, the quality management standard and ISO 14001 the environment standard are internationally recognised and certifiable, OHSAS 18001 the occupational health and safety management systems – specification, though certifiable, is not internationally recognised. Health and safety and environmental management are often underpinned by law whereas quality management system requirements are in the main, established by stakeholder requirements (IOSH, 2012) Conclusions Nowadays, it has become important for business organizations to engage with its stakeholders as part of its corporate strategy. Understanding their concerns and aspirations is considered to be an important prerequisite of a successful and sustainable corporate strategy. With an increased understanding of the stakeholders concerns and aspirations, businesses will be better positioned to capitalize on upcoming opportunities which may include better-motivated employees and good relationship with external stakeholders. In today’s business world, various stakeholders have become active in their demand for a business to become socially and environmentally viable in additional to its economical viability. In general, an organization can improve its business operations in terms of health and safety, and environmental and social impact by adopting a total quality management corporate strategy. Particularly, an organization can adhere to specific standards such as ISO 9001, ISO 14000 and OHSAS 18001 to pursue a total quality management approach in the area of health and safety, environment and social responsibility. Adherence to such practices and standards can be amalgamated through an integrated management system that collectively dealswith quality, environmental, and health and safety management. The need for an IMS has also arisen as a result of the decision to implement an environmental management system (EMS) and/or an occupational health and safety management system (OH&SMS) in addition to a quality management system (QMS). IMS as a concept does not, emerge merely from the possibility for a company to exploit existing synergies between different management systems that it can adopt (saving money, time and human resources). On the contrary, it is something intrinsic to the cornerstones of quality, environment and health and safety, namely continual improvement and total customer satisfaction (Salomone, 2008). References Ahire, S. L. (1997), Management Science– Total Quality Management interfaces: An integrative framework. Interfaces 27 (6) 91-105. 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