Ethical Theory Frameworks in the Workplace Essay

Introduction This action plan will explore the effectiveness of numerous ethical theory frameworks and their application to ethical dilemmas in the workplace. A deeper analysis will be performed on ethical dilemma resolution and the specific ethical implications that may arise. Previous ethical dilemma Background The ethical dilemma that will be used for this action plan is the termination of employment for inappropriate behaviour via the use of social media. An apprentice made some inappropriate remarks on Facebook aimed at a work colleague (in a superior position) that were intended to be an attempt at humour however; they were taken by the colleague as offensive. The issue was quite concerning as there was no previous documented occurrence of this type of issue within the organisation and as such, the method of resolution was unclear by both management and staff members. The resolution was the termination of employment of the apprentice and the development of a much needed ‘staff social media policy’ that outlined what was deemed to be appropriate behaviour and how there was a link between social media and the organisation’s bullying and harassment policy. The victim who initially made the complaint felt mixed emotions regarding the outcome as he did not intend on such an extreme penalty to be handed down as the two were actually friends. The victim being a superior felt that if he had dealt with the  issue himself it may damage the friendship and result in tension in the workplace so therefore assumed if the matter was dealt with by an independent party the issue could be dealt with avoiding any damage to the friendship. The approach actually resulted in the matter being escalated and becoming quite an issue for the organisation. Ethical implications from the employee perspective Relationships form a fundamental key in effectiveness at work. The relationships formed with superiors, subordinates and colleagues alike can all impact productivity and general well-being in the workplace. An example of this may be one’s ability to discuss an issue with a colleague in an open and honest way without causing hostility. Another example may be approaching a superior about a delicate situation without feeling intimidated; or alternatively to reverse the situation, when a subordinate approaches a superior. McFarlin (2013, p.1) states ‘Many full-time employees spend more of their waking hours with co-workers than they do with their spouses and families. As such, it is important to allow employees the opportunity to build quality relationships with their co-workers’ and believes that quality relationships at work can lead to: improved teamwork, improved morale, higher employee retention rates and increased productivity. When employees are encouraged to build quality relationships, it can assist the collaborative process and can help overcome feelings of isolation, particularly for new members of a team. These quality relationships can ultimately provide a positive workplace where staff may work harder and feel connected to an organisation. There will always be times where relationships are tested, particularly when faced with ethical dilemmas, or when professional relationships potentially cross into personal relationships. While it is good to have a positive office space or working arrangement, it can possibly restrict the authority of a manager/supervisor if they are seen to be more of a friend than as a ‘boss’. Miksen (2013, p.1) believes that ‘whether you work part-time or are pushing 60 hours a week at your job, you should look at your co-workers as something more than strangers. Building personal relationships in the workplace allows you to work together more effectively with your co-workers and surrounds you with friends while clocked in’. This is a view that some managers and possibly most staff members would agree with. Patrick (2013, p.1) on the other hand, believes that relationships in the workplace should be strictly professional  rather than personal. It is fine to be personable to an extent however; workplace relationships should be guided by specific boundaries. Patrick (2013, p.1) states ‘abandoning parameters can create conflict, loss of respect and ev en embarrassment’ and offers the opinion that boundaries can often ‘firm’ up grey areas, clarify job descriptions, increase efficiency and make a workplace more productive. This is can be observed in most workplaces when staff members approach upper management or those in senior roles, as when put in comparison to the general discussions with colleagues and co-workers. It can be said that workplace relationships can be effective if there is an element of personal feeling involved however; specific guidelines should be set in order to maintain professional conduct. Zeiger (2014) believes that social media allows increased communication in the workplace and allows employees to build relationships which can be beneficial if managed effectively however; goes on to conclude: ‘Social networking has the ability to hurt employee relations within a company. Employees may send negative messages or harass one another through social networking sites and hinder their ability to work together’. This behaviour is a particularly difficult issue to manage as the consequences of one’s actions may not be fully understood via the use of social media due to the absence of immediate repercussions from one’s actions. Jung (2014) agrees: ‘the anonymity afforded online can bring out dark impulses that might otherwise be suppressed’. Regardless of any unknown consequences or understanding of one’s actions, the behaviour demonstrated in person or online has a close relationship to virtue ethical theory and the internal character of a person. Virtue ethics basically encompass moral judgement and provide a basis for which to develop one’s ethical decisions based on the individual’s internal character. Gowdy (2013) believes that virtue ethics is a classification within Normative Ethics that attempts to distinguish moral character, and to apply the moral character as a basis for one’s choices and actions’. Ultimately there has to be some accountability for one’s individual actions whether the consequences are fully understood or not. Herboso (2014) agrees and goes on to state: ‘Virtue ethics focuses on the idea that what we call good is not dependent on the actions we take (deontologicalism) nor the results of those actions (consequentialism), but instead focuses on the person that we are’. Ethical implications from the employer perspective Many employees believe that what happens outside of work is impartial to the conditions of employment however; the code of conduct for most organisations is in place to protect its employees and provide a safe environment for work. The effects of bullying in the workplace are known to be serious issues and legislation does exists to protect employees however; it is unclear as to what extents bullying may go to and the forms it may come in. The increasing demand for technology and use of social media means that employers’ responsibilities in regards to this issue will have to cater for a variety of issues. Caponecchia (2012) believes that online bullying is a particularly contentious workplace issue that is not fully understood and goes on to state: ‘There is sometimes reluctance in organisations to think about psychological hazards from within the risk management framework that they employ for all other hazards. Sometimes it is just a lack of awareness’. The fact that an employee lost his employment as a result of inappropriate social media use demonstrates how serious the organisation is taking this issue. What was unclear at the time (prior to any social media policy) was what the expectations were in terms of appropriate behaviour specifically relating to social media however; regardless of any policy the expectation of respect for colleagues is still there. The termination of employment appeared to be a harsh penalty given the context of the breach and the relationship between the colleagues however; it is in the best interest of an employer to set clear expectations on behaviour and what is deemed to be unacceptable. Employers are bound by legislation to protect employees from any type of bullying or harassment therefore the choice is limited and employers are forced to hand out harsh penalties for such acts. Brush (2014) agrees and goes on to state: ‘The duty placed on employers by work health and safety legislation to provide a healthy and safe working environment and safe systems of work imposes the responsibility on employers to ensure not only the physical health of their workers, but also their mental health. This includes ensuring that employees are not exposed to workplace bullying, harassment or discrimination’ Brush (2014) agrees that the anonymous nature of information and communication technology has created a difficult issue to manage that provides a very unfamiliar platform for  bullying and harassment in the workplace but nevertheless the aim of today’s information and communication technology is to improve the quality of modern life not impede it. Ethical dil emma resolution and ethical theory Resolution method The resolution method for the primary incident was to terminate the employment in order to set clear expectations for the consequences of future bullying and harassment breaches and expectations in terms of social media behaviour. While this was considered by many as quite an extreme measure the fact that expectations are now clearly set and the punishment is so severe, means there is no more confusion as to what is deemed appropriate or inappropriate online social media behaviour. Billikopf (2006) goes on to state ‘effective discipline can protect the organization, the supervisor who enforces the rules, and the subordinates subject to the same. Everyone suffers when there are mixed messages concerning misconduct and discipline’. The secondary action was to develop a clear social media policy that outlined what was deemed to be appropriate behaviour in terms of social media use and its correlation to the organisations bullying and harassment policy already in place. Weekes (2013) believes: ‘As social media becomes more and more a part of our daily lives, its effect on businesses is increasing. This is why it’s important to have a social media policy in place in your workplace. Even if your business doesn’t use social media – your employees might’. Edmond (2013) believes that social media policies are a crucial step in upholding the ethical conduct of a business though agrees that social media is a difficult platform to manage by stating: ‘Ultimately, sovereignty over social media identities rests on the individual. It is impossible to take control of an employee’s standing online, and employers should simply not attempt this. However, designing and implementing a strong social media policy can alleviate employers of legal ramifications, as well as ensure employees become aware of how their actions affect the company’. Ethical decision making Ingram (2014) offers a five step approach to ethica l decision making in the workplace detailed below: Step one: Create a code of ethics and consult it before making business decisions. Ingram (2014) states: ‘A formal code of ethics can help you and your employees make decisions more quickly by conforming to a set of rules to which everyone  agrees’. This is consistent with the organisational code of ethics, specifically regarding respect however; the expectations of social media behaviour were not explicitly detailed at the time of the resolution. Step two: Consider the effects of your decisions on all stakeholders. Ingram (2014) believes it is critical to understand the wider implications of decisions on all stakeholders affected. This is consistent with consequentialist theory and has particular value in this ethical dilemma where there are various layers involved in the issue such as: personal relationships, unclear expectations in terms of behaviour and unfavourable outcomes for all parties involved. Step three: Use industry regulations as a starting point when making decisions. Industry regulations such as legislation regarding workplace bullying and harassment may be important to consider in this example however; the context of the relationship pollutes the clarification of the issue in terms of the original action and the outcome of the resolution. Step four: Consult others when making decisions with widespread consequences. Ingram (2014) goes on to state: ‘Gaining a fresh perspective on your dilemma can help to shed light on possibilities and impacts of which you are unaware. You can ask for help in generating options and in choosing which option to pursue, or you can seek advice concerning an option that you have already chosen before implementing it’. This again reinforces the consequentialist theory relevance in this example and differs from the deontological approach. Step five: Review the results of your past business decisions, and learn from your mistakes. This final step is crucial for the ongoing success of ethical conduct in the workplace however; in this specific example there is some unfamiliarity regarding the social media platform. The future conduct of the business will definitely see some benefit from the clarification of the organisation’s stance of what is considered as social media bullying and harassment though this issue poses the argument that this resolution has created a ‘scape goat’ in order to set an organisational standard. May (2014) offers more comprehensive nine step guide to ethical decision making detailed below: Step one: Gather the facts May (2014) specifies not to make any assumptions as facts may be difficult to find because of the uncertainty often found around ethical issues. Step two: Define the ethical issues May (2014) states: ‘Don’t jump to solutions without first identifying the ethical issue(s) in the  situation, define the ethical basis for the issue you want to focus on and consider there may be multiple ethical issues – focus on one major one at a time’. Step three: Identify the affected parties (stakeholders) Consider multiple perspectives and consider not only the primary stakeholders but any indirect stakeholders. In this case the indirect stakeholder is actually the victim as the resolution handed down resulted in damaged friendship and increased tension in the workplace. Step four: Identify the consequences May (2014) states: ‘think about potential positive and negative consequences for affected parties by the decision’. This is consistent with consequentialist theory and reinforces the importance of consequentialist theory in contrast to deontological framework. Step five: Identify the obligations (principles, rights, justice) May (2014) believes: ‘Obligations should be thought of in terms of principles and rights involved. What obligations are created because of particular ethical principles you might use in the situation and what obligations are created because of the specific rights of the stakeholders’. Step six: Consider your character and integrity May (2014) states: ‘What decision would you come to based solely on character considerations?’ This aligns with virtue ethical theory and begins to form the concept that ethical resolutions or decision making should consider multiple ethical theory frameworks. Step seven: Think creatively about potential actions Ensure that you have not been unnecessarily ‘forced into a corner’ and consider that there may be other alternative solutions available. May (2014) offers the opinion: ‘If you have come up with solutions â€Å"a† and â€Å"b,† try to brainstorm and come up with a â€Å"c† solution that might satisfy the interests of the primary parties involved in the situation’. Step eight: Check your gut May (2014) goes on to state: ‘Even though the prior steps have argued for a highly rational process, it is always good to â€Å"check your gut.† Intuition is gaining credibility as a source for good decision making – knowing something is not right’. Step nine: Decide on the proper ethical action and be prepared to deal with opposing arguments. May (2014) believes that the consideration of potential actions based on the consequences, obligations, and character approaches are crucial elements in any ethical dilemma resolution which ultimately aligns  with consequentialist theory and the seemingly favourable ethical framework. Was the resolution ethical? The colleague that made a poor decision without fully understanding the consequences of his actions is left in an extremely unfortunate situation. The organisation did continue to assist the colleague continue his apprenticeship studies as a non-paid employee which demonstrates an understanding of the ethical implications as a result of the resolution however; there is still an amount of resentment from the apprentice regarding the outcome. Ingram (2014) offers the opinion in defence of organisations being forced to make harsh decisions: ‘If you have made and implemented a decision with questionable ethical implications, act quickly to resolve the matter by making restitution to everyone affected and work to counteract the decision’s effects’. The primary resolution to terminate is closely correlated with deontological ethics as the action is impartial to the consequences of the decision. Deontological moral systems are such that their moral principles are completely separated from any consequences, in this case the result of an employee becoming unemployed for the results of an action that was not fully understood. Cline (2014) offers a criticism in regards to deontological theory that ‘deontological moral systems do not readily allow for grey areas where the morality of an action is questionable. They are, rather, systems which are based upon absolutes — absolute principles and absolute conclusions. In real life, however, moral questions more often involve grey areas than absolute black & white choices. We typically have conflicting duties, interests, and issues that make things difficult’. Deontology teaches that an action is moral if it adheres to established rules however; these established rules are independent of any circumstantial influences. The fact that social media is a relatively new platform for bullying and harassment to present itself, so is the ‘grey’ in the matter in terms of applying deontological ethical theory for a resolution. This issue presents conflict between two categorical imperatives: duty to uphold justice against organisational policy and the duty and responsibilities as a friend. Deontology can be rationally justified in terms of morality however; in practice is problematic due to the rigidity of the theory and its inability to incorporate any variations relevant to the action. Consequentialism on the other hand, allows for decisions to be made in appropriation with the consequences of the action.  If a consequentialist ethical theory was applied to the issue, the best possible solution for all parties involved could be established. For instance, the victim of the issue may not have such mixed emotions regarding the harsh penalty and the implications of his friendship whilst the colleague could still maintain his employment whilst learning from his mistake. Virtue ethical theory teaches that internal moral character should guide behaviour regardless of the platform however; the fact that there is a disconnection between online behaviour and actual personal encounters presents an issue in the clarity of the issue. The colleague believed that the online behaviour was in the context of humour however the interpretation was taken quite seriously. It can be argued that if this were a face to face encounter the behaviour would be significantly different and the fact that social media is a relatively new platform without an organisational policy that details the expectations of employee behaviour, there were no grounds to determine the severity of the ethical issue. From the victim’s point of view there is major conflict with the resolution as the original escalation was intended to avoid any damage to the friendship and actually separate the personal relationship from the work colleague relationship however; the impact of the escalation resulted in an extremely unfavourable outcome for both parties involved. In deontological context the resolution was straight forward though in consequentialist context the consequences were not ideal for any party involved. Hartsell (2006) believes that the relationship between the parties involved in an ethical conflict is required to be taken into consideration for an effective resolution to be determined and goes on to state: ‘The nature of the relationship determines what is ethical, and the nature of the relationship may be properly determined only by open, voluntary negotiation. Openness involves honest disclosure of information, thoughts, and feelings about the issue at hand. Voluntariness involves the capacity to give or withhold consent for participation in the relationship and in the negotiation’. In contrast to the support of consequentialist theory Kokoski (2009) believes that: ‘Consequentiality – utilitarian ideology, which purports to bring about the greatest good for the greatest number of people, is insufficient for it operates from within a narrow landscape of particular instances and doesn’t consider – nor can it – how different situations are ultimately connected to each other in time or how  they are understood in relation to the persons that help bring them about’. From this statement it can be argued that there is some benefit in the consideration for the greatest good for the greatest number of people however; it is insufficient in isolation as an ethical framework to base decision making on. Kokoski (2009) concludes: ‘Consequentialism acknowledges moral values but maintains that it is never possible to formulate an absolute prohibition of particular kinds of behaviour which would be in conflict, in every circumstance and in every culture, with those values’. Murdarasi (2009) believes consequentialism and deontology are the two most important ethical theories, but their ways of deciding what is right are very different and goes on to state: ‘The main criticism of deontology is that it is selfish, a way of avoiding getting your hands dirty (in a moral sense) while still allowing terrible things to happen. The main criticism of consequentialism is that it would allow any action in pursuit of a good cause, even actions that most people would say were clearly morally wrong, such as torture, killing children, genocide, etc.’. This statement argues the relevance for the consideration of multiple ethical theories in any resolution process and that one e thical theory in isolation will be insufficient as a framework for which to base any ideology. Conclusion In summary, ethical dilemmas can be as complicated as the resolution process itself. A multitude of factors need to be considered before any effective resolution process can be handed down along with the consideration of secondary effects that a resolution process may have. Form the deontological point of view – what is right is right and what is wrong is wrong however; there are many factors that cloud this judgement. In this issue alone there is the consideration of the relationship between the two parties that needs to be considered in order to understand the context of the action so therefore; what is considered right and wrong could be a very fine line. In contrasting consequentialist theory – the action on social media was wrong however; the outcome of terminating one’s employment over what was actually considered to be a minor issue and the damage the resolution had on the friendship does not equate to the greatest good for the greatest number o f people. If either of the previously described resolution processes that align with consequentialist theory were followed then the outcome would have been far greater than what was actually delivered. The fact that social  media is a relatively new platform definitely makes the issue a very complicated one and this particular issue demonstrates that the implications of social media on ethical conduct today are yet to be fully understood. Ultimately when there is significant uncertainty regarding an issue, then the consequences of any resolution need to be fully considered rather than adopting a virtuous deontological framework to work within. References Bartol, K., Tein, M., Matthews, G., Sharma, B., Scott-Ladd, B. (2011). Management: A Pacific Rim focus. (6th Ed).NSW: McGraw Hill. Behnke, S. (2005). On being an ethical psychologist. American Psychological Association. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/monitor/julaug05/ethics.aspx Billikopf, G. (2006). Employee Discipline & Termination. University of California. Retrieved from http://nature.berkeley.edu/ucce50/ag-labor/7labor/14.htm Brush, D. (2014). Cyberbullying – laws struggling to keep up with technology. CBP Lawyers. Retrieved from http://www.cbp.com.au/Publications/Cyberbullying-laws-struggling-to-keep-up-with-te Caponecchia, C. (2012). Shining a new light on bullying risk. The Conversation. Retrieved from http://theconversation.com/shining-a-new-light-on-bullying-risk-6653 Cline, A. (2014). Deontology and Ethics: What is Deontology, Deontological Ethics? About.com. Retrieved from http://atheism.about.com/od/ethicalsystems/a/Deontological.htm Cole, K. (2005). Management : Theory and practice. NSW: Pearson Education Australia. Edmond, C. (2013). Social media policies â€Å"critical† to workplaces. HC Online. Retrieved from http://www.hcamag.com/hr-news/social-media-policies-critical-to-workplaces-177646.aspx Gowdy, L.N. (2013). Virtue Ethics. Larry Neal Gowdy. Retrieved from http://www.ethicsmorals.com/ethicsvirtue.html Greeson, W. (2011). When Good Men Do Nothing. David Padfield. Retrieved from http://www.padfield.com/1997/goodmen.html Hartsell, B.D. (2006). A Model for Ethical Decision-Making: The Context of Ethics. Journal of Social Work Values & Ethics. Retrieved from http://www.jswvearchives.com/content/view/26/44/ Herboso, E. (2014). Plato’s Beliefs on Ethics. Demand Media. Retrieved from http://people.opposingviews.com/platos-beliefs-ethics-4672.html Ingram, D.

Research about Computer Addiction Essay

Chapter 1 THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND Rationale Modernization of living has a great impact to one of us, specifically in the field of technology that introduces us to this, computer age because of its many benefits that makes our lives better and helps us do work a lot better. One evidence is the excessive of use of computers of some students, it gives us a faster access to the world and is very beneficial to our studies like doing paper works and at the same time, entertainment. But as computers became more popular, some students overused it and become a bad leisure for them causing them to skip their classes, they could not concentrate, and they become irresponsible, they didn’t do their school stuffs and obliviously overspending their allowance in paying a gaming computer unit and a bet. Lessen, determine and prevent computer addiction, are in the mind of the researchers in conducting this study. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM The primary aim of this study is to obtain relevant information in the involvement of the college freshmen students towards computer games. Specifically, it sought to answer the following questions: 1. What is the profile of the respondents in terms of the following factors? 1.1 Amenability of hanging with computer 1.2 Interest in computer gaming 1.3 Awareness in the possible effects of too much exposure in computer games 1.4 Self-control 2. What are the most common factors which make involve them in computer games? 2.1 Leisure time 2.2 Hobby 2.3 Friends 3. What are the most pressing problems in their study habits as they go and play computer games in terms of the following? 3.1 Time for studying 3.2 Concentration 3.3 Motivation of learning 4. What are their ways to balance their gaming habit and study habit if there is, in terms of the following? 4.1 Time management 4.2 Self-control SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The expected result if this research endeavor will benefit the following: Students of Saint Mary’s University and its students As vital information, results of the study will help make the students become aware of their involvement in computer games, and become develop their study habits and to concentrate more on their studies. Future researchers The results of this study can serve as a baseline data for developing topics as well as creating ideas about their topics. SCOPE OF DELIMITATIONS This study was conducted during the first semester of the school year 2012-2013 to identify the factors that affect the involvement to computer game addiction of the Marian Freshmen students and to determine how it would  affect their study habits. Respondents of the study are limited to the college freshmen students of the eight departments of the University namely: School of Accountancy, School Arts and sciences, School of Business, School of Education, School of Engineering and Architecture, School of Computing Science and Information Technology, School of Public Administration and Governance, and School of Health Sciences. There are ten randomly selected respondents of each of the eight departments.

Online Relationships

Online Relationships Cyberspace relationships have the advantages of time, distance depletion, and fantasy abilities (Suler). Internet users can take on different identities or take part in fantasy games. They can become someone else. James Katz and Philip Aspen report that the Internet is a place to make friends and stay in touch with far away relatives (Stoll). It makes distance disappear. Also, online a person is given time before they must respond to the other person (Suler).They are given the opportunity to better articulate themselves in writing. It is also possible to store conversations with friends on-line (Suler). Sometimes face to face relationships are hard to make. It’s easier for a shy or awkwardly social person to use the internet to make friends. With all of these social advantages, why are there still many lonely Internet users? â€Å"Paradoxically, the Internet is a social technology used for communication, yet it results in declining social involvement and psychological well-being† (Stoll).There is a large gap between people we can touch and people we can onl†¦ heheheheheh eheh jajb ladjbas hbdfhS HDFBASUB LBFHAB SBDFLABSH CLABHK SCVBKBVKHS FVERBVKDSBFU NVA ;V ASK;VAS GBKV RHK VKJ VUIBKJ; SKJVB; V;KEVKJERVIUOVUER HA HA HA HA HA HA AHA HAHA HA A HAHA AHAHA AHJAH AHA AHA A AHAH A AHA A A HA AHA AH AHAHAA HA A AHA HA AHAH KG GTJT NENE EJSD S SMS DC KJFJ G GKGNMF SDN SNSNKSKSW SWKE EKOEOKE W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W WE

The Institutions paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Institutions paper - Essay Example al., 20). The Senate and the House of Committees functions start with checking on 10,000 bills every year. These bills are the proposals that later become new laws. Out of the 10,000 bills, only 650 bills pass to become laws. The Senate and the House of Committees always execute this process in one building but they meet in separate venues (Plesser 33). Both the Senate and House of Representatives have special committees to scrutinize the bills in ensuring that they are studied carefully. Each committee analyzes a bill with a particular topic, say, farming, taxes or environment. If the committee finds that the bill is good, they present it to the House or Senate. Subsequently, if the committee approves the bill, they will pass it to the president to sign it (Jenkins 27). The Congress is also responsible for setting up the structure of the Department of Homeland Security. Still, it pays the military forces and chooses the states to add to the Union. The Congress as well takes an investigative role and assesses the executive’s operations. Besides, the Senate also works together with the presidency to appoint the officials in the executive branch as well as high-ranking judges. The representation of the people is evident in the House of Representatives since it bases on population. However, the Senate has a discriminatory quality by having only two senators from each state. Nevertheless, there has been great electoral popularity in the Senate after the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913 (Greenberg & Benjamin 13). In ensuring the effectiveness of the Federal government, the presidency also plays numerous roles. To begin with, the president of America is the chief executive according to the constitution. The president is the supervisor in the executive; he appoints the officials and also ensures full implementation of everything that happens in

Are knockoffs good for the Fashion industry Research Paper

Are knockoffs good for the Fashion industry - Research Paper Example The paper "Are knockoffs good for the Fashion industry" talks about knockoffs in the fashion industry. According to the old notion, fashion was craft and not an art. Today the concept has changed. According to the new definition, fashion is a form of creative expression and is very near to wearable art. Nowadays, fashion industry is facing copyright problems around the globe. Take the example of any developed country where it is difficult to protect garment industry from copying fashion. If we look at it from the angle of law, it means that unless garment industry falls into one of the common law category, it cannot be protected. Garment industry portrays artistic craftsmanship. Therefore, case law disfavor cited sort of argument as a string of cases. In this respect, we may refer here to the case of Merlet v Mother Care. The â€Å"artistic" term in the copyright world is not familiar. Hence, a judge requires considering it on aesthetic merit of the work. Under the mentioned circums tances, it is possible to protect fashion related works from the purview of copyright. Contrary to European Union, there is no sui generis design regime in the United States of America; therefore, copyright is the only legal framework to protect original fashion from being stolen. As far as the creative elements and apparel designs are concerned, they fall beyond the ambit of US copyright law since garments and their accessories are treated as ‘useful articles’, hence remain unprotected. We all agree on the point. that clothing is an inherent function, so copyright law has no access on the look and cut of a dress. However, the patterns or the prints can be challengeable in accordance with the mentioned right. US Copyright Protection Act The US copyright protection act is applicable to an expressive original work of a designer affixed visibly in an outfit. It provides exhaustive eight categories of the work of craftsmen against which a copyright act is applied. The perus al of the said act indicates the absence of fashion designs amongst the existing list. It means that both apparels and fabrics designs fall within the ambit of copyright protection act. If we may go through the doctrine of useful articles, it is identified that most apparel designs do not fall within the category of copyright protection act. The other side of the coin is that under EU design law, styles in fashion are specifically excluded from the protection of copyright list (Peter 2007). In order to invoke the jurisdiction of competent court of law under the copyright act, it is incumbent that the work displays originality. The mentioned act debars similar designs, common stripes and colors because they lack originality. It is clear that the copyright protects the artistic side of the product and has nothing to do with its functional aspects. However, where the originality in apparel designs or fabric designs is proved, he or she will receive punishment from the court of law unde r the copyright act (Keymeulen 2012). Before punishing the designers for copying the designs of other designers, several tests are to be conducted to determine the similarity.

Environmental Analysis of Louis Vuitton Assignment

Environmental Analysis of Louis Vuitton - Assignment Example Environmental analysis of an organization is necessary to realize the impacts that several factors might have on an organization. Such analysis enables business organizations to identify the threats and opportunities and thus a company is capable of considering the effective measures accordingly (Jain, Trehan & Trehan, n.d., p.21). Macro environment of an organization refers to the environment external to an organization and includes factors like the political-legal environment, the technological state, and the socio-cultural environment. Micro environment on the other hand refers to the internal environment that includes factors like the organizational employees, the board, the consumers, the contractors, the competitions, the financial organizations associated with a business as well as the governmental impacts (Management: The Business Environment of Organizations, 2012). The present study has considered Louis Vuitton as the business to make a detailed learning on the organization ’s macro and micro environment thereby trying to reflect on its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Louis Vuitton: An Overview: The Louis Vuitton fashion house has its name from the founder of the company, Louis Vuitton who was a fashion designer by profession. Initially he had been involved in manufacture of trunks in Paris and his company became famous for luxury goods. The luggage company along with its designer logo has made its presence successful and leading through its availability of luxury goods for its consumers, and products like books, perfumes, distilled spirits as well as designer clothing (Louis Vuitton, 2012). Purses, wallets and women bags as offered by the company are highly popular. Louis Vuitton Company merged with Moet et Chandon and Hennessy in the year 1987 that led to the creation of luxury powerhouse anagram LVMH. Ten years after this merger, the business started offering ready to wear products and other clothing (Label Overview, 2012). In the present times, the company is known to have its presence in several countries across the world that includes Japan, China and Asia among others . There are around 130 retail stores of the company in total across the world. With the passing years, newer ranges of handbags and accessories are being designed and presented by Louis Vuitton. The company focuses on creation of new, graceful, and sensible up to date luxuries with value. These primarily cater to those consumers who believe in style, and are aware of the latest designs being offered, thus following the up to date trends of fashion (Louis Vuitton (1821-1892), 2012, pp.16-28). Macro Environment Analysis of the Company: The macro environment analysis of Louis Vuitton would involve the relevant environmental trends in the external factors that might affect the company and its operations to achieve its desired goals and objectives. Economic Factors: The economic factors that may affect Louis Vuitton include the rates of interest, the changes in the systems of taxation, the rates of economic growths, the inflation rates and rates of exchange that are generally varied depe nding on different countries

Illustrate how Shakespeare's Macbeth and John Clare's poetry use Essay

Illustrate how Shakespeare's Macbeth and John Clare's poetry use animals to present a message about human affairs such as politi - Essay Example It encompasses all religions, poetries, arts, histories, dramas, fictions and non-fictions. It enhances and reshapes the readers’ perception of life by providing them a wider spectrum through imaginary or factual narrations. It represents man’s relationship to man using images and symbols. As C. S. Lewis debates that â€Å"Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become"1. Thus, it is not a mere picture of reality rather it is a process of value addition in it; and represents prevailing cultures and norms of a particular society pointing out its various aspects. Literature can be regarded as a wise teacher. It presents examples, illustrations, and incidents in front of the readers to correlate their own lives and draw intellectual conclusions from them. Symbols and images are the most important tools of literature. Image represents reality whereas symbols stand for comparable aspects. The writers use them to create sharp and vivid images in the minds of the readers so that they may see their own worth in comparison to the characters and factors presented. Other than creating sharp fantasies, images serve to offer a deep penetration into the emotions and feelings of the characters in a particular situation. Thus, whenever a character in Ibsen’s plays feel emotional turmoil, he goes straight to the stove or fire. Fielding plays with the images of clothing and nakedness in ‘Joseph Andrews’ to use them as the symbols of human intentions,2 and status; Shakespeare uses them to explain seven stages of human life3 and Tennyson uses them to present facts in disguise. Animals have been a constant, continuous and effective source of symbols and images in English literature. Writers have used animals to represent and symbolise certain features of human nature. For exampl e, Shakespeare refers to snail to explain the pace of a school going child4; Jonathan Swift offered horse-like yahoos5; Alfred Tennyson has used the image of an eagle in his poem ‘The Eagle’ to explain the vigilance and crookedness with which authoritative ruler takes care of his estate6; Wordsworth has referred to Nightingale and cuckoo bird in ‘Solitary Reaper’ to explain the sweetness and thrill of maiden’s song and voice; Sylvia Plath has used bees7; Adrienne Rich referred to Tigers8, etc. For ages, this sort of imagery had been taken as aesthetics of writers. It is only now that cultural criticism is made upon this particular feature to highlight its social, political and religious aspects. This innovative field of critical study is called, ‘Ecocriticism’. Ecocriticism Ecocriticism challenges the study of literature’s relationship to the world. It is a key to the new awareness of life sciences. The main argument in natural sc iences states that the natural environment is an exclusive contributor to the human life and social values. Cultural change can be induced by the adaptation to the environment. It

Behavioural Aspects of Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Behavioural Aspects of Marketing - Essay Example Even in the remote, unheard of societies, all people remain consumers with diverse interests and gullibility to get influenced in their decisions. Placing the consumers in the market place and psychologically dissecting their behaviour could be a cross-subject study of psychology, marketing and advertisement results. When we take consumers individually, it is necessary to take the perception and the factors influencing it. Learning and the resultant memory that motivates further action with changed or unchanged values that cause involvement and attitudes are very important. It is necessary to remember that this research region is very young, influx and energetic. It also is being 'constantly cross-fertilised' by external perspectives belonging to various disciplines. It is interesting to know the everyday activities of people. In one of the most influential works in the field, Solomon et al have impressively provided a comprehensive and contemporary detail of the currently prevalent consumer behaviour. The arguments are lively and practical while portraying the strategic marketing issues, diverse European values etc. They also provide a peek into the multi-dimensional European lifestyle, buying habits, marketing behaviour, their relationship with the global market and the behavioural fluctuations. They wrote in the preface: "The field of consumer behaviour is, to us, the study of how the world is influenced by the action of marketers. We're fortunate enough to be teachers and researchers whose work allows us to study consumers". This consumer behavioural insight has to be applied to our Whole Foods Market. USUAL BEHAVIOUR OF CONSUMERS The advertisements are so persuasive today that it is impossible not to listen or get influenced. Marketing opportunities, to a large extent are connected with the cultural dimensions that influence the behaviour issues and concepts. This does not mean that cultural compulsions do not change at all. We have seen that even in the rigidly religious countries, where almost everything is a taboo, consumer behaviour changes, but changes with ultimate slowness. Consumers are eager to new experiences, especially in the food region, with the recent food and nutrition knowledge. Solomon et al have drawn a multi-dimensional portrait of European consumers within which they have shown the European modern family structure and how it has influenced the household decision making. They have shown the traditional influence of the culture which still holds its own in addition to the influence and compulsions of income and the social class and how they command the consumer behaviour and individual decisions. Basic model of consumer decision making might follow the traditional path of problem recognition, search for the information, evaluation of alternatives, decision of choice, evaluation after the purchase and all these are adequately influenced or dictated by the values, lifestyle, cultural and cross-cultural differences. Habit forming products, non-habit forming products that are not purchased regularly fall into two different categories and are not influenced by the same decision making process. Then comes the power of

To Spy or Not to Spy Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

To Spy or Not to Spy - Case Study Example ny is as productive as possible, the incoming CEO intends to implement changes which will require employees to be more productive and managers to be more innovative. The current market situation as identified in the case shows increasing competition and laxity of employees as well as stagnated management which does not recognize the benefits of changes within the contemporary business model. The facts of the case as relating to the key decision makers identified above revolve around the incoming CEO, Schwartz, whose intention to transform the company proposes a series of changes among them an openly refutable suggestion to spy on employees. At the boardroom speech as he was addressing the management, Schwartz makes it know that he was for the idea that right technology was capable of making everything possible. Top management such as Photo, Thuy, and Ali Khan did not seem to agree with the idea that the incoming CEO was trying to impose his philosophy on the the company and forcing everyone else to buy into it. On a rather unfortunate turn of events, Miller, the HR Director seized the opportunity of being the pioneer of presenting and innovation that could enhance the employee output at the company; an idea that Schwartz coined to involve spying of employee’s internet and email activity. In his idea, Miller proposed a data collection program that could be used to monitor productivity but Schwartz idea was highly resisted as it was depriving employees of privacy (Unit 3 Case Study. pp. 1-14) The symptoms occurring on the case represent a number of factors that do not fit within the expectations of every character. Areas of conflict in the case involve the very personal nature of Schwartz and his history with implementing changes. With this fact overly anticipated, most of the managers already have negative opinion about his intentions. Technology as a means to improve performance and productivity is an acceptable factor with a downside every manager disagrees

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Critical reader response from education class(Teaching English as an Additional Language) - Essay Example One of the most important things teachers can do to support literacy development of students is to choose and expose them to quality literature. Children's literature is particularly rich with illustrations, images, genre and cultures; it reflects the maturational development process with regards to cognitive, emotional and social, as well as language development. Reading strategies are developed to retrieve information from 3 categories: 1) meaning cues, 2) visual cues, and 3) structural or syntactic cues. There are eight steps to implementing think-aloud strategies: 1) choose a small portion of the text, 2) chooses a few strategies, 3) communicate the reading purpose, 4) model the think-aloud strategy to the students as you read the text aloud, 5) instruct students on annotating the text, 6) discuss and think through the strategies used, 7) show students how to generalize reading strategies, and 8) reinforce think-aloud techniques with follow-up lessons. As an EAL teacher, I feel t his is an excellent method for helping L2 learners to deal with literature. Absolutely they should use a winning strategy for digesting literature; at best they usually struggle with the vocabulary to the point that frustration takes over and the richness of the literature is lost. Students develop a much stronger command of the language through open reading of literature among peers. Their fluency and diction develops quickly in the presence of a native speaker of L2. In the case where cultures are vastly different, the students need a lot of support to connect with and internalize the story. Often open discussion occurs in comparing and contrasting the cultural differences allowing not only for a deeper understanding and connection to the story, but also to peers. This further reinforces L2 bonding as well as building self-confidence in expressing ideas in L2. This think-aloud strategy helps develop the self-confidence of the L2 learners in their ability to read and comprehend lit erature at the L2 level. They also begin to apply this strategy to their other core L2 subjects, which resulted in higher academic achievement. They even begin to challenge themselves to speak L2 with peers, further reinforcing their self-confidence and pronunciation. The component of the think-aloud strategy that is probably understated is the one of prediction. Often L2 learners don’t have highly developed critical thinking or creativity skills. Predicting what would happen throughout the story is a new challenge for them as it causes them to imagine new possibilities for where the author may be leading the story. As they begin to work with the stories more, their abilities at prediction sharpen, even to the point that they increase their critical thinking skills in other academic areas, such as science and math. At first, the visual cues are critical for them; a picture makes fighting vocabulary and learning through contextual clues easier. With time, they increase their v ocabulary base to independently take on significantly more difficult stories. They enjoy being able to discuss the behind the scenes meaning, messages, and values being taught by the author. Role playing to understand what is happening in the story is another approach that can be

American History Inmigration between 1880 and 1920 Essay

American History Inmigration between 1880 and 1920 - Essay Example Political instability and the spread of diseases in the homelands of the immigrants also forced them to opt for immigration and lead a better life. Other reasons included the lack of employment and chances of progress. The killings and persecution of people on the basis of their religion was also a reason why people left their homelands. There were many countries from where people chose to immigrate to the United States which included people from Italy, Russia, and Poland and to certain extent from China as well. This era of 1880 and 1920 was also a period of industrialization and it was a period of progress for the United States. The immigrants moved to the country and started working in the factories and mills of America. They settled for lower salaries as compared to the nationals. The great influx of immigrants led to the increased crowding in the cities and hence the maintenance of the infrastructure became very difficult. This led to problems like overcrowding accompanied by po or conditions of living for the immigrants. The crime rate also increased due to the rise in these problems. The increase in the number of immigrants created problems for the nationals as well and hence the immigrants became the targets of discrimination.

Education Is Not the Key to Success Essay Example for Free

Education Is Not the Key to Success Essay

WalMart SWOT Analysis

WalMart SWOT Analysis Wal-Marts policies and practices are designed to ensure an environment that is equitable and inclusive. To that end, Wal-Mart solicits feedback from all of their employees, annually, regarding their opinions of their work experience and the companys implementation of Wal-Marts basic beliefs and values. In addition, they provide training on working with people, leadership skills, equal employment opportunities, diversity and sexual harassment prevention. Wal-Mart is committed to providing all employees state-of-the-art training resources and development time to help achieve career objectives. They have a number of training tools in place that keeps then out in front of the competition, including classroom courses, computer-based learning, distance learning, corporate intranet sites, mentor programs, satellite broadcasts, skills assessments, and job announcements. These tools are successfully increasing advancement opportunities for women and minorities. Wal-Mart has been ranked among Training Magazines Top Training 100 companies for two consecutive years. Respect for the individual, one of Wal-Marts companys three core values, is reinforced throughout their training process. Wal-Mart is committed to the customers and communities they serve. Wal-Mart hires locally, representing the diversity and uniqueness of everyones hometown. As the demographics of the nation have changed, so has the family of Wal-Marts employees. More than 15 percent of their employees are over the age of 55, and they are the nations largest employer of Hispanics and African-Americans. Wal-Mart also uses its respectable financial position to attract and retain employees by offering stock ownership and profit-sharing programs. These programs are available to all full-time employees of Wal-Mart and make a significant impact on the earnings of employees. They are allowed to purchase shares of stock at reduced prices, which allows them an immediate appreciation of their portfolio. With the profit-sharing program, the employees receive bonuses at the end of the year based on the success of the overall company. These also provide a significant amount of compensation to their employees. Wal-Mart also has very strong community-based initiatives. They have continually gave college scholarships for high school seniors, raised funds for nearby childrens hospitals through the Childrens Miracle Network Telethon, provided money and manpower for fund raisers, school benefits and churches, Boy and Girl Scouts, park projects, police and fire charities, food banks, senior citizen centers, and more. They also educate the public about recycling and other environmental topics with the help of a Green Coordinator, a specially trained employee who coordinates efforts to make an environmentally responsible store. Along this same line, Wal-Mart has created Environmental Demonstration Stores in Lawrence, Kansas; Moore, Oklahoma; and City of Industry, California. These stores serve as a test tube for environmentally friendly building materials and experimental methods for conserving energy and water. Finally, the corporate structure of Wal-Mart is very well rounded and managed with three core values: respect for the individual, service to their customers, and striving for excellence. The management of Wal-Mart is the backbone to the entire company and these core-values have propelled Wal-Mart to the top of their industry and have allowed Wal-Mart to be the worlds largest company. (S)trengths Marketing The nature of Wal-Marts marketing is in its Every Day Low Price (EDLP) campaign. This is what makes Wal-Mart successful. Sam Walton devised a system for which price setting was to be followed. Sam wouldnt allow management to hedge a price at all. If the list price was $1.98, but Wal-Mart had paid only 50 cents, they would mark it up 30 percent, and thats it. Sams philosophy was No matter what you pay for it, if we get a great deal, pass it on to the customer. The other major campaign Wal-Mart employs is the Rollback. This occurs when Wal-Mart lowers the already lowered Every Day Low Prices. This has really been a successful way for Wal-Mart to increase its patrons. When consumers shop, they are always looking for the best deal, since Wal-Mart already offers low prices, when they rollback prices, they are able to out-price all of their competition. Stemming from the managements core values, Wal-Mart has been known for their customer oriented approach. Wal-Mart maintains one of the best satisfaction guaranteed programs, which promotes customer goodwill. One can return virtually any product to Wal-Mart without any problems. They simply take the product back and promptly refund the price of the product, nearly no questions asked. They also promote goodwill among consumers by employing a tactic, which Sam created known as the Ten Foot Rule. This is simply the idea that if a customer comes within ten feet of an employee, they are required to greet them and ask if they can help them in any way. This is also evident through employees getting to know customers on a first name basis. Finally, perhaps the single most important marketing aspect of Wal-Mart is that they create the ideal one-stop shopping experience. Wal-Mart is organized into ten distinct divisions. These include: Wal-Mart stores, SAMS CLUBS, Neighborhood Markets, International, walmart.com, Tire Lube Express, Wal-Mart Optical, Wal-Mart Pharmacy, Wal-Mart Vacations, and Wal-Marts Used Fixture Auctions. Through these divisions, Wal-Mart offers thousands of products. The Wal-Mart stores contain groceries, clothes, healthcare products, toys, electronics, bedding, sports and recreation, automotive, among other items. Because of this conglomeration of products, the typical consumer can go into any Wal-Mart and walk out without having to stop at another store for anything that they could need. Finance/Accounting Since 2000, Wal-Marts revenue has consistently increased. In 2000, they had revenues of $165,013 billion and in 2002 their revenue had increased 24% to $217,799 billion. This is astronomical growth in revenues considering the overall size and scope of Wal-Mart. Top be able to consistently grow revenues in such a large organization is simply amazing. The increase in revenues has also been very kind to their cash flow. In 1997, Wal-Mart had a positive cash flow of $4,044 billion and in 2002 this number had increased to a positive $9,961 billion. This growth also had an impact on Wal-Marts net income, which is to say that they were able to control their expenses while continuing to grow and expand their operations. In 1997, their net income was a not-so-paltry $3,056 billion, and in 2002, only five years later, Wal-Mart more than doubled their net income to $6,671 billion. The strength of Wal-Mart is also shown through its ratios. Nearly all of Wal-Marts ratios are strengths when measured against the industry averages. Through our ratio analysis, we have shown that Wal-Mart is the best-equipped company to succeed in the marketplace. (The ratio analysis can be found as Figure 3 in the appendix) Another area of strength is Wal-Marts stock price. Figure 4 shows the price of Wal-Marts common stock from October 2000 until the end of 2002. The price has fluctuated, but it has only fluctuated between $45 and $65. Including dividends, an investment in Wal-Mart would perform well. Production/Operations Perhaps the strongest aspect of Wal-Mart is in its access to distribution networks. Wal-Mart uses a system known as cross-docking. This is simply the process of continuously delivering goods to warehouses where they are sorted and distributed to their stores within one day. This enables Wal-Mart to take advantage of economies of scale with shipping trucks with full loads. This also gives Wal-Mart the ability to increase the speed of deliveries, a faster response to market demands, and a low inventory. This system has allowed Wal-Mart to decrease its sales cost by 2 to 3 percent over the industry. This savings is then priced into the products with the earlier discussed EDLP programs. This system is maintained through the most important aspect of Wal-Mart, its employees. With over one million employees worldwide, Wal-Mart definitely has the manpower to move goods. This is also facilitated with a proprietary satellite-based communication system that enables managers and point-of-sale systems real-time information on the needs of each store. Research and Development Wal-Mart does not engage in any research and development. Computer Information Systems As discussed in the production/operation section, Wal-Mart uses a sophisticated system of satellite-based communications. They also offer a safe, secure and complete website where consumers can purchase all of the same products found in the store. The website is strength because it is not only a means for purchasing products, but is also a very thorough informational site. Consumers can log onto www.walmartstores.com and do company financial searches, find employment, learn about the grassroots of Wal-Mart, email the company about problems, and learn about any recalls of products sold through Wal-Mart. (W)eaknesses Management The biggest weakness that Wal-Mart has in the management area is that it does not have a formal mission statement. While they do have core values, they do not explicitly tell their employees or consumers what their business is. This is a fundamental aspect of a company and it provides not definition and direction, but it gives a company a statement on which to rely on to stay strong and focused. Another weakness is that there are few females in top management and there are few minorities employed. With such a societal demand for equality, Wal-Mart is lacking in this category. This is not a very good ethical decision for Wal-Mart to be making. They are really hurting their corporate image by maintaining this position. The other area that Wal-Mart lacks in is with unions. Currently, Wal-Mart does not have any union involvement. This is a problem because of the perception of treating employees poorly. Unions are created to provide bargaining power to employees on issues that involve their compensation, benefits, and working conditions. This is also a weakness because of job security. With unions, job security is not as much of a concern. Marketing The biggest source of marketing weakness stems from Wal-Mart lobbying to expand into new markets. There are thousands of towns across the United States that have tried to block the introduction of Wal-Mart because of the economic impact that it has on small-town stores and shops. Wal-Mart has a damaged reputation because when they move into a location they end up forcing these types of businesses out of business. Finance/Accounting Weaknesses in Wal-Marts finances are seen in three of its ratios. The fixed asset turnover, earnings per share, and average collection period ratios are not very good. The fixed asset turnover ratio is telling us that they have made a lot of investments, but that they are not being fully used at this point in time. The earnings per share ratio is not good because when compared to the industry, they are not earning as much money for each shareholder. However, this is most likely due to the sheer number of outstanding shares. The average collection period is a cause for concern because it means that they are allowing their debtors to carry accounts with Wal-Mart for an above average period of time. This is not good because it increases the likelihood of non-payment. (These ratios can be found in Figure 3 of the appendix) Production/Operations The largest source of concern for this functional area is the slowing speed of checkout lines. This is simply a product of Wal-Marts success. Because more and more people are going to Wal-Mart, and the number of checkout lines is staying constant, the only way to compensate is for the time to checkout increase. This is a problem because it can and will cause people to choose other stores that are less congested. They are basically losing sales due to this fact. Research and Development This is a weakness because they do not actively engage in any research and development. Specifically, they do not do any prior site research before opening a store. They simply approach a local government and build. Internal Factor Evaluation The internal factor evaluation is used to evaluate the major strengths and weaknesses of a company. There are weights assigned to strengths and weaknesses based on how the company responds to them. The ratings are: 1 = poor response, 2 = average response, 3 = above average response, and 4 = superior response. (Figure 5 in the appendix) The key strengths we identified were financial position, employees, customer oriented, one-stop shopping, satisfaction guaranteed programs, employee stock ownership and profit-sharing, well-rounded business, ease of website, good reputation, and favorable access to distribution networks. Along with key strengths of Wal-Mart, we also identified key weaknesses. The key weaknesses are some ratios are not sufficient, non-unionization, no formal mission statement, few women and minorities in top management, undifferentiated products and services, site research, slow speed of checkout service, and finally a damaged reputation. The strengths were weighted: .04 for financial position, .07 for employees, .07 for customer orientation, .14 for one-stop shopping, .05 for satisfaction guaranteed programs, .05 for stock ownership and profit-sharing, .03 for well-rounded business, .04 for ease of website, .04 for good reputation, and .04 for favorable access to distribution networks. The weaknesses have also been weighted. The weaknesses weighted scores were .03 for insufficient ratios, .15 for non-unionization, .05 for no formal mission statement, .05 for few women and minorities in top management, .03 for undifferentiated products and services, .05 for site research, .04 for slowing speed of checkout service, and .03 for a damaged reputation. These weights show the importance of each strength and weakness of Wal-Mart. They are determined by how important that quality is to Wal-Mart and how hard of an impact each has against other businesses. We felt that the most important factors were one-stop shopping and non-unionization. These two factors are very important to Wal-Marts structure and well being as a whole. If these factors are not evaluated regularly, they could put a start to its potential downfall. We rated each strength and weakness based on how Wal-Mart seems to be positioning itself against its competitors. Wal-Marts employees, customer orientation, one-stop shopping, satisfaction guaranteed programs, stock ownership and profit sharing, ease of website, good reputation and favorable access to distribution networks all have been very successful strengths for the company. These are so successful we rated each with a 4. The financial position of Wal-Mart and the well-rounded business that it is has made Wal-Mart what it is today. Because of this success we rated these factors with a 3. In their weaknesses, we thought that minor weaknesses included: non-unionization, no formal mission statement, few women and minorities in top management, undifferentiated products and services, site research, and the slowing speed of checkout service. Since these were only minor we gave them a score of 2. We also rated some major weaknesses. These included insufficient ratios and their damaged reputation, which we rated as a 1. By using these scores in the internal factor evaluation matrix, we came to a total score for Wal-Mart being a 3.01, which is above average. They are above the average company when it comes down to its strengths and weaknesses and how they deal with them. (This is Figure 5 in the appendix) External Analysis (O)pportunities Economic An opportunity available to the industry is the free trade zone. When the government enters into new trade agreements with foreign countries, businesses in the United States have the ability to offer products from these countries in their stores. This simply increases the markets available to retailers. Social, cultural, demographic, and environmental An opportunity facing the industry is that customers want ease of shopping. To provide the ease of shopping the industry is guaranteeing that the customers will find what they want when they want it. This is supported by convenient presentation and the right level of service every time the customer shops. Political, legal, and government An opportunity facing the industry is that the Asian market is virtually untapped by the retail world. By having an untapped market it gives a huge opportunity for companies to expand. It promises unlimited potential for growth and profits. Technological An opportunity facing the industry is that internet shopping is growing. To take advantage of internet shopping, the industry is focused around the customer. The customer receives friendly site designs, efficient order fulfillment, fast delivery and professional customer response. They process returns, refunds, and rebates quickly. Competitive An opportunity facing the industry is that the value of money is weakening. The weakening value of money will help the industry because it reduces the ability of foreign manufactures to offer discounts. (T)hreats Economic A threat is that the economy is very slow right now. There is no way of preventing it and no way to change it. This impacts all businesses and causes profit margins to be reduced as price-cutting ensues to attract more consumers. Social, cultural, demographic, and environmental A threat is customer theft. Manufacturers are fighting back against customer theft by embedding paper clip sized antitheft tags, called electronic article surveillance labels, inside products and packaging. Called source tagging, the process offers several major benefits. For one, merchandise tagged on the factory floor during manufacture or packaging lets retail employees spend less time in the storeroom applying labels and more time on the show floor helping customers. Also, high-theft merchandise previously displayed behind glass can now sit out in the open, boosting sales significantly. Another social, cultural, demographic, and environmental threat is employee theft. Along with antitheft labels there are radio-frequency circuits that are hidden in packages and go unnoticed. The only time they will go off is when the bar code scanner does not deactivate the circuit, which means they stole it. This helps to prevent the two forms of employee theft, which are sweat hearting and sliding. Sweat hearting is when the employee charges the customer less than the actual price and sliding is when the employee covers the barcode at the point of sale. Political, legal, and governmental A threat is the Chinese regulations. China has one of the largest populations in the world; however, the Chinese government does not take kindly to opening their country to foreign establishments. Also, there is rampant corruption among the Chinese, and they have no generally accepted accounting principles. Technological A threat facing the industry is that technological advances may make the products obsolescent. As technology advances, products being sold today are gone tomorrow; this provides less products for retailers to sell. Competitive A threat is that the industry is not following consumer taste. To overcome the threat of not providing consumers wants the industry is expanding rapidly in the urban centers while traditional wet markets are being edged out as the middle-class enlarges and young people flock to the cities. Competitive Profile Matrix A competitive profile matrix identifies a firms major competitors and its particular strengths and weaknesses in relation to a sample firms strategic position. The ratings are as follows: 1 major weakness, 2 minor weaknesses, 3 minor strengths, and 4 major strengths. (Figure 1 in the appendix) Compared together, Wal-Mart, Target and Kmart are very close competitors. They are all retail-variety discount stores making their existence known throughout the world, except Target, which you cannot find globally. These three companies are constantly vying for the reputation as the lowest priced retailer. In the competitive profile matrix, the most critical success factor would be advertising with a weighted score of 0.25. Advertising for these competitors is very critical if they want to compete against each other for the best quality products at low prices. With this, Target was scored the highest with a rating of 4 while both Wal-Mart and Kmart are rated as a 3. This is because Target does a lot more advertising then Wal-Mart and Kmart. The next most critical success factor is global expansion with a weighted score of 0.20. This is somewhat important if you wanted to keep up with the competitors. Wal-Mart was found to be rated the highest with a 4 with Kmart was rated next with a 3, and finally Target rated as a 2. Wal-Mart was ranked the highest because they are found around world, while Kmart was ranked next because they are only found in a few other countries. Target, ranking last, does not have any global branches. This is only a minor weakness because they really do not have to go globally because of how well they are keeping up with the competitors within the United States. Price competitiveness and financial position are ranked next on the competitive profile matrix with a weighted score of 0.15 each. Wal-Mart, ranking the highest in both cases with a 4, is above all competitors. This is because they price reasonably with lower prices then all the competitors and their financial position is great. Target is ranked next with a rating of 3 in both price competitiveness and financial position. Target is known to have somewhat high prices and people tend to see that and want to go shopping elsewhere like Wal-Mart. Their financial position is not that great with the minor strength, but they are keeping up with their major competitor, Wal-Mart. Finally, Kmart is found to have a rating of a 3 in price competitiveness, and a rating of 2 in financial position. This is because Kmart does keep up with the prices of competitors, but they do get pricey in some areas. Their financial position is a minor weakness because of the Martha Stewart scandal and their bankru ptcy. Her products were being sold a lot until the scandal came out. Now they are pricing her products really low just to get the inventory sold. Next, product quality and customer loyalty is found on the competitive profile matrix to have a weighted score of 0.10. Target is found to have a rating of 4 in product quality. In customer loyalty they have a rating of a 3. This is because products found in Target tends to be top brand products, but at the same time, customers see these products somewhere else for a lower price and they tend to go to that place instead. Wal-Mart is ranked next with a rating of 3 in both product quality and customer loyalty. Wal-Mart may not have top brand products but the quality is fairly good. Customer loyalty is also ranked as a 3 because some people do like to get better products no matter how much it costs. Kmart, ranked last with a 2. This is because they do not carry quality products. People tend to go other places for what they want because of the better selection and quality. Finally, the last critical success factor is market share with a rating of 0.05. Wal-Mart and Target are both ranked 3 while Kmart is ranked 1. This is about right because as indicated by the total weighted score, Kmart is the weakest with 2.55. Targets total weighted score was in between but closer to Wal-Marts score of 3.15, and Wal-Marts was the strongest weighted score as 3.50. In conclusion of the competitive profile matrix, Wal-Mart as a competitor rises above both Target and Kmart. External Factor Evaluation An external factor evaluation matrix identifies the industry-wide opportunities and threats. Weights are assigned to the various opportunities and threats based on how well the subject company is responding to the threats and opportunities. The ratings are as follows: 1 = poor response, 2 = average response, 3 = above average response, and 4 = superior response. (Figure 2 in the appendix) The main opportunities that we identified were increasing internet shopping, ease of shopping, free trade zones, the Chinese market, and the value of the dollar. The main threats that we identified were technology making products obsolete, customer and employee theft, slow economy, the Chinese regulations, and not offering what the consumer wants. The opportunities were weighted .15 for internet shopping, .10 for ease of shopping, .10 for free trade zones, .10 for Chinese markets, and .05 for the weak dollar. The threats were weighted .10 for technology making products obsolete, .20 for customer and employee theft, .05 for the slow economy, .10 for the Chinese regulations, and.05 for not offering what consumers want. The weights and are representative of the importance the opportunities and threats presented to Wal-Mart. They were determined by considering the impact that each one has on the industry and how well Wal-Mart is conditioned to react to the situations presented. We felt that the most important factors were internet shopping, and customer and employee theft. These two factors are paramount to the industry and all of its counterparts success. If these factors are not addressed by the industry, bankruptcy is sure to follow. We rated each of the opportunities and threats based on how well Wal-Mart has been positioning itself in the market. Wal-Marts website has been a huge success with it contributing additional revenue to the bottom line; we rated this as a 4. The response to consumer demand for one-stop shopping has also been a success. The fact that you can buy a vast majority of everyday needs such as groceries, clothes, personal care products, electronics, among many other products shows the commitment Wal-Mart is making to the one-stop shopping idea. We also rated this 4. We felt that Wal-Marts continued expansion into foreign countries to be above average and thus rated it a 3. Because China is heavily regulated, we rated their response to the opportunities available in China a 2. This is still a very good score because it is very difficult for any firm to expand into China. Wal-Marts reaction to the dollar weakening has been above average because of its worldwide coverage. They have been able to take advantage of this economic factor with ease and we rated it a 3. The response to threats has been equally impressive. While technology is constantly making products obsolete, Wal-Mart has been able to position itself to be a positive avenue for selling all of the newest and innovative products. Wal-Mart suppliers definitely have a great opportunity for sales because of the vast audience that patronize Wal-Mart. We rated this as a 3. Employee and customer theft is inevitable in all industries. This was ranked as a 2 because Wal-Mart uses the same devices that the entire industry uses. The slowing economy has been a sour point to all industries as well. Wal-Mart has been able to limit its exposure by offering low prices and maintaining its market-leading share. We ranked this factor a 4. Again, because China is such a tough market to enter, we ranked their response to Chinese regulations a 2. The idea that companies offer products that consumers do not want is not uncommon. There have been thousands of products that have flopped after being introduced. Wal-Mart has been able to circumscribe their exposure by offering thousands of products across many different areas. We ranked their response to this a 4. The final score, 2.80, that was obtained from the external factor evaluation matrix shows that Wal-Mart is above average when reacting to opportunities and threats.

Pricing decisions as a management strategy

Pricing decisions as a management strategy Supply and demand is an economic model of price determination in a market. It concludes that in a competitive market, price functions to equalise the quantity demanded to the quantity supplied. This results in an economic equilibrium. The Pricing decisions, deciding what to charge the customers may be based on the Marketing or Cost and management accounting. Pricing is one of the most difficult decisions faced by organisations. It is possible for management to foresee a profit squeeze (Horngren, Datar Foster, 2003). Pricing decisions are based on what to charge for the products and services organisations offer. These decisions have major impacts on the revenue an entity earns. This study is focused on pricing decisions as a management strategy. It will then discuss about costing (subset of management accounting) and its influence in pricing. Major changes have occurred in the business world in recent years, including deregulation, privatisation, the growing expectations of share holders and the impact of new technology (Atrill McLaney, 2009). These changes have led towards a fast changing and competitive environment, and this has radically changed the way that entities need to be managed. Managers must approach pricing decisions with care because of the significant impact they can have on the profitability of business (Drury, 2008). Management must approach pricing decisions with care because of the significant impact they can have on the profitability of an entity. Managers consider three main influences on pricing decisions: customers, competitors and costs. Managers tend to see the pricing issues through the customers eyes. Any increase in price may cause customers to reject an entitys product and switch to its competitors. In the current business environment, understanding customers prices and product preferences are a competitive advantage to any entity. Management can price dynamically to respond to demand, to create demand, to reduce waste and to turn over stock immediately. The reactions of competitors influence pricing too. Many companies globally, have established departments to search out information on its competitors financial performance, patents, technology and operating policies (Bhimani, 2008). Most companies price products to exceed the production costs (Alan, 2002). The surveys and case studie s reveal that executives weigh customers, competitors and costs differently. Price taking and price making Most entities need to make decisions about setting or accepting selling prices for their products or services. An entity will have to accept the market price under few circumstances. If there are entities in an industry and there is little to distinguish their product or service from each other then the management needs to consider price taking. Entities in commodity markets can be quoted as examples. Any small entity operating in an industry where there are dominant entities that influence prices then small entities will have to accept those prices. In contrast, if the entity is selling highly customized or differentiated products then they can influence the prices and be a price setter. Time horizons Short run and Long run Pricing decisions have both short run and long run implications. Pricing decisions in short run Short run pricing decisions include pricing for a onetime special offer. This can be an opportunity where an entity will have to bid against its competitors. In such a situation incremental costs of undertaking the order should be taken into account. Product mix could be adjusted where the incremental sales revenue exceeds incremental short run costs and will provide a contribution towards fixed costs. Pricing decisions in long run Long run decisions could include pricing a product in a major market where price setting has considerable leeway. Long run time horizon is mostly of a year or longer. Organisations are supposed to consider the long run implications since they commit their resources for a lengthy period of time. Long run decisions have a profound effect on the firms future position (Drury, 2008). Pricing decisions are more prominent since that is how organisations earn their revenues. Target costing and Life cycle costing are two of the strategies used by organisations in pricing. Target costing is the estimated price for a product or service that potential customers will pay. In other words, firms determine the allowable cost for the product or service, given a competitive market price, so the firm can earn a desired profit (Target cost = Competitive price Desired profit). Firms have two options to cut down costs to the level of target cost. It could be either by redesigning the product or service and or by integrating new manufacturing technology. While once managers focused only on manufacturing costs, they now look at cost upstream (before manufacturing: Research and development and design) and downstream (after manufacturing: marketing, distribution and customer service) in the product life cycle to get a complete analysis of product cost and profitability. Another long term pricing strategy is Life cycle costing. Typically, product or service costs are calculated and reported for shorter periods, such as a month or a year. Unlike the typical strategies Life cycle costing provides a long term perspective.

Reasons to support thesis Essay -- essays papers

Reasons to support thesis First of all, we will consider the very word motivation. Motivation can be defined as an incentive. When we discuss students having the motivation to learn, we may consider them having the incentive to learn. Do students today have the incentive to learn? Many people claim that they do not and that the lack of motivation is increasingly becoming worse and worse in today’s society. The belief that society has unknowingly created for today’s students is that there is a separation between education that is taught in schools and that which is learned outside of schools. Children view these things as two different worlds. There is the school world, and the real world. Many children tend to believe that the things they learn in the school world will not affect them in the real world and are therefore have no motivation to learn in school. â€Å"When kids are not engaged, not only do they fail to learn, they also tend to become bored and restless† (Wolk, R.). This boredom and restlessness has serious potential for many kids to lead to a lack of motivation. Obviously, it is very important for a student to remain focused in order to maintain motivation; yet, not all of the responsibility relies on the child. Teachers have a huge responsibility in making sure that every student in their class is working to their individual potential and that each child is engaged in the material and is benefiting from this learning experience. Educators sometimes find it difficult to develop such a strong teacher-student relationship with each child but studies have shown that the more the teacher is involved, the more motivated students will become. There are many different elements involved in making a child feel a... ... from Academic Search Premier. Johnson, Ronnie, Lamb, Dean. (1994). Motivating students to learn. Vocational Education Journal. Vol. 69. Issue 2. Morganett, Lee. (1991). Good teacher-student relationships: A key element in classroom motivation and management. EBSCOhost Education. Vol. 112. Issue 2. pg. 265. 5p. Retrieved on 4/22/04 from Academic Search Premier. Schroeder, K. (1992). Motivating students. Education Digest. Vol. 58. Issue 3. Atherely, M. (1992). Motivating students to learn. PageWise, Inc. Retrieved on 4/24/04 from http://de.essortment.com/motivatingstude_rbsm.htm Gershaw, D. (1989). A line on life: Motivating students to learn. Teaching of Psychology. Pg. 86-88. Davis. B. (1993). Motivating students. Tools for Teaching. Josey-Bass Publishers. Retrieved on 4/22/04 from http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/motivate.html

An Analytical Essay on the Humor in Hamlet :: The Tragedy of Hamlet Essays

An Analytical Essay on the Humor in Hamlet    Humor was added to Hamlet by two major scenes, along with Hamlet's use of his antic-disposition. These two were: the scene between Hamlet and Polonius in the library, and the scene with the grave diggers (the clowns).    The scene between Hamlet and Polonius took place in Act II Scene 2. In Hamlet's first encounter with Polonius, he immediately insulted the old man by calling him a "fishmonger". He then quickly changed his opinion and complemented Polonius by calling him an honest man. Hamlet said, "to be honest, as this world goes, is to be one man picked out of ten thousand". As we know Polonius definitely was not such a man. Hamlet was portrayed as a clever lad, who was playing a psychological game with an old fool. He asked Polonius whether or not he had a daughter, pretending he did not know that Ophelia was Polonius's daughter. When Hamlet was asked about what he was reading, he replied by saying, "words, words, words". Throughout this scene, Hamlet revealed himself to Polonius as a mentally unstable man. He was playing a fool himself, while ingeniously using this to make Polonius look like an even bigger fool. He cleverly insulted Polonius' appearances indirectly, by referring to the book he was reading. According to that book old men had grey beards, their faces were wrinkled, they had a plentiful lack of wit, and so on. He was describing Polonius exactly. Perhaps the most humorous part took place when Hamlet, while saying, "for yourself, sir, shall grow old as I am, if like a crab you could go backward",   he advanced towards Polonius, causing him to walk backwards. Those words and the actions on the stage   revealed Hamlet to be a daring young man. When Polonius finally left, Hamlet dropped his pretense and yelled, "These tedious old fools!". In Act III Scene 2, Hamlet used a recorder, the musical instrument, as a telescope when Polonius entered the scene. He asked Polonius, "Do you see yonder cloud that's almost in shape of a camel?". Hamlet always pretended to be the madman in front of Polonius, while he actually made him look like an old fool.       The scene with the grave diggers (the clowns), took place in Act V Scene I. The clowns were discussing Ophelia's death and were making fun of the case of Sir James Hales, who also drowned himself. An Analytical Essay on the Humor in Hamlet :: The Tragedy of Hamlet Essays An Analytical Essay on the Humor in Hamlet    Humor was added to Hamlet by two major scenes, along with Hamlet's use of his antic-disposition. These two were: the scene between Hamlet and Polonius in the library, and the scene with the grave diggers (the clowns).    The scene between Hamlet and Polonius took place in Act II Scene 2. In Hamlet's first encounter with Polonius, he immediately insulted the old man by calling him a "fishmonger". He then quickly changed his opinion and complemented Polonius by calling him an honest man. Hamlet said, "to be honest, as this world goes, is to be one man picked out of ten thousand". As we know Polonius definitely was not such a man. Hamlet was portrayed as a clever lad, who was playing a psychological game with an old fool. He asked Polonius whether or not he had a daughter, pretending he did not know that Ophelia was Polonius's daughter. When Hamlet was asked about what he was reading, he replied by saying, "words, words, words". Throughout this scene, Hamlet revealed himself to Polonius as a mentally unstable man. He was playing a fool himself, while ingeniously using this to make Polonius look like an even bigger fool. He cleverly insulted Polonius' appearances indirectly, by referring to the book he was reading. According to that book old men had grey beards, their faces were wrinkled, they had a plentiful lack of wit, and so on. He was describing Polonius exactly. Perhaps the most humorous part took place when Hamlet, while saying, "for yourself, sir, shall grow old as I am, if like a crab you could go backward",   he advanced towards Polonius, causing him to walk backwards. Those words and the actions on the stage   revealed Hamlet to be a daring young man. When Polonius finally left, Hamlet dropped his pretense and yelled, "These tedious old fools!". In Act III Scene 2, Hamlet used a recorder, the musical instrument, as a telescope when Polonius entered the scene. He asked Polonius, "Do you see yonder cloud that's almost in shape of a camel?". Hamlet always pretended to be the madman in front of Polonius, while he actually made him look like an old fool.       The scene with the grave diggers (the clowns), took place in Act V Scene I. The clowns were discussing Ophelia's death and were making fun of the case of Sir James Hales, who also drowned himself.

Guilt in a Heartbeat

Guilt in a Heartbeat Through the heart beat from the Tell-Tale Heart Edgar Allan Poe shows that all bad deeds come with endless guilt. This short story illustrates that the obsession of the narrator, who is an everyday man, drives him to commit murder to an old man that has done no harm nor insult the narrator. This also goes to show that a man’s conscience can be his own enemy. The Tell-Tale Heart explores various ideas that reassure the insanity that drove the narrator to commit unjustified murder, and the narrator provides this information by describing what kind of character he is.Poe also writes in a very effective point of view that allows the audience to understand completely all the narrators transitions, then the audience is able to see how the setting of the story fits perfectly in this story, finally Poe is able to create various symbolisms injected in the story that justify the narrator’s actions. The narrator does not reveal a specific name, but does reveal that he is a care giver to the old man which is the only identity given in the short story.Through the short story it’s shown that the narrator is not a dynamic character, because at the beginning of the story he is insane and at the end he is still insane, which reveals that the character has no change or growth throughout the whole story. But the only part where he develops a kind of change and growth is when the narrator hears the corpse’s heartbeat from beneath the floor he screams in agony saying â€Å"Villains! Dissemble no more! I admit the deed! — tear up the planks! —here, here! —it is the beating of his hideous heart! (Poe 18) which makes him a conscious of the big mistake and horrible crime he has committed. This small change and growth of the main character is very visible in the story due to the point of view that the story is being told. The point of view of the story is very effective because the Tell-Tale Heart is written in first person. The narrator is the main character in the story, which allows the reader to explore and view in a deeper way the feelings, thoughts, and macabre imaginations of him.The narrator also helps the reader understand in which moment the story is being told because the story begins in the middle where the narrator is trying to convince the police man that he has done no wrong in the house and trying to make them believe that the old man is in vacations out of the country. The point of view takes us to see the setting of the story that helps the narrator to feel more comfortable. The setting of the story is very important.The narrator has a comfortable way of walking through the house like it was his own. What shows that he is comfortable is that he takes a full hour to open the door just enough to fit his head, which makes him seem very insane with an obsession that is not letting him go to sleep or at least not spy to the old man. The house allows the narrator to create a darker atmosphere in which he is able to kill, dismember, and bury the old man’s body.The nature of each character is very different, because the old man with a helpless nature is not able to take care of himself, or even live by himself. On the contrary the narrator reveals himself to be a selfish, crazy, and a lonely person that is not able to coexist well with other people. Edgar Allan Poe was able to give great symbols in the Tell-Tale Heart. The â€Å"vulture† eye is what starts driving the narrator insane, because the narrator does not have interest in the old men’s money nor has the old man done bad to the narrator.The eye symbolizes the obsession the narrator has, which indicates the insanity and craziness of him. The caution that the narrator has while going into the old man’s room symbolizes that the narrator has a true obsession over the old man’s eye. The narrator has a goal and he will do anything to complete the murder. The narrator cannot e ven sleep or do his regular duties just to be thinking and being horrified by the old man’s vulture eye.The last symbol that it was in this short story is the heart beat at the end of the story where he hears a heartbeat through the wooden floor while the policemen are there. That symbolizes his guilt where he finds himself feeling bad and rather to be dead than to keep listening to the olds man’s heart that it is buried under the floor he expresses this by screaming â€Å"But anything was better than this agony† and â€Å"I could bear those hypocritical smiles no longer! I felt that I must scream or die! † (Poe 17).The human mind can be a wonderful and terrible thing. People are soon to forget the good but continue to be haunted by the bad. The narrator’s mind did not allow him to forget the deeds that he was just recently so proud of. They haunted him by means of a beating heart, that although was only in his mind, he believed it was real. Work C ited Poe, Edgar A. The Tell-Tale Heart. 2010. Literature an Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama and Writing. By X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. New York: Pearson-Longman, 2010. 36-40. Print.