Scaricity of Healthcare Resources Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Scaricity of Healthcare Resources - Essay Example hilosophical biomedical ethical issues have developed in complexity as they are influenced by a number of factors including religion, law, anthropology and sociology. Each of the influencing factors is complex by themselves and this tends to make the biomedical ethical issues even more confusing for the healthcare service providers, especially as they are in the forefront in the use of the massive technological developments that have been in the recent past. The origins of the practical normative ethics of biomedical ethics goes back to the school of thought normally associated with Hippocrates and the famous Hippocratic oath. This oath sums up the school of thought on the ethical principles of curing and healing. The emphasis in the early days of medical history was on healing and not on curing, as the means of curing diseases was limited. Helping people to cope with diseases that had inflicted them had more relevance. The mode of intervention was left to the judgment of the physician. Thus the first principles of biomedical ethics of beneficence and nonmaleficence were laid. Even today there are many who believe that the goals of medicine remain in these complimentary factors of curing and healing. The subsequent history of bio-ethics is limited to interpretations of Galen in the second century and the opposing views expressed by Vesalius thirteen centuries later. However the next significant step in the development of biomedical ethics was seen in 1803, through the expressions of Thomas Percival, in his work Medical Ethics. Percival expanded the prevalent biomedical ethics of beneficence and nonmaleficence to incorporate the idea of the professional responsibility of physicians and their responsibility to society. Thus introducing the third principle in development of biomedical ethics in the form of justice. Further development in the principles of bioethics was seen in the 1960s and 1970s. Concern on the medical treatment procedures without proper

Umbilical Cord Blood Banking

Umbilical Cord Blood Banking Constant growing attempts have been made spread awareness among the people for the cause of umbilical cord blood banking. Stem cells derived from umbilical cord have proved to be a boon to mankind. Earlier stem cells were only used to provide some low cost effective treatment to diabetes, stroke and some kind of blindness. But no doubt about it that today we are on the edge of having a major breakthrough with these cells which will get stem cells the credit they deserve. Although it is true that the spread of awareness among people has paid off and the preservation of umbilical cord blood is gaining momentum. Now cord blood bank is a place where cord blood can be kept for the future use. The cord blood banking involves three simple steps. These steps are collection, processing and storage. Collection is a process in which the umbilical blood is collected and can be done within 5 minutes after the birth of the child. Umbilical cord is clamped and cut and is attached to a special bar coded bag. This bag is kept at a lower level than the cord so the blood drains out in the bag.   After collection its the turn for processing. Processing normally involves checking of blood for various possible viral infections and then separating stem cells from the red blood cells. After processing the umbilical blood is stored in liquid nitrogen tank at a temperature of -196 Celsius. This keeps the blood available for use even after a very long time. The banks which handle all these operations can be generally classified into two categories and they are public and private. While the public cord blood bank is set to be for public use, private banks are set up exclusively for parents who want to keep the umbilical cord blood of their baby to themselves. At present, for every 3 public cord blood banks there is 1 private cord blood bank. The public banks can be used free of cost while the private banks charge the fees of $800-$2000. Most parents do not worry about the amount as it can be considered as the cover for medical insurance against so many fatal diseases. The only good thing about the private banks are that with the donation to private banks comes the guarantee of availability, while in public banks the usage of cord blood is subjected to availability. It is due to private banks only that this noble cause of donation is turning into a kind of business that requires investment. That is why medical community strongly supports public banks and not the private banks. The use of public banks widens the number of beneficiaries from medical advances. The government is also spending heavily on the research and storage of stem cells. Recently the Indian government granted Rs 5 crores to a Mumbai based institution to upgrade its stem cell research facility. Also a large number of banks are being set up nationwide to facilitate the process and to spread awareness among the masses.

Tribute To Shakespeare Essay -- essays research papers

Tribute to Shakespeare Shakespeare was an English playwright and poet. He is generally considered the â€Å"greatest dramatist the world has ever known† and the â€Å"finest poet who has written in the English language† (World Book Encyclopedia). Shakespeare has also been the world's most popular author. No other writer's plays have been produced so many times or read so widely in so many countries. Many reasons can be given for Shakespeare's appeal. But his fame basically is on his understanding of human nature. Shakespeare understood people as few other artists have. He could see in a specific dramatic situation the qualities that relate to all people. He could create characters that have meaning beyond the time and place of his plays. Yet his characters are not symbolic figures. They are normal individual people. They struggle just as people do in real life, sometimes successfully and sometimes with painful and tragic failure. Shakespeare wrote at least 37 plays, which have been comedies, histories, and tragedies. These plays contain vivid characters of all types. Kings, pickpockets, drunkards, generals, hired killers, shepherds, and philosophers all mingle in Shakespeare's works. In addition to his deep understanding of human nature, Shakespeare had knowledge in a wide variety of other subjects. These subjects include music, law, the Bible, military science, the stage, art, politics, the sea, history, hunting, woodcraft, and sports. Yet as far as scholars know, Shakespeare had no professional experience in any thing other then theater. Shortly after he married at the age of 18, Shakespeare left Stratford to seek his fortune in the theatrical world of London. Within a few years, he had become one of the city's leading actors and playwrights. By 1612, when he seems to have partially retired to Stratford, Shakespeare had become England's most popular playwright. Shakespeare has had enormous influence on culture throughout the world. All the things he wrote have helped shape the literature of all English-speaking countries. He freely experimented with grammar and vocabulary and that helped prevent literary English from becoming fixed and artificial. Many words and phrases from Shakespeare... ...III, Two Noble Kinsmen and the now lost Cardenio were the plays. The former two are no one's favorites, combining elements of spectacle, romance, and tragicomedy. Little is known of the last, except that in 1653 the printer Humphrey Moseley entered in the Stationers' Register several plays including "The History of Cardenio, by Mr. Fletcher and Shakespeare.† and that in 1613 Heminges received payment on two occasions for performances at court of a play at one time called "Cardenno" and another "Cardenna." There are later supposed versions of the play, but little is known of the original (World Book Encyclopedia). In conclusion, his fame basically rests on his understanding of human nature. Shakespeare understood people as few other artists have. He could see in a specific dramatic situation the qualities that relate to all human beings. He could thus create characters that have meaning beyond the time and place of his plays. Yet his characters are not symbolic figures. They are remarkably individual human beings. They struggle just as people do in real life, sometimes successfully and sometimes with painful and tragic failure.

Is Strategic Leadership Necessary to Effectively Manage Global Strategy in Today’s Essay

Critically evaluate whether strategic leadership is necessary to effectively manage global strategy in today’s turbulent business environment In today’s environment, companies need more and more flexibility to success in a rapidly changing world which evolves constantly over the year. It is interesting to speculate if a strategic leader is necessary to lead the company to the success and to well manage the global strategy of the firm. The term of leadership is hard to define and there are over 400 definitions of what it really is. Leadership can be in a poetic way, according to Warren Bennis, â€Å"like beauty: it’s hard to define but you know it when you see it†. Or in a more concrete way, we can say that leadership† is a matter of making a difference. It entails changing an organization and making choices among plausible alternatives. It depends on the development of others and mobilizing them to get the job done. â€Å"(Useem, 2001). Consequently, strategic leadership is the vision of the leader, the directions chosen by him to lead the company to the success. Strategic Leadership consists also in persuading the members of the organization in order to build an organizational structure whose aim is the strategic productivity. (managementstudyguide. com, 2010). This concept of strategic leadership is more and more important in a context of global strategy. Indeed, nowadays, it is more and more usual to globalize its company in order to gain in productivity and performance. Thus, the global strategy of a company is somehow, a kind of strategic guide to succeed in the globalization process. This is a guide which permits the company to go ahead the barriers to international trade by gaining competitive advantages according to (quickmba. com, 2010). A global strategy must ask itself some questions like what must be the presence on the market in each country? How to build an international global presence? Regarding to these two important aspects of a business, it is interesting to wonder if the strategic leadership is related to the global strategy and more precisely if the strategic leadership is necessary to success in globalizing its company within this turbulent business environment. The strategic leadership may have an impact on the global strategy of a firm; nevertheless, strategic leadership is sometimes subject to some issues which can impair the viability of the company and its potential success. Indeed, the leaders have a lot of pressure, they have to deliver results and manage the personal, which is more and more complicated in a changing world directed by the development of new technologies which implicated more and more reactivity. And sometimes leaders can make mistakes, Gerald Ratner, CEO of Barclays Bank, has said in front of TV cameras and reporters that he didn’t have a credit card because†¦ it’s too expensive! That wasn’t very professional†¦ Thus, the position of the leader is always a kind of a precarious position because he has to make decisions which will determine the success of the company. Charan and Colvin (The quest for quality of work life: a TQM approach) highlight some strategic mistakes that a leader could make, some misjudgements which can lead to issues in term of strategic leadership. The first one may be people related. Indeed people can’t be underestimating, and sometimes it happens, people of an organization are the glue of this one, so it is necessary to understand people skills to have a harmony in the corporation, especially in terms of relationships, according to Bill Donaldson and Tom O’toole (strategic market relationships: from strategy to implementation, 200), â€Å"personal contact cannot be underestimated†. So it is crucial to have some strategic leadership to make sure that everybody is held at fair value. Moreover, another difficulty for the leader is to fail putting the right people at the right place, this task requires a analysis of each people in the staff in order to place them in the job in which they are the most efficient and in which they will work the best and do their best contribution. According to Buckingham and Coffman (1999) in their book† First, Break All the Rules: What The World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently†, they put forward twelve questions which are really useful to put people in the adapted job (bainvestor. om, 2010). Another people related problem can be the fail to deal with managers who are underperforming. The decision making process is also seen as a issue in strategic Leadership, some decisions are not made which can implied a cost in term of time and money. The leader has to use good tactics to make their decisions. The problem is that, according to Nutt (researchnews. osu. edu, 2010) a good tactic in decision making require time and leaders are looking for quick fixes, but over the long term, theses tactics turn out to be successful. Beyond these issues, the leaders have also to face some challenges in particularly concerning the environment which is changing. Lao Tzu says that â€Å"resisting change is like holding your breath; if you persist, you die†. The challenge that faces the leader is how to adapt them to a changing environment, and more precisely in this context of globalization, because the employee may feel suspicious relative to the change. This kind of barrier has to be destroyed by the leader by setting objectives, having open discussions with employee or showing their commitment. Manage the employee is a challenge, but the nature of the strategic environment is another one. According to (airpower. au. af. mil, 2010), there are four components which can be seen as challenges to the strategic leader: Complexity, Ambiguity, uncertainty and volatility. The leaders have to anticipate scenario to avoid volatility (ex Bosnia/Kosovo), and to highlight the act of the competitors to reduce the uncertainty and the complexity of the interdependence of the components. Moreover, the ambiguity can be solved by working in team; this work will permit not to have multiple interpretation of one problem for example. As said before, the economic world has change over the past few years, with notably the financial crisis which has affect business productivity. This event shows us that the situation can change one day to another. Thus Brigid L. Bechtold explains in his book â€Å"Chaos theory as a model for strategy development†, the necessity of putting in place news strategies to balance a random economic situation. Moreover, the author emphasize the notion of interaction between the company which are now interdependent, a strategic leadership must deals with this situation in order to communicates and acts conscientiously, and notably in the case of corporate parenting. The corporate parenting has to set priority for the strategic leadership. Corporate parenting is a management which is intern to the company, no others actors of the market are taking in account; there are no interaction with others actors such as competitors or buyers. The aim of corporate parenting is to give value to the firm, but these operations require money and generate cost. There are three different types of this kind of management, strategic planning, strategic control and financial control. The strategic planning puts resources together in order to reinforce each business units to achieve a common goal, for example providing central services and resources. The strategic control consist in using the corporate parent ability to build some value for the business and finally under the financial control type the corporate parent evaluate and ontrol the performance of each business unit (scribd. com, 2010 ), and then business units are more independent even if they are subject to performance standards. The corporate parenting provide thus a clear image of the strategy to all the business units, managers can focus on the same goal. Moreover, a corporate parent can interfere and guides its business units if they are underperforming for example. A s an example we can talk about Virgin which is the perfect example of a successful corporate parenting: Robabdul. com, 2010 Virgin was able to understand and institutionalized markets, but also in terms of innovation, by buying and created partnership with good skilled company. Moreover the management is flexible and gives flexibility to business units. (robabdul. com, 2010) But the corporate parenting can also destroy value instead of adding this one. (accessmylibrary. com, 2010), some might say that the destruction of the value is created by the â€Å"level of corporate overhead costs†, but even if these costs are high, it is not the principal cause of failure. The most often, the influence of the parent are bad, because they put in place invalid objectives and unsuitable strategies. Thus, the managers have to use this strategic leadership of the corporate parents to develop the same and adequate strategy within the business units and the strategic leadership must be aware of the objectives given to ensure that they are realizable. In a context of globalization, this corporate parenting can face culture issues which can impact on the global strategy. The globalization is a phenomenon which is more and more spread; it’s a new way of working and in to manage people who come from different countries, some authors had created some dimensions dealing with cultural dimensions and the different value orientations. Indeed the majority of these workers don’t understand the attitude and the reactions of their colleagues because of the culture which includes different ways of thinking or acting. A strategic leadership has to leverage on cultural difference for competitive advantage. To create opportunities of collaboration a strategic leader must understand the management philosophy and the national character, to help this, Greet Hofstede created dimensions (hofstede. com, 2010) which permit to analyze and understand people from a different culture. A good strategic leadership is needed to manage these cultural gaps, because culture can be assimilating to the driving force beyond a man behavior. To succeed in a multicultural environment, the leaders must adopt the concept of global leadership, (Managing cultural differences: global leadership strategies for the 21st century, by Robert T.  Moran,Philip R. Harris,Sarah Virgilia Moran, Butterworth-Heinemann, 2007 ), they have to be capable of operating in the globalized world and being respectful of each culture, he must be flexible and open in order to perceive and understand people reactions. Companies have also to take care of what they said, if they didn’t pay attention to their slogan, they can get into trouble, thus the slogan of American Airlines â€Å"Fly in Leather† has been translated in Spanish by â€Å"fly naked† (brandingstrategyinsider. com, 2010). To have this open-minded spirit, the relationship between management and strategic leaderships must be define The leadership, and more particularly the strategic leadership are the eyes of an organisation, they have to see what is coming, to anticipate the future in order to give the opportunities to the company to create the future. Instead, the management, according to the figure, is more about execution. Indeed, the management deals with organization, they follow and accomplish the mission given by the leadership, they have to â€Å"comprehends the vision and the road map† (relationship-economy. com, 2010). A good example of the relation Leader/manager is the story of the creation of the iMac by Apple. 2-speed. com, 2006) The ex-CEO of Viewlogic relates its anecdote: all the work on the iMac was done, the product was about to be launched when Steve Jobs, a great leader, require that the case for the computer has to be transparent. This resulted in additional cost and engineering work had to be restarted because it has to be pretty either. This story shows well the differences of vision between a leader and a manager; Steve Jobs has seen the importance of the design over the long term and put the base of Apple competitive advantage. Relationship-economy. com, 2010 In this climate of economic uncertainty, the role of the strategic leadership within the global strategy is important notably speaking of the globalization phenomenon which is playing a major role in the business environment of today. Strategic leaders are necessary because they are the inspiration of the company, the guide of the managers. As seen before, in terms of corporate parenting, strategic leadership plays a crucial role in the success of the different business units, but sometimes, it happens that the influence of this one compromise the viability of the different business units. Globally speaking, a company has often resort to internationalize itself, to succeed in this way a strategic leadership must be set, in order to understand and leverage of cultural differences. Concerning the relationship between the relationship between management and strategic leadership, they have a special relationship, on could not function without the other. Whitout the execution of the ideas of the strategic leader, these ones would be useless. These two concepts are interdependent, the management deals with organizing, planning and answers short terms questions, while conversely, the strategic leader responds to long terms issues and determines the position of the company and its strategic direction. The strategic leader must communicate to the company values. He should increase the belief of employees in the company and be transparent and involve them in their role. It must be open in order to speak freely of market information, because employees want to know where the company is going and want to know what the leader knows. It is also important for the leader to take into account the opinions of everyone. Indeed even if the decisions that are not suitable with the wish of the employees, having been listening reinforce their membership to the business. Even if there are bad decisions making by some strategic leaders, (notably speaking of the CEO of the banks which didn’t pay attention to the mistakes that they have done and start the financial crisis), they are necessary in the global strategy of a company but some strategic leadership can be at the origin of failure and being not adapted to some kind of company. Thus strategic leadership is important to manage global strategy to give confidence and to innovate in the turbulent environment. But to avoid some mistake the management can be stricter and let more place to concrete work instead of just ideas in order to stabilize and create a secure environment for the business. References http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/global/ http://www.managementstudyguide.com/strategic-leadership.htm http://www.cmoe.com/strategic-leadership.htm

Fdi Impact to China Economy Essay

The successful in attracting FDI is due to the provision on both the internal and external specific country advantages. It secures cheap labor cost and the availability of raw materials as well as securing the opportunity on exploring the domestic market potential. It is probably a more important factor for service sector to get closer to the market being served in order to meet and understand local needs and tastes. Foreign investors not only achieve benefit from tax breaks and incentives, China has also reduced many of its import quotas which may ensure the security and continuity on accessing to markets, to a certain extent. In addition, they can operate in a low cost base for export to third countries which is a key motive for many firms. However, there exists a dilemma. It is believable that foreign capital has played a largely positive role in China’s economic development while, in contrary, there concerns FDI may bring detrimental effect. The benefits generated from FDI not just only help solving the capital shortage problem of the economy but also to augment the various aspects such as technologies, human capital, and operations etc as well. The opposition that concerns negative impacts on China’s development claims that foreign capital inflows may substitute for domestic savings and FDI makes worst the balance-of-payment deficits thereby rising debt repayment obligations. Moreover, the transition to a market economy has failed to protect workers with a minimum of social security benefits. The local worker has lost originally guarantee to full and lifetime employment that they were recruited and allocated through centralized system as well as achieving related benefits of housing, health care, childcare and pensions offering by the state. As such, unemployment became a feature of Chinese labor market. Under the following analysis, its aim is to work out how Chinese local workers have lost or gained while foreign direct investment in China has brought great benefits both to the nation and the multinationals. 2. Background Before the announcement of mainland China to its â€Å"Open Door† policy in 1978, it was a centrally planned economy. Large enterprises were state-owned and they were required to produce according to the plan rather than market demand. They were also responsible for the provision of welfare, pensions, schooling and hospitals for their local communities. Under the plan, the internal management structures of the state-owned enterprises (SOEs) were constrained and the accounting system, which functioning the allocation of assets for central authorities, was not designed to identify profitability. The economic reforms in China took place since the late 1970s and it has been a market being sought to enter by many multinational firms recently. The active government promotion through various policy measures resulted that foreign direct investment (FDI) in China has grown rapidly since then. During the first ten years of the reform period (1978-1988), China’s GDP grew at an average rate of around 10% per annum and its share of world trade doubled during the decade of the 1980s as well. From the period of the early 1980s to late 1990s, contracted FDI inflow to China grew from about US$1. 5 billion a year to more than US$40 billion a year in 1999. The rate of economic growth was even higher in the fist half of the 1990s.

Risk Management

Risk Management Introduction Internal and external environments of an organization pose a wide range of risks to an organization and managers should establish strategies to manage risks for the long-term survival. Risk management strategies are enhanced by the culture of the organization and this can be maintained by inculcating a culture of good values, believes, norms and attitudes.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Risk Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Changes in the global markets today create a huge risk to organizations and this creates the need to have mechanisms to solve organizational problems in a professional manner. Thus, risk management is a crucial aspect of an organization and proper strategies need to be established to ensure the survival of organizations in the turbulent market environments (Jafari, Rezaeenour, Mazdeh, Hooshmandi, 2011). Therefore, risk management entails setting goals and objectives and e nsuring that they are achieved in the most effective manner, managing change that is brought about by introduction of new strategies, managing cultural and technological diversity among other tasks. Risk management covers a wide range of activities and aims at establishing better strategies of promoting the success of an organization. Enterprise wide risk management (EWRM) Enterprise wide risk management involves managing risks and seizing opportunities which help an organization to achieve its objectives. Managing risks as opportunities come is very important in maintaining the success of the organization. Creating value to the shareholders capital is the major bestowed upon the managers of an organization. This can be achieved by identifying opportunities available in the business environment and seizing them actively to ensure the interest of shareholders is protected. Therefore, EWRM is defined as an approach used to manage enterprises by controlling risks (Gupta, 2011). It is i mportant to note that organizations are founded on goals and it is the achievement of these goals that differentiates successful organizations from others. There are various risks associated with achieving goals and the management requires to develop strategies to reduce the effect or evaluate the impact such risks have on the organization. Organizations set goals to be achieved and these goals can only be achieved by proper planning of all resources. Risks are encountered in every situation in an organization and it is important to put clear strategies to deal with risks as they occur to avoid losses (Hepworth, Rooney Rooney, 2009).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Therefore, it is evident that EWRM is an important aspect that determines how organization succeeds in turbulent market conditions. Managers use risk management as a benchmark to measure the achievement of an organization. An organization that is able to manage all the risk elements successfully acquires better position in the market. Most successful organizations have ventured in risky businesses and this has created a lot of wealth to the shareholders. Operating in high risk activities requires establishing a strong risk management system to ensure that the organization can not make a lot of losses in case the event of risks occurring (Mbuya, n.d.). GRC and its relationship with EWRM Governance, risk and compliance are management tools that comprise of three aspects. First, governance which refers to the process by which the top management team apply to control, plan, organize and direct the resources of an organization to achieve the goals which have been set by the shareholders. It involves making decisions by the top management by using the appropriate information. Secondly, risk management involves the identification, analysis and response to the risks affecting an organizat ion. To manage risks an organization can control, avoid, accept, or transfer the risks to other parties. Lastly, compliance deals with conforming to all requirements stipulated by the concerned stakeholders (Mohapatra, n.d.). According to Wilson and Dobson (2008) governance, risk and compliance is related to EWRM in that the management puts measures to regulate the activities of the organization to ensure that all rules and regulations are adhered to. By complying with the rules and regulations of the organization, the management ensures that it avoids the risks of penalties related to legal systems of a country. The management evaluates the costs related to the implementation of various strategies and this helps solve some problems that may affect the smooth operation of an organization. Compliance enhances the control of risks associated with the implementation of decisions made by the management of an organization (Mather, Kumaraswamy Latif, 2009). Therefore, we find out that th ere is a close relationship between GRC and EWRM because the two interact with each other. However, there are few differences between GRC and EWRM in that GRC deals with how organizations are managed and how the organization benefits when all rules and regulations are adhered to by all stakeholders.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Risk Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It also explains the relationship between the internal and external environmental elements and how they interact with each other. On the other hand, EWRM is based on risk management at the enterprise level and provides little interaction between the internal and external environments (Mather, Kumaraswamy Latif, 2009). Opinion about above statement a fair comment on the state of play today Enterprise wide risk management (EWRM) as an assurance tool is increasingly being mandated; indeed it is embedded as a concept in ISO31000:2009. This stat ement is a fair comment on the state of play today. Many organizations have realized the importance of managing risks and this has been facilitated by the intensifying number of risks in the market environments today. To establish better strategy for improving the competitiveness of an organization can only be made possible by managing all the risks that may be associated with the implementation of such strategies (Loras, 2010). Threats and responses to be offered There are various threats that managers encounter when maintaining values in an organization. In competitive environment organizations face threats which may hinder accomplishment of the stipulated values. Some of these threats may be cause by changes in internal and external environmental factors such macro and micro economic variables, legal factors, technological changes, political environments among others (Champoux, 2010). The response to these threats determines the success of an organization. The management responds by studying the changes in the market conditions as well as other factors that may affect the activities of the organization. Some examples of the responses that can be offered to these threats are change management, making better decisions, establishing stronger strategies, collaborating with consultants and other measures (Klein, 2011).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Change management is an important aspect that managers need to learn when dealing with threats and responses. Moran and Brightman (2001, pg 111) have defined change management as â€Å"the process of continually renewing an organization’s direction, structure, and capabilities to serve the ever-changing needs of external and internal customers.† Change is the opening through which people or organization focus the future by bringing new systems which create success. Change can be introduced by an individual person or organization or it can be happen by itself. Change brings opportunities for growth and improvement. The management of an organization should become fast in introducing and implementing change since the world is changing at an alarming speed. Jennings and Haughton (2002) explain that the need for change has been caused by revolutionary technologies, consolidation, well-funded new competition, unpredictable customers, and a quickening in the pace of change hu rled unfamiliar conditions at management. (P. 212). Change management focuses on developing future structures of a business to improve the performance as well as introduce new technologies which improve the performance of the organization. The path towards establishing future structures should be well monitored to create a smooth transition for the organization to achieve the desired changes as well as manage risks. Crisis within the organization create the need for organizational change and the management should be prepared to handle all changes that might be required by the organization. The internal and external business environments are changing at an alarming rate and change management is an essential tool for capturing new developments being introduced. Competition in the global markets has increased and this is forcing managers to introduce innovation in the management of the systems within an organization in order to catch up with the changes (Luecke, 2003). Many changes int roduced within an organization fail due to poor preparedness as well as management of the entire process. The lack of appropriate frameworks to support the implementation and management of change within an organization are the main causes of failure by many changes introduced by the management (Burnes, 2004). The nature of organizational change has been assumed for a long period of time by managers and contemporary studies have indicated that strict measures should be introduced to cater for the gap between the success and failure of the changes being introduced by an organization. According to Edmonstone (1995) â€Å"many of the change processes over the last 25 years have been subject to fundamental flaws, preventing the successful management of change† (p. 16). Contemporary studies have identified that the pace of change management has increase in the recent years and managers are becoming more responsive to the changes in the environment (Burnes, 2004). There is no organi zation or industry is immune from change since change is caused by many internal and external factors. The introduction, implementation and monitoring of change requires the collaboration of all stakeholders to an organization. Change cannot be achieved by an individual department, or sector. The management should respond quickly to internal and external changes required by the organization. Delays in response can retard the achievement of appropriate change. Since new technologies are being introduced in the global markets each day, delay in establishing change may result into the organization adopting old systems which are not beneficial. Adequate research should be done into the recent changes in the market. There are no universally acceptable processes of creating change in an organization. The management should apply the best structures relevant to the organization (Burnes, 2004). Inculcating culture in EWRM and/ or GRC According to Kotter and Heskett (1992) culture refers to t he beliefs, attitudes, values and norms that a given people have. The organizational culture is defined by the stakeholders and this is reflected in the nature of activities the management sets. The culture of an organization is inculcated in the GRC by creating systems of compliance. Culture establishes the norms to be observed by all stakeholders and this creates the basis of compliance. Culture explains the extent to which the management can take risks while managing the resources of an organization (Klein, 2011). There are organizations which are risk-averse while others are encourage taking risks as the basis of operation. This differentiates the decisions to be made by the management during the operation and implementation of the strategies (Burnaby Hass, 2009). To achieve appropriate governance the management requires establishing better strategies of promoting the cultural morals of an organization. Cultural morals have become a major concern in the business world today bec ause organizations are operating in multicultural environments. Working with people from different cultures requires understanding the cultures of each person in the organization Global human resource management involves dealing with people from different cultures and different backgrounds. There are several advantages and disadvantages of operating global human resource management. Some companies have failed while others have acquired great success after extending their operations across the borders. Proper strategies are required in the management of employees with diversified cultures. The political, legal and social environments in the global labor markets are different and the management should be very accurate in establishing the appropriate strategies which match the particular needs of the different employees. With the increase in globalization many people are seeking employment across the borders of their domestic markets. However, organizations dealing in the international scene face some challenges when relocating employees from one country to another. There are several barriers which hinder managers of multinational companies from relocating their employees from one country to another. These barriers relate to the physical conditions, legal aspects, economics, and cultural barriers (Golembiewski, 1995). Complexity in the diverse cultures makes is difficult to operate in many countries. Several companies have failed in their strategies to operate in the global scene due to due to poor integration of the ingredients required in multinational human resources management. Global human resource management is a strategy that is gaining a lot of importance especially after the spirit of globalization started. Several companies have improved their performance after establishing proper strategies to manage their employees while others have failed due to poor integration of the required aspects of global human resources management. The need to understand the cultural differences, the diversity in economic, legal and political environments is very important when dealing with global human resources management (Burnaby Hass, 2009). The culture of an organization dictates the shape taken by the management goals and objectives. The success or failure of organizational change is determined to a great extent by the culture in the organization Cultural change is required for the achievement of successful change management strategies. The globalization of many organizations has created a scenario where multinational organizations are operating in diverse cultures where many people are involved. The integration of each cultural aspect into the processes of the organizational change is essential for the success of the organization. The global business requires applying the best strategies to achieve a competitive edge. Many global organizations have failed to venture into some countries due to poor analysis of cultural aspects of the people it is involved in. the management of change is a very important aspect in achieving success in accomplishing global goals. The management of an organization must analyze the cultural needs of all consumer groups. This will enable the management to match the cultural needs of the various consumers into the products being manufactured by the organization. In addition, the employees of the organization need to understand the cultural aspects of the organization in order to establish goals which are achievable and which will create success to the organization. Both the internal and external environmental factors should be well analyzed when integrating a culture that will create successful change management strategies (Schein, 1992). Changing culture is a systematic process which requires proper strategies to ensure all stakeholders internalize the required changes. This process is affected by factors such as the complexity, ambiguity and powers the cultural aspects of the organization. The main architects of an organizational culture are the top management individuals.The culture of an organization is developed by the people working there as well as all other internal and external stakeholders (Schein, 1992). Is it simply too expensive for value? It is not too expensive to maintain values in an organization because there are more benefits accrued from operating in an ethical manner. Values provide an organization with the guidelines to be applied in the implementation of strategies. When an organization conducts business unethically there are many costs incurred and these can only be avoided by applying the best values possible. Maintaining values improves the public image of an organization and this makes an organization achieve a competitive edge (Thompson Martin, 2005). Organizations which fail to establish a good system of values they end up incurring many losses which could have been avoided. These costs may include loss of customer trust, legal action, bad corp orate image and others. The cost of failing to maintain values in an organization is too high not only in the short run but also in the long run. Organizations which focus on existing in the market for a longer period of time use strategies which promote a good image which will attract more customers, they maintain legal ethics and other activities which improve the position of the company in the market (Cunningham, 2001). Conclusion Risk management is an important process that managers should maintain in an organization. It is inevitable to have risks and managers should have better strategies to deal with risks. The long-term survival of an organization depends on the ability to manage risks. The intensifying competition in the global markets has forced managers to focus on maintaining a strong risks management program by establishing values. Complying with the values and cultural aspects of an organization is important in achieving the goals and objectives of an organization. The culture of an organization determines its success in the market environment. It is a reflection of the beliefs and attitudes that people have towards the organizational systems. Culture is developed and shaped by the stakeholders of the organization. Change management is very important to an organization and managers should possess the required skills of carrying out this process. Therefore, risks management is an important activity for organization in the modern market environment and all managers should embrace it for the long-term survival of their businesses. List of bibliography Burnaby, P. and Hass, S. (2009). Ten steps to enterprise-wide risk management. Corporate Governance, 9(5). p. 539-550. Burnes, B. (2004) Managing Change: A Strategic Approach to Organizational Dynamics, 4th Edn (Harlow: Prentice Hall) Champoux, J. (2010). Organizational behavior: Integrating individuals, Groups, and organizations. New York: NY, Taylor Francis. Cunningham, B. J. (2001). Researching org anizational values and beliefs: the Echo approach. New York: NY, Greenwood Publishing Group. Edmonstone, J. (1995) ‘managing change: an emerging consensus’, Health Manpower Management, 21(1), pp. 16–19. Golembiewski, R. T. (1995). Managing diversity in organizations. Alabama, University of Alabama Press. Gupta, P. K. (2011). Risk management in Indian companies: EWRM concerns and issues. The Journal of Risk Finance, 12(2). P. 121-139. Jafari, M., Rezaeenour, J., Mazdeh, M. and Hooshmandi, A. (2011). Development and evaluation of a knowledge risk management model for project-based organizations. Management decision, 49(3). P. 309-329. Jennings, J. and L.Haughton. (April 16, 2002). Its not the BIG and eats the SMALL its the FAST that eats the SLOW. Harper Paperbacks; 1st edition. 288 pages. ISBN-10: 0066620546 ISBN-13: 978-0066620541 Klein, A. (2011). Corporate culture: its value as a resource for competitive advantage. Journal of Business Strategy, 32(2). p. 21-28. Kotter, J. P. and Heskett, J. L. (1992). Corporate culture and performance. New York, Simon and Schuster. Loras,J. (2010). Book Review : Strategic Risk Management Practice: How to Deal Effectively with Major Corporate Exposures. Management Decision, 49(1). p. 167-170. Luecke, R. (2003) Managing Change and Transition (Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press). Mather, T., Kumaraswamy, S. Latif, S. (2009). Cloud Security and Privacy: An Enterprise Perspective on Risks and Compliance. New Jersey: NJ, OReilly Media, Inc. Mbuya, J. C. (n.d.). Risk management strategy. South Africa, Dr John Chibaya Mbuya. Mohapatra, (n.d.). Business Process Automation. New Delhi, PHI Learning Pvt Ltd. Moran, J. W. and Brightman, B. K. (2001). ‘Leading organizational change’, Career Development International, 6(2), pp. 111–118. Schein, Edgar. (1992). Organizational Culture and Leadership, Second Edition. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Thompson, J. L. and Martin, F. (2005). Strategic mana gement: awareness and change. London, Cengage Learning EMEA. Wilson, S. B. and Dobson, M. S. (2008). Goal setting: how to create an action plan and achieve your goals. New Jersey: NJ, AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn.

Asthma tops childhood illnesses essays

Asthma tops childhood illnesses essays Social class dominates our society in a gargantuan amount of ways. Its effects are felt in nearly every aspect of our lives. Its an unfortunate scenario, because an individual and his or her family seems to be measured by the house they live in or the clothes they wear. A persons income is a basis for how they are judged by others, but there are also other issues when comparing people who live in low income housing versus high income housing. Due to the large number of issues that occur in low income housing health has become a huge dilemma for everyone who is subjected to these poor conditions. Its an unfortunate occurrence, but its another problem that people with low income has to deal with it constantly. However, individuals and families who have a high income deal with some of these problems, but not on as much of a regular basis as the poorer families. The bottom line is social class affects how healthy you and your children will be. If you are part of a low social clas s it doesnt necessarily make you an unhealthy person, but the risk is much greater when you compare a person of a low social class to the risk of a person in a mid to high level social class. The research and statistics that have been acquired in these studies will prove that your social class can certainly determine the amount of health risk one has just by knowing their income level. Asthma is the most common illness among children in the New England region. It affects one out of every eight children in the northeast region known as New England. This study that was performed showed that more than 400,000 children currently have this condition in New England. The study also proved that the lower household incomes had the higher percentage of children with asthma. The poor housing proved to have many factors that brought on this disease. With everything from leaky roofs to cockroach droppings blamed for a diseas...

How to Avoid Burying the Lede of Your News Story

How to Avoid Burying the Lede of Your News Story Every semester I give students a news writing exercise from my book about a doctor who is giving a speech about fad diets and physical fitness to a group of local businesspeople. Midway through his speech, the good doctor collapses of a heart attack. He dies en route to the hospital. The news of the story may seem obvious, but a few of my students will invariably write a lede that goes something like this: Dr. Wiley Perkins gave a speech to a group of businesspeople yesterday about the problems with fad diets. Whats the problem? The writer has left the most important and newsworthy aspect of the story - the fact that the doctor died of a heart attack - out of the lede. Typically the student who does this will put the heart attack somewhere near the end of the story. Thats called burying the lede, and its something that beginning journalists have done for eons. Its something that drives editors absolutely nuts. So how can you avoid burying the lede of your next news story? Here are some tips: Think about whats most important and newsworthy: When you cover an event, think about what part of it, whether its a press conference, lecture, legislative hearing or city council meeting, is likely to be the most newsworthy. What happened that will affect the greatest number of your readers? Chances are thats what should be in the lede.Think about what you find most interesting: If youre hard-pressed to figure out whats most newsworthy, think about what YOU found most interesting. Experienced reporters know that all people are basically the same, meaning we generally find the same things interesting. (Example: Who doesnt slow down to gawk at a car wreck on the highway?) If you find something interesting, chances are your readers will as well, meaning it should be in your lede.Forget chronology: Too many beginning reporters write about events in the order in which they occurred. So if theyre covering a school board meeting, theyll start their story with the fact that the board began by reciting the pledge of allegiance. But no one cares about that; people reading your story want to know what the board did. So dont worry about the order of events; put the most newsworthy parts of the meeting at the top of your story, even if they occurred midway through or at the end. Focus on actions: If youre covering a meeting, such as a city council or school board hearing, youre going to hear lots of talks. Thats what elected officials do. But think about what actions were taken during the meeting. What concrete resolutions or measures were passed that will affect your readers? Remember the old saying: Actions speak louder than words. And in a news story, actions generally should go in the lede.Remember the inverted pyramid: The inverted pyramid, the format for news stories, represents the idea that the heaviest, or most important, news in a story goes at the very top, while the most lightweight, or least important news, goes at the bottom. Apply that to the event youre covering and itll probably help you find your lede.Look for the unexpected: Remember that news by its very nature is usually the unexpected occurrence, the deviation from the norm. (Example: Its not news if a plane lands safely at the airport, but its definitely news if it crashes on the tarma c.) So apply that to the event youre covering. Did anything happen that those present didnt expect or plan on? What came as a surprise or even a shock? Chances are, if something out of the ordinary happened, it should be in your lede. Like when a doctor has a heart attack in the middle of a speech.

Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 76

Essay Example The ordinary citizens were not happy about the act which led to writings that were aimed at reminding the leaders that it was time they rose on their feet and advocate for better ways of governance (kovaly 59). Winston Churchill, after being awarded an honorary degree he read his speech which targeted at enlightening the people on the impact of the Soviet Union; division of countries were realised (Churchill 1). Songs were sung urging the leaders to feel the cry of the people. Bob Dylan in his song, â€Å"Blowing in the wind† which was released in 1963 was seen as a protest song against the cold war which the United States and the Russia countries were constantly involved in. He reminded the leaders of the cries of the citizens. The song â€Å"Surfin USA† released by Beach Boys in 1963 signified the amount of suffering the people had undergone, they feeling of taking summer holiday out of America by surfing through the ocean was the message being passed. The movie â€Å"Europa Europa† was based on a boy who survived attacks when his family was battle which led to his sister’s death. The movie was aimed at passing the message on the way the people were suffering. To make citizens understand why united States of America forces were taking part in the war, a film was produced (United States War Department). Modernisation was fought for by many women who were not allowed to be like their male counterparts. During the first world war when their men had to defend their country’s territory, women were left at home, they took care of the kids, did all the domestic duties and other odd jobs so that they could be in a position to support their families. Women learnt to be independent which led to the need for glamour. The youthful women were seen venturing into music and other bold activities which were prohibited, their boldness earned them the name flapper. Artistic expressions were

Students that Mixing Work and Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Students that Mixing Work and Study - Essay Example Different old studies have shown that part-time jobs have helped students in gaining independence and responsibility; it has enhanced their confidence and assisted in their personal development (Robinson, 1999). For some students, however, part-time jobs are nothing but a burden, under which they are bound to pay for enormous financial liabilities of college expenses and/or debts. With an enormously large, and at times unaffordable, amount of college expenses that are not merely limited to tuition fee, full-time students are bound to take on a part-time job. Where it is deemed to be a healthy experience for students to learn to square the conflicting demands of school and work, the accompanying stress and emotional burdens that this inevitable routine brings is a critical problem that many full-time students have to face these days. It is imperative that for this underlying problem, a feasible solution is designed by the state authorities, but more importantly by the colleges themselves, on an independent basis. According to the US Department of Education (2011), the net price of college has risen almost 6 per cent over the last decade after inflation. Arne Duncan, the US Secretary of Education has discussed, in an address to the annual Federal Student Aid conference, to contain the rising costs of college and lessen the load of student debt. While decisions on a state level are anticipated to take shape ‘in a while’, it is suggested to colleges to provide financial assistance: like tuition grants, college-sponsored student scholarships, and low-interest loans, to full-time students who are working part-time.

An Engineering Product Development Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

An Engineering Product Development Plan - Essay Example An approximate potential size (volume) reduction of 20-30% can be achieved in notebook devices and up to 70% in desktop PCs. There are fewer security threats since the device is memoryless once its power supply is turned off and there is a clear privacy edge since a user's full computer would reside in the user's pocket, key chain, or the like depending on the used storage medium. The development does not target major hardware and enclosure re-designs. It is in the proof of concept's advantage to virtually eliminate hardware re-design and minimize same for enclosures. Motherboards designed for desktops can be used with minor adaptation for the reduced desktop configuration as well as a desk/kiosk mountable configuration for public use. The laptop motherboard layout would still be used for smaller laptops, possibly with more creative enclosure design to reduce the overall carry-on size, while maintaining a reasonable screen size. The product development plan is organized as follows. ... The laptop motherboard layout would still be used for smaller laptops, possibly with more creative enclosure design to reduce the overall carry-on size, while maintaining a reasonable screen size. The product development plan is organized as follows. Section 2 provides a topical product description that caters for the main newly introduced issues by the UC concept. Section 3 discusses specifics of alternative technologies to be used in the implementation. Section 4 presents the business case and market segmentation. The development plan and the related funding and financial plan are described in Sections 5 and 6, respectively. Section 7 discusses potential economic and technological risks. A conclusion is provided in Section 8. Product Description The UC physical architecture is similar to that of a desktop or a laptop, except that in either case the processor box is much smaller. Other peripheral input and output devices; namely screen, keyboard, and mouse are not subject to change; but may be subject to subsequent creative adjustments that could take advantage of the size reduction. The processing box may consist of one PCB (we may still call it a mother board) with the following components: Processor with cache memory RAMs NVRAM containing machine language device drivers VGA card or equivalent Audio drivers and outlets A minimum of 4 USB 2.0 or Firewire interfaces: one for each of the mouse and keyboard, and 2 for portable external storage units (alternatively Bluetooth could be used for the mouse and keyboard) Network drivers for Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth The following devices are taken outside of the box: The hard disk(s)-replaced by external

Modernist and Postmodern influences on marketing Essay

Modernist and Postmodern influences on marketing - Essay Example Therefore, it is acceptable to claim that consumers would be expected to carry out economic and rational behaviour in choosing products using criteria based on an objective evaluation. However, according to Ellis et al (2011: p45), post-modernist perspectives on marketing, in contrast, adhere to the viewpoint that there exists no single correct and universal scientific method. In contrast to modernity’s subjective â€Å"knowing†, the latter views the consumer as being actively involved in communicating their preferred social reality (Ozuem, 2013: p55), instead of passive inheritance of social reality constructed sans their participation. This increased role of the consumer, however, does not diminish the role of marketing because, as stated by Hunt and Morgan (1995: p5), consumers still have imperfect information about products that might match their tastes and preferences and, thus, their preferred social reality. Consumers in the post-modern era explore a more eclectic product combination to experience inconsistent and tentative identities (Dawes & Brown, 2010: p93). A consumer can purchase a product from an upscale retailer and another from a bargain sale, which acts as an example of fragmentation occurring within the consumers â€Å"self† dependent on varying contexts. Marketers, therefore, would be wasting time in attaching meaning to goods and services they offer to such a fragmented consumer, especially since meanings are contextual. Thus, marketers are being forced to abandon the modernism-era consumer who was goal-oriented and rational for the post-modernism-era consumer who samples and browses, as well as experiments with relationships and identities. As contended by Hirt (2009: p253), the post-modern experience is one of participation, in which creation of product value is done during consumption, instead of during production. The success of marketing

Determination of the Cost of a New Drug Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Determination of the Cost of a New Drug - Essay Example The paper tells that the anticipated cost for development of an average drug has been recently assessed by Joseph DiMasi together with his colleagues to be $802 million for every new molecular entity. The massive cost of developing a drug is a major component of the prevailing debates over the prescription drug prices, review policies of Food and Drug Administration (FDA), importation of the drugs from Canada, and barriers to universal entry. Having been assigned this central role of $802 million approximation in the debates, it is crucial to ask two questions. The first one is whether this number is an accurate approximation of the anticipated costs in the development of an average drug. The second question that follows concerns the meaning of the estimations if at all by any chance they are accurate.For some years, researchers with the inclusion of a team at El Lilly and another from Tufts University have approximated the cost incurred in the invention and development of a drug at either $1 billion or even more. These approximations attempt to exclude the costs that are not related directly to the approval of a drug and also don’t give room for any kind of comparisons between companies. The first determinant of the cost of the development of a new prescriptive drug is the size of the company that is producing the drug. There is the argument that bigger companies possess the economies of scale and the scope of the development of a drug. This argument links the size of the company with development costs that are lower. One difficulty that arises in measuring this effect is that large companies may be associated with lower-cost and successful drugs, either due to the reason that the drugs earn them reasonable revenues or the truth that acquisitions and mergers result to such drugs produced in the larger firms. The outcomes suggest that this could pose a problem.

Major Report on Rational and Adaptive Strategy Research Paper

Major Report on Rational and Adaptive Strategy - Research Paper Example An efficient model provided by Burgelman enables to comprehend the effectiveness of strategies undertaken by an organization in dynamic business environment. Moreover, the two strategy making processes including induced strategy process and autonomous strategy process proposed by Burgelman offer various companies with comprehensive understanding of induced or existing business environment and autonomous business environment or the emerging business environment in determining effectual business environment. Consequently, the two frameworks of strategy making process are related with the strategies formulated and implemented by PepsiCo Inc. in order to identify and measure the effectiveness of these strategies. In this report, the strategies adapted in recent past by PepsiCo are critically analyzed in light of Burgelman model. Based on the understanding of the existing strategies of PepsiCo, certain pertinent recommendations have been provided that can ensure long-term growth and susta inability of the business. . Table of Contents 1 Executive Summary 2 Introduction 4 Key Features of the Burgelman’s 3 Stage Model 5 The Living Organization Develops Using Evolutionary Methods 7 Three Conceptual Frameworks Supporting Strategy Making 8 Tool I – Forces Driving the Company’s Evolution 8 Tool II - Evolutionary Framework of the Strategy Making 9 Tool III- Process Model of Internal Corporate Venturing 10 Strategic Analysis of PepsiCo Based on Burgelman’s 3 Stage Model 11 Induced Strategy 12 Autonomous Strategy 13 Strategies Executed by PepsiCo 14 Environmental Sustainability Initiatives of PepsiCo 17 Implemented Strategies 20 Measuring PepsiCo Success and Identifying Its Barriers as well as Strength Factors 20 Conclusion 24 Recommendations 25 References 27 Introduction PepsiCo Inc. is one of the most successful multi-national companies engaged in foods and beverages products with more than US$ 65 billion net revenues. The company operates in mor e than 200 countries with it’s headquarter in New York, United States. PepsiCo consists of brand like Pepsi-Cola, Tropicana, Frito-lay and Gatorade. The success of PepsiCo can be attributed to its quality products and distinct competitive strategies. The company seeks to achieve healthy rewards to its investors and provide opportunities to its employees by ensuring quality products to its widely distributed customer segments (PepsiCo Inc., 2004). It has not been an easy task for PepsiCo to reach the level as it is now. In its journey to success, the company confronted with many ethical and legal challenges. Primarily, the challenges like entering into other countries with different cultures and laws were indeed difficult to manage and abide by. However, the company has been able to efficiently overcome its challenges with the efficient implementation of its strategies based upon the vivid circumstances (PepsiCo Inc., 2004). Strategic decisions are a complex task to be perform ed by the multinational companies like PepsiCo. The present business environment is complex and dynamic which is affected by several factors. The dynamism in the business environment continuously pressurizes the company to constantly evaluate its strategic decision making process in order to sustain and survive its business in highly competitive business world. The traditional strategic planning process does not provide relevant aid to

Determination of the Cost of a New Drug Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Determination of the Cost of a New Drug - Essay Example The paper tells that the anticipated cost for development of an average drug has been recently assessed by Joseph DiMasi together with his colleagues to be $802 million for every new molecular entity. The massive cost of developing a drug is a major component of the prevailing debates over the prescription drug prices, review policies of Food and Drug Administration (FDA), importation of the drugs from Canada, and barriers to universal entry. Having been assigned this central role of $802 million approximation in the debates, it is crucial to ask two questions. The first one is whether this number is an accurate approximation of the anticipated costs in the development of an average drug. The second question that follows concerns the meaning of the estimations if at all by any chance they are accurate.For some years, researchers with the inclusion of a team at El Lilly and another from Tufts University have approximated the cost incurred in the invention and development of a drug at either $1 billion or even more. These approximations attempt to exclude the costs that are not related directly to the approval of a drug and also don’t give room for any kind of comparisons between companies. The first determinant of the cost of the development of a new prescriptive drug is the size of the company that is producing the drug. There is the argument that bigger companies possess the economies of scale and the scope of the development of a drug. This argument links the size of the company with development costs that are lower. One difficulty that arises in measuring this effect is that large companies may be associated with lower-cost and successful drugs, either due to the reason that the drugs earn them reasonable revenues or the truth that acquisitions and mergers result to such drugs produced in the larger firms. The outcomes suggest that this could pose a problem.

Expectations Regarding the Role of Women by their Families Essay

Expectations Regarding the Role of Women by their Families - Essay Example In Chinese society, women were supposed to be submissive to their men as exemplified by the tradition of foot binding. While Steele and Major indicate that the idea behind foot binding was not a way of oppressing women, it is essential to point out that this activity is an act of the family’s expectation on women to be submissive to their families. In this case, foot binding was a painful process and the notion in Ancient China that women had to undergo this procedure appears as a way through which women had to submit to the requirements of the society and their families. In this case, the mother expected their girls to undergo this process while men would not marry women who did not undergo foot binding (Steele and Major 417). On the other hand, Indians expect women to submit to their husbands, and women who appear to be independent find it challenging to get a suitable person for marriage (Nanda 430). In a society whereby most marriages are arranged, Indians expect women to serve their husbands and families faithful without women being independent to make their decisions on the person they marry. By itself, the act of arranging marriages exemplifies the expectation of the family on women to submit to their family’s requirements, especially based on the family’s choice of suitor. This action is further extended upon marriage whereby the family expects a woman to be submissive and follow their family’s wishes. In ancient China, families expected women to be inferior to their male counterparts. In this case, foot binding was used as an approach of differentiating men from women and providing men with a chance to feel superior to their female counterparts who were crippled as a result of foot binding (Steele and Major 418). In line with this, it is the expectation of the family that a woman will remain inferior to their men, which boosted a man's ego. On the other hand, it is unlikely for an Indian man to marry a woman who is more educ ated than the man (Nanda 429).  

Functionalist Perspective on Social Problems

Functionalist Perspective on Social Problems When in a society people agree that there exists a condition that threatens the quality of their lives and their most cherished values, and they also agree that something should be done to remedy it, sociologists say that society has defined that state of affairs as a social problem. Sociologists ask questions about how the problem effects the collectivity rather than the individual aspects of a problem. The main sociological approaches to the study of social problems are the functionalist and conflict perspectives. Functionalism aims at analysing the social and cultural phenomenon in terms of the functions they perform. From this perspective, the main reason for the existence of social problems is that societies are always changing and the failure to adapt successfully to change leads to social problems. Functionalist analysis was prominent in the work of Auguste Comte and Herbert Spencer, two of the founding fathers of this discipline and was further developed and refined by Emile Durkheim and more recently by Talcott Parsons. Durkheim is the most important sociological forerunner of modern day functionalism. His description of organic solidarity focussed on the interdependence of roles and lack of self-sufficiency that held people together. According to the functionalist perspective, each part of society is interconnected and contributes to society performing as a whole. If all goes well, the diverse parts of society produce order, equilibrium and performance. If all does not go well, then the different parts of society must adapt themselves to re-establish a new balance, equilibrium and performance. For example, during a financial recession and consequent high rates of unemployment and inflation, state spending on social programs is reduced or eliminated, Schools offer fewer educational programmes and families spend less, so a new social order, steadfastness and productivity occurs. The conflict perspective, which originated primarily out of Karl Marxs writings on class conflicts, presents a picture of society in a different light from the functionalist perspective. While the functionalist perspective focuses on the positive aspects of society that contribute to its stability, the conflict perspective focuses on the antagonistic, disharmonized and ever-changing nature of society. Conflict theorists challenge the existing state of affairs, strenghten social change (even when this means social revolution) and believe affluent and authoritarian people force social order on the destitute and the weak. Capitalism, the economic system which dominates the world today, is based on private ownership of the means of production (manufacturing industry, the raw materials and resources needed for industry and even the seeds necessary for food production) and exploitation of the labour of the working-class. The working-class, with no land or substantial inherited wealth, have no means of supporting themselves and are forced to sell their labour to survive. Capitalists buy this labour power, then get their money back and make profits by selling necessities and other products to the working-class and other classes in society. Critics of the conflict perspective point to its exceedingly negative outlook of society. The theory ultimately accredits charitable efforts, benevolence, democracy, civil rights, and other positive aspects of society to capitalistic motives meant to control the masses, and not to fundamental interests in sustaining society and social order. For generations before the establishment of a welfare state, most poor people who did not earn a living somehow managed to cope. Relying on family and, if necessary, on local charities, they pooled together the resources necessary to maintain a dwelling and prevent starvation. The term Poverty has many definitions and it is often defined as a state of deprivation relative to those standards of living enjoyed by others within the same society e.g. income or consumption poverty, social preclusion, lack of basic needs and relative hardship. The extensive sociological literature on poverty overlaps with that on race, ethnicity, subcultures, the underclass and stratification. The study of poverty is central to any examinations of social inequality, including an analysis of who is destitute and the reasons for their poverty. Although the poor have often been blamed for their poverty, which is seen as the consequence of some form of personal inadequacy such as idleness, most studies attribute the existence of poverty in terms of the social and economic structures of industrialised societies. The Functionalist belief on poverty is based on the assumption that poverty serves a constructive use for society since functionalism is interested in large scale fundamental justifications of social life. Therefore, poverty is studied on a macro level on the basis of the benefits it provides to society as a whole, rather than for the persons who are in poverty. The most influential writer on this aspect is Herbert J. Gans (1971) who suggests that poverty benefits the rich and powerful, who have a statutory interest in preserving poverty. According to Gans, poverty ensures there is always someone in society who needs to perform physically dangerous, temporary, undignified and underpaid work for low wages, which is ultimately better than destitution. Furthermore, without the underpaid in society, many enterprises would be unable to operate as they rely upon under paid workers to ensure their dividend and success. The very existence of poverty provides the rest of society with benchmark against which society can measure itself. In Britain, Peter Townsend played a leading role between 1950, and 1970s in making the public aware of the continuing existence of poverty. According to Townsend individuals, families and groups can be said to be in poverty when they lack the means to obtain the types of food, participate in the activities and have basic living conditions and facilities which are recognized, or at least widely sanctioned or approved, in the societies to which they belong. Their resources are so seriously below those required by the average person or family that they are, in effect, excluded from everyday living ways, customs and activities. In Poverty in the United Kingdom Townsend claims that the existence of class division is the major factor causing poverty; but he also acknowledges that poverty is related to lifestyles. From a conflict perspective, poverty is imposed, reflecting unequal power among social groups, and it will continue to be imposed until those harmed by it manage to force a change. Conflict theory argues that the explanations offered by functionalism theory is part of what sustains poverty, as they conceal its true origins and encourage the poor to accept social arrangements rather than organize to combat them. Marxism attributes poverty to the existence of class divisions in society. Poverty helps to maintain the domination of the bourgeoisie. In the 19th century the recognized explanation of poverty came from Malthuss Essay on Population (1798). Malthus affirmed that population grows faster than production. Increasing poverty is therefore unavoidable; any increase in the standard of living of the poorest classes simply leads to an increase in births or decrease in death rates and the population again presses on food supply. Marx held the Malthusian theory in great disdain. Under capitalism, production grows very rapidly because of continual innovation and the surplus population a group of unemployed living in poverty is not the result of natural population increase, but of the dislocation of workers by labour-saving machinery. The surplus population could all work if the length of the working day were reduced. But employers dont want this, for various reasons. Marxists believe that the capitalist society is constucted by the economy, and this structure needs to be completely reconfigured to be able to eliminate poverty. This would include a revolutionary eradication of capitalism because eventually the situation will progress to a small minority of the bourgeoisie (ruling class) and a pool of cheap labour. Marxists illustrated this by suggesting that institutions in the superstructure, such as the media, abuse of the proletariat, keeping them poor. A fragileness to the Marxists point of view is that it fails to explain why some groups are more inclined to poverty than others, e.g. women and the disabled. According to Marxists, the welfare system is an instrument of the state, which helps to maintain absolute lack of balance of prosperity that see some people living in privation with little possibility of ever really escaping from it. Absolute poverty, also known as subsistence poverty, is the idea that it is possible to create an absolute minimum standard of living required for physical health, this is often called the poverty line. This concept is used in Drewnowski and Scotts level of living index where nutrition is defined in terms of calories and protein, shelter in terms of quality of dwelling and degrees of overcrowding, and health in terms of infant mortality and the quality of available medical facilities. Some sociologists attempt to include measures of education, security, leisure and recreation as basic cultural needs to be added to the notion of subsistence. The theory of relative poverty has mainly replaced that of absolute poverty in sociological research. Relative poverty is measured in terms of judgements by members of a particular society of what is considered as a reasonable and acceptable standard of living. This definition of poverty suggests that the poor in any given society are, in part, defined by their opposite, the rich. A society has a distinctive set of cultural values, and any definition of poverty must include the choices and interests that individuals have in their society. Researchers have linked poverty to several key issues of child welfare. Children from families in poverty experience more emotional and behaviour problems than children from middle and upper class families. Although all children go to school, the background of some puts them academically behind their peers from the beginning. Impoverished students are far more likely to enter school a disadvantaged because they have not had experiences that promote literacy and reading readiness. More than one billion people in the world live on less than one dollar a day. In total, 2.7 billion struggle to survive on less than two dollars per day. Poverty in the developing world, however, goes far beyond income poverty. This entails having to walk more than one mile everyday to collect water and firewood; it means suffering diseases that were annihilated from rich countries decades ago. Every year eleven million children (mostly under the age of five) die from malnutrition and more than six million from completely preventable causes like malaria, diarrhoea and pneumonia. A total of 114 million children do not get access to a basic education and 584 million women are illiterate. Social protection systems in Europe are among the most highly developed in the world but still, 16% of Europes population amounting to 79 million people live below the poverty line (set at 60% of their countrys median income) with one European in ten living in a household where nobody has an employment. Children, are more exposed to poverty with 19% amounting to 19 million children living under the threat of poverty. For this reason the European Union has proclaimed 2010 as the European Year For Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion with four main objectives: The fundamental right of persons experiencing poverty and social exclusion to live in dignity and to take an active part in society; Foster commitment by all public and private actors to combat poverty and social exclusion; Encourage cohesion; Promote commitment and practical action of the EU and its Member States to combat poverty and social exclusion, and involve all levels of authority in the pursuit of that aim. Malta does not live in a vacuum and new forms of poverty brought about by social progress as a result of new lifestyles have been very actual. A large number of families are living through difficult times, with children being the innocent victims of their parents and guardians, the authorities or the community at large. Problems created by gambling, usury, alcohol, drug abuse and mental health. The report by the National Family Commission states that relative poverty exits not just financially but also in cases of stigmatised illness, domestic violence and cases where a husband chooses not to work so that he can default on paying maintenance to wife and dependants. More and more international efforts have been organized in recent decades to address the problems of the poorest among us. However, while the world has certainly seen an overall improvement in rates of poverty and poverty-related issues, success has been uneven and hampered by serious setbacks. One devastating disease, such as AIDS, can obliterate the economy of a low-income country and one violent conflict can crush any human development advances that might have been achieved. Can we envisage a society without absolute poverty and relative poverty? In a society without absolute poverty everyone that could work would be employed, there would be little crime, just a great place to live. In a society without relative poverty people would all have the same wealth and there would be no competition to be better then anyone else. This type of society is only possible in the imagination. Poverty survives because it is useful to our society. Societys dirty work could still be carried out without poverty by paying the dirty workers decent wages. If the poor were more affluent they would make less willing clients for upper-class philanthropy. Poverty will only be eliminated when the poor can obtain enough power to make a change in todays society.

Circadian Clocks Essay example -- Biology

What is a circadian clock? A circadian clock is an internal biological clock that is found in almost all organisms, which regulates many metabolic processes. This biological clock allows organisms to adjust physiologically to changes in the environment. It is also influential in an organism’s behavior based on environmental differences. What do circadian clocks regulate? In plants, circadian clocks control flowering, response to seasons, and photosynthesis such as the opening and closing of the stomata. In mammals, circadian clocks manage sleeping, waking, feeding, and controlling whether an animal is nocturnal (most active at night) or diurnal (most active during the day). In cyanobacteria, circadian clocks regulate nitrogen fixation. In general, circadian clocks direct cell replication, amino acid uptake, and carbohydrate synthesis. Why are circadian clocks important? Circadian clocks are an integral part of everyday life for most all organisms on Earth. They regulate the most important functions in each organism. Without these biological clocks, processes such as metabolism would be completely disorganized and all of our bodies would go entirely awry. Life as we know it today would not exist in the regular predictable pattern. It’s as easy as Kai A, B, C! General Info about Cyanobacteria: (the organisms studied in this experiment) * Cyanobacteria are among the oldest organisms on Earth * They are very diverse: different species of cyanobacteria can survive in a broad range of environmental conditions * Even though cyanobacteria are unicellular, they perform many metabolic activities: photosynthesis, carbon fixation, and nitrogen fixation * Their circadi... ...rol the growth of tumors. Studies like this may eventually even lead to a cure for cancer! References Ditty, J.L, S.B. Williams and S.S. Golden. 2003. "A Cyanobacterial Circadian Timing Mechanism." The Annual Review of Genetics 37:513-517. Available at . Golden, Susan S. 2003. "Timekeeping in bacteria: the cyanobacterial circadian clock." Current Opinion in Microbiology 6:535-540. Available at . Johnson, Carl H. and Martin Egli. 2004."Visualizing a biological clockwork's cogs." Nature Structural & Molecular Biology 11(7):584-585. Available at . Vakonakis, Ionannis and Andy C. LiWang. 2004. "Structure of the C-terminal domain of the clock protein KaiA in complex with a KaiC-derived peptide: Implications for KaiC regulation." PNAS 101(30):10925-10930. Available at .

Creation Vs Evolution :: essays research papers

In the beginning there were no cave men, no dinosaurs, no plants, no oceans, no mountains, no sun, no stars. There was nothing, not even space or time. Only God existed. Then God spoke suddenly creating space, time, matter, and energy. Out of this sudden beginning all the galaxies, stars, and planets formed. Then God’s spirit began to work over the surface of the ocean. Then God said let there be light and there was light. He called the light â€Å"day† and the darkness â€Å"night.† And God said, â€Å"let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water. God called the expanse â€Å"sky† Then God gathered the ocean water to one place so that the land would appear. Now there was not just water on the surface of the earth. Then God produced plants on the land, plants of various kinds. These plants consumed carbon dioxide and water and, with the energy of the sun, converted them into food and oxygen. Then God said let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from night, and let them serve as signs to mark the seasons and days and years. God also made the stars. Then god said, Let the water teem with living creatures and let birds fly above the earth in the sky. So God create the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing. And God said, Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to it’s kind. Then God said, Let us make man in our own image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish in the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God Created man in his own image in the image of God he create him. What do we mean by Evolution; We tend to use the words loosely, forgetting that words have specific meanings, modified only by the context in which they are used. If people would define their terms, and use words carefully, half the arguments would be settled before they begin. This is especially true of evolution debate. What then is meant by the term â€Å"evolution†? Every one associates evolution with Darwin’s theory and assumes that the two are synonymous.

Analysis – Investigating the Effects of Trampling on

A basic trend can be drawn from the results collected. The kite diagram emphasises clearly the effects of trampling on species distribution near footpaths. On the path very little to no species grew, whereas towards the edges of the footpath there was an increase in species number and variety. Moreover, the data gathered from testing the footpath for compaction revealed that the path itself has greater compaction than the areas to either side of it. Further more, the drainage time of the soil showed a similar trend in that where areas of soil were more compact, the drainage time was higher. Also where areas of soil were less compact the drainage time was less. The spearman's rank value supports this trend by revealing a positive correlation between the drainage time and the compaction of the soil. The kite diagram reveals the trend that less species tend to grow on footpaths. This is due to the fact that as people walk on the footpaths the soil becomes increasingly compact. This leads to the soil particles being forced closer together creating a decrease in air space which results in the water taking longer to drain into the soil. As soil becomes compact, root growth is inhibited due to lack of air space. The roots grow shorter and thicker which largely decreases the overall surface area of the roots which leads to the plant being unable to absorb adequate nutrients and moisture. Moreover, as the roots become inhibited, they are limited to the amount of soil they can explore. This can decrease the plant's ability to take up nutrients. Similarly, as water runs off compact soil it dissolves the nutrients and carries them away, a process known as leeching. As the drainage time is far greater on the footpath, this lack of water results in the soil having very little nutrients. The lack of air space reduces the number of aerobic bacteria. Atmospheric nitrogen is fixed by bacteria. Lack of bacteria will result in a decrease of nitrates for the plants. Plants need nitrates for proteins and for nucleic acids and will die without these. The nitrogen cycle is unable to progress as less water and oxygen leads to fewer microbes and less decay which results in less nutrients. Compact soil may hold little water which will lead to plants with xerophytic adaptations being able to thrive. More plants are able to grow better in less compact soil due to an increase in the air space available. This can provide the roots with space to grow and the water with space to drain through. Therefore more nutrients and water provide the plant with adequate living conditions. Grass has a very low growing point allowing it to survive after being cut short. Its rolled leaves provide added protection when being trampled upon. From the kite diagram we are able to see that grass can grow on the footpath but there is less of it. This maybe due to the possibility of the footpath not being used by the public for a while, thereby giving the grass time to develop. However, as grass has its growing point at the base of the plant, and is therefore not damaged when cut, grass is better adapted to survive in trampled areas than other plants that have their growing points in more vulnerable areas. Rosette plants have a growing point which is protected by leaves which emerge from a central point. This enables the plant to be highly adaptable to varied conditions. In contrast, the Violet plants are very delicate and their growing point is exposed. This results in the plant being less adaptable and more likely to survive in well controlled, less compact environments. The plant Heather prefers slightly more acidic soil to obtain the best growing conditions. They also need a significant amount of moisture in the soil, which will not be found on highly compact pathways. The growing point of Heather is quite vulnerable, being at the base of a plant that will often spread out. The kite diagram supports this as no Heather was located on the footpath. Spearman's rank calculation demonstrates a positive correlation between the drainage time and the compaction of the soil. If the soil is less compact then in general, the drainage time should be less also. Similarly, if the soil is more compact then the drainage time should take longer than normal. Water that is trapped in compact soil has difficulty moving up through the soil surface where it can evaporate and reduce soils temperature. Therefore the soil water in compact areas can heat up from increased thermal conductivity of the denser soil. This can cause significant damage to the roots of plants. Compaction can result in significant reduction of the rate at which rainwater can penetrate the soil's surface. This is confirmed by the spearman's rank calculation showing a positive correlation, and the data gathered when measuring the drainage time of both compact and less compact soil on the footpaths. Heavily compact soil has a reduced rate of both water infiltration and drainage from the compacted layers. This is because compact soil contains few large pores which are the most effective in moving water through the soil when it is saturated. In conclusion, the reasons why trampling on species near footpaths affects their distribution is due to a range of factors; the soil compaction, drainage time and the species itself. The soil is proven to be generally more compact on the footpaths than in the surrounding areas. This compact soil on footpaths leads to increases drainage time as the soil has less pores or air space which would normally aid water absorption. The growth point of a plant can also be a factor as to why trampling on species on footpaths affects their distribution. A trend was shown from the data collected that grass, a very adaptable and sturdy plant, was able to grow on footpaths and withstand the trampling. This is due to grass having a growing point at the base of the plant where it is protected well. In contrast, the Violet plants were recorded to only grow in the surrounding areas of the footpaths. This is due to the growing point being highly exposed. The spearman's rank value shows a positive correlation between drainage time and the compaction of the soil. As the spearman's rank value is greater than the critical value, 0.414>0.377, it can be valued as reliable. Moreover, the confidence level of the spearman's rank calculation is 95% which can be valued as very reliable.

The Stranger

The Stranger Chris Drusbosky 3/5/12 Professor Krauss In the story â€Å"The Stranger† by Albert Camus, the belief that the themes of loss and retrieval are at the core of Mersault’s mythology, and that they illumine the notion of exile to which he returns so often is widely discussed. I however do not believe that either one of those themes has anything to do with the Mersault and the exile to which he returns to so often, rather I believe that Mersault’s own attitude is the reason for the exile he experiences in the story. The first theme that is said to play a role in Mersault’s exile is the theme of loss.Though Mersault does lose his mother in the beginning of the story, it does not affect how he acts throughout the rest of the story and he continues on like nothing ever even happened. â€Å"Then there was the church and the villagers on the sidewalks, the red geraniums on the graves in the cemetery, Perez fainting, the blood red earth spilling over Ma man’s casket, the white flesh of the roots mixed in with it, more people, voices, the village, waiting in front of a cafe, the incessant drone of the motor, and my joy when the bus entered the nest of lights that was Algiers and I knew I was going to go to bed and sleep for twelve hours. The Stranger page 18. Normally when someone’s mother dies, you are filled with grief and sadness and you cannot help but to think about how much you miss her and love her. In this quote, Mersault shows no type of sad emotion whatsoever. He seems to be completely unmoved and unchanged emotionally by the death of his mother. Not only does he not show any emotion at his mother’s funeral, the very next day he meets with his mistress Marie Cardona and spends the day with her going swimming, seeing a movie, and spending the night at his house with her.Both of these examples clearly show that Mersault is unmoved by the death of his mother and it plays no role whatsoever in the exile th at he encounters throughout the story. The second theme that is said to play a significant role in Mersault’s exile is the theme of retrieval. If there is one thing in my eyes that Mersault never did throughout the course of this story, it would be that he never retrieved anything and that he always stayed the same throughout the story. Mersault seems to maintains the same attitude towards everything that happens in the story, the â€Å"I don’t care or believe in much† type attitude.One example that proves that Mersault possesses this attitude was after he was arrested for shooting the Arab 5 times. The magistrate asks him if he believes in God. â€Å"But he cut me off and urged me on one last time, drawing himself up to his full height and asked me if I believed in God. I said no. He sat down indignantly. He said it was impossible; all men believed in God, even those who have turned their backs on him. That was his belief, and if he were to ever doubt it, his life would be meaningless. † The Stranger page 69.This quote is a perfect example that even after he has murdered a man, Mersault still maintains that same attitude towards everything and he remains unchanged. You would think that especially after the fact that he murdered someone, he would have changed his attitude a little bit or that maybe he would have had some kind of revelation and he would realize that he has done something terribly wrong. However none of this occurs with Mersault and he continues to be himself and does not change anything about himself and that he retrieves nothing from his actions and that it plays no role in his exile.Though both of the themes of loss and retrieval may seem like they play a role in Mersault’s exile in the story, I do not believe they do. I believe that Mersault’s attitude is the cause of the exile he experiences. When one has a â€Å"I don’t care or believe in much†, you can easily be separated and apart f rom the world. Had Mersault cared more about certain things or had he shown more interest in them, I believe he would not have encountered any type of exile in the story.But when you constantly see phrases like: I don’t know, I don’t care, I don’t believe etc. you get the idea that the person saying those phrases is in some kind of exile from everyone else. Mersault is clearly responsible for his own exile in this story due to his attitude towards things. Loss and retrieval do not play a role in the exile that Mersault experiences and everything that he encounters and endures is because of his attitude and nothing to do with the thought of whether or not he lost something and retrieved something.If Mersault were to ask himself: Why are these things happening to me and why do I seem to be separated form everyone else? All he would have to do is look in the mirror and he would see the cause of everything that he has gone through. While Mersault is in prison, he ta lks about how he misses certain things of life on the outside of prison and how he feels separated. My response to Mersault would be: If you had a sense of caring or interest in things, maybe you wouldn’t be here in prison in the first place and maybe you also wouldn’t feel exiled and separated from everyone else.