Legal Age to Drink – Should It Be Changed?

Legal Age to Drink: Should it be Changed? In this day and age with more sophisticated teens and young people abusing alcohol, the issue concerning whether or not teenagers should be able to drink at a younger age is an important topic. In the article â€Å"Perils of Prohibition† Elizabeth M. Whelan argues that alcohol should be legalized at the age of eighteen instead of twenty-one. She hopes to persuade readers, parents, and educators to support her proposal for the change by successful alcohol education.Although Whelan provides valuable examples to prove that proper alcohol education is an effective solution in reducing the problems faced with alcohol abuse among American teenagers, she does not provide enough substantial evidence to justify changing the legal drinking age to eighteen years old. In the beginning paragraphs, Whelan compares alcohol consumption with American teens and their European peers. She says, â€Å"American teens, unlike their European peers, donâ€⠄¢t learn how to drink gradually, cautiously, and in moderation† (2).This is a great example because it makes the readers think about the different cultural views of alcohol consumption among youthful drinkers globally. Though the consumption of alcohol in France, Spain, and Portugal is higher than the United States per person, the rate of alcoholism and alcohol abuse is lower (4). Whelan hopes to prove that if moderate alcohol consumption and proper awareness of the use of it is instilled in children eighteen years old and up then drinking alcohol should be okay. She compares three countries to the United States in her example.We live in a pretty big world, is it the same in other â€Å"drinking† countries? The example is fairly effective but comparing drinking habits in only three countries to the United States is not enough to persuade readers. In order to gain support for successful alcohol education being a key factor in helping the problems faced with alcohol abus e, Whelan mentions an example involving her daughter. She explained to her daughter the differences in alcohol contents and the importance of not drinking on an empty stomach (8).The strength of this example is effective because it is coming from personal experience. It’s detailed and provided by a woman whose education and occupation qualifies her to make this kind of study. This type of person often makes you want to believe him or her. However, this piece of evidence uses the hasty generalization fallacy. A single personal experience or even many is not enough to convince readers. People’s personal experiences differ greatly. And how do the readers even know if alcohol education was successful with her daughter?Her daughter may not have gotten herself into trouble recently but she’s still under the legal age of drinking and who knows what would happen once she goes off to college? Because of her daughter’s age and the fallacy used, creates a weak examp le for supporting alcohol education. Whelan continues with examples to prove that proper education is the key instead of prohibiting teenagers the right to drink until the age of twenty-one. She mentions tragic accidents that occurred at the Ivy League school her daughter Christine will be attending in the fall.A student who was nearly electrocuted when, in a drunken state, climbed on a moving train. The student survived but lost three of his limbs (10). A second incident where an intoxicated student ended up in a chimney and was found three days later dead (10). She hopes to convince readers that students do not make good choices when they drink, if they’re not educated properly. The tragedies with the sick, injured students are fair because they’re emotionally appealing to the reader but weak because she fails to provide statistical evidence as to how often injuries of this kind occur.The examples are extreme and rare ones that are unlikely to happen on a regular bas is. Whelan continues supporting her claim by mentioning a study that was done at the Harvard School of Public Health by her colleagues. What they found in their survey of college students was that they drink â€Å"early and . . . often,† frequently to the point of getting ill (1). She defends her claim by appealing to authority as evidence. And readers would not be happy knowing that students are becoming sick from irresponsible drinking – the human factor.This study is included to let people know that college students are drinking irresponsibly and becoming sick from it as a result. Not surprisingly, she failed to provide statistical evidence again. That is, evidence of how many students is involved in the survey and the diversity of people in the study. These are important factors needed to be included in the survey to make it believable and convincing to the readers. Finally, two analogies are given by Whelan in hopes of her readers to accept her case. This author c reates a weak analogy when comparing sex education to alcohol education.In an attempt to change the legal age of drinking to twenty-one, she says â€Å"we choose to teach our children about safe sex, including the benefits of teen abstinence, why not about safe drinking†? (13) The only similarity is that drinking and sex can cause unsafe or unwanted events, therefore it makes sense to be educated on both subjects. However, the similarity is not relevant enough to be considered a good analogy. Safe sex education has been taught for many years to children but it has not stopped them from having sex or preventing unwanted pregnancies.If this is the case, how would safe drinking education be convincing to the readers to change the legal age to eighteen? The second analogy which is fairly significant in dealing with the unfairness of the legal age to drink, is comparing the ability for teens to be able to drive cars, fly planes, marry, vote, pay taxes, take out loans, and risks th eir lives in the U. S armed forces to drinking. She says, â€Å"At eighteen they’re considered adults but when they want to enjoy a drink like other adults, they are â€Å"disenfranchised†Ã¢â‚¬  (5).Whelan hopes this evidence will convince readers that if eighteen year olds are given â€Å"adult† responsibilities then they shall be treated as adults in all aspects of life, including drinking alcohol in moderation. She makes a great point with the comparison but when comparing voting, paying taxes, taking out a loan, and marrying to drinking, the responsibilities don’t impair your brain in a way that drinking alcohol would. Whelan presents herself as a kind-hearted woman who is a bit upset and frustrated with the current laws regarding the legal age to drink.The example she uses explaining how she educated her daughter with regards to alcohol content shows her taking a subtle approach with allowing her daughter to drink rather than making it appear to be a bad thing if you are under the legal age. (8) She shows compassion and concern. Whelan’s tone throughout the essay is fairly tolerable, but she does show some depreciation towards the government when she compares teenagers being able to â€Å"drive cars, fly planes, marry, vote, pay taxes, take out loans, and risk their lives as members of the U. S. rmed forces but laws in all fifty say that no alcoholic beverages may be sold to anyone until that magic twenty-first birthday. † (3) When she mentions â€Å"we should make access to alcohol legal at eighteen and at the same time, we should come down much harder on alcohol abusers and drunk drivers of all ages† (12) she is genuinely concerned of the welfare of all people with regards to alcohol and safety. She eagerly wants to make a difference. And as public-health scientist with a daughter heading to college, she has professional and personal concerns in regards to the dangers of alcohol.While it is obvious that Whelan’s heart is in the right place and that alcohol abuse among teenagers is a problem, her argument suffers from lack of evidence to support changing the legal age of drinking to eighteen years old. Proper alcohol education can be helpful in terms of improving the problem but that’s it. Whelan’s article indicates a need for further study on the abuse of teenage drinking. It would be helpful to see statistical results in studies done among colleges across the nation and in all areas from rich to poor. The more valid studies the better chance finding the proper solutions to the problem.

Golden Parachute

Often in a stack of current newspapers, the front page topics that will catch your attention are ethical issues behind upper management compensations; in this case, on March 30th 2009, the issue that surfaced was Rick Wagoner’s leave from GM and his retirement package and how his actual/ base compensation doubled in his last year from approximately $7M to $15M. (7) With the current economic crisis, many people outside the business society have become aware of the ridiculously high income difference between top managers and regular working citizens. For instance, terms such as ‘golden parachute’ have been put under the limelight and are scrutinized. Golden parachutes are severance pays to CEOs when they leave their company. The amount of money is usually influenced by the size of the business and the effort they put in. The golden parachute was once used to ethically to compensate CEOs who sacrificed their time and effort for the business; however, this is currently not the only case. Before we get into more detail, it is important to understand that the golden parachute once had a reason for being employed. With many mergers and acquisitions during the second industrial revolution, CEOs were offered compensations proportional to how much their effort was worth. According to the Journal of Business Ethics, this was an ethical standpoint because it was followed by two positive effects. First of all, golden parachutes encouraged mergers and acquisitions as opposed to bankruptcy. For instance, the CEO would choose to merge with a competitor and leave with an enticing amount of money. This minimized unemployment and loss of structural capital which is result of bankruptcy. Another positive effect in using the golden parachute was attracting an effective management team. Great CEOs are essential for the success of businesses, yet great CEOs are low on supply. As a result, golden parachutes can be ‘recruitment tool[s]’ and can bring the business back into an economically stable position. In essence, golden parachutes were and can still be ethical if the CEOs receive compensations proportional to their effort that was put forth to the company. 1) However, although these compensation packages began as an alternative that maximizes the sum of stakeholders’ satisfaction, many CEOs began to abuse this privilege. Highlighted by the principle agent theory, most people would prioritize personal incentives above all else. Therefore, it is understandable for a CEO to pursue personal incentives. However, fiduciary responsibilities to shareholders must be reinforced by boards. It is human nature to prioritize personal needs, but it is unethical to harm the business or shareholders during the process. Therefore, whether or not golden parachutes should or should not be mandatory remains a moral dilemma. The question still stands; is it defendable that CEOs deserve and have rights to collect golden parachutes? In a current issue, Rick Wagoner, CEO of GM, was asked to resign by Obama due to his failure to submit a restructuring plan. As a result, he received a whopping golden parachute of $20 million. If the decision was put in the hands of many tax payers, he would not have left with $20 million due to his track record. According to ABC News, under his leadership, â€Å"GM lost tens of billions of dollars, took billions in taxpayer-financed aid, and cut tens of thousands of jobs, including announced plans to cut 47,000 employees by the end of 2009†. (2) On top of that, he was included in a scandal, late 2008, where he was witnessed to have flown private jets when asking for a government bailout. With such exposure, tax payers are petrified with the fact that their money is going towards a paying a company which failed restructure. Thus, many argue that he did not deserve the money since he neglected his responsibility as the CEO of GM to look in the best interest of the stakeholder. On the other hand, GM and the government had to, by law, give Rick Wagoner the pay since it was already negotiated; thus, he was entitled to retirement funds. As a result, another ethical issue may arise based on whether or not he deserves the pay. Let’s also not forget the fact that he worked in GM for 32 years. 2) On top of that, if a golden parachute was not offered, many capable CEOs will lose incentives and GM’s financial position may not be able to recuperate without an effective leader. In essence, the dilemma a remains in debate regarding whether or not the benefits of golden parachutes override the possible abuse of this privilege. To further analyze this case, this dilemma was applied to the seven step decision procedure. Moral Standards To start off with, the first step to the decision procedure is to identify moral standards. Since each stakeholder’s interests vary, there is a conflict among personal goals, beliefs and values. For instance, CEOs and board members take action to maximize their pay due to personal goals; however, it may not be in the best interest of the company. As a result, by pursuing this goal, CEOs and board members believe in egoism where they look solely in the best interest of themselves and consider it as a means to goodness. They also believe that with a capitalist economy, the government should not intervene and should grant businesses’ their freedom resulting a laissez-faire perspective. Similarly, shareholders also intend to maximize their income and personal incentives. In doing so, they value trust and honesty and expect fiduciary duties to be met. Moral Impacts The second step is to recognize all moral impacts and how they either benefit or harm stakeholders. It is also important to identify any rights that are linked to entitlement and/or duty that may be recognized or violated. The following chart is a cost/ benefit analysis if the government was to allow the practice of golden parachutes.

Management: Samsung Electronics

Title of contents Executive Summary 1. 0 Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦1 2. 0 Political Environment†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 2 2. 1 government stability†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦ 2 2. 2Government and contribution†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦2 2. 3 Analysis †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦2 3. 0Legal Environme nt†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 2 3. 1Regulatory framework†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 2 3. 2Business laws †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 3 3. 3Labour laws †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 3 3. 4 Analysis †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 3 4. 0 Economic Environment†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 3 4. 1 Interest rate (%)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 3 4. 2 Currency Exchange Rate ($)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 3 4. 3 Economic Trends/ forecasts†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 4 4. 4 Analysis†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 4 5. 0 Socio-cultural Environment†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 4 5. 2 Analysis †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 5 6. 0 Technological Environment†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 6 6. 1Technological infrastructure †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 6 6. 2 Communication networks†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 6 6. Logistics networks†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â ‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 6 6. 4 Analysis†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 7 7. 0 SWOT Analysis†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 7 8. 0 Recommendations†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 8 9. 0 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 8 10. 0 References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 9 Executive Summary This report will discuss whether Samsung Group can establish a company in Malaysia.The report will be divided into two parts: external environment and SWOT analysis of the external environment. In external environment, it provides six sections which are political, economic, socio-cultural, technological and legal environment, each of them gives the analysis and suggestions to Samsung Group. Furthermore, the findings will be presented in the recommendation and conclusion of the report. 1. 0 Introduction Samsung group is the largest electronic manufacturing company in Seoul. The company mainly products electronics such as stylish phones, semic onductor and digital TVs. Samsung 2013) Now the company considering expanding the subsidiary company in kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This report will focus on detailed analysis about the external environment of Malaysia. The aim of this report is to provide the evaluation of the external environment of Malaysia in context of electronics manufacturing industry. The investigation will report on the political, economic, socio-culture, technology and legal environment of Malaysia. The report will help the company do expansion of analysis opportunities & threats for Samsung in Malaysian electronics industry and assess strengths or weakness of Samsung.The report will discuss the possibility of expanding Samsung group operations in Malaysia. It provides the political, economic, socio-cultural, technology and legal environment analysis. Then it will cover SWOT analysis and provide recommendation. 2. 0 Political Environment 2. 1 government stability Malaysia is a federal constitutional monarchy i n Southeast Asia. The system of government is a legacy of British colonial rule. The head of the state is referred to as the king and selected every five year term.Compared with the other countries, the death penalty is still be in used, therefore, Malaysia’s crime rate is lower. Because of the Consolidate leadership, Malaysia’s political situation keeps stable in recent years, crime rate becomes down. (Malaysia information 2013) It shows the level of government stability in Malaysia is high. 2. 2 Government and contribution Malaysia serves as a bridge between the East and the West and also plays an important role in the world stage by establishing a long-term cooperative relationship with the other ASEAN members, such as China, South Korea and Japan.Government implements several plans and welcome outside investments. (Malaysia government information 2013) 2. 3 Analysis Depending on the political stability and global trading relationships, Malaysia can make a closer op eration with the other countries. With the mutually-beneficial foreign policy, Samsung Company has a great opportunity to operate smoothly in Malaysia. 3. 0 Legal Environment 3. 1 Regulatory framework Malaysia and South Korean do not have the similar legal system, Malaysia’s legal system is based on English common law while South Korean legal system is based on civil law. South Korean government) It means the Samsung Group would not be familiar with the regulatory framework. 3. 2Business laws Although there are some legal restrictions on certain products imported from other countries. (Malaysia business guide) The law allows foreign companies to import raw materials. (Malaysia customers) However, the corruption problem in Malaysia has become much more worse. (Corruption Malaysia’s top enemy) 3. 3Labour laws Malaysia labour laws have improved in recent years, there are age and working hour restrictions in Malaysia. (Malaysia labour law) 3. 4AnalysisThe government holds encouragement on foreign investment in Malaysia which presents an opportunity for foreign companies. However, due to Samsung Group is unfamiliar with the regulatory framework, it exists a threat to Samsung Company. 4. 0 Economic Environment 4. 1 Interest rate (%) The benchmark interest rate in Malaysia is 3. 00 percent. (Malaysia interest rate 2013)Malaysia’s interest rate is likely to keep unchanged in these years. (RUPA 2013) South Korean’s benchmark interest rate is 2. 75 percent. It means that the interest rate in Malaysia is higher than that in South Korean. Central bank rates) 4. 2 Currency Exchange Rate ($) Based on the exchange rate in March 2013, one Malaysian Ringgit equals 358. 31 South Korean Won. (Themoneyconverter 2013) With the exchange rate increased each year in Malaysia (Trading economics Malaysia 2013), Samsung Company will invest more money in Malaysia in the future due to the cost will be increased. However, it is also a chance for Samsung to earn more money in Malaysia. Therefore, this is not only a threat but also an opportunity for Samsung Company. Malaysian Ringgit to South Korean Won The money converter) 4. 3 Economic Trends/ forecasts Malaysia keeps one of the best economic records among Asia countries. GDP is predicted to rise by 4. 5% in 2013 and increase by 5. 4% in 2014. Over the next decade, GDP is expected to grow by 4. 2% a year on average. According to forecasts, one of the fastest growing sectors in manufacturing industry over the next 10 years will be electrial equipment. (Oxford Economics) Nowadays, Malaysia begins a transition towards a more multi-sector economic that means the economic forecast in Malaysia is strong. 4. 4 AnalysisAlthough the interest rate and exchange rate in Malaysia are high, the international trade ability of Malaysia is still locating in the forefront of the world. This kind of ability makes a great positive impact on the international stage. (Malaysia News 2013) 5. 0 Socio-cultural En vironment Hofstede South Korea Dimension| Malaysia| Managerial Implications| Collectivism VS IndividualIndividual| Collectivism| Work design – The Malaysia employees prefer to work in groups while the South Korea employees prefer to choose personal works.Overall, Samsung Company should organize teamwork to its Malaysia employees. | Power Distance Lower | Higher| Leadership – Power Distance affects the hierarchical order in an organization. Compared with South Korea, Malaysia employees accept hierarchical order more than Australian employees. Therefore Samsung Company’s manager should take autocratic style| Uncertainty Higher Avoidance| Lower| Planning – The planning in Malaysia employees would like clearly aims while South Korea employees prefer relaxed attitudes. It demonstrates that clear rules and regulations are more suitable for local employees. Time orientation Long| Short| Planning–South Korea employees prefer having a long time orientation, however, Malaysia employees are known to prefer having short time plans. Therefore, Samsung Group should set short term targets for its staffs. | Masculinity VS FemininityFemininity | Femininity| Rewards – The Masculinity and Femininity will have an impact on social competition, achievement and success. Both Malaysia and South Korea are similar in this level of Femininity. It shows that Samsung Company can perform female leadership in Malaysia. | (Hofstede, 2013) 5. 2 AnalysisAlthough both Malaysia and South Korea would be inclined to work with females, there are also several differences between Malaysia and South Korea. 6. 0 Technological Environment 6. 1Technological infrastructure Malaysia has the well developed technological infrastructure while (Asia’s New High Tech Competitors) the infrastructure in Malaysia is one of the best in Asia. (Invest in Malaysia) It demonstrates the brilliant infrastructures can maintain the good operation of Samsung Group in Malaysia. 6. 2 Communication networks Compared with South Korean, the telecommunication network in Malaysia is developing faster.Communication network in Malaysia is served by digital and fibre optic technology. (Invest in Malaysia) 6. 3Logistics networks The logistics networks in Malaysia cover sea, land and air transport modes. The Malaysia government will strengthen the management of roads and improve the quality of transport in the future. (Trade and Transport in Malaysia: overview of the logistics) 6. 4 Analysis The great Technological infrastructure, Communication networks and Logistics networks in Malaysia will provide an opportunity for Samsung Group. 7. 0 SWOT AnalysisStrength| Samsung Company has: * good reputation * high-quality products * large scale international corporation * strong financial resource * A strong market influence| Weakness| Samsung Company: * lacks business experience in Malaysia * the shortage of qualified personnel * no stable customers in local market| Opport unities| Malaysia has:Political environment-stable governmental environment -good trading relationshipLegal environment-improvement in labour and business lawEconomic environment-strong economic forecastsocio-cultural environment-similar in female leadershipTechnological Environment- Advanced Technological infrastructure – good communication networks- Convenient Logistics| Threat| Malaysia has:Legal environment-different regulatory framework to South Korea- corruption problemsEconomic Environment-high interest rate in Malaysia-high exchange ratesocio-cultural environment-used to work collectively-higher power distance-lower Uncertainty Avoidance-only achieve short time target| 8. 0 Recommendations Based on the analysis of external environment of Malaysia, it is suggested that Samsung Company should: *continue to produce high-quality products to make good reputation in Malaysia (strengths) * train more new professionals in local market (threats) *use the new technology and the political system to achieve mutual benefit (opportunities) *seek professional legal advices and the lowest cost supplies (threats) 9. 0 Conclusion Political, socio cultural and technological environment constitute opportunities for Samsung Company.However, the threat appeared in the different socio cultural, weak legal environment and the economic conditions will in recession in the future. According to this report, there are still more opportunities than threats. To sum up, from the current market environment, there are many favorable aspects for Samsung Company to be expanded in Malaysia. Word Count:1443 10. 0 References Alphabetical Index of the political entities and corresponding legal systems. 2013. University of Ottawa. www. juriglobe. ca/eng/sys-juri/index-alpha. php. Business area2013 Samsung http://www. samsung. com/au/aboutsamsung/ourbusinesses/index. html South Korean Interest . 2013. Central bank rates. www. bok. or. kr Malaysia information technology reportQ1. 2012 .B usiness Monitor International. January http://search. proquest. com. dbgw. lis. curtin. edu. au/docview/919719232/13D455FB3221B7702F2/1? accountid=10382 Rupa Damodaran 2013. â€Å"Malaysia’s key interest rate expected to remain unchanged in these years. † Business times April 201 82 (11): 14-15. Currency Converter Widget. 2013. XE. COM INC http://themoneyconverter. com/MYR/KRW. aspx Malaysia Interest Rate 2013. .trading economics. http://www. tradingeconomics. com/malaysia/interest-rate Asia’s new high tech competitors. 2013. government statistics http://www. nsf. gov/statistics/s4495/conten3c. htm Invest in Malaysia. 2013 Malaysian investment development authority. ttp://www. mida. gov. my/env3/index. php? page=invest-in-malaysia South Korea economic. 2013. south korea government. www. southkoreagovernment. com Malaysia labour laws. 2013. laws, Accessed Feb 6 www. azminias. com/MALAYSIAN. %20LABOUR%20Lw. doc Malaysia Information. 2013. Malaysia journey. http:// www. tourism. gov. my/en/au Malaysia Hofstede 2013 South Korea Hofstede http://geert-hofstede. com/malaysia. html Malaysia Interest Rate. 2013. Trading Economics http://www. tradingeconomics. com/malaysia/interest-rate Malaysia’s top enemy. 2013. Malaysia story http://www. asiaone. com/News/AsiaOne+News/Malaysia/Story/A1Story20091225-188007. html

Customer Issues in Financial Services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Customer Issues in Financial Services - Essay Example The next aspect, pricing, depends on who has the upper hand, whether the buyers or the sellers. If the goods are freely available and competitively priced, definitely, it is the buyers who have the upper hand, but if there are shortage of goods and its suppliers, with high demand, definitely it would be the sellers who would call the shots. The aspect of penalties arises due to non-fulfilment of contract, or breach of trust on the part of the concerned parties. This could be due to external or internal factors, but which nevertheless influence the performance, or non-performance of the contract, to such an extent that Courts award penalties to be paid to the aggrieved parties. Under UK Contract Act, there is a commitment on either side to deliver, and breach of this delivery could give rise to penalties. However, it is to be borne in mind that Courts assess the penalties based upon actual losses sustained by the aggrieved parties, and not on contingent, or assumed profits. Thus, it would be well within the powers of the Court to allow for actual losses sustained by aggrieved parties, but not future loss of profits. Coming next to the aspect of exclusions, it is often seen that... Thus, the fine print in contracts is sought to absolve parties of their commitments and responsibilities under covenant bindings. Again, the main areas that need to be covered would be in terms of customer satisfaction, complaint handling and how to handle disputes. The main aspect with regard to customer servicing would be in the event when things go wrong between the sellers and buyers. In the present context of retail trade in UK, it is seen that the standard of client servicing has deteriorated over the years, leading to greater proportion of complaints, litigation, etc. It is quite possible that sellers may try to absolve themselves of blame by citing negligence or lack of product knowledge or care in usage by buyers. It is seldom that vendors would accept responsibility for defective goods or lowered quality, or timeliness of services. Therefore, it becomes necessary "To protect consumers from being misled or pressured by a supplier's promotional activities (for example, most countries place restrictions on investment advertisements)." (McKiernan and Cha 2008). This writer believes that this statement could have limited application in the real commercial world of financial services. This is because financial services organizations need to comply with statutory norms, not only in terms of their performance but also in terms of financial reporting. It is now necessary to consider certain decided case laws in UK to understand the impact of contract laws. The first would be the case of Hedley Byrne & Company Ltd v. Heller & Partners Ltd (1964). In this case, the applicant, Hedley Byrne brought action against a bank that vouched for the financial soundness of a client company, albeit with a disclaimer that the

Edward Estlin Cummings Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Edward Estlin Cummings - Research Paper Example He was named after his father although he was called by his middle name by the family. His father was a successful man as once he was a professor of Sociology and political science at the Harvard University before proceeding to become a renowned minister of a church located in Boston. This gave Cummings the opportunity in education and development as compared to other children because his father knew the value of education, therefore, doing all he could to provide the opportunity to his children. Cummings spent most of his time with his mother Rebecca s and sister, Elizabeth as they were the ones closets to him. This was when his destiny in poetry was predicted because he did a lot of writing as directed by his mother. In addition, he started writing poems under the watchful of his mother who directed on him on things to do and things not to do. He was a smart boy, and his mother encouraged him to write more poetry everyday. His home environment encouraged his poetic attitude as he h ad the opportunity to be affiliated with philosophers like William James and Josiah Royce who were family friends. Cummings went a head with his education and graduated from the Harvard University in 1915 with a certificate. Cummings from an early age studied Latin and Greek, and this explains his affinity for later works like XAIPE which is a Greek word meaning â€Å"Rejoice†, â€Å"Anthropos† a Greek word meaning â€Å"human† and â€Å"Puella Mea† a latin word â€Å"my girl†. ... This was when he started active participation into his life long career of writing and composing poems. Later life (Biography) Cummings attended Harvard University where he got a B.A. degree in 1915 and proceeded to obtain his Masters for English and Classical studies in 1916. Cummings labored on the newspaper of the school alongside Dos Passos and S. Foster Damon who were fellow Havard Aesthetes. During his final year at Havard University, the influence of writers such as Gertrude Stein and Ezra Pound was so great. He graduated magna cum laude in the year 1916, delivering a commencement address that was controversial entitled â€Å"The New Art†. This is the speech that gave him the first taste of notoriety since he was able to give a false impression that Amy Lowel, the well-liked imagist poet whom he so admired was â€Å"abnormal†. These chastised Cummings in the newspapers. He turned to poetry as he was ostracized because of his intellect. On September 21, 1917, he a nd his friend William Slater Brown got arrested as they were suspected of espionage. They both expressed anti-war views openly, and Cummings specifically talked of his lack of hatred towards the Germans. They were detained in a military detention camp where they languished for three and half years. He was released from the camp on December 19, 1917 due to much intervention from his father who was politically connected. He returned to United States in the year 1918. Later he was taken into the army where he served at the 73rd Infantry Division at the Camp Devens, Massachusetts until 1918 November. In 1921, he returned to Paris where he remained there for two years. He later moved on to take his new job in New York City where his role was to write

A Different Mirror by Ronald Takaki Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

A Different Mirror by Ronald Takaki - Essay Example Essentially, Takaki uses this article to explicitly show how the southern plantation owners were determined to replace the â€Å"black† farmers and labourers with the Chinese. This is because they believed that the Chinese were more hardworking and industrious and thus they could teach the â€Å"black† labourers to become equally hardworking and industrious. Comparatively, Takaki uses this article to complicate the commonly held perceptions regarding interracial competition by pointing out that the immigrants from different backgrounds attempted to get along with one another. To explicate, Takaki presents how both the Japanese, Mexican and Asian workers worked unanimously, ignoring their racial problems and differences. In addition, by stating that the Japanese immigrants thought that in America â€Å"money grows in trees,† (Takaki, 1993), Takaki aims to clarify how indeed the immigrants saw America as a land of many opportunities. Bharati Mukherjee, the author of the article â€Å"Jasmine† argues that like the character Jasmine, many immigrant Americans, including her, have tended to present themselves as Americans, cutting off their association with the traditional world which surprisingly predetermines their fate. Generally speaking, after the main character Jasmine losses her husband at a tender age of only seventeen years through a bomb attack (Mkherjee, 1989, p. 12), she is depressed and seems destined to live a solitude and lonely life, in a rural Indian village which is also her birthplace. However, Jasmine has burning desires to explore a more dangerous and larger world. Originally, Jasmine and her husband were planning to move to Florida. Nonetheless, after her husband’s death, Jasmine decides to single-handedly take the long journey.  Notably important, as she travels, Jasmine is faced with many challenges and obstacles thus transforming her into a more adventurous and stressful life.

Can America assassinate its citizens justifiably Research Paper

Can America assassinate its citizens justifiably - Research Paper Example The event of the death of Anwar Al-Awlaki through predator drone missile strike raises some relevant questions about the violation of human rights, absence of advance warning and the violation of international law. Preventive measures taken by the government and other intelligence agencies often contributes confusion and fear among the people or America face severe crisis in justifying its actions against terrorist groups. Thesis Statement: The study mainly investigates can America assassinate its citizens justifiably without advanced warning and due process? The doctrine of Radical Islamists discloses that they always require the status of separatist. AL Qaeda and its related extremists groups search a puritanical and strictly fundamentalist Islam. They believe that the modern especially, Western culture and ideologies become act as a prominent threat of their religious faith. In this juncture, one cannot avoid the chance of preventing the threat of global terrorism. Government acti ons against terrorist groups need a well organized plan it needs an effective criterion in determining its citizens. Through the process of ensuring advanced warning or due process against suspected persons, government can assassinate its citizens justifiably. ... But the assassination of Al-Awalaki has explored the administrative failure of the Obama government which loosening standards for extra judicial killings could go down in to a horrifying use of administrative power. William Fisher examines that â€Å"Most of the major human rights groups condemned the killing as an affront to the U.S. Justice system and the values underlying it† (Fisher). The word â€Å"terrorist† is applied to him and has been put on U.S assassination mark without due process. Relevant criticisms had risen against Obama administration and its action against a U.S citizen. Eminent personalities including the Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, have recommended the beleaguered killing of an American could be an impeachable administrative failure for President Obama (Gneiting). His assassination simply highlights the fact that the administration secret standards for putting people, including American citizens, on a hit list. Therefore, If the Gove rnment just declare anyone, anywhere a hazard to the national security and assassinate him without due process, the rights of all citizens are in threat. Even though an American citizen, Obama administration had taken the rare way of authorizing the targeted killing of Awlaki (The New York Times). U.S military officials had kept an unclear identifying record about Awlaki’s death and it denotes the injustice. Assassinating a citizen without advanced warning or due process explores the dangerous use of government power. It is part of common knowledge is that the Fifth Amendment ensures citizen’s rights to live without fear. As a citizen who lived in the United States, Al-Awalaki has the right to

HealthSouth SOX Violations Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

HealthSouth SOX Violations - Research Paper Example The mandating of not for profit corporations to utilize the SOX (2002) will improve their operations significantly towards the reduction of fraud. The SOX (2002) provides for ethical management practices. For that reason, whereas profit corporations do not have shareholder protection, there is a need to protect donors of nonprofits (Dalton & Dalton, 2011). The SOX (2002) prohibits the occurrence of corporate fraud among public companies. The bill was enacted after the occurrence of corporate scandals prior to 2002 such as Enron and WorldCom. The scandals resulted in billions of dollars of losses in investor value due to the collapse of these companies as well as the overall negative effect to the stock exchange of the United States. In the establishment of the SOX (2002), the goal was to promote ethical behavior among corporate executives across all industries. Hence, in the evaluation of the SOX (2002) in the healthcare industry, the assessment is a reflection of the performance of the SOX (2002) generally. In the healthcare industry, the SOX (2002) has promoted the reduction of the excesses of financial fraud. The full implementation of the SOX (2002) improved the internal controls of organizations in the healthcare industry. As a result, it improves the audit trails, data integrity, policy and procedures of organizations. Overall, i nvestors within the industry could now enjoy better accountability from the executives of the healthcare organization. The healthcare executives had high ethical standards to meet in light of the SOX (2002) with fines and jail terms providing sufficient deterrents against the occurrence of financial fraud (Coates, 2007). The organization had multiple deficiencies that increased the opportunities for fraud.  

E-mail Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

E-mail - Essay Example But, the US marine's death in the blast of a roadside bomb on November 13, 2004 during a routine foot patrol in the Al Anbar province of Iraq has spared off a debate on his e-mail account with his family staking claim to access its details. The parents' claim that his son's email account should be made accessible to them was bluntly rejected by the Internet giant Yahoo on the ground that it violated the privacy rules (Chambers, Yahoo denies family access to slain soldier's e-mail). The question is whether or not his parents should be allowed access to his email account. The killed marine's father, John Ellsworth, argues that his son's email account, with its complete details, works as a journal for future generations as it provides an opportunity for people to go through the actual words from someone direct on the warfront in Iraq (who owns your e-mails Para 5). Many experts feel that the Yahoo management had acted correctly (Leach 12). But, the father seems to be right going by the utilitarian principles as the act of providing access by the Yahoo to the son's email account brigs about certain utility to the family in shape of happiness. Here, the parents of the killed soldier are guided by the family emotions and sentiments ant that particular act of accessing the son's email account would result in moments of happiness for the 2 family. Utilitarianism, as per the theory advocated by John Stuart Mill, aims at the ultimate utility and happiness of people. It sustains greatly even if one person derives pleasure from the act of others and on the act of his own (Mill, 10). Mill further says that this great act of providing happiness to others stems gradually through cultivation of a noble character. There is no need to make a special mention that noble character builds from the fundamentals of the ethics. Utilitarianism therefore draws its strength directly from ethics and morals. The killed soldier's parents, aghast at their son's untimely death, might have wanted to keep the messages in the e-mail account as memoirs throughout their lives. In an ethical point of view, the parents of the young American soldier should be provided full access of the mail box of their son to make them happy. Further, by making the mail box messages available to the family, Yahoo would lose nothing except being accused by its users of violating the privacy policy. Sure, it can support its case on ethical grounds if it provides access. But, certainly it is not violating the privacy of others. Knowing this full well, the Yahoo management has refused permission fearing that it may lose popular support. One may support the Yahoo's argument under the principles of negative utilitarianism which prescribes promotion of least amount of harm / evil or prevention of the greatest amount of harm / evil for the greatest number (Negative utilitarianism, Para 1). Here, providing accessibility of the e-mail only results in happiness to the parents. Moreover, the question of promoting evil does not arise. The company may argue that by denying the access of the mail box to the parents, it is preventing a possible greatest harm to its greatest number of users. But, the possible greatest harm indicates a hypothetical tendency and the principles of negative utilitarianism can never be applied in this context as it is not a certain ty that providing access of the e-mail would harm

It is an article for my experimental economy class to summary Essay - 1

It is an article for my experimental economy class to summary - Essay Example Economists and none-economists students were selected for the study. The study was done in form of an experiment that required decision making within a period of about 30 minutes. It required the division of $10 in multiples of $0.50 between two people; a proposer and a responder. The proposer was to propose the division and the responder to decide if the division was acceptable or not. From the study conducted by Carter John and Irons Michael it is noted that economists generally accept less from others and keep more to themselves as compared to the none-economists. When another variable that helps to identify freshman economists and freshman non- economists was added, the freshman economists were still found to hold to the perspective of accepting less from others and keeping more. Therefore economists are born and not man-made. A third variable was also added to differentiate between the senior economists and the senior none-economists. This was meant to bring out any effects on the behavior of the economists as a result of learning economics. There were no clear learning effects realized from the experiment. Therefore, learning does not change the behavior of economists. The freshman economist and the senior economist all held the same perspective: They accept less and keep more to themselves (Carter and Irons 173). It was also realized that the choice of economics major students to major in economics was strongly related to their behavior. It was also found out that the economists were not only skilled in self interest calculation as facilitated by their deductive reasoning needed to recognize and decide on opportunities for economic gain. Economists are better at the type of thought processes that are related to rationality. They were able to give good figure of what a responder should accept and what a proposer should propose so as to maximize their monetary wealth keeping in mind that their partners

Work placement with Barnet Homes Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Work placement with Barnet Homes - Case Study Example The board has formed four sub groups to help it in the task of running the affairs at Barnet homes viz. business sub-group, standards sub-group, resources sub-group, procurement sub-group. The board is given strategic direction through a strategic steering group. The structure of these subgroups is flexible enough to include up to five co-opted members to bring additional relevant skills and experience. The Board delegates roles to area partnership and regeneration panels. The Barnet Housing Consultative Panel is the main consultation forum for Barnet Homes on borough wide operational issues and for Barnet Council on strategic housing issues. These panels focus on the housing management services provided by Barnet Homes. A separate steering group on each estate is responsible for working with partners on the regeneration proposals for the estate. There are also specialist partnership panels for sheltered housing and leaseholders. Barnet homes employs 367 full time staff and 52 Direct Labor Organization operatives (DLOs). It comprises substantially of the staff transferred from the housing service of its parent Barnet Council. The percentage break-up of staff involved in various categories of jobs is as follows- Housing Management(27%) ,Technical Services(19%),Caretaking(18%), DLO(15%), Supporting People(10%),Corporate (4%),CEO(4%) and Finance(3%).(5 Year, 2005) The stated aims and objectives of the organization Barnet homes has set for itself following six fold objectives: 1. To provide excellent services driven by customer involvement. 2. To bring all homes up to decent homes plus standard by 2010. 3. To provide services that meets the needs of all our diverse & vulnerable customers. 4. To develop safe sustainable & cohesive communities through partnership. 5. To develop a highly skilled, motivated and satisfied workforce, which is reflected in high quality services to residents, and 6. To develop new business areas for Barnet homes.(5 Year,2005)

The Theme and Narrative Elements Essay Example for Free

The Theme and Narrative Elements Essay The story of â€Å"The Welcome Table† by Alice Walker (1970), theme tells the story of an old black woman name Clara Ward, who worked as a slave for the whites the majority of her lifetime, who knows the feeling or fears of being an aged black woman, alone and no longer had a use or a purpose in her life. I say this because it was mentioned at the beginning of the story, and mist of the story the whites were not accepting of her, and at the end the black saw her in the streets walking in the cold and offered her no assistance, Every story narrows a broad underlying idea, shapes it in a unique way, and makes the underlying idea concrete. Thats how theme is created. In other words, the theme in a story is a representation of the idea behind the story (Clugston, 2010). Points of view, Tones, settings †¦ The setting of this story seems as though it takes place during the progressive era, during the age of segregation or the end of slavery in the U.S. My knowledge of this was gathered when Clara stumbled into a white church, and the pastor of the church told her she was in the white church, and the message was also clear to me when she was asked by the usher with blond hair to leave the church, and told her she needed to go to â€Å"Your Church†. Alice Walker the author set the story up in a fashion that named jobs or roles the old lady played as a house slave, this was another view point of her from the white church people, the pastor of the church called her his aunt (she helped raise him), and the usher in the church called her grandmother (she helped raise him). See more: how to start a narrative essay The old lady in the story began to fall ill walking in the cold weather, and she began to imagine an experience with Jesus; she sees the image of a Jesus who was white, the same image that was white, the same image that was on the picture she took from a white woman she use to work for (Clara hoped that Jesus would over look that). Clara had a vision of herself walking and talking with Jesus, who she loved and trusted all her days and she was able to tell Jesus, how the white people mistreated her, through her life, and shortly after she pasted on to heaven. The narrative expression in the story spoke of details explaining the old ladies appearance, the wording pictured her as poor, and did the best she could when it came to her appearance, and the narrator told the story as if we were in her shoes, making me as a reader to fill pity on the old lady. The narration also expressed the fact that Ms. Clara the old woman was a former slave who raised a generations of white children, who grew to be adults and they still showed her little to no respect (underlying theme); Where they should have been very appreciative, but because this was a time of segregation in the United states, a time when the whites and blacks live separate lives. Clara still praised Jesus in the white church, the Jesus who she knows as white, she never lost her faith, but the white people in the church who knew her kicked her out of the church, they unknowingly contributed to her losing her life. Clara died in the same she was treated in life cold and alone. Reference: Alice Walker (1970). The Welcome Table (Short story); Literary Cavalcade, Vol. 55 Issue 5, p32 Clugston, R. W. (2010). Journey into Literature. San Diego, CA. Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

The Tower Of London English Literature Essay

The Tower Of London English Literature Essay The Tower of London is known as one of Londons most haunted buildings. The tower was built to look over the Saxton and to be a strong building for defense (Wikiland). It was also used for prisoners of war (Wikiland). Many people believe that its haunted because there have been many deaths, and there have also been first hand experiences with ghosts. Some have also had scary encounters with something that wasnt even there (Paranormal Haze). The Tower of London is one of most haunted places in London, there are many experiences, and there have been very many deaths there as well. William the Conqueror built the Tower of London in the year 1708, it is known as Her Majestys Royal Palace and Fortress (Paranormal Haze). Certain parts of the tower date back to over 900 years ago (Real British Ghosts). The only reason certain parts date back so far is because the tower has gotten remodeled a few times. The tower has had many different uses, the kings and queens living there, and buildings being used for a prison, torture chambers, and place for execution (Real British Ghosts). Many people have lived in the tower, such as, Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, and Catherine Howard. The tower has also been used to house animals, such as bears (Baird, C). There have also been many deaths/executions, such as Anne Boleyn. Anne was executed for one specific reason. Her husband King Henry VIII executed her for giving birth to a stillborn child and accused her of infidelity (Paranormal Haze). In 1483, Edward V and Richard the Duke of York were murdered (Paranormal Haze). In 1674, some workers found the remains of the princes in a chest (Paranormal Haze). Another death that occurred was The Countless of Salisbury. King Henry VIII executed the Countless due to a political reason (Paranormal Haze). But during her execution she refused to put her head down to get beheaded, and ran off (Paranormal Haze). Eventually she was found and axed to death (Paranormal Haze). King Henry VIII 5th wife, Catherine Howard, was sentenced to death for being adulterous (Paranormal Haze). Also, Sir Raleigh was imprisoned for 12 years, but upset King James VI and he was beheaded (Real British Ghosts). Whenever some tourists, guards, workers, warriors, etc. are at the Tower, they tend to get funny feelings. One claim has smelled a certain scent and even thrown up (Paranormal Haze)! Some people have seen ghosts walking or gliding down hallways. Some have also seen apparitions standing and waving, and even screaming for help. There are many claims of ghosts haunting the tower. One ghost Thomas Becket has been known to haunt the tower (Paranormal Haze). During reconstruction on the tower, it is said that he was shaking the walls and holding the cross making it crumble (Paranormal Haze). It is also said that Henry III had a chapel built and named after Thomas Becket (Paranormal Haze). Apparently, ever since the tower was built, it is said that Becker has stopped appearing and not been seen since (Paranormal Haze). A few years after Edward V and Richard of Duke were murdered, a few guards said that they saw two small figures gliding down the stairs wearing night shirts and disappeared down the stairs (Baird, C.). Some have claimed that they have also been seen holding hands (Real British Ghosts). The Tower of Londons most famous ghost, Anne Boleyn is said to haunt around the area where she was executed. Some people claim they have seen her walking around without her head (Paranormal Haze). People believe tha t she haunts because she wasnt able to produce an heir (Paranormal Haze). Anne is also spotted in the Chapel of Saint Peter ad Vincula where she watches over her own grave under the altar (Your Ghost Story). Catherine on the other hand can be heard screaming behind the door of the room she was kept in before her execution (Your Ghost Story). After King VIII 5th wife, Catherine Howard was sentenced to death for being adulterous; many claim they have seen her running down the hallways and screaming for help (Paranormal Haze). Many believe she screams for help because she didnt want to die, and she feels like she was reliving her death. The white tower, the oldest part of the tower, is where it is said the white lady lives. The White Lady is apparently an apparition that will appear from time to time to those in the tower. (paranormal haze). One story says that she was standing at a window waving at a group of children who were in an opposite building. (Paranormal Haze) Theres also the smell of a cheap perfume that will hang around the entrance of St. Johns Chapel (Paranormal Haze) the smell of the perfume has caused some to vomit (Paranormal Haze). In October of 1817, a tubular, glowing apparition claimed to have been seen in the Jewel House by the Keeper of the Crown Jewels, Edmund Lenthal Swifte (Wikiland). He said that the apparition hovered over the shoulder of his wife, leading her to exclaim: Oh, Christ! It has seized me! (Wikiland). At one time, the tower housed animals. Apparently a guard saw a bear running towards him, but the bear went right through him and vanished (Paranormal Haze). Later on in the evening he was found on the floor unconscious (Paranormal Haze). Later on he died, many believe he died over fright of what he saw. (Paranormal haze). Another story comes from a Yeoman Warrior, who was in the salt tower, many people already feel scared enough in the salt tower (Paranormal Haze). The warrior reported, being choked by something that was not there. (Paranormal Haze). The Yeoman Warriors now refuse to enter the tower after sun down (Paranormal Haze). In the gallery where Henry VIII suit of armor is being displayed, some guards have said that there is a sensation of being descended upon and crushed, which only fades as they leave the room. (Paranormal Haze). One guard said, having a cloak put over his head and being choked from behind. (Paranormal Haze). But when the guard escaped, he found no one in the room (Paranormal Haze). But, he had marks on his neck that show he had been the victim of an attack. (Paranormal Haze). The Tower of London is was built to look over the Saxton, and was built for the Kings and Queens to live in during their reign. But over time the tower started to be used for many different purposes, other than just for the King and Queen. The tower started to be used as a torture chamber, prison, and a place of execution. Its haunted because there have been so many deaths there, and some of the people that have died there are angry or in sorrow. The tower was built over 900 years ago, and the queens and kings that lived here, put many people in harm. Especially the kings, one king had almost every wife executed. Many people teen to feel nocuous, dizzy, and some even throw up when they are in certain parts. There are many ghosts that haunt the tower. Many of the kings wives, such as Anne Boleyn haunt it. Anne haunts the tower because she was uneasy about her death, as were many others. The Tower of London is known as one of Londons top haunted places to visit. The tower has many spir its and ghosts that haunt there. Sources: Baird, C. (n.d.). The Amazing and Haunted Tower of London. The Amazing and Haunted Tower of London | Paranormal Haze. Retrieved from http://www.paranormalhaze.com/the- amazing-and-haunted-tower-of-london/ Tower of London Ghosts. (2010). Tower of London Ghosts. Retrieved from http://www.real-british-ghosts.com/tower-of-london-ghosts.htmlThe Tower of London. (n.d.). Tower of London. Retrieved from http://www.wikiand.com/wiki/Tower_of_London The Tower of London. (2012). Your Ghost Stories. Retrieved from http://www.yourghoststories.com/famous-ghost-stories/tower-london.php

Value And Risk Management With Client Expectations Construction Essay

Value And Risk Management With Client Expectations Construction Essay New processes and materials pose benefits to architects, designers, and builder and home owners as such change mean the cost of building was lower and in some cases home building projects were able to be completed faster. However as with new processes and materials emerge, new training is required to fully utilise them allowing construction projects to gain added value. With the new ability of clients being able to access information regarding to new materials and processes, the abilities for clients to specify particular materials and processes to be incorporated in the design and construction of the building increases. As opposed to an architect or designer recommending a suitable process or product to be used (Cross, 2001). The increased knowledge acquired by the client regarding to the type of construction materials and processes available enhances the clients vision about the construction project and ultimately this changes their expectations. The changes in clients expectation in construction projects must be properly managed in order for projects to be completed successfully. The aim of this report is to illustrate how value management and risk management can be applied to manage the expectation of clients in construction projects. Background During the late 1990s to the early 2000s a substantial number of houses were built in New Zealand using methods and materials that could not withstand the weather conditions of New Zealand. The calamity resulted in a combination of contributing factors involving the design of the building, the installation of materials, the change in requirement in untreated timber used in construction, the increase in insulations installed in timber framing and the trend to build Mediterranean styled building using monolithic cladding systems. The problem with such construction is that once water or moisture penetrates through certain cladding systems, if there are no cavities between the cladding and the framework, the water becomes trapped and cannot easily escape or evaporate. In addition a change in the New Zealand Standards for timber treatment in 1998 allowed the use of untreated kiln-dried timber to be used in wall framing. When this untreated timber comes in contact with water for a long period of time, the timber will begin to rot. In 2002 the Building Industry Authority appointed a Weathertightness Overview Group to investigate the cause of the leaky homes crisis in New Zealand. In their findings they pointed out the main factors that contributed to the cause of the leaky homes but no one factor was identified as the single cause of leaky buildings (Department of Building and Housing and Consumer NZ). Main factors causing leaky buildings: The trend to build Mediterranean styled buildings using monolithic cladding systems Poorly designed features such as: Recessed windows Flat roofs with narrow or no eaves Two or more stories Solid balustrades and balconies that just extend out from the walls which causes penetration through the external claddings Insufficient details in the approved documents, which are produced to help people meet the requirements of the New Zealand Building Code. Lacking of technical knowledge and skills when houses are designed, detailed and built. Modern systems require far greater level of detail, care and skill. Untreated kiln-dried timber is susceptible to rot when water penetrates the building envelop. The leaky home crisis is a systematic failure of a new building style trend, poor design features, insufficient building requirements, and the lack of technical knowledge to design, detail and construct buildings. The media in effect had an influence on the style of housing that was new to New Zealands traditional designed houses. It is also during this period when manufacturers of building materials begun to market their products directly to the consumers; the end users and owners of buildings (Cross, 2001). Companies such as the Winstone Wallboards Ltd began to market their products to the general public; their advertisings of gypsum plasterboard by-passed the construction industry and directly to the owner. Similarly the makers of Pink Batts, Tasman Insulation New Zealand Limited also began major marketing campaigns to target home owner and potential home owners to incorporate their building products in the construction of houses. The lack of implementation to ensure adequate and safe designs while builders and contractors lacked knowledge regarding to the building product and its application could have contributed to the leaky building crisis. Although this changing in construction product marketing was not a cause of the leaky home crisis, it nevertheless have increased the awareness of building products for clients and this increased their ability and persistence to specify particular building products or processes, therefore changing the expectation of the outcome of the construction project. Client Expectation Clients expectation of construction projects have changed over time in parallel with the changes in technology, especially in the advancements in information systems and marketing campaigns for construction materials. Nowadays manufacturers of building products advertise and market their products directly to the potential clients of construction projects. Good examples of these can be seen on the television media, manufacturers such as Winstone Wallboards Ltd market their gypsum plasterboard for walls and ceilings, while Tasman Insulation New Zealand Limited market their insulation products more commonly known as Pink Batts. This new marketing strategy from construction material manufacturers means that they have effectively by-passed the distribution industries and the building and construction industries in the value chain for the supply of building materials (Cross, 2001). Figure 1: Value chain for building and construction related industries (Cross, 2001) This marketing strategy allowed consumers who are the potential clients of construction projects to have more knowledge of the building products available and be aware of the potential benefits of particular building products. In conjunction with the internet, manufacturers can distribute product information and specification online. Before these changes in marketing and internet sources, construction products were selected and presents to the client by the project team. Compare to now, clients have products in mind before initiating a construction project. They also have in mind the advertised visual aesthetics and performance of the products giving clients an overall expectation of the construction prior to the meeting with the design team (Wilkinson Scofield, 2003). Construction clients are committing something they cannot see until it is completed. The challenge for the project team is translating client needs into design requirements and subsequent critical characteristics. Failing to understand client needs is the issue that creates the largest gap between client expectation and client satisfaction. The second largest gap is held by project delivery being on time. The new marketing strategy could potentially create a gap between client expectation and client satisfaction as the visual aesthetics and performance of the product can only be achieve if it was installed in a particular way for under certain circumstances (Atkin, Borgbrant, Josephson, 2003). Such gaps could potentially become points of conflict throughout the construction project and finally reaching the completion and the clients expectation on the project may not be achieved. If clients are educated by the design team as to what to expect during the design and construction of the project and the standards a design team must offer, then minor divergence can then be view as part of the design process and the efforts could be directed toward resolving those routine problems understandingly and effectively (ACEC Oregon, 2008). Clients who are unfamiliar with the trials and adversity of a major project should be educated on the process prior to the design and construction stages. Doing so will facilitate the clarification of clients expectation and allow clients to adjust their expectation to a realistic level. Clients have four main expectations on construction projects. They are the expectation on scope, cost, time and quality. All of these expectations are defined, estimated, planned and specified during the design phase of the project. It is therefore critical for the project team to identify the clients expectations at the beginning of the design phase so that it could work towards the clients expectations. Once the construction phase of the project begins, there would be little room for adjustments on the focus of meeting client expectation. By that stage the project team are adhering, monitoring, controlling and managing the expectations that were set during the design phase. Figure 2: General client project expectation (Oyegoke, 2006) Clients preconceived expectations on construction projects are highly skewed by the marketing strategies employed by manufacturers. Manufacturers often advertise their products performance under optimum conditions and they have a tendency to omit risks that are associated with the product. This is the main contributor to clients expectations as they have a visualisation of how the product performs but in some cases, these products may not be able to perform at their optimum level due to the environment of the project location, the installation, application and the maintenance of the product. Clients expectations over the cost of projects have changed over time. Clients expect costs to be kept at a minimum, however most clients are unaware of the so called costs that are involved in a construction project and the overall whole life time cost of buildings. The trends towards green buildings are a good example, the aim of sustainable buildings, the so called green buildings are to reduce the impact of the buildings operation on the environment and this in sequence usually reduces the consumption of energy of buildings. Sometimes clients are too focus on the capital cost, that they fail to recognise the benefits of the reducing the whole life cost of the building through the slight increase in capital expenditure. Time is another important expectation from customers; sometimes the most important expectation. The idea of prefabrication allows construction time to be reduced, as components are made off-site and are brought to the construction site for assembly. However there is a limit as to how many elements of the construction can be prefabricated and the trend to more complex projects which requires a finer level of design detail and thus contributing to the length of construction time. Client Needs Satisfying client needs is a vital requirement for construction projects. As construction projects are induced by the client needs; but often the project outcomes fails to satisfy them. There are many reasons for this, for the design team the challenge is to comprehend client needs, which should be revealed during the briefing stage of the project (Atkin, Borgbrant, Josephson, 2003). Potential clients of the construction industry are too large and varied group for any meaningful detailed classification to be prepared. Nevertheless an understanding of clients is aided by a broad categorisation (Walker A. , 2002). As different clients from different categories will have different needs for it to initiate a construction project. For example: A commercial client, would built offices to sell or lease to others and is expecting a direct financial gain A industrial client would build factories and expect a gain on productivity A public client is expecting a social investment gain from a new school. When the client is satisfied that there is a need for a project, it will then undertake a feasibility study to ascertain whether the project meets all of the objectives of the client (Lavender, 1996). Clients Objectives The most important feature of any building project should be the clients objective in embarking on the construction of the project. The need for the project will normally have risen from some demand arising from the client organisations primary activities as stated before. The needs of clients are stimulated by the environment of their organisation, which presents opportunities to which they respond. Such external stimulus may be economic forces, which give the opportunity for profit, or sociological forces, which presents the chance to respond to a social need, but usually they are a combination of different forces in which the client must respond to as the result of the need to survive. Above this, clients also respond in order to expand as a result of drive and motivation. The effect of forces in the clients environment will therefore trigger the start of the construction process. Although it may not be realised at the time that a project is needed and at that stage it is unlikely that any members of the project team will be involved. When it becomes apparent that a construction project is needed to satisfy the clients objectives, the brief begins to form. A common major problem is that the project team will normally not be involved at this early stage and a number of important decisions which may inappropriately constrain the design of the project may have been made by the time they are brought in (Walker A. , 2002). Figure 3: Triangle of time, cost and quality (Lavender, 1996) Once the objectives are met, the three qualities of a project must then be prioritized to demonstrate the clients preference. To some clients, if the priority is to keep costs down, then a delay may not matter too much. However to other clients, time may be an absolute priority for example a hotel development is scheduled for completion to meet seasonal increase in trade (Lavender, 1996). These three qualities in turn represent the clients expectation of the output of the project, therefore it is vital to communicate with the clients to discover how the client has prioritised these qualities. Clients often perceive the brief as a reasonably detailed statement of what they require, but it is important that the strategic level of the brief is not overlooked at the expense of detail. The clients priorities must be clearly established and are communicated to the project team. It may well be that there is conflict within the clients organisation regarding priorities, but the project team must be confident that it has interpreted the balance properly. To achieve this it will have to understand the clients organisation, its decision-making process and where the highest authority lies (Walker A. , 2002). Changing Expectations Drivers of change in client expectation: New trend in property ownership Increase in number of investment properties (time expectation) Growing project complexity Due to higher need requirements and technological advancements in material standardisation, construction methods, techniques and technologies. (quality and cost expectation) Influence of life cycle costing Cost of repairs and maintenance Influence of alternative materials and systems Shrinking business and project cycles Shortening of the hypothetical supply chain of building materials (cost and quality expectation) Commoditisation of products and services Specific products and trade specialist as a first tier contractor External stakeholder power Clients knowledge base is expanding Suppliers focus Scarce human resources Ethical agenda Green buildings (to reduce energy consumption and effects of global warming) Time is a finite resource, especially with the new trend of increases in numbers of investment properties, clients of construction projects demand their projects to be completed on time for peak market trading. This in effect translates to the increasing expectation for construction projects to be completed on time and method of fast tracking will be employed to ensure deadlines are met. Communication requirements in complex projects are overwhelming in comparison to more traditional projects and there is a requirement for a great deal of interaction and negotiation (Kelly Male, 1993). The increase complexity will add time to the project duration. Client Expectation and Project Management The general definition of construction project management is said to be the planning, co-ordination and control of a project from conception to completion on behalf of a client. This requires the identification of the clients objective in terms of utility, function, quality, time and cost, and the establishment of relationships between resources, integrating, monitoring and controlling the contributors to the project and their output, and evaluating selecting alternatives in pursuit of the clients satisfaction with the project outcome (Walker A. , 2002). Client expectation begins with the briefing process. Briefing is seen as a singular event at the beginning of the projects by the client; however this is not the case. Briefing is a process, where requirements are systematically written down and this will be updated as required. This means that while the project proceeds and clients awareness of the project increases, the ability to make changes reduces as the project progresses (Atkin, Borgbrant, Josephson, 2003). The recommendation is that briefing is a process running throughout the construction project, by which the clients requirements are progressively captured and translated into effect by the design team. Clients nowadays simply expect too much from the design teams; they expect perfection. Any minor delays, added costs or design changes are taken as a sign of incompetence on the part of the architect, engineer or project manager. Managing client expectations is the key to avoiding unnecessary confrontations, demands and claims. Perfection is impossible to achieve, therefore the best approach to ensure that the client is making realistic expectations about the project and its outcomes (ACEC Oregon, 2008). Communication is vital to this process. Communication should take place continuously throughout the project especially in the beginning. Stress that perfection is unattainable at any price and errors and omissions are common parts of the design and construction process. Clients must understand that they can only expect a standard of care that is provided with the managing or design service. These services are provided with the ordinary degree of skill and care that would be used by other reasonably competent practitioners of the same discipline under similar circumstances and conditions. The standard of care is a concept drawn from English Common Law doctrine. The doctrine holds that the public has the right to expect services provided will be have done so with a reasonable normal, careful and prudent manner. In other words, being perfect is not required as long as the service provided was done so with a reasonable due skill and care (ACEC Oregon, 2008). Goals to achieve perfection however should still be set to give the project team a clear direction and allow for measure of performance if necessary. Risk Management Design projects are inherently risky. Every project is different in some way and this carries with it uncertainties. Risk is the term used to describe the amount of uncertainty and number of threats that exist or potentially exist in a project (Ramroth, 2006). Risks can be technical, physical, commercial or environmental (Walker Greenwood, 2002). Managing risk is one of the most important tasks for the construction industry as it affects the project outcomes (Dey, 2009). This outcome is closely tied in with the output of the project; and at the most basic level, the building and construction industry is recognised by its output (Cross, 2001). Clients expectation on risk should be made known to the design team and in turn, the project risks should be communicated to the client. Doing so will reduce any misunderstanding and possible confrontations. Managing Risk Management of risk is an ongoing process throughout the life of the project, as risk will be constantly changing. Risk management plans should be placed to deal quickly and effectively with risks if they arise. It is important to work as an integrated project team from the earliest possible stages on an open book basis to identify risks throughout the teams supply chain (Office of Government Commerce, 2007). Risk management in construction projects involves: Identifying and assessing the risks in terms of impact and probability Establishing and maintaining a joint risk register, agreed by the integrated project team Establishing procedures for activity managing and monitoring risks throughout the project and during occupation on completion Ensuring that members of the team have the opportunity to engage in a dialogue that will promote agreement of an appropriate allocation of risk. Updating risk information throughout the life of the project Ensuring control risk by planning how risks are managed through the life of the project to contain them within acceptable limits Allocating responsibility for managing each risk with the party best able to do so A common risk management process should be understood and adopted at all levels within the integrated project team, and the risk register regularly reviewed and updated throughout the project lifecycle (Office of Government Commerce, 2007). Investment in developing the brief is often cut; however, this will likely lead to delay and cost overruns further on in the project due to changes and potential misunderstandings. Making risks known to the client can help them develop and prepare budgets for the project and this allows the project team to assess the clients expectation on risk. When preparing the budget, it should comprise of two elements of cost, a base estimate and risk allowance. A risk allowance should be included in the budget for the project to cover the potential financial impact of the clients retained risks as estimated in the risk analysis. Risks inherent in the maintenance and demolition of a facility should be considered during design development and the decisions about risk kept on the register for future reference (Office of Government Commerce, 2007). This inherent risk should be included in the whole life costing of the building. Risk Allocation Risk management arrangements should include risk allocation that (Office of Government Commerce, 2007): Is clear and unambiguous Achieves best value for money Represents a fair balance between risk and control Does not create conflict of interest in those required to give independent advice to the client. Contracts are a way to reduce risks as it is used to reduce uncertainty. Mutual agreements regarding to the project must be stated in the contract. Contracts between businesses have evolved to take on various roles (Walker Greenwood, 2002): Recoding the deal that has been agreed and the rights and obligations of the parties. Providing sanction for non-compliance, or incentive to comply Offering sets of procedures that the parties should follow Catering for uncertainty by deciding in advance how parties will bear the risk on unforeseen events. Responding to Risks Project managers must control the threats and uncertainties that would potentially adversely affect their projects. There are a number of strategies to do so (Ramroth, 2006): Avoidance: where risks have such serious consequences on the project outcome that make them totally unacceptable, measures might include a review of the project objectives and re-appraisal of the project, possibly leading to the replacement of the project, or its cancellation. Reduction: a typical action to reduce risk can take the form of: Redesign: including that arising out of value engineering studies Different methods of construction: to avoid inherently risky construction techniques Changing the procurement route: to allocate the risk between the project participants in a different manner. Transfer: transferring risks to another party in the integrated project teams, who would be responsible for the consequences, should the risk occur. Risks should not be transferred until they are fully understood. The objective of transferring risk is to pass the responsibility to another party who can better manage it. Retention: Risks that are not avoided or transferred are retained by the client although they may have been reduced or shared. These risks must continue to be managed by the client to minimise their likelihood and potential impact. Uncertainty should be understood as being a dual and coherent nature with reference to the environment, comprising the building context and the management of construction operation for the specific building (Atkin, Borgbrant, Josephson, 2003). Two concepts that are relevant are the contextual uncertainty and operational uncertainty. Contextual uncertainty includes the environment as a whole that may have an impact on a specific building. The impact could raise doubts about the result or the effectiveness of the achievement. In order to analyse the shape or form of the contextual uncertainty it is necessary to analyse the building from a broader perspective: the environment, the client and the organisation as a whole. Operational uncertainty is defined as every circumstance that may have an impact on the projects efficiency; that is handling the implementation of construction according to a predetermined set of goals. The logical phase of the construction process means that project visions are needed to reduce planning and design uncertainties, and that a plan is needed to reduce production uncertainty. Contingency funds should be in place to ensure that any uncertainty and imperfections of the project can be corrected. Clients should be made aware that contingency provisions are created to recognise that the final design and construction cost may exceed the initial estimated cost. The contingency fund should equal to a reasonable percentage of the estimated construction cost as a reserve to pay for unanticipated costs. Clients should acknowledge that no claims can be made against the project team with respect to increased costs within the agreed contingency. The building construction stage should be easy to plan and managed, if: The client is satisfied with the design; The design is correct and can be realised through construction; The intention of the designer is correctly communicated; and All conditions on site can be anticipated While it is not possible to alleviate all risks, some risks can be eliminated by thoughtful problem solving, while others can be successfully managed so that their impact on the project is kept to a minimum (Ramroth, 2006). Value Management Value management is the process in which the functional benefits of a project are made explicit and appraised consistent with a value system determined by the client. From a value management perspective, a project is an investment by an organisation on a temporary activity to achieve a core business objective within a programmed time that returns added value to the business activity of the organisation (Kelly, Making client values explicit in value management workshops, 2007). Value management is a structured, multi-disciplinary group decision-making process that encourages the enhancement of the value of a project, process or product in a manner consistent with the business goals of the stakeholders and client needs. Value management enables stakeholders to define and achieve their need through facilitated workshops that encourage participation, teamwork and end user buy-in. Stakeholders are people who have a real interest in the outcome of the project. Stakeholders of construction projects could be promoters, owners, financiers, supervisors, planners, engineer, constructors, operators, user and neighbours. The focus of value management is on function value for money, it is not necessarily to reduce cost. Though reducing cost could be a by-product of the value management activities (Office of Government Commerce, 2007). Value means ensuring that the right choices are made about obtaining the optimum balance of benefit in relation to cost and risk, and in its broadest sense, is the benefit to the client. However with value management, it should be recognised that improving the whole-life project value sometimes will require additional initial capital expenditure. The buildability and maintainability of the facility are central to its long-term value. Value management is a very low cost with high benefit exercise. The greatest benefit from applying value management to a project is when it is integrated into the project development plan, with workshops programmed to take place. If integrated into the project management methodology early in the project development the cost can be almost negligible, because of the reduced need for subsequent reviews and opportunities for substituting VM for some of the routine appraisals and quality audits that are always necessary (Hammersley, 2002). Clients Benefit The client is the party that benefit from the long-term operation of the building and therefore should lead the process from inception to the completion of the building. However it is suggested that clients are not interested in technological correctness. The designer on the other hand has the technological competence, but handling all the interdependencies to reach an optimal technological solution can sometimes lead to long design durations; affecting the clients expectation on the duration of the project. The designer may also have little knowledge on how to produce the design to a finished product. This production knowledge and skill lies with the contractors and subcontractors, often designers rely too heavily on the assumption that the design product is easy to produce. Apparently no single party is fully capable of leading, but rather a group of individuals can stand a better chance of succeeding (Atkin, Borgbrant, Josephson, 2003). To increase clients benefits the following key criteria should be made possible: Clients should have enough time to increase their knowledge of the project outcome, based on their requirement Clients should be able to change their mind when the challenges of their requests are made apparent to them Designers should have sufficient time to convert client requests into key technical criteria Designers should have enough time to investigate the interdependencies of the technical criteria in the building system Contractors and subcontractors, when required, should have the ability to view the impact of decisions regarding constructability As identified earlier, the client comprehends the product increasingly as the process proceeds. This suggests that even though it is hard to manage, it should be possible to review the requirements of the client in order to produce a building that satisfies. What is Value Value management is concerned with what value actually means

Welfare For Children of Illegal Immigrants Essay -- Politics Political

Welfare For Children of Illegal Immigrants The United States is in the midst of a major debate over immigrants and their place in our economic and political life. As during other times in our history, immigrants, are being blamed for causing or contributing to the social, economic and political ills of our society. Politicians from both major parties, at both the national and state levels, are promoting a range of punitive legislative proposals that single out immigrants for adverse treatment by the government. Many violate basic civil liberties principles. Based on "The Bill of Rights", foreigners do not have the right to enter the United States, but once here, immigrants are entitled to certain broad constitutional protections. In due process, immigrants have the right to be treated fairly, whether in a deportation hearing or a criminal court proceeding applies to every person within The United States borders. And Equal Protection prohibits discrimination based on race or national origin. An alien's rights to free speech and religious freedom are protected under the First Amendment. The Refugee Act of 1980 gives certain aliens the right to political asylum in the U.S. New immigrants to our country are not a scourge as some politicians claim. In fact, they can help solve many of our economic and social problems. Therefore when a child is born of illegal parents, the child should not be refused welfare. In other words, the child should not be treated as a second class citizen. In fact since it was born in the United States, he or she is to be considered a United States citizen because that is exactly what he or she is. Although it is believed that welfare receipt as a child has a negative effect on the earnings ... ...Uest. March 1998 Waldman, Amy. "Giuliana Oppose Biill To Deny Benefits To New Immigrants" New YorkTimes12 Aug. 1997, late ed.: B3.New York Times Ondisc.CD-Rom.UMI-ProQUest.March.1998 Federal Action Alert: Urge President Clinton to Veto Welfare Legislation that Harms Children. Online. Yahoo. Internet. 10 Mar. 1998. Immigrants' Rights. American Civil Liberties Union Freedom Network. Online. America Online. Internet. 10 Mar. 1998. Available ftp://iaehv.nl/users/hverbak/alert.htm Welfare Reform: CDF Summarize Conference Bill. Online. Yahoo. Internet. 10 Mar. 1998. Available ftp://libertynet.org/~edcivic/welfcdf.html Why Congress Must Reform Welfare. Heritage. Online. Yahoo. Internet. 10 Mar. 1998 Available ftp://nationalsecurity.org/heritage/library/categories/healthwel/bg1063.htm child's portion of welfare benefits as well. But the details would

An Analysis of Das Boot Essay -- Das Boot Essays

What is it that makes the film, "Das Boot", stand out in the plethora of war movies? Why was this film, with subtitles and about German World War 2 soldiers, popular enough in America to earn six Academy Award nominations? One possible answer is the characters. Like so many other epics, the sensation of viewing pleasure goes beyond the intense plot and into the intricacy and intimacy of the building blocks of every story: the characters. Director Wolfgang Petersen's mastery is in bringing the viewer into that unfortunate submarine, makes everyone a participant in the horror as one of the characters, creating the feeling of no escape. Then, once Petersen has the viewer "in" the submarine, he presents us with a duality in character type; there are men determined to salvage the mission and thwart disaster, as well as others who are helpless in helping their comrades, doomed to be insufficient and bothersome. Once Petersen has portrayed this conflict, it is easy to see how the level of tension is so high in the submarine. The film begins with the submarine crew drunk and jovial, attempting to enjoy their final moments before their departure. Knowing that the odds of returning alive are minimal, the men appear to throwing their intuition to the stars as they frolic foolishly and even tastelessly. Petersen is presenting the viewer with a group of rowdy boys full of life and indifferent to their future, in stark contrast with the men who arrive at the Mediterranean port later in the film. At this moment, all the men are equals, ready to confront the sea and serve their country. While in the submarine, the nature of these men changes. No longer are they a homogeneous group; rather a number of... ... thing he does like his attentiveness to Hitler's speeches, his meticulous eating habits, and promenading in his Nazi attire, all annoy the crew. His very presence is a distraction to a crew that needs total focus. Although he appears as diligent as the others, his style is different, his attitude is too unnecessary, and his demeanor is too inappropriate for the submarine. This duality is a large component of the tension that resides in the boat. Peterson seems to be making a contrast he to encourage the already mounting tension. Combine this with the life-death aspect of the mission and incredible stress is inevitable. It is a ship mostly full of ardorous men, but the few who don't fit are harpoons in the ship's side. Pederson's film is quite intense and it has to be said that this duality in character portrayal enhances this aspect of the movie.