Ikea History and Swot Essay

History Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA’s founder, has a very intriguing and impressive life story. Kamprad was a very intelligent young Swedish boy who quickly turned into the 5th wealthiest man in the world. His net worth is now $4.2 billion. At a very early age Kamprad started his selling knowledge. When he was just 5 years old he would buy matches in bulk at a cheap store in Stockholm and re-sell them around his neighborhood at low prices, but enough to make a hefty profit. Kamprad’s selling continued and expanded from flowers to greeting cards to pencils and pens throughout the 1920’s. As Kamprads business skills increased he began studying the retail prices of different items in Sweden. He recognized that furniture prices had increase by 41% in 1935 and realized how profitable this area of retailing could be. In 1943, at age 17 Kamprad received money from his father for his successful studies and used the money to create a business. IKEA was then formed, standing for Ingvar Kamprads initials (I.K.) and the first letter of the farm he lived on, Elmtaryd (E) and the first letter of the village he lived in, Agunnard (A.) Kamprad created his furniture line in 1948 aiming for furniture that would be affordably priced. He began only selling his furniture through magazine advertisements. In 1953 the first showroom opened in Almhult Sweden. This was the first time consumers could physically see and feel the IKEA furniture before ordering them. 3 years later the need for flat packs and self-assembly furniture gave rise; one of IKEA’s co-workers had to remove the legs of a table to fit into their car without damaging the surroundings. (â€Å"IKEA Official Page†) In 1958 the first IKEA store was opened in Almhult Sweden. It was the largest furniture store in Scandinavia at the time with 6,700 square meters. Two years after the opening the store Kamprad introduced the first IKEA restaurant which was located inside the furniture store building. Kamprad expanded his store outside of Sweden in 1963 by opening an IKEA store in Norway. Within ten years IKEA stores were being opened outside of Scandinavian countries and expanding into 3 more continents (â€Å"IKEA Official Webpage†.) One of the most recent expansions was into the Dominican Republic in 2010. IKEA is in the process of opening new stores and developing the most innovative furniture products of today. Store Locations After IKEA opened in Sweden in 1958, it quickly moved into other Scandinavian countries opening stores in Norway in 1963 and in Denmark in 1969. Throughout the 1970’s IKEA rapidly spread through Europe. The first store outside of Scandinavia opened in Switzerland and quickly after IKEA made its presence in Germany. In 1975 IKEA arrived in Australia and opened its first store in Sydney. Throughout the 1970’s IKEA also opened stores in Japan, Hong Kong, The Netherlands and Singapore. Germany has IKEA’s biggest market with 46 stores in the country. Following Germany is the United States with 38 stores across the country. As of right now, IKEA has not appeared in developing countries, but is still planning for more global expansion (Countries.) IKEA group has continued growing every year and is now a large retail experience with over 123,000 co-workers. IKEA’s employees help generate annual sales of more than 21.5 billion dollars. The stores locations are placed strategically. The location is near major roads, freeways and public transportation. Although the stores are not normally placed in densely populated areas, IKEA is still successful and reaps high traffic due to the Huff Gravity model. Since IKEA stores are so large and carry a wide range of products, people are willing to travel a further distance to their stores. The largest IKEA store is in Stockholm, Sweden with a size of 55,200 square meters and following behind it is the Shanghai, China store with a size of 49,400 square meters (â€Å"IKEA†) In 2011 IKEA announced a plan to build a wind farm in Sweden to help IKEA achieve its ecological goal of running on 100 percent renewable energy. The next year IKEA made another announcement about the company creating a chain of 100 economy hotels in Europe. However, these IKEA hotels will not follow the same IKEA brand name and will not be furnished with IKEA’s furniture. The list below contains the country and number of IKEA stores present in the country, ranked in order of their opening dates: Sweden (17), Norway (6), Denmark (5), Switzerland (7), Germany (46), Japan (5), Australia (7), Canada (12), Hong Kong (3), Austria (6), Singapore (2), The Netherlands (12), Spain (15), Iceland (1), France (28), Saudi Arabia (3), Belgium (6), Kuwait (1), United States (38), United Kingdom (18), Italy (20), Hungary (2), Poland (8), Czech Republic (5), United Arab Emirates (2), Slovakia (1), Taiwan (4), Finland (4), Malaysia (1), Russia (14), Israel (2), Greece (4), Portugal (3), Greece (5), Portugal (3), Brazil (3), Turkey (5), Romania (1), Cyprus (1), Ireland (1), Dominican Republic (1), Brazil (1), Bulgaria (1) and Thailand (1) . Target Market IKEA strives to have a wide target market, wanting people around the world of all different demographics and psychographics to purchase IKEA products. IKEA defines its global target market as â€Å"young people of all ages† including individuals, families, design exteriors, and hospitality businesses like hotels. IKEAs target audience includes but is not limited to age groups of 18 to 34 and 35 to 49 years old. IKEA focuses on college and post graduate aged individuals. IKEA’s target market contains both sexes. IKEA’s target market typically lives in urban college and metropolitan areas. The salaries of the target market can range from $15,000 to $50,000 and are usually spending their money on technology products (such as iPhones and iPads.). IKEAs target audience engages in a quick paced lifestyle that may include travelling and moving often, for example moving from apartment to apartment or to an upgraded home. Due to this â€Å"mover† lifestyle they are normally looking for a cheap, easy to build product that can be packed tightly. Because of their median income, the consumer is not very status conscientious and is not searching for expensive designer furniture. The shoppers’ personalities are relaxed and/or creative and artistic. They are considerably fashionable and search for trends, but love to get deals simultaneously. They want to do things themselves (which follows closely with IKEA’s do it yourself product attitude) and care about the environment (Rowe.) IKEA also focuses on budget conscious families. This target market is beginning to start a more domestic lifestyle. The families usually have young children. To satisfy this target market most IKEA stores include a daycare or child-watch section for the children inside the stores. Although this target audience is in a different stage in their life, they still hold similar habits and lifestyle as the previously described target audience (Rowe.) Product Assortment IKEA is a retailer of home furnishings. You can find anything you need for every room in your house at IKEA. From the IKEA official website, their departments include: Bathroom| Living room| Bedroom| Office furniture| Cooking| Outdoor| Decoration| Secondary storage| Dining| Small storage| Eating| Textiles & rugs| Hallway| Youth room| Kitchen| Children’s IKEA| Laundry| IKEA FAMILY products| Lighting| | (â€Å"IKEA Official Webpage†) IKEA sells items ranging in these categories and they even provide customers with the service to help them create their own kitchen, closets and office with IKEA products. Their kitchen services include Total Project Management, Delivery, Installation and more. Their individual kitchen planning start at $199 and their measuring service start at $49. In IKEA retail locations, they also have IKEA Food. They have a restaurant where they sell their own assortment of Swedish food, located inside the IKEA retail store. Customers can sit down in a cafeteria style dining and enjoy IKEA’s famous Swedish meatballs and Lingonberry drink at amazingly low prices. In IKEA, there is also a Bistro/Exit Cafà © right at the checkout where they sell typical American food, ranging from 75 cents to $4, such as hot dogs, chips, soda, frozen yogurt and more. IKEA also has their own â€Å"grocery† section where they sell Swedish food. The IKEA official website states that the IKEA Swedish Food is â€Å"based on Swedish recipes and traditions, the wide choice of food and drink runs from frozen meatballs to sweets and coffee. You’ll save time and money whether you’re making a meal for your whole family or putting together the menu for a party† (IKEA). Their food categories include: Beverages, Easy to prepare, Meat, fish & seafood, Pastries, desserts & cookies, Sweets, chocolates & snacks and Swedish celebrations. The last category has food items such as Swedish Christmas drink, cheese pie, Rhubarb crumble tart, and frozen Saffron rolls. SWOT Analysis Strengths * Low prices: IKEA has a strong concept based on offering a wide range of well, designed, functional products at low prices. They have created a design that is a balance between function, quality, design and price which appeals to customers in tough financial times. Their pricing strategy appeals to consumers both with limited financial resources and those with higher budgets searching for trendy, modern furniture. Due to Porter’s generic strategies, IKEA follows an integrated cost leadership and differentiation strategy. * Product’s ease of assembly: IKEA products come with clear instructions making it easy for anyone to assemble the product without the help of a professional. * Location and design of store (the IKEA store experience): IKEA locations are successful because of the Huff Gravity Model – due to the large size of IKEA, people are willing to go the distant locations where IKEAs are located. IKEA’s store design is very unique. The layout is designed in such a way that makes customers go through the entire store to get to their final purchase. A lot of customers go to IKEA for its unusual experience. * Global positioning: IKEA is available throughout the world and they cater their products to each country they go into. For example, they redesign the size of the beds for the different countries. American consumers need larger sized bedding differentiating from the European consumers who had smaller, longer beds. * Reputation for products and company: IKEA customers enjoy the modern look of IKEA products because the target market consists of creative individuals searching for trendy products. IKEA’s brand is ranked globally at number 28 and ranked number 1 for sustainable image by Ranking the Brands Overview (Brand Ranking.) * Large catalogue reach: IKEA’s yearly catalogue reaches several countries and easily advertises IKEA products to those customers. Their catalogue is distributed in 36 countries, in 27 languages and in 52 different versions. Weaknesses * Product quality: IKEA has been known for having poor quality products. But the need for low cost products means there has to be a compromise between quality and price. * Poor customer service: Because of IKEA’s do it yourself model and very straight forward instructions eliminates the need for a help desk and intensive customer service. Customer service is important to ensure complete shopping experience and ensure repeat business. * Massive store growth- IKEA is experiencing problems in a couple of their home markets. One example is the UK is expanding the number of IKEA store locations but the number of shoppers is not increasing. This means that there is a constant number of visitors divided by a larger number of retail outlets producing fewer shoppers per store. In the past consumers would travel large distances to visit stores and each store a had a large number of visitors, now the amount of consumers purchasing IKEA products has not increased in numbers but they are able to visit a more local store. These new store locations reduce the footfall per store and sales density (SWOT Analysis IKEA.) Opportunities * Financial condition: Because of the current financial condition, consumers are trading down from expensive stores to the low priced products offered at IKEA. * IKEA website: IKEA has an opportunity to grow through expanding their online shopping. IKEA website only has a few items you can purchase and IKEA will ship it to your house or you can pick it up at an IKEA location near you. IKEA could expand their online product offerings and services to increase product sales. * Smaller stores: IKEA store locations are distant and large and they can take advantage of opening smaller stores in more dense locations where people can buy small home products or buy their Swedish food. IKEA must only open these new store locations in places where the number of customers is increasing, to avoid a reduction in footfall per store like the UK market. * More stores in the U.S.: IKEA currently has only 38 stores across the country and they could possibly expand this market due to the high percentage of sales the United States gives IKEA. * Capitalize their Green efforts: IKEA can capitalize on their GREEN efforts. Customers’ desire to have less of an impact on the environment and due to the increased demand for cheaper and greener products, IKEA can take advantage of this and develop these products that the market wants. * Bonus/rewards services: IKEA can add bonus/rewards services to increase customer satisfaction as well as increase customer loyalty. Threats * Product quality: IKEA products are poorly made and people are willing to spend the extra buck to buy a product of better quality that will last for years. * Competitors: More competitors are entering the low price household and furnishing markets increasing the competition IKEA will have to face. * When the economy strengthens- The recession slows down consumer spending and disposable income reduces. However when the economy strengthens, consumers will be willing to purchase furniture products at a higher price in order to get better quality. IKEA needs to find a way to stay profitable when the economy takes this turn. Promotion Strategy IKEA promotes their retail through traditional advertising such as TV commercials, a yearly print catalogue as well as utilizing new ways of advertising such as social media and guerrilla marketing. In the past IKEA’s television commercials were characterized as funny and crazy often stating the slogan â€Å"they are crazy these Swedes†. This statement referred to the â€Å"crazy† low prices IKEA products were offered for. They would also often have a Swedish guy driving a yellow buggy loaded with IKEA boxes. Presently, IKEA commercials are more simple and modern. The new commercials focus on families in a household setting using IKEA products. These commercials continue with the humorous appeal, but only focus on a few IKEA items, to ensure the customers are more focused on the substance of the commercial. IKEA utilizes social media by holding contests on websites such as Facebook. When they were opening their new IKEA Malmo store in 2009, they created a Facebook campaign where a showroom picture was uploaded to their Facebook profile and the first people to tag an item won that item (How To? From IKEA). Through the speed of social media, IKEA was able to get their customers to personally promote IKEA. IKEA also has held several contests throughout the years. They have contests such as â€Å"What’s your story?†, â€Å"The Life Improvement Project†, â€Å"Dream Kitchen Giveaway† and several more. They really enjoy promoting their products by getting their customers involved. IKEA uses customer interaction in many of their promotion strategies. IKEA also has a yearly catalogue that can be sent to your homes or picked up at a local IKEA location. IKEA’s yearly catalogue takes up a large part of their marketing budget because the catalogue is used as a main channel for communication around the world. IKEA’s catalogue is distributed in 36 countries, in 27 languages and in 52 different versions. The catalogues distributed in different countries have the same Scandinavian names but differ in their product offerings which are highlighted on separate pages (Gustafson). IKEA caters to the different countries where they distribute their catalogues by trying to incorporate the different cultures into their catalogue. On top of sending paper catalogues around town, IKEA likes to go out of their way to show IKEA products in their normal settings but in extraordinary locations utilizing the concept of â€Å"guerrilla marketing†. This usually occurs when IKEA is opening new stores. Examples of IKEA’s guerilla marketing include redecorating bus stations with IKEA furniture, redoing a subway bus with IKEA furniture and mounting IKEA furniture off the side of buildings. They make it as extreme as possible because they want to draw in people’s attention and make them stop and have a look. To promote their store in Tampa, IKEA produced their take on a ‘message in a bottle’ by placing an IKEA playroom inside a giant plastic bottle. In Japan, IKEA transformed a gingko tree-lined boulevard in Tokyo’s shopping district of Aoyama into an open-air museum. They had fifteen box-like structures the size of typical Japanese rooms which were fitted out IKEA furnishings (Capell). IKEA alters their advertising to the match the different cultures and environment for each country, but continues to enforce their unusual extreme promotions to reach a large amount of people and hold their attention. . Works Cited Capell, Kerry. â€Å"Ikea’s New Plan for Japan.† BusinessWeek. N.p., 25 Apr. 2006. Web. . â€Å"Facts & Figures.† IKEA. N.p.. Web. 21 Feb 2013. . Gustafson, Martin, and Eric Jonsson. â€Å"Influence of Culture and National Image on Marketing: A Study of IKEA’s Promotion in Sweden and France.† (2008): n. pag. Web. . â€Å"History .† IKEA offical webpage. N.p.. Web. 21 Feb 2013. . â€Å"How To? From IKEA.† IGK Marketing RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2013. . IKEA. Advertisement. IKEA. N.p., n.d. Web. . â€Å"IKEA.† Countries with IKEA Stores. N.p.. Web. 21 Feb 2013. . â€Å"Marketing Teacher.† SWOT Analysis IKEA . Marketing Teacher Ltd 2000. Web. 25 Feb 2013. . Rowe, C.. â€Å"Scribd.† IKEA Marketing Plan. N.p.. Web. 21 Feb 2013. . ADD BRAND RANKING WORKS CITED

“An absolutely ordinary raibow” by Les Murray Essay

In Les Murray’s ‘An Absolutely Ordinary Rainbow’, there is a clear unconventional portrayal of the hero, and he shows many heroic concepts as a result of the dramatic techniques used to convey the notion of the weeping man not being society’s ‘conventional perception’ of a hero. The poems persona is simply an un-named ‘observer’ who tells the story, in a third person present tense narrative form (â€Å"they†) which assists in portraying the notion that a weeping hero actually did walk the earth and that its just not an event created in the mind, of the peoples and society’s reactions to this weeping man and the affects he has had on the people. The subject matter of this poem is the nature of this weeping man. A concept of the hero this poem communicates is that a hero is strong, he possesses the heroic quality of power. Les Murray develops this notion of a hero through un-conventional heroic forms. The first technique employed by Les Murray is listing. This technique is used to highlight the superiority and power the weeping man has over the people- heroic quality’s which come under the notion of his strength. because there is no actual description of the man’s physical superiority, his heroic strength lies in more mental aspects( uconventional heroic traight). This makes he’s quality of power even greater and more heroic because he has something which not everyone else can obtain and is thus harder to come by, he’s quality is special, unique and because of its power it is greatly feared (the strength which lies in a persons mind). The power and strength held in the man’s mind is so great that even â€Å"The fiercest manhood, the toughest reserve, the slickest wit amongst us trembles with silence(at the man)†. This listing emphasizes that he’s strength is greater than any other that exists. Evidence of the man’s immense mental strength is shown through listing and contrasting. The result of the sheer extent of his mental power is highlighted through him converting the once pessimistic skeptics of him,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"ridiculous, says a man near me†, into â€Å"believers†. What shows the power within his mind is so great and heroic, is in the way he executes and uses he’s quality. Through unconventional methods, rather than he speaking words to the people, he’s mind is so strong that he needs only show he’s mighty emotions to get his message across â€Å"he cries out†¦ not words but grief, not messages but sorrow†. Les Murray has contrasted the two opposites of communication, verbal(words,messages) and non verbal(grief,sorrow), ‘not’ and ‘but’, emphasize the superiority of the non verbal means. Therefore, the mans mighty power is he’s emotions, his weeping. The second concept of the hero put forward in the poem is of normality, it defies the orthodox visions of a hero which make him out to be a supernatural being. This poem presents that a hero is human and as the name of the poem suggests he is â€Å"ordinary† on the outside, however â€Å"he’s heroic qualities lie within-George V Higgins- Studies of poetry 2nd edition†. The hero’s normality is shown in the juxstapositioning of the allusion to Christ and supernatural beings through symbols which they are renowned for â€Å"some will say a halo or force stood around him† and the short blunt statement of â€Å"there is no such thing†. The specific positioning of the dogmatic statement â€Å"there is no such thing† boldly eliminates any truths behind the hero having any of these supernatural powers of halos and forces. Another technique used to emphasize the hero’s normality and to show that he is just an ordinary person is the use of diction and syntax in the final stanza. â€Å"He simply walks between us mopping his face†¦.man who has wept†. The word choice of ‘simply’ indicates connotations of naturalness, plainness and commonness towards the hero, while the position of ‘simply’ adds emphasis to the meaning that he is just an ordinary man among them, and â€Å"with his writhen face and ordinary body† has done something incredible, he has wept. Through he’s spontaneous weeping Les Murray presents a 3rd concept of the hero which is of a hero being mysterious and attention grabbing. The heroes mystery to the people is what he has to say or show, which in this case is hidden inside his weeping and furthermore the reason for his weeping. His ability to grab peoples attentions is shown through the observers constant curiousness and apprehensiveness. This is shown through the repetition of allusions to very popular social meeting places in Sydney and curious talk of this weeping hero going round and round these places reaching the minds of so many people â€Å"the word goes round repins, the murmur goes round Lorenzinis†. Also, the peoples immense desires to uncover the mysteriousness of the hero are shown through the metaphor where by the people are so enthralled with the weeping man that they yern and long his â€Å"tears† (his message, his reasons for weeping) â€Å"as children for a rainbow†. Through the hero’s use of his mysteriousness he achieves the heroic deed of being able to grab a sceptic peoples undivided attention, and have them in a position where he places himself in power to influence them in whatever means he wants. Through the use of techniques, Les Murray communicates interesting concepts of this unconventional hero effectively. The weeping man’s quality’s of being able to influence others and attain their attentions through his strength in sending across messages in unconventional ways make him heroic because he is just but a simple and ordinary man. Whether or not the weeping man achieved his un mentioned purpose is irrelevant, he is still a hero because he’s purpose may of just been to cause this widespread feeling of belief among disbelievers, which he accomplished and is shown in the last line â€Å"evading (converted) believers†.

Email Policy at Johnson & Dresser Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Email Policy at Johnson & Dresser - Essay Example It is legal under some circumstances and illegal in other words. It is necessary to for the managers to maintain the business ethics within business environment. So in this case it becomes legal when the employers at the time of recruitment or employment clear the privacy policy to its employees. They should know how much privacy they can enjoy under the privacy policy set by the company. Their consent in reading mails should be made the criteria of employment. So that they would know that all the emails could be read by the manager for any assistance. It is illegal when the policies regarding reading mails secretly or having full access to employee email messages is hidden from the workers. Or when they are told that they can enjoy full privacy in this regard but indeed they keep on eye on their emails. There could be number of reasons varying from organization to organization. It mainly depends upon the policies and nature of company. So mostly this option is availed by the companies to keep track of their employee’s performance regarding their jobs. For example they can check whether the sales officer is dealing with the customer in the suitable manner or doing his job with full sense of responsibility or not. Employee can use the email for work purpose only and can’t use it for personal use while at work. It is right of the company to keep track of it to reduce extra expenses. The negative consequence could be reduction in the productivity of the company. Only those employee would feel uncomfortable with this policy who really not too much in work. They doesn’t rely on handwork and are not that much fair with their jobs. But of course this policy offers bit strict working environment so employees would try to be careful for this they would work in pressure all the time which can result in less productive outcome. As far as my opinion is concerned, I think the appropriate policy is that employer should keep track of emails and

Business application of mathematics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Business application of mathematics - Essay Example A simple formula is then derived to select the best five funds from each sector. For low risk investors, the 1st, 3rd and 5th year cumulative performance to the last quarter columns and fund size were used as metrics to decide the best 5 funds from each sector. Basic financial theory states that outsized returns can be generated only by taking risks, so although a fund may exhibit excellent returns, an investor should incorporate risk into the analysis to determine the risk-adjusted performance of the fund and how it compares to other investments. There are several metrics to use when analysing funds, one can decide to use kurtosis, skewness, standard deviation, mean, minimum and maximum functions, value at risk or any other metric or any combination of these metrics. Combining many of these metrics in the analysis of funds is an intensive way of getting the best funds. The metrics used to analyse the funds sometimes give different funds as the best. Most people however use fund size and 1st, 3rd and 5th yearly cumulative values to easily select the best funds. Skewness is a measure of the asymmetry of data in this case, the returns. Positive skewness means mean>median>mode. Negative skewness indicates the probability of a very high risk even if the probability is low. Kurtosis measures the level of flatness of a distribution. Negative kurtosis, indicates a lower probability of results around the mean, and lower probability of extreme values. A positive kurtosis indicates a higher probability of results near the mean, but also a higher probability of extreme values.   The idea of thought behind this criterion is that the yearly cumulative performance to the last quarter is a vital metric that indicates fund performance in the market. Another important metric that investors look at is fund size. Among the yearly cumulative performance columns, a fund that will

Internaional Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Internaional Accounting - Essay Example Russia borders on the Arctic Ocean, the North Pacific Ocean, and Europe. The neighbouring countries are China, North Korea, Finland, Georgia, etc. (Russia: Introduction n.pag.). It is an independent economy having a budget expenditure of around $372 billion and the unemployment rate being 6.6% (Russia: Statistics n.pag.). In the year of 1990, the economy changed itself from being a centrally planned to that of a free market economy (Russia: Economy n.pag.). FINANCIAL ENVIRONMENT IN RUSSIA\ According to Vladimir Putin, the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Russia has been ranked among the top five economies for alluring foreign direct investment (FDI) (Doing Business in Russia n.pag.). The country has shown a good figure in terms of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in 2011 where the Government debt was around 10% of GDP and the inflation rate being 6%. The Government is also planning to invest around $1.5 trillion for developing the country’s economy for the upcoming three years. However, the figure of FDI has not grown substantially as it is just accounting to an amount nearly $40 billion coming to the third year. And that means there are not many multinationals or foreign companies investing in the country (Doing Business in Russia n.pag.). BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT For doing business in Russia, there are certain accounting principles that one needs to follow. Each and every registered company or firm is required to prepare individual RAS financial statements for each financial year ending on the 31st of December. The framing of the financial statements are prescribed by the Ministry of Finance, and it includes a two-year’ comparative balance sheet, profit and loss accounts, a statement for equity changes, and a one-year’s comparative cash-flow statement. Supplementary notes are also required (Financial Reporting Framework in Russia n.pag.). Various international organizations like the World Bank and IMF are giving their supporting hand to the Russian Federation in order to improve the GDP rate. According to a study by the World Bank, the following data has been figured out (World Bank n.pag.). Figure one. Graph showing the growth of GDP over the years in comparison with Europe & Central Asia: Source: World Bank Here we can see that in Russia, the growth of GDP was very low in 2003 and gradually became somewhat consistent over the years of 2006 and 2007. There were no production in 2009, but it came to a considerable position in 2010 and 2011. According to IMF, this has also been found that Russia has been the largest borrower. Hence IMF is examining what Russia, in return, has produced or improved before sanctioning any more funds (Russia: The IMF’s biggest failure n.pag.). LEGAL ENVIRONMENT Taking the legal environment into consideration, if a person gets engaged into a tax or commercials dispute in Russia, according to the Court of Law, he/she will have to approach the arbitrazh courts. The procedure starts with filling in a form, and the whole procedure, in original, takes around 9 to 12 months to get completed. There are also some business regulations that are practiced in Russia which are the competition policy and the policy of price controlling (Business Environment in Russia n.pag.). Russia adopted the Civil Law for its jurisdiction in order to compete with the Western-European nation states by strengthening political and economic power (The Common Law and Civil Law Traditions n.pag.). Investor protection and

Identify three laws (state and federal) that limit what an employer Assignment

Identify three laws (state and federal) that limit what an employer can do to an employee, and explain the pros and cons of each law - Assignment Example Such incidences leave employees in a state of tumult and cursing their employment (FLSA, 2012). On the same note, the employers are said to remunerate their employees however they wish subjecting the employees in a state of discomfort and discontentment. In this study, we look at some state and federal laws that have a limit or prohibit what employers can do to their employees as well as the pro and cons of those laws. The first law that will be discussed is the Federal Wage Garnishment Law, The Consumer Credit Protection Act’s Title 3 (CPPA) (Dol.gov, 2009). But, what is meant by wage garnishment? Wage garnishment can be defined as any legal or equitable procedure through an employee’s portion of the wage is required to be withheld by an employer for settlement of dome debt. Primarily, garnishments are done following a court order. Other types of wage garnishment may include IRS or the federal tax collection agency levies for unpaid taxes and the federal agency garnishments for non-tax debts owed to the federal government (Dol.gov, 2009). The CPPA limits the amount of employee’s wages that can be garnished by the employers and protects them from facing the sack if their earnings are garnished for only one debt. This law is very important because it helps employees whose wages have been garnished for a single debt to continue working, but it fails on part that the amount to be garnished will be after all the legal deductions, leaving the employee with little or nothing to take home. The law also allows pensions to be garnished and this is not pleasing especially to the elderly. The 1963 Act of Equal Pay is another law that prohibits employers from exploiting employees. It safeguards men and women who perform equally at work or equal work from sex-based wage discrimination and compels the employers to pay them equally regardless of the gender of the workers (Eeoc.gov, 2015). If it is a construction work done by employees of bother gender,

Mechanical engineering Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Mechanical engineering - Essay Example Aerospace is an important field in which mechanical engineers are involved in the making of aircraft engines and control systems for airplanes (Herweck, 2009). Mechanical engineers also use biotechnology in designing and making fluidic systems for pharmaceutical industries and implants. Making electronics and computers is the other thing that mechanical engineers do because they make semiconductors and disk drives (Yadav, 2006). Mechanical engineers manufacture microelectromechanical systems such as micropower generation and actuators. It is the work of mechanical engineers to design ways of converting energy for example by making solar energy panels and wind turbines. They are instrumental in devising ways of environmental control including refrigeration and air-conditioning. Automation is another niche for mechanical engineers because they are able to make image acquisition devises and robots. In manufacturing, mechanical engineers make microfabrication, prototypes, and machine tools (Grote & Antonsson, 2009). Mechanical engineers devise ways of recycling waste, recovering resources from waste and converting waste to biomass all in an endeavor to protect the environment. They are involved in the making of marine vehicles and hyperbaric chambers that can help in utilizing offshore sources of energy. Mechanical engineers manage projects using engineering principles and techniques. They help in the repair, maintenance and upgrading of manufacturing plants and equipment. A mechanical engineer can also work in research and development of products. Mechanical engineers help in handling costly, dangerous, or exotic materials and equipment in industries. Making machines that handle or weave fabrics in textile industries is the work of mechanical engineers (Vashist, 2010). Mechanical engineers help monitor and commission industrial plants and systems. These engineers design and implement cost-effective modifications

Antimicrobial Efficacy of Photocatalysts in Indian Medical Association Research Paper

Antimicrobial Efficacy of Photocatalysts in Indian Medical Association - Research Paper Example The ability of photocatalytic substances, for example, titanium dioxide (TiO2) to disintegrate organic contaminants in the air and water has been established by Verdier et al. as one of the methods used to kill micro-organisms. Studies by Bonetta et al. have shown that the rutile and anatase forms of TiO2 have photocatalytic activity and are active against various Gram-positive & Gram-negative bacteria, yeast and green algae such as, Escherichia coli, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Lactobacillus acidophilus and Chlorella Vulgaris. There are two key traits that make TiO2 ideal in the manufacture of building materials. (Rekha et al., 2010) They include photo-stimulated redox reactions of adsorbed materials and the photo-generated hydrophilic exchange of TiO2. Titanium dioxide is deemed as sedentary and safe material and has been used in many functions including the manufacture of several products such as paint, used as food additive, nutritional supplements among others.The first part of th e trial carried by the Indian Medical Association was carried in the premises whereby they tested photocatalysts efficacy of TiO2 in the Indian Scenario. The test was done as stipulated in the ISO protocol 27447:2009. The selected area of testing included the floor, door handles and table top swap of the premises. They cultured bacteria and counted the number of colonies in each sample. There was a lot of microorganism from the three selected regions. The ground floors had largest number of the organism compared to table top swap.

A Cops Life Essay Example for Free

A Cops Life Essay I use to dream of being a cop , Its really tempting for most of the kids when they see someone in uniform, zooming through the streets in a cruiser with flashing lights .I always thought that to be cop all it takes is a good built and a brave heart .I am sure even for you A cop is a brave good looking person in uniform who helps to keep the city streets crime free , who makes sure that that the violators of traffic gets a ticket . This story I read was a real eye opener for me and changed my way of thinking about a officers job profile completely . I never thought that the officers go through so much emotional trauma while doing their jobs. These men in black are not only brave physically but very brave mentally as well .It’s not an easy job to see a young kid drenched in blood die in your arms and you are so helpless that you can’t save his life . While the officer is waiting for the ambulance its traumatizing because he could remember that kid from the college basketball game or late night traffic check last week. It does not end for him here; he has to give the message of the young guy’s death to his parents. Imagine coming home, and not having the slightest clue to where your teen is, or has been all night. The doorbell finally rings after waiting and waiting for hours, yet it’s not your son or daughter standing in front of you, it’s a deputy officer. It’s obviously hard on the parents to hear about their child dying in a car accident due to a foolish mistake, but it’s harder for a father of two young kids to break it to them. The writer of this story did a phenomenal job in explaining every little detail of the story. From the curve of the highway, to the position of the dead body. I was able to read a single sentence and picture everything in my head right away because of the unique description. This story has a great moral value, as well as the effects on others because of one choice you might make just for the heck of it. Drunk driving isn’t anyone elses fault, and nobody should have to suffer because of a mistake you made.

Encouragement and hope

Encouragement and hope Here is the good news for today from todays gospel A word of great encouragement and hope. Hope is the unique signature of the Christian gospel. What makes a Christian a Christian is this inability to quit hoping. A new gift from God is at work on our behalf, at all times in all circumstances. The crowds had pressed Jesus right up to the edge of the water at the Sea of Galilee to hear the Word of God. There he came upon three defeated men. They had fished all night and had only an empty boat to show for their efforts. They had worked hard but had failed. It was a terrible, horrible, a very bad day. There is a short story called about a young man who had just signed for his favourite football club, at his first football game, he beats three men before scoring from 25 yards. His teammates looked at him with awe. His coach said, Youre going to have quite a future around here. His girlfriend awarded him with a kiss after the game. This young man Shaw has the feeling that life is completely satisfying and rewarding. But nothing in the rest of his life ever lives up to that day again. His football experience is equally disappointing. His marriage sours. The pain of failure is even greater because he remembers thinking on a perfect day many years before that life would always be that pleasant, satisfying and rewarding. Life does not stand still. There isnt a once-for-all experience. It was Winston Churchill who said, Success is never final. Failure is never fatal. It is courage that counts. There are going to be bad days. Sometimes we are going to fall on our respective faces. These failures dont have to be endings. They can be the avenue to experience Gods grace more widely and more deeply. Jesus of Nazareth gets into the boat with the three defeated men. He sat down and taught the people from the boat. When he had ceased teaching, he said to Simon, Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch. Put out into the deep our lives are often fenced in by low expectations. The worst sin is to aim too low. We have to learn to make room for God. We calculate and estimate, and say that this and that will happen, and we forget to make room for God to come as he chooses Expect him to come, but do not expect him only in a certain way. At any moment he may break in Always be in a state of expectancy, and leave room for God to come as he likes. Life is anything but predictable! Human nature is not fixed and settled. We live under hope. That hope is rested in God, not the situation. At the outset Simon is reluctant We toiled all night and took nothing! The words of a person who has already made the effort and failed. Why should he want to put himself in the position of failing again? How useless this all seemed. Many times quitting is the easiest thing to do once the challenge has lost its glamour in tedious endurance. But to his credit, Simon was willing to take the risk. at your word I will let down the nets, he replied. To their utter amazement, there was churning of the waters as the nets were drawn up, with all the silver bellies flip-flopping in the air and spraying foam everywhere. There was such a catch that they had to signal the men in the other boat to come and help them. Now both boats were loaded with fish. No matter how many times a person has failed there is always the chance that the next attempt will succeed. Victory belongs to the most persevering, said Napoleon. I cant explain it but I know there are powerful kinds of good that can come into a life of a person who continues to trust, and love, and holds on. Simon Peter saw beyond the miracle. He realizes the holiness of the One in his boat. He gets a glimpse of the power and knowledge of Christ. He falls before Jesus saying, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, 0 Lord. Now, we come to the real meaning of the story. Theres more to life than full nets. One can have full nets and still have an empty life. Jesus said to Simon, Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men. When they brought their boats to the land, they left everything and followed Jesus. You and I have been put on this earth for a more important purpose In Jesus Christ, God loves more than we can mess up. He wants us to return that love. The same power that caused Simon to fall at Jesus feet lifts him into Gods service. What a lesson! Three defeated men moved from empty nets to a full life by the power of Jesus Christ. Jesus invites you to follow him. When you say yes to that invitation, you, too, will discover how much he has to offer. Launch out into the deep and let down your nets and follow me. Youll be amazed at what God will do.

The Impact Of The Digital Revolution Marketing Essay

The Impact Of The Digital Revolution Marketing Essay Introduction Consumers are important for organizations as their all efforts are directed toward the satisfaction of needs of their target consumers. Study of consumer behavior help firms to improve their marketing strategy. This helps organizations to understand the psychology of consumers, how they think and feel about the specific products and how they select between different alternatives such as different brands and retailers. More specifically, consumer behavior is defined as the study of individuals, organizations or groups and processes they use to select, use, secure and dispose of products, services, ideas or experience to satisfy needs and impacts these processes have on society and consumers. Study of consumer behavior is very useful for organizations with its extensive applications. The most obvious use of consumer behavior is marketing strategy. When organizations have clear understanding of behavior of consumer about the product or service, they are in better position to develop and run an effective marketing campaign. For instance, by understanding that consumers are friendly towards food advertising when they are hungry we are more likely to schedule snack advertisement late in the afternoon. Consumer behavior also has its application social marketing which includes the ideas across to consumer rather than selling something. The Impact of the Digital Revolution in Marketing and Consumer Behavior: Advancements of technology have affected all the fields of life and so as the business world. Technological revolution is characterized with inventions such as internet, cell phone, global positioning system (GPS devices), notebook or laptop etc. many amazing. These changes have changed our lives to great extent. Now every human is connected with each other due to digital revolution. Communication technology has made it possible to share information quickly and easily. Information technology has also increased the ratio of communication and involved people from everywhere in the world. Digital revolution has provided new and fresh ideas to its users that are so common to use presently. Like all other aspects of life, technology has given a superb impact on consumer behavior and as well as on marketing. Technology has changed the ways to market the product to the target audience and consumers, more emphasis on market side is on how to execute and implement the marketing strategy. Inte rnet is critical mean, used by contemporary organizations to promote their products and services. Now companies are going for social media marketing and promoting their products via social networking websites such as face-book, twitter, word press, BlogSpot and liked in etc. Whereas in past companies were using traditional means of promotion and advertisements e.g. news paper, radio and televisions. But now, internet provides more innovative, quick and fast way to implement promotion strategy. Internet and social media networking websites provides effective and free of cost media to encompass the target audience. Selling methods have also been changed with digital revolution. GPS devices, notebook, laptop and cell phones bring information through users of those technologies faster. Due to fast and easy access to information, people are more aware and try to get latest information when making a purchase decision. Digital revolution has given emergence to relationship marketing (with focus on customer), industrial or business marketing (with organizational focus) and social marketing (with focus on benefits to society) and most importantly to internet marketing. Online Consumer Segmentation: Companies must recognize that cherished knowledge of target market facilitating customer segmentation provides basic information that is necessary to maximize the returns on practices of internet marketing and increase its effectiveness and efficiency. Consumer information is qualifying information that is applied by internet marketers; it also clarifies and help to connect the promotional content with specific segments of consumers. This process is carried out with aim to match the attributes of products with needs of potential online consumers and these customers are more likely to benefit from specific promotional offers of company. In this case, it must be recognized that whole population that have access to the internet can be potential customers. But from this population, only a certain portion of online population represent the potential customer of the product or service being promoted by the company. Process of online segmentation of consumers, is consistent with traditional approach of market segmentation. Internet marketers observe the consumer behavior toward the formulation of promotional content and apply the results of observations in segmenting the online consumers. It is designed to forecast behavior of consumer relative to what is already known about current and prospective consumers. The prognostic value of consumer segmentation is obvious as content of promotional strategy and it is aligned with subset of consumers. Consumer Motivation and High Technology Products: Technology has changed the business practices to great extent. Modern technologies are time saving and require less efforts by humans as well as it simplifies information access and bring people from different places together. Now, high technology gadgets are essential part of human life. Business executives forecast that sales and profits of future are expected to come from high technology products. (Asp, 1999 ). Consumer behavior in the contemporary world is more neutral toward technology. However, there is no single agreement on what is high technology means, actual business practices and competitive strategy theories recognize explicitly that there are important attributes such as rapidly changing life cycles, intensity of information and turbulence that distinguish high technology from the traditional market in psychological factors (Hirunyawipada Paswan, 2006), most important one is motivation of customers as behavior comes from motivation. But actually, consumer needs are not that specific which exist potentially. So the aim of promotional and advertising activities is to satisfy the customer demands and motivate them to buy the products or services even for those which consumers do not need actually. High technology products can prove to be very crucial factor in consumer motivation. Cultural Factors affecting Consumer Behavior: In simpler definition, culture is all about the values of an individual. Culture decides about the behavior of consumers. Cultural factors also influence the individualà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s buying behavior. All individuals hold different sets of beliefs, habits, and principals that are developed by him or her from his family status and background. Within each culture, there are some subcultures such as gender, religion, geographical location and status etc. companies must know specific cultural attributes and how they affect the buying behavior of the consumers. Marketers believe that consumers have similar cultural attributes or having same culture show similar buying behavior. Every country has its distinct and different culture so while going for international marketing, companies must overcome the cultural and economic boundaries. In order to run a successful marketing campaign on domestic and internal level, different presences, attitudes, beliefs and habits of cus tomer in the target market. Beliefs are important element of culture and can show similarities between the people in a community. Understating the cultural properties of target consumers is critical for analysis of consumer buying behavior and play important role in the process of market segmentation, product positioning and target market. Adult Consumerà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s Decision Making: Marketers and researchers have great interest in decision making style of target consumers. Demographics have great impact of thinking and buying behavior of consumers. Age is one of the important elements that affect the consumerà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s behavior in the market place. Consumerà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s decision making style is a mental orientation that is characterized by approach of consumer to make choices. Adult consumers are hard to handle for marketers as they are living in technological advanced world, like innovative and latest products. Attracting and retaining adult consumers is a challenge for marketers, they must be aware and have enough knowledge of advanced technologies and applications that are part of daily life or adults consumers of modern era, in order to reach that specific segment of the market (Olshavsky Granbois, 1979). This market segment may boast considerable purchasing power. This segment is noticed widely due to its perc eived importance. Home buying decisions of this segment are fairly noticeable and they are recognized as trend setters which influence consumption patterns in the other segments of market as well (Olshavsky Granbois, 1979)Buying decisions of adult consumers are influenced by critical reference groups such as friends. It is observed in many researches that impact of promotional activities on loyalty of adult consumer is insignificant. Instead brand loyalty can be enhanced by improving products ad past utilization, convenience and expectations do not affect the loyalty significantly. Conclusion: Consumer buying behavior is a mental orientation that makes the approach of choices by the researcher. Technological advancement has been having great impact of buying behavior and purchase patters of consumers. Due to smart technologies, companies can easily and quickly spread their promotional message and hit their target market consumers. They can benefit by technological advanced options to carry out activities. Internet and social networking websites are important tool for marketing contemporary organizations. A successful marketing strategy in modern world organizations, need to consider important factors such as high technology products, cultural backgrounds of target consumers and demographics of target consumers as well.

Attitudes to War in Dulce et Decorum est and Drummer Hodge. Essay

Attitudes to War in Dulce et Decorum est and Drummer Hodge. Life wasn't easy for soldiers in the war as Wilfred Owen and Thomas Hardy express strongly in their legendary poems 'Dulce et Decorum est' and 'Drummer Hodge'. Peter Porter writes about the situation people may find themselves in when in, his poem 'Your Attention Please', he describes an announcement concerning a nuclear Rocket Strike. Wilfred Owen died at the age of 25 and was killed seven days before the end of World War 1. He is regarded as one of the most well-known war poets of the 20th Century, having written an astonishing 110 poems. Under the influence of Romantic, early 19th Century poets such as Wordsworth, Keats and Shelley, Owen produced 'Dulce Et Decorum Est' which revealed the truth behind war, the grief and suffering caused. Wilfred Owen wanted to dismiss the idea of romance as a motivation to fight in the war; young men believed that fighting in the war would make them heroes and that girls would be passionate about them. Of course many men didn't have an option in the matter: wives and girlfriends chose not to stay with their man if they didn't fight in the war, so men were forced to join up. The fact that their partner wouldn't stick by them was one reason but if they didn't join the whole society would look down on them with disgrace: they weren't men if they didn't fight for their country. "Dulce Et Decorum Est" speaks about the severe drowsiness of the soldiers on their way back from the front line and the sudden panic caused when the soldiers are hit unexpectedly with a gas attack. The poem begins with a simile, "Bent double, like old beggars under sacks". This indicates the extent of the load the men had to carry with... ...uses similes such as "like a man in fire or lime" where the man is in pain and is struggling to stay alive. Alliteration is used in both Owen and Hardy's poems. Most of Dulce et Decorum est is written in the 1st person perspective but many times it changes to 3rd person. When it's in 1st person it gives us the feeling of reality and truth behind the poem. In conclusion, war brings a great deal of pain and suffering so it shouldn't be under-estimated. Wilfred Owen, Thomas Hardy and Peter Porter all bring across the reality behind war and the torture it brings with it. Personally my favourite out of the three is "Dulce et Decorum est" as I know it's a true account of what happened in the war because Wilfred Owen was a soldier and died in action. I thought this poem contained a lot of discomfort and misery making it more out of the ordinary and authentic.

God and the Caducity of Being: Jean-Luc Marion and Edith Stein on Thinking God :: Philosophical Philosophy God Papers

God and the Caducity of Being: Jean-Luc Marion and Edith Stein on Thinking God ABSTRACT: Jean-Luc Marion claims that God must no longer be thought of in terms of the traditional metaphysical category of Being, for that reduces God to an all too human concept which he calls "Dieu." God must be conceived outside of the ontological difference and outside of the question of Being itself. Marion urges us to think of God as love. We wish to challenge Marion’s claim of the necessity to move au-delà   de l’à ªtre by arguing that Marion presents a very limited understanding of Being: he interprets the Being of God as causa sui. The thought of Edith Stein will be employed in order to bring out a fuller sense of the metaphysical notion of the Being of God. Stein offers us a rich backdrop against which we can interpret more traditional readings of God as Being, thereby challenging Marion’s claim of the caducity of Being. Traditionally, metaphysics was viewed as consisting of three distinct but related components: cosmology, ontology and theology. Cosmology dealt with the being of the natural world conceived as a universe whereas ontology dealt with the being of the particular thing in the cosmos qua its own being. Theology was the investigation of the being of God naturaliter, that is, without exclusively appealing to the truths of Revelation. In his masterful work, God Without Being, Jean-Luc Marion launches a profound challenge to the tradition of metaphysics in general, and more specifically, to the related field of metaphysical theology. Marion claims that God must no longer be thought of in terms of the traditional category "Being", for that reduces God to an all too human concept which he calls "Dieu". In a sense, a violence is done to God and our understanding of God, for we seriously delimit that which by nature is indeterminable. Drawing upon an Heideggerian-inspired notion of the phenomenol ogical Destruktion, Marion maintains that God must be thought outside the ontological difference and outside the very question of Being itself. In so doing, we free ourselves from an idolatry wherein we reduce God to our own all too narrow conceptual schemes. Marion urges us to think God in light of St. John’s pronouncement that "God is love" (1 Jn 4,8). He believes that love has not been thought through in the metaphysical tradition. Thinking ‘love’ through will lead the philosopher to a more accurate understanding of God as unlimited giver/gift.

The Education System of Today

Testing today has taken over schools. The pressure of society for a person to strive to reach the best schools and therefore the best education, to do this your test scores have to be the best. This brings up the question on weather or not the highest test scores show who the smartest people really are? These high test scores raise the question, does the school you go to have an influence on how you do on your tests. If it does make a difference does the money involved create a preddjudicous. Also should someone use all their powers available to find get into the best schools? Society is leaning more towards Machiavelli†s view where the ends justify the means. This also brings morals into the situation. The education system of today has used testing as an easer way to show how smart someone is. Teachers use tests to see how well students understand what they have taught. This has a positive effect making the students learn the material that the teacher wants them to learn, however the student ends up just learning it because they have to. In order to become educated someone has to want to learn something. That is the only way that they would truly push themselves to further their knowledge. The only thing that pushes students to learn today is the pressure that society makes. These pressures consist of anything from parents pushing the child to go to college, to business that will not hire anyone without a college degree. Parents want to see their child succeed more then the child wants too. The child wants to succeed too because no one wants to grow up only to be able to work in a minim wage job. Without the benefits of a college degree a person is limited as to what positions are available in today†s workplace. The better the college that the person got the degree from the better chance they have at the job. This leads into the whole network of schooling involved to get the best jobs available. In order to get into the best college to get the best job one has to go to the best high school, which takes the best lower school, and to get into that lower school one has to get into the best preschool. This path is not an exact one but there is a quality of school that has to be kept up with. At the young age where this cycle is started the child has no say in any of it. The parents are left to put their child in the best school they can. Most parents will go threw many lengths to give their children the best possible start into the world. They will spend all of their precious money and they will use all of their contacts to get their child into the best schools they can. This however is an unfair system. Not everyone can afford the best schools because they usually end up being the most expensive. Like wise not everyone has an aunt to get them into the collage that they otherwise would not have been able to get into. This raises the question do the ends justify the means like in Machiavelli's peace â€Å"The Qualities of the Prince†. The system that he suggests a prince should govern under is not the ideal system but in the end it makes the best prince. The system that someone uses to get threw schools using all available resources may not be the fairest but in the end they will get the best education possible. I believe in using all available resources to give yourself a leg up on others. Sure it is not an ideal way to run the education system. It is not fair to everyone that dose not have the same resources, but it is a dog –eat-dog world and you have to do what you can to make it. In order to make education less of a social and financial thing standardized testing was invented. These tests were and still are supposed to be a way that gives everyone, no matter what connections or how much money they have, the equal chance. This in theory would be perfect but it dose not work that way. The tests can only test on so much material, and who says that the material is the most important. These tests did lessen the gap between schools. Someone that went to a private school with the best teachers had just as a student that was home taught. It tested on the same material and it gave everyone the chance to show their knowledge. There are many nitpicky things that come up about the unfair ness of tests like the SAT. It is impossible to make questions that equally apply to everyone. As an example a question about sailing would be a lot harder for someone that did not live near water then it would be for someone that grew up on a sailboat. The only major problem with tests like the SATs, is that it dose not take into account the people that are smart and know just as much as the next guy but just doesn†t do as well on tests. Tests only show you so much of a person. The problem of a test is in its inability to show the person. Sure it shows how well that person knows the material he or she is tested on, but it dose not show that person. What if the student dose poorly on the SAT, but ends up having the best management skills. He won†t get into the best collage and there fore the biggest companies will not look at him and he will end up getting a lesser job. It also has the opposite possibility. If someone dose amassing one these tests and gets hired by a big aw firm but this person cannot get along with anyone, it turns out just as bad. This too can be argued by the fact that many of these business hiring these people, that do amassing on these test, are looking for they type of person that is known to test well. There is an endless list of prows and cons for testing. Some of them are so nitpicky they are laughed at, but in the hole I believe that tests are good. They are only good for finding someone†s intelligence if they are used along with other methods. There is no one way that is good for everyone. If every person was the same and knew the same things then you could fined one way to see who was smarter, but people are different. Some people excel in English and some excel in math but how do you judge who is smarter. They do not have a common area to be tested in. The editoral by David Ignatius points out all the wrongs with today†s education system, but it dose not give a realistic solution. Sure it would be nice to encourage people to go to collage just to learn more and farther their knowledge, but most students go to school now because it is the only way to keep their options in life open. I personally came to college to learn how to become an engineer. I am very interested in this field and am doing well. In the beginning of the year I started taking psychology, which I fined very interesting. I had to drop the class. In order to excel in my required core sources I needed more time and therefore had to drop psychology. This was a very hypocritical move on my part. I wanted to farther my knowledge in other subjects that interest me but I gave in to the pressures to succeed instead of learn. School is not ideal and the education systems are not completely focused on learning, but that is the way it is now so as a student I have to deal with this and make the best out of what I am given. Every advantage that is possible should be taken, like when Machiavelli pointed out the methods for becoming the best prince, not the best methods for becoming a prince. They were not always the ideal way of dealing with situations but it was the most effective. Just like testing and using connections is not the best method for getting an education but they will give you the best shot at excelling at it. The Education System of Today Testing today has taken over schools. The pressure of society for a person to strive to reach the best schools and therefore the best education, to do this your test scores have to be the best. This brings up the question on weather or not the highest test scores show who the smartest people really are? These high test scores raise the question, does the school you go to have an influence on how you do on your tests. If it does make a difference does the money involved create a preddjudicous. Also should someone use all their powers available to find get into the best schools? Society is leaning more towards Machiavelli†s view where the ends justify the means. This also brings morals into the situation. The education system of today has used testing as an easer way to show how smart someone is. Teachers use tests to see how well students understand what they have taught. This has a positive effect making the students learn the material that the teacher wants them to learn, however the student ends up just learning it because they have to. In order to become educated someone has to want to learn something. That is the only way that they would truly push themselves to further their knowledge. The only thing that pushes students to learn today is the pressure that society makes. These pressures consist of anything from parents pushing the child to go to college, to business that will not hire anyone without a college degree. Parents want to see their child succeed more then the child wants too. The child wants to succeed too because no one wants to grow up only to be able to work in a minim wage job. Without the benefits of a college degree a person is limited as to what positions are available in today†s workplace. The better the college that the person got the degree from the better chance they have at the job. This leads into the whole network of schooling involved to get the best jobs available. In order to get into the best college to get the best job one has to go to the best high school, which takes the best lower school, and to get into that lower school one has to get into the best preschool. This path is not an exact one but there is a quality of school that has to be kept up with. At the young age where this cycle is started the child has no say in any of it. The parents are left to put their child in the best school they can. Most parents will go threw many lengths to give their children the best possible start into the world. They will spend all of their precious money and they will use all of their contacts to get their child into the best schools they can. This however is an unfair system. Not everyone can afford the best schools because they usually end up being the most expensive. Like wise not everyone has an aunt to get them into the collage that they otherwise would not have been able to get into. This raises the question do the ends justify the means like in Machiavelli's peace â€Å"The Qualities of the Prince†. The system that he suggests a prince should govern under is not the ideal system but in the end it makes the best prince. The system that someone uses to get threw schools using all available resources may not be the fairest but in the end they will get the best education possible. I believe in using all available resources to give yourself a leg up on others. Sure it is not an ideal way to run the education system. It is not fair to everyone that dose not have the same resources, but it is a dog –eat-dog world and you have to do what you can to make it. In order to make education less of a social and financial thing standardized testing was invented. These tests were and still are supposed to be a way that gives everyone, no matter what connections or how much money they have, the equal chance. This in theory would be perfect but it dose not work that way. The tests can only test on so much material, and who says that the material is the most important. These tests did lessen the gap between schools. Someone that went to a private school with the best teachers had just as a student that was home taught. It tested on the same material and it gave everyone the chance to show their knowledge. There are many nitpicky things that come up about the unfair ness of tests like the SAT. It is impossible to make questions that equally apply to everyone. As an example a question about sailing would be a lot harder for someone that did not live near water then it would be for someone that grew up on a sailboat. The only major problem with tests like the SATs, is that it dose not take into account the people that are smart and know just as much as the next guy but just doesn†t do as well on tests. Tests only show you so much of a person. The problem of a test is in its inability to show the person. Sure it shows how well that person knows the material he or she is tested on, but it dose not show that person. What if the student dose poorly on the SAT, but ends up having the best management skills. He won†t get into the best collage and there fore the biggest companies will not look at him and he will end up getting a lesser job. It also has the opposite possibility. If someone dose amassing one these tests and gets hired by a big aw firm but this person cannot get along with anyone, it turns out just as bad. This too can be argued by the fact that many of these business hiring these people, that do amassing on these test, are looking for they type of person that is known to test well. There is an endless list of prows and cons for testing. Some of them are so nitpicky they are laughed at, but in the hole I believe that tests are good. They are only good for finding someone†s intelligence if they are used along with other methods. There is no one way that is good for everyone. If every person was the same and knew the same things then you could fined one way to see who was smarter, but people are different. Some people excel in English and some excel in math but how do you judge who is smarter. They do not have a common area to be tested in. The editoral by David Ignatius points out all the wrongs with today†s education system, but it dose not give a realistic solution. Sure it would be nice to encourage people to go to collage just to learn more and farther their knowledge, but most students go to school now because it is the only way to keep their options in life open. I personally came to college to learn how to become an engineer. I am very interested in this field and am doing well. In the beginning of the year I started taking psychology, which I fined very interesting. I had to drop the class. In order to excel in my required core sources I needed more time and therefore had to drop psychology. This was a very hypocritical move on my part. I wanted to farther my knowledge in other subjects that interest me but I gave in to the pressures to succeed instead of learn. School is not ideal and the education systems are not completely focused on learning, but that is the way it is now so as a student I have to deal with this and make the best out of what I am given. Every advantage that is possible should be taken, like when Machiavelli pointed out the methods for becoming the best prince, not the best methods for becoming a prince. They were not always the ideal way of dealing with situations but it was the most effective. Just like testing and using connections is not the best method for getting an education but they will give you the best shot at excelling at it.

NCO on my Staff

My subordinates describe as bold, fearless and direct. They also know if they have problems they should exhaust all their resources before coming to me with that problem. Additionally, my subordinates know I would do anything to better them even if the action is not popular. Finally, my subordinates would describe me as a work hard play hard type of NCO. 4. How would you describe yourself as NCO? Would describe my self as a trying to become a great NCO.There is always room for improvement so I never agreed with the term a good NCO. Have my Moments, but I can get a little stubborn at times which may seem a little bit disobedient, but do believe you have to ruffle feathers if you are being a good NCO. 5. How would your supervisor describe me as a NCO? My supervisor would describe me as a NCO who embodies the leadership style idealized influence, and intellectual stimulation. I'm not one to bark orders or give task I haven't done or wouldn't do my self.My supervisor also feels I'm his g o to NCO on my Staff. Some people are fly swatters others are hammers then you have the Ax; I'm been told I am the Ax. 6. What are my strengths? Feel my strengths are my ability to think outside the box. Feel bring lots of creativity to the most trivial task. I feel if we don't mix things up and promote freethinking we move in the wrong direction, and fife will past us by waking up one day wondering what happen.Additionally, believe working under pressure no matter the task is strength. Some may see it as procrastination at times, but it gets the job done when things hit the fan. Or when something critical comes down at the last minute. 7. What is my Essence? My essence is my struggle, which defines me who I am. I honestly that if I didn't get two article 1 g's I would not be here Wright now.

Application of Clinical Psychology

Application of Clinical Psychology Jennifer Simpson Psy-480 March 4, 2013 Application of Clinical Psychology Introduction Winona Ryder is famous for more than the movies that she starred in over the years. News reporters gathered to gain more information in regards to this famous actress gone astray. In 2001 Ryder made the news for something that was not entertaining but gained quite a bit of public knowledge. The actual incident was only part of the information that the public was curious about.The treatment and the reasoning for the off behavior were desired in order to better understand the issue that had haunted Ryder. Ryder is known as a kleptomaniac and her struggle became public after she was arrested for the theft of thousands of dollars in merchandise from Saks Fifth Avenue. Brief Overview: Wynona Ryder Arrested in 2001 and charged with grand theft and burglary, Winona Ryder reportedly has had previous shoplifting accounts as well (Meyer, Chapman, & Weaver, 2009). Her tumult uous childhood experiences (bullied for her appearance) accompanied with hippie-like parents caused Winona tremendous unease.According to Meyer, Chapman, and Weaver (2009); â€Å"Eventually, her parents removed her from public school and home schooled her until she graduated† (p. 239). After moving to Petaluma, California, at age 10, Winona â€Å"enrolled in acting classes at the American Conservatory Theater† (Lee, 2011, para 2). Winona’s extreme childhood experiences may have led her to develop interpersonally generated anxiety (Meyer, Chapman, & Weaver, 2009). As an adult, she experiences occasional panic attacks, insomnia, physical exhaustion, and stress from negative media attention. Read also Memory – ForgettingThese cumulative issues accompanied with her relationship break with Johnny Depp caused her to check herself into a psychiatric clinic for treatment. Because of her psychological distress, her psychiatrist prescribed her sleeping pills. Winona allegedly became reliant on pain medication as well (Meyer, Chapman, & Weaver, 2009). Kleptomania often accompanies other psychological disorders, including anxiety, irrational impulse control, and depression (Labi & McDowell, 2002). Winona could easily afford to purchase everything she stole.According to Labi and McDowell (2002); â€Å"Experts today are more inclined to compare recreational larceny to thrill-seeking behaviors like bungee jumping or to addictions like drug abuse or compulsive gambling† (para 4). Stealing behaviors and the (pleasure) rush associated with getting-away-with-it often become addictive. In addition, the stealing behavior often becomes a reward that some individuals believe t hey deserve (Labi & McDowell, 2002). Biological, Psychological, and Social Factors: Wynona Ryder/Kleptomania As with many disorders, there are certain factors that play important roles in the development of kleptomania.Studies have shown that although more research is needed to prove biological factors are connected with kleptomania, this impulsive disease has been proven to be more common in females than in males and may be connected to low levels of serotonin in the brain which affect mood and emotion regulation. Psychological factors involved in the case of Wynona Ryder and her kleptomania seem to be more of the key components than any other factors. Stress related instances that occur abruptly and conflicts in relationships both are connected to kleptomania and to Ryder.The multiple moves in her childhood and the negative relationships with the other children in school, along with her failed relationship with Johnny Depp are some examples of what could have aided in the developm ent of the impulsive disorder for Ryder. Her admitted bouts with anxiety and depression are also psychological factors that have been proven to connect with kleptomania since Ryder clearly could pay for the items she stole, it would be fair to say that her actions were more for anti-depressive purposes rather than monetary or usefulness.Substance abuse was discovered in Ryder’s life and has also been proven to be connected to impulsive disorders, especially, but not limited to kleptomania. Other factors that have been connected with kleptomania are social factors such as social phobia, but with Ryder starring in many big deal movies, and some not so big deal, social phobia does not seem to be an issue for her. However, if one goes back to Ryder’s childhood and the bullying she suffered at the hands of her peers during such a vulnerable time in her life, kleptomania ust may be the way that she deals with a fear of social connections or relationships – a way for R yder to cope with the emotional scars she may carry from her childhood. Clinical Psychology Interventions: Kleptomania The therapy offered to the client with Kleptomania is the cognitive-behavioral therapy. The behavioral and substance addictions are similar to Kleptomania. Choosing the cognitive-behavioral therapy comes from a convincing validation of the research into Kleptomania as a behavioral addiction (Grant, 2006).The therapy would attempt to alter the clients’ unwanted behaviors and thoughts through the cognitive restructuring and behavioral therapy to the thoughts and behaviors wanted for the individual. This type of therapy can assist in the replacing of the individual’s impulse to steal with the feelings of relaxation as in the Systematic Desensitization model of the cognitive-behavioral approach. The systematic desensitization therapy that replaces the urge to steal with relaxation feelings could also assist in treating the client’s symptoms of anxie ty (Grant, 2006). The setting for this intervention is the clinical office of the therapist.This is so that the clients who could be ashamed or embarrassed about their issue can speak openly and freely with the professionals. These meetings should include the client, the therapist, and the professional who prescribes the clients antianxiety and antidepressant medications. Under the circumstances of some disorders that require medication, collaborations between the client and the professionals involved is essential for the clients proper treatment. The areas targeted by this therapy will assist the individual’s maladaptive ways of thinking and problematic behaviors.A cognitive-behavioral approach to the client’s treatment can help to provide the client with new and different coping skills to deal effectively with the impulse to steal, and the anxiety issues of the client. Conclusion Individuals that are affected by kleptomania do not all have the same background or even share the same daily struggles. These individuals walk different paths and struggle with many different types of kleptomania from gambling to stealing. Any one issue that takes away from an individual’s ability to better focus by needing the rush that comes with accomplishing he unnecessary task becomes a sign of kleptomania. Assisting individuals with the proper treatment at an early stage will allow the professionals to help them conquer the problems with which they struggle. These individuals need to be given the proper coping tools to refuse the anxiety and depression that lead them to perform such unwanted tasks. Once a patient has accomplished these coping skills, they will gain self confidence in their daily struggles and know that they can and will succeed. Reference Grant, J. E. (2006). Understanding and Treating Kleptomania: New Models and New Treatments.The Israel Journal of Psychiatry and Related Sciences, 43(2), 81-87. Retrieved from http://search. proquest. com . ezproxy. apollolibrary. com/docview/236926707? Labi, N. , & McDowell, J. (2002). Why Did She Do It?. Time, 160(21), 69. Retrieved from http://web. ebscohost. com. ezproxy. apollolibrary. com/ehost Lee, K. (2012). Biography for Winona Ryder. Internet Movie Database (IMDB). Retrieved from http://www. imdb. com/name/nm0000213/bio Meyer, R. G. , Chapman, L. K. , & Weaver, C. M. (2009). Case studies in abnormal behavior (8th ed. ). Boston, MA: Pearson Education/Allyn & Bacon.

Brunelleschi’s Dome

Filippo Brunelleschi was in many senses a modern day entrepreneur in the Middle Ages. He is the architect and innovator responsible for building the Santa Maria del Fiore, arguably the greatest dome ever built. In the years leading up to and during the construction of the dome, his life was surrounded by managerial aspects. There were several critical success factors for the construction of the dome including access to financial resources, raw materials, and product equipment. The building of the Santa Maria del Fiore was not something that could be done overnight, in fact it took the better of two centuries until it was complete. Probably his greatest competitive advantage, Brunelleschi was able to separate himself from his competitors by using technology to create new products and come up with innovative solutions to problems. Seeing as the creation of the dome was the first project of its kind, certain product equipment was required but not available. Brunelleschi himself invented and created much of the equipment needed, such as the ox driven hoist and the pulley. With the Opera del Duomo constantly bidding out the different projects involved with the construction of the Santa Maria del Fiore, Brunelleschi was able to create far more innovative designs than his competitors to win these bids. Another factor that played into Brunelleschi’s competitive advantage was the fact that there wasn’t much work in the city of Florence. Laborers worked for a cheap rate and did not hold any power. When they went on strike, Brunelleschi simply fired them and found a replacement which was in need of work. Filippo Brunelleschi basically held a monopoly on the labor market. The organizational behavior was one that that the capomaestros, or managers, did not have to motivate the workers one bit. The fact that the workers held employment in a city where jobs were in desperate shortage was enough motivation. Something very important to any project’s completion is time management. Entrepreneurs must master time management skills in order to get your product to the market within your budgeted time. When dealing with a new product, time frames are difficult to estimate because of delays and nforeseen circumstances, but Brunelleschi was able to manage his time and reach deadlines productively. When he had to come up with a way to hoist the marble up to the top of the dome, he did it quickly and effectively. When there was an unexpected crack in the wall after it was completed and he needed to come up with a way to fix it without delaying the overall completion of the dome, he was able t o. He did not only manage his time productively with the building of the dome but with other projects as well. Like any good entrepreneur, Brunelleschi did not put all of his time and effort into one project such as the dome, but instead took on many side projects. These little projects were not only a source of income or a way to get more recognition, but most importantly they allowed him to test his techniques and skills intended for use on the dome. He gained much respect and notoriety for his skills and successes on projects other than that of the dome. In a sense, these side projects were a way of marketing for himself, showing his precise skills and abilities through these successful projects. Although he seemed to be very well rounded, Brunelleschi did not excel in the area of communication. He was paranoid, constantly worrying about his designs or plans being stolen which is why he kept to himself. He felt as if his competitors believed the saying, â€Å"instinct tells us to watch what our competitors are doing and simply try to do the same thing better. † During a project, communication is key- the managers and workers need to be on the same page and communicate directions and progress. This is something that was never present during the building of the dome. In a business, knowledge must be shared within all units of the organization, but Brunelleschi did not believe this. If Brunelleschi had known the importance of communication, he could have received feedback from his workers and possibly avoided setbacks such as the cracks in the nave of the church. In addition to his lack of communication, another setback of Brunelleschi’s technique was the poor working environment. The culture of the business created during the building of the dome was not a worker friendly one, with no benefits or accommodations given to the workers. There was no set of directions but rather, workers ‘went with the flow’ as Brunelleschi gave directions on the fly. This was a disadvantage to his progress because things may be forgotten without realizing their importance and crucial role to the project. With his big fear of plagiarism, it’s no surprise the very first patent was issued to Brunelleschi for his boat that was to be used as a transporter known as Il Badalone. Ironically, this was Brunelleschi’s most unsuccessful invention but he felt the need to protect it. Nonetheless, it can be seen that patents are a necessity for entrepreneurs. Brunelleschi was in constant fear of his competitors stealing his ideas and designs and this stands true in today’s society as well. Entrepreneurs need to protect their ideas from their competitors because everyone is looking to get ahead and come up with a new and better idea. Brunelleschi often followed his prime instinct, trusting it would work and that it was the best idea. This stood true for many of his projects and inventions. When he decided to lay the transverse bricks to prevent the dome from collapsing, there was no past documentation stating that this would work but he felt that it was the best way to go about it. Often times, entrepreneurs have to make final decisions based on gut instincts and Brunelleschi was what we may call a master of this. Being a very confident man, Brunelleschi often refused advice or help from other sources. He very rarely collaborated with others on designs or projects, but rather did it all himself. It may be argued that he may not have had the success he did if he teamed up with others. It may also be argued that if he did take advice from others, some of his unsuccessful inventions might have had a different and more successful outcome, such as Il Badalone. Filippo Brunelleschi is one of the most influential architects in history, with success in many areas due to his innovative ideas. He had access to plentiful financial resources and was able to take advantage of a labor force that worked for minimal fees. His ingenuity provided him with the capability to create unique product equipment that could not be found anywhere else. Brunelleschi was a proud and confident man, his confidence helping him in many ways. When his theories were questioned, he simply followed through and proved why his designs were going to work. When problems arose on the job, he trusted his intuition and was able to fix the problems. Although he showed many characteristics of an entrepreneur, Filippo Brunelleschi is not known as one of the greatest managers in history. In order to be successful in today’s world, he would have needed to brush up on a few things, such as his poor communication skills due to his fear of plagiarism of his designs and ideas. Communication is a must when talking about being an effective manager, but this was not all he would have to alter. He was a selfish man, refusing to work with others on projects or reluctantly working on a project with others. Effective managers need to be able to collaborate and work with numerous people at once. Brunelleschi was always more worried about his reputation and image rather than the overall well being of the project. A manager needs to put the overall success of the business first before their own ego and pride.

Harlem Renaissance Poets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 9

Harlem Renaissance Poets - Essay Example They were proactive within political settings as they vied for various posts. Additionally, they sought avenues for civic participation, cultural self determination and economic equality (Huggins 2007). One such writer is Langston Hughes who wrote the poem The Negro Speaks of Rivers. An illustrative art of literature, this poem portrays the significance of four vital rivers in sustaining slavery in America. Particularly, Langston expresses his ideas from the Mississippi river on its expansive role in slavery at that time. This piece of work is famous as it celebrates the voice of the African Americans at such a time when there was rampant injustice, racial discrimination and inequality in America. The poet assisted in uniting and inspiring the black community during times of white oppression. His endless involvement and championing for African American rights earned him the tag of unofficial Harlem Renaissance laureate. Another writer with strong connection to this African American writer’s movement was Claude McKay. This poet had his roots emanating from Jamaica, a Caribbean nation and wrote genres spanning national boundaries and political orientation or preferences. The p oem If We Must Die is a politically charged but challenging piece of work that was written at a time of civil unrest in America (Huggins 2007). In his poem, The Negro Speaks of Rivers, Langston shows elements of double consciousness in a number of ways. This particular poem makes a strong connection to the souls and cultural heritage of the black community in four distinct rivers found in America, Africa, Middle East and Asia. Having such a chronologically significant background, the poet creates a visual journey of the Africans and African Americans by linking it to civilization origin, Africa. In this poem, the writer speaks of a story of enslavement and freedom which the black community suffered indicating their strength and astuteness (Rasche 2007). On the contrary,

Retail Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Retail Marketing - Essay Example Any organization works within the political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental frameworks. ASDA operates in mature markets like US or UK. UK political environment is considerably stable and market is mature. In the mature market it becomes very crucial for the marketers for serving consumers in the best possible way so that consumer does not switch to competitors. Competition is high for the organization. As the figure below is drawn based on the data of MINTEL Tesco is leading market with  £ 29.99 bn sales. It is followed by Sainsbury and ASDA. ASDA according to the data is third in the row of Food retail market. This poses a challenge in front of it to reach at top level. Consumer has ability to pay and they are willing to pay. This is another important aspect of UK economy and market. â€Å"Food, drink and tobacco remain the core supermarket products, even though larger stores have expanded far beyond such basics. Spending on food, drink and tobacco in 2005 was  £95.1 billion (incl. VAT – around  £92.7 billion excl. VAT). Other important areas for the supermarkets are health & beauty ( £12.2 billion excl. VAT) and cleaning products ( £3.1 billion, excl. VAT).† (Mintel) Social-cultural factors are important as it describes the products and services which will be demanded. Technologically environment for UK market is one of the best markets in the world. All the new and latest technologies are available for food storage facilities, preparation and others. Food retailing requires meeting the legal perspectives and government guidelines of selling eatables and food items such as Food Standards Agency (FSA), UKs Food Safety (Temperature Control) Regulations 1995 and others. Environmental factors have become one of the major concerns of UK society. Due to this factor it is a pressure on organisations as well to keep their operations not only be take care of environmental

Ethical & Legal Case Study Evaluation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Ethical & Legal Evaluation - Case Study Example There are also chances of civil liability ensuing (Guido, G. 2009). Though The Human Rights Act 1998 identifies a right to life in Article 2. A court ruling, NHS Trust A v M: NHS Trust B v H [2001, affirmed that the patient’s right to willingly refuse treatment, and whether it was in the patient’s ‘best interests’ to forgo treatment were the two key factors determine whether treatment will be foregone. The patient’s right to intentionally refuse treatment, was recognized as being both legal and not the same as suicide, this was despite the fact that the refusal would ultimately lead to the patient’s death (Chiarella 2006). Legality of Janet’s Actions Janet’s actions can be termed as being illegal because, according to NHS guidelines on the discontinuation of (LSMT), in occasion a disagreement amongst the team members, the team should sit down and consider the basis of the disagreement and try to obtain an opinion from a medical p rofessional who happens to be working in a discipline that is the same as the disagreeing member. This was clearly not followed in the case of Dr. Johnson’s disagreement with the other attending nurses (Guido, G. 2009). Janet the nurse did not consult with all the staff included in the patient’s care when she made the decision to discontinue the supply of Mrs. Jordan’s noradrenaline. This was in direct contravention of a checklist used in the ruling by Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss in Case: Re B (an adult: refusal of medical treatment) [2002] 2 All ER 449. One of the requirements in the checklist was that there must be adequate consultation between all the staff involved before a decision is made (McIlwraith &Madden 2006). Ethical Features Mrs. Jordan was undergoing palliative chemotherapy, for pancreatic adenocarcinoma that was in its advanced stage and there were not chances that she would recover. Her quality of life was severely hampered and her family underst ood this and wanted the Life Sustaining Medical Treatment to be discontinued. Their intentions are seen to be inline with the doctrine of double effect (Chirella 2006) Ethicality of Janet’s Actions Janet’s actions can be viewed as being ethical as supported by a court ruling, Re Conroy [1985] that upheld that a patient declining life-sustaining treatment could not be viewed as an attempt to commit suicide. The action merely allows a disease to follow its natural course. If the patient dies, it could not be termed as a self-inflicted injury but it would be considered to be the result of the underlying disease. She was not responsible for the death (Charella 2006). Legally significant Events in the Alternate Version of the Case Scenario In the second Scenario, there was sufficient consultation between the medical staff attending to Mrs. Jordan and her family before Janet was instructed to withdraw the LSMT. Hence this is perfectly legal in accordance with the Ministry of Health Guidelines (Ministry of Health). The medical professionals and members of the family were also in agreement as opposed to the first scenario where their views were divergent. Dr. Jackson also complied with Mrs. Jordan’s Advanced Care Directive which clearly stated that she did not want to receive LSMT. This is in compliance with the law as opposed to the