Organizational Goals Essay

Organizational goals are crucial to success in the workplace. This paper entails how to incorporate organization and goals into the workplace and the benefits it secures. The first step to running a successful company is to ensure proper organizational planning has taken place. Proper planning is an obvious route that allows a manager to prepare for and foresee any future issues. Setting goals and markers ensure that all departments are working within expected time restraints and budgeting time effectively. Planning enables a manager to predict how much time and energy needs to be spent on specific tasks and prioritize as well as anticipate upcoming hiccups and take preventative measures. Managers can often reflect back on previous blunders to learn from prior mistakes, and take actions to prevent them from happening again. Planning is often the manager’s responsibility, but the entire department is accountable for their productivity and therefore need to be honest and realistic when considering strategies and creating a game plan. â€Å"Planning and controlling are inseparable parts of the management system. Standards are set in planning, and the controlling system uses those standards to identify and correct problems.† Reilly, M., Minnick, C., & Baack, D. (2011). A manager should call a weekly meeting to review the past set goals and redistribute work when necessary. At these meetings a manager will assess how much time has been assigned to tasks and assist the team in any errors or mishaps that may come along. The manager is then able to realistically see how much time is being allotted to individual assignments and revise as necessary. The team can use this time to see the big picture and express any concerns or issues they have with the work thus far. The team should maximize the time spent in this meeting to ensure their responsibilities are well understood and any lapses in communication is put to rest. Once a team is in understanding of the assignments they are aware of what is expected of them and can divide the workload amongst the team and work at maximum efficiency. Setting realistic expectations and goals are crucial to providing an operational plan. Goals clarify performance expectations, establish a frame of reference for feedback, and provide a basis for self-management (Reilly, Minnick, Baack, 2011).Both parties need to be aware of their expectations in order to operate with little oversight and micromanaging. With a solid plan in place, a manager is able to expect a smooth road to completion and the team is able to work independently to complete their tasks reducing the amount of time wasted in communication breakdowns, fusses over workloads, and incompetence. Once a plan is in place, the second most important step is the art of organizing. Without a solid foundation of organization even the best planning can be worthless. Organization is an essential tool contributing to the success in business. Knowing your team and their abilities is the first step. Directing a team is the manager’s responsibility and in order to direct a team effectively, one must understand their team’s strengths and weaknesses. A manager must be able to rely on their workers and have full confidence in their abilities. One mistake often seen in the workplace is lack of organization. Knowing where and how the information you rely on as well as the materials you need will save you time, energy and stress. A vital role in organizing is ensuring your staff is well assigned to their duties and responsibilities therefore eliminating time wasted. Materials need to be made available to employees to implement their plans and provide a well-organized flow of work. Employee organization is fundamental when assigning tasks and projects. In most professions it needs to be clear on who is running what project and where they are able to seek help as well as distribute work they are unable to handle. Working within deadlines means that everything needs to run smoothly because time is not often a luxury. Often plans can go awry; and when that happens the most productive employees are the ones who know how to â€Å"put a fi re out† as well as who to seek in case of a problem; in other words, a well-organized employee. â€Å"Planning and controlling are inseparable parts of the management system. Standards are set in planning, and the controlling system uses those standards to identify and correct problems.† Reilly, M., Minnick, C., & Baack, D. (2011). Setting realistic company standards and ensuring your meeting those standards with regular meetings and oversight are great ways to ensure your planning for success. Overseeing goals and employee performance regularly can lead to new and more efficient planning processes. Giving extra attention to what processes have worked in the past and adjusting workloads accordingly are great ways to ensure that a company is planning and organizing for the future. This type of planning and organizing helps keep the company up to maximum potential. Rewarding quality work and adjusting where improvements can be made help keep the company on track and moving towards positive goals and benchmarks. When considering all the planning and organizing we need to remember that the absolute failsafe is hiring and staffing capable and competent employees. The first step to strategic staffing is identifying needs. Assess what positions are crucial to the company’s overall functions. (Carabelli, 2011) Hiring and employing a staff that’s capable and proficient directly reflects your department’s abilities and reliability. Staff planning for your department is maintaining, balancing, and preparation for a company’s human assets. Companies need to be able to retain workers that prove valuable and balance the overall skill and talent so that there are no shortages or surpluses. Shortages and surpluses of work talent can create unhappy workers or lower motivation while maintaining worker production in the case of a surplus. Preparation is perhaps the most important aspect as far as helping achieve organizations strategic objectives. Let’s compare a company t o a baseball team. In order to be successful, you need a team made up of a balance of different talents. You can’t have all pitchers, because you’re team most likely won’t bat well. If you have too many outfielders, some will have to sit the bench or play in the infield where they make more errors. A speedy player with great bunting skill is a huge weapon in key situations, but if you had a whole lineup of bunter’s teams would guard against it and make you play to your weaknesses because there is no balance. With the right balance of talent in each area of the team, offense, defense, pitching, etc., a team will be most effective. That’s why teams have to strategize what players to bring in or sign, they need to plan how to have a balance of good talent and put in them in the best position to make the most successful team. Companies are very similar; they analyze talent and try to create the best balance and mix of it under a budget to succeed. Organizing a team is a c rucial part of planning for success. A few loose cannons or lazy workers can create a world of chaos in an already stressful work environment and therefore careful selection as well as assessing work relationships among employees is vital. Employees’ who work well together will communicate more effectively, be more willing to work as a team and help each other out, as well as distribute work evenly and fair. Positive interoffice relations are important because the work flow is such a delicate process and a simple breakdown in communication can be fatal to a time sensitive project. People need to be able to rely on one another and be able to work with, as well as over and under their team. Recruiting quality staff isn’t easy, and although someone may be qualified, they need to be manageable. Someone with an oversized ego may be overqualified but difficult to work with. Another common issue in my workplace is someone feeling overworked and underappreciated. Employees should feel as if they are each pulling t heir weight and working together for the final project. If an employee feels abused or neglected they often perform under par and can therefore cause a weak link within your department. Rewarding quality work and adjusting where improvements can be made help keep the company on track and moving towards positive goals and benchmarks. Company moral is important when considering a happy employee is a fruitful employee. Ensuring employees feel validated and appreciated isn’t easy, but a manager who oversees their staff regularly and meets often is more aware of the employee’s issues and can help to resolve them before becoming a problem. A manager who often addresses any employee concerns when conducting weekly goals and actualization of projects can help prevent putting additional stress or strain on the team by correcting the issues before they become a major issue. Employee retention is an essential goal for a company and in order to achieve that goal one must consider the reasons employees succeed. Erg is a theory constructed of needs. The abbreviation E stands for existence needs. Existence needs are physical and material welfare needs. These existenc e needs are met with basic life motivators such as food, clothing and shelter. Often these are easily met but must be considered when regarding motivators. The abbreviation R stands for: Relatedness needs. The relatedness needs are â€Å"wants for satisfying interpersonal relationships.† (Schermerhorn, 2012) Ensuring an employee has their relatedness met is important because a healthy work/life balance is a great way to ensure a happy and content employee. The abbreviation G stands for: â€Å"Growth needs are desires for continued personal growth and development.†(Schermerhorn, 2012) This is the true motivator in manager’s eyes. Giving the opportunity for advancement in the workplace is a great way to motivate employees as well as better train and develop yours staff. There are no losers in this approach and therefore a top leader choice. Most employees succeed when they are well trained and developed for their roles. An employee who has confidence and the ability to do their job well; will often find satisfaction within their job and take pride in their work. When developing an employee; management can play a major role in aiding the employee to better educate and further train themselves therefore becoming more of a company asset. â€Å"Boosting motivation within an organization is a great way to keep things moving in a positive, efficient, and effective manner.† (Yousesef, 2012) Employees who are well educated and feel as if their company is willing to support them in furthering their education will often stay with a company rather than outgrow their position. Someone who was hired in an administrative position might educate themselves further to create more opportunity within their workplace and adding skills to their resume. Ensuring the staff is well maintained, trained, and motivated is a great way to realize your goals to the best of your abilities. Employees need to be well trained and efficient as well as willing to be developed to the best of the companies abilities. Developing employees is a great way to boost company moral because it shows the managers are aware of the hard work put forth by an employee and reward that with additional resources, attention, and opportunity. Continual training is a great way to see that your staff is operating at maximum potential. Knowledge is power and a more knowledgeable staff is a more powerful staff. On the job training can be used in downtime to further develop evolving employees and help them reach their full capabilities. When evaluating to see if education and training is effective testing and feedback are great ways to assess if the investment has held value. If an employee enriches themselves through training and therefore bring more to the table for the company, the company made a good investment. If the employee was incapable of learning from the training the company may want to reconsider investing any more time and money into training someone not able to make the most from the opportunity. Employees who value the opportunity and see it as a wager in their favor will take the opportunity seriously and put forth a solid effort to make the most from it. People who appreciate and value their jobs and wish to create a future within the company will put forth the effort, dedication, and commitment to further development. By creating a team that is fully capable, educated, motivated, and happy; you are planning for success. Retaining high aspirations and goals are great for workplace organization and planning, but within moderation. Creating a plan and sticking to it is easier said than done. Adjusting your plan as needed when hiccups do arise is key. Often; when plans fail people lose patience and faith. Planning can be frustrating, but understanding how the plan failed is important when considering how to plan for the future. REFERENCE: Schermerhorn, J., Osborn, R., Uhl-Bien, M., & Hunt, J. (2012). Organizational behavior. (12th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN: 9780470878200 Reilly, M., Minnick, C., Baack, D. (2011). The Five Functions of Effective Management. San Diego: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Carl Carabelli, Demand Media. â€Å" What Are Some Overall Strategic Staffing Functions?† Houston Chronicle. (2012) Hearst Communications Youssef, C. (2012). Human resource management. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education.

Public Health of the Developing Country of South Africa Essay

Abstract Studies and statistics have put the cost of one year requirement of standard essential medicines needed for the treatment of AIDS at $ 4000 to $ 6000 in developing countries like South Africa. This cost puts the medicines out of the reach of most of the people infected by HIV in the developing countries. In order to make the medicines available to all the needy people the cost should have been at least 95 percent less. The exorbitant price is because of the cost of the patents. The drugs protected by the intellectual property rights were required to treat diseases like Tuberculosis, in addition to the treatments of HIV/AIDS. Such drugs also included Hepatitis-B Vaccine. There has been a continuous criticism by the social activists and other public health associations, of the action by the World Trade Organization in making the developing countries implement the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement which deals with the protection of Intellectual Property rights relating to the essential drugs. They have also been condemning the attitude of the multinational companies in indulging in excessive lobbying to insist on the implementation of the IP rights protection which will have the effect of enhancing their earnings by charging exorbitant prices for the drugs and for putting the essential drugs and health care beyond the affordability of scores of people in the developing nations including South Africa. However under such circumstances the relationship between the government of South Africa and the international pharmaceutical companies had not been a conducive one – thanks to the implementation of the provisions of TRIPS Agreement. On the decision of the South African Government to pass the Medicines and Related Substances Amendment Act in the year 1997, 39 drug companies joined to initiate legal action against the government. The plea of the drug companies is that the Act gave too much freedom of action to the Health Minister and he acted beyond the legitimate interpretation of TRIPS. It was the endeavour of South Africa to make life saving drugs available at affordable prices. The country wanted to effectively utilize the compulsory licensing opportunities opened by TRIPS so that the prices of the drugs could be put under check. But since the action of the government posed a threat to the earning capacity of the international pharmaceutical companies they went to the extent of entering into litigation with the government of South Africa. Introduction TRIPS (Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) under the authority of the WTO were founded to protect worldwide intellectual property rights. The agreements, governing not only more general intellectual property rights but also those of the pharmaceutical industry, are fairly stringent causing many problems for developing countries especially South Africa which is being ravaged by epidemics which includes AIDS. According to a statistical survey by United Nations[1] 20 percent of the adult population in South Africa tests positive for HIV. The impact of the disease is such that the more than half a million children have been declared orphans. It is also reported that HIV/AIDS related diseases expect to reduce the average life expectancy in South Africa by 20 years in the year 2010. Therefore it can be inferred that the provision of treatment of HIV/AIDS in South Africa is a high priority issue[2]. It has been necessary for South Africa to circumvent part of the TRIPS agreements in an effort to protect its population.   AIDS is taking great toll of the country leaving families without parents and health care hospitals totally unable to cope. The United States currently insists on the TRIPS agreement being strictly adhered to and seems unable, or unwilling, to find a way to help the developing nations with this problem. There have been some efforts made to help them in this respect, for example compulsory licensing and parallel pricing and these methods will be examined in a later section. The negotiation of the TRIPS Agreement has been construed as one that was forcibly introduced by the developing countries against the objection of many of the developing nations. The industrial lobbies (multinational and transnational corporations) have convinced the governments of the developed countries to link the international trade with Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) so that the industrial advancement of the developing countries would be curtailed. This would automatically prevent imitation of technologies and increase the returns on research and development for the developed countries. Monopoly rights granted under IPR were mainly intended to deter the developing countries from advancing on the industrialization. Thus TRIPS Agreement and the protection of IPR have been used to ensure the comparative advantage of the developed countries in terms of the technological development. Under TRIPS countries like India, Brazil which manufactures generic medicines would not have the right to export such medicines with effect from 01 January 2005. This is so despite the fact that the importing countries do have the respective patents covering the drugs. Specifically the least developing countries have put a strong resistance to the requirements of TRIPS especially in the matter of granting the protection rights for the products and processes. While developing countries were required to implement the provisions within one year of reaching the Agreement, the developing countries were given time until the end of the year 2004. In the matter of protection of rights of pharmaceutical products the lease developing countries have been allowed to delay the implementation of TRIPS Agreement provisions till the year 2016. The peculiarity with the provisions of TRIPS is that it allows any country to override the patent right under certain specific circumstances by using the compulsory licensing procedure. For instance when there is a shortage of drugs or the prices of the drugs are too high to make them unaffordable the country can override the patent if the prescribed procedures are followed. This provision of TRIPS presupposes that all the countries do possess the required manufacturing facilities which enable them to use the provisions to produce generic medicines under extraordinary circumstances. But unfortunately many of the developing and least developing countries do not posses such facilities, and hence they would be left with shortage of such drugs. In addition they are also not allowed to import the generics from those countries that possess them. In any case these countries do not have enough power and administrative capabilities to invoke the TRIPS Agreement either due to the reason that they do not possess the know-how required to reengineer the drugs or they fear sanctions from the US and the West[3]. TRIPS Agreement under WTO The TRIPS Agreement is often thought of as one of the three â€Å"pillars† of the WTO (World Trade Organization), trade in goods and services being the other two.[4] TRIPS, initially part of GATT. But becoming part of the WTO brief, was founded to ensure that protection of intellectual property rights was not, of itself, an obstruction to trade and to increase cooperation between members. Under the TRIPS agreement each member state has an obligation to treat all other member states equally. The WTO negotiates between members and helps them to understand and carry out the rules and regulations they have signed up to. It also aids cooperation between members and acts as a watchdog to ensure that the agreement is adhered to. Marketing rights of a patent, when first applied for, are given for a period of 5 years or until the patent is finally approved (whichever is the shorter period) but even during this period members must comply with the rules and regulations as set out in Articles 3 and 4. Because of the nature of the agreement especially as regards pharmaceuticals, it was decided that minimum standards could be used, the USA prefers the higher standards but accepts the minimum as the developing world does not have the capacity to work to the higher standards at the present time. Public awareness of the serious issue of AIDS and other diseases has led to the belief   (by the WTO) that health must, in the final analysis, come before agreements since the spread of AIDS cannot be the sole responsibility of one country. In trying to bridge the gap between the pharmaceutical companies and the developing nations, TRIPS has endeavoured to bring the two sides together by allowing extensions to drugs’ patents but has also allowed some compulsory licensing. Article 3(a) under the TRIPS Agreement states that treatment of all members must be equal,   but Article 3(b) is a get-out clause and Article 4(b) states that all members are equal, unless an †¦agreement was entered into before the WTO agreement.   However, the Council for TRIPS must be informed of any non-observance of Article 3(a) under Article 3(b). The TRIPS Agreement ensures that members discharge their commitments to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). Part of the United Nations WIPO was set up in 1974 specifically to direct international treaties and agreements. The Paris Convention on Industrial Property and the Berne Convention on Copyright, two of the major treaties have been brought under the TRIPS umbrella.   The former states that â€Å"members must comply with the obligations they have towards each other† and â€Å"nothing must stand in the way of such obligations†.  Ã‚   However, as noted, there is a get-out clause in cases of emergency which has to be acknowledged by members to the agreements. There is also an agreement that member countries monitor each other for infringements.   Most important in terms of worldwide health problems is Article 67 of TRIPS which states   that developed countries must assist developing countries with the development of their intellectual property rights, it states: â€Å"In order to facilitate the implementation of this Agreement developed country Members shall provide, on request and mutually agreed terms and conditions, technical and financial cooperation in favour of developing and least-developed country members† â€Å"Such cooperation shall include assistance in the preparation of laws and regulations on the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights as well as on the prevention of their abuse, and shall include support regarding the establishment or reinforcement of domestic offices and agencies relevant to these matters, including the training of personnel.†Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Programmes to assist the developing nations have already been promoted and are being assisted by the WTO secretariat and WIPO. TRIPS Agreement in Relation to Medicines   Since most pharmaceutical research and development is carried out in developed countries the organisations involved feel that they should be better protected.   Most drugs cost millions and take years to test and develop before being allowed onto the market, the industry naturally want returns by way of profits on sales. AIDS medication has been a particularly important breakthrough since: ‘HIV infects an estimated 45 million persons worldwide†Ã‚   but there are also â€Å"†¦1.86 billion cases of infection with mycobacterium tuberculosis†[5] therefore, it is imperative that something be done to help alleviate this type of suffering which, with the ever growing number of tourists, should be the concern of not only those countries in which these epidemics are raging but every nation whose borders are open to travel from other countries. The TRIPS agreement, currently, seems to err on the side of the drugs’ companies, probably because they have such powerful lobbies and are part of the new world-wide elite of corporations which, according to Janet Dine, are increasingly importing their own ethics into the developing countries and virtually taking over, creating in the process an impoverished and unhealthy nation, they, the indigenous population have to take what is offered often at less than subsistence wages and become more dependant on the corporations who have moved into their countries in search of ever increasing profits. The money the corporations make from taking over in developing countries returns, not to the people of that region, but to their own countries.  Ã‚   With tax incentives and a population who take any work they can get to survive at the lowest rates offered, these Corporations appear to be fuelling a crisis in health for some of the poorest nations in the world.[6] Although The TRIPS agreement does allow for compulsory licensing in an emergency, each country must first negotiate with rights’ holders and must use those drugs obtained under such a license only for the emergency period and not for any commercial gain. Specific areas, such as South Africa, are going through a health crisis which needs the drugs already available to ameliorate it, however, in spite of clause 3(b), they are getting no further forward in their fight to help their citizens to overcome unprecedented death rates that the epidemics are producing. In spite of Articles 30/31, which allow for compulsory licensing, the poorest and least developed nations are fighting against the cost of the use of patents and the epidemics themselves. Compulsory licensing does not adequately cover the needs of such nations in   â€Å"sub-Saharan Africa since they do not have facilities to manufacture their own drugs.†[7] Protection of intellectual property is not part of the culture of many countries, nevertheless, the TRIPS Agreement was signed on 15th April 1994 by 117 nations. The agreement allows intellectual property rights to be â€Å"enforced by trade sanctions†[8] and, although some countries were not in complete agreement, international trade is vital to their economic growth so, however reluctantly, they signed.   Inhibitors, which have done much to control AIDS in the west, cost as much as $10.000 per head annually but international trade is the life blood of developing nations therefore they had little choice but to do so.[9] 4. TRIPS and Developing Countries It has been observed that implementing TRIPS Agreement and recognizing IPR on pharmaceutical products and processes would result in the following problems to the developing countries[10]: The minimum 20 years protection to the IPR would grant a virtual monopoly for a pharmaceutical company over its patented drug and the company would be able to charge exorbitant prices on the drugs without competition which in turn would keep the drug prices very high during the period of protection. It is also not possible to bring any generic equivalent into the market due to the TRIPS Agreement. This would deny the patients cheaper alternative drugs. The product and process patents provide for the protection of the product as well as the technology. Under the TRIPS Agreement the countries are given the right to make application for the protection of patent rights on drugs for a period extending up to twenty years. After the expiation of this period the countries can get the protection extended for further periods to the processes being employed in the manufacture of the drugs. This no doubt creates a monopoly situation on the drugs. Such protection also throw the domestic pharmaceutical producers in the developing countries out of market as they have to compete with large multinational pharmaceutical manufacturers which is not possible for small producers in the developing nations who use cheaper generic alternatives. Moreover such production may not be carried out by them during the 20 year protection period. Under TRIPS Agreement patent rights need to be granted irrespective of the fact that the products are imported or domestically manufactured[11]. This implies that the transnational corporations can supply global markets under the monopoly of patent rights even without producing any medicines in the developing countries by simply importing them into the developing countries. There will be no flow of technology or foreign direct investments into the developing countries as envisaged by the WTO However under Article 66 of the TRIPS the least developed countries were allowed to postpone the application of the provisions relating to the patents for a period of 10 years on specific application.[12] 5. Exceptions to the Patent Protection of Pharmaceuticals    Parallel importing – implying that the developing counties are allowed to import the drugs from the cheaper markets for resale in their respective countries and thereby lower the prices of drugs. Compulsory licensing – under compulsory licensing scheme, the government acting through the courts of law is empowered to provide a license in favor of a third party. Such license may be granted by the government even without the prior consent of the license holder. However the compulsory licensing can be resorted to in cases of national emergencies. The license may also be compulsorily transferred to a third party in case of an extremely emergent situation or where there are circumstances implying any anti-competitive movements by the manufacturers. The compulsory licensing is resorted to by the governments to make the drugs easily available to the poor and needy people at affordable costs. It also ensures that the patent holder is provided adequate compensation for use of the patent. 6. Public Health in South Africa and the Impact of TRIPS Agreement The need for cheaper drugs in South Africa can not be undermined. The impact of AIDS in the country poses the situation of an extreme emergency forcing the implementation TRIPS. The economy of South Africa is likely to get affected by a reduction of 1 percent every year because of the work force getting disintegrated. It is estimated that the life expectancy would be lowered to 50 years in 2010 from 70 years currently. These threats to the economy and population growth would as well be a threat to ‘peace and order’ situations in the country of South Africa[13]. In this context all the problems enumerated above for the developing nations have been faced by South Africa also. In addition when the government wanted to implement the Medicines and Related Substances Control Bill, the US Government vehemently objected to the passing of the law which allowed for parallel importing and compulsory licensing. However amidst lot of pressure on the government and the Parliament the South African government enacted the law in the year 1997.The pharmaceutical lobby backed by the transnational companies in the South Africa not only filed a suit against the promulgation of the law but also indulged in negotiations and threats   to the government to change its stand. The pressure was intense after the year 1997 when the South African government tried to implement a number of policy measures to lower the prices of drugs used in public health. â€Å"The SA policies have focused on such issues as mandatory generic drug substitution, restrictions on inappropriate marketing efforts, registration of generic versions of the cancer drug Paclitaxel (sold as Taxol by Bristol-Myers Squibb), parallel-imports, and compulsory licensing†[14]. It may be noted that despite Article 31 of the TRIPS Agreement that provides for the parallel importing and compulsory licensing the transnational pharmaceutical companies have vehemently opposed the attempts by developing countries like South Africa taking measures for implementing parallel importing and compulsory licensing as these practices would allow these countries to have their requirements of the medicines at cheaper prices which in turn would affect the profits of these transnational companies[15]. It was after the intervention of the AIDS activists and health activists that US came to an understanding in the issue. The government of South Africa insisted that it retains all the original provisions defending its position be retained. The government also wanted to make the fullest use of compulsory licensing and parallel importing which were considered as detrimental to the interests of the American Transnational Companies[16]. How American Corporations Control the Business World A- Business lobbies: Large and small businesses in the United States have been organised into various associations, for example Business Round Tables are national Associations which include membership of the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of all the most important trans-national companies and the National Chamber of Commerce includes all sizes of firms.[17] Round Tables have been in existence since 1972, the first was formed by forty-two of the (then) biggest and most important U.S. companies including banks, retailers, Insurance, transport and most of the utilities’ companies. They were designed to enable business to proceed without the destructive competitive basis of the business world. They were described as: â€Å"An association of chief executive officers who examine public issues that affect the economy and develop positions which seek to reflect sound economic and social principles. †¦ the Roundtable was founded in the belief that business executives should take an increased role in the continuing debates about public policy.†[18] The raison d’etre for these firms was the idea that ‘what ever is good for business is good for the American people’. They argued that, employees, purchasers, suppliers etc all have an interest in a business. These associations, they say, represent a cross section of the American public.[19] The idea that ‘what is good for business is good for America’ is patently nonsense since most people are in fact excluded from any rights in this elite world.  Ã‚   Employees have little or no say in the running of their firms and consumers must pay the prices asked, they do have the right ‘not to buy’ which is a somewhat negative view of the process of inclusiveness. David C Korten says that most of the memberships of the Round Tables are confined to white males over the age of 50 whose salaries are enormous. They do not, as claimed, consider that what is good for business is good for America but rather endeavour to maximise their own profits and those of their shareholders by seeking to globalise in areas where they can have an almost free hand to carry out their business practices almost unhindered by the laws of any country they move into. [20] Free Trade has long been an ideal of the American Corporate world which is why the Round Tables campaigned vigorously for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA and created USA-NAFTA to front their interests, the American public, nervous at so much control in so few hands, have been given country-wide blanket assurances through the media.   In spite of the fact that NAFTA was supposed to be a really broad church of interests it is really part of the elite Round Table Associations and has many representatives on advisory committees. The country might have been even more nervous if they had realised that at the time of the creation of these Round Tables the major companies were in fact laying aside their competitive differences to â€Å"reach a consensus on issues of social and economic policy for America†.[21] B- Influence of U.S. Democracy Janet Dine claims â€Å"no single idea is more deeply embedded in modern culture than the belief that economic growth is the key to meeting most important human needs, including alleviating poverty and protecting the environment† [22] which accounts for the greatest growth area in Washington being public relations firms. These firms work hard to protect the images of their corporate clients against a rising tide of discontent which is now manifesting itself throughout the world. It could be thought that they are fighting a losing battle but â€Å"the top fifty public relations firms billed over $1.7 billion dollars in 1991†[23] which gives rise to the question, why are these PR firms so necessary? There is probably no single answer to this question but very little news is given directly to the public without some corporate employee looking at the effect it will have, news and advertising, according to Korten, are almost synonymous.[24] The political system of America has greatly changed in the post war period of more general affluence. The Democratic party has lost its basic identity   the party of the people – as opposed to the Republicans who have always represented business and the wealthier side of the electorate – this being so the Democrats are far more dependant on the need to raise funds for their electioneering and have turned to the corporations who inevitably want quid pro quo for their donations. The mass media are heavily behind the elitist values of corporate America and the amount they are able to pay to PR firms to put across an extremely one-sided policy and both the leading parties needing the financial backing of corporate America, this, says David C Korten, â€Å"This is the sorry state of American democracy†.[25]   He says that voters tend to be seen as a passive homogeneous mass of potential customers who can be told not only what to buy but also what to think and feel.   What is worse, this idea of corporations is spreading, many trans-national companies rely heavily on the corporate idealism of what is good for them is good for the people they sell to.   Mexico and Japan both use those same American firms to tell their populations what they should think and feel and ultimately what they should buy. C- American Democracy   for Sale: â€Å"The Mexican government spent upwards of $25 million and hired many of the leading Washington lobbyists to support its campaign for NAFTA. †¦ Japanese corporations were spending an estimated $100 million a year on political lobbying in the United States and another $300 million building a nationwide grassroots political network to influence public opinion†. [26] Canada, Britain and the Netherlands’ governments employ public relations’ firms in America to help them lobby and draft laws that will be favourable to the business elites in their own countries. These companies try to sell the idea of ‘corporate libertarianism’ [27]which is supposed to allay the fears of those who have an idea that all is not well in the corporate world of business, it is possible to claim that these corporations are in fact in the act of ‘taking over the world’ and with the resources piling up behind them it could well happen in the not too distant future. The United States and Higher Levels of Protection. To add to this theme of a world take-over by corporate America, the signatories to TRIPS have begun to rethink intellectual property protection.[28] This is bad news for those under-developed countries which rely on drugs from the western world to protect their citizens from ravaging epidemics. Rosalyn S Park says: â€Å"Poor, developing nations have been most affected by the patent protection laws and resulting high drug prices, yet these nations also harbor the highest number of HIV-positive people. Consequently, the vast majority of people in need of HIV/AIDS medicines simply cannot afford them†. [29] In 2006 new protection laws will come into force which all members must adhere to. This will have a devastating effect on the millions of people in countries too poor to have their own drugs’ businesses, they will become more reliant upon those better protected, developed countries making vast profits from the countries least able to pay. Neither the USA nor the European Union appear greatly interested in aiding those countries with the greatest needs and the least ability to pay.   Admittedly concessions have been made as regards agricultural and textile concessions but this has been at the cost of allowing higher property rights which is a swings-and-round-a-bouts situation.   It would be much more useful to South Africa specifically and to the developing world in general, if the costs of patented drugs could be either brought down or, as a common sense gesture of good will, eliminated completely until such time as the AIDS epidemic was at least brought down to manageable proportions. In spite of â€Å"several different types of drugs on the market which help combat AIDS and AIDS related illnesses†[30] not enough are getting through to the developing countries as the multinationals are still insisting on not just the status quo as regards intellectual property rights but even higher levels.[31] They appear to be driven only by the profit motive and the perceived necessity for free trade paying little attention to the suffering caused in the developing world. Nor are they taking a long term view, highly contagious diseases are rife in the developing world, therefore, with the modern freedom of travel, no country can ever be safe from the same epidemics.   Even with modern drugs to combat them, new strains will develop, new drugs will have to be found and costs will escalate. Drugs now exist which allow people with AIDS to live a reasonably normal life including returning to work, it would in fact be in the interests of the drugs’ companies to allow South Africa to use them, dead people have no use for drugs nor anything else that the multi-nationals may wish to sell them. Conclusion The TRIPS Agreement was a milestone in patent protection of intellectual property rights and was considered to be a financial safeguard for research investment, however, it also had the effect of pricing some pharmaceuticals out of the reach of many nations most in need of the most recently patented medicines.   Before the TRIPS agreement, governments had been able to make compulsory licence orders to produce drugs at lower prices in their own countries, after the agreement, although still possible, it is much more difficult and thus more difficult to protect their citizens from the epidemics which are wreaking havoc in their countries. It is important to protect intellectual property rights but it is far more important to protect people’s lives but the balance currentlppears to be largely towards the greater protection of pharmaceutical industries. TRIPS allows compulsory licensing and parallel pricing but underdeveloped countries such as South Africa are being prevented from using them because of the threat of trade sanctions and trade is vital to their economies. It is necessary to protect peoples’ work and investment and research must be encouraged especially into life-threatening diseases. Corporations who invest time and money into producing drugs to cope with these scourges should reap the rewards of their labour.   However, many drugs’ companies are seeing such enormous returns on their investments that concessions should be made to underdeveloped countries which so desperately need the medications produced by these huge giants of industry. In spite of concessions in the TRIPS agreement, corporations do appear to be protected at the expense of people’s lives. Public health should be and is a priority in the west where governments can afford to buy the health of their citizens. Unfortunately, this is not the case in the poorer, less developed countries where governments are struggling to find ways to access drugs and yet to maintain a healthy trading relationship with the countries which hold the patents to these drugs. Good health is the basic right of every citizen of every country wherever possible. More goodwill is necessary on the part of the western world and America in particular to allow compulsory licensing and parallel pricing to be used without the threat of trade sanctions.  Ã‚   Epidemics do not respect borders, they can be carried by people to all corners the world, what was a third world problem yesterday is our problem today, world health is an issue that no country can ignore therefore although corporations must be allowed fair returns on their investments it must not be at the expense of world health. It is quite apparent that TRIPS Agreement has not taken into account the public health needs of the developing nations while formulating the clauses relating to the protection of IPR in respect of pharmaceutical needs. The Agreement has not specified any particular obligations towards those governments granting the IPR for pharmaceutical products. The Agreement has also not considered the need for public health in the developing countries and grossly ignored the interests of the patients of these countries. There are a number of factors that the developing countries have to take into account including the implication of the TRIPS Agreement and the patent protection under the Agreement in the provision of medical facilities and adequate public health to the people of the respective developing countries. â€Å"At the end of the day it must be recognized that the poorer residents of the world’s least affluent nations cannot pay even the marginal cost of drugs that might save their lives or permit them to become productive workers†[32]. Bibliography    Conceicao Soares (2007)‘The HIV/AIDS crisis and corporate moral responsibility in the light of the Levinasian notions of proximity and the Third’ Business Ethics: A European Review Vol. 16 No 3 p 280 David C Korten, When Corporations Rule the World, Earthscan Publication Ltd. London, p.144 Duane Nash, â€Å"†¦VI, Foreign & International Law South Africa’s Medicines and Related Substances Control Amendment Act of 1997† 15 Berkeley Tech. L J. 485(lexis) Fact Sheet ‘Developing Countries’ Transition Periods’ p1 F.M. Scherer and Jayashree Watal ‘Post-Trips Options for Access to Patented Medicines in Developing Nations’ Journal of International Economic Law (2002) p 939 Janet Dine, The Governance of Corporate Groups, Cambridge University Press, 2000.p.157 J H Reichman, The TRIPS Agreement Comes of Age: Conflict or Cooperation with the Developing Countries? P.6 John A. Harrelson, â€Å" IV. Note: Trips, Pharmaceutical Patents, and the HIV/AIDS Crisis: Finding the Proper Balance Between Intellectual Property Rights and Compassion† 7 Wid. L. Symp. J . 175(lexis) Kara M. Bombach ‘The South African Medicines and Related Substances Control Amendment Bill and TRIPS’ p1 Lisa Foreman (2007)‘Trade Rules, Intellectual Property and the Right to Health’ Comparative Program in Health and Society Munk Centre for International Studies University of Toronto Ethics & International Affairs Vol. 21 No3 p 342 Louise Sylvan ‘TRIPS: Protecting Intellectual Property or Putting Profits Before People’ Online Opinion    p1 Medecins sans Frontieres (1999) Access to HIV/AIDS medicines in Thailand, Medecins sans Frontieres Report to the National AIDS Committee of Thailand, August 1999, MSF website, www.accessmed-msf.org/msf/accessmed/accessmed.nsf/html/4DTS2? Open Document.p1 N.B. Zaveri (1999) ‘Success often comes to those who dare and act’, paper presented at Brainstorming Workshop on WTO Agreements and People’s Concerns, New Delhi, Oct/Nov 1999 p1 Patric Bond ‘US Policy toward South Africa and Access to Pharmaceutical Drugs’ Alternative Information and Development Centre p1 Ross Brennan and Paul Baines (2005) ‘Is there a morally right price for anti-retroviral drugs in the developing world’ Business Ethics: A European Review Vol. 15 No 1 p32 Rosalyn S Park, The International Drug Industry: What the Future Holds for South Africa’s HIV/AIDS Patients, Minnesota Journal of Global Trade, p.3 Z. Mirza (1999) ‘WTO/TRIPS, pharmaceuticals and health: impacts and strategies’, The Network’s Drug Bulletin, Sept-Dec 1999, Vol. 8, No. 5/6, Association for Rational Use of Medication in Pakistan p 27       [1] United Nations (2004) Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic. Geneva: United Nations [2] Ross Brennan and Paul Baines (2005) ‘Is there a morally right price for anti-retroviral drugs in the developing world’ Business Ethics: A European Review Vol. 15 No 1 p 32 [3] Conceicao Soares (2007)‘The HIV/AIDS crisis and corporate moral responsibility in the light of the Levinasian notions of proximity and the Third’ Business Ethics: A European Review Vol. 16 No 3 p 280 [4] www.wto.org (Frequently asked questions about TRIPS in the WTO). [5] Duane Nash, â€Å"†¦VI, Foreigh & International Law South Africa’s Medicines and Related Substances Control Amendment Act of 1997† 15 Berkeley Tech. L J. 485(lexis) [6] Janet Dine, The Governance of Corporate Groups, Cambridge University Press, 2000.p.157 [7] John A. Harrelson, â€Å" IV. Note: Trips, Pharmaceutical Patents, and the HIV/AIDS Crisis: Finding the Proper Balance Between Intellectual Property Rights and Compassion† 7 Wid. L. Symp. J . 175(lexis) [8] Ibid [9] Ibid [10] Z. Mirza (1999) ‘WTO/TRIPS, pharmaceuticals and health: impacts and strategies’, The Network’s Drug Bulletin, Sept-Dec 1999, Vol. 8, No. 5/6, Association for Rational Use of Medication in Pakistan p 27 [11] Medecins sans Frontieres (1999) Access to HIV/AIDS medicines in Thailand, Medecins sans Frontieres Report to the National AIDS Committee of Thailand, August 1999, MSF website, www.accessmed-msf.org/msf/accessmed/accessmed.nsf/html/4DTS2? Open Document. p1 [12] Fact Sheet ‘Developing Countries’ Transition Periods’ p1 [13] Kara M. Bombach ‘The South African Medicines and Related Substances Control Amendment Bill and TRIPS’ http://academic.udayton.edu/health/06world/africa01.htm p1 [14] Patric Bond ‘US Policy toward South Africa and Access to Pharmaceutical Drugs’   Alternative Information and Development Centre  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      p1 [15] Louise Sylvan ‘TRIPS: Protecting Intellectual Property or Putting Profits Before People’ Online Opinion p1 [16] N.B. Zaveri (1999) ‘Success often comes to those who dare and act’, paper presented at Brainstorming Workshop on WTO Agreements and People’s Concerns, New Delhi, Oct/Nov 1999 p1 [17] David C Korten, When Corporations Rule the World, Earthscan Publication Ltd. London, p.144 [18] Ibid [19] Ibid [20] David C Korten, When Corporations Rule the World, Earthscan Publication Ltd. London, p.144 [21] Ibid [22] Janet Dine, The Governance of Corporate Groups, Cambridge University Press, 2000.p.156 [23] David C Korten, When Corporations Rule the World, Earthscan Publication Ltd. London, p.146 [24] Ibid [25] David C Korten, When Corporations Rule the World, Earthscan Publication Ltd. London, p.147 [26] Ibid [27] David C Korten, When Corporations Rule the World, Earthscan Publication Ltd. London,pp.147-148 [28] Rosalyn S Park, The International Drugs Industry: What the Future Holds for South Africa’s HIV/AIDS   Patients, Minnesota Journal of Global Trade, 2002.p.1 [29] Ibid [30] Rosalyn S Park, Minnesota Journal of Global Trade, 2000, p.2 [31] J H Reichman, The TRIPS Agreement Comes of Age: Conflict or Cooperation with the Developing Countries? P.6 [32] F.M. Scherer and Jayashree Watal ‘Post-Trips Options for Access to Patented Medicines in Developing Nations’ Journal of International Economic Law (2002)   p 939

Orginal writing Essay

      He had relied on stray sheep and animals as he knew he couldn’t go past the village as he’d die, he decided to wait to see if anyone comes back he’d use his brother killing him with the knife he’d been given my his late master, exchanging his brothers soul for his own freedom to travel beyond the borders. He also knew the only other thing that could send him to his ultimate fate was also the knife; he also knew that the opposite to what he wanted to happen could happen. He could if struck by the knife be killed also. In the air the very essence of evil hung in the air, the endless darkness sweeping forward devouring everything in its path. Cobwebs hung everywhere filled with decaying flies; the only light came in from the holes in the walls piercing the darkness. The small of centuries of decomposition stung the nostrils and the throat. The only sound was the drip of water and the occasional settling of giant spiders; the cobwebs snared the skin hoping to catch the person as if he was a fly. It was startling the in contrast with the cold air in the hills. He was anxious, he’d reached his objective, and half knew the old man was right. It was suicide. The man with jet black hair stooped low moving surprisingly quickly and quietly for a man his age following David to stop the worst thing that could ever happen, happen by doing he risked the worlds safety. David’s worst fears were realized stood in front of him but facing the other was the monster, he was like a huge upright wolf with huge black eagle like wings. The dark hair that covered his body was like needles, he looked that he could destroy anything. He flew out of the window, looking for stray sheep or so he thought. He ran through endless rooms and corridors before finally stopping in a room. A room filled with gold it gleamed newly polished beyond perfection. A room that within its walls tucked into a corner was a blood red handled knife. He took it just incase and ran until he came across someone, or something. The old man with jet black hair stumbled in agony; the monster had just caught him! Breathing both of his legs unable to move he sat and waited, waited for the inevitable for the knife to pierce him. He knew he was making a mistake, but if he did die, the worst possible thing couldn’t happen, this thought calmed him, as he slipped into unconsciousness. The monster searched and searched for thee knife knocking over wall after wall trying to find it. He was excited the time had come and the world would pay. He saw out of the corner of his eye he saw David stooped low shaking in fear. He snatched the knife off him. Then slammed him into one of the castle walls, not killing him but David were wise enough to pretend to be. David waited till the monster as a distance away then thought of what he had just seen. The monster had big red inflamed eyes, razor like teeth and two gleaming fangs. He stood on two legs not all fours and looked as powerful as he was deadly. David decide to get out while he could, he sprinted to the exit. The monster loomed over the old man with the knife. Stabbed him. His blood splashed on the ground forming a crimson puddle. The knife itself seemed to glow, the blood on the blade instantly congealed. A wisp of grey crossed from body to blade, sealing the world’s fate. David saw this hiding in one of the corners. He knew he should run but his legs would not allow it he wondered why the monster never had the time to kill him. Now he knew. He was taken over by something he sprinted over to the monster that was taken by surprise. He then reached out a hand a jumped almost horizontally through the air. In all one move he took the dagger and plunged it deep into the monsters neck. He landed. The ground below him started to shake soon the ground gave way but not before the monster erupted into an inferno instantly killing David. His last thought was one of relief that the monster was dead and pride that it was he that had done it. The castle collapsed into itself. The knife and the two bodies buried under the ruins with them the knife, waiting for a new master to control it.

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Cause and effect on hunter-gatherer - Essay Example Proto-science can be alternatively called as the pre-science period but it had nonetheless contributed a lot to the development of established scientific methods. Simple observations of the workings of nature ensured survival of primitive peoples. It could include things like when animals will gather, where these animals drink and the various shrubs, berries and fruits of trees that are edible or poisonous (Hassler & Wilcox, 2008, p. 8). It can be described that life back then was very precarious that depended mostly on Nature on how Man manages to adapt himself to Nature. Seasons and weather patterns likewise have to be predicted with a certain degree of accuracy in order for men to prepare themselves. This paper tries to examine how these primitive societies managed to survive from the rigors and challenges of Nature from which we are descended. It is quite interesting to note that due to this preoccupation with adjusting to Nature, men had learned almost by instinct on how to interpret the world to ensure survival. It had become second nature (pardon the pun) in which men at those times behaved resulting into an in-built bias that served as a very survival mechanism by relating the cause to its effect. This is the discussion in this paper. The hunter-gatherer societies existed before man learned to develop agriculture. Due to the very nature of being entirely dependent on the vagaries of Nature, man has no choice but to become nomadic whenever and wherever there is plentiful food supply and where it is relatively safe for him to obtain such food supplies. Because of man’s innate capacity to learn and learn quickly, observation of Nature alone is not sufficient for him to survive. To be able to make sense of the observed patterns in Nature, man has to construct a model. This model is then used to resolve the ambiguities often seen in Nature. As a result of this tendency to avoid ambiguity, our brain’s circuits are predisposed to

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Fast Food Nation Essay Example for Free

Fast Food Nation Essay As American as a small, rectangular, hand-held, frozen, and reheated apple pie.? (p. 3) Far from being a run of the mill expose on calories and fat grams in fast food, Fast Food Nation is a hard-hitting critique of the industrialization of America? s and, later, the world? s food supply. The consequences of this industrialization have far-reaching effects on working people around the world. Fast food chains are at the pinnacle of a giant food-industrial complex that controls the nation? s food supply. Schlosser begins with some thumb nail sketches of fast food?s ? founding fathers.? None of today? s fast food giants were started by large corporations. They were all started by people of very modest means. Harland Sanders is a good example. He ? left school at the age of twelve, worked as a farm hand, a mule tender, and a railway fireman. At various times he worked as a lawyer without having a law degree, delivered babies as a part-time obstetrician without having a medical degree, sold insurance door to door, sold Michelin tires, and operated a gas station . . .. and at the age of sixty-five became a traveling salesman once again, offering restaurant owners the secret recipe? for his fried chicken. The first Kentucky Fried Chicken Restaurant opened in 1952 . . . . Lacking money to promote the new chain, Sanders dressed up like a Kentucky colonel? (p. 23). But despite the modest beginnings of Harland Sanders, William Rosenberg (Dunkin? Donuts), Dave Thomas (Wendy? s), Thomas S. Monaghan (Domino? s) and others, they have created giant empires that brutally exploit millions of underpaid workers across the globe. Next, Eric Schlosser describes how McDonald? s and others market to children. Many of these companies have cradle-to-grave? advertising strategies.? Apparently, brand loyalty? may begin as early as age two. Indeed, market research has found that children often recognize a brand logo before they can recognize their own name? (p. 43). Under the heading ? mcteachers and coke dudes,? Schlosser describes the cradle-to-grave strategy that fast food chains use to market to children. This strategy reaches new highs (or lows) all the time. Not content to market ?to children through playgrounds, toys, cartoons, movies, videos, charities, and amusement parks, through contests, sweepstakes, games, and clubs, via television, radio, magazines, and the Internet, fast food chains are gaining access to the last advertising free outposts of American life? ( p. 51) public schools. In 1993, District 11 in Colorado Springs became the first school district in the U. S. to have ads for Burger King inside their schools and on their school buses. However, the school district netted little from this, gaining only $1 per student. In his next chapter, entitled ? Behind the Counter,? Schlosser describes the life of a young woman of sixteen by the name of Elisa, who gets up at 5:15 in the morning to get out the door by 5:30. She and the manager arrive at work, and for the next hour or two, they get the place ready. The two of them turn on the ovens and grills and get the food and supplies, cups, wrappers, styrofoam containers, and condiments, for the morning shift. They get frozen bacon, frozen pancakes, and frozen cinnamon rolls from the freezer. Plus, they bring out frozen hash browns, frozen biscuits, and frozen McMuffins. Then they get packages of orange juice mix and scrambled egg mix. The restaurant opens at seven and for the next couple of hours Elisa and the manager work alone, taking all the orders. Later, as more customers arrive, so do more employees. Elisa works the counter from breakfast through lunch. She then walks home after standing for seven hours at the cash register. Totally wiped out, her feet hurting, she plops in front of the tv and gets up the next morning at 5:15. The entire fast food industry seeks out teenage, part-time (no overtime, please), unskilled workers like Elisa, because they? re willing to accept low pay, are cheaper than adults, and are easier to control due to their inexperience. Although recently, middle class teenagers are shunning jobs at McDonalds and Burger King and are being replaced by poor immigrants and the elderly (The New York Times, January 8, 2001). ?The labor practices of the fast food industry have their origins in the assembly line systems adopted by American manufacturers in the early twentieth century? (p. 68). In a restaurant assembly line, tasks are broken up into small, repetitive bits requiring little or no skill, while machines and operating systems do the things that require timing and training (p. 69). In addition, the fast food industry generally pays minimum wage, moreso than any other industry. The result has been that the real value of laborers? wages have fallen for the last three decades. Worse yet, the industry almost never pays overtime. Bonuses for managers at many fast food restaurants are tied to holding down labor costs. The result being that many workers are forced to wait until the restaurant gets busy before punching in. Workers are forced to do clean-up after they? ve punched out. One Taco Bell employee ? regularly worked seventy to eighty hours a week but was paid for only forty? (p. 75). Taco Bell has been sued for this in a number of states. The fast food industry is not alone in doing this kind of thing. Wal-Mart is being sued in 28 states for forcing workers to work off the clock, as reported by Steven Greenhouse in his expose ? Suits Say Wal-Mart Forces Workers to Toil Off the Clock,? in the June 25, 2002, New York Times. To add insult to injury, the status of fast food workers is so low that customers feel justified in heaping abuse on them. This writer was once told to his face that ? Your job is so simple that a monkey could do it.? Another customer grabbed me and ripped my shirt when he didn? t get a ? Jimmy Special.? There was no ? Jimmy Special? on the menu, nor did I know it was a sandwich. Incidents like this are so common that web sites are devoted to them. If low wages, no benefits, low status, and hard work are not bad enough, more restaurant workers are murdered on the job in the U. S. than are. police officers. Most restaurant crime is committed by current or former disgruntled employees. Out of the frying pan and into the fire If the life of a fast food worker is bad, workers in the meatpacking industry have it much worse. In 1961, two former Swift Co. executives, Currier Holman and A. D. Anderson, started Iowa Beef Packers better known as IBP. Over the course of twenty years, these two lead the meatpacking industry back to the days of Upton Sinclair? s The Jungle. IBP created ? a mass production system that employed a de-skilled workforce, . . . put its new slaughterhouses in rural areas . . . far away from the urban strongholds of the nation? s labor unions? (p 154). In 1970, the IBP broke its labor unions with the help of La Cosa Nostra, and the stage was set for sweatshop heaven. At a ConAgra slaughterhouse in Greeley , Colorado, the workers mainly come from Mexico, Central America, and Southeast Asia. Base pay is $9. 25 per hour; when adjusted for inflation, thats one-third lower than the same plant paid forty years ago (p. 160). The annual turnover rate is 400%. On average, a worker quits or is fired every three months. But ? far from being a liability, a high turnover rate in the meatpacking industryas in the fast food industry also helps maintain a workforce that is harder to unionize and much easier to control? (p161). Meatpacking is now the most dangerous job in the United States. The injury rate in a slaughterhouse is about three times higher than the rate in a typical American factory. Every year, more than one quarter of the meatpacking workers in this countryroughly forty thousand men and womensuffer an injury or a work related illness that requires medical attention beyond first aid? (p172). However, there are big incentives not to report injuries. ?The annual bonuses of plant foremen and supervisors are often based in part on the injury rate of their workers? (p175). The main cause of the high injury rate is the speed of the disassembly line. The list of the injuries is long and bloody. But, speaking of speed, it? s the speed of the disassembly line that? s one of the major causes of food borne illness from E. coli 0157:H7. The other major causes are crowded feedlots and industrial-size hamburger grinders. The stomachs and intestines of cattle, where the E. coli 0157:H7 live, are still removed by hand. This job takes about six months? practice to do well. But with high turnover and the high speed of the line, it? s not done well. Twenty percent of cattle can have their guts spilled onto the carcasses being processed on the line, which can then contaminate many others (p. 203). This willful disregard for the consumer? s health is all done in the name of profits. But, because capitalism lives by the profit, for the profit, and of the profit, decades go by, Republicans then Democrats rule, but still little or nothing gets done. However, if not for the sake of profit, the whole meatpacking industry could be cleaned up in just six months, yes, just six months! This according to David M. Theno, the man who cleaned up Jack in the Box after its outbreak of E. coli 0157:H7 in 1993 (p. 210). If there? s one big weakness in Fast Food Nation, its while correctly criticizing the Republican? s support for agribusiness, he seldom attacks the Democrats. Eric Schlosser acknowledges this himself in an afterword. ?In retrospect, I could have been more critical of the Clinton administration? s ties to agribusiness. Had I devoted more space to the poultry industry, for example, I would have examined the close links between Bill Clinton and the Tyson family? (p. 277). Both the Democrats and Republicans are tools of big business. Only a system based on human need, and not on profit, can clean up our food supply and guarantee the well-being of workers. And that system is socialism! I strongly recommend that everyone who is for social justice read this book. It? s an eye-opener even for someone like me who? s worked in restaurants for 23 years. The article above was written by John Pottinger, and first appeared in the October issue of Socialist Action newspaper.

Hearing Impairment and Specific Communication Needs Essay Example for Free

Hearing Impairment and Specific Communication Needs Essay In the table below list features in the environment that may help or hinder communication. Then describe in detail how these features may help or hinder communication. Features in the environment How may this help or hinder communication? Lighting People with a hearing or sight impairment need good lighting as they may need to be able to see your face features to see what you are saying to them. (Reading lips). Distractions People would not be able to hear you if you are in a busy and noisy area. For example; if you have a few friends and everyone is talking at once the person who can’t hear well won’t be able to hear the conversation. Positioning You need to be facing each other so you can read the other persons facial expression and body language. To help understand what they are saying to you. Barriers Barriers block are view of the other person and it can impair on us understanding and hearing the person. You can also feel uneasy. For example; when you go to the bank and you have a separated glass in between you. Space You don’t want someone to be too close to you as you would feel uncomfortable and uneasy. We need to feel comfortable with the other person to communicate well. 1. 4 In the table below list and describe the reasons why an individual may have specific communication needs. Then identify a Learning difficulties like down syndrome will have an effect on people’s communication because it can impair the hearing and speech. They can find it hard to form certain words which are hard for others to understand. They also make their own way to communicate to others. Depending on how much their disability takes over them. Physical disability such as Cerebral palsy which is damage to the brain can compare someone’s hearing and speech it all depends on what areas of the brain have been damaged. Also other physical disabilities affect the body such as loss of head control or facial muscle which is making it hard to communicate to others or for them to understand. A mental health condition like dementia is hard to communicate with because they may start to hallucinate and see things that we cannot. We have to remind them of certain things as their short term or long term memory has been affected. They may start to not understand what we are saying because they have forgotten what certain words mean. Hearing loss affects people’s communication because some people can be completely deaf also some people can be slightly hard of hearing. Either way to communicate with others is hard they need to see and face the person they are talking to so they can read lips or watch your body language. People who have lost their hearing in later life will find it harder to adjust as they have always relied on their hearing to communicate. Others that could have been born with deafness they would feel that they haven’t lost something but would have learned new ways of communication such as sign language. Sight difficulties have a huge impact on people’s lives because you are missing out on a lot of communication such as people’s body language to get the full effect of communication. When we lose are sight at a later stage in life it is hard to accept and can sometimes stop people wanting to learn new communication skills. Deaf and blindness is a major concern as they have lost most ways of communicating. They can feel and touch but they haven’t any more senses then that. Social development is important as it is everyday life from when we are growing from child to adult. We need to socially interact with people as this is how we develop are communication skills. 1. 6 Describe the potential effects on an individual of having unmet communication needs The effect of unmet communication is that an individual can become withdrawn and have a low self-esteem or even depressed. Their behaviour can change and become angry and violent or even frustrated because they cannot communicate like everyone else. Also, if that individual does not have any support they may believe that they do not need to communicate on their views or debate on a conversation. They start to believe that there is no point in it anymore. Some individuals that have been born with communication difficulties as above and have grown will the impairment does not mean that they understand it or be able to cope with it. By not support these people we are denying them their rights and by doing this we are abusing them. 2. 3. How and when would you access information and support about identifying and addressing specific communication needs? We access information and support when we give others support in their lives as everyone is different and we need to know different techniques. Such as having photographs or pen and paper to communicate with people. When we look into peoples records we must follow correct policy and procedure. Keep confidentiality. If the information we need is not there then we look on the internet, books, journals and reports. When we support people we may need to work with other professionals. Such as; occupational therapists, psychiatrists and speech and language therapists etc.

Marketing, Communications and Fundraising of NGO

Marketing, Communications and Fundraising of NGO Chikondi Mbewe Introduction Urban Promise Wilmington is a Christian organization focusing on serving at-risk children and youths in Delaware State. It was founded in 1998 by Rob Prestowitz. The vision of the organization came into existence when the founder volunteered in Camden. The city of Wilmington is still known as one of the most unsafe cities in America due to violence and drug abuse. The violence and drug abuse does not only affect the communities but also in the lives of young people who have a future. Urban Promise is raising a generation of hope of Christian leaders on the East side of Wilmington where there are shootings going on observed Miller, (dalawareonline.com Sunday News Journal A17, 2010). In 1999, the organization started running afterschool program, targeting elementary children at St Joseph Catholic Church. From 2001, the organization extended its program to some three new sites: Camp Promise, Camp Freedom, Camp Hope, and own an elementary school. Other two middle school Camps were also o pened to reach out at-risk youths. In 2010, the organization embarked on another big project of opening urban Promise Academy high school. The Mission Statement The mission of Urban Promise is to equip children and young adults with the skills necessary for spiritual growth, academic achievement, life management and Christiana leadership. The vision is to be a community in Christ of transformational and servant leadership, seeking a full life for all involved, urban youths and families, volunteers and staff in the neighborhood our city Wilmington. Market Mix Marketing mix refers to a unique blend of product, place (distribution), promotion, and pricing strategies designed to produce mutually satisfying exchanges with a target market (Lamb, 2009 p.47). Product, place, promotion and price are the major elements that determine the market. How does the product affect the market or the needs of the customers? Product Products refer to tangible goods, series, places, and ideas which customers buy, lease, rent, or use to meet their needs and wants (Wood, 2011 p. 97). Any company or nonprofit organization before it goes on the market, there are a number of questions needs to be answered. What are we really selling? What are the features of our product or services? What are the benefits of our products or services to the customers? Who is our target audience primary, secondary or tertiary? As an organization, answering such questions can help to be focused on what it wants to deliver to the customer needs with quality and satisfaction. Urban Promise Wilmington does not produce tangible goods but rather services As such our services are programs that we offer such as Afterschool program in six sites, Urban Promise Elementary school program, Urban Promise High school Academy, Summer Camp, Trekkers Program, Street Leader job Training program, and Intern Program. The features of our services are the quality of the programs offers to the communities, children, and youths that are Christ centered. The benefits of our services look beyond current challenges to see a future of hope and purpose. Such benefits include educational performance, spiritual enhancement, life skills management and behavior change management for young people. The programs enrich kids in a safe, positive environment during high-risk hours. More personalized assessment and focused intervention. Motivational programs such as speech contest, spelling and math bees, college trips, UK speaking tour as we train the minds and disciple the hearts. Price Price is that which is given up in an exchange to acquire a good or service (Lamb, 2009 p. 559). Price can easily determine the value of the product or vice-versa. if customers perceive the price to be too high in relation to the benefits, they simply wont buy, which helps to lower demand; if they perceive the price to be too low, for the expected benefits or quality, demand also will suffer (Wood, 2011 p. 115). This suggests that the price is the deciding factor to create more demand for the service or supply. But in most cases, customers focus on the benefits of the service or product. Time also affect price especially in times of low inflation, business can increase profit margins only by increasing efficiency (Lamb, p 86 bright space article chapter 3) In this case, Urban Promise Wilmington, it offers free Afterschool program but there is still an element of price for some services. The free Afterschool program is one of the strategies to achieve its mission and against competitors. For example, College trips, children, and youths pay $10, summer camp each kid pay $25 which is used to buy summer T-shirt, and the field trip every Friday for six weeks. But parents are given options either to pay or not. To the customers who are parents, in this case, it might sound almost free when they consider the benefits. The price makes the services more valuable to the customers. On the other, the price is the essential weapon that can easily change the market system of the product easily (Lam, 2009). Though Urban Promise offers free services, but that does not really free as an organization. The organization suffers a lot to make sure it is working hard to fundraise in order to cover other costs that go for free to the customers. In fact, Urban Promise understands that families whom they work could not manage to pay for services if offer. Again its goal was to penetrate into the community with the gospel. Afterschool was indirectly used to offer other services to the young people. How is the program promoted in the inner city? Promotion Promotion is also called consumer-influencer strategies. Lamb (2009) defines promotions as communication by marketers that informs, persuades, and reminds potential buyers or customers of a product in order to influence their opinion or elicit a response (p.471). Product or service, price, and distribution can literally get into the market points or distribution but the questions still remain. How will the customer know about your products or, your newly established brand and organizations? This is the role of promotions which includes advertising; public relations which help people know you or the products and services (Levens, 2010). How does Urban Promise Wilmington inform, persuades, remind, and educates the customers? Urban Promise uses several ways to educate and inform its customers. In the first place, it uses annual events like Banquet. The Banquet serves three main important roles: fundraise, sell the programs, and invite people for partnership. The event each year brings together more than six hundred people from the different world of the corporate world and nonprofit. Secondly, Urban Promise partners with different churches. Churches have been a powerful tool in informing the mass about the programs offered by organizations. Thirdly, each year Urban Promise go for recruiting in Colleges around the world in its intern program. The organization has people from Finland, Scotland, Chile, and Africa and within states. People who have served with Urban Promise have promoted the organization to the height. Lastly, it also uses internet such as website (www.urbanpromisewilmington.org), blogs, press release, magazines, flyers, and Face book. Multiple ways of promotion in the organization, suggest that customers usually feel, sense, and taste differently on the same product. Promotion strategy is closely related to the process of communication. As human we assign meaning to feelings, ideas, facts, attitudes and emotions (Lamb, p.400 Marketing and communication article, bright space) Place or distribution Place or distribution is an essential part of marketing because without it, products arent available for customers to buy and profit is lost (Levens, 2010 p.152). Further, Levens define distribution as the process of delivering products and services to customers (p.150). We cannot discuss product without considering where the product will be distributed or shared with the customer. Any customer accesses our services through distribution points that are strategically defined. The Afterschool program at Urban Promise Wilmington targets Church-owned facilities as key points of distribution service. Why? The churches in the City of Wilmington are the main partners of Urban Promise which have more customers to buy our services. The Afterschool program is offered in the way that meets the mission of Urban Promise by making the bible the center for counseling. Free Afterschool program and considering the bible as the center for counseling distinguish Urban Promise from its competitors. Urban Promise serves 600 children and youths each year through Afterschool and summer programs. The organization understands that the needs for educational excellence for less privileged families. The programs are offered at the most critical hours from 2:30 pm up to 6:30 pm of which most parents at work. The main competitors are The YMCA, Simply Equal Education, Literacy Delaware, and Jewish Community Center of Delaware, Inc. The stated nonprofits also run similar programs in the same locations. The only different with Urban Promise is the free Afterschool program and focuses on sharing gospel message to the young people and grooms them to become reliable citizens of their families and communities at large. Conclusion The elements of the Market mix are interconnected and missing one can easily affect both the organization and customers. The market mix helps the organization to achieve its mission through well-coordinated market activities such as product, price, promotion, and place or distribution. Products or services are supposed to add good value to the customers. Products or services determine the market. Good product that meets customers needs and satisfaction are likely to fetch high demand. Sometimes the quality of products or services affects price either positive or negative. Customers are accustomed to knowing the benefits of products before they even consider the price. In addition, the products, and price are also determined by the place or distribution. The same products or services can be charged differently depending on the status of the place. Furthermore, the product, price, and place require promotion to inform and persuade the customer to buy the services. Therefore, the goal of the market mix is to meet the needs and satisfaction of the customer. References Lamb, C.W, Hair, J.F McDaniel (2009) Essential of marketing; South-Western, Cengage Learning, United States Levens, M (2010) Marketing: defined, explained, applied. Pearson Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, United States Wood, M. B (2011, 4thEd) The Marketing plan; handbook, Pearson Prentice Hall, upper Saddle River, New Jersey www.urbanpromisewilmington.org Lamb, e-chapter13, (2009) Marketing and Advertising article https://eastern.brightspace.com/d2l/le/content/23621/viewContent/613432/View Lamb, e-chapter 3, (2009) Social responsibility, Ethics, Marketing and Environment article https://eastern.brightspace.com/d2l/le/content/23621/viewContent/613429/View

Todays Rising Gas Prices Essay -- essays research papers

Today's Rising Gas Prices At some point in everyone’s lives, we are affected by the rising gas prices in today’s economy. Natural gas is not a renewable resource, since there is a fixed amount of it trapped in the Earth. However, many people carry the misconception that there is a very limited amount of natural gas, and that we may use all of it up. This isn’t true. The gas shortages of the 1970's were prompted by the government’s lack of faith in the industry’s ability to discover and develop new reserves, not by lack of gas supply. The unfortunate impression left by the shortages of gas in the 1970's caused the people to believe that there was a small amount of gas left. On the contrary, the gas resource base is vast, and probably even larger than currently estimated. People are often confused by the difference in "proved reserves", those that could be economically produced with the current technology, and the total natural gas resource base. Before the 70’s, oil from the Middle East was very cheap, and in North America, it was about $4 a barrel. But then, the leaders of the Middle East discovered that everyone needed their oil, so they formed OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries). Practically overnight, they jacked up the prices of oil by limiting the supply. This was the first oil crisis. It lasted for a while, but then they got greedy, and started supplying more oil, in hopes to make more money. But then there was more supply than demand, so t...