How to Manage Negativity within the Medical Aesthetics

The vital challenge for managing negative employees nowadays is to stay alive and flourish in a very chaotic globe. To achieve this, the Medical Aesthetics Market Place perceives it essential to keep positive attitudes of its organization. Ethical values, constantly applied, are the foundation in building a commercially victorious and generally responsible business (Barbuceanu & Fox, 1996).   Business organizations progress trust and a positive outlook between its personnel strengthen ethical framework and proffer a moral breadth during times of change and in catastrophe (Grimes & Alley, 1997).Medica Spa owners require positive-productive employees to gain encouraging impact on their clienteles. For this objective, owners and managers endow with greater control over one's manners, build assurance in decision making, and consent to more truthful discernments of one's self. Those issues concern justice, honesty, correctness and an optimistic attitude; as a consequence it can only be resolved according to ethical standards.Decision-making must be empowered to the level adjoining the field of action, on condition that, that this level has compulsory for positive reception from its employees at its clearance (Guest, 1989). A manager is required to make his function wider to increase dynamism, inventiveness and speed of achievement (Barenberg, 1994).Employees in the Medical Aesthetics Market Place are in fact obliged to comply with significantly increased demands in quantity and quality. The movement in the present day is to hire less than sufficient staff and work to the maximum.   Negativity should be restricted to any level of an employee. Operations individuals at present have more duties and must generate more (Ghallab, 1994).Owners are required to entrust a part of its sanctions to the subordinate hierarchical levels, if they do not want to be congested with more and more abundant and multifaceted problems. Delegation is mainly about entrusting an ownerâ₠¬â„¢s authority to others. This denotes that they can take action and begin autonomously; and that they presume duty with owners for tasks. Entrustment underpins a technique of management which allows the staff to exercise and widen their skills and knowledge to full potential (Guest, 1989). To manage negativity of employees, owners must:distribute adequate resources to board activities such as time, money, and facilitiessupport workers and supervisors to collaborate with the committee and be involvedentail the committee in each and every health and safety activitiesfacilitate to schedule committee activities such as investigations as well as inspectionsdivide health and safety matters from concerns not relatedwork and take steps safely and guarantee that supervisors work and take action carefullyTo manage negative employees, managers must be straightforward to the staff to assume their responsibilities, as every now and then it is very at ease to feel oneself protected from all ris ks that are inherent in running an organization’s operations; a desire from the managers must exist to abandon certain prerogatives – for it is a loss of authority – to be able to concentrate on other more significant activities; must be capable of setting up a career promotion and rewards that recompense the efforts of the staff that stimulate them and motivate their activity for the benefit of the group (Ghallab, 1994).   The staff must have enough knowledge on how to do their responsibilities with dedication and positive attitude. Thus, the business owners ought to facilitate access to the required understanding.The owner who fears and cannot organize well will never manage negativity of employees successfully; the manager, who is acquainted with that the staff may possibly have supplementary experience and knowledge, and so may possibly develop the decision-making process, will receive their participation; managing negativity of employees guarantees that t he staff will put decision-making into practice within the organization of their objectives and will sense that their perspectives are welcome. One of the main irrational fears about delegation is that by providing others authority, an owner or manager loses power (Grimes & Alley, 1997). This must not be the case.If the owner trains the staff to take actions the same criteria as the manager would, by example and explanations, then the staff will be exercising the manager’s control on his/her behalf with positive outlook if and only if the manager demonstrates a positive attitude. And since they will distinguish many more circumstances over which control may be put into effect, then control will be exercised more rapidly and more diversely than an owner could put it into effect by his/her self.An owner must be able to distribute the more mundane tasks as equally as possible; and add the more stimulating once as broadly. Generally, but particularly with the tedious tasks, an ow ner must be careful to delegate not only the performance of the mission but also its tenure (Barenberg, 1994). Task handing over, more willingly than task assignment, allows innovation and positive attitude and outlook in their work.To manage negativity within a business,   an owner is supposed to increase progressively; first, a small assignment leading to a little improvement, then another assignment which constructs upon the first; when that is accomplished, add an additional step; and so on. This is the differentiation between asking people to balance a sheer wall (negative), and offering them with a flight of steps (positive).When an owner delegates a job, it does not have to be finished as fit as an owner could do it in a given time, but only as fit as needed: never judge the upshot by what is expected (it is complicated to be objective – negative), but by fitness for positive function. When an owner delegates a task, he/she must agree upon the standards by which the result will be reviewed. An owner must not exaggerate a negative issue; if the staff did something wrong, the owner must have the skill of using specific and positive terms in correcting the mistake – not meaning to hurt the staff’s feelings (Barbuceanu & Fox, 1996).ReferencesBarbuceanu, M. & Fox, M. (1996). The Design of a Coordination Language for Multi-AgentsSystems. In Intelligent Agents III. Agent Theories, Architectures, and Languages.Springer, pp.341-355.Barenberg, M. (1994). Democracy and Domination in the Law of Workplace Cooperation:From Bureaucratic to Flexible Production, 94 Colum. L. Rev. 753, 825–78. Harper,supra note 468, at 113–14.Ghallab, M. (1994). Past and future chronicles for supervision and planning. In Jean  PaulHaton, editor, Proceedings of the 14th Int. Avignon Conference, Paris, EC2 and AFIA,pp23-34.Grimes, G. & Alley, B. (1997). Intelligent Agents for Network Fault Diagnosis and Testing.In Integrated Network Management V: inte grated management in a virtual world. SanDiego, California, USA, May 1997. IFIP, Chapman & Hall, pp.232-244.Guest, D. (1989). Personnel and HRM: Can you tell the difference? Personnel Management.St. Paul, MN: West Publishing, pp23-27.

Judeo-Christian, Islamic, Mayan and Hindu

One of the most compelling issues regarding religious comparison is the knowledge that each of these religions believes itself to be the only correct path to enlightenment or the afterlife. This is one similarity that is found in virtually all religions.The Jews, Christians and Islamic all have a similar story of creation. Each starts with Adam and Eve being created by God or a Supreme Being. They all have parts where the angels take issue with what they perceive to be God’s favoritism regarding his creations.There are many complaints about they fact that they have always been by his side and done his bidding and now they are required to bow down to the humans he created. Not all religions believe in angels but almost all of them have some form of creature that is not happy about the creation of man. This is man’s way of putting himself first in the eyes of his God. Man feels a need to balance his superiority with a need for guidance. The omnipotent being covers the gui dance aspect and man being over the angels satisfies his superiority issue.All of the religions have one or more antagonists in their creation stories. With the Jews, Christians and Islamic it is Satan, with the Hindu it is the negative emotions such as greed, anger and desire and with the Mayan it is the Gods themselves who are the testers of man.Satan, in the religions who believe, is a â€Å"fallen angel†. He is so called because when all the other angels do God’s bidding and bow down to man, he alone refuses to do so, stating he was there before them and would not bow to something less than himself. This, of course, angered God and he told Satan that from now on he was banned from God’s sight.According to all the religions who believe in Satan, this was fine with him. He told God that he would spend his time tempting and leading astray the people that God had created. God, in turn, stated that only people who ere not worthy would fall for Satan’s tric ks and if they did, they could join him in hell for eternity.Man has a need to explain everything in his life, good, bad or otherwise. As there is a God who is good, there must be a Satan (or other being) that is not good. This explains man’s dual personality and is even covered in those religions that do not subscribe to God and Satan. Duality is the basis of many religions and balance is a major issue within them.In the Mayan tradition, the Gods created man for personal reasons, which was to worship them and make sure they were not forgotten. They tested the first couple of groups they created but were displeased with the results. The people they created were too basic to understand what they had been made for and could not adore the Gods properly so they were destroyed. Even the last group the Gods made was faulty according to the Gods, this time because they knew and saw too much. The Gods dimmed their vision so they would not be equals with the Gods.Although all the reli gions teach of the desire and attempts to become â€Å"Godlike†, they all seem to have the undercurrent of Gods who do not wish to have equals but rather worshippers instead. It may be that we, as humans, need to feel there is a â€Å"father figure† we can turn to or alternately blame for those things that happen in our lives. This is unusual since mankind tends to be very egotistical regarding our place in the universe and yet   when it comes to religion, we are more than willing to step aside and let an omnipotent being guise our destiny.

Motivation Letter Essay

I am writing to submit letter to express my interest as a Catering assistant in your organisation. Being fresher, It is a good match with the job description you have provided on your website, I am confident in my ability to meet and exceed my goals with your organisation and helps me in future by getting experience in catering assistant. I am applying for this position because I have following skills: Washing dishes and utensils by hand. Having reliability and patient when working in fast pace environment. Provide outstanding customer service and friendly with all team members. Great understandings of cleaning and cleaning tools. Great at multi-tasking and time management skills. Ability to handle things in a discreet and confidential manner. Based on my qualifications, it is the perfect job for me to improve my skills to provide good quality customer service and learn new things from other employees. In addition to my customer service strengths, I have mastery  knowledge of kitchen cleaning or customer service and have good communication skills. My primary objective is to assist your business grow and function smoothly in any way I can This job is favourable for me because I am quick learner and ability to do anything. I am prepared to undertake any training offered and I am available for an interview anytime. If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact me (0223963129) I look forward to hearing from you.

Elementary Math Questions Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Elementary Math Questions - Coursework Example They come in different shapes and forms and include algebra tiles, algebra blocks and algebra models. These different forms help support the different factors and variables, therefore, making it easier to understand the concept of algebra by use of visuals. This can be transferred easily to mathematical calculations later. There are many manipulatives that can be used in a classroom. However, the choice depends on the individual teacher and the grade level of the young learner. The manipulatives should also be easy and interesting. This is to avoid creating boredom and lack of interest for the learner. Some of the important manipulatives include counting, interlocking and rod, attribute blocks and money manipulatives. For example, I would use counting manipulatives to help learners determine missing numbers. This challenges the user to work it out and helps in quick understanding of the concept. Young elementary students should be allowed to use manipulatives both in class and during assessments. This is considering that they are the first means of helping young learners understand basic mathematics. Manipulatives should be allowed on assessments to help in evaluating the young learners ability to grasp the basic concepts. However, once these are found to be satisfactory, the younger learner should be weaned off from using them. This would help in making the learner develop mental abilities for doing calculations without their use. Set theory uses a collection of objects into sets used for objects relevant to mathematics. The theory tends to explain the inter-relationship between the objects. The way these are interchangeably arranged help learners to acquire the concept more easily. Visual presentation is important and it helps deepen the learners’ understanding. This makes it easy to do calculations later after they are no longer in use. This would be through the use of manipaulatives brought by the students or made in class out of foam sheets. The

Are legislatures always weaker than executives Essay

Are legislatures always weaker than executives - Essay Example Fundamentally, the legislative arm of the government has had two inherent contradictory roles: sustaining the executive and holding them to account between electoral cycles. Even though the legislative role of sustaining the executive is not in doubt, parliamentary oversight seems to be a poorly coordinated task that often lets the executive off the hook. Noteworthy, the nexus between sustaining the government and the task of challenging it and holding it to task opens a Pandora box full of fallacious fantasies – a fallacious inequity that, no doubt, tilts the balance of power towards the executive. Despite the wide adoption of democratic principles of governance across nations, an understanding that has significantly strengthened accountability and transparency mecha ­nisms with regard to promotion of evidence-informed policy processes, legislatures remain comparatively weaker in relation to the executive in terms of raw power necessary to effect immediate leadership challe nges. The Executive and Parliament: A Historical Perspective The impact of constitutional structures with regards to their political behavior and performance is central in the study of comparative governments. In particular, understanding the balance power between the executive and the legislature in either the parliamentary or presidential systems has been an area of focus in political research (Mustapic, 2002). Structured governmental control stems much from the historical politics of the mid- and late nineteenth century. Designed at a time when the role of government was limited in scope, the convention of superiority of the executive power over the legislature indeed antedates the modern presidential and parliamentary systems of governments. From inception to the present day politics, there is no pretense that executive autonomy bears much capacity and capability to remedy or compensate for social ills on its own without parliaments’ approval. In his submission on the sub ject, Bagehot, a British economist and journalist, referred to the convention of executive authority as the ‘buckle’ and the lynch-pin in the Whitehall-Westminster model (Flinders, 2002). Though modest in both size and ambition at the time, it was reasonable for a competent minister to have a personal control over small departmental portfolios in the mid-Victorian state. Strikingly similar, governmental administration in the first quarter of the nineteenth century fell under ministerial responsibility. But even then as is it to date, the powers vested in a ministerial mandate were highly doubtful in terms of usage. Supporting the foregoing, Cobbett (1823) wrote: â€Å"Ankle-pinching socks are like ministerial powers; a thing to talk about but for no use; a thing to laugh over; and a mere mockery at those whom real power is vested†. Constitutions the world over are molded around the concept of responsible executive authority for strong and stable leadership. Nothi ng services this claim better than a two-branch debate that culminated in the creation of the United States Constitution – a model constitutional debate that has since served as a roadmap to numerous constitutions around the world. While the federalists such as Alexander Hamilton rooted for ‘

Strategic Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Strategic Project - Essay Example Finally, after analyzing the necessary secondary information, we have concluded that the company should go for value added prompt service offerings and globalization strategy through strategic alliance with foreign company. In case of any organization it is very important to follow a good strategy as the success of any organization depends upon how effectively the management works on that. Now there are few parameters on the basis of which analysis has to be conducted and then the strategies of the managements are to be determined. Those are discussed below- The first and the foremost factor that is needed to be analyzed is the analysis of the industry environment. The industry in which the business lays it is very important to analyze its core factors and its changes what are happening in current time. S.W.O.T analysis is that type of environmental analysis which helps in determining the strategies of any company by analyzing the internal strengths and weaknesses as well as the external factors like opportunities in the industry and the threat existing in the form of competitors. According to the given guidance for analyzing any particular company’s management strategy the oil industry has been selected of UAE. The reason why this particular industry has been considered is Oilindustry is counted as the most lucrative industry in the present scenario of the business world. The few items which have the power to influence the economy of the entire world among them the crude oil comes first. Among this industry The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has been selected for analyzing the management strategies of it. The company was started in 1971 and since then till now ithas established itself in the top ten positions in the industry. At present the company manages to produce more than 2.7 barrels of oil per day. In the last three decades this particular company has expanded its business so

Human resources-labor relation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Human resources-labor relation - Essay Example A good location in this sense implies to a locality that has access to cheap raw materials. The availability of raw materials at a low cost should be considered and should be among the determining factors (Hartmann, 1998). Labor costs- the other factor that should be considered in the making of the decision is the availability of cheap labor. The costs of the company should be kept as low as possible so as to ensure that the company increases the profit levels by cutting on costs (Adams, 1995). Level of efficiency- the efficiency of the various plants should be considered. Efficiency is a major contributor to productivity that results to profitability. Efficiency in this situation should be analyzed on the level of machine output and the productivity of the employees working in the various plants (Adler, 1991). Labor laws- the labor laws in the various states in which the plants are located should be considered. There are some laws that would not work well with the closure of a plant and the laying off of employees. The labor laws can be executed by the labor unions that exist. Labor unions may demand for the compensation of the employees who will be rendered jobless as a result of the plant closure. The amount of penalty that is associated with the closure should be kept at a minimal. Level of demand- the demand levels in which the plants are situated should be considered. There are some areas that have a higher demand for the company products and such a plant should be maintained so as to ensure that the demand is capitalized (Forteza, & Prieto, 1994). Tax rates - different states usually have different tax laws. The states that have lower tax rates should be considered over areas that have high rates of tax. Reduction on tax cost would lead to a reduction on the costs that are attributable to the company and that will lead to the company achieving its aim of maximizing profit levels. Experience of employees and

The new pearl harbor revisited Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The new pearl harbor revisited - Essay Example Zubaydah had mentioned that some members of the Saudi royal family was in support of al-Qaeda and had been informed in advance that there would be terrorist attacks in America on September 11,2001. Besides Posner’s honesty being in doubt thanks to his past works his information was important in preparing the American public on future attacks by Saudi Arabia in efforts to gain control of the richest oil reserves in the world. (Griffin 142) Zubaydah was one of the main characters in the Commissions report but even then not even once did the commission mention that three members of the Saudi royal family had known about the attacks of 9/11 including Prince Ahmed. One of the commission’s duties was to cover up any links between Saudi Arabia and the attack of 9/11 and therefore would not mention Posner’s account of Zubaydah’s testimony, for the same reason the CIA destroyed tapes involving Zubaydah’s interrogation(Griffin 150). Later Abu Zubaydah’ s testimony was in doubt with Risen wondering whether his recitation of telephone numbers had been well rehearsed earlier on so as to be employed incase he is captured and create discord between the Saudi royal family, which Osama hated, and America. ... The CIA however viewed him as a central member of the al-Qaeda with important information to give, a view that was publicly supported by President Bush (Griffin 158). Posner’s account was in agreement with the FBI’s view that Zubaydah produced most information on traditional interrogation and the CIA’s view that he was a central person in Al-Qaeda. In both cases Zubaydah gave the names of Jose’ Padilla and Khalid Mohammed but no Saudi officials were mentioned. With the information publicly available it becomes impossible to determine whether the testimony by Zubaydah as presented by the Posner account was true. This could however could have been possible if there was a thorough investigation which unfortunately the 9/11 commission did not give (Griffin 160) . On the issue of al-Qaeda funding, Zubaydah had mentioned that the terrorists got funds from the Saudis. The commission however, did not even mention this reported claim in their report but instead den ied even having found any evidence of funding from the Saudi government and the senior Saudi official’s .Later a Los Angeles Times story presented the information to have been politically instigated. The author of the story, Josh Meyer, had interviewed several senior members of the 9/11 commission. The commission had uncovered that the Saudi Arabian government funded the terrorist group and even provided equipment even maybe directly to Osama. With the commission being bipartisan had wondered how to present this information in its report .They finally decided to deny getting any information on the funding (Griffin169) The 9/11 commission had sent a memo to the FBI headquarters through Ken Williams to which they did not respond. The commission decided to down play this by simply

Process Steam Boiler Conversion Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Process Steam Boiler Conversion Project - Essay Example Failed projects have a colossal negative impact to any business, especially due to the time and resources spent. Ensuring that the project management process continues in a successful manner, tools are available to support and ensure that the aspects of project integration, time, cost, quality, as well as human resources are effectively covered. The project charter for instance is a very important document that is prepared to support a successful project management process (Schwalbe, 2009). This lays the framework for the project management process and remains a strong reference point during the progress of the project. Lack of a project charter reflects negatively on the project and can adversely affect its success. Scheduling under project time management can be demonstrated using scheduling chart tools such as Gantt chart and critical path method (CPM). During project activity documentation, the project manager can use illustrations and diagrams to ensure that communication is wel l effected among the members of a project team and with other stakeholders. Charts are used to ensure that information is accurately passed across to the target audience. Another common tool in use in scheduling is the project evaluation and review technique (PERT) which is an analysis tool that can also be used by the manager to schedule the project’s activities. The most important key to successful and effective project management is through planning. A logically constructed and orderly plan is essential to direct any type of project and to help in preparing a report from conception through completion. The key to good planning is in its turn founded on clearly defined project objectives. For instance, project planning can begin with the identification of the client's needs, the development of a budget and work schedule that fit these needs, and the planning for resources, including staff and materials. The setting up of a clearly defined project proposal plan is therefore v ery useful from the beginning as it can help ensure that matters as a technically capable staff and an adequate budget are part of the process. The understanding of the assumptions is important given how the expectations for the final results of the project are based on the initial suppositions made. Furthermore, changing assumptions throughout the project can bring about lack of satisfaction about the final results among the senior management; a scenario that is rather frequent in the project management field. Therefore, and despite the fact that project length remains a critical factor in the eventual extent of satisfaction exhibited with regard to the final results, assumptions should be documented at project initiation and throughout using the project charter as a possible means. The project manager should from then on continue to challenge and revalidate the assumptions to ensure that the project is either redirected towards a different set of objectives or simply terminated fu lly in the event of changing assumptions. Among the assumptions that need to be considered are related to both enterprise environmental factors as well as organizational process assets. Assumptions related to the external environment, and which can affect any given project and should be therefore taken well into account, include for

High school's english programe Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

High school's english programe - Essay Example As part of my high school syllabus, I studied English language and developed sound command over my reading, writing and verbal skills. However, today when I critically evaluate the effectiveness of the offered program, I strongly feel that the program lacked certain aspects which could have helped me in my later life. Assessment of program The program’s primary focus was on improving communication capabilities and reading and writing skills of students. The courses were mandatory and were offered in a single level with no optional variants for foreign students. As a result, it became a cause of stress for pupils and many students found it to be burdensome. I, being a foreign student, was also part of this group that found the course to be difficult. It is vital that students must like what they study and teachers must ensure to develop their interest in the subjects instead of forcing them to study for it. They must be given personal choices to select which subjects they find most interesting to study as part of high school program. English language is a diversified course and requires keenness and concentration of students in order to maximize learning. Lack of interest in the subject led many students to achieve bad grades and lose respect for it. Teachers and mentors should not have sole right to define what is significant for literacy of students; instead, electives must be offered and students can attend orientation sessions to decide whether they feel the need to choose the course. Moreover, mentors must provide fair guidance to students to assist them in comprehending how different choices will affect their development plans and which course shall suit them the best. Another shortcoming in this program pertained to the teaching styles of faculty members belonging to this discipline. They emphasized greatly on improving writing skills of students, which worked out effectively for many of them in classroom sessions and group activities. However, som e students faced obstacles when they were asked to write on own self. When writing tasks were given for homework, teachers expected the students to magically produce a perfect paper within tentative deadline. Ideally, teachers should conduct reading sessions in class while elaborating on context and meaning of text comprehensively. Additionally, there should be role-play acts and similar interactional activities based on content of English syllabus and textbooks. This would help students develop a structural understanding of the big picture, build images in mind and make connections and networks between different texts to fill the gaps. Despite of large sizes of batches, teachers ensured to pay individual attention to students who were weaker and needed more efforts from mentors. Monitoring was rigorous and strict and teachers were able to identify intellect of each student, tailoring teaching methods accordingly. However, cultural aspects were largely neglected by staff members. Th e school was one of the best institutes in the country and thus various students came in from different backgrounds, races and cultures. English language also represents a cultural study and is comprehended distinctly by different classes of students. There were no indications in the existing curriculum regarding the need for cultural diversity. As a result, students moved at different paces in studies with foreign students lagging behind.

Checkpoint ratio, vertical, and horizontal analyses Assignment

Checkpoint ratio, vertical, and horizontal analyses - Assignment Example It helps to understand the quantity of an item in the financial statement as a percentage of a whole and compare over a horizon of many years. Comparing current assets as percentage of total assets in year1 and year2 would be an example of vertical analysis. Horizontal analysis helps in analyzing the various items over a period of time either in absolute numbers or in percentage. Example, change in sales (+ or -) figures in year1 as compare to previous year. The current ratio shows that Pepsico is showing a decreasing trend from 1.28 in 2004 to 1.11 in 2005 (appendix). Coca-Cola is also showing a similar trend with the ratio at 1.10 in 2004 and 1.04 in 2005 (appendix). This shows that both the companies are increasing their short term financing. They can afford to do this at present as both companies have their current liabilities adequately covered. However, the trend could be alarming for their short term liquidity position in the future if it continues, especially for Coca-Cola which has almost equal amount of current assets covering the current liabilities ($1.04 for every $1 of current liability). Vertical analysis of Assets shows that for Pepsico current assets component of total assets has increased marginally in 2005 over the previous year (appendix). The current liabilities as percentage of total liabilities has increased drastically which shows that the company is financing more through short term obligations rather than long term debt. A further component analysis reveals a clearer picture. There has been a major increase in short term liabilities and taxes showing an increased short term financing for growing business (appendix). For coca-cola current liabilities have increased and assets decreased again showing increased short term financing (appendix). Horizontal analysis of Pepsico shows that there has been an increase in current assets and liabilities

Meaning of life Essay Example for Free

Meaning of life Essay Philosophy is â€Å"the study of ideas about knowledge, truth, the nature and meaning of life, etc†¦; a particular set of ideas about knowledge, truth, and meaning of life; and a set of ideas about how to do something or how to live† (Philosophy, 2014, para. 1). Philosophy plays a huge role in all of our lives. Studding of philosophy influences our lives in many ways and has many purposes. Philosophy has five major branches metaphysis, epistemology, ethics, aesthetics, and logic. Each of these branches plays a role with culture to develop thoughts in human beings by wondering, a dynamic  process, the truth, and wisdom. â€Å"Philosophy is an attempt to reason clearly and critically about all areas of experience: science, religion, art, politics, and mortality† (What is Philosophy, Para, 1). The purpose of philosophy is to try to understand and evaluate our most basics, beliefs, values, and to integrate them into a coherent view of each of us and the world around us (What is Philosophy, 2014). Studying philosophy is important because it continues to play an important role in shaping the future of all human existence, Philosophy enhances personal growth,  professional opportunities, improves reading skill, critical thinking, communication, and helps in arguments by showing your philosophical knowledge (What is Philosophy, 2014). There are five major basic branches of philosophy. The branches are the metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, aesthetics, and logic. The metaphysics branch is the study of existence. For example, a few questions one might ask them self would be PHILOSOPHY 3 what else is out there, why I am here, and what is my purpose in life (Important of Philosophy, 2014). Epistemology branch is the study of knowledge. Individuals like to know as much as possible to help their selves understand what is going in life and around then. For example, a question one might ask their selves would be how I know about certain things. In philosophy, knowledge is looked at as factual senses, and not just guesses. People that are epistemology rather use statements and questions in factual form, such as, dogs are mammals (Important of Philosophy, 2014). Ethic branch is the study of actions. This is the branch of philosophy that helps the decision making in what is right and what is wrong; beliefs and values. An example of ethics is your conscious. On one side there is the devil telling you to do the wrong thing, and the angel on the other side telling to do the right thing. Many ethical people try to avoid judgment, but have high moral beliefs in specific things. Ethics also plays a role in religion and faith (Important of Philosophy, 2014). The Aesthetics branch (also known as politics) is the study of action. This is the branch that shoes what actions are permissible. An example, would be how politics work in the world. What laws should be made, and how they should come to be. Politics are the ethics that are applied to people based off what they are told to do or believe (Important of Philosophy, 2014). Finally, the last branch of philosophy is logic or esthetics. This is the study of art. The main question is what can life be like? This is the branch that allows mankind to see the world in an abstract way. According to Importance of Philosophy (2014) PHILOSOPHY 4 Esthetics is important because it delves into the reason why art has always existed, the burning need of mankind through the ages to see the world in a different, clear way it  further evaluates art by the standards of human life, and whether it accomplishes the job of satisfying man’s intellectual needs, or whether it tends to hurt or make worse those needs (Para. 3). Esthetics is bringing the emotion and idea together to make a decision (Important of Philosophy, 2014). Within all the branches there are arguments, these arguments helps in philosophy to create creative thinking and growth. We all have questions, and beliefs to the meaning of life, and we will continue to argue trough ethnic, logic, politics, and beliefs. Each of the five basic philosophy groups have to face basic arguments, These  arguments are structure of arguments, evaluating arguments, types of arguments, and informal fallacies (Chaffee, 2013). The structure of arguments includes: reason, reason, and conclusion. Evaluating arguments include truth of reason, validity of structure, and soundness of argument. There are two types of arguments deductive: conclusion follows necessarily from premises (reasons), and inductive: conclusion supported by premises to some degree. Finally, there are informal fallacies, these are unsound arguments that appeal to emotion and prejudice (Chaffee, 2013). Philosophy and culture interact to develop thought because there are so many different beliefs in the word. Philosophy is love and wisdom, while in culture there is so much hate. The more we talk about our beliefs, and talk out the way we each feel it creates creative thinking, and more open minds. For example, scientist see things one PHILOSOPHY 5 way, but when we are more philosophical it shows us that there are more than one answer to each question. Science believes in evolution, religions believe in god, while the rest of us are still trying to find the meaning of life. When it comes to me, I think ethics represents me the most. I believe in right and wrong, and I have faith. I believe that taking actions against wrong in the world is very important. In our culture, there is so much hate, and I am a very big advocate for equality. I fight for equality for all humans, and I also fight for the rights of animals. Philosophy is â€Å"the study of ideas about knowledge, truth, the nature, and meaning of life (Philosophy, 2014, para. 1). There are five major basic groups, and there will always be questions to create creative thinking, and open minds. Philosophy has  been around from the beginning of time, and will be around until the end of time. We will always want to know the meaning of life and why we exist. PHILOSOPHY 6 References: Chaffee, J. (2013). The philosopher’s way: Thinking Critically about Profound Ideas (1st Ed,). Pearson Education, INC. Importance of Philosophy. (2014). Retrieved from http://www. importanceofphilosophy. com/FiveBranchesMain. html Philosophy. (2014). Retrieved from http://www. merriam- webster. com/dictionary/philosophy What is Philosophy? (2014). Retrieved from http://www. etsu. edu/cas/philosophy/whatis. aspx.

Corporate Social Responsibility In Developing Nations Sociology Essay

Corporate Social Responsibility In Developing Nations Sociology Essay The phenomenal stretch of Globalization has touched and affected, positively or negatively as well, practically every aspect of human existence, through its varying tentacles in its ever-propagating areas of influence. The recognition and acceptance of the phenomena of Corporate Social Responsibility (hereinafter referred to as CSR), in developed as well as developing countries, is a doting example of the same. It needs a special mention that CSR is nowhere a legally sanctioned document or observance, but it indeed, has come forth as a minimal standard as to the governance of business at global level, with international reference standards set by the United Nations, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) guidelines and International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions. The primary reason as to why this phenomena is rising at such a fast pace, is the global competitiveness ensuing between the business houses of different countries. The corporates mainly demonstrate the extra responsibility to earn the goodwill of the market, and CSR helps in building loyalty and trust amongst shareholders, employees and customers. In this sense CSR denotes a voluntary endeavour by the big business houses to look into the varied issues and concerns of the public at large, apart from the profit-maximising objectives. CSR is closely linked with the principle of sustainable development, which argues that enterprises should make decisions based not only on financial factors such as profits or dividends but also based on immediate and long term social and environmental consequences of its activities. CSR has a significant role in controlling the perils of uncontrolled development, satisfying the needs of the present generation and at the same time ensuring that the resources of future generations is not jeopardized.  [1]  The inclusion of the objective of sustainable development within the CSR agenda magnifies the duties and responsibilities of the big business houses, upto a large extent, which cannot be made limited as per any parameters. The realization of the ultimate objective of sustainable development is a long and continuous process, and is rather more inclusive, which includes the interest of the developing nations also. The impact of CSR in context of developing nations, as evident, is rather a negative impact. The primary reason as identified by the authors seems to be the inappropriate approach towards the practical applicability of the CSR in the developing countries. There is lacunae in the structural approach towards implementation of the CSR agenda within the developing countries, mainly due to the irresponsible inactiveness on the part of the government of the developing countries, in framing its policies and regulations as per the international norms and requirements, as CSR is largely a global phenomena. In this research paper, a structural and conceptual analysis is done with regard to the difficulties faced by the developing countries in implementing the CSR initiatives. This paper is an attempt to identify such issues which attributes to the failure of CSR in developing nations, and also identify the correct possible approaches to properly reap up the benefits of the CSR agenda and initiatives evolved mainly through the internationalization of the initiatives taken in the developed countries, by various approaches to be discussed herein. EVOLUTION OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AS A FULCRUM OF SOCIAL RESPONSIVENESS What exactly is inferred from the social responsibility of the corporations? The corporations are generally expected to strengthen and mobilize the economy by enhancing profit, the social implications of which are highly overlooked. The concept of CSR refers to the general belief held by many that modern businesses have a responsibility to society that extends beyond the stock holders or investors in the firm. That responsibility, of course, is to make money or profits for the owners.  [2]  In 1960, Keith Davis suggested that social responsibility refers to businesses decisions and actions taken for reasons at least partially beyond the firms direct economic or technical interest. Also it has been argued by Eells and Walton (1961) that CSR refers to the problems that arise when corporate enterprise casts its shadow on the social scene, and the ethical principles that ought to govern the relationship between corporation and society.  [3]   The current wave of interest in CSR dates from the early 1990s.  [4]  However, in recent years the CSR has emerged as an inclusive and global concept to embrace corporate social responsiveness, and the entire spectrum of socially beneficial activities of businesses. It follows the trend of a diffusion process of policy instruments from North to South and therefore of a global convergence of policy structures.  [5]   Now the term social within the CSR is again a vague concept and enlarges the sphere of the corporate responsiveness. The social dimension of the CSR can effectively be attributed to the organizations stakeholders, who are in the immediate connect to the corporation. Stakeholders denote the group of persons who have a stake, a claim, or an interest in the operations and decisions of the corporation. This bond of the corporation with the stake-holders practically denotes the area of social operation of the corporations. The The idea of CSR cannot be traced as to the place of its origin and evolution, since it is mainly a progeny of the globalization, which is encumbrancing in itself, the world at large. Therefore, the concept of stake-holder management becomes an effective instrument to analyse the social impact of the corporations. This methodology can have, or rather it has appeared to be an aberration, which practically excludes the impact on the developing nations, as it is a very common fact that the activity of the stake-holders of the developing nations cannot match upto that of the developed ones. One tangible result that has certainly been achieved by the current CSRmovement is that it has got people talking about worker rights, global governance, sustainable enterprise and all manner of topics that have relevance to the well-being of the poor and marginalized.  [6]   The effective implementation of CSR in developing countries has come forth to be recognized as a challenge after the vision in the year 2000 was instilled in the Milleneum Development Goals (MDGs) as a world with less poverty, hunger and disease, greater survival prospects for mothers and their infants, better educated children, equal opportunities for women, and a healthier environment. CSR AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: IDENTIFYING THE CONNECTION The CSR in connection with developing countries can be considered as to represent the formal and informal ways in which business makes a contribution to improving the governance, social, ethical, labour and environmental conditions of the developing countries in which they operate, while remaining sensitive to prevailing religious, historical and cultural contexts.  [7]  The analysis of the effectiveness of the CSR cannot be considered to be complete unless its impact on the developing countries is identified, as they represent the most rapidly expanding economies, providing for a lucrative market for the growth of the corporate business. It is a common fact that the worlds poor are distressingly plentiful, and despite of the vastness of their market, they are largely unexplored by the multinational companies, in assumption that the people of the developing countries are more busy in sustaining their normal living rather than going for any developmental incentives. Also it is ass umed that various barriers to commerce corruption, illiteracy, inadequate infrastructure, currency fluctuations, bureaucratic red tape etc, make it impossible to do business profitable in these regions. The authors assert this fact that the above notions and assumptions are largely outdated. It is well-evident in the current scenario that the large number of corporate houses prefer the markets in the developing countries only, as it provides them with ample oppurtunities to maximize the profitability, and the restrictions assumed are hardly existent. Moreover, certain positive trends in developing countries from political reform, to a growing openness to investment, to the development of low-cost wireless communication networks are reducing the barriers further while also providing businesses with greater access to even the poorest city slums and rural areas.  [8]   Since in developing countries, rural areas represents more than half of the population, for instance in India, 60% of GDP is generated in rural areas. The critical barrier to doing business in rural regions is distribution access, not a lack of buying power, but new information technology and communications infrastructures especially wireless promise to become an inexpensive way to establish marketing and distribution channels in these communities.  [9]   CURRENT STATE OF CSR IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES It is argued that the practice of CSR is a work in progress. The idea of evolution of CSR as a concept clearly envisages the fact that it has mainly evolved through an active participation of the developed world, and then it got internationalized, and ultimately it is in a process of reaching to the developing ones also. In the present scenario, no matter what kind of effect it is producing, but it is propagating at a very fast pace, in the developing countries due to the ample market available therein. It has been seen that the developing countries also opened up their economy and whole-heatedly welcomed the advent of foreign companies into their territory as a part of their liberalization strategies. It has been quite beneficial for the foreign investors as well, since the developing countries enrich them with huge profitable market. With increased emphasis on the profit-making, the CSR development agenda has definitely taken a backseat in the developing countries. In his analysis of the relationship between companies and poorer local communities, Newell concluded that mainstream CSR approaches assume a set of conditions that do not exist in most of the world. CSR can work, for some people, in some places, on some issues, some of the time  [10]  . And in the process, the CSR looses the connect with the real life situations of the developing world. Following are the bases on which the CSR is rendered ineffective in context of developing countries: The Stakeholder Concept It has been observed that, in the present time, it benefits some people and some companies in some situations. The success of CSR initiatives can be linked to the stakeholder dialogue and stakeholder engagement, who can bring together representatives of business, non-governmental and public sectors in order to identify and address aspects of social responsibility. However, in context of developing countries, this stakeholder dialogue cannot be effectively realized due to various unwanted barriers such as language, culture, education and pluralistic values, which adversely affects the negotiations and decision-making. Moreover, one more obstacle that hampers the positive advantage of CSR in developing countries is the prioritization of the interest. As the stake-holders represents the common will of the civil society, but it depends upon their priorities and interest, the success of the CSR, for instance, those groups whose issues and problems are not taken up by the civil society organizations may also be ignored by firms. Notwithstanding the role of organized labour, the unorganized sector can rarely present a threat to a firms productivity, nor is the firms dependence on them likely to be high. Elaine Sternberg alleges that stakeholding is unworkable and destroys accountability within a firm, as the stakeholders are usually seen as all those who affect or are affected by a corporation.  [11]  This shows that the CSR for the unorganized sector, which represents a significant proportion of the population in developing countries (more than 50% in India) is highly neglected. The CSR business case It is a common practice that the companies are generally meant for their profit-maximising attributes based on the competitive advantage, and to maintain corporate reputation, the beneficial impact on staff morale, etc, and thereby the lessening the involvement of theirs in developing countries. The business case is simply the arguments and rationales as to why business people believe these concepts bring distinct benefits or advantages to companies, specifically, and the business community, generally. One of the possible explanation to the business case of the corporate is given by Simon Zadek, who says that the corporate follow the defensive approach, i.e., companies should pursue CSR to avoid the pressures that create costs for them.  [12]  The second approach identified by Zadek is the cost-benefit approach, which holds that firm will undertake those activities that yield a greater benefit than cost. The third approach can be that the firms will recognize the changing environ ment and engage in CSR as a part of a deliberate corporate strategy. As a consequence, CSR is commonly focused on add-on measures and technical solutions, to a certain extent neglecting the contextual environment or even the intended beneficiaries that are addressed by the CSR measures. In this sense, the big business-hubs only act so as to maintain their healthy reputation, and thereby neglecting their social responsibilities, and even if they pursue their social responsibilities, the interest of the developing countries is even not represented there, as the issues are normally evolved in the developed world, which are quite different to that of the developing world. The inappropriate CSR agenda Though CSR has evolved as an umbrella concept, but still there many issues which are left unaddressed under the ambit of CSR, and which renders the effective applicability of CSR in developing countries, a potentially difficult task to achieve. The CSR agenda are mainly framed in developed countries, and hence they could not identify the practical situations faced by the developing world, like tax avoidance and transfer-pricing problems, the resource curse effects of the influx of the foreign aid or revenues, etc. This problem is ever-propagating since there is inactiveness on the part of the developing countries, mainly represented through the very few stakeholders, who do not at all represents the actual situation. The appropriateness of the CSR agenda can be ascertained once the representation of the developing countries is adequately ensured while framing the agenda, so that a more inclusive approach can be taken into consideration, including the varied concerns of the developing countries, ab initio. POSSIBLE APPROACHES TO EFFECTIVELY IMPLEMENT THE CSR IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES So far, the concept of CSR has mainly evolved through the concerns and interest of the investors, companies, campaign groups and consumers based in the developed countries. As a result of this, the CSR agenda with regard to the developing countries is very difficult to realize. It has been observed that the impact of CSR in context of the developing countries is rather negative, due to various conceptual as well as structural inadequacies. However, as observed, the developing countries are a potential hub for the growth of CSR accordingly to achieve its ultimate cherished goal of sustainable development. Although the CSR is a global phenomena, its implications can very well be sensed at the local boundaries of the individual States as well. Due to various structural differences within the developing countries, the State Activism needs to be enhanced to properly harvest the ripe benefits of the CSR initiatives. The States need to mould the national policies so as to recognize the conc erns of the stakeholders of the developed countries. The following initiatives could go a long way for procuring the positive outcome of the CSR in developing Countries: Free acces to market As it is well-known that the markets in the developing countries provides for a potential market and the CSR mainly acts through the stake-holders, the CSR objectives can be effectively realized by making possible maximum number of participation from the consumers, so that minute interest of the consumers which are often neglected being unidentified, can be given due consideration. The market policies of the States should be so formulated, as to promote extended participation from the consumers. This becomes especially relevant as more and more companies from developing countries are globalizing and needing to comply with international stock market listing requirements, including various forms of sustainability performance reporting and CSR code compliance. Socio-Political Reforms The Government of the developing countries should induce political reforms so that the problems and issues at the ground level can be identified, and then only the CSR initiatives could be effectively realized forthwith. For example, De Oliveira (2006) argues that the political and associated social and economic changes in Latin America since the 1980s, including democratization, liberalization, and privatization, have shifted the role of business towards taking greater responsibility for social and environmental issues.  [13]   Enhancing the investment incentives It is a common assumption that there is not much scope for investment in the poorer countries as they are largely occupied by the fulfilling of their basic requirements. There comes the responsibility of the concerned Government to frame policies so as to promote socially responsible investment (SRI), so that the corporate houses could be attracted to invest in the developing countries. For instance, In some developing countries, like South Africa, the SRI trend is well documented (AICC, 2002). In addition to featuring prominently in the SRI movement in the 1980s through the anti-apartheid disinvestment phenomenon, since 1992, South Africa has introduced more than 20 SRI funds nationally which track companies social, ethical, and environmental performance (Visser, 2005a). Propagating Stakeholder Activism As discusses earlier, that the CSR mainly works with respect to the stakeholders, who have certain pecuniary interest in the whereabouts of the business house, and they represent a very segregated part of the actual mass of population, and hence, the interest of the large part of the developing world could not be identified. The stakeholders are generally confined in the furtherance of their own petty interest, and therefore, it becomes impossible for the Corporate to identify the interests of the consumers at large. And hence, the onus shifts on the concerned government to intiate such policies to enhance stakeholder activism. In the developing world, the stakeholders agencies such as NGOs, Trade Unions, International Business Associations could be mobilized to ensure their participation in CSR activities, as they represent the class of stakeholders who mainly work at the primary level and are well aware of the existing issues and circumstances. Newell identifies the Stakeholder Act ivism in developing countries as civil regulation, litigation against companies, which go a long way in procuring the interest of the developing world. There are numerous examples of civil regulation in action in the developing world of which South Africa is a rather striking case in point. This has manifested itself mainly through community groups challenging companies over whether they are upholding the constitutional rights of citizens. Various landmark cases between 1994 and 2004 suggest that, although civil society still tends to lack capacity and resources in South Africa, this has been an effective strategy. Stakeholder activism has also taken a constructive approach towards encouraging CSR, through groups like the National Business Initiative and partnerships between business and NGOs.  [14]   The theory of Organizational Legitimacy as a possible solution the implementation of CSR in developing Countries This theory of Organizational Legitimacy can have various dimensions, but through a strategic view-point, the focus rests on the organization and assumes a relatively high degree of managerial control over the legitimating process. In the institutionalist tradition, a broader perspective is taken (society looking in), focusing on how organisations or groups of organisations adapt to their institutional environments in order to manage legitimacy. Here, legitimacy is not seen as an operational resource, but rather as a set of external constraints, forming the actions of the organization.  [15]  Therefore, this theory of organizational legitimacy imposes upon the business houses, a certain kind of ethical constraints, to be complied with, for effective implementation of the CSR agenda. Suchman defined Legitimacy as a generalized perception or assumption that the actions of an entity are desirable, proper, or appropriate within some socially constructed system of norms, values, belie fs, and definitions. This definition denotes the principle of moral legitimacy which the organizations follow to appear consistent with ones external expectations in order to be able to continue business as usual. This theory need not be made universally applicable as in the judgment whether an organization and its actions are legitimate or not, is rather socially construed, and therefore subject to change depending upon the socio-political environment, the organization is established into. CONCLUSION In view of the above discussion, it is well-evident that the CSR has not been able to properly stretch its tentacles in the developing world, due to various conceptual and structural obstacles. The reason could be primarily attributed to the fact that mostly the issues are not recognized and thus have not come forth within the ambit of the CSR agenda, due to the shortcomings in the policies of the developing countries. It is pertinent to observe the conceptual aspects of the CSR beyond the customary approaches being carried thereon. It cannot be necessarily assumed that CSR is ineffective in context of developing countries, rather there is problem with the identification and acknowledgement, of the issues which needs to be addressed. If the CSR standards with respect to the workers right and natural resource management are looked into, it is observed that for people in developing countries, it has been inadequately addressed. This issue of identification of the problems at the ground level can be mainly attributed to the fact that the stakeholders, who are primarily in touch with the CSR agenda, represent a very minimal proportion of the actual working population, and also the stakeholders are primarily bothered about their own self-interests. The policy of Stakeholder Activism initiated by certain States is a welcome move in this regard, and this could go a long way in ensuring the representation of the larger mass of population in the mainstream CSR agenda. Thus it is inferred that the failure of CSR agenda in the developing countries is a mainly a structural inadequacy rather than any practical or procedural aberration. However, regarding CSR in the context of developing countries, the explanatory power of organizational legitimacy goes beyond its customary tradition. The institutional array of organizational legitimacy proves as a useful body of theory to inform CSR in a developing country context, since it is able to address cultural factors and goes beyond business case considerations. Therefore, the CSR initiatives being seen through the organizational legitimacy theory can effectively solve the problem of non-implementation of the CSR policies in the developing world. It is pertinent to observe at this juncture, that State Activism is urgently required to mobilize the dormant effect of the CSR policies, in the developing countries. The State needs to frame regulations and policies, in their municipal laws so that CSR initiatives could reach to the people at large, rather than being confined to the minor stakeholders. The ineffective realization of the CSR policies is mainly a structural aberration, which needs to be solved by taking into consideration the issues and problems at the ground level.

The Journey To Becoming A Nurse Nursing Essay

The Journey To Becoming A Nurse Nursing Essay My intellectual interests, academic and, professional objectives encouraged me to pick my field of study in healthcare, to be specific, the profession of nursing. During adolescence, children are encouraged to consider various majors and future career options. Some mature fast and realize their goals during early adolescence, some realize it mid-adolescence and, others late. I was uncertain about my career path during my early stages. However, my passion for the medical field was and still is firm. I come from a family made up physicians, pharmacists, nurses, laboratory technicians, and physician assistants; this, of course, influenced my familiarity with science majors.   With such an interest in mind, I began volunteering in hospitals at a young age, where I was surrounded by patients who approached me for assistance. I was able to assist the patients to the doctors office and always tried to have a conversation with the patient. In such an occurrence, I embraced the feeling of n eed and comfort from those whom I have helped. One notable experience that I have had was caring for my grandmother, who was difficult to cope with due to her massive mood swings and impatience. I knew she trusted and depended on me as she clutched my hands for guidance. At that time I knew I want to definitely take part in medical field. Therefore, I decided to take up field in health care profession after undergraduate studies. Passion, determination, and patience are important key terms to succeed in a health care profession: these characteristics work to my advantage. During my academic life, I continued exploring majors that would fit my goal. After much discussion with my college advisors, I came across Letters, Arts and Sciences at Abington College. As I researched further into the degree, I was sure I wanted to do LASAB. This is my chance to challenge myself by creating my own major that will help me fulfill my requirements for post- graduate studies, in nursing career. This academic helped me to find the way to the right career path that will introduce me to the healthcare world where it ______ me to earn a masters degree after finishing my bachelors. Over the course of my undergraduate studies, I have taken many courses that have helped me grasp the phenomena of science and patient care. College opened a new chapter in my life, a chapter filled with science. I comprehend with the facts and theories of the human body and admire the discoveries of new cause of illness and treatments which becomes a great advantage to the world as a whole. College life has made a great input in my life by helping me enter adulthood and gradually learning to cope with stress, manage time, and make responsible decisions for myself. The four core areas of the Letters, Arts, and Sciences major are Research Methods/ Projects Critical Analysis Communication Skills Theory/ Application Skills The courses that I have chosen to apply to these core requirements will fulfill the requirement for this degree and will benefit me in my planner Nursing career. The skills I gained from these courses are fundamental to becoming successful in a health care profession. Research is a process of study or examination of a subject from different points of view.  I have selected Microbiology 107; Elementary Microbiology Laboratory, and Chemistry 111 and 113; Experimental Chemistry to the Research Methods/ Projects to fulfill the core requirement. Microbiology 107: Elementary Microbiology Laboratory gave me an introduction about microbes. I learned the importance and the proper handling of microorganisms through demonstrations and working on each experiment. The lab has also helped me to identify and count bacteria, effects of chemical and physical agents on microorganisms. This course has helped me learn the importance of controlling microbial growth on peoples bodies and how failure to do so can lead to the spread of disease, especially in the hospital setting. Chemistry 111 and 113: Experimental Chemistry introduced me to chemicals and challenging experiments. It helped me better understand how to interpret data about various experiments that dealt with introductory chemistry. I learned to write a formal laboratory report, interpretation of data using statistics, and an appreciation for what instruments can do. Each of these courses will help me focus on areas that are relevant in the medical field. International Studies 100 fulfills to the Critical Analysis core requirement.  I believe it is important to be able to understand people and their background/culture, especially when working in the health-care profession. There is a great chance of meeting people from different diversity in my field. As a health care professional, I must learn and know about patients cultures while I treat them. This course has given me a basic understanding of the many cultures and their global issues, such as financial crisis, racism, health issues, and human rights issues. This course helped me to connect with different cultures, their domestic issues, and responses to human rights violations. In a hospital setting, health care professionals are faced with patients that have many different issues and one main issue would be race. Health-care professionals must understand that all come from different culture with different issues; therefore, we should not be judged by the race because we are all humans. We must treat people equally. We will be able to connect to patients better and help them deal with their illnesses better if we are knowledgeable about their culture. The course will help me to understand everyone better.   I apply INART001, Integrative Arts into the core requirement of communications skills. This course helped me to develop critical perception, knowledge, and judgments through examining the basic arts through communication. Communication is very important and this course helped me to communicate in both art and non- art situations. When one thinks of the health care, a complex array of professions come into mind. In order for all these professions to provide the best possible care for their patients, communication between them is vital. For example, suppose a patient has a penicillin allergy and the doctor ordered a medication that is a penicillin derivative. In that case, the pharmacist calls the doctor and a new medication is prescribed. This course helped me communicate in simple way that others will understand and gave me more confident. During my internship at the hospital, I noticed that communication is very important and presenting a simple communication will help the patie nt understand the nurse better. On the other side, Integrative arts such as art, music, dance or drama introduced as Art therapy in health care. This therapy was used to help child survivors of Hurricane Katrina overcome mental traumas and people with schizophrenia BBC news.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I place Anthropology 45, Cultural anthropology to the core requirement of Theory/Application skills. As I mentioned earlier, it is important to be able to understand people when working in the health-care profession. All societies have rules, standards, conventions and beliefs. Studying anthropology allowed me to understand how social culture work. As a health care professional, it is important to understand the society, government, religion and their culture. This course focused on human culture; I learned to appreciate cultural diversity. An in-depth knowledge into the human culture is especially important in todays health care, especially in a diverse country like the United States. Take, for example, the culture of Jehovahs Witnesses. This denomination prohibits blood transfusions for their believers. Respecting their wishes, hospitals now have bloodless surgeries where newer techniques have been developed that do not require blood transfusions, even for m ajor invasive surgeries like coronary artery bypass graft. Also in this day, a healthcare provider sees patients from various countries and various cultures. Something considered elementary in a culture might be considered taboo in another. For example, in the American society women have the same rights as men and considered capable to make their own decisions, as where in some cultures, its the man who makes the decisions in the family. In cases like this a healthcare provider must respect the differences and work with their patient to provide what is the best possible care for their female patients. Therefore, I must understand the rules and beliefs of other cultures so I can understand the patients better.   Everyday people face many different types of problems. It could be physical, emotional or mental stress. As a health care professional, it is important to understand the reasons for those problems and assisting the exact treatment Psychology is the science that enables me to connect to an individual through the mind to understand and deal with the mental processes and behavior of individual human beings. I have chosen five 400 level courses from three areas that relate to my theme. Those are Kinesiology 445: Alcohol and Drug Education, Psychology 470: Abnormal Psychology, Psychology 424: Applied Social psychology, Counselor Education 401: Foundations of Chemical Dependency Counseling, and Biology 495. Kinesiology 445: Alcohol and Drug Education helped me to understand and learn more about many types of drugs and alcohol uses not only in the American society but worldwide. Moreover, it has taught the drug physiology, drug-related health effects and issues related to social and psychological effects of drug use and abuse. Alcohol and Drug can affect peoples lives so fast. I did a research paper about Alcohol and drug, as part of the research I surveyed twenty neighbors and 80% of them addicted to alcohol and drugs. Most of them were addicted due to stress but some of them started out as a fun hobby. Many people find Alcohol and Drug as a solution to their problems. Therefore, I will definitely come across many patients that are addicted to alcohol and drugs. I am sure I am able to use the fundamental information from this course and apply it to the patients I might come across in my professional field. Another challenging course was Psychology 470: Abnormal Psychology has taught me the understanding of types of abnormal experience and behavior personality, as well as mental and psychotic disorders that impact multiple areas of a human life that might not be able to be diagnosed on a personal basis.  The most common disorders are Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, Eating disorder, Autistic Disorder, Borderline personality disorder and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. This course is mostly focused on the identification, treatment and understanding of abnormal behavior and psychopathology. It taught me the different diagnoses of types of behaviors, and it will definitely help me in my health profession, especially if I decided work on psychiatric department. Psychology 424: Applied Social psychology, gave me an overview of social psychological theories and research methods to field settings and to the study of social issues. It taught me how to conduct a survey and analyze a report based on a study. It has also helped me to understand the social life and how psychology applied to social life every day. Especially in health care settings, I must apply social psychology to understand social and practical problems thats happening around us. I must be motivated , making sense of my co-workers, social perceptions, and understanding the bias order for me to perform a satisfaction job that will draws a general impression for my characteristic such as intelligence. Counselor Education 401: Foundations of Chemical Dependency Counseling introduced me to the concept related to drug and alcohol dependency, diagnosis and assessment, its prevention, counseling and treatment of dependencies. It has helped me to understand how to deal with that are addicted to various types of drugs like cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamines. A person becomes chemically dependent due to several factors such as environment, psychological, or genetic. Health care provide residential, outpatient, extended, and aftercare treatments for someone who is chemically dependent. On the other side, Twelve-Step meetings are available for those who interested in self-help recovery. I was assigned to attend a Twelve-Step meeting for Alcoholics Anonymous(AA). The stores that I heard during the meetings were depressing because they were so addicted to alcohol and regret their past. This meeting is part of the treatment to be sober. Chemical dependency is chronic and can be fatal. Somet imes, chemical dependency affects health care professionals and co-workers are aware of the signs and symptoms. I have selected Nutrition 251, Sociology 035, and Biology 110 to full fill the humanities and the social science area. Nutrition 251, Introductory Principles of Nutrition, is a course that gave me more knowledge on principles of nutrition. This course broadens my knowledge about the physiological functions and food sources that related to human growth. It helped me to focus on my nutrition better and stay healthier. Especially in healthcare, it is important to make sure the patient is getting the right amount of nutrition. If the patients nutrition is imbalanced, it can cause diarrhea and risk of infection. Therefore all the knowledge that I learned from this class about nutrition will help me to provide a better nutrition life style to my patients. Sociology 035, is the study of aging in older people. The common beliefs, aspects of aging, how economy and family influence the aging process. The course helped me to be more kind, warm and practical with people .A nurse must be kind, sympathetic and compassionate because when I work with patients it will give me better knowledge on how to deal with everyone. I have compared facts that I learned from this class with my parents and grandparents behavior, which helped me understand them better. For example, as my grandparent get old, the chances of them listening to their kids are rare. Even if they are right or wrong , they want the kids to accept it. Once the kids get married and leave the house, the parents starting a new life where they are bonding more to each other. Thats something I have noticed in my grandparents life. All the knowledge that I acquired from this course will help me understand older peoples relation to others and how they would accept the world to live their li fe. Biology 110, Basic Concepts and Biodiversity, taught me the foundation of the basic concept of evolution. It gave me an understanding of living organisms, how genetic processes provide continuity between generations and how evolutionary processes take place. This course includes both lecture and lab. It is the study of living organisms; all life depends on certain physiological and chemical functions. To work in healthcare you must have a basic understanding of the underlying principles of life. These courses that I have listed above are important in my future education that I plan on focusing on after graduation. In health care, it is critical that students understand any individuals different characteristics and behaviors before I respond to patients symptoms. As a capstone course: BIOL 495, I have an internship, at Temples Jeanes Hospital in North East Philadelphia a. As an intern at the hospital, I have been assigned to the same day surgery unit department with patients. This opportunity will also allow me to work with professional staff and patients. It is my duty to go to each patient to check on them to make sure they are doing great because they are recovering from the surgery. Sometimes they would ask juice/water and some of them might need to use the rest room so it is my responsibility to take care of them. Meanwhile, I go with the nurses to each patients room when they go over the surgery procedures and learn how pre admission is done on a patient. I will be attending to the needs of patients that are undergoing different procedures and an opportunity to interact with surgeons, physician assistants, and nurses. It also will be hands on experience with all the skills and materials that I have learned in the courses that I have lis ted in this proposal   In conclusion, I feel that my education has shaped my life to what is today and these courses listed have gave me a better understanding about medical issues happening in this world. Health care profession is not a relaxing profession but demanding and stressful occupation, yet I am ready to face the various situations I may be in and become stronger and wiser in my profession and as a person. It is also a profession where every day I am guaranteed to touch a life or be touched by the lives of others. Letters, Arts, and Sciences at Abington will help me reach my goals after my undergraduate education is complete.

Is Wuthering heights a love story? :: English Literature

Is Wuthering heights a love story? Is this essay I am going to discuss whether Wuthering heights is a love story or not. There are several reasons for saying that the novel is a love story and there are several reasons that state that Wuthering heights is not a love story. The trational love story has the perfect characters which always somehow no matter what the contions always manage to find there ideal partner. The setting is really simple and there always is a perfect climax despite what the obstacles are. The term love is used too loosely and is not specified if the love they mean is love for the family or sibling love then yes Wuthering heights is a love story. Romantic love is an aspect of the story but in my own personal opinion the romantic love aspect is not the be all and end all of the novel. The novel has many conventions which indicate that it is a love story. For example the setting. The settings very typical of a love story. Two families living in different houses and the houses are separated by the mores and it seems really simple until a complication is introduced, "bring that gipsy brat into the house". This is referring to Heathcliff when he is brought home from Liverpool. Some critics say that Heathcliff is a complication to the family and imperticualy Cathy because if Heathcliff was not around Cathy and Edgar would have been married with no major problems and without the complication of Cathy loving Heathcliff. But there is no evidence to prove this information is true. Another aspect of the setting that makes the novel seem like a typical love story is the way Cathy and Heathcliff grow really close then Cathy has an accident and has to stay with the Linton's and then she falls in "love" with Edgar and decides to marry him. This seems like a perfect romantic set up. The characters also make the novel seem like it is a love story because it again fits in with the way a typical love story is written. The way there is a rich person and a poor person and they are both batterling for the hand of the lovely young lady. Is this case the poor person is Heathcliff the rich person is Edgar and the lovely young lady is Cathy. The problem is Cathy marries Edgar not knowing if she is in love with him or not "I shall marry him: and yet you have not told me whether I'm right" this shows that she is not really sure

Religious Beliefs in Aeschylus Oresteia, Homer’s Iliad, and Sophocles’

Religious Beliefs in Aeschylus' Oresteia, Homer’s Iliad, and Sophocles’ Electra The final and definitive defeat of the Persian army at the battle of Plataea represented the end of an age-long threat to Athens. But the victory was also a miracle, as all the odds were against the Athenians at the onset of the war. While Pericles took charge of Athens after the war and started the advance of democracy, religion also thrived. The rebuilding of the Acropolis and the construction of the Parthenon and its great statue of Athene under Pericles' rule signified the height of religious belief among Athenians. However, the shift in power from the aristocrats to the common men in the new democracy, and the Peloponnesian War and Great Plague that followed the shift, all contributed to a general decline in religious belief. Only a few decades after reaching its peak, it reached an all-time low. This change in attitude among Athenians can be observed by comparing the works of two tragedians, Aeschylus and Sophocles, whose plays were performed in each of these two periods. But e ven with this dramatic shift, it is clear that Athenians remained believers throughout these periods, because religion was, and always has been, a huge part of their culture. The religious view of Athenians before the Peloponnesian War can be best demonstrated by the portrayal of interaction between men and Gods in Aeschylus’ work, The Eumenides. From the first scene, when â€Å"The doors of the temple open and show Orestes surrounded by the sleeping Furies, Apollo and Hermes beside him† (Aeschylus, 137), one can see that in Aeschylus’ eyes, Gods and Goddesses are not something distant and unreachable, but instead, they are â€Å"real† figures who will at times stand by our s... ...ardless of how "good" or "bad" they were, and despite constant worship the Gods did not intervene. Having witnessed such horrors, it is understandable that people of those times, such as Sophocles, would have taken a step back and wondered if the Gods were actually there. Having gone through a period as such, it is only natural for even the most faithful to doubt a little, which was evident from the absence of interaction between Gods and men in Sophocles’ work, Electra. However, it is clear as had been previously pointed out, that while belief in the literal truth of the myths was suppressed, the Gods did live on in the hearts of the Athenians. Works Cited Aeschylus. â€Å"Aeschylus I / Oresteia†. The University of Chicago Press, 1983: 131 – 171. Homer. â€Å"The Iliad†. Penguin Books, 1998: 128 - 143 Sophocles. â€Å"Electra†. Oxford University Press, 2001: 50 – 111

The Day That Wal-Mart Dropped the Smiley Face

Case I The Day That Wal-Mart Dropped the Smiley Face Retail giant wal-mart annually spends close to a half billion dollars on advertising, so the company’s decision in the first month of 2005 to run full-page ads in more than 100 newspapers was not really surprising. What was surprising was the copy in those ads, which said nothing about low-priced toasters or new music CDs. Instead, the ads featured a photo of workers in their blue Wal-Mart smocks and a letter from Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott. Scott’s letter was blunt and to the point: â€Å"When special interest groups and critics spread misinformation about Wal-Mart, the public deserves to hear the truth. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions about our company, but they are not entitled to make up their facts. † Not the sort of message many would expect from a company whose television ads often feature a yellow â€Å"smiley-face† flying around a Wal-Mart store lowering prices. But it is a clear sign that Wal-Mart believes it can no longer afford to ignore several societal trends that threaten the company’s success and profitability. Wal-Mart is the largest and most successful retailer in the world. It employs more people than any other private company in the United States (almost 1. 2 million) and has world-wide sales of over a quarter trillion dollars, more than four times that of its nearest competitor. The foundation of this impressive record is the company’s ability to keep it promise of customer-friendly service and low prices. But with success comes attention and not all of it good. Several lawsuits claim Wal-Mart shorts overtime pay and one lawsuit claimed female employees face discrimination in pay and promotions. Wal-Mart’s expansion plans have also run into trouble, as some cities and states, citing concerns ranging from low wages, inadequate benefits, environmental damage, and harm to local economies, have passed laws to make it difficult or impossible for Wal-Mart to build its giant superstores. In response to past criticisms of its diversity policies, Wal-Mart created company-wide postings of promotional opportunities, created a new position for a director of diversity, and slashed the bonuses of managers who fail to achieve diversity hiring targets. Scott himself stands to lose $600,000 from his annual bonus if Wal-Mart does not meet diversity goals. Recent years have also seen the CEO spend more time meeting with investors, community groups and the media. But in recent years Wal-Mart has begun to use advertising as a way of addressing criticisms that the company is not a good employer. At first, much of this advertising was â€Å"soft-sell† emphasizing happy Wal-Mart employees. The new campaign is clearly more direct: The copy seeks to address misperceptions about employee wages and benefits, noting that full-time company employees are paid an average of $ 9. 8 – substantially higher than what is required by federal law (%5. 15). The copy also notes that a majority of Wal-Mart employees said benefits were important to them when they chose to take a job at the retailer. Complementing the ads is a PR campaign in select cities using employees and press conferences. In Tampa, Florida, for example, employee Michael Mar tin told reporters, â€Å"I’m making more after working four years at Wal-Mart than I did after nine years at Winn-Dixie. † Martin, a department manager, noted, â€Å"I left Winn-Dixie because I couldn’t get a promotion. Here I got one after six months. † Why is the company using a new approach? â€Å"For too long, others have had free rein to say things about our company that just are not true,† said lee Scott, president and chief executive office. â€Å" Our associates [Wal-Mart speak for employees] are tired of it and we’ve decided to draw our own line in the sand. † It is too soon to know if the campaign will succeed, although some are already skeptical. According to retail marketing consultant Jordan Zimmerman, aggressive mage campaigns like Wal-Mart’s are rare and costly. And ads that directly address the company’s critics will not likely replace the company’s regular advertising (including the smiley face), which is not scheduled to change any time soon. But the new ads do constitute a small change in the nature of the dialogue Wal-Mart has with consumers and society. Only tie will tell if they help Wal-Mart to stay on top. Questions: 1. What is Wal-Mart doing with its latest campaign? What are the difficulties involved in such an effort? 2. A recent Advertising Age article noted that Wal-mart customers are less likely to read newspapers and more likely to watch television than the population as a whole. Why, then did Wal-mart choose newspapers for its new campaign? 3. Analyze this Wal-Mart campaign and explain its purpose referring to the discussion in this chapter of the roles and functions of advertising. What is its primary purpose? Do you think it will be effective at accomplishing that purpose? Case II Toyota Goes after Tuners Young people with limited incomes often look for a great deal on a new car. One way to save money is to forgo options and upgrades, like a sunroof or a CD player. But when Toyota introduced its funky â€Å"Scion† brand, it considered offering a version without something most people assume comes standard: paint. Although they ultimately decided against the idea, at one point Toyota’s plan was to sell the brand with just gray primer. Toyota wasn’t really targeting people so cheap they wouldn’t spend money on paint. Just the opposite – the car company was going after a group with money to burn, called tuners. Tuners are young car buyers who live to customize hteir cars. The trend really began among young Asian Americans, who typically bough t inexpensive Asian import cars and then spent thousands of dollars customizing them. The hobby has spread to other young people, so that today Asian Americans are a minority of tuners. But Japanese brands remain the cars of choice among those dedicated to creating a work of art on wheels. Explaining the idea of a â€Å"no paint† option, Jim Farley, Scion general manager, says, â€Å"As much as possible, we want to give them [tuners] a black canvas. † What does a tuner do with his car? He (or she; women make up almost 20 percent of the tuner subculture) might take a basic Honda, add a large and loud exhaust system, paint the intake manifolds, and add ride-lowering springs. Other popular add-ons are technologies that increase vehicle speed, like turbochargers, superchargers, and nitrous kits. And there are some serious bucks involved. The Specialty Equipment Market Association estimates that auto after-market spending (spending on car accessories after the original car purchase) increased from $295 million in 1997 to 2. 3 $billion in 2002. The motivation? â€Å" You build a car for yourself,† says one day install on Acura RSX Type-S engine into his Honda Civic. â€Å" The satisfaction is in making it your own and knowing that nobody will ever have something that’s the same. † The amount of money tuners spend is reason enough to attract the attention of marketers. GM hoped to interest tuners in its Saturn Ion, Chevrolet Cavalier, and Pontiac Sunfire when it when it launched a â€Å" Tuner Tour† of 10 National Hot Rod Association races. GM allowed young car enthusiasts to play games and enter contests for prizes, as it in turn collected names and e-mail addresses. GM’s focus on relationship marketing makes sense because tuners don’t watch a lot of TV. Both Mitsubishi and Ford believe the best way to reach them is with product placements in movies (Mitsubishi bought air time in the popular for (â€Å"2 Fast 2 Furious†). But even companies selling products unrelated to cars are interested in the tuner lifestyle. Pepsi has hired tuners to customize some of its promotional vehicles. Which brings us full circle back to Scion, Toyota’s goal is to make the new car an immediate hit with tuners. So rather than spend a great deal of money on network television, Toyota decided to sponsor a 22-minute movie On the D. L. The movie is a comical docudrama that tells the story of a pair of musicians trying to obtain their first drivers licenses. The stars are musicians trying to obtain their first drivers licenses. The stars are musicians from youth-oriented bands: Ahmir â€Å"Questlove† Thompson, from the Roots, and DJ King Britt, who played for the Digable Planets. The film premiered at the Tribeca film festival, after which segments were shared on peer-to-peer networks such as Kaazaa. Toyota hopes that enthusiasts will download the segments and share them with friends. Questions: 1. Why are tuners so attractive to marketers, even after accounting for their spending power? 2. Evaluate Toyota’s strategy of targeting tuners with the Scion campaign. What are the difficulties for a large company in marketing effectively to a youth-oriented subculture? What techniques do you think companies like Toyota are using to try to understand their market? 3. Explain how â€Å"tuner† campaigns, such as those by GM and Toyota, work. Analyze these campaigns using the Facets Model to identify the effects they are designed to achieve. How would you determine if these campaigns are effective? Case III Starbucks Makes TV Less Intrusive Starbucks coffee is now sold in grocery stores but how many people realize it? To get that message out, the well known coffee house chain needed to reach its customers nationwide with that message. Television commercials would be the obvious way to reach those people, but Starbucks’ management knew that their customers are not big fans of television commercials and resent the interruption of their favorite program. That’s why starbucks has been such an infrequent advertiser on TV. Its on-air promotional activities have been limited primarily to radio and its only previous use of TV had been support announcements on public TV. That was the problem facing Starcom’s MediaVest group. The agency used a creative solution: It recommended a partnership with the Bravo cable network. Bravo would run four Independent Film Channel (IFC) movies on Friday nights for a month and Starbucks would buy all the commercial time surrounding the movie airings. The MediaVest team knew that Bravo’s â€Å"IFC Friday† night films would be a good way to reach the stakeholder audience because research had described that customer base as people who are up on the latest trends, like to attend live performances of the arts, are apt to see a movie during the weekend it opens, and generally are interested in cutting edge things. Mediavest calls this customer â€Å"the attuned explorer. † Even though Starbucks bought all the commercial time, the MediaVest team recommended letting the movies run uninterrupted. Starbucks’ advertising message was delivered in supporting Bravo promotions of the movies during each week leading up to the Friday night telecast. About 40 seconds of each 60-second preview spot showed scenes from the movie and 20 seconds promoted Starbucks s the movie sponsor. Other promotional activities were also used in support of the campaign. One month before the movies aired, a $1 off coupon for a bag of Starbucks Coffee was sent to 3 million targeted consumers around the country, along with a viewer guide introducing the Starbucks-sponsored independent movie festival. Starbucks billboards also appeared during the movie month coinciding with the independent film industry’s annual telecast, which aired on both Bravo and IC. The innovative Bravo partnership wound up not only increasing sales of Starbucks Coffee by 15 percent for the month the campaign ran, but also increased viewership on Bravo by 33 percent. These results led the campaign to be named a Media Plan of the year by Adweek magazine. Questions: 1. What was the problem Starbucks wanted to overcome in order to effectively advertise that its coffee brand was available in supermarkets? 2. How did the partnership work? Is there anything you could recommend that would extend the reach of this campaign? Case IV Wpp’s Owner-a British Knight with Every (Marketing) Weapon at His Disposal To the uniformed, nothing about Martin Sorrell or his company, the WPP group, may be quite what it seems. Although he was awarded a knighthood, Sir Martin is anything but a reserved aristocrat. And while WPP is one of the four largest agency holding companies in the world, the initials actually stand for Wire & Plastic products, the British company Sorrell used to gobble up some of the world’s most famous advertising agencies. The roster of agencies now under the WPP’s wing includes industry leaders Ogivly and Mother, Burson-Marsteller, Hill & knowlton, young & Rubicam, and J. Walter Thompson, to name just a few. Large conglomerates like WPP made frequent headlines in the 1990s, a period of great consolidation in the advertising industry. Faced with harsh economic and business realities, individual advertising agencies chose to give up independent existence in order to become parts of large communication companies that offered clients all the tools for an integrated campaign, including advertising, direct marketing, public relations, and sales promotion. In the new millennium, dealing with one (or several) of the four large holding companies, WPP Group (England), Interpublic(U. S), Publicis Groups (France), and Omnicom (U. S), is the way the world’s biggest advertisers do business. While each of the conglomerates is led by a charismatic and dynamic individual, none appears to have an edge on Sorrell, who was described in a recent Fortune article as â€Å"†¦confident, witty, and a tod arrogant, talking rapidly about the future of advertising and the challenges of keeping fractious clients and ad agencies happy. † Fortune also noted that â€Å"In an industry populated by shameless schmoozers, the 59-year-old Sorrell is in a league of his own. † These characteristics have served Sorrell well, In 2004 he squared off against rival Publicis Groups and its CEO, Maurice Levy, in pursuit of one of the last great independent agencies, Grey Advertising, New York. During the battle Advertising Age opined that Publicis had a big advantage because Levy and Grey chair Edward Meyer were friends and had spoken about merging in the past. In addition, both Grey and Publicis created ads for consumer giant procter & Gamble, while WPP agency Ogilvy & Mather counted P&G’s competitor Unilever among its most important clients. It is customary for agencies not to work for competing accounts. ) A Unilever spokesperson, asked for his thoughts about the possibility of working with an agency that created ads for his most important rival, suggested that â€Å"In the past, we’ve not seen it to be such a good idea. â€Å"But nobody familiar with Martin Sorrell was surprised when at the end of the day he convinced Grey to sign with WPP and persuaded Procter & Gamble to stay as well. Unlike many of his peers, Sorrell has never written a word of copy, nor has he ever penciled a print design or directed a broadcast commercial. Sorrell’s talents are organizational and strategic; although he is an expert in the world of finance, Sir Martin cautions, â€Å"I may be a bean counter, but I’m not an accountant. † To drive home the point he posed for WPP’s annual report surrounded by lima and pinto beans. So how does Martin Sorrell continue to win in the high-stakes agency world? His vision, developed years before most of his rivals caught on, that twenty-first-century clients would want a complete menu of marketing communication services, all of which work synergistically, is one important reason for his success. Tenacity, energy, focus, and a willingness to do whatever is needed to win are also traits that come to mind. All these are illustrated in the story of Sorrell’s drive to land Korean giant Samsung when the company put its advertising up for review in the spring of 2004. Samsung spends almost $400 million each year supporting its brands, which is reason enough for agencies to salivate for the account. Sorrell believes that the company holds even greater appeal because of his forecast that advertising growth in the twenty-first century will come disproportionately from Asia. So Sorrell did whatever he could to attract Samsung’s attention. Like any savvy agency head, he assigned his best people to generate creative ideas to pitch to Samsung executives. But unlike most agency heads, he didn’t stop there. After discovering that a Samsung-financed museum was having a grand opening in Seoul, Sorrell jumped on a plane and ended up being the only agency person there. Samsung executives found themselves receiving emails from Sorrell at all time of the day and night. Peter Stringham, marketing director of HSBC, a company that Sorrell landed after several years of trying, commented, â€Å"Martin can be quite persistent. He was there from the first meeting to the last. He’d pitched to us a couple of times before and not gotten the account, but he’d had his eye on it for years. † Needless to say, in the fall of 2004, Samsung announced it was awarding its account to WPP. In the new millennium, British knights may not wear armor, carry a crest, or rescue damsels in distress. But Sir Martin Sorrell knows how to triumph in the competitive world of advertising agencies. Questions 1. Why do large clients like Samsung wish to work with giant holding companies like WPP instead of with smaller agencies? 2. What qualities help Sorrell to be successful? Why are these qualities so important for his company’s success? 3. Explain how Martin Sorrell wins clients and builds positive agency-client relationships. How does he see the agency’s role in marketing? Case V Boycott This! A recent ad for a Nike hiking shoe used copy that was probably intended to be humorous. The copy suggested that Nike’s shoe could help the use avoid turning into â€Å"†¦a drooling, misshapen non-extreme-trail-running husk of my former self, forced to roam the earth in a motorized wheelchair with my name embossed on one of those cute little license plates you get at carnivals†¦. Marcie Roth, an advocacy director for the National Council on Independent Living, didn’t find it funny. â€Å"Nike is trying to be sensationalist, and they’re doing it on the backs of the disabled,† thundered Roth, adding, â€Å"We won’t tolerate it. † Nike apologized and immediately pulled the ad. But Roth announced that her group was interested in more than just an apology, because the disabled, in Roth’s words, had been â€Å"dissed. † Nike was asked to include disabled actors in its ads and hire a greater number of disabled workers. Otherwise, suggested Roth, Nike could expect a boycott. Boycotts are certainly one way for consumers to let advertisers know when they’ve gone too far. While some advertisers, notably Benetton, delight in creating controversy, that vast majority try to avoid the unwanted attention and possible loss of sales that a boycott might bring. Armed with this knowledge, consumers and interest groups regularly threaten boycotts and there are several Web sites that track the dozens of product boycotts that re occurring at any given time. Recently the Web site â€Å"Ethical Consumer† listed boycott of Adidas (for allegedly using kangaroo skin in the manufacture of some boots), Air France (for allegedly transporting primates), Bayer (for allegedly supporting policies favoring the use of genetically modified crops), and even entire nations (Israel, China, Morocco, and Turkey). Although Ethical Consumer’s rationales for supporting boycotts appear motivated by left-leaning or pr ogressive concerns, conservative groups use them too. The American Family Association, based in Tupelo, Mississippi, has sent tens of thousands of e-mails threatening boycotts to advertisers Geico, Best Buy, Foot Looker, and Finish Line. The AFA is not upset with the ads placed by these companies, but rather with the program in which the ads appear: South Park. The AFA claims its e-mail campaigns caused Lowe’s, Tyson, ConAgra, and Kellogg’s to stop placing ads in ABC’s surprise hit Desperate Housewives. Some companies resist boycott pressures. Proctor & Gamble ignored AFA pressure to stop its support for gay-friendly legislation in Cincinnati. Subway Vice President Chris Carroll said his company ignored threatened boycotts caused by the company’s decision to run ads in a documentary that was unflattering to Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry. And then there’s Pepsi. In 2003 the brand signed hip-hop artist Ludacris to appear in a â€Å"fun-oriented† campaign, but outspoken cable show host Bill O’Reilly immediately ripped Pepsi and urged â€Å"†¦all responsible Americans to fight back and punish Pepsi for using a man who degrades women, who encourages substance abuse, and does all the things that hurt†¦the poor in our society. I’m calling for all Americans to say, ‘Hey, Pepsi, I’m not drinking your stuff. You want to hang around with Ludacris, you do that, I’m not hanging around with you. † A Pepsi representative appearing on O’Reilly’s show denied that the artist’s provocative lyrics (one album featured a song called â€Å"Move Bitch†) were relevant to the Pepsi campaign. But the following day Pepsi canceled the campaign. For viewers of a certain age, the entire affair was reminiscent of the controversy that erupted several years earlier when Pepsi canceled ads featuring Madonna after she appeared in a controversial music video. But Pepsi’s decision did not mark the end of the controversy. After the announcement, Ludacris and the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, an organization run by his producer, Russell Simmons, threatened their own boycott. Following several days of negotiations, the second boycott was called off. Ludacris would not be a spokesperson for Pepsi, but the soft-drink giant agreed to a deal to make a multi-million-dollar donation over several years to the rapper’s foundation. Questions: 1. What do you think about consumer boycotts? Are they unhealthy attempts to infringe on the speech rights of others? Or are they a healthy sign that consumers can take action against the ethical lapses of advertisers? 2. How should a company respond to the threat of a boycott? Consider the different responses of Nike, Subway, Lowe’s, Proctor & Gamble, and Pepsi. How well do you think each of these companies reacted to boycott pressure? Did any of the companies hurt their brand because of the way they reacted to boycotts? 3. How would you review advertising ideas that you suspect are controversial and might generate a backlash? Is it ever justified to â€Å"push the envelope† in the areas of good taste and social responsibility? How would you decide if such approaches are effective? Case VI How Advertising Works If It Walks Like the Aflac Duck You’ve probably never heard of the American Family life Assurance Co. , nor likely to be familiar with its primary service: supplemental workplace medical insurance, a type of insurance that is used by people to help cover the many loopholes and deductibles in their primary insurance coverage. Then again, if you are like 90 percent of U. S. onsumers, maybe you have heard of the company. In its advertising it calls itself â€Å"AFLAC. † The four-year AFLAC campaign is the work of Linda Kaplan Thaler, owner of the New York agency that bears her name. Thaler’s ads are not known for their subtlety. Among her credits are the Toy’s R Us jingle â€Å"I don’t want to grow up,† and the successful campaign for Clairol Herbal Esse nces, featuring on â€Å"orgasmic† hair-washing experience. The Herbal Essences ads strike some as funny, others as quite possibly offensive, but sales of the product have skyrocketed to almost $700 million a year. In many ways Thaler’s ads hearken back to the 1960s, when it was common to feature â€Å"sex, schmaltz, chirpy jingles and ‘talking’ babies and animals,† as the New York Time’s advertising columnist Stewart Elliott puts it. Industry insiders have been known to snipe at Thaler’s work, and few would describe her campaigns as â€Å"edgy. † But as Maurice Levy, CEO of the giant advertising company Publicis, observes, â€Å"There are people who do advertising for what I call the advertising for the consumer. She is doing advertising mush more for the consumer. Thaler herself notes, â€Å"We’re doing our job when we find ways to get people to buy things. † Thaler’s AFLAC ads, by almost any measure, are her best. Almost all feature a white duck desperately screaming â€Å"AFLAC† at people who need supplemental insurance. Unfortunately, the duck’s audience never quite seems to hear him. Most of the ads contai n a fair amount of slapstick, usually at the expense of the duck, whose exasperated-sounding voice originates with former Saturday Night Live cast member Gilbert Gottfried. He’s got the right answer but nobody is listening, and that’s a situation that resonates with people,† says Kathleen Spencer, director of AFLAC’s corporate communications. â€Å"There’s also just something inherently comical about a duck. † The campaign has been enormously successful. Since the ads first began running, brand name awareness has increased from 15 percent to 90 percent. Over the same period year-to-year sales increases have almost doubled. Dan Amos, CEO for AFLAC, believes that â€Å"our name recognition with our advertising campaign to truly help our company. In 2003 Ad Age named the commercial featuring the duck and the Amazing Kreskin (who hypnotizes a man into thinking he is a chicken) the most-recalled spot in America. But what makes the AFLAC campaign truly remarkable is how little it has cost the company. The duck has a higher Q score (a measure of a character’s familiarity and appeal) than both Ronald McDonald and the Energizer Bunny, but whereas Energizer has spent almost a billion dollars over 15 years on advertising, and McDonald’s spends almost $700 million every year, AFLAC’s ad budget is only $45 million a year. There is no denying that Thaler’s work for AFLAC is a triumph of both effectiveness and value. Questions: 1. Some viewers don’t like the AFLAC ads. Can an ad still accomplish its intended purposes if people find it annoying? 2. The AFLAC campaign is more than four years old. In your opinion, will the campaign stay effective for the foreseeable future? 3. What makes AFLAC ads so effective? Is it something more than their entertainment value? If so, what else contributes to their success?