Swot Analysis of Delta Airlines

SWOT analysis Strength 1. Innovation: * â€Å"Track check bags† 2. Market share leadership 3. Strong management team 4. Strong brand equity 5. Flights are usually on time 6. The merger and acquisition | Weakness * The number of cancelling flights is a little high * The customer service is bad because in some occasion the customer can’t found the delta representative in the airport. Lack of online presence * In some aircrafts the seats are uncomfortable and narrow | Opportunities * Emerging markets and expansion abroad * Product and services expansion * Development of new technologies and the web | Threats * Competition * Economic slowdown and crises * External changes * Lower cost competitors * Price wars and revolution * Oil Price growth * Terrorism| Strength: 1. Innovation: * Delta earned the top 5 in the rank of most innovative airline * â€Å"Track checking bag† new service launched by Delta to allow customer to track their luggage in real-time.Also they can do it via their smartphone using the bag tag number. * On board the plan delta offers the full-lie bed in the business Elite. Also it plans to offer to the flat bed seat to the entire international fleet. * Gogo’s internet service is equipped in all the aircrafts * In 18 airports Delta installed the â€Å"wireless power-pad† 2. Market share leadership: * Delta ranks the first place in the airline domestic market share with 16% * Due to its strong financial strategy Delta was the only airline company which wasn’t affect by the event of September 2001 3.Strong management team: * More than 80,646 employees work in Delta * by providing entertainment in the plan and being helpful with travelers * Through its leadership Mike (the executive vice president of Human resource an labor Relation) established an entire culture in the company. So employees worked as a team not individually, which lead them to focus on the quality of their services. 4. Strong brand equity * â €Å"welcome change welcome new delta† * Due to its brand and history Delta still until now challenging competitors. . Flights on time * In 2013 412,617 of flight are on time which means 80, 89% of all the flights that Delta operates arrive just in time. * This percentage and statistics evolved since 2004 6. The merger and acquisition * Through it 2 last merger with Northwest and virgin airline, Delta become the second largest airline of passengers * In addition this situation allows the company to make many alliance with different airport in different countries.Weakness 1. The number of canceled flights is little high * Despite the fact that the rate of the delayed decrease but still high comparing to Delta which the second largest company * The number of delayed flight represent 7,561 among 509,519operation flights * From the feedback of some travelers they complained ; that the company didn’t inform them about the situation 2. Some complaint about the customer servic e Since 2010 Delta was trying to improve its customer services because it affects directly the number of travelers, thus the company was focusing on training its employees to and offered to those training programs and seminaries to improve their service. 3. Lack of online presence: * Delta needs to improve its application for privacy policy. * The social network are not update 4. Uncomfortable seats From some customers opinion I conclude that there some seat especially the economy class in the old aircrafts are uncomfortable.And the company did a huge mistake for using those plan for long time flight (so the customer in this case will be disappointed and they admitted that they have spent the worst flight on their life) Opportunities 1. Emerging market and expansion aboard : * This situation leads Delta to increase its market share * The company preview to include flights to Romania, Dubai and other countries. * From this expansion the company’s revenues increase by 20u 2. Pr oduct and service expansion Sky-bonus is a service designed for company to collect points and become member in delta sky club. * There is also the award business Elite service, sky Mile and many other services. 3. Development of new technologies * Technologies nowadays is growing faster so delta should be aware of this situation and try to search and innovate some technologies which can help the customer and offer to him a high level of satisfaction. Threats 1. Competition * local competitors like southwest airline, US airways . Economic slowdown and crises * Can decrease the number of customers, thus the revenues of Delta will decrease also. * Especially the European crises which affects many businessmen and leads to their bankruptcy 3. External changes * For example the taxation, political situations, wars. 4. Lower cost competitors * This situation can affects badly company especially they use lower cost and lower service to offer to their customer cheaper tickets for their fligh ts 5. Price wars and revolution In this case the company should delayed flights, as a consequence its revenue will decrease. 6. Oil price growth * Oil price increase every years which is one of the major cost of the company 7. Terrorism http://www. airlinequality. com/Product/Yseat-DL. htm http://news. delta. com/index. php? s=18&item=88 http://dealbook. on. nytimes. com/Public/Deals? symbol=DAL https://www. worldagentdirect. com/deltaair/products/index. do http://www. transtats. bts. gov/HomeDrillChart. asp? URL_SelectYear=2013&URL_SelectMonth=1&URL_Time=1&URL_Selection=1 Swot Analysis of Delta Airlines SWOT analysis Strength 1. Innovation: * â€Å"Track check bags† 2. Market share leadership 3. Strong management team 4. Strong brand equity 5. Flights are usually on time 6. The merger and acquisition | Weakness * The number of cancelling flights is a little high * The customer service is bad because in some occasion the customer can’t found the delta representative in the airport. Lack of online presence * In some aircrafts the seats are uncomfortable and narrow | Opportunities * Emerging markets and expansion abroad * Product and services expansion * Development of new technologies and the web | Threats * Competition * Economic slowdown and crises * External changes * Lower cost competitors * Price wars and revolution * Oil Price growth * Terrorism| Strength: 1. Innovation: * Delta earned the top 5 in the rank of most innovative airline * â€Å"Track checking bag† new service launched by Delta to allow customer to track their luggage in real-time.Also they can do it via their smartphone using the bag tag number. * On board the plan delta offers the full-lie bed in the business Elite. Also it plans to offer to the flat bed seat to the entire international fleet. * Gogo’s internet service is equipped in all the aircrafts * In 18 airports Delta installed the â€Å"wireless power-pad† 2. Market share leadership: * Delta ranks the first place in the airline domestic market share with 16% * Due to its strong financial strategy Delta was the only airline company which wasn’t affect by the event of September 2001 3.Strong management team: * More than 80,646 employees work in Delta * by providing entertainment in the plan and being helpful with travelers * Through its leadership Mike (the executive vice president of Human resource an labor Relation) established an entire culture in the company. So employees worked as a team not individually, which lead them to focus on the quality of their services. 4. Strong brand equity * â €Å"welcome change welcome new delta† * Due to its brand and history Delta still until now challenging competitors. . Flights on time * In 2013 412,617 of flight are on time which means 80, 89% of all the flights that Delta operates arrive just in time. * This percentage and statistics evolved since 2004 6. The merger and acquisition * Through it 2 last merger with Northwest and virgin airline, Delta become the second largest airline of passengers * In addition this situation allows the company to make many alliance with different airport in different countries.Weakness 1. The number of canceled flights is little high * Despite the fact that the rate of the delayed decrease but still high comparing to Delta which the second largest company * The number of delayed flight represent 7,561 among 509,519operation flights * From the feedback of some travelers they complained ; that the company didn’t inform them about the situation 2. Some complaint about the customer servic e Since 2010 Delta was trying to improve its customer services because it affects directly the number of travelers, thus the company was focusing on training its employees to and offered to those training programs and seminaries to improve their service. 3. Lack of online presence: * Delta needs to improve its application for privacy policy. * The social network are not update 4. Uncomfortable seats From some customers opinion I conclude that there some seat especially the economy class in the old aircrafts are uncomfortable.And the company did a huge mistake for using those plan for long time flight (so the customer in this case will be disappointed and they admitted that they have spent the worst flight on their life) Opportunities 1. Emerging market and expansion aboard : * This situation leads Delta to increase its market share * The company preview to include flights to Romania, Dubai and other countries. * From this expansion the company’s revenues increase by 20u 2. Pr oduct and service expansion Sky-bonus is a service designed for company to collect points and become member in delta sky club. * There is also the award business Elite service, sky Mile and many other services. 3. Development of new technologies * Technologies nowadays is growing faster so delta should be aware of this situation and try to search and innovate some technologies which can help the customer and offer to him a high level of satisfaction. Threats 1. Competition * local competitors like southwest airline, US airways . Economic slowdown and crises * Can decrease the number of customers, thus the revenues of Delta will decrease also. * Especially the European crises which affects many businessmen and leads to their bankruptcy 3. External changes * For example the taxation, political situations, wars. 4. Lower cost competitors * This situation can affects badly company especially they use lower cost and lower service to offer to their customer cheaper tickets for their fligh ts 5. Price wars and revolution In this case the company should delayed flights, as a consequence its revenue will decrease. 6. Oil price growth * Oil price increase every years which is one of the major cost of the company 7. Terrorism http://www. airlinequality. com/Product/Yseat-DL. htm http://news. delta. com/index. php? s=18&item=88 http://dealbook. on. nytimes. com/Public/Deals? symbol=DAL https://www. worldagentdirect. com/deltaair/products/index. do http://www. transtats. bts. gov/HomeDrillChart. asp? URL_SelectYear=2013&URL_SelectMonth=1&URL_Time=1&URL_Selection=1

8 Stages of Man

Cameron Roney Lifespan Development Eight Stages of Man Interview General question on childhood: I interviewed a seventy year old woman named Virginia that I met while doing my community service. I asked her to think about her first ten years of life and to describe times that she can remember being cared for. She said that it was her grandmother that did most of the caretaking for her, especially when she was sick. She recalled one time when she had a really bad sinus infection that her grandmother helped her through.When I asked her if she could think of any time she was not very well cared for, the only time she could think of is when her father would come home bombed, which sparked some intense arguments in the family. She recalled feeling very lost during these times. Fun times in her childhood consisted of time with her family since she did not have any friends as a child. Specifically, she remembered having a lot of fun planting pumpkin seeds with her family. Trust vs. Mistrust : I asked her to describe her relationship with her parents. She said they were very close, and she went hunting with her father often.She got a lot of adult attention. She considered herself to be pretty self reliant and optimistic despite her loneliness. She feels that her seclusion from children her age was a big factor in developing her independence and self reliance. She was trustful of her parents and family, and trustful in herself to deal with most problems that arose in her life at that time. Autonomy vs. Shame/Doubt: Virginia reported to be fairly active, and she is. She runs a local community donation center and does a great deal of work for her church. She describes herself as self reliant.When looking back, she does not feel that she relied on others very much. She considered herself to be adventurous, but not careless. She was not overly fearful, but she wasn’t overly risky either. All in all, she is a very active woman for being seventy years old. Initiative vs . Guilt: When I asked her about her efforts to stay active, she spoke about her work involving the construction of a new church, her being the chairman of the building committee, and her work at the community donation center. She does a lot to help care for her mother and helps her children when she can.She says that all of this is a handful, but she enjoys the activity. She says that when she was younger she did consider herself to be a creative person and could think outside the box. She is an extremely able bodied woman for her age. Industry vs. Inferiority: I asked her to describe her career and her accomplishments. She recalls her thirty five years as a physical therapist. She considered it her responsibility and calling in life. She talked about one boy in particular that she worked with who lived out of town.She worked with him for three years because no one else could reach him. When I asked her about times when she felt that she had been competent and productive and develop ed her skills. She recalls doing a lot of odd jobs which taught her a lot of new skills. She found creative ways to solve problems unique to the different fields she worked in. When I asked her to describe some times that she felt incompetent or ineffective she talked about times when she would overburden herself with too many jobs or trying to handle an extremely large workload herself.She considers herself competent and capable, and really has accomplished a lot in her time. General Question on Identity: I asked her to think about her encounters with her peers when she was between 10 and 19 years of age. She said that she was not so accepted by those around her. She was overweight as a kid. She moved to a new high school which was in a city. This was tough on her because she had grown up in a very secluded setting and she lagged socially. She considered this a huge cultural shift for her. She felt very lost and really had a hard time finding herselfIdentity vs. Identity Diffusion: When I asked her about her experiences as a teenager trying to find herself and who she was and what she wanted out of life, she said that she had always wanted to help people. She wanted to be an architect for the longest time, but she was discouraged when her sister got very sick and saw the therapy she went through. She said that is when she decided to become a therapist. She says that she has a very strong sense of who she is and what her purpose is now. She also says that she is fairly headstrong and not easily influenced by others.To sum up, she has a strong sense of identity. General Intimacy Question: I asked Virginia to think back to her twenties and thirties and the experiences with imported others in her life at that time. She said she had a lot of support and encouragement from those close to her. She was not dependant, but it definitely helped her through some rough times in her life. Intimacy vs. Isolation: I asked her to describe her marriage, and this is where the b ulk of the interview took place. She said that her marriage was rough at first.Her husband was an ex-marine who killed 14 men during his time in the military. He was introverted and very little communication took place between them. It took him thirty years to open up to her. She says that the last years of their marriage have been the most rewarding. Her only sibling died when she was eighteen, but when she was alive they were very close. She was teased a lot, although there was not much fighting between them. They relied on each other for fun which brought them very close together. I asked her who she felt the most comfortable confiding in.She said that she only really felt comfortable confiding in her grandmother and father, but they have both passed away. I asked her if there was anyone close to her that she felt she couldn’t really open up to. Aside from her husband until the later part of their marriage, she talked about her children. She has four, and of all of them th e oldest is the most independent. This caused a lot of friction between them during his adolescents and young adulthood, but they have since grown closer. Her third daughter has been diagnosed with social anxiety disorder and she has spent a lot of time trying to help her open up.In my opinion, the only time that she has had any real intimacy with those close to her was during her early childhood and late adulthood. Most of her life between those times she seems to have been pretty isolated. General Generativity Question: I asked her to reflect on her life from ages thirty to sixty five. I asked her to describe he experiences of taking care of others around her. This was a pretty depressing part of the interview. She said that she often felt inadequate as a mother. She says that she should have gone another direction regarding the way that she brought them up, and that she often regretted having children.She is now pretty involved with her children, and she helps her youngest daught er financially. She gives advice when she is asked. She has definitely taught and helped her children, but I think that it is pretty clear that she lacks a feeling of generativity. Generativity vs. Stagnation: I asked if she feels that she has done enough to have a positive impact on those around her. She feels that from her experiences she has learned to do better and guide gently. She considers herself to be pretty understanding. I asked her in what ways she has tried to pass along her knowledge.She says that she has passed her knowledge along to her children, and she has done a lot of work with juvenile offenders in her community service. She says that she always tried to accept them for who they were, regardless of what they were dealing with. Regarding generativity, she has had a hard time with it, but she feels that she does a lot better now that she has her experiences to draw back to. General Question on Integrity: I asked her about her lifestyle compared to others, and she said that she lives a relatively laid back life. She is fairly chilled out and relaxed. She tries to do her part, but she does not feel pushed.I asked her about how she felt about her mortality. She said that she is not joyous about it, but she is accepting. She finds comfort in her faith. Integrity vs. Despair: I asked her about her current goals. She says that she strives to stay active, she wants to learn to play the piano, and she wants to lose twenty pounds. She feels comfortable about her life and the decisions she made. When I asked her about her opinion about the future of the united states, she said that she is very pessimistic about President Obama, the recession we are experiencing, and the national defeciet.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Nutrigenomics

Advantages and Disadvantages of Nutrigenomics The word â€Å"Nutrigenomics† is a combination of nutrition and genomics. Nutrition is about the relationship between food and health; genomics is the study of entire genetic makeup of an organism and how they are expressed and regulated. Therefore, nutrigenomics is a field which concerned about the relationship between diet and gene expression by describing the approach to nutrition and human health that studies the implication of genetic differences in human response to food and how food alter the gene expression, biochemistry, metabolism and promotion of health (Elliot R, 2002). In other words, nutrigenomics is the study and application of gene and nutrition interaction. Besides, nutrigenomics also provides a basis for understanding the biological activity of food components (Rawson N, 2008). In addition, nutrigenomics has also been described by the influence of genetic variation on nutrition by correlate the gene expression with a nutrient’s absorption, metabolism and how it is eliminated from our body. In nutrigenomics, nutrients are seen as signals that are detected by a sensory system in the cell that tells the body cells about its environment (diet). Once the nutrient interacts with such system, it alters the gene, metabolite production and protein expression in depending on the level of nutrient it detected (Afman and Muller M, 2006). Hence, different diets will elicit different patterns of gene, protein expression and metabolite production. Such patterns of effects have been referred to as dietary signatures, where they are examined to investigate how homeostasis is influenced (Afman and Muller M, 2006). There are many ways on how nutrigenomics is useful to improve quality of life. Firstly, nutrigenomics define the causality relationship between specific nutrients and diet on human health by determining the mechanism of the effect of the nutrients or diet to human body. Besides, nutrigenomics helps to facilitate prevention through dieta ry modification when the diet-related diseases are detected in early stage. Nutrigenomics also allows the examination on how nutrients affect the genes present in the human genome. With all these reasons, nutrigenomics promotes and improves the understanding of people on how nutrition influence metabolic pathways and alter the homeostatic control in our body. Moreover, nutrigenomics is also able to demonstrate the impact of bioactive food compounds and its effect on human health, which should lead to the development of functional foods that will keep people healthy based to their individual needs. Then, this will further prevent development of chronic diet-related disease such as cardiovascular diseases, obesity and Type 2 diabetes mellitus. In addition, nutrigenomics also involve in finding markers of the early phase of diet-related diseases. At this phase, intervention with nutrition approach can restore patient’s health. Once a marker has been found and measured in an indi vidual, the stage of susceptibility of the person to develop the diet-related diseases can be quantified and personalized dietary recommendation can be then given to that particular individual and further improve his or her quality of life. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the lifestyle diseases and it is the most common cause of death all over the world. In Malaysia, about 30% of deaths are caused by CVD (WHO, 2009). There are many factors that can lead to CVD. For example, elevated low density lipoprotein (LDL) level, low level of high density lipoprotein (HDL) and high level of total cholesterol. Diet has a significant effect on CVD. However, long term health benefits can be obtained from dietary proteins and bioactive non-nutrients, called phytochemicals, which could be either integrated into the diet or be part of the food itself. One of the foods that can be used to reduce the risk of getting CVD is soybean. Soybean contain soy protein and it contains phytoestrogens whic h bind to estrogen receptors in the body. Besides, soybean also contains high level of Isoflavones. There are three major isoflavones in soybeans which are genistein, daidzein and glycetein. Isoflavones have a non-steroidal structure. However, they possess a phenolic ring that enables them to bind the estrogen receptor and act either as estrogen agonists or antagonists (Makela et al., 1995).

Write a short article about a major volcanic eruption Essay

Write a short article about a major volcanic eruption - Essay Example Volcanoes are powerful forces of nature. According to Ritter et al., volcanism is simply the manifestation of processes that occur in earth’s mantle on the surface of the earth (1). Rocks and minerals are liquefied into magma in earth’s mantle due to heat produced by extreme pressure. Weaknesses in the earth’s crust allow vents to form that allow magma to escape. This magma can emerge through the crust under the sea or on dry land. These vents will create three possible types of volcanic landforms. The type of landform is dictated by the mineral make-up of the magma that is expelled through the vent (2). Shield volcanoes, such as the Hawaiian Islands are made of magma that has low viscosity. It is mostly basalt and runs like water. Cone volcanoes are made of magma that is high in silica. The magma is sticky so it builds up making the steep sides of a cone shaped mountain. Similar to these are composite cones that are made of magma and ash. They are irregularly sh aped volcanic mountains. A final landform created by volcanoes is called a caldera. This is a huge empty space in the volcanic mountain created by a massive eruption. This is a prominent feature that was created by the eruption of Thera. The Greek island of Thera is located in the Mediterranean Sea just northeast of the island of Crete. The island is known in modern times as Santorini. The geologic shape and structure of the island is typical for volcanic islands in the Aegean and Mediterranean seas. The island was a mixture of ash and silica based materials with gentle slopes near the shoreline rising to an inland, conical peak. Thera had been slowly building for at least a million years. The current arrangement of the small islands of Santorini did not happen with just one eruption. As many as twelve eruptions over the past million years have made Santorini what it is today (3). The eruption that occurred around 1600 BC was,

Theories on the History of Science as Social Constructs Essay

Theories on the History of Science as Social Constructs - Essay Example l description of Hess’s concepts related to the cultural construction of science and technology, this paper moves towards a comparison between the theories of Carolyn Merchant and Hess. Both of them have their own ideas related to science, technology and nature. Merchant takes a feminist stance in her description of science and technology. At the end, a conclusion is given that summarizes the overall paper. T.S. Kuhn is his book, â€Å"The Structure of Scientific Revolutions†, evaluates the history of Science. Kuhn illustrates that science has not developed from accretion of factual information but from continuous transforming situations and probabilities for the people related to scientific disciplines (Polsby, 1998). For Kuhn, science that was prevalent in different eras of history was an output of the factors at that time (Polsby, 1998). Kuhn divided the history of science in three phases. In the first phase, there was no agreement on a single theory and people differ from each other in terms of suggested theories due to which, the theories of this phase were left deficient (Kuhn, 1962). Second phase saw some acceptance on theories and there was proper experimentation and analysis (Kuhn, 1962). Kuhn regards the third phase of science as innovatory and revolutionary (Kuhn, 1962). According to Kuhn, science moves between these phases to get some results (Kuhn, 1962). The movie, â€Å"Mindwalk† directed by Bernt Amadeus Capra introduces three characters who are involved in a correspondence. First one is a politician; second one is a scientist while the third one is a poet. Each of them has a diverse viewpoint and sees the world differently. The movie is based on Kuhn ideas that are linked to the discovery of new concepts in scientific field. The movie illustrates that people should not rely on old discoveries and theories, they should revolutionize and should move towards new grounds. As Kuhn has explained that, every scientific development has three phases,

The Minimum Wage Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Minimum Wage Law - Essay Example Opponents contend that the law costs jobs and is an unwarranted and unnecessary intrusion into the affairs of business. In fact, the minimum wage law is an unproductive and unconstitutional law that increases unemployment, does not reduce poverty, and should be repealed. Labor is one of the few commodities that is marketed in the US that has a price floor, and this artificial subsidy is counter-productive in a capitalist economy. Subsidies on items such as agricultural goods serve the purpose of stabilizing the market during periods of unusual production gluts or shortages. However, this is not the case for labor. The low skilled, low-end worker is subsidized by their co-workers and the employer as a form of economic welfare. For example, an employer needs to hire two people and he has a budget of $13.10 per hour for labor. One of the positions is more skilled, and the other is part time so he would like to hire an $8 per hour employee and a $5 per hour part time worker. However, the law says that he must hire two employees at $6.55 each to stay within his budget. The part time worker receives a $1.55 subsidy from his more skilled co-worker. The employer is faced with hiring a sub-standard employee for the $8 per hour slot, or hiring only one employ ee. According to Sowell, "Making it illegal to pay less than a given amount does not make a worker's productivity worth that amount, and if it is not, that worker is unlikely to be employed" (163-164). When goods, in this case labor, are overpriced the market demand is reduced. Rather than providing a living wage and a job, the minimum wage law drives down the cost of labor and transfers wealth from the lower economic classes to the minimum wage job holder. In addition to the reduction in demand for labor that comes as the result of mandatory pricing, there is also an oversupply of labor as many people make their services available that may not have been offered at the previous and lower prices. Teenagers, first time job seekers, part time workers, and seasonal workers may drive up the supply as their labor becomes worth more and working becomes more worthwhile. This adds to the evidence that most minimum wage jobs are filled by teenagers working summer jobs, part time help, and entry level workers, rather than coming from a background of poverty or the working poor (Even and MacPherson ii). Rather than increasing wages, the current minimum wage law creates an oversupply of labor and actually keeps wages down. The US has traditionally been a free market capitalist system, and intervening with an artificial floor on wages that is determined outside the market, reduces total employment in this environment of market economics. Labor, just as goods and services, is subject to the law of supply and demand. According to Ferguson, "The main influence is the pressure of demand on the supplies of goods and services and on the supply of labor. When demand exceeds supply there will be pressure on wages to rise" (215). The law of supply and demand further states that when prices rise, demand falls. This is especially true with prices that are set by a legal mandate. Sowell states, "a price artificially raised tends to cause more to be supplied and less to be demanded than when prices are left to be determined by supply and demand in a free market" (163). As

Arab-Israeli war Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Arab-Israeli war - Essay Example When they left their homeland, they dispersed to different European areas while carrying their identity with themselves. They ended up being quite successful and their success resulted in anti Jewish sentiments. The Jewish community experienced rejection throughout the world and during the 638 AD, the land recognized as Jerusalem was taken over by the Ottoman Empire and Muslim rule was observed in this area. Later in 1517, the region of Palestine was captured by the Ottoman Empire and during the period of 1897 the congress of the Zionist started protesting for a homeland of the Jewish community in the region of Palestine. Later during the World War I, British obtained support from the Arab community by promising them a separate land which even included Palestine in return of their support during the war to defeat turkey which was supporting the Germans in the war. Three years later, the British even promised Jews for a separate homeland in the region of Palestine. Before this promise , the region was divided between France and Britain. In this division France secured the regions of Syria and Lebanon and Britain secured the regions of Iraq and Jordon while an agreement was made to internationalize the region of Palestine. After the war, British failed to keep its promises and Jews started migrating to the region of Palestine. ... er in size and more amount of land was assigned to the Jewish community because of sympathies the UN had for Jews due to their experience during the Holocaust. The first wave of war that took place between Arabs and Jews was an outcome of the creation of independent state from the Jews and this region as recognized as Israel. Due to this Arabs started fighting against Israel and took hold of a small region recognized as the Old City of Jerusalem. This war led to a ceasefire, but after the first four weeks of this Cease fire, the Jews made advancements and another cease fire took place. Then in the August of 1948, the war started again and a cease fire was observed during 1949. Due to this, Arab refugees gained refugee in camps created on the borders of Israel which is another cause of the entire conflict. This led to the division of the entire region into three parts with Jews covering major portion of the region. In 1956 Jews again started war over Egypt and later cease fire took pl ace but by that time Jews had taken over the Gaza strip along with Sharm el Sheikh. Later Jews returned these pieces of land by getting into an agreement through which they could access Gulf of Aqaba (Tucker 850). The Jews even banned the return refugees and this is one of the long term reasons due to which Arabs hate the Jews to date. Later more land was captured by Jews during 1967, but it was later returned as enforced by United Nations. Approximately 20 years later, Palestinian uprisings started to take place in the region of Gaza Strip and these uprisings were called as Intifada. These uprisings were conducted by people of all ages and in these uprisings, the Israeli army was stoned by the protestors. As feedback, Israeli army started killing children who were protesting and a three

Kant's and Mill's Philosophical Theories on Morality Essay

Kant's and Mill's Philosophical Theories on Morality - Essay Example Then, I will elucidate Mill’s response to Kantian theory, and the grounds of his philosophy. Finally, I will argue through example that we ought to favor Mill’s philosophy as it will maximize the benefit to society. Kant’s Theory on Morality In his moral philosophy, Kant argues that for law to have any moral force, it must contain absolute necessity. He opines that morality cannot exist without metaphysics also known as a set of necessary truths. When one fulfils one’s obligation to these necessary truths, the act performed will have morally right regardless of the repercussions it will have. The will to fulfill this obligation forms the basis of our decisions to engage or not to engage in certain acts and it can only become moral if one’s actions are because of rather than merely in accordance with the duty. This will determines what is good or bad because when the will is bad all the other aspects of an individual can be used to further immoral pu rposes. Kant’s argument is that moral requirements are founded on a certain standard of rationality which he named, Categorical Imperative. Immorality is therefore the violation of the Categorical Imperative and which is therefore irrational. These standards of rationality upon which moral requirements are based are either desire-based instrumental rationality principles or based on natural rational intuitions. But he also argued that conformity to this Categorical Imperative, a non-instrumental principle, hence conformity to moral requirements themselves is capable of being shown to be integral to rational agency. He based this argument on his remarkable doctrine that generally a rational will should be seen to be autonomous, or free such that it is the author of the law which seeks to bind it, (Kant, 1999). The basic principle of morality, the Categorical Imperative, is the law of a free or autonomous will. Kant’s moral philosophy is centered on a principle of reason , that an individual’s moral behavior is more than just being a slave to his passions. The presence of this natural and self-governing reason in everyone means that each individual is capable of making the right moral choices and becoming a respectable member of the society. Mills Moral Theory Mills philosophy of the greatest happiness principle tends to divert from Kant’s philosophy. According to Mill, the correctness of person’s actions is measured by its effect on other people. The ultimate end of a person’s actions should be aimed at bringing about the greatest happiness to the greatest number of people. This standard of the greatest happiness has been desired because it is assumed that most people desires for their own happiness for as long as they believe they can achieve that. Therefore, the greatest happiness is a sum of the greatest happiness of every individual. For Mill, happiness is achieved when there is no pain and there is pleasure both in quality and quantity. Since this pleasure is everyone’s goal, then it forms the basis of our morality. Mill explains how one is to distinguish what will result into more or less happiness by saying that if a person has experienced two pleasures, he will choose the one with a higher value. Higher pleasures are mostly related to intellect while lower pleasures are mostly physical. He also explained why some people will choose a lower pleasure over a higher one even when they have had experience with both. He said that even though this

The Palm Beach County Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan Assignment

The Palm Beach County Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan - Assignment Example The National Incident Management System provides a template for the CEMP to follow since it is federally mandated for agencies at all levels of government, based on the Homeland Security Presidential Directive 5 (HSPD-5). The NIMS has been fully incorporated into all the response and recovery initiatives. The NIMS basically acts as a guideline for the CEMP since new frameworks do not have to be developed (Wilkinson, Lewis and Dennis, 2010). The CEMP developers only need to customize the structure of the NIMS to fit the needs of whatever geographical area they are working on (Chou and Chen, 2013). In this case, the guidelines of the NIMS can be adapted to fit Palm Beach County’s CEMP and work on original plans will be minimal. The CEMP has four essential elements, which are the Basic Plan, Standard Operating Guidelines (SOGs), Emergency Management (EM) Coordinating Procedures, and the Hazard Specific Plans (HSPs). The basic plan provides information on the concept of operations, coordination, control and organizational structure, general purpose, scope and methodology of the plan, and identifies responsibilities of all entities and resources harnessed by the County to help in disaster recovery (Nagar, 2010). SOGs are agency or section-specific and are used by organizations to actualize the purposes, missions, or operations outlined by the complimentary HSPs or Coordinating Procedures (Wilkinson, Lewis and Dennis, 2010). HSPs serve as the foundation for effective response to known hazards and support the incorporation of mitigation into response and recovery operations (Penuel, 2013). The Coordinating Procedures explain by Section, the primary, auxiliary, and coordinating entities, and their roles and responsibilities in the four stages of emergency management. The CEMP covers the following events: vi) Assigning specific and detailed functional duties to

Buttled water Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Buttled water - Case Study Example The fact is that bottled water is operating in a very harmful market environment. This is especially true because the people who would be its primary consumers, such as health conscious people, also tend to be most acutely aware of the supposed problems of sustainability associated with bottled water. Many bottled water brands have good public images and popularity, but the fact remains that bottled water is an expensive commodity that people can easily get for free by buying home filtration units and a permanent bottle, such as aluminum ones that are becoming so popular. I would recommend that bottled water companies continue to support their primary product while simultaneously diversifying in order to be able to escape if the market continues to be more and more hostile to their product. Luckily, diversifying is somewhat easy. A bottled water company could make and market home filtration units with permanent bottles, building off of their brand popularity, and then marketing their traditional bottled water as an emergency or convenience item. They could also begin adding additives to their water, such as vitamins, minerals and nutrients, in order to make their product differentiated from what people could get at home. Bottled water, as an industry, may be on the decline, and i f that is the case companies need to prepare for the

Drawing Essay Example for Free

Drawing Essay I believe drawing is the single most important skill for any visual artist to acquire, whether they are a painter, illustrator, graphic designer, or fashion designer. It is simply the act of seeing made visual. When one learns how to draw, what they are really learning is the ability to see more clearly and communicate what they see or can imagine. As such, drawing is a tool for study, and communication even before it is a tool for making art. When you draw a picture, do you draw the character in blocks first or what? I just cant seem to get my characters anatomically right. I saw your booklist on your site. Do you know of any books which teach you to draw the body in blocks? From Christine Lau I dont draw blocks first when drawing a figure. Usually Ill do a very loose, light, scribbly gesture drawing instead. If you want to learn the blocks method, try any of the books by George Bridgeman, Andrew Loomis, or the books by Robert Beverly Hale. (all are listed on my site) Avoid books by Burne Hogarth, (one of my old teachers) as they arent very accurate and can be very misleading. (note: Glenn Vilppus books are also an excellent source!) By far, the best book for anatomy though is the book by Stephen Rogers Peck (also on the site). There is no quick fix for drawing anatomyit just takes a few years of study. Keep it up though, its worth it once you get a handle on it!!! p.s. Also, draw from live nude models as much as possible, thats the best method to learn it. What is the hardest thing to draw? From Everybody! Nothing is really harder or easier to draw in a mechanical sense. If a person can draw one thing, they are perfectly capable of drawing something else with the same degree of accuracy. The problem is in the phrase the same degree of accuracy. If someone says they can draw, for instance, landscapes, but they cant draw people, what they are really saying is, when I draw landscapes, I draw well enough that no one can tell what Ive drawn incorrectly. The reason people, and especially faces, are so difficult to draw is not because they themselves are any harder to draw than a tree. What changes is our tolerance as viewers for any degree of inaccuracy. We are so intimately familiar with faces and their associated nuances, that the slightest deviation appears as a gross misproportion. Because of this, I am constantly demanding my students draw people, and especially self-portraits, because they effectively highlight any weak skill areas that need attention. My students erron eously believe its because Im sadistic. What purpose does drawing have for artists today? From Carole (Shropshire, United Kingdom) I think people often misrepresent drawing as a medium, or group of mediums, rather than an activity. I see drawing as the visual equivalent of language. It is simply the way we communicate ideas visually through a series of marks on a ground. So to rephrase the question, it is a little like asking What purpose does speaking have for people today? For both, the answer I would give is the communication of information. This information can take the form of ideas, thoughts, commentary, entertainment, or just literal facts, but for all of these, drawing is just the mode of transmission. How artfully this is done is another, separate, issue. In the case of artists specifically, it is the fastest and most efficient way to represent an idea visually. Far more immediate than any other way of doing it, a quickly drawn sketch or thumbnail is usually the first look an artist has at how they might execute an idea.

Human Factors in Maintenance Essay Example for Free

Human Factors in Maintenance Essay Nationair DC-8 Flight 2120 took the lives of 247 passengers and 14 crew members; 261 in all; during takeoff on July 11, 1991. The jet was owned by Canadian airline Nolisair, and was being operated by a Nigerian company to transport Nigerian pilgrims in and out of Mecca. The DC- 8 caught fire during take-off from Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Pilots noticed problems during early stages of take-off and only made it 671 meters in elevation before attempting to turn around for a emergency landing. It was too late; the under inflated tires had overheated began to catch fire. The fire grew and blew out the hydraulics which made the emergency landing impossible. This was the worst wreck a DC-8 had ever experienced and has held the record for many years following. The NTSB concluded that the fire could have been handled by leaving the landing gear extended and away from the plane. Although the pilots failed to make the right decision, and added just one more human error to the equation, it was the obvious neglect by the maintenance team that caused this horrific accident. There are many human factors which played a vital role in the crash. The maintenance team failed to inflate the #2 and #4 main gear tires after recognizing the pressure during the pre-flight. An attempt to inflate the tires failed because there was no nitrogen available at the location. Further investigation shows later that the maintenance team recognized and had written up the tires during a previous A inspection but was signed off and overlooked more than twice before the incident. Human Factors Involvement There are many human factors that caused the Flight 2120 crash, and most of them are maintenance related. There was a Liveware-Liveware problem with the lack of communication between the lead mechanic and Director of Production. The Director of Production never questioned the lead mechanic and was said to have little contact with the him prior to this happening. Liveware-Hardware issues developed because of lack of qualified personnel amongst the maintenance team. The maintenance team did not have a qualified person to sign off the jet, leaving the task to the flight engineer who was not in tune with the maintenance team. The responsibility should have landed in the lead mechanics hands to sign off the maintenance write ups and the Director of Production should have been more involved by communicating with the lead mechanic and being more involved. There was a break down in maintenance even in the early stages of this TDY. The tires had been already recognized and written up during prior inspections, but pressure from the Project Manager to make the mission influenced the maintenance team to overlook minor maintenance issues at that time. Although seemingly minor at the time, the issues would later be the ultimate downfall and failure of the mission. Lack of communication and pressure caused the maintenance team to not see the importance of inflating the tires to the standard before going on a long mission. The minor task of inflating the tires to the standards before going on the long sortie would have negated the tires overheating and causing the plane to catch on fire and crash. The maintenance team was not the only factor which added to the human factors. The air crew is also responsible for some bad decision making skills also. During take-off one crew member was recorded stating that he thought he heard a main landing gear tire blow. The pilot failed to act upon and acknowledge this and carried on with the task. Pilots failed to recognize warning lights designed to inform the pilot of landing gear issues. While taking off the crew failed to use proper radio procedures regulations that kept them in contact with the tower. The night before the crash the pilots were out shopping and eating and not returning home until hours before take-off. The lack of crew rest could have played a role in decision making abilities amongst the crew. The crew showed up to the aircraft late which pushed maintenance to hurry and complete the pre-flight, giving them no time to perform a good complete inspection. Lack of leadership in the cockpit added to the advancement in takeoff. If the copilot trusted his own judgment and realized there was a problem in the main gear he could have stopped the aircraft from taking off. Safety Nets The crash of flight 2120 could have easily been avoided by simply following standard procedures set by international and local organizations. The maintenance holds the bulk of the responsibility in terms of human factors. The communication between the lead mechanic and AME could have been solved by following the chain of command. The director of production had very poor communication with the lead mechanic. This caused for a lack in communication from the there up the chain. The communication was broken at this given point in the chain of command and gave little information which is vital in aviation. The AME had direct responsibility to sign off the final for flight and it was handed over to the flight engineer whom had little knowledge of the maintenance operations. The maintenance team failed to complete given checklists and follow standards set by the FFA and international organizations. With the lack of communication, personnel, and leadership, along with added pressure, the aircraft was not mission ready and should have been better managed from top to bottom. The maintenance crew has very stringent tire pressure requirements and the responsibility lies in even the lowest level of operations to complete the task. The warning lights indicated to the cockpit flight crew that problems have arouse and they chose to ignore them. By receiving proper crew rest the night before, they might have had better decision making skills and could have made the right decision at the given moment. They also became complacent and did not use the communication procedures with the tower. Conclusion Human factors is the cause of most aircraft accidents and this one is a major example of how many human factors can play such a vital role. Flight 2120 shows the importance and how human factors can directly affect everything involved. The importance of being alert and aware of your environment can come down to one decision which can be the determining factor in any situation. The maintenance and air crew failed to follow written guidelines and standards of operation to protect the lives of those on board. The mission was doomed from the start by the maintenance communication breakdown. The lack of qualified personnel should have been one of the first red flags. The decision to not fix the problem and over look it several times put them in an environment where the tools needed for the job was not present. The lack of leadership from the bottom level of the maintenance crew to the pilot was a major issue. The lowest level maintenance personnel could have stepped up and brought about the problem. The flight of Nigerian Airway 2120 was that caused by human error. The horrific event shows the importance of following set standards and regulations. The crash exposes the vital role in the chain of command and how human error and lack of communication can break down at any level. References Aviationsafetynetwork.com American-bankruptcy.us.gov

British Petroleum Green Marketing Business Essay

British Petroleum Green Marketing Business Essay Introduction The essay is based on the marketing practises of British Petroleum (BP) in relation to their corporate social responsibility and the suitability of its marketing mixes application in society. The question asked is Green and fair trade marketing are just marketing ploys to get more money from consumers without really furthering the goals of sustainability or fairer trade? Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is the way in which an organisation expresses its values and ethical behaviour towards its stakeholders and society. Further, in light of public scrutiny and questioning; it is imperative to establish what exactly green marketing in relation to businesses CSR is and what it is doing in business today, especially in BP an oil company. After investigating BP promotional elements of its marketing mix. I watched a green advertisement; it begins with a lush green healthy forest with water dripping and sparkling from the tips of their leaves. In a distance a bird singing in the morning air, a man appear I believe is an environmentalist. The man is protecting the animal within the lush forest and the as the advertisement continues, I learn that the man works for an oil company called BP and I learn further how BP is doing such a wonderful job protecting the environment. However lets investigate BP profoundly. The company started in 1908 under company called Anglo-Persian, when oil found in a rugged part of Persia from explorer George Reynolds and British investor William DArcy. Over the next few decades, gas and electricity would largely replace kerosene for home heating; the invention of gasoline-fuelled vehicles would challenge the railways and roads. These social changes would open a door to the growth of Anglo-Persian and expand its sales both in Britain and in mainland Europe. In 1954, the Anglo-Persian board changed the companys name to The British Petroleum Company www.bp.com/sectiongenericarticle. Downloaded 14-09-10. Today BP has transformed; growing from a local oil company into a global energy group. Employing over 80,000 people and operating in over 100 countries worldwide with brands such as Aral, Arco, Castrol and Wild Bean Cafà © under the BP umbrella. In 2009 financially BP had a very good year where the company made  £13,955 billion pre net profit, see appendix for full financial review. In their CSR; BP had these core values; BP pledge to help the world meet its growing need for heat, light and mobility. They strive to do that by producing energy that is affordable, secure and doesnt damage the environment. BP is progressive, responsible, innovative and performance driven see appendix for CSR and suitability reports. Progressive: We believe in the principle of mutual advantage and build productive relationships with each other, our partners and our customers. Responsible: We are committed to the safety and development of our people and the communities and societies in which we operate. We aim for no accidents, no harm to people and no damage to the environment. Innovative: We push boundaries today and create tomorrows breakthroughs through our people and technology Performance driven: We deliver on our promises through continuous improvement and safe, reliable operations. Using Hennison and Kinnear (1976) ecological marketing concept; BP emphasizes environmental issues with geographic focus for example climate change. The basis of their green marketing campaigns is using evidence of current environmental issues and environmental views with business interaction. BP focuses on the interrelationship between business society and the environment within their marketing mixes and sustainability reports. BP saves the day Over the last few decade environmental concerns has given raise to a green consumer with increasing demands, this has led to the emergence of green marketing, which attempts to balance the pursuit of sales and profit with a concern for the environment and society. According to Prothero (1990) defines green marketing as The holistic management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying the needs of customers and society, in a profitable and sustainable way(Responsible business marketing. PG 115) Today consumers worldwide expect large companies with recognizable brands such as BP to have first-class environmental and social credentials or their brand image could suffer from the negative publicity. Ignoring social and consumers demands for high-quality ethical practices can destroy customers trust and can lead to government legislations being imposed within Archie Carroll (1979) pyramid of legal responsibilities. Incorporating ethics and sustainability programmes can enhance and build public reputation, which can increase market share, costs savings and profits worldwide. Thus sustainability is the foundation of the green marketing concept which has 2 simple criteria which are about consumption and pollution. Using BP sustainability report which is accessible on their website this is how BP meets this criteria bp.com/sustainability Using natural resources at a rate at which environmental systems or human activity can replenish them (Responsible business marketing. PG 116) Using BP marketing mixes; BPs product produces fuel, energy and funds research into environmentally friendly fuel this illustrates the innovative and progressive element of their valves which strives to reduce the use and dependence on fossil fuel by society. Additionally, this helps reduce global warming through research techniques such as fuel with lower carbon monoxide that helps reduce the carbon emissions responsible for adverse climate changes beneficial to all living creatures on earth. Producing pollution and waste at a rate which can be absorbed by environmental systems without impairing their viability (Responsible business marketing. PG 116) As a producer of oil; BP does not overproduce fuel, as it benefits financially from a stable price within the profit and market share elements of the business. Within their organisation, BP has become more conscientious and develops strategies that centralize deliveries into larger but less frequent loads by improving vehicle utilisation with the use of eco friendly trucks which has less carbon foot print. This is an illustration of the place elements with the marketing mix, the performance-driven and responsible elements of their values. BP is a voluntary member and committed to (OCIMF) Oil Companies International Marine Forum for the past 23 years which they aim to reduce marine pollution. http://www.ocimf.com/ downloaded 18-09-10. Vandermerwe and Oliff (1990) found that in response to the green challenge; 92% of businesses had changed their product offerings with 85% changes in their production systems and 78% had changed the focus of their marketing communications and BP is no expectation to this survey (Responsible business marketing. PG 115) BP over the last few decades has risen to the green challenge. They have change their product offering by investing $4 billion in alternative energy, with its activity focused on advanced bio-fuels, wind business in the US, solar power, and carbon capture and storage (bp.com/speeches downloaded 18-09-10). The company has responded from the Copenhagen conference on climate change 2009 by reducing carbon emissions from their factories, vehicles and promoting the use of natural gas. In addition; BP work sensitively around plants and animals which is integral part of their efforts to manage environmental impacts; such as in Canadian Beaufort Sea where the use of sound techniques to mitigate the potential impact of sound on marine mammals. The company focuses on education with investments in science resources in UK classrooms to supporting for Chinas Tsinghua University in building strengths in management education. In Trinidad Tobago the company is promoting community development by building schools, hospitals, providing training to local residents on reproductive health and personal hygiene which created a drop in malaria prevalence from 23% in 2000 to less than 1% in 2009 www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/STAGING/global_assets/e_s_assets/e_s_assets_2009/downloads_pdfs/bp_sustainability_review_2009.pdfHYPERLINK http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/STAGING/global_assets/e_s_assets/e_s_assets_2009/downloads_pdfs/bp_sustainability_review_2009.pdfand downloaded 19-09-10and downloaded 19-09-10 and by employment of local staff. Villagers have been assisted to create better livelihoods in activities such as fishing and farming through training and better equipment provided by BP. BP has capitalised on these sustainability achievements and has involved them into the promotional elements of their marketing mix. Their brand image focuses on being an eco friendly company, with an emphasis on quality and environmentally friendly fuel. Plus their Partnership with Virgin has supported the Africa Eden Project. www.edenproject.com/documents/Annual_Review_06_07.pdf downloaded 19-09-10 . BP the biggest environmental crimes in history BP aims to be the leading environmentally friendly producer and supplier with eco friendly petrol and gas. BP has a strong CSR and sustainability policies and has become more ethically and socially aware with the realisation of customers and stakeholders needs and expectations from the company. However, a more in depth analysis indicates that BP advertisements and public relations within its marketing mixes are designed to make it look more environmentally friendly than it actually is. The term is called green washing This phenomenon of making small environmental concessions while otherwise continuing business (Responsible business marketing. PG 45) According to the Advertising Standards Agency; the raise of this phenomenon is becoming a very serious problem and have adopted new guideline to curve this new trend. The Advertising Standards Authority has seen a huge rise in the number of complaints about environmental claims in advertisements. Their consumer research has shown that awareness of green issues is high, but there is also confusion and a lack of basic understanding about environmental and ethical claims and what they really mean. http://asa.org.uk/ downloaded 23-09-10 This is because profit and the interests of the shareholders always seen to come first before the environment. In comparison; BPs sustainability report to its actions. In July 2000, BP launched a massive $200 million public relations and advertising campaign with  the new slogan and name change Beyond Petroleum. It changed its logo to a green and yellow sun and claimed to be a greener business. In 2005, a fire and explosion occurred at BP Texas City Refinery, killing 15 workers and injuring more than 170 others, its claims to have safety as one of its highest priorities. BP was charged with criminal violations of federal environmental laws and has been subject to lawsuits from the victims families. BP had a  £53 million fine from The Occupational Safety and Health Administration in the US for hundreds of safety violations, and subsequently imposed an even larger fine after claiming that BP had failed to implement safety improvements following the disaster http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/oct/30/bp-texas-city-safety-fine downloaded 19-09-10 In March 2006, BP spilled 200,000 gallons of crude oil in Alaska. The spill happened because BP failed to perform routine maintenance on its pipeline. It claims to work sensitively around the environment and animals. In October 2007, BP was ordered to pay more than $60 million by the U.S. Department of Justice for breaking environmental laws in Texas and Alaska. According to the Environmental Protection Agency in the US http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/8b770facf5edf6f185257359003fb69e/1af659cf4ce8a7b88525737f005979be!OpenDocument downloaded 19-09-10, this was the largest fine ever handed out for breaking Clean Air regulations in the U.S. In addition, BP then lobbied continuously to open up the Alaska National Wilderness Reserve for oil drilling to add to their increasing profits with no success. It claims to support conversation and wants to protect the environment from its green advertisements. In 2007 BP invested $1.5 billion to extract oil from the Canadian wilderness using methods which environmentalists say are part of the biggest global warming crime in history which 2 years earlier the company publicly said they would never invest or use such damaging environmental technology . In May 2010 BP was involved in an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico which is now the biggest environmental disaster in American history blamed yet again on poor safety and maintenance. Yet in June 2010 BP decided to spend $50 million on green advertisement presenting a squeaky clean image which back fired adding to the growing tide of resentment by American consumers. http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/293020#ixzz0zsryzPBl Illustrating BP practises within the green marketing mixes; green products. BP produces and supplies a range of products and services. However, fossil fuels production and supply are their main source of profit which is environmentally damaging as its produces carbon emissions. Thus their core business is not environmentally friendly. As illustrated by Chick (1992), BP cannot use green packaging or reduce layers for their core business, which is the production of oil. Oil and fuel need to be stored correctly in drums and depot containers which cannot be reduce for safety reasons. There are a range of issues in managing the green promotional mix; BP has adopted a green branding marketing strategy which as indicated is environmentally friendly. However, the adoption of this green brand in its advertisement for example its marketing strategy has not been assimilated in some of BPs production mechanisms. Consequently, a range of disasters caused by BP has emerged at alarming rates, intensity and adversity within recent years. The inability to follow through on their green brand with safer production procedures will invariably result in outraged by the public. Going green may affect the cost structures of a business with a knock-on effect on prices. However with the recent oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico BP has spent  £8 billion and rising http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11174375 HYPERLINK http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11174375 downloaded 19-09-10downloaded 19-09-10 on the cleanup operation. BP had to sell assets to fund this massive cleanup operation with the CEO making a few disastrous statements in public. With this negative publicity and unpopular public image especially in the US it will affect the business and particularly its green pricing for its products. BP has green logistics; their centralized distribution centres and use of eco- friendly trucks have added to their green strategies, however producing crude oil from the tar sands a heavy mixture of bitumen, water, sand and clay found beneath more than 54,000 square miles of prime forest in northern Alberta was a backtrack from claiming 2 ago never to invest in this technology. Infrastructure had to be in place and created by forests being cleared to transport this product. http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/the-biggest-environmental-crime-in-history-764102.html downloaded on 19-09-10. Additionally, an area the size of England and Wales in their tar sands project combined generates up to four times more carbon dioxide, the principal global warming gas, than conventional drilling. The oil sands industry will produce 100 million tones of CO2 equivalent to a fifth of the UKs entire annual emissions which BP is currently undertaking. From there $200 million worldwide advertising campaign, BP has won many awards including Nikkei BP Advertising Awards 2008. However, since the Gulf of Mexico oil spill the company has the spent $93 million on advertising to clean their image. Angry protesters have claimed that this money should have been allocated to the people who have lost their livelihoods from the disaster. (www.ft.com/cms/s/0/09ee7e22-b5ee-11df-a048-00144feabdc0.html) downloaded 19-09-10 Conclusion BP is first and foremost a business; further BP operates in many countries with different environmental laws and policies. In some countries legislations were changing to reflect the environmental public interest for going green. In turn, BP has allocated profits to green branding with use of green marketing strategies, but in some instances the company was not successful in implementing its green marketing strategies into its production units. This resulted in oil spills and other environmental disasters. On the other hand, the business has good achievements within their sustainability and CSR policies. Exploiting these achievements to reinforce their green credentials is business suicide when it goes wrong. The amount spent on green marketing is way out of proportion to their actual green energy investments. Their investments into the oil sands is very environmentally damaging because of its massive CO2 emissions. Additionally, BP responsibilities on safety are very poor which is stated as BPs top priorities in their sustainability policy. Thus BP is Progressive for building relationships between the business and their shareholders. The company is Responsible for countless environmental disasters across the world through poor safety and maintenance procedures. The company is Innovative through finding new ways to spinning their green marketing propaganda and very Performance driven in keeping their promises to their shareholders by finding new ways to damage the environment. 2151 Words Reference http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/STAGING/global_assets/e_s_assets/e_s_assets_2009/downloads_pdfs/bp_sustainability_review_2009.pdf http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/the-biggest-environmental-crime-in-history-764102.html downloaded on 19-09-10 www.ft.com/cms/s/0/09ee7e22-b5ee-11df-a048-00144feabdc0.html downloaded 19-09-10 http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/293020#ixzz0zsryzPBl http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/8b770facf5edf6f185257359003fb69e/1af659cf4ce8a7b88525737f005979be!OpenDocument downloaded 19-09-10 http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/oct/30/bp-texas-city-safety-fine downloaded 19-09-10 www.edenproject.com/documents/Annual_Review_06_07.pdf downloaded 19-09-10 http://asa.org.uk/ downloaded 23-09-10 http://www.ocimf.com/ B324 Marketing and Society Block 3 Responsible business marketing, Open University Worldwide, Michael Young Building, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, United Kingdom 2008 Prepared for the Course Team by Anja Schaefer based on a draft by David Faulkner

The Effects of Color And Organization on the Web :: Website Design Internet Essays Papers

The Effects of Color And Organization on the Web The Sci-Fi network's WorldWide Web (WWW) site, on the Internet, is organized to advertise its channel and navigate you through its information easily. It achieves this by constructing its site simply and effectively using graphic designs. Because it is a commercial site, it uses appealing visual graphics associated with science fiction, and the channel, to receive your attention, and get you interested to explore its sources. However, attracting the viewer's attention with fancy graphics doesn't necessarily make it a good Web site. What makes it effective is its format of graphic designs which moves you through its information without any difficulties. The Sci-Fi network achieves this by using proper organization and use of color to design their graphics, in order to establish a successful Web site on the Internet. The Sci-Fi network uses graphic designs to organize its home page in order to produce an image that illustrates relevant logos and information about the site simultaneously. The fact that the Sci-Fi network is a commercial site on the Internet, contributes to its structure of organization. As a result, the network uses visual designs to publicize the Sci-Fi channel and help link you to its sources of information with an interesting yet effective style. The Sci-Fi network places a science fiction logo in the center of the background, which is arranged with sources along the sides and corners of the boxed image. This logo is used for illustration, and the links, (represented by small squares with titles written in them), are used for locating information of categories found within the site. The Sci-Fi network also manages to incorporate two flashing boxes which link to information about the network's TV listings, on the top two corners of the same image, and incorporates an advertiseme nt of the channels logo around the same centered image. All of this information is crucial to this commercial site, because it manages to advertise its channel and offer a concise structure of visual designs to link you to information quickly. The site is organized in this structure for these purposes and successfully manages to achieve an effective structure through this proper organization. This approach has some benefits in comparison to the use of written text in other sites, which usually contain lengthy information that may or may not interest you. For example, when you look at the Cyberpunk FAQ site, which resembles this type of organization, and compare it to the structure of the Sci-Fi WWW site, you can see the benefits of using relevant graphics to enhance a commercial Web site.

Jane Austens View of Marriage in Pride and Prejudice Essay -- Austen

Jane Austen's View of Marriage in Pride and Prejudice "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want if a wife" This comment is humorous and satirical, but holds an underlying truth.   The fact that Jane Austen opens the novel with such a comment on marriage evidences the importance of the theme in the book.   Indeed the novel is all about marriage in society.   Austen lived in a time when marriage was the only way out for some women, or they would be forced to become a governess and lose their independence.   The way that this opening sentence is out provides another theme, satire.   Austen sees the following marriages that she writes on as amusing but they are still frowned upon, such as the marriage of Mr. Collins and Charlotte Lucas.   Austen sees this marriage as beneficial for both partners.   He can potter around the garden and suck up to Lady Catherine deBourgh, while Charlotte spends her time alone reading. The first marriage to be examined is that of Mr and Mrs Bennet.   This is not a marriage of love, but of vulgarity and shallow natures of both parties. Mr Bennet is of a higher class than Mrs Bennet, who is "a woman of mean understanding" contrasting Mr Bennet's "quick parts".   They have been married 23 years and at once, the Bennets realise that they have absolutely nothing in common, so they withdraw from each other.   Mr Bennet spends all day in his study retreated from Mrs Bennet and her gossip. "With a book he was regardless of time" "Mrs Bennet spends her day with tittle-tattle and idle conversation.   She is vulgar in her behaviour; the only aim for her is to get her daughters married off to someone with lots of money." Austen shows us ... ...g from the couple's opening resentment of each other - Elizabeth herself describes the "malice of Mr Darcy".   His all turns around, and we know that Darcy is the most suitable husband for Elizabeth. He is generous and intelligent, and Elizabeth is "convinced that she could have been happy with him" when she almost loses him.   In fact of course they are, and we don't need a sequel to be told that! Works Cited Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Ed. Donald Gray. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1996. Fritzer, Penelope Joan. Jane Austen and Eighteenth-Century Courtesy Books. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1997. Monaghan, David. Jane Austen Structure and Social Vision. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1980. Rubinstein, E., ed. Twentieth Century Interpretations of Pride and Prejudice. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1969.

Comparing the Cultural and Social Critiques of Notes from Underground a

Cultural and Social Critiques of Notes from Underground and Invisible Man It is understanding oneself and the power structures of society that helps one gain authenticity, and ultimately†¦.. power. Notes from Underground and Invisible Man offer a wide variety of social critiques. While some critiques are explicit within the plot, others are implicit in statements of characters and the relations between two or more characters. Many of the ideas of social critique in Notes from Underground have direct parallels or antitheses in Invisible Man. Most--if not all--of the critiques transcend the time, location, and historical context in which they occur. The greatest value that the critiques in the two texts have to offer is that they deal with the unalterable human condition. Notes from Underground and Invisible Man offer a variety social critiques, most prominently in nationalism and cultural pride, an exclusive community versus an inclusive community, and the power structures within society. Nationalism is one of the main targets of the critique in Notes from Underground. The underground man's highly self-centered personality has a direct parallel in the ideas he has about his country. He says, "We, in Russia, have no fools; that is well known. That is what distinguishes us from foreign lands" (Dostoevsky 40). Such nationalistic propaganda was intended for all Russians to consider and evaluate. At the time the novel was written, Western civilization seemed to be extending its influence everywhere. As Dr. Lutomski pointed out in lecture, this caused many to adopt an isolationist philosophy, believing that the only way a country can be pure to its own citizens is to cut itself off from the outside world. Dostoevsky is presenti... ...s within a society must be able to channel that diversity into a feeling of unity that makes all of the individuals in all of the cultures feel like they belong to the indivisible whole. When one has found an entire group of people to identify with, one can transcend to a new level of self-understanding. And it is understanding oneself and the power structures of society that helps one gain authenticity, and ultimately power. Works Cited Bakhtin, Mikhail. Problems of Dostoevsky's Poetics. Ed. and trans. Caryl Emerson. Introd. by Wayne C. Booth. Theory and History of Literature. Minneapolis: U. of Minnesota Pr., 1984. Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man. (Library Ed.). New York: Random House, Inc. 1994 Dostoevsky, Fyodor. Notes from Underground: A New Translation, Backgrounds and Sources, Responses, Criticism. Norton Critical Edition. New York: Norton, 1989.

Children Should Start Being Responsible For Their Daily Chores By The Age of Three Essay

I have always believed that our experiences can help us become better individuals. I grew up   adjusting and adapting easily to my environment. Washing the dishes and cleaning the house was never an issue for me. I can do what was told, even if nobody helped me. I know that a lot of adults my age experienced the same thing. For this, I believe that children should start being responsible for their daily chores by the age of three.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Children nowadays are more technologically and intellectually advanced than before. They can easily comprehend what is being asked of them, and perform with the best of their abilities. The times have really changed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When I was young, my parents taught me how to do simple household chores. After playing with my toys, my parents would tell me to put them inside the toy box they provided for me. They explained to me that my toys should be placed all together in one place, and not scattered all over the house.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As a child, I did not feel that I was being tasked to do something. What was inculcated in my mind was the fact that I had to help my parents in maintaining the cleanliness and orderliness of our house. This lesson was imprinted in me.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another reason that should be taken into consideration is the fact that children develop a strong sense of responsibility even at a young age. When my younger brother was born, I felt the need to assist my parents more. I knew that I should be more responsible in doing the household chores. I realized that I was not just living for myself, but I am also living for someone else. My parents showered me with their unconditional love, and I saw it as a reason   for me to carry over that love to my brother.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   With these in mind, I   realized that I had to do more than what was initially expected of me when I was still an only child. In between diaper changes, my mom would ask me to bring out the used diapers and clean the mess. Initially, I had second thoughts, given that the dirty diapers were not appealing especially to children. She explained to me that as the older child, I should help in caring for my younger brother.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Soon after, my mom taught me how to operate the washing machine. She instilled in me that the amount of detergent used should be proportional to the weight of the clothes. By this, she revealed to me that nothing should be wasted.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One day, she told me that I should be the one to wash the dishes. When there were visitors, I should help them in the preparations and in cleaning up the mess. Other times, she left me in charge of other household chores. Those were the times when I became more independent of her supervision.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The flexibility of the children should also be taken into consideration. At a young age, children can still be taught what to do and what not to do. In terms of thinking and reasoning, these children can still adapt to their environment. They have not yet developed their stand on certain things and issues that continuously happen around them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A similar instance happened to my four-year-old niece.   I observed that she listened to what people tell her, and followed what was taught by her elders. She particularly listened to the instructions made by her parents and the older people she lived with at home. There was this particular situation wherein she willingly helped her mother set the table. Everyone who witnessed this particular occurrence were left at awe. It also left a good impression on how the parents raised their daughter into a responsible and caring child.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Another point that I want to raise is the fact that the lessons taught to children are carried on as they get older. Manners, in particular, are taught when children are still in their innocent stage. As the child grows, these manners are practiced and passed over on to their own children.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I remember this particular incident that happened in a restaurant. I was eating dinner with my friends when I suddenly blurted out a loud burping sound. I felt embarrassed, but quickly excused myself. My dad told me that I should be a gentleman while on the table. He also said that this was a simple deed that should always be practiced. He emphasized that having good manners reflect my personality and how I was raised by my parents.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Furthermore, they always reminded me to be courteous and polite to other people. Every time someone came over to visit us, I would greet them warmly and let them come inside of our house. I would offer them refreshments, initiate light conversations, and make them sense that they were very welcome in our home. Doing these made me feel that I was doing the right thing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Personally, I believe that the lessons taught to children at an early age are easily absorbed than those taught when they get older. This may be due to the fact that children have this unbiased way of comprehending things. Their minds are innocent, and are not yet tarnished by outside influences, such as money, politics, and other issues. this goes to show that a child’s mind can be easily manipulated by anyone. They base their perspectives on the lessons they learned as a child.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As a child, I was afraid to do things that would displease my parents. Until now, every time I am about to make a decision about certain matters, I think about how may parents would feel. Like this one time when I thought about shifting to another course. I had my own valid reasons in convincing everyone that shifting was the right thing to do. At the back of my mind, I thought about how my parents would react when I tell them my dilemma. I thought about my decision again, and finally opted not to shift because I realized that my parents were right.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I can also say that children follow what they see. Whenever my parents would do household chores, I would insist in helping them. Regardless of how difficult the situation was, I always insisted in giving my assistance. I felt that what my parents taught me was the right thing to do.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     I believe anyone’s parents are the greatest influences a person can have in his life. We mimic their actions because we believe that what they are doing is right. This is where we include the idea that how parents raise their children are reflected on the actions of these children.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the eyes of these kids, their parents are their role models, simply because there was no one else to look up to since their infancy. With this, if the parents set good examples to their children, the latter will be able to adapt and incorporate these elements in their actions. Otherwise, if the parents show their children dysfunctional manners, then there would be nothing else for the children to mimic but that.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another reason is the fact that children love to be appreciated. When I was younger, I felt really good about myself whenever my parents would appreciate the little things that I do.   In return, I would always help them out with everything, including the cleaning and maintenance of the house.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   At such a tender age, my parents knew that I would copy their actions. This may be due to the fact that they were the only people I was exposed to. I can consider this as the simple logic behind it. I would also like to consider the fact that my parents truly love me. They wanted me to be a good person to others. How else would their lessons be instilled in me if they would not teach me the moment I could get a grasp of the world?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   With the points I discussed in this essay, I firmly believe that children children should start being responsible for their daily chores by the age of three. This was supported by strong evidences from my own experiences as a child. Taken these in mind, I suggest that we should take care of our children. Their tender minds can be shaped into something extraordinary. By training them with basic things such as household chores, we contributing to the progress of this world. Let this be the start of a better future.

Ethical Issues Surrounding Walmart

Ethical issues surrounding Wal-Mart Ronald L. Reeves Columbia Southern University Ethical issues surrounding Wal-Mart Sam Walton, founded Wal-Mart over forty years ago, where it started as a five-and-ten store in Bentonville, Arkansas (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2009). Since then it has become one of the largest retail stores in the world, with an estimated annual sales of close to $300 billion (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2009). His business philosophy was to provide low prices to its customers everyday (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2009).With such tremendous success in profits and growth, it has also brought many challenges relating to ethical issues in regards to; off-the-clock-work, sexual discrimination, health benefits, the role of unions, use of illegal aliens, and issues relating to child and labor laws. It is the intent of this case study to identify the ethical issues Wal-Mart has faced, as well as, discuss four questions of thought. Off-the-Clock-WorkFrom 2000 to 2007, Wal-Mart has been in cou rt facing numerous law suits, in which they have paid out millions of dollars, for violation of laws surrounding non-payment of overtime compensation to its employees (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2009). Several employees claimed that managers required them to work off the clock by requiring them to work after punching out their time card (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2009). If the employee refused to work after their shift and off the clock, then they would be threatened with termination of employment.One of the many complaints include the use of â€Å"lock-ins† (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2009). According to Stanwick and Stanwick (2009) they stated, â€Å"Managers would lock the doors after the store had closed and would force the workers to stay in the store until all the work had been completed† (p. 410). Employees were also told that if they could not complete their assigned work in their eight hour shift, that they would have to remain at work, off the clock, until their work was comp lete.It was evident that the mangers had no respect or appreciation for the employees, who should have been valued as stakeholders that contributed to the success of the store. Sexual Discrimination In 2001, Wal-Mart faced a lawsuit with regards to sexual discrimination for not promoting women to managerial positions and for not paying them a wage equivalent to what the male employees were making (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2009). Some of the facts that supported the lawsuit include; 65% of the hourly employees and 33% of the managers were women, and on average women received 6. % less in wages than their male counterparts received (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2009). One example of discrimination included a female employe being told that a man was promoted over her, who was qualified, because the man had to support his family (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2009). Another example of discrimination was when a women was told that a man was paid more becauase according to the Bible, Adam came before Eve. The managers involved in these and other sexual discrimination cases included in this lawsuit made poor ethical decsions by discriminating against its female employees.Health Benefits Stanwick and Stanwick (2009) mentioned, â€Å"In 2003 Wal-Mart’s policy of lower costs in every part of its operation was highlighted based on the type of health benefits that it offered to its employees† (p. 413). New employees had to wait six months before being eligible for the health care benefit, and retirees were not allowed to keep their benefit (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2009). Wal-Mart’s payout for employee healthcare benefits in 2002, were 40% lower than the average that all companies in the U. S. ere paying and 30% less than their competive retailers (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2009). In an effort to keep health care costs down, Wal-Mart recommended to the board of directors that it should hire more part time employees and try to discourage unhealthy employees by requiring all employe e’s responsibilities to include some type of physical activity (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2009). It is evident that Wal-Mart’s board of directors and upper management were more concerned with profit than the welfare of the employees. The Role of the UnionsIn an effort to keep low prices for its customers, Wal-Mart kept its labor cost low (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2009). There has been a constant battle between Wal-Mart and its employees, who wanted to create a union. The purpose of the union was to ensure that employees, who were members of the union, would receive a wage that was competitive to others in the workforce. Stanwick and Stanwick (2009) stated, â€Å"In 2002 a comparison of wages for unionized workers and Wal-Mart employees showed that unionized Kroger employees would get four to five dollars an hour more than the Wal-Mart employees† (pgs. 15-416). It was discovered that Wal-Mart would discourage employees from forming unions, by firing those that promoted it (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2009). Of the contrary, the Wal-Marts in China were allowed to have unions, as they received pressure from the All-China Federation of Trade Unions which is belived to be apart of Chinese Communist Government (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2009). Use of Illegal Aliens In an efforet to keep their costs low everyday for its customers, Wal-Mart used a campaign slogan of â€Å"Roll Back the Prices,† but agian it came at the sacrifices of its employees.Wal-Mart outsourced to third party contractors to hire janitors to clean its stores afterhours (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2009). To keep cost down, these third party contractors, with Wal-Mart’s knowledge, hired illegal aliens to clean the stores afterhours (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2009). This was discovered after federal agents, from the Immigration Servive, raided sixty Wal-Mart stores in an operations called â€Å"Operation Rollback,† in 2003 (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2009).As a result of the raid, more than 250 i llegal aliens were arrested, and Wal-Mart faced thiteen felony indictments and paid $5 million dollars in fines (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2009). Some of the illegal aliens also filed lawsuits that claimed they were forced to work every night and did not receive compensation for overtime (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2009). This was not only a violation of federal law, it also showed a lack of the citizenship principle where every employee should respect the law (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2009).Child and other Labor Laws From 2000-2005, Wal-Mart was faced with fines and lawsuits pertaining to violations of child and labor laws. It was identified by audits, that employees under the age of eighteen were working past midnight, working during school hours, and working more than eight hours a day (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2009). Discovered were employees under the age of eighteen operating machinery that was dangerous, which included chainsaws and cardboard balers (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2009).Also, exposed wer e employees who were not taking their breaks or given time off for a meal period (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2009). Questions for Thought 1. Are the ethical issues Wal-Mart faces really any different from other large retailers? I don’t think the ethical issues facing Wal-Mart are any different than that of its competitors. I do believe though that since Wal-Mart is considered the largest retailer and it promises to keep the lowest prices everyday for its customers that they are misusing the reliability principle of taking care of its employees.Stanwick and Stanwick (2009) stated, â€Å"Traditional violations of the reliability principle would include breaching a promise or contract or not fulfilling a promised action† (p. 9). An example of this is when Wal-Mart managers did not pay their employees for working overtime. 2. Wal-Mart officials have stated that they don’t feel women are interested in management positions at the company. Do you agree or disagree? I disagre e. Based on the case study, it seems to me that women are discouraged from seeking positions in management through sexual discrimination.If women were not oppressed by comments such as a man needing the promotion over a qualified woman because he needed to support his family, or that a man works at Wal-Mart for a career and women do not, then they may feel more competitive for managerial positions (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2009). Wal-Mart’s managers in this case demonstrated a failure in the dignity principle by not respecting all of its employees (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2009). 3. Wal-Mart is continually criticized for its health care policy. Is this really and ethical issue?Why or why not? I do not think that Wal-Mart’s health care policy is unethical and meets the requirement of the fairness principle. Of the four types of fairness’s: reciprocal, distributive, fair competition, and procedural fairness, they demonstrate the distributive fairness (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2009). They do provide both part time and full time employees with a choice to enroll in its health care policy and at different levels of coverage (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2009). The also have provided a health savings account for its employees.Stanwick and Stanwick (2009) stated, â€Å"In a Wal-Mart survey of 220,000 employees, it was found that 90% were covered using Wal-Mart’s health insurance† (p. 415). The 10% that did not have their insurance were either covered under their spouse’s insurance, insured by Medicaid, or through a military health insurance plan (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2009). 4. Should Wal-Mart be concerned about unionization of stores since allowing unionization of workers in China? Wal-Mart should be concerned about unionization in stores outside of China, as they have allowed it in China.This is a double standard that is not fair to the other Wal-Mart employees throughout the world. The case study identified that employees who were in favor of a union were either discouraged or terminated (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2009). The National Labor Relations Board, ordered Wal-Mart in 2003 to negotiate with former employees of the meat market, whom formed a union, to bring back the meat department that was originally closed when the employees formed a union (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2009).This thought encompasses the values of the fairness principle, with regards to the reciprocal fairness (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2009). Wal-Mart should address the thought of a union fairly as the employees seek a way to have competitive wages. Conclusion While Wal-Mart is considered to be one of the highest grossing retailers in the world, which strives to offer the lowest prices everyday to its customers, it has done so by adversely affecting their employees.The management’s efforts to keep prices down resulted in poor ethical choices which resulted in employees being forced to work beyond their normal working hours and not be compensated for their overtime. In addition, many employees were forced to work during their breaks or denied mealtime breaks, in which they were not compensated for either. Sexual discrimination was also an issue, as women were discouraged or discriminated against for seeking management level positions.Although Wal-Mart did offer health benefits to its employees, they were questionable and came at a high cost for low paid employees. Wal-Mart also set a double standard by allowing its stores in China to have a union, while it discouraged or terminated employees in other parts of the world who were in favor of developing a union. Child labor laws were another issue for Wal-Mart, as they required employees under the age of eighteen to work late at night, working during school hours, working more than eight hours a day, and operating dangerous equipment in some of its stores.The results of their unethical acts and violations of federal laws, has caused Wal-Mart to review its policies and identify ways to im prove its ethical principles concerning the treatment of its employees. Stanwick and Stanwick (2009) mentioned, â€Å"The managers at Wal-Mart agreed to meet with the ten rank-and-file workers every week from each of its 4,000 stores to get employee feedback† (p. 419). This program that Wal-Mart created is called â€Å"Associates out Front† (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2009). Reference Stanwick, P. A. , & Stanwick, S. D. (2009). Understanding business ethics. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson-Prentice Hall.