Moral, Social and Political Philosophy Essay

Moral, social and political philosophies are fields that share similarities with one another. The most basic and common characteristic found in all three fields is the role and significance of these fields in the manner by which human beings conduct intrapersonal and interpersonal relationships, with one’s self, with one another and with the community. Social, moral and political philosophies all act as important bedrocks or foundations of ideas humans use to guide their actions. Another similarity or common ground between these three fields is the presence of the examination of the human feelings as well as rational ideas necessary in the development of specific philosophies inside these three fields, even though in some aspects other factors are absent. For example, Immanuel Kant believes that moral philosophy should be without the consideration on human emotions (Gadamer, Weinsheimer, Marshall, 2004, p. 29). Without great thinkers who examined, assessed and concretized ideas based from human experiences, ideas and feelings, moral, social and political philosophies would not have existed in the first place. There are many other different similarities. Examples are how all three influence practice, tradition, norm, culture and values, how they all impact human life and later, history, and how all three fields evolve and change over time depending on perspectives introduced by new individuals, new thinking, new ideas and new perspectives. As for differences, one of the main differences when all three are compared is the specific focus inside which each philosophy works, is applied to, and allows the influence of. The use of moral philosophy – believed to be as one of the two oldest forms of philosophy (Fitzpatrick, 2008, p. 4) – in aspects dealing with moral issues hardly can make any considerations for the use of or relevance of either social or political philosophies. These are not the best and most suitable perspective to use. Ideas are also different. For example, what can be acceptable to political philosophy can be unacceptable to moral philosophy and vice versa. The focus of the two has the tendency to move towards different, if not altogether contrasting, paths. Justifications for beliefs and the use of sets of philosophical ideas and content can vary depending on what is being argued or debated upon and how these ideas are being used. Social, moral and political philosophies allow the individual to examine, look closely, investigate, assess and explain life. This is accomplished by these fields via the questions that they offer to the people to answer and explore the answers for themselves through the use of, or guidance, of these different fields of philosophy. The questions these fields of philosophy pose figure into a consideration of modern human life simply because these fields of philosophy exist to tackle, explain and to provide reasons for modern life. What these fields of philosophy creates as questions for humans to answer all point to man’s ability to examine human life, the modern life, consistently. For example, questions posed by moral philosophy figure into a consideration of modern life. Moral philosophy asks the human being how and why he or she is behaving as he or she does, giving them the trigger for self investigation. This can I justify how I act and why I act with regards to existing moral philosophy, or have I really deviated from it and is thus considered as bad? The questions they pose figure into a consideration of modern life simply because these fields of philosophy is all about life, life experiences and the resulting ideas from these life experiences in the first place. In the discussion of Smith and Haakonssen (2002) on moral philosophy, it explained that human beings may have the tendency to be confused especially in consideration with the different ideas past and present inside moral philosophy that can counter one another (Smith and Haakonssen, 2002, p. vii). This instance illustrates the idea that these fields of philosophy bring forward questions that allows people to examine life, including modern life, making these fields of philosophy and the questions they pose something that eventually figures into the consideration of the modern life. Scheppele (1988) noted that people asks for directions, not just literally but also for direction in life and for direction in their ideas and beliefs (Scheppele, 1988, p. 143). Since philosophies are not cast in stone, at times they provide answers in as much as they provide questions, at the same time, allow the individual to make a serious consideration of the present modern life, like how there are questions arising from how law and the social and moral philosophies. For example, getting in the way of one another during particular instances and how the individual can get away from or wriggle from it with sufficient sense of justification for such action. In the end, the effort at comparing and contrasting social, moral and political philosophy begs the answer to this question – is any one area more important than another? This is a tricky question. Even though the answer is most probably either yes or no, there are complex considerations why it is difficult to arrive at any one of the offered monosyllabic answers. To say that one is actually more important than the other is to say that the philosophical ideas of the superior one can supplant or totally override the ideas of the other, which cannot be consistently true. Philosophical arguments and the use of philosophy is always a case per case basis with focus on considerations as well as the aspect and context inside which the argument is found. For example, moral philosophy may be important than political or social philosophy. Moral philosophy governs the basic actions of man. However, if the base of argument leans more towards political considerations and with consideration to accepted political practices that may go against moral ideals, then moral philosophy cannot simply be considered as more important to political or social philosophy. The best possible answer is that all of these are equally important. Its importance should not be gauged and measured and compared with one another. How it is applied to life is a complex process that is hardly possible to quantify or measure to ascertain any indication of measurable importance that can be compared with one another. All of these are important because they help govern, and even make organized human life that is becoming more and more complex and complicated. References Fitzpatrick, T. (2008). Applied Ethics and social problems: moral questions of birth, society and death. Bristol: The Policy Press. Gadamer, H. G. , Weinsheimer, J. and Marshall, D. G. (2004). Truth and method. London: Continuum International Publishing Group. Schappele, K. L. (1988). Legal secrets: equality and efficiency in the common law. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Smith, A. and Haakonssen, K. (2002). The theory of moral sentiments. London: Cambridge University Press.

Case Study: Imaginative Staffing, Inc

Imaginative Staffing Inc, a temporary-services firm in New York was formed in 1990. Since then, it had grown to a total of $17 million in revenues. The company is composed of a minimal number of employees – the CEO and her assistant, a sales director, a chief financial officer, four sales representatives, an operations manager, 10 account managers, five administrative assistant and a receptionist. The CEO, Angie Roberts, came up with the idea of engaging into team selling for the reason that she was frustrated with the length of time the company closes a deal with a good prospect. In most cases, it took them 6 months before closing a deal with a good prospect. In one of their meetings, Roberts discussed the idea of team selling to the board. Among the members who attended the meeting, it was only Susan Borland, the sales director, who had an idea about team selling but she didn’t want to take the lead. Roberts asked her to prepare a plan for possible training and development of sales team. Since she didn’t want to take the lead and just wanted to focus on her assignment instead, she asked her assistant, Judy Morgan to the research. In one instance, Borland got the chance to talk to a friend about team selling. Her friend advised her not to put too much person on the team – it might only be a disaster. Also, the members of the team haven’t undergone training; hence, it is quite hard to work successfully. After the conversation, Susan already had in mind who would best become a member of the team. Of course, everybody needs to be trained. (B) – Should Imaginative Staffing adopt a team-selling system for selling to important accounts? Imaginative Staffing, Inc has practiced individual selling; but the result made the CEO a little dismayed. With this, the idea of Roberts to engage in team selling is one of the things the company has to respond quickly. Team selling is a good idea since more than one person can try to convince the other party – to close the deal or not. However, before each member starts working in the team, they must undergo extensive training to ensure they get the appropriate knowledge. Training is one good way so employees can become better and improve their skills. With this, the management must prepare a budget to cover the training expenses. The management must plan, together with the members of the team, about how to successfully implement the project and how to increase more their net income. Moreover, the management must be willing to support the training development programs to, also, improve their services to their clients. – If so, who should be on the team? The team must be composed of employees who are have passion in what they do and those who are willing to expose themselves to various trainings and workshops. The members of the team can be composed of a sales representative, 1 account manager and 1 administrative assistant. These 3 persons must undergo extensive training before they will go on a battle in the field. – What training would be needed by the team? To what extent should the team’s presentation be planned? The team must be exposed to the basic concept of team selling, including its advantages and disadvantages; how to engage successfully in team selling and how to easily convince a prospect to finally close the deal. Basically, the training may revolve in improving oneself in terms of establishing rapport with prospective customers. Before implementing such project, the management must carefully analyze the project and must undergo a systematic way of developing a training program. In addition, training on good communication skills must also conducted to establish a healthy relationship between and among company personnel. (C) Training people is important if an organization wants to achieve competitive advantage. Since the technology is ever-changing, everybody must be well-updated of what’s new in the market. In the process of selecting who can best qualify to become members of the team, the management must include in the program the training of some experienced sales reps; this may be done to further enhance their skills and to improve in areas which need improvement. It is also observed that the highest return on dollars is invested in training the middle managers. In addition, sales manager must also be trained in some managerial tasks. This may be done to develop the manager in all these five competencies – planning and business organization skills, strategic implementation ability, human resource management, leadership and team building and professional commitment. (D) Training Modality for initial training and recurrent training †¢ For initial training – it is best to include newly hired sales rep. This may be done to give them an overview of what it’s really like to work in the real-world. The newly hired sales reps may be exposed to case study analyses in the training; this is done to prepare them on how to attack when similar situations happen in the real-world scenario. In the conduct of an initial training, the management must carefully choose the topic – the one which is most useful for the newly hired sales reps. The management must carefully design the program to cater the needs of the newly hired personnel. In the program design, it must be clearly stated who will conduct the training. In the case of initial training, it may be conducted by an experienced sales rep which may either be an employee of the organization or an invited speaker who is willing to share his expertise in the field. Teaching methodologies may include lecture-discussion, case study analysis, demonstration and most importantly on-the job training. The latter may widen their horizon and let them experience what it’s like to be in the corporate world. This type of training may be done twice every year – January and June. This may also serve as an orientation for newly hired employees. †¢ For recurrent training – it is best to offer refresher course to the sales reps as well as to the administrative staffs and the sales workforce. This is to ensure that they get to know and be reminded constantly how to get customers attention and how to improve their satisfaction rating. In the design of the training program, refresher course in terms of the ideas and concepts in winning customers and in making them satisfied at all times. In addition, it may also be a good topic to include in the program ways on how to motivate themselves to do better in their assigned tasks. Most importantly, the program must include topics on the latest training tools available in the market such as web-based training. This is a good venue for the experienced sales reps to explore the web and find out what’s best in persuading clients. The methodologies which can be applied may be lecture-discussion, demonstrations and role-playing. Refresher course must be given once every quarter to refresh the memory of the employees. This may not only be regarded as a refresher course but an enhancement program as well. (E) To motivate a team, the members must spend some time once in a while to continue establishing an open communication link. This will also enable them to build a positive relationship with each team member. In addition, each member must be a colleague and a coach at the same time. Being a coach enables them to tell other team members about any feedback – positive or negative. And the member must be a believer and each member and leader must have the power of empowerment. The process of empowerment is basically about utilizing the skills, knowledge and experience of an employee. (Fairweather, 2009) In addition, to motivate employees on sales training, some financial methods may be applied such as bonus, commission, profit sharing and piece work. In piece work, the employees are paid according to the number of items they finish in a given time frame. Other than financial motivation, non-financial ones also exist such as job rotation/sharing or team working, consultation, quality circles and fringe benefits. http://www. hoddersamplepages. co. uk/pdfs/cceabus4. pdf) Employee Motivation may be quite a difficult to achieve since each individual may be satisfied in different areas. However, a common meeting for various individuals is through financial motivation. For Imaginative Staffing, it is best to consider giving bonus and rewards to those who can patiently attend the extensive training program. For Imaginative Staffing, it is best to apply some motiva tion methodologies so personnel can feel they are given importance. Borland must carefully prepare documentation regarding factors which can greatly affect the performance of the sales reps. Most importantly, the management of Imaginative Staffing must continue designing programs for the old employees as well as training programs for the newly hired sales reps so they can continue to achieve competitive advantage. Being in a the world where change is bound to happen most of the time, it is best to be updated with the latest trends as well as to keep informed of what’s happening. With this, the management must design a program to suit the needs of the market and the client as well.

The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company

The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company For decades The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P) had dominated the US food and grocery market. However, with its size had come increasing managerial inefficiencies and an inability to respond to demands of changing market. A very crucial error was made in the 1950’s when A&P failed to follow customers in their move to suburbs. The result, which plagued the supermarket chain into the 1980’s , was a large number of small and inefficient stores serving declining urban neighbourhoods.In 1971, William J Kane took over as chairman and CEO of A&P. This was a time when company sales had leveled off and profits were declining. In an effort to overcome this slide, Kane ordered the conversion of thousands of regular A&P units to â€Å"WEO† supermarkets, which were described as super –duper discount stores. The average WEO store looked much the same as an old A&P and was about the same size (which was rather small and cramped by industry standards).The big difference between WEO’s and company’s conventional units was lower prices on 90% of the merchandise and a reduction in the variety of production offered from an average of items (SKUs) to as few as 8000. Chairman Kane summed up the company’s philosophy regarding this move as a â€Å"Tonnage recovery Program†, which emphasized volume business. He hope to attract many former customers by employing low prices, unfortunately the food costs began to skyrocket about the same time as WEO was instituted . The pressure caused by the price cuts was too much for the company to bear during this period.Therefore, prices were increased and the resulting market response was influential in causing further deterioration of the food giant. In 1973, the retail chain lost its number one market position to Safeway. Jonathan Scott took over Kane’s position in 1975 recognizing that the retail chain had far too many deteriorating s tores in declining urban neighbourhoods. Scott embarked on an ambitious program to close more than 1200 unprofitable locations. Unfortunately, hindsight revealed that was also needed was an entire withdrawal from certain geographic areas to achieve fficiencies of operations. In an effort market position, Scott responded by introducing the ill-fated â€Å"Price & Pride† advertising program. This advertising campaign focused on telling A&P employees and customers that the company had made a rebound and was concentrating on delivering quality products in attractive stores at low prices. It was a spirit – building campaign. Modern Stores with pleasing wide aisles served as a backdrop to the ads. The Price & Pride Campaign was quite successful in luring customers back to A&P.Unfortunately , shoppers expectation were built on the attractive scenes shown in advertisements, and many were disappointed when they returned because most stores had not really been dramatically chang ed . As a consequence, customers again left in substantial numbers to shop at competing stores. During the mid 1970’s , an ambitious program was undertaken to build many new and modern A&P stores and to remodel others. Regrettably , action fell behind plans. For example, in 1977 when 70 new stores were planned only 46 were opened due to an inability to manage the program.Remodeling also fell far behind schedule. The Price and Pride program was finally abandoned in Jan 1978. Even before this occurred, Scott began to look in earnest for new ways to get the slow moving giant moving heading in the right direction again. Once result was that a new promotional theme was adopted: â€Å"You will do better at A&P†. Along with this , three major steps were taken. First , â€Å"action prices† were instituted to pass manufacturers specials directly on to customers in the form of lower prices. Second , Generic products were offered in many stores.These plainly labeled packag es were placed in â€Å"economy cases† . located in special parts of the store. The result was that for some products customers could choose between national brand, A&P private labels and generics. Third, trading stamps were instituted in many areas. Although some of these measures may have been helpful in slowing the retail chain’s decline , they certainly were not sufficient as a long run turnaround solution. In 1979, the diminishing giant fell to the 3rd position in the supermarket industry and showed signs of serious problems .During that year , the Tengelman group , which owns a large supermarket chain in Germany at the time was able to acquire controlling interests in A&P for an attractive price. James Wood was brought in to replace Scott . One of the first moves of James Wood was to stop closing stores . Instead , a number of units were converted in to â€Å"Plus Store† which were â€Å"limited assortment† unit stocking thousands of essential produ cts far less than the 12000 products found in a general supermarket. The stores were also â€Å"no frill† in design.Goods were kept in their cartons , as opposed to being placed on attractive sheleves , and shoppers had to purchase their own paper bags. The emphasis was on offering bare bone services for low prices. However , perhaps because shoppers could not fulfill all of their shopping needs at Plus Stores, and because prices were not really drastically lower than their competitors , the Plus Stores proved unsuccessful as A&P entered the 1980’s. 1. Does it seem that A&P has tended to favour any particular model or models of buyer behavior? What appears to be the degree of success that has resulted? . Evaluate the relevance of understanding consumer behaviour knowledge to developing a marketing plan for A&P .. 3. What additional information about customers would you as a CEO like to have before designing such a plan ? How might such information be acquired ? 4. Trac e the development of A&P operations from 1979 to present – based on library research. 5. Discuss major concepts from Day 1 seminar discussions you see apparent in this case. 6. What is your personal opinion was the one major flaw in the way A&P went about its effort? Support your argument with reasons.

India country report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

India country report - Essay Example The historical development of India, as related to the country’s foreign relations is examined in this paper. The study of the literature published in this field has revealed that the role of India in the development of social and economic life in Asia has been critical. However, its political and social systems have suffered from severe conflicts, probably due to the inability of governors to respond to the daily needs of population. On the other hand, it has been made clear that the prospects of the country for the future are significant. Moreover, in terms of foreign relations, the country has become a key player in the development of important economic and political decisions globally. The history of India is based on a series of elements, such as the size of the country, the local caste system, the use of local religious beliefs for political reasons and the Indian identity, as it has been alternated today (Walsh 13). India is the largest country, in terms of its size, of Southeast Asia (Walsh 2006). In terms of geography, the country occupies a critical region, being a crossroad between the East Asia and the West. The strategic position of the country, as of its geographical characteristics, has been traditionally used for the development of important political decisions. ... Being surrounded by regions with different cultural and religious characteristics, India had to face severe social and political turbulences, leading even to the limitation of its territory, referring especially to the establishment of the state of modern Pakistan. At the same time, India is ‘the second most populous country, after China’ (Walsh 13). The development of the country’s urban life has been gradual; the development of a variety of communities across the country, as explained below, led to the appearance of many different dialects, about 16 (Walsh 13). As in all countries worldwide, the integrity of the country, as a member of the international community, has been secured through ‘a set of cultural and ethical assumptions common to people across the country’ (Walsh 2006). The caste system has been a significant part of India’s history. The system is based on categorization of people in accordance with their profession and their socia l class (Walsh 2006). The development of ‘unchanged villages of rural India’ (Walsh 15) has been the result of the expansion of caste system within the Indian social life. As for the country’s religious framework, this incorporates a series of different religions, such as Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and Christianity (Walsh 16). The differentiations in regard to the country’s religious system, have led to severe social conflicts; the above phenomenon has been also be used by politicians for the promotion of particular ideas. In other words, in India, oppositions in regard to religion have supported political interests (Walsh 2006). When referring to the history of India, particular reference should be made to the history of community, which can be

Essay Questions 100-150 words Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Essay Questions 100-150 words - Assignment Example This occurs also because of giving little emphasis on pre-writing stage. Thus, the topic about audience identification interests the author most. Knowing the readers with their knowledge, â€Å"technical expertise,† subject perception, social stratification, etc. (Druker, n.d.) and considering restrictions like essay length and information enables the writer to successfully narrow the subject (Hunter College Reading/ Writing Center, 1999). Audience orientation also gives an advantage to properly identify the writing format, tone formality, and information complexity. Understanding the elements of writing situation can improve the author’s ability to keep abreast with the needs of the readers. This learning also ignites a paradigm shift in dealing with compositions: one should first spare enough time, understand the audience, and determine the reasons for writing before putting anything in paper. The author would like to emphasize that writing situation is about writing effectively through analyzing all the elements of an article. Furthermore, its elements assist amateur writers to properly prepare and deliver a

Economics 319-1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Economics 319-1 - Essay Example The financial crisis put to waste years of growth and resulted to unfathomable harm the fundamental productivity of the economy. One of a direct result of financial crisis is the loss of paper wealth (that can be measured monetarily). Loss of paper wealth has an indirect effect on the real economy in that it effects are felt incase depression or recession follows. The 2007-2009 financial crisis originated from within the United State market. it coincided with what many saw as a shift from the geopolitical dominance of the United States to a multi-polar international framework. It was not accident but rather a mistake driven by deregulatory mentality that took half a decade of post-New Deal financial stability for granted. The crisis was a failure of free market capitalism and over regulation which helped sow the seed of the crisis. The world experienced the most severe financial crisis in most recent times since Second World War. It was precipitated by sub-prime mortgages crisis which became apparent to the wider public in the year 2007. In 2008, it became a global financial crisis, and consequently into a global economic down turn that forced many countries to into recession. Stock market fell, large financial institutions collapsed and government had to come up with rescue packages to bail out the financial systems (Manuel, 2009). For a clear understanding of the crisis there is need to look at the economic happenings of Post -world war II. This period shows a significant decline in the rate of profit in the economy of the United States. From 1950 to mid 1970s, profit rates declined almost by 50%. As in past depression times, this decline triggered reduction in business investment, and consequently slower growth and higher unemployment rate. As a result many governments adopted expansionary monetary and fiscal policies. However the policies resulted to higher inflation rates

Law victims and criminal justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Law victims and criminal justice - Essay Example Although the courts serve as decentralised, semi-autonomous groupings of legal professionals, but that does not mean that victim support groups give up in confronting difficulties in predicting how they will follow a new law (Candace, 1993, p. 2). Victim support is criticised for it wishes to monopolise its' services provided to the nation. It is also said that this department is unable to tackle the problems of all of its victims (Duckett, 2003, p. 248). No doubt victim's expectations from the support departments and trial proceedings is to acquire justice while prosecuting and punishing offenders, but that does not mean that victim's sufferings should not be analysed in material form. Victims support organisations (VSO), groups and legal proceedings instead of claiming complete restitution for victim often seek justice alone. VSO does not consider reconciliation and mediation programs as alternatives to criminal punishment; therefore offenders' financial accounts are left untouched. VSOs does not support victim compensation programs, therefore victims who are ineligible for restitution through no fault of their own could be reimbursed at the same level, with their reimbursements paid from a pool of frees or restitution overages. VSOs go through the following processes while fighting for its' victim's justice. Methodological Issues: VSOs seeks evidence, including that from recorded crime, crime surveys, records of convicted offenders, accounts of emotional responses to crime, etc., on a socially constructed basis. Therefore what VSOs concentrate is the data on crime that reflects the way crime has been assembled and taken place. There is no concern about the improperly collected information that reveals the crime scene. However, the VSO team is criticized for working in the following way: Crime Scene Investigation: The VSO is quite popular in taking decisions whether or not to investigate the location of the criminal offense. In some 'incidents' VSOs are right in predicting that a crime has indeed been committed and it is a 'crime scene'. However, in many situations it is observed that VSOs fail to predict the seriousness of the crime and does not consider that one of the initial and primary tasks of the crime scene investigator is to determine whether or not a crime has been committed. In this context the blame must not be put on to VSOs alone as in many European countries including UK, National training centers only conduct short courses for creating Victim support officers and team. Resources, instead of basing on the complexity and seriousness of the alleged incident are dependant on their officers' decision. Crime scene is not analysed on the basis of its full potential. This is true as in many cases it is seen that the police, the field scientist, the laboratory scientist and the prosecutor instead of joining together to produce a set of facts that make it unreasonable to believe any conclusion other than the one the facts support, are giving individual facts. Therefore, the facts taken individually are not exposed to reasonable doubts, helpful in solving the crime.

When Friend Forgets to Pay Back Loans Personal Statement

When Friend Forgets to Pay Back Loans - Personal Statement Example This is true, and such situations need to be handled with care. If a friend of mine does not repay the loan, I will have no option but to confront him in a peaceful and amicable manner. Firstly, I would arrange for the both of us to have an open talk. A friendly and confiding talk can bridge the gap that the unpaid loan has brought in. Next, I would ask him for the reason that had prevented him form keeping up his word. I shall help him take me into confidence and confide in me about his position or circumstance. By treating him with courtesy and not intending to spoil our friendship, I would also talk to him openly about my dilemma. The fact that I am in a financial crunch and in bad need of the sum would be explained to him in a very amicable manner. Next, I would go no to tell him that if not for this crunch, I wouldn't have been hell-bent and too strict with the dates of repayment. I would politely but strictly tell him to repay it within a week at the maximum.

Whether or not euthanasia should be allowed in the USA Research Paper

Whether or not euthanasia should be allowed in the USA - Research Paper Example In case of legalization of Euthanasia, the act should be legalized because a major chunk of the population is supporting it and the support is increasing. PEW research reports that within a period of eight years the support for legalization of euthanasia has increased from 47% to 49% (PEW 1). Euthanasia should be allowed in United States because it is an ethically correct decision. According to the ethical decision making system of utilitarianism, only those acts and decisions are correct that result in the heights amount of happiness of the society (Su 65). Euthanasia relieves the patient as well as their family members from severe emotional and physical pain and helps in solving their financial issues. Therefore, euthanasia is an ethical act and should be allowed. Euthanasia is mainly administered to patients who are suffering from a deadly disease such as cancer. Due to this the patient and his family members experience ample amount of stress emotionally, financially as well as physically. According to Farina, per patient per year cost of cancer management ranges around $60K to $90K. Euthanasia is a way to end all these sufferings of the patient and other stake holders. Euthanasia should be allowed in United States as the major percentage of the population is US support it and the support is increasing. It should be allowed because it is ethically correct under the light of utilitarian code of ethics. Allowing euthanasia in US will decrease the emotional, physical and financial burden of the patient and other

Financial Decision Making Process within the Organisation Essay

Financial Decision Making Process within the Organisation - Essay Example Apart from generating profits from the shareholders, financial management also aims to maximise the profitability of the company to ensure a sustainable growth in future. Ensuring the sustainability of the organisation through proper reserve creation and re-investment of the profit amount is one of the crucial tasks in the realm of financial management. Financial Statement analysis and making investment decisions are two most crucial responsibilities of the financial managers. Financial Statement analysis includes the analysis of various ratios and financial statements like balance sheet and profit and loss account. A balance sheet discloses the financial condition of an organisation in a specific period of time. It mainly shows â€Å"what is owned by a business, what is owed, and the owner’s share (or net worth) of the business† (Langemeier & Klinefelter, n.d.). A profit and loss statement of any company discloses the organisation’s revenue and expenses for a specific period of time. Financial ratios assist in the evaluation the financial reports like balance sheet and profit and loss statement (Brigham, Ehrhardt, 2008). There are four types of ratios. These are liquidity ratios, solvency ratios, efficiency ratios and profitability ratios. Liquidity ratios are those ratios which measure the liquidity state of the organisation by evaluating the company’s liquid assets against its current liabilities. Financial leverage has certain important implications on the performance of the organisation. This mainly takes into account the long term liabilities against the total capital employed. This is also known as the ‘gearing ratio’ (Financial Times, 2009). A certain level of financial leverage can result in huge profitability; however, the company must be aware of the risk attached to it.

Discussion topic Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Discussion topic - Assignment Example There are experiments that require low alpha levels like in cases that may lead to death, maim or serious defects occurring. In such experiments, the researcher wants to avoid a situation whereby the null hypothesis is true and rejected. Therefore, if 0.05 chance of being wrong cannot be tolerated then a much lower level of significance like 0.001 can be used. For example performing a clinical study of a new drug on people, it will mean that a researcher does not want to take chances if adverse drug reactions are noted on an individual. A Higher level of alpha like 0.10 is rare in practice because it increases the chance of making type I error. Higher levels may be used when doing an experiment the researcher is at ease of accepting the null hypothesis (Shi, Levinson, & Whittemore, 2008). For example, when a researcher insists that there is no significant difference between intelligence among male and female nursing student in a nursing

Existing Philosophies in Education Essay Example for Free

Existing Philosophies in Education Essay Introduction – Sex and the education of the children and youth about it is a point of social concern that always creates ethical, moral and professional criticisms, because of reasons ranging from the consideration of the topic of sex and its position in contemporary beliefs as well as the constant tug-of-war between conservative and liberals in education as to what should be done best in sex and its place in the educational system. The article Talking about Sex provided an insightful point in this particular dilemma that modern day societies face today, noting the persistence of ‘sex and sexuality’ in modern day advertising while people at the same time frown on the idea of teaching sex education inside schools and learning institutions. A Family Education. com article puts the issue in a better perspective, saying that teachers as individuals also carry their own particular ‘issues and concerns’ about sex and that it may affect the manner by which the teacher teaches about sex education. Kakuchi (2004) reports about how Japan considers general sex education as something that is considered harmful to some children even when the same report acknowledges the fact that the focus on a more streamlined sex education is very urgent in the country with the knowledge of the educators and academicians of the level of awareness of children about sex and how a large portion of it was not taken from school lessons, classroom discussions and home teaching, simply because the requirements of the effective sex education teaching will go against existing traditional practices and societal beliefs which would not bend and accommodate this particular educational need children continue to face even now that the world is in the 21st century. Many believe that sex should be taught in school, while others believe that it should remain in the confines of private education, in a manner of how-a-person discovers it, so that it retains the sense of privacy that sex should have. For institutions that teaches sex education, there still is a snag every once in a while especially if the manner by which sex education is being taught does not create the proper mindset, attitude and learning experience for the student. As much it is highly necessary that children are provided with the correct information about sex education, most of the time, the process is not as simple as that. What is equally important is that†¦ Some may argue that sex education is something which should be taught by a specific person, but the truth is every teacher is responsible for having sufficient knowledge in sex education because it is something that everyone experiences; it is something that everyone would be wondering and curious about, â€Å"all kids wonder about where babies come from†, says an article about teaching sex education; it is not math that general and complex computations should be memorized and mastered for the teacher to become a competent instructor in this particular topic, since sex is less of a topic and more of an everyday experience and teachers should help the students synthesize the everyday experience with sex curiosity and the information that it provides / generates by the demonstration of the effective use of the inquiry method in teaching. Research statement One of the reasons for the poor synthesis of children of the solicited facts, beliefs and possible fallacies involved in the overall education and formulation of the set of beliefs as well as the foundation for the attitude and behavior towards sex and the human reproductive system is the absence of the key characteristics expected of teachers as explained in the inquiry method or inquiry education espoused by Neil Postman and Charles Weingartner, and that as a result of which, many present day sexual deviants and sex-related criminals are, in part, a section of the group (that which contains individuals with adverse sexual inhibitions and bearers of misguided sex-related information) that fail to be good learners because of the ineffective use of the inquiry method / inquiry education by the teacher, particularly about sex. Supporting Arguments –The research statement will be dissected through the more specific discussions of particular key points that make up the series of supporting arguments that the paper will provide the linchpin for the main point of the research statement, which is significant today now that many educators and academicians are in constant search for the perfect formula in teaching sex education, particularly in countries wherein there are no noticeable effect of sex education and that problems previously attributed to the lack of sex education is still prevalent despite the presence of sex education today. In Japan, these problems are very visible in statistics concerning teen age sex, teen age pregnancy and other sex-related social concern, this despite the fact that Japan is teaching sex education to school children as early as the third grade. First, teachers become failures in the effective use of the characterisitcs for good teachers in the inquiry method every time they provide direct and exact answers to sex-related inquiries by children because of the belief that this is what traditional morals dictate. Postman and Weingartner (1969), in the book ‘Teaching as a Subversive Activity’, noted that in the process of the utilizing the characterisitcs of the inquiry method effectively and using it to effectively teach and address student concerns, teachers should avoid providing direct answers, more so, avoid enforcing sex-related information in a what-you-ought-to-know format. The common pitfalls wherein teachers fall into is the yielding to the instinct of providing answers to questions in a as-a-matte-of-fact way, which is not incorrect but is also not the only way to teach sex education. Teachers should know that there is as much emotional and psychological aspects in the teaching and learning of sex education as there is the physical aspect of teaching sex education that students should be allowed the avenue to feel that individual feelings and the differences in personal life background also matter in the discussion and in the overall learning process involved in sex edu cation. But the problem is that there are many cases that this is not followed, and this is generally because of the fact that sex education in some areas in the US and predominantly in other traditional and religious countries are still taboo – classroom teachers and academicians continue to avoid the fact that the exposure of today’s children to more and more forms of mass media and popular media coming from different culture other than theirs are all factors in the increased development of a child’s inquiry towards sex and other topics that may pertain to physical intimacy, the sense of sexual pleasure and sex. Teachers should anticipate the fact that while the inquiry of the children about sex are most probably homogenous and focused on the same area, the teacher should still avoid providing exact, boxed in answers and instead allow students to ventilate their queries and throw questions at each other so that the sense of ‘taboo’ in the topic is diminished, allowing for the collapsing of the walls that it built inside the cognition of the child and allowing the entry of teacher-mediated ideas that do not stop, as sex education is a process of continuous learning. Secondly, some teachers misinterpret the idea that Postman and Weingartner proposed in their collaborative work about how teachers should use questioning and the use of divergent questions as a form of facilitating the influx of ideas between students by instead questioning the sense of right and wrong and personal morals of the students (which puts the morality wall up and closes the avenue for the entry of information and education) and by providing questions that divert the discussion / topic entirely to another different topic so that the teacher removes herself / himself from the position of being morally and ethically responsible for the sex education of the students, generally because of the acknowledgment of the teacher’s own incompetence in both the use of inquiry method as well as the absence of the mastery in the subject. What Postman and Weingartner had in mind when they explained this particular characteristic of the inquiry method is that the teacher should provide some questions himself/herself to students so that they can allow the students to explore more into the topic, thus allowing education and learning traffic to move consistently in and around the classroom and inside the minds of the students. Another proof to the high possibility of the presence of problems in teaching sex education with regards to the misuse and lack of adherence to the inquiry method is that sex education is usually in a uniform structure that hinders spontaneity and limits discussion in a specific area, resulting to some students suppressing questions or having questions which were left unanswered while the teachers themselves are not aware on how to facilitate the discussion once questions start pouring in and may seem to lead farther and farther from the original point of discussion. Again, it should be reiterated that since it is an experience which may carry different emotional and psychological baggage for every individual, teachers should not deliver lessons about sex like it is as simple as addition in a math class or the use of correct subject-verb agreement in an English writing and grammar class. The Family Education website’s article on teaching children sex education points out that adults who teach it cannot ‘plan when and where children choose to ask difficult questions’ about sex and as indicated in the inquiry method in teaching, teachers should allow the flow of questions and mediate through the discussion sufficiently. It does not end there, literally and figuratively, for teachers, since lessons, according to Postman and Weingartner should be allowed to develop on its own through the active participation of the student in the question-making and answer-searching. Family Education. com considers sex education, whether at home or in school, as ‘an ongoing conversation’ and that if the blanket of openness and support that the inquiry method allows to develop take form in the course of the learning of the child, then teachers should expect more questions and continue with the task required in setting and defining the answers to questions as dictated by the inquiry method.

Future Trends in Operations Management

Future Trends in Operations Management A key feature of the current business environment is the idea that supply chains compete, not companies It has become commonly recognized that a companys survival is primarily a question of its competitiveness. At the heart of it is the constant need to rapidly grow and capture the leading market positions. Modern economic conditions force businesses to provide the highest level of customer satisfaction by performing perfect consumer service, delivering a wide variety of quality products in shorter lead time and at a reasonable cost. This creates incredible opportunities for individual consumers and puts great pressures on companies to seek for the new ways to appeal consumers. Other that that, contemporary business environment brings a huge level of uncertainty to managers of all levels and urges them to be able to sense all the changes and implement the right and timely measures to be successful. This uncertainty may come from government decisions, customers and consumers, shareholders that demand increased return from what they invest into business. This is how Dennis McCarthy and D r. Nick Rich describe current business situation in their book on business-led changes called Lean TPM: The new competitive conditions are far removed from those of the past and challenge strategies such that we can no longer assume that: Past business success is a guarantee of future survival; Product patens will protect a manufacturer from competition; Buying the latest technology will provide a means of defense against competition. Technology or products by themselves are not enough to guarantee survival (McCarthy and Rich, 2004). Clearly, as a result of the new trends and new economic realities managing operations and supply chain has become extremely complex and challenging. We believe that the list of the key pressures that these authors outline in their book to describe modern economic conditions not only perfectly well describes challenges facing the world today, but also gives a good insight into how these may effect supply chain in particular, including its design, management and future business integration. According to McCarthy and Rich they include: 1. New and emerging manufacturing economies with low labour costs are  attracted to mature Western markets where they can exploit their cost  advantage. The power of the internet in purchasing materials and components on a global scale and therefore access to alternative suppliers has increased exponentially. As such, power has shifted to the customer/consumer. Deregulation of world markets has resulted from international trading agreements and this has liberated trade and increased competition for manufacturers. Corporations have the ability to switch production. Pressure groups and lobbyists seeking to lower prices or convince the manufacturer to improve their performance in areas such as environmental management. Shareholders who expect a year on year improvement in the returns on their money invested and constantly compare these returns with what their money could earn elsewhere. Customers expect product variety, continuously improving quality levels, lead time reduction and want their stocks reduced (McCarthy and Rich, 2004). Benita M. Beamon also adds to this list extreme climate change as one of the essential factors that will also effect future world business configuration since its change would threaten transportation infrastructures, natural resources supply including the constrained supply of natural energy and raw materials as such, and would change overall human behavior patterns which as a result will drastically influence the ability to supply worldwide (Beamon, 2008). Although operations and supply chain management is often seen as merely routine activities, it is indeed very sensitive to almost all business changes and, therefore, fairy regarded now as one of the critical business concerns and has the priority in managing the organization. This is why we chose to reflect on the above mentioned trends to study their effect on the supply chain and operations and, thus, track current and future challenges in this area. 1. It is now obvious that the world economy has faced large structural changes in recent years on the way to bring businesses to more international basis. There can hardly be found now any operation that does not sell to or buy from foreign markets. Globalization of businesses has significantly accelerated, resulting in new challenges for companies on the global market. Sixth annual survey performed by PRTM Management Consultants showed that respondents consistently rank acceleration of supply chain globalization as a top priority over the next several years concluding that the primary shift of manufacturing and assembly operations has been to low cost country destinations including China, India and Eastern Europe (2008). It can be summarized that expansion of operations supply chain to cover the whole world still stays number one trend due to its cost reduction opportunities and, therefore, puts additional challenges to cope with these increased pressures. With that in mind, product quality and safety as well as supply chain delivery and security become the main concern for organizations globalizing their supply chains, thus, providing additional business risks. 2. Number two trend logically follows from the business expansion to improve global performance and flexibility companies seek for the alternative ways to control operations, fasten processes, and simplify procedures. Increased pressures are also put on them to improve coordination and achieve overall integration with suppliers and customers. Internet, e-commerce, e-procurement and other web-based applications offer major cost savings and advantages. Simon R. Croom studied the positive effects of e-business strategy implementation on supply chain management. In his research Supply Chain Management in the E-Business Era the following advantages were outlined: New e-business infrastructures offer a wider range of activities within supply chain, e.g. electronic marketplaces including larger numbers of buyers and sellers; Increased use of electronic methods for searching and sourcing which reduces coordination costs and increase the proportion of economic activities coordinated by markets, companies are encouraged to use more out-sourcing, low coordination costs will also enable companies to buy goods and services less expensively; Information processing is reduced; Additional opportunities provided by the use of E-procurement. Its advantages include: greater visibility of the procurement process, improved management of maintenance, repair and operating supplies, improved stock management, better information for purchasing decision-making, supply base reduction followed by the change of the supply chains structure, significant efficiency gains with the attention to the role and development of purchasing as a core capability of the organization, it also provides a powerful platform from which to exploit the organizations strategic leverage and undertake major total supply chain cost improvements (Croom, 2001). 3. Number three trend, we believe, is another logical result of the two mentioned above rapid growth of new information technologies raised the issue of accumulated information and knowledge management. Accumulation of knowledge relates to both customer relationship formation and product innovation process. At the heart of this concept is the recognition of the fact that knowledge is the key driver of the value-adding processes. It has been fairly noted by the theorists of operations management that the way in which products or services were created was not random; they were the product of a whole collection of decisions and actions based on an even larger collection of knowledge (Slack, Chambers, Johnston, 2007). So, it is obvious that the concept of knowledge management will significantly influence the future development of operations and supply chain management as it provides the expertise that underpins companys competitive advantage. 4. Trend number four, that needs to be discussed in more detail, from our point of view, and should be grouped into a separate trend is that of the future integration of the supply chain and future development in such areas as business-to-business, business-to-customer and customer-to-customer relationships. It is indeed evident now, in the new era that the supply chain has become more connected and integrated that ever before due to the rapid growth of new information technologies, web-based applications and other alternative communication means. Companies constantly seek for developing new creative ways to communicate with suppliers, customers and consumers. It especially relates to service-based and product-based supply chain. On-line ordering, availability 24 hours a day, seven days a week, great variety of products and services, no issues with transportation and so on, all this has drastically improved the efficiency of the supply chain. Customers are also encouraged to communic ate with each other by means of widespread social networks: blogs, forums, portals which allows instant information sharing. All this, we believe, will keep on changing the way in which the supply chain operates towards increased capacities and efficiencies of the supply chain. 5. Another trend that can not be mentioned with all reflected earlier is the problem of environmental responsibility and sustainability or green supply chain. Opinions of researchers differ here in weather it will be the result of the state legislation compliance and customer requirements or it will be one of the effective ways to improve companys image and reputation. Our consideration is that it will be both. No need to deny that the pressures from the legislation are increasing which urges almost all companies to put in place relevant environmental management. The concept of waste management has also gained popularity in recent years as it implies waste reduction that in all its forms significantly saves cost for the organization which conventionally coincides here with environmental responsibility. We can already see that companies have started large campaigns towards recyclable materials application, new product design to consider their life cycle beyond their traditional shelf- life to extract more value from precious natural resources, reduction of energy and water consumption, use of alternative fuels and many other. It is obvious that the concept of environmental responsibility will take the key role in day-to-day operations management decisions and every day practices due to its great economic potential for the firm. We think that this list can be continued with more and more trends and business challenges, however, from our point of view these 5 give the fullest picture of what to expect from the environment in which we exist. It reflects the key processes that both companies and each of us as a consumer is involved on the daily basis. We have identified some of the challenges and complexities that are characteristic of operations and supply chain today and have attempted to analyze these to possibly see their future development. It is obvious that uncertainty and complexity will still be the main characteristics of the global business environment in the future. However, managers will have the advantage of the emerging information and communication technologies that will provide real time data to support operational decision-making and will help to improve efficiency of processes in the area of the use of resources, materials handling and product design. Question 2 In the second part of the assignment I will compare the company that I work for with the performed literature review and based on this comparison will outline its main competitive advantages. I have been working for Nestlà © for 6 years, starting from the small water factory just acquired by the Company. I worked as an Interpreter then, being heavily involved in the translation of the Group policies, specifications, guidelines and instructions, which the factory was going to implement to meet worldwide Nestlà © standards. I believe it is an excellent example that reflects all challenges and perplexities of the modern business conditions. With its headquarters in Vevey, Switzerland Nestlà © was founded in 1866 by Henri Nestlà © and is today the worlds leading nutrition, health and wellness  company. It employs around 280  000 people and have factories or operations in almost every country in the world. The list of products includes over 127000 items of different types and sizes. This complexity, therefore, is the main characteristic of its supply chain. Managing thousands of supply chains in many countries, controlling invoicing of customers and collecting payments, predicting demand and tracking stocks all this at some point put the Company in a very risky situation which required such a solution that would put order in all this variety. So, the Company, had undertaken steps towards the implementation of GLOBE, or the Global Business Excellence model aimed at creating a single system to simplify and unify the way to manage supply chain and operate such functions, like purchasing and invoicing. The imp lementation of this model has provided not only an excellent tool to optimize operational cost, but also has served as a key driver for generating business value by creating a culture of continuous excellence, collaboration and support both cross functionally and between various operations worldwide. It is indeed true that the implementation of GLOBE taught the Company to operate as a global market player. Another thing that the Company claims that has helped it to sustain in the times of turbulence and uncertainty is its strict compliance with the Company Corporate Business Principles that say: Nestlà ©s existing products grow through innovation and renovation while maintaining a balance in geographic activities and product lines. Long-term potential is never sacrificed for short-term performance. The Companys priority is to bring the best and most relevant products to people, wherever they are, whatever their needs, throughout their lives (Appendix, 4). It is always stressed, however, that the Companys main business principle is the conviction that to have long-term success for their shareholders, all the operations not only have to comply with all applicable legal requirements and ensure that all the activities are sustainable, but additionally have to create significant valu e for society(Appendix, 2). Other things that the Company claims to be the basis of its culture and is considered to be the essential part of its long-term established reputation are of course its quality assurance and product safety. The quality policy says: Nestlà © strives to create value that can be sustained over the long term by meeting consumer needs for nutrition, enjoyment and Quality they can trust (Appendix, 7). This is achieved through no waste attitude and continuous improvement of the quality standards delivered to consumers. Adequate recourses, equipment, procedures and systems, trainings and teamwork play the major role in the implementation of high standards and achievement of excellence and competitiveness. All functions across the Value Chain are fully responsible for observing mandatory principles, norms and instructions, for maintaining agreed Quality standards and for constantly improving them is another essential postulate of the Quality Policy (Appendix, 7). Consumer communication is also considered within the Company as the key indicator of all ongoing activities. All opinions, complaints and shortcomings are analyzed and serve as a tool for immediate correction and improvement if needed. Nestlà © Consumer Communications Principles state the Companys commitment to responsible, reliable consumer communication that empowers consumers to exercise their right to informed choice and promotes healthier diets (Appendix, 3). It is fair to note that supplier and consumer relations are an important part of the Companys vision on creating shared value. Doing business in the way that requires from the Companys contractors, subcontractors and their employees to demonstrate honesty, integrity and fairness; in the same way that the Company itself is demonstrating its commitment to its consumers. Supplier Code specifies these principles and helps their implementation within all suppliers and their community. By accepting these, suppliers take the responsibility of being compliant with the core principles of business integrity, sustainability, labor standards, safety and health, environment and other. Implementation of the vendor data base has helped to track and manage its suppliers in accordance with the Company principles and values. One other concept that has been in focus in recent years is that of environmental management and sustainability aimed at improvement of environmental performance, operations activities in this area, risk and cost reduction, long-term availability of raw materials and water. In its Environmental Policy the Company states: At all stages of the product life cycle we strive to use natural resources efficiently, favour the use of sustainably-managed renewable resources, and target zero waste(Appendix, 6). Target areas for improvement initiatives include: application of a life cycle approach with systematic assessments of all activities across the Value Chain, effective water resources management to provide a common mythology to measure water footprint of products, processes and organizations, reduction of gas omissions from its operations through proper energy consumption management, switching to renewable sources and transport and distribution initiatives with focus on green fleet and op timization of the distributions schemes and packaging, elimination of wastes in all operations through the Value Chain with the goal of zero waste and full recovery of unavoidable by products (Appendix, 6). The list of initiatives that Nestlà © has undertaken can be much longer that these. However, we believe that these are the main ones that reflect the Companys vision on doing business and on the way it adds value to all its activities to finally sustain and prosper in times of uncertainty and risk. As it is seen from our study it closely coincides with the literature review that we performed to define the major challenges and future trends in operations and supply chain management. This study proves the fact that constant development and applications of advanced information and communication technologies, focus on the development of relationships with both consumers and suppliers, expansion of the social responsibility with attention to environmental issues, social activities will be the main value-adding factors and efficient tools against business risks and uncertainties. REFERENCES Beamon B.M.(2008). Sustainability and the Future of Supply Chain Management. Industrial Engineering, University of Washington. Christopher M. (1992) Logistics and Supply Chain Management. First edition. London: Financial Times Croom S.R. (2001) Supply Chain Management in the E-Business Era. An investigation into Supply Chain Strategies, Practices and Progress in E-Business Adoption. McCarthy D., Rich N. (2004) Lean TPM. Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann Sixth Annual Survey (2008). Global Supply Chain Trends 2008-2010. Driving Global Supply Chain Flexibility through Innovation. Available at http://www.prtm.com (Accessed: September 2010). Slack N., Chambers S., Johnston. (2007) Operations Management. Fifth edition. Pearson Education Limited. Steinert-Threlkeld T. (2006) Nestlà © Pieces Together Its Global Supply Chain. Available at http://www.baselinemag.com (Accessed: December 8, 2010)

Guide to performing a Job Evaluation

Guide to performing a Job Evaluation What are the main issues faced by the residents in Portugal? Click on the play button to watch the video. Highlight the issues and look for the solutions. Share your opinions in the LMS Forum. [MMP: Create video screen and embed video as shown in link] Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vKDyPJmQD0 Job evaluation is the process of determining the worth of jobs assigned to employees.The worth of a job is determined by the demand for it in relation to its job description, job specification and the expected outcomes from that job. In some cases, it is found that an employee who holds a similar position as his colleague may hold a different role, and have different responsibilities and accountability. In such cases, he/she should receive different pay. This chapter discusses the importance of job evaluation, basic job evaluation methods, the hay guide chart method, and inputs to refer to when pricing jobs. Job Evaluation and Its Importance Job evaluation is the process of determining the value of one job in comparison to the other jobs within the organisation so a fair salary system can be established. The job evaluation process is the most common method used to provide a rationale for a pay structure and to assign a job to a pay grade. Job evaluation can also be defined as a practical technique for trained and experienced employees to judge the size of one job relative to others. It does not directly determine the pay levels but establishes the basis for an internal ranking of jobs. Among other definitions are as follows: Job evaluation is concerned with assessing the relative demands of different jobs within the organisation. Its usual purpose is to provide a basis for relating differences in rates of pay to different in-job requirements. It is therefore a tool which can be used to help determine a pay structure. (Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS), London 1984) A job evaluation system consists of compensable factors and a weighting scheme based on the importance of each compensable factor to the organisation. Compensable factors are the characteristics of jobs that an organisation values and chooses to pay for. These characteristics may include job complexity, working conditions, required education, required experience and responsibility. (Noe et. al. 2003) Job evaluation is a systematic procedure to determine the relative worth or value of jobs. Although there are several different approaches, each one considers the duties, responsibilities and working conditions of the job. The objective of job evaluation is to identify which jobs should be paid more than others. (Schwind et. al. 1999) The objectives of a job evaluation process in an organisation are as follows: Establishes the relative value or size of jobs, i.e. internal relatives. Produces the information required to design and maintain equitable and defensible grade and pay structures, critical in any organisation. Provides as a basis for grading jobs within a grade structure, thus enabling consistent decisions to be made about job grading. Ensures that the organisation meets ethical and legal equal pay for work of equal value obligtions. More recently the use of job evaluation is the hinge of most equal pay cases. Despite its popularity, it is often misunderstood. So, the following facts about job evaluation must be made clear: SELF-CHECK What is job evaluation and why is it important? What are the four facts about job evaluation? Job Evaluation Methods The human resource management is usually responsible for administering the job evaluation programme. However, actual job evaluation is typically done by a committee. The committee might include the human resource director as the chairperson and the finance, marketing and production heads. Job Evaluation Committee Chairperson (Human Resource Director) Head of Finance Head of Marketing Head of Production Figure 8.1: The job evaluation programme is typically performed by a committee within the organisation Small and medium sized organisations may elect to use outside consultants as they often lack job evaluation experience. When employing a qualified consultant, management should require the consultant to develop an internal job evaluation programme and train company employees to administer it correctly. This can be done by reviewing information obtained through job analysis regarding the duties, responsibilities and working conditions of the organisation. With this knowledge, the relative worth of jobs is determined and the consultant will be able to shape a job evaluation programme suitable to the company by selecting an appropriate job evaluation method. Figure 8.2: The 10 basic steps in conducting an effective job evaluation There are four basic job evaluation methods commonly used by organisations. They are job ranking, job classification (or job grading), factor comparison and the point system. Job ranking and job classification are categorised as non quantitative methods while factor comparison and the point system are classified as quantitative methods. A job evaluation committee or an outside consultant needs to choose one method and modify the method to suit the organisations particular need. Figure 8.3: Job evaluation methods Job Ranking Method In the ranking method, jobs are compared to each other and arranged in order according to their worth to the organisation. The worth of a job is usually based on judgements of skill, effort (physical and mental), responsibility (supervisory and fiscal), and working conditions. The steps involved in ranking jobs are Rank Jobs Make an overall comparison between jobs, by focusing on certain factors such as, responsibility, skills, effort, and working conditions. It is possible that elements of some jobs may be overlooked or weighed too heavily. Rank jobs from the highest to the lowest. The highest and lowest are ranked first, followed by the next highest to the next lowest, until all jobs are ranked. Conduct job analysis and write job descriptions. Pay scales are established based on the rankings, where more important jobs are paid more. However, as the ranking of jobs are subjective and lack precision, the pay levels may be inaccurate. The job ranking method is perhaps the simplest method of job evaluation but it is also known to be the least precise among the four evaluation methods. WEB-SITE Find out the ten worst jobs in the US of 2010. Go to: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/06/worst-jobs-2010-careercas_n_413511.html Job Classification Job classification is a form of evaluation that assigns jobs to an existing grade/category structure according to their relative worth to the organisation. First, job grades or categories are established and each is given a standard description, as shown in Table 8.1. Table 8.1: A Job Classification schedule for use with Job Grading Method Job Grade Standard Description I Work is simple and highly repetitive; done under close supervision; requires minimal training and little responsibility, or initiative. II Work is simple and repetitive; done under close supervision; requires some training or skill. Employee is only rarely expected to assume responsibility or exhibit initiative. III Work is simple, with little variation; done under general supervision; training or skill is required. Employee has minimum responsibility and must take some initiative to perform satisfactorily. IV Work is moderately complex, with some variation; done under general supervision; requires high level skills. Employee is responsible for equipment and safety, and must exhibit initiative regularly. V Work is complex and varied; done under general supervision; requires advanced level skills. Employee is responsible for equipment and safety, and must show a high degree of initiative. Next, the standard description that most nearly matches a job description determines the grade of that job. Job classification or job grading is slightly more sophisticated than job ranking, but it too is not very precise. Factor Comparison In the factor comparison method, each job is ranked according to a series of factors. This method includes five major steps. Under this method, instead of ranking complete jobs, each job is ranked according to a series of factors (as shown in Figure 8.3). Figure 8.4: The five universal job factors Job evaluators must then identify factors relevant and common in a broad range of jobs as shown in Table 8.2. A numerical point value is assigned to each job factor. The weights might be different for different job positions. Some organisations use different factors for managerial, professional, sales and other positions. Table 8.2: Factors relevant and common in a broad range of jobs Job Mental Skill Physical Responsibility Working Condition System Analyst 1 4 2 1 3 Data Entry Clerk 4 1 1 4 1 Programmer 2 3 3 2 4 Operator 3 2 4 3 2 Note: In the mental requirement, systems analyst ranked highest (1), followed by programmer (2), operator (3) and clerk (4). The evaluation allows the committee to determine the relative importance of each job. In this method, pay will be assigned by comparing the weights of the factors required for each job. This method of job evaluation is more systematic. Point System This method evaluates the critical factors of each job. But instead of using wages, as the factor comparison method does, it uses points. Under the point rating system, a number of factors such as skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions are identified as being common to all jobs being evaluated. Each factor is then given a weighting indicating its values relative to the others and for each factor there are varying degrees (as shown in Table 8.3). Table 8.3: Point system matrix No. Critical Factors Levels or Degrees Minimum I Low II Moderate III High IV 1 Responsibility Safety of others 25 50 75 100 Equipment and materials 20 40 60 80 Assisting trainees 5 20 60 50 Product/ Service Quality 20 40 60 80 2 Skill Experience 45 90 135 180 Education / Training 25 50 75 100 3 Effort Physical 25 50 75 100 Mental 25 70 105 150 4 Working Condition Unpleasant condition 20 20 60 80 Hazards 20 40 60 80 Total Points 100 A job description is prepared for each job and a committee then considers each description in turn, comparing it factor by factor, with the degree definitions. Points are allocated for each factor and the total point value determines the relative worth of each job. A point system is more precise than the factor comparison method because it can handle critical factors in more detail. This method is also used more than the other methods. Some 95% of the major corporations in the US are thought to use some variation of this method to evaluate jobs. Accountability Accuracy Analysis and judgment Complexity Contact and diplomacy Creativity Decision-making Dexterity (clever, skilful, neatness) Education Effects of errors Effort Initiative Judgment Know-how Knowledge and skill Mental effort Mental Fatigue Physical demands Physical skills Planning and coordination Problem-solving Responsibility for cash/material/confidential Information equipment, process, record and reports Social skills Supervision given/received Task completion Training and experience Work condition Work pressure Figure 8.5: A list of factors used most frequently in the point rating method as prepared by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) SELF-CHECK Describe how each of the four job evaluation methods below determine the worth of a job to an organisation. a) Job ranking b) Job classification c) Factor comparison d) Point system Hay Guide Chart The job evaluation process is enormously time consuming, complex and often a frustrating task as it is subjected to political pressures and biases that is natural among committee members who represent different functional areas. It has been proven that the job evaluation process is easier to do if the committee compares factors common to all jobs (compensable factors). For evaluating management jobs, the Hay Guide Chart Profile Method is the most popular method. This method provides a common language, an organised framework and the criteria to ensure that judgements applied can be tested and defended in an objective, consistent and equitable manner. This method is based on assessing three main factors, which are: know how problem solving accountability INPUT PROCESS CONTRIBUTION KNOW-HOW PROBLEM SOLVING ACCOUNTABILITY Figure 8.6: The Hay Guide Chart Method (a) Know How Knowledge, skills and experience needed for acceptable job performance. It consists of three dimensions which are: Scientific disciplines, specialised techniques, and practical procedures The depth and range of specialised knowledge required to perform the job. It requires a deep authoritative knowledge in areas of considerable significance to the organisation disciplines or general knowledge required to deal with strategic issues at the most senior level within the organisation. Managerial know-how Requirements needed in the job to plan, supervise, coordinate and integrate different activities, resources or parts of the organisation. Human relation skills Skills needed to communicate with and influence individuals and groups within and outside the organisation to achieve the necessary results. (b) Problem Solving The span, complexity and level of analytical, evaluative and innovative thought required in the job. The problem solving factor has two components. They are: Thinking environment The environment in which thinking takes place. Identifies and addresses problems that arise. Depends on the absence or presence of policy, procedure, supervision as well as other guidance. Thinking challenge Thinking done to assess the complexity of problems encountered, ranging from simple to complex situations. Also involves the extent of original thinking needed to arrive at conclusions. (c) Accountability Discretion given to the job holder to influence or determine the course of events and his/her answerability for the consequences of his/her decisions and actions. Accountability has three dimensions which are: Freedom to Act Assesses the degree of freedom of action given to a job by the organisation. Magnitude Gauges how much of the organisation is effected by the job holders accomplishment of the job. Job impact on end results Concerned with how directly the job affects end results in that area. SELF-CHECK Explain the three factors that the Hay Guide Chart method considers in evaluating the worth of a job to the organisation. Pricing Jobs Pricing jobs are divided into two activities: Establishing the appropriate pay level for each job. Grouping the different pay levels into a structure that can be managed effectively. It would not be unusual, for instance, for the personnel manager of Motorola to regularly share wage data on key positions. Firms in the community like Hewlett Packard identify job positions such as maintenance engineer, electrical engineer, key punch operators or clerk-typists and give comprehensive descriptions of these jobs. During the wage survey, various information can be requested (as shown in Figure 8.7). Figure 8.7: Information that can be requested when conducting a wage survey (a) Pay Level The appropriate pay level for any job reflects its relative and absolute worth. A jobs relative internal worth is determined by its ranking through the job evaluation process. The absolute worth of the job is controlled by what the labour market pays for similar jobs. Figure 8.8: Pay level Source: http://www.nursingtimes.net/whats-new-in-nursing/acute-care/pay-levels-confirm-lower-status-of-nurses/5008226.article (b) Scattergram In order to set the right pay level, the job evaluation ranking and the survey wage rates (the going rates in the industry) are combined through the use of a graph called the scattergram. [GD: Insert image of scattergram] Figure 8.9: Scattergram (c) Wage-trend line Through the dots that represent key jobs, a wage-trend line is drawn as close to as many points as possible (the line can be drawn freehand). Most importantly, this method can be used to identify jobs whose pay is out of the trend line. When a jobs pay rate is too high, it should be identified as a red circle rate. Undervalued rates (wage rate is too low) carry a green circle and attempts should be made to grant these jobs an average pay increase. Figure 8.10: Wage-trend line (d) Pay structure Jobs that are similar, in terms of class grades and points, are grouped together. For instance, pay grade 1 may cover 0-100 points, pay grade 2 from 1-200 points, and so on. The result is a hierarchy of wages. The more important jobs are paid more, and as individuals assume jobs of greater importance, they rise within the wages structure. Figure 8.11: Pay structure Source: http://skorcareer.com.my/images/salary-survey-asia.jpg Rate ranges are simply pay ranges for each job class. For example, the wage-trend line indicates that $8.00 is the average hourly rate for a particular job class. With a rate range of $1 for each class, a marginal performer is placed at a midpoint or $8.00. When performer appraisals indicate above-average performance, the employee may be given a merit rise of, say 25 cents per hour. Once the employee reaches the top of the wage range, no more wage increase will be forthcoming. Either a promotion or a general across-the-board pay raise needs to occur for this worker to exceed $8.50 an across-the-board increase moves the entire wage trend line upward. As new jobs are created, the wage and salary section of the personnel department performs a job evaluation. For this evaluation, the new job is assigned to an appropriate job class. If rate ranges are used, the new incumbent will start at the bottom of the range and receive raises, where appropriate, to the top of the rate range. SELF-CHECK What are the inputs that can be requested when conducting a wage survey to price jobs? Case Study The Thai Silk Company, Ltd. Source: http://www.retireearlylifestyle.com/ThaiSilk.html (a) Thai Silk Industry The production of Thai silk involves a number of stages. The earliest fiber production, was carried out by approximately 500,000 individual peasant families primarily in the economically-depressed northern portion of the country. Several hundred family firms located in the larger provincial towns and in Bangkok undertook intermediate stages dyeing, spinning and weaving. The final stages printing, converting and retailing were dominated by fewer than 100 enterprises located in Bangkok. (b) Finishing and Converting Thai silk moved directly from weavers into retail channels to be sold as fabric. However, a portion was finished (e.g. printed with a design) and/or converted (e.g. made into a pillow case, garment, window drape, etc.) before reaching retail. There were seven finishing establishments in the country, all located in Bangkok. The largest of these was a 51%-owned joint venture of Thai Silk Company Ltd. (TSC). It contained 16 hand painting tables compared to only 10 by its next largest competitor. It was the only finisher in the country specialising in silk to own an automatic printing machine. (c) Proposed New Weaving Mill On top of these changes, an important new development is currently under consideration. It involves a proposed 51-owned weaving joint venture, the Thai Silk Handweaving Co. Ltd. (TSHC). The plant was to be located at Pakthongchai in Korat Province about 100 miles northeast of Bangkok. It would initially contain 120 hand looms of the tradiational variety with capacity to supply about 20% of TSCs fabric needs. Currently, there are plans for an increase in the number of looms to 600 over a 6 year period. TSCs share of initial capitalisation would amount to 2.4 million Baht. SELF-CHECK The silk production involves many processes and stages, from dyeing to printing and retailing. As the Human Resource manager, how would you price the pay for employees working in the different stages of the silk production? Summary This chapter introduced you to job evaluation, its methods, the hay guide chart method, and inputs to refer to when pricing jobs. We have learned that: Job evaluation is the process of determining the value of one job in comparison to the other jobs within the organisation so a fair salary system can be established. It is the most common method used to provide a rationale for a pay structure and to assign a job to a pay grade. Job evaluation is usually administered by the human resource manager. However, it is typically performed by either a committee within the organisation or by outside consultants. The four basic job evaluation methods commonly used by organisations are: Job ranking Job classification (or job grading) Factor comparison The point system The hay guide chart method of evaluating jobs assesses three main factors: Know-how Problem solving Accountability When performing a job survey to price jobs, the following information can be requested: Pay level Scattergram Wage-trend line Pay structure Glossary Terms Definition Factor comparison Each job is ranked according to a series of factors, namely mental requirement, skill, physical requirement, responsibilities and working conditions. Hay guide chart method A job evaluation method that considers know-how, problem solving and accountability. Job classification/Job grading A form of evaluation that assigns jobs to an existing grade/category structure according to their relative worth to the organisation. Job evaluation The process of determining the value of one job in comparison to the other jobs within the organisation so a fair salary system can be established. Job ranking Jobs are compared to each other and arranged in order according to their worth to the organisation. Pay level What the labour market pays for similar jobs. Pay structure Jobs that are similar, in terms of class grades and points, are grouped together. Point system method Evaluates the critical factors of each job. But instead of using wages, as the factor comparison method does, it uses points. Scattergram A graph that uses plotted points to represent a set of data. Wage-trend line A line drawn as closely as possible to as many points representing key jobs in a graph.

Depression in Hamlet Essay -- William Shakespeare

In the playwright Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Hamlet often shows many signs of depression. It is argued whether he is putting on the act, or if he is actually severely depressed. I believe after the death of his father, Hamlet becomes very emotionally unstable. Three things affect Hamlet, the death of his father, the remarriage of his mother, and Ophelia. Hamlet contemplates death, and becomes prepared to die near the end of the play. When Hamlet Senior dies Hamlet seems lost. Depression commonly follows a loved one’s death. He finds no true meaning in life. He wonders if we are only here to eat and sleep. â€Å"What is a man/If his chief good and market of his time/ Be but to sleep and feed? A beast, no more./ Sure He that made us with such large discourse,/Looking before and after, gave us not/ That capability and godlike reason/ To fust in us unused. Now whether it be. Bestial oblivion or some craven scruple/ Of thinking too precisely on th’ event† (4.4 35-43). In the following soliloquy Hamlet contemplates suicide. â€Å"To be or not to be- that is the question:/Whether ‘tis nob...

Condoms Essay -- Sex Protection Condoms Descriptive Process Essays

Condoms The word condom is probably derived from Latin "condus" meaning receptacle. Another explanation is that the gut condom was invented by the English army doctor Colonel Quondam in around 1645 and that the word is a corruption of his name. We do not know who invented condoms, but we do know that they were in use. There is evidence of this in the writings of Marquis de Sade, Casanova and James Boswell. The latter, a Scottish lawyer and writer, protected himself against sexually transmitted diseases by using a linen condom. During a visit to an Amsterdam brothel in 1764, he drank with a prostitute, but the encounter went no further as he'd left his "armour" behind. When visiting a brothel in Marseilles, Casanova tried so-called "English raincoats", and spoke of reaching great heights. The oldest illustration of a condom was found in Egypt and dates back more than 3,000 years. It is difficult to judge from the drawing what the ancient Egyptian wearing the condom had in mind. He may have worn it for sexual or ritual reasons-or both. Some claim that, in later times, the Romans made condoms from the muscle tissue of warriors they defeated in battle. The oldest condoms were discovered in the foundations of Dudley Castle near Birmingham, England. They were made of fish and animal intestine and dated back to 1640. They were probably used to prevent transmission of sexually transmitted infections during the war between the forces of Oliver Cromwell and soldiers loyal to King Charles I. Ancient Times Throughout the age's people have tried to find ways of preventing conception and venereal diseases. Obvious methods, such as withdrawal, the rhythm method, douches, and sponges were used, as were various predecessors of today's condom. In ancient Egypt, a linen sheath was used as protection against troublesome insects and tropical diseases. The Chinese tried to prevent infection by wrapping oiled silk paper around the penis, and the Japanese had leather and tortoiseshell sheaths. The Romans used tampons that had been dipped in herbs and condoms made of goats' bladders. Middle Ages The history of condoms in Europe begins in the sixteenth century, when the venereal disease syphilis reached epidemic proportions. In 1564, the Italian doctor Gabriel Falloppio wrote in the book 'Morbo Gallico', that a linen bag drenched in a solution of salt or herbs formed a ... ...ave a variety of condoms, which will please even the most discriminating tastes. You may even like the taste of flavored latex more than the real thing! Some alternatives to the dental dam Dental dams offer a unique kind of problem. Many people do not like to use dental dams because they like to feel the tongue to clitoris or tongue to anus stimulation. Along with dental dams, you can employ some other stimulation to complete the experience. Wear a latex glove covered in lubricant to further tease your partner's anus or vagina. If dental dams are becoming a problem because you are tired of holding something on your partner, you can use plastic wrap and wrap it around the vagina and/or anus. While cellophane is not as good protection as latex (and should never be used instead of condoms), using it will keep the hands free to use elsewhere. Use lubricant inside and outside the condom. (Many condoms are pre-lubricated.) Lubrication helps prevent rips and tears, and it increases sensitivity. Use only water-based lubricants, such as K-YÂ ® jelly or LUVE, with latex condoms. Oil-based lubricants like petroleum jelly, cold cream, butter, or mineral and vegetable oils damage latex.

Critical Analysis of Drugs Essay

Drugs and alcohol use has been a common and consistent problem in the United States for quite a long time. From the prohibition era in the 1920’s to the common drug use seen in the 1970’s, we have always seen a problem that needs to be addressed. An array of scholars, from all the disciplines, have each experimented and researched this topic in their own unique ways. The natural sciences take a purely scientific approach by hypothesizing and using the scientific method to research and made evaluative claims based on experiment and observation as shown in the article â€Å"Relationship between Vigorous Exercise Frequency and Substance Use Among First-Year Drinking College Students†. Social Science is similar because it also uses hypotheses and the scientific method to observe and evaluate experiments, but at the same time uses theory critique and discussion methods as seen in the article â€Å"Decisional Balance and Collegiate Drinking†. The Humanities take a very difference approach to experiments and research than the natural or social sciences. The Humanities utilize analysis and interpretation in their approach and provide very subjective results to their studies as seen in, â€Å"Associations Between Aspects of Spiritual Well-Being, Alcohol Use, and Related Social-Cognitions in Female College Students†. All of these techniques give us a better understand of the subject as a whole by exposing us to all the different views of a single topic. See more: how to write a critical analysis outline Drugs and alcohol use, particularly in college students, in a continuously rising issue in our current society and is gaining more notice in recent years because of the rise in college student awareness. It is a pressing issue that affects people’s health, lifestyle, and general well being and needs to be treated with attention and an open mind to help resolve its current issues. Part I. From the scholarly point of view, drug and alcohol use in the college setting is covered by all the disciplines with different attention on certain aspects by each respective discipline. A social science article, â€Å"Decisional Balance and Collegiate Drinking,† by Dr. Morgen delves into college students drinking habits, and why they act as they do. The articles purpose is to show the relationship between how students perceive their drinking and how bad it actually is. Dr. Morgen focuses on identifying the problem and evaluating it. This isn’t far off from the approach the Natural Science article, â€Å"Relationship between Vigorous Exercise Frequency and Substance Use Among First-Year Drinking College Students† by Dr.Moore and Dr. Werch. Their focus is to compare exercise habits among self identified drinkers and to come up with scientific explanations for their habits. Like Dr. Morgen, the study included asking questions about the students drinking habits and perceptions of their actions. But, unlike Dr. Morgen there is a more objective approach to the results and less room for interpretation. The Humanities article compares more with the Social Science article and contrasts with the Natural Science take on the subject. The article, â€Å"Associations Between Aspects of Spiritual Well-Being, Alcohol Use, and Related Social-Cognitions in Female College Students† focuses strictly on discussion and results to questions they presented to the women in their study. When comparing the Humanities article to the other two, you can see a difference in the materials covered and analyzed. The Humanities support its findings through their discussion and thoughts on the results, while the two science articles find support from empirical data. When looking at all three sources it is easy to realize how complex and broad drugs and alcohol are among the three disciplines. When we view the Natural Science article is it clear that the use of scientific sources are more prevalent than in the Humanities article. The Humanities utilize primary sources, where the Social Sciences use a mixture of methods found in both the Humanities and the Natural Sciences. All of these scholarly discussions demonstrate the complexity of the subject, while also exposing it from many different angles. Each article seems to approach the topic of drugs and alcohol by exhibiting several different opportunities for argument. Given that all three articles deal with three different disciplines it’s no surprise that each article comes to its respective conclusion by different rhetorical means. â€Å"Relationship between Vigorous Exercise Frequency and Substance Use Among First-Year Drinking College Students,† by Moore and Werch, works to indentify factors in college students drinking and exercise habits and link them together. Moore and Werch rely on logos to convey their results, given that the article is in the Natural Sciences it uses facts, statistics, and experiments to argue its results. This differs greatly from, â€Å"Associations Between Aspects of Spiritual Well-Being, Alcohol Use, and Related Social-Cognitions in Female College Students† by VonDras et al. because VonDras et al. make up the framework of their approach and argument by using credibility and reliable sources (ethos). The Social Science article, â€Å"Decisional Balance and Collegiate Drinking† by Dr. Morgen, is a combination of both approaches. The use of logical reasoning and experiments yield to logos, but at the same time the exploitation of reliable sources and trustworthiness demonstrate ethos as its rhetorical choice. The point of view of the three articles is first person because the authors are directly explaining the experiments methods, process, and discussion to the reader. Throughout the three sources there is a certain ethos connection because of the experimenters relying on honest input from their subjects in each experiment. Overall, all three articles state the importance of the positions they take, and relate their topics to some degree. All have in common a kind of moderation in how they appeal to an audience rhetorically. Each source uniquely represents its particular discipline through textual evidence, and its take on the subject at hand. The Humanities article, â€Å"Associations Between Aspects of Spiritual Well-Being, Alcohol Use, and Related Social-Cognitions in Female College Students† by VonDras et al. represents humanities perfectly because of its strong use of interpretation and analysis. This approach differs greatly from the â€Å"Relationship between Vigorous Exercise Frequency and Substance Use Among First-Year Drinking College Students† article, which uses more observation and the scientific method, which is very representative of the Natural Sciences. Once again incorporating some of both of the disciplines to represent its take is the Social Science article, â€Å"Decisional Balance and Collegiate Drinking†. There is clear use of scientific method and experiment, but you can also see interpretation and analysis in the conclusion discussion which talks about the students drinking habits and perceived benefits from consuming alcohol. The Natural Science article strays from its disciplines approach at times and seems to come across as a Social Science article. Its uses analysis and observation along with its hypothesis. The Social Science article, â€Å"Decisional Balance and Collegiate Drinking† is most typical to its specific discipline. It exemplifies traditional Social Science approaches to the experiment and discussion more wholly than the Natural Science and Humanities articles represent their topic. The least typical to its discipline is the Natural Science article, â€Å"Relationship between Vigorous Exercise Frequency and Substance Use Among First-Year Drinking College Students†. Though, as stated, it does use scientific approaches which represent the Natural Sciences, it also incorporates some Social Science attributes in its structure. This is dissimilar to the Humanities article, â€Å"Associations Between Aspects of Spiritual Well-Being, Alcohol Use, and Related Social-Cognitions in Female College Students† because as previously stated, VonDras et al. stuck to the proper methods in their research and represented the Humanities in a proper fashion. Taken as a whole, these three scholarly sources predominantly stick to their discipline and properly represent their respective disciplines. Part II. The importance of drug and alcohol use in the college setting has never been more important and relevant than it is now. Drug and alcohol use at the college level can have many detrimental effects on the future of our society. We, the college students in America, are the future of this country, and if we cannot be responsible enough to drink not in excess then how can we be trusted to continue to run this country smoothly. The three sources used from the three different disciplines all touch on important ideas related to the topic at hand. As stated in the Social Science article, â€Å"Decisional Balance and Collegiate Drinking† by Dr. Morgen, most of the college students that claim they have their drinking habits in control and receive lots of benefits from drinking fall into the DSM-IV-TR category for alcoholism. This is a relevant issue because it shows that college students who think they are responsible for their actions could easily have a disease and not even know it. We must strive to fix or at least help the issue that is in front of us by going straight to the matter. In the Natural Science article, â€Å"Relationship between Vigorous Exercise Frequency and Substance Use Among First-Year Drinking College Students† it states college students who exercise more are more likely to drink heavily. That seems highly counterproductive, but from the student’s point of view, they feel that if they work out and exercise they can drink as a reward for their efforts. This is a skewed way to look at it and should also be addressed. We don’t need to promote no drinking because that will simply not work, but we can push to inform people of the health risks and harm they do to their bodies by drinking heavily on a regular basis. This is a very relevant take on the subject because it alerts the reader of the things they found and provides unbiased, correct information on the topic of drinking amongst college students. The Humanities article, â€Å"Associations Between Aspects of Spiritual Well-Being, Alcohol Use, and Related Social-Cognitions in Female College Students† approaches the subject from a different angle but still covers useful and relevant material to use and discuss. Its main idea is talking about how religion and spirituality effect their views and habits of drinking. The study found that religious affiliation and aspects of spiritual well being are moderators of behavior that lead to alcohol prevention. The level of awareness of the issue of alcohol use of all three scholarly sources seems to be very high. They all selected their topic of research to find definitive results about the use of alcohol and its effects on the people who abuse it. There seems to be a suitable amount of attention given, which is good because it seems that a large group of people are unaware of the negative aspects on their lifestyle and health of heavy drinking and drug use. We should be focused strongly on the issue more than the discipline we are reading it from. All the disciplines have unique approaches to their discussions but they still head towards the same issue that we should be focused on. All three of the sources seem to stay focused and never stray from alcohol use as their main topic. The Social Science article, â€Å"Decisional Balance and Collegiate Drinking† seems to be most relevant because of its practical explanations. It includes input and thoughts from the Natural Sciences and the Humanities, and that’s what makes it a Social Science article. The practicality of its subject, why students drink, is easy to understand, but at the same time is very in-depth. We learn so much from it such as, why people drink, how much they drink, their perceived benefits from consumption, and the effects of all those things added up. As stated earlier, this issue is very important in our society at this moment. College should be fun, but at the same time we must learn to be responsible and focus on what we are in college to do. That is learn and get an education so that we can later because the leaders and innovators that push this country to greatness. Only so much can be done, but the first step to changing anything is raising awareness on college campuses. Overall, drug and alcohol abuse is portrayed in all the disciplines with each one having an important input on the matter as a whole. It is a pressing issue that affects people’s health, lifestyle, and general well being and needs to be treated with attention and an open mind to help resolve its current issues. We cannot stray from this pressing issue in the near future and must continue to research and experiment so that we may better understand drug and alcohol use from all different points of view. As stated in the Social Science article, â€Å"Decisional Balance and Collegiate Drinking†, students who perceive their consumption as normal have in reality worse habits than the average person. We have to strive to expose this issue and correct it as best we can in the future. From the Humanities article, â€Å"Associations Between Aspects of Spiritual Well-Being, Alcohol Use, and Related Social-Cognitions in Female College Students†, we can conclude that religious affiliation and sense of spiritual well-being seem to have a positive effect on drinking habits. Simply put, morals seem to have an effect on if a person abuses alcohol or drugs. Also, as found in the Natural Science source, â€Å"Relationship between Vigorous Exercise Frequency and Substance Use Among First-Year Drinking College Students† people seem to be negatively reinforcing themselves because it was found that people how exercise more reported consuming more alcohol than the average person. That finding is a sad thing because it is so counterproductive to the body. From the sources as a whole you can easily find the connection that this is a pertinent issue today and will continue to be in the future. Its importance cannot be stressed enough but even with that, people will continue to not listen and use substances more than is considered responsible. We will see the consequences of this in the coming years, and determine if the issue really is as big as it seems, or if people finally grow up when they get out of college and realize they can’t have such destructive behaviors and continue to contribute to society in a positive way. In conclusion, we cannon stray from this issue, but we must continue to research it and learn from it to help fix and explain it to coming generations. Moore, Michele Johnson, and Chudley Werch. â€Å"Relationship Between Vigorous Exercise Frequency and Substance Use Among First-Year Drinking College Students. † Journal of American College Health Vol. 56. No. 6 (2008): 686-690. Morgen, Keith, and Lauren Gunneson. â€Å"Decisional Balance and Collegiate Drinking. † Journal of Alcohol & Drug Education (2008): 18-36. VonDras, D. , R. Schmitt, and D. Marx. â€Å"Associations Between Aspects of Spiritual Well-Being, Alcohol Use, and Related Social-Cognitions in Female College Students. † Journal of Religion & Health Vol. 46 (2007): 500-515.