Informal Care Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Informal Care - Assignment Example Management of CHF requires shared responsibilities as increasing number of CHF patients have decreased formal care provision. Informal care is an avenue that has best potential for ensuring adequate quality of life for CHF patients, and at the same time also ensuring that CHF patients get more attention than would have been possible in formal care. Clark et al (2007) survey of informal carers and their patients has pointed out that informal care givers have been able to manage and ensure adequate quality of life for CHF patients. Authors have pointed out that informal and invisibl3 care could be even better managed if the informal care givers were given basic training for recognizing and managing some of CHF symptoms. Francine et al (2002) provides enlightening statistics that in 2002 there were at least 41 million people with chronic debilitating conditions. Another issue might be increased longevity through intervention better nutrition and quality of life - thus the proportion of old people afflicted with chronic conditions is continually rising. Informal caring which may be through family or friends (and usually is honorary) has taken on increasingly important role as formal carers reduce in proportion to the chronically ill. Incidentally most of the informal care is given by women, be it daughters or sometimes wives. The toll on women caregivers is quite stressful with many women being forced to take lower paying jobs that allow them more time for. Care giving has also been known to be mentally taxing and causing emotional stress. Caregivers are more susceptible to indigestion and high blood pressure and caregivers, who care for patients with Alzheimer and psychopathological disorders, may h ave bouts of depression. Informal care givers are not given adequate governmental support and many of the services performed for ill disposed may not be reimbursable through NHA or Medicaid. Francine et al (2002) reiterate that policies should be introduced that recognize the efforts and work performed by the care givers. As care givers tend to be over 40, many of the social workers and care givers might themselves be in need of support in coming years (Francine et al 2002). Understanding Chronic Heart Failure may be important to appreciate the need for informal care. Donovan (2008) defines CHF as condition affecting older population which affects temperament and frequently is terminal. Using survey of care givers gave 3 dimensions which were important in informal care. Caring for CHF patient was frequently a shared activity and involved both visible and invisible methods of caring. The severity of symptoms determined the type and quantity of intervention requirements. The carer's lack of formal knowledge was contrasted by knowledge gleaned from experience with CHF patient. The informal care givers were cognizant of patient's mood, physiology temperament changes and could relate to these changes with corresponding requirements of more intensive care provision. The visible caring activities, managing medicine and personal care, were found to be tiring. As CHF conditioned worsened CHF patients were found to require

The Role of Psychology in Understanding Essay Example for Free

The Role of Psychology in Understanding Essay General Health Problems such as Coronary Heart Disease and Chronic Headaches Psychology has done a great deal in educating people about the processes and the ways the human mind impacts and affects body systems. Over the years, this field of science has provided people bases of understanding several cognitive processes and problems which people deal with everyday. However, as a broad field, psychology branches out to explicate other general health issues in terms of psychological causes, effects, and interventions. Some of these health problems which psychology covers today are the Coronary Heart Ailment and cases of Chronic Headaches. Hence, this paper aims to discuss and explain how the field of Psychology can be related to and how it can elaborate on these health problems. Psychology in Coronary Heart Disease Heart disease has been known all over the world to be one of the most common causes of death. In the United States alone, two weak hearts give off and die every minute due to heart ailments and other heart-related conditions (Clay, 2007). Considering this thought, it is not just the field of Cardiology that is working out on eliminating these fatal health problems. Over the recent years, a field called Psychocardiology or cardiac psychology now opens doors to explain how psychosocial factors and interventions can contribute to the acquisition of the disease (Clay, 2007). Coronary Heart Disease or CHD is a general term which pertains to the condition wherein cardiac ailment results from the shortage of oxygen that reaches the heart (Feuerstein, Labbe, Kuczmierczyk, 1986). The disease is widely recognized all over the world due to its horrible fatal rates which make information campaign about the disease very significant. Although many people know the basics about CHD, what some of them do not know yet is that there is a certain part of the disease that can only be explained by psychocardiology. Psychocardiology defines the distinct personality which has been found to be at risk of acquiring CHD the most. This was identified as the Type A person. Feuerstein, Labbe, and Kuczmierczyk (1986) explained this construct in their book, Health Psychology. Type A individuals are characterized as people who easily and/or frequently get impatient over usual everyday activities and experience difficulty in focusing on one activity at a time since they are always in a hurry accomplishing their daily tasks. People with ac Type A personality also tend to take more and more responsibilities than what they can actually accommodate (Feuerstein, Labbe, Kuczmierczyk, 1986). These kinds of people are found to be more prone to CHD since their behaviors and activities greatly induce stress and depression. Greater psychological reactivity, which causes their cholesterol levels and their blood clotting times to rise, and imposes heavier work load for the heart, was also found among Type A individuals (Feuerstein, Labbe Kuczmierczyk, 1986). Aside from this, various studies still further prove that there is direct and solid connection between psychological conditions and CHD. Psychological researchers have already focused on internal factors in order to view this presumed relationship between psychology and CHD closer. It has been discovered that factors such as depression, anxiety, and social isolation, which are all symptoms of certain psychological disorders, seem to contribute greatly to the acquisition of CHD (Clay, 2007). At some point, international cardiologists performed a world-wide survey and assessed 12,000 CHD patients. The survey includes criteria which determine whether they qualify to a state of depression before the diagnosis of CHD. The results report that 50% of the surveyed patients showed histories of depression which more likely can be considered as a major factor that led them to CHD (Marano, 2003). In reviewing these studies and researches in the field of psychocardiology, it may appear that psychology indeed associated with a lot of other health problems and issues such as alcoholism, smoking, drug addiction, eating problems and many others. Just like in CHD, all of these health conditions consist of factors and interventions which are attributed to people’s behavior, social stability, and personality and can only be explained through the principles and concepts in psychology. Psychology can enter the serious picture of CHD in a simple factor as stress. Stress is often taken for granted as a common phenomenon, but with the study of psychology and its relationship with CHD, it can be seen that stress has more to it than what people know about, because with the study of psychocardiology, it can be understood that stress can actually lead to the fatal CHD. Thus, several factors and interventions such as restlessness and stress can be taken for granted if not for the explanations brought by psychology. However, aside from CHD, there are still a great number of common health conditions which psychology tries to explore. One of these conditions is the common case of Chronic Headaches. Psychology in Chronic Headaches The pain and terrible uneasiness brought by headaches cause depression among patients all over the world. This disease has also been one the most common sources of frustration and despair due to the aggravating pain it causes (Disorbio, 2008). The main focus of relief and cure in chronic headache cases is the source of pain. Pain can be considered to be the major frustrating factor in these cases. As a physiological sign, pain is generally attributed to physical factors. However, several comprehensive studies on pain like in chronic headaches conditions have been conducted having particular focus on the psychological perspective. These studies work on identifying behavioral and cognitive factors that affect pain and also the appropriate behavioral treatment for this condition. In understanding chronic headaches in this perspective, one may discover that the process of thinking of emotional and sensory ideas has a direct effect on the intensity of the felt pain (Borkum, 2007). Related studies also show evidence that an individual’s attention to and focus on the pain indeed cause the condition to get worse in varied levels. Psychology also plays a relevant part in identifying several psychological factors which can bring about chronic headaches. The usual cases of headaches like tension headaches and migraines have been found to have some connection to an individual’s emotional stability. A person was found to be more prone to suffer these kinds of headaches when he or she is exposed to depressing family environment and is isolated from friends and other significant others (Disorbio, 2008). This was discovered to be possible since these people who have weaker emotional states tend to deal with frustration and depression more inadequately, and they also tend to have a more negative outlook on things, including pain. Thus, through psychology, chronic pain can be treated through understanding how thinking can get over the individual’s tolerance of pain. Several studies have also proven that a degree of pain control can be accomplished by deviating one’s attention to other tasks and objects aside from the pain (Borkum, 2007). In most clinics, it can be noticed that doctors are starting to teach their patients several ways on diverting their attention from the pain to other things. This is because of the consideration that psychological processes play an important part in one’s tolerance and forbearance for pain. Hence, it may appear that although these health conditions typically have the biological explanation and background in discussing their nature and treatment, the field of psychology apparently greatly contributes to understanding the other aspects of these conditions by explaining the psychological interventions and causes of such health conditions. Although the psychological explanation for these health conditions may not be as popular as the knowledge of people about their physical reasons, it still appears evident that psychology plays a significant role in understanding these health problems from a different perspective. References Borkum, J. M. (2007). Chronic Headaches: Biology, Psychology, and Behavioral Treatment. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence and Erlbaum Associates. Clay, R. A. (2007). One Heart- Many Threats. Monitor on Psychology, 38 (1), 46. Retrieved December 17, 2008 from American Psychological Association (APA) Online: http://www. apa.org/monitor/jan07/threats. html. Disorbio, M. (2008, March 27). The Psychology of pain- headaches. National Pain Foundation. Retrieved December 18, 2008 from http://www. nationalpainfoundation. org/MyTreatment/articles/Headache_TO_Psychology. asp. Feuerstein, M. , Labbe, E. E. Kuczmierczyk, A. R. (1986). Health Psychology: A Psychobiological Perspective. New York, NY: Springer Publication. Marano, H. E. (2003, Januray 3). Heart saved: treating depression may prevent heart-related deaths. Psychology Today. Retrieved December 18, 2008 from http://www. psychologytoday. com/articles/pto-20030103-000011. html.

Elections :: essays research papers

2000 election The two main candidates for the election of 2000 are George W. Bush and Al Gore. Al Gore, of course, being the current Vice President. I have never been into the whole politics game. But, know that I am 18 years old I feel I should start paying more attention to political issues. I don't know if I am going to vote this year, and if I did I don't know who I would vote for. I really don't know much about either canditate. All I know is that Gore is Vice President to Clinton, and we all know how most people feel about Clinton. In order for me to make a judgment on who I am going to vote for I would like to know where each canditate satnds on different political issues. Some of the issues I will be covering are abortion, crime, drugs, education, environment, and gun control. These are the issues I am most interested in, and I would like a president who agrees with me on a good portion of these issues. To start off, I am going to state where I stand on each of the isssues. I then will sat e where each presidential canditate stands on each issue. The first topic I would like to discuss is abortion. Abortion is kind of a big thing to me. I am one of those who is against abortion. I feel abortion is kind of like murder. I know it is easy for me to say that abortion is wrong, because I have never gotten a girl pregnant before. I understand that some tees make mistakes and want to correct those mistakes. But, I feel more people should stand up for their mistakes and take some action. Instead of having the baby aborted, the parents should put the child up for adoption. What if that kid was going to come up with a cure for cancer? I bet the parents would not want o abort the child then. Abortion is one area I agree with Bush. Bush wants to cut down the amount of abortions given out the whole year. Bush also wants to turn the choice of having abortions over to the state. Gore, on the other hand, wants to leave the choice in the woman's hand. He feels it is up to her to decid e whether or not to have an abortion.

Gap Marketing Strategy Essay

The Gap is a clothing company that specializes in contemporary, urban clothing with a mid-range pricing scheme. They have stores located all over the globe in countries such as the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom. Gap was founded in 1969 by a real estate developer who was in search of a well-organized and well-stocked jeans store. The store was named after â€Å"the generation gap† and originally sold Levis jeans. In 1974, they developed their own private clothing label and by 1991 began selling only their private label brand. Gap introduced its website in 1997. The following year, in 1998, Gap’s stock increased 138.4%. In 2000, though, their stock fell 44 %. (http://www.thestreet.com/_yahoo/funds/gutcheck/1335261.html) Clothing is a basic and necessary need, but the companies in Gap’s market segment produce items that satisfy more than this basic need. Their customers are looking for style and quality at a reasonable price. In this specific market segment, major brand forces dominate the retail clothing industry: brand recognition is incredibly important. Some major players in this industry who are specific competitors of the Gap are J Crew, Abercrombie & Fitch, American Eagle Outfitters, Structure, and The Limited. These companies target the same markets as the Gap and produce similar styles. The strengths and weaknesses of each player in this industry are largely indistinguishable. J Crew stands out with a strong catalog channel. However, their bricks and mortar presence is weak, which is a problem when bricks and mortar retail reels in nine out of ten dollars spent by the average consumer as noted at www.retailindustry.com. But within their â€Å"young urban† microcosm, the Gap stands out with an innovative and changing product line: Abercrombie & Fitch, American Eagle, Structure, and the Limited have very specific styles that remain constant year after year. The competitive forces, as explained in Porter’s framework, apply to the retail industry in all the five areas of rivalry, supplier power, substitutes, buyer power, and entry barriers. In regards to rivalry, there exist no exit barriers, causing more compeitition. Product differences are few which leads to low switching costs for consumers who can easily shop around. With these low switching costs, substitutes play powerful roles. If consumers can find similar products elsewhere from other competitors, price  becomes a strong determinant in the final purchase. Supplier power is high. For example, suppliers can exert strong influences on the producing industry by selling raw materials for clothing manufacturing at a high price. While suppliers yield substantial power, the buyer’s role is weak because of fragmentation. Finally, barriers to entry include: economies of scale, high capital requirements for stores, raw materials, and production requirements, and strong brand equity due to consumer brand consciousness and loyalty. Value is created and delivered in the fashion industry through an intricate structure of channel distribution. A visual description of a typical fashion company’s value web is attached as Exhibit 1. Although the value web as an entity is influential to customers, several facets tend to have the most impact. Designers are obviously one of the core aspects that affect a customer, as people want clothing that appeals to their particular tastes. This leads to the display and availability of clothing in the actual fashion stores such as Gap. Displays need to incorporate attraction to the products as well as show off the trends of the moment. Also, manufacturers greatly influence the final quality and price of a product, which are often a core concerns for consumers. In today’s economy, efficient and quality manufacturing are essential to the success of a fashion retailer. Another key node on the value web is the logistics supplier. In the Internet e-tailer environment, having a strong relationship with efficient and trustworthy suppliers is extremely important for success. Fashion retailers should strengthen these key players in the value web in addition to using their core value concepts in order to utilize the Internet to its full potential. For Gap, there are two value concepts that are especially vulnerable in an Internet economy. First, the fashion industry has low switching costs and decreased loyalty online. Whereas many Gap customers were loyal simply because they had few other choices, now those same customers have more opportunities to â€Å"shop around†. Gap stores are located all around the country in almost any mall. A typical consumer may only have access to the stores that are located nearby. Now the Internet has made every e-tailor available to anyone, anywhere, from low-end to high-end. Second, the Internet has changed service, credence and experience. One of the advantages of going to a Gap store is the level of service that you receive and the experience that you get. This level of service can never be replicated online. In addition, another problem with online fashion retailers is that the customer cannot try on the articles of clothing. While this may be a problem with new customers, it is not an issue with previously established customers. Otherwise, the Gap’s value concepts can only be enhanced online. Clothes can easily be delivered directly to the consumer from Internet sales. Also, transaction costs can be reduced: for every sale online, Gap does not have to maintain bricks-and-mortar stores, hire personnel, or bear shipping costs. While these costs may be minimal right now, as online sales grow, this may have a serious impact on Gap’s bottom line. An additional benefit of Gap’s online store is ease of searching for particular products. The apparel industry is constantly changing. Therefore, marketing strategies and diverse customer segments are also transforming. Key industry trends for the year 2001 include: moves to multi-channel retailing, importance of profitability on the Internet, and a continued interest in using technology to improve bottom line, as explained at www.retailindustry.about.com. Customers have particular needs and wants that are shaping the demand for higher quality at lower prices. And with the new Internet environment, consumers want easy access to price comparisons and demand the latest trends. Since the online world is fast-paced, consumers believe that trends should turn over quickly. Now that more people are shopping online, they demand and expect convenience as well as quick and timely delivery of apparel goods. Consumers are looking to the Internet for information on apparel more than they previously did. They search for price comparisons and shop around the web to look for sales. Many consumers search for clothes online and then go to try on the clothing offline. In some other cases, if consumers cannot find the desired article of clothing, they venture onto the Web. Finally, in the new Internet apparel environment, awareness of brands is enhanced for established companies. On the contrary, newer apparel  companies may struggle gaining awareness in a medium that constantly floods consumers with new products. The absence of brand equity creates difficulties for new companies in this industry. Few brands carry the clout Gap does to the online world. As evidenced at www.business.com, Gap, with only two other retailers, was considering one of the top 20 online Internet merchants. Intermediaries (i.e. manufacturers and retailers) in the apparel industry are transforming to become more customer conscious. By incorporating technology, companies are able to make the brand more accessible to the customer while creating a stronger image of the brand. This technology enables domestic and foreign manufacturers and inspectors to communicate more effectively, efficiently, and frequently. Previously, the telephone and fax machine were the primary means of communication among intermediaries, but now information can be exchanged in a cost-efficient and instantaneous manner through the Internet. As noted in the March 30, 2001 Credit Suisse First Boston Corporation review, the overall apparel industry trend appears that many teen and young adult retailers â€Å"are heading towards the Gap’s core territory . . . the casual preppy theme.† For example many retailers have offered up colorful polo shirts since February, which stands to hurt Gap sales because they have only just begun offering the same polos. What has recently been happening is that Gap has come into fashion trends late and finds itself at the tail end of a hit. For years Gap has been the store to go to keep up to date on trends, but recent events point to its slipping from being the number one trend leader. Competitors such as Abercrombie and Fitch and American Eagle Outfitters have been able to tap into the fashion trends early and reaped a large share of the sales. A March 19, 2001 Credit Suisse First Boston Corporation analysis explains this phenomenon further: â€Å"market intelligence is better than ever . . . Retailers attend fashion shows . . . interpreting what they see for their customers.† Therefore, the newest strategy in the competition game is for a company to find the hottest trend the earliest and quickest, and market the trend heavily before any other store or brand can do the same. New and existing companies in the apparel industry are forced to adapt their marketing mix in response to the new Internet environment. Products must be developed faster in order to cater to the fast-paced demands of today’s Internet consumer. Many big players in the fashion industry are recognizing the need to turn over the trends faster in today’s technology-driven economy. This is because consumers demand new fashion trends faster than they did in the offline world. Also, the Internet allows consumers to price shop more than they would in the offline world. Therefore, fashion companies must realize that price competition is more prevalent online. Furthermore, channels must be structured online differently than they would be in the offline environment. In the new technological world, shipping and manufacturing have become bigger players in the value web than previously. Retailers must develop strong relationships with key shipping suppliers and increase efficiency in manufacturing facilities. Finally, fashion e-tailers must utilize the new Internet environment to improve customer service and transactions. It is the perfect medium to have efficient yet personalized customer service in addition to lower transactions costs. The new Internet setting causes companies in the fashion industry to rethink partnering and strategic alliances. In today’s e-economy, companies can gain traffic and recognition through a few key alliances. Many companies, especially new players, can leverage partnerships to gain brand recognition and necessary traffic to their new site. Utilizing the key relationships with channel members and partnerships will help established fashion companies adapt to the new Internet economy. But, a benefit to the companies is the fact that basic core competencies still remain competitive advantages even in the new environment. Gap’s core competencies center around their brand equity and highly developed processes. Its name alone can successfully launch new, trendy products. However, Gap also carries a standard, classic line of clothes that customers have come to expect during any season and within any Gap store. This is how Gap segments its customers: those who want a consistent look year-to-year, and those customers who want the latest trends. Gap’s brand recognition  value is high with over 2,079 stores nationwide, and additional 530 stores globally. It is a standard brand name for the midrange fashion conscious consumer. Because Gap is a well-established bricks and mortars company, their processes are efficient and dynamic. For example, Gap stores are on detailed schedules for store displays, inventories, and new product launches. Every store receives an identical binder that explicitly details the display and product placements. Front window displays are changed weekly. They restock shelves with new products every six weeks, keeping the retail ahead of imitators in the fast-paced fashion industry. All the core competencies are positive for the company, but there are threats that can hurt the company. For instance, negative word of mouth can cause severe consequences to Gap’s brand name. Since Gap outsources most of their manufacturing, they’re open up to attack because of their manufacturers’ actions. For example, a situation occurred to Nike concerning their use of sweatshops that caused a great deal of damage to the Nike name. Gap has taken steps to counteract the causes of bad publicity by requiring manufacturers to sign codes of conduct and strictly enforcing those rules. Their processes for inventory, however, are not as vulnerable to depreciation. Gap has invested a lot of thought and research in their resources and there is not too much that can be substantially threatened. Gap’s inventory processes, in fact, are much stronger compared to others in the industry. Not only do they maintain a consistent style year to year, they also have new lines that come out very often. Those who wish to enter the retail clothing industry will find moderately high barriers to entry. It is extremely difficult to set up brand equity and image. Launching your own store and clothing line, like Gap, takes incredible capital and time investment. In the online world, it is much easier for new or small retailers to showcase their products; however, it is difficult to get online attention and recognition. The nature of online retailing sets up a playing field where smaller, lesser known retailers may  have set up functioning websites and folded without the public ever knowing. Even big name online retailers, like Pets.com, did not survive despite their brand recognition. As we have mentioned earlier, Gap’s inventory processes are very defined and strong. These processes also give them an edge on competitors trying to copy Gap’s styles or trends. Gap changes out their inventory every six weeks. Even if competitors are able to catch on to Gap’s short turnaround, there is no way to avoid being behind the times. Gap, through their extensive market research and market persuasiveness, is so in tuned to their customer segments that they effectively set the trend. Gap has invested a lot of money to become one of the biggest trend-setting brands. Although the Gap has a successful position on the Web, there are definite strategies that can be implemented to improve their online business. Our proposed marketing eBusiness plan involves Customer Relationship Management, growth strategies, incentive offers online, improved web design, and increased market research. At this point in time, Gap is a product-focused company. Gap needs to capitalize on the available technology of the Internet and transform its marketing efforts to focus on the consumer. Therefore, the company should shift from a Product Management system to a Customer Relationship Management system. Customer Relationship Management allows a company to cater to the unique and evolving needs of the specific customer segments. Currently, the Gap does not have extensive customization available on its website. Gap needs to create more ways of catering to each individual consumer. A pyramid approach would be optimal for the Gap. Much like the Dell triangle, the Gap would segment consumers and provide the most customization for the top small percent of the pyramid. These are the repeat customers that have highest volume of purchases, which would be the best group to provide customization. We suggest that the Gap use the technology of the Internet to store information on each consumer and generate a unique site for the consumer every time that they log on. The site will greet the consumer by name upon log in and target the consumer for their preferences. For example, the Gap would keep a database of my buying patterns, such as the fact that I always look for sale items, and also note the size that I  normally buy. The Gap would be able to establish more relationships with consumers increase their loyal consumer base by providing customization that makes the site unique to the individuals. As retailers know, growth does not come from loyal customers. The Gap needs to focus some of their marketing efforts on acquiring new customers. They could do so by developing alliances with portal-type sites such as eGreetings.com. There, consumers can be asked to buy a gift certificate to Gap.com (not redeemable in offline stores) to be sent along with the greeting card. Online alliances are preferable to online banner ads and random advertising because a relationship with established online services and etailers is the best way to get a Gap ad seen. The click-through rates for banner ads are not convincing enough for us to suggest that the Gap increase online banner advertising. In addition to advertising online with trading partners, the Gap should advertise offline for the online store. Every media produced offline, including displays in the offline store, should have the web site listed, thus pointing consumers to the online store. The Gap may also consider putting a terminal in the offline stores that has a small computer with Gap.com constantly running. Sales associates can point consumers in the offline store to the terminal if they need a different size, or if they want to ship an item to a friend. Offering incentives online can also increase the customer base, persuading loyal and new consumers to utilize the Internet site. For example, every fifth purchase online could merit a certain percentage off the final purchase price or even free shipping. Also, the Gap should consider offering some products and product lines online only (for example, Gap currently offers their maternity line only online). This can entice consumers into shopping online in addition to their offline stores. Overall, anything that causes consumers to venture into the online world to check out the new items on Gap.com would be good for the growth of the online customer base. Another marketing tactic is to alter the design of the website to meet the needs of the constantly evolving Gap consumer. Currently, Gap.com allows consumers to see the various styles of clothing with color choices shown to  the side, but consumers cannot change the color of the item in the picture (for example, consumers could click on different colors and patterns for the same shirt and the shirt changes accordingly). See exhibit 2. Most buyers want to see what a certain article of clothing would look like in different colors, which is an option that Gap.com’s competitor, JCrew.com, offers. Gap.com could also allow consumers to put clothes together on a model and view 360 degrees of the outfit, thus persuading people to make virtual outfits. Other design changes to Gap.com could be an addition of a search engine. This gives consumers a quick way to find specific articles of clothing. Another added design feature for the quick shopper could be a page with price listings by clothing category, or the ability to see the price on the first page instead of making consumers go through multiple pages to find the price. A final marketing strategy in our proposed plan is for Gap.com to increase market research to understand consumer-buying habits. Are they price conscious? What do they value in design of the website? The Gap would benefit immensely if they were able to understand their consumers’ behavior in depth. Therefore, information could enhance the quality of customization, which will benefit the company. If the Gap makes longer strides to understand their customer base, they can capitalize on areas where they are strong and change areas of weakness. Our proposed marketing plan encompasses many benefits with a few costs. The plan satisfies consumers because increased customization will mean more attention to specific customer needs. The proposed Customer Relationship Management tactic will create more of a one-to-one marketing structure that will in turn benefit the consumer. One cost to this change in management style is the capital needed to set up customization online and also the changes that must be made in the structure of management within the company. Employees will have to get used to a restructuring, which can cause a short period of dissatisfaction or frustration. But, the company as a whole will benefit from the restructuring because it will increase retention rates. The online incentives and improved web page design will benefit the consumers directly by giving them good deals and creating an easy-to-use web site. The  online incentives will benefit the company by increasing the loyal customer base and the improved web design may increase sales and retention. The trading partners with Gap will benefit by increasing traffic to their sites, and association with the Gap brand is positive for alliances. One of the most apparent and serious threats to Gap.com is the threat of cannibalization. If Gap.com becomes the standard, then their offline stores will be severely hurt. This is why Gap is facing a great deal of resistance within the organization. Store managers whose salaries and promotions depend on store sales will not want to promote or support Gap.com because that will steal from their revenues. Another issue is the technological needs to satisfy the in-depth customization and database requirements that are essential to our e-business plan. In order to take on this new strategy, Gap will have to make a large initial investment to improve their technological capabilities to accommodate the customization. Internet speed must also be taken into consideration. Only eight million out of 100 million Internet households have broadband. This can lead to customer frustrations, as the sites become more picture intensive. This, however, is actually a benefit for Gap.com as their primary customer base is concentrated in these households that do have broadband service

Future of Singapore Public Housing Loan

Abstract The Singapore government together with the housing finance consider the public housing as one of the various achievements they have accomplished. Public housing accommodates more than 80% of the residents in Singapore. A majority of the residents, close to 90%, is designed as Housing Development flats (HDB). In an effort to improve the current housing state in Singapore, the housing finance and the government has introduced various schemes and substitute schemes alike. The schemes have encouraged the resident into becoming homeowners in addition to ensuring that they did not default their mortgage payment. The Housing and Development Board (HDB) is responsible for the dealings and management of the public housing program in Singapore. The local town council oversees the daily management activities. They also ensure planning and development of the public housing in addition to selling and resale of the houses as well as offering financial mortgage. Introduction Singapore Public Housing finance loan borrowing has dropped four folds in the recent year. Owing to a myriad of factors, the number of loan applicants for the public housing allocation has significantly reduced as compared to the numbers associated with the previous application. The government estimates that the number may rise in next coming years if market curbs are softened, such as loan repayment schemes on interest rates and application. A future projection of the public housing finance loan interest indicates a downward trend in the near future owing to the stiff competition put in place by private property owners (Ong, 2010). It is imperative, therefore, to reduce the public housing loan rate in order to attract new property owners while increasing the resale of the previously owned property. Currently, the resale price of previously owned units on the public housing has dropped by 1.3%. The government has not taken any measures to ensure that this market situation is controlled, but is examining the matter in order to employ proper strategy to enable Singapore citizens to own homes. In case the current prices of property remain stagnant at 57%, it is estimated that the public housing loan rate will rise. The number of public housing owners is estimated to gradually increase in case the current rate does not drop in the near future (Ong, 2010). The Housing and Development Board (HDB) is responsible for the dealings and management of the public housing program in Singapore. The local town council oversees the daily management activities. They also ensure planning and development of the public housing in addition to selling and resale of the houses as well as offering financial mortgage. The paper discusses an examination of the privatization of HDB and reasons behind it, with projection to loan in the coming years and how one can become a public house owner in Singapore. Privatization of HDB Loan to Consumer Bank The main aim of the privatisation of Housing and Development Board mortgage loan to consumer banks in Singapore was to curb the price competition through inculcation thereby increasing the performance of the banking sector within the economy. The mortgage yield was not sufficient to meet the standards set by HDB, thus the privatisation of the HDB mortgage became imperative (Adams, 2014). Moreover, the private sector’s better performance and management of the economy was an added reason for the privatization as compared to the public sector’s ability in managing and performance. With the privation of the HDB loans to consumer banks, the annual interest rate returns have since increased and projections show that they will continue to increase in the coming year. This therefore eliminates the high rate hurdle previously presented by HDB through the elimination and minimization of the government regulation on the HDB housing projects. (Li, 2014). Financier of Mortgage loan: Interest rates Homebuyer with potential can choose to buy a home with either a HBO loan or Bank loan. The payment scheme chosen will determine the selection of the mortgage partner from which the mortgage loan will be received. Homeowners are able to apply for mortgage loans through HBO and Consumer banks. The above options for loan financier are in place in order to enable potential buyers to decide which best fits their financial capability. In addition, HDB plays the role of a financier to flat owners by giving mortgage loans. This has enabled Singapore residents to acquire public houses easily and faster with the help of HDB mortgage loan. From a financier’s point of view, a homebuyer applying for a mortgage loan is required to have met their credit assessment and this is assessed with their current system of standard mortgage application. For an eligible flat buyer to have access to a concessionary loan, they must have an HDB Eligibility Letter (HLE) confirming that they are capable of making repayments. This is important because it accesses one’s potential ability to pay back his loan with constraining their personal budget. Before anyone can purchase a flat, they must have a letter of eligibility of HDB. HBO concessionary loan interest is 2.6% which is only 0.1% higher than the Central Provident Fund (CPF). It seems important tor e-examine the interest rate of HBO quarterly in comparison to CPF interes t rate to ensure that it stays roughly the same level. This type of system design helps to provide an easier scheme for the mortgagor to service their loan payment, and ensure they constantly pay without defaults. This interest rate of the HBO loan has been in existence for over 15 years (Ong, 2010). Contrary to this, banks interest rate is currently 1%. The interest is dynamic and not constant because it is determined by a number of other factors which affects the operation of the bank such as its business strategy, the prevailing market situation and commercial decisions. It is determined jointly by all the financial institution in Singapore. This system make it unreliable because it is not constant, it keeps fluctuating based on the above mentioned factors. Even though HBO mortgage offer low amount of loans, HBO mortgage scheme remain the most suitable financier to mortgage loan. Unfortunately, and since the privatisation of HBO, all those who wish to finance their resale and acquisition of HBO public housing will have to apply loans to various banks licensed by the monetary fund to give mortgage loans to public housing acquisition and resale. Immigration There are benefits to being a citizen in Singapore. Singapore is one of the major cities in Asia in terms of wealth and culture. To buy and rent an HBD flat, one has to be 21 years or older and a citizen to Singapore. Another benefit that the citizens of Singapore are entitled to is obtain loans at concessionary interest rate with HBO to help them in obtaining the flats. In addition to this, they are also offers for citizens who obtain public houses for the first time such as subsidies, for instance grants offered by the government as a cushion to aid those buying public houses. Citizens also enjoy lower rates for houses repairs (Adams, 2014). Conclusion In conclusion, the number of public house owners in Singapore is bound to increase in the near future with increase in mortgage. The performance of HDB’s hurdle interest is expected to increase on an annual basis with the privatisation to consumer banks to aid in the mortgage loan financing. This has facilitated the process of solving the housing problem in Singapore owing to the fact that the government has provided a more reliable and efficient option to help people buy property. Although the current market is not promising, the government is working hard to curb the situation and enable more Singapore in the coming year to own public house. This will enable them to deal with the housing problems and concentrate in development of other sectors of the economy thereby increase their national income and dominate in the leading economy (Li, 2014). Bibliography Adams, J. (2014, October 10). Bleeding the banks. Retrieved October 31, 2014. Li Sen, S. (2014, October 3). Spike in bad home loans swells Singapore banks’ NPLs. Retrieved October 31, 2014. Ong, S. (2010). Housing affordability and upward mobility from public to private housing in Singapore. Singapore: S.E. Ong].

Drugs in Sport Essays

Drugs in Sport Essays Drugs in Sport Essay Drugs in Sport Essay Essay Topic: 8th Grade Sport is so much a part of daily life for so many Australians. An Australian child is brought up to idolise their sporting heroes and to pursue the sport itself. It is devastating to think that maybe our sporting heroes are cheats. Today students are being pressured to perform at higher levels to make the first team, representative side or a sporting scholarship at a Greater Public Schools (GPS) which then could lead to the opportunity to make a break into the professional sporting teams.With the increase of drug use young players start thinking that taking performance enhancing drugs is necessary to ‘make it’. The competition in sports is so fierce it amounts to a huge build up on players and teams to perform, including the pressure from big business asking for ‘more’ because the more the players can give and entertain crowds means that demand for the game will rise which in turn means more money at the gates. The power and influence of Australian sport can be seen in its net worth â€Å"Sport in Australia generated a net income of $8. billion in 2004/2005†. The organisations that are running ‘Game Day’ have only one objective and that is to keep the broadcaster and punters happy and paying money, if this happens the businesses are happy. This is a vicious cycle for agencies who are trying to stop drug doping in sport, because businesses are so money hungry they feel no need to invest in the athletes welfare. More testing needs to be implemented for GPS athletes and they need to be educated that you can still be the best without cheating.Currently no Anti-doping policy exists in Toowoomba Grammar or the GPS schools, the purpose of this document is to outline the need for an Anti-doping policy and make some practical suggestions. Within the last year the Australian Crime Commission has had some major findings involving the use of prohibited substances such a peptides, growth hormones, and ill icit drugs, they now know that these drugs are wide spread throughout Australian sport, Ex-ASADA chairman Richard Ings says â€Å"its the blackest day in Australian sport†. Sports are constantly changing because of the improved ability, performance and technology that have been developed.Take Rugby Union as an example, rules are constantly modified each year and the use of technology in training and equipment has advanced dramatically to improve players performance on and off the field. Doping in sport is also constantly changing within the sports to become more and more advanced and easier to consume but harder to trace. It is a continual race against the agencies who are trying to stop drug use and the sellers. Where do we draw the line for performance enhancing ? There are similarities between the new technologies and training methods, and what drugs can achieve.Such as training at altitude or taking erythropoietin. Some of these differences will also remain arguable, but with improved technology laboratories are catching up with the dopers to find the ‘cheats’. There are many different methods to detect drugs that have been introduced into the body, they can be detected in urine, blood, other body fluids, and in hair. The most commonly used test is urinalysis. Athletes are asked for a sample of urine, a supervisor will watch and collect the sample to eliminate the chance of a sample switch.Chemical tests are then carried out on the urine sample which will then determine the presence of an illegal drug itself or the chemical produced during the breakdown of the drug in the body. With an increase in the number of hi-tech laboratories they are able to test a number of samples in different ways to gain the most accurate reading. Also more players being able to be tested will give the most accurate results. This has had a number of positive outcomes, but it is still believed that this is a poor indicator as to how prevalent doping actually i s.The recognition of those elite athletes that have tested positive does not mean that the ‘war on doping’ is being won because it is impossible to estimate how many athletes are actually still taking drugs but getting away with it. There are many different drug agencies trying to stop the use of these illicit substances, organizations such as Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)and Federation Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) have many different anti-doping policies to prevent drug use in elite sport.As well as the Australian Crime Commission who are out trying to prevent substances getting into Australia’s top sports, but none of them concentrate on the issue of drugs within school sport. The following document will present a number of recommendations about anti-doping that could be adopted into the GPS sporting competitions which is one of Queensland’s major school sporting competitions. I believe that th e neglect towards drug testing will lead to further drug use in the future and the continual development of new drugs will compound this issue in professional sport.It is very important to introduce the anti-doping policy into the GPS system so that our future generations will be prevented from drug use before they get into elite sport. Pressure to perform and succeed is one of the main causes of using banned substances, pressure such as making the first team or for the team to be more competitive within the GPS competition. This is taken very seriously throughout the 9 schools, also the hand out of school scholarships to outstanding players in their sporting field or even social factors like body image.There is decent evidence that schools are being affected by drugs, such as the incident that that occurred at the Nudgee College campus, Nudgee is a part of the GPS and is one of the state’s elite sporting schools. On Tuesday (30th April 2013) â€Å"Two students at St Josephà ¢â‚¬â„¢s Nudgee College, aged 16 and 17, were arrested on Tuesday on charges of possession and supply of steroids. Both were expelled. – College Principal Daryl Hanly said the arrests were not linked to the school’s highly-touted athletic program. This example of the presence of drugs within such a notable school shows us how the schools actually deal with drugs, even though the Principal says that the drugs are not linked to the school’s athletic program and that the boys consuming the drugs were purely for body image to further their underwear modelling career. Because there has been some use of drugs within a school there must be action by ASADA, highlighting the need to introduce school sports into their anti-doping policy and investigations. At the moment the only measures in place is that of School Sports Australia saying. School Sport Australia condemns the use of any prohibited substances and methods in sport by students participating in its programs as it is contrary to the ethics of sport and potentially harmful to the health of athletes†. There is nothing towards investigating whether the teams are using drugs or not, School Sports Australia are saying no, but that is not enough an assumption can be made from the evidence provided that students are out there using illicit drugs to enhance their performance and are not being found out.If any Anti-Doping policies were to be put in place in the GPS I believe there are two main recommendations that I consider essential to an Anti-Doping Policy. The first recommendation that should be considered when introducing an Anti-Doping policy into the GPS of Queensland should be drug testing. I believe it should follow along the same lines as Australian Sports Commission Anti-Doping Policy. Testing Procedure: Testing should only apply to athletes that have been selected to compete in a State Representative team for all GPS sports like Rugby, Swimming, and Athletics.Each athlete must com plete a medical declaration that states all prescribed drugs, counter medications, and supplements taken over the last week. Officials need to recognise if any of the substances are on the prohibited list, and ensure the athlete holds a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE). This form is then signed by the athlete, coach and official and each are given a copy of the declaration. The athletes must agree to submit and comply with testing by an Anti-Doping Organisation, this may be a urine, blood, other body fluids, and hair.Athletes will be tested only once parents have been notified, testing will then take place in the presence of the sports coach at any time. Samples collected will be laboratory tested under the same Policy as the Australian Sports Commission. If any tests are positive they notify School Sport Australia and they will impose their penalties which can be found in there Student Behaviour Team Management Procedures. Penalties which may include being banned from GPS sport, but the school will make the decision as to whether the student will be expelled or not.The second recommendation that should be considered when introducing an Anti-Doping policy should be aimed towards creating awareness in schools through education. All Students from Year 8 to Year 12 must have a class during the sporting season. Athletes that are selected into the GPS teams must be re-educated. Education: All GPS schools must meet and agree on an Anti-Doping curriculum content and implementation time table. The curriculum must include the awareness of: * The health risks involved in drug use Cheating and by taking drugs you are gaining an unfair advantage * The consequence of being caught doping I will use the Individual level of Figueroa’s framework to justify why I have considered testing procedures as one my recommendations that need to be in place for GPS schools. The individual level is very personalised and involves our own attitudes, values and beliefs. The factors tha t influence a student to take drugs at the individual level is pressure to perform at a high level. They become targeted by the dealers and the access to drugs becomes more prevalent.To use the Cranbrook School boy as an example, he knowingly took steroids but because there were no anti-doping testing procedures in place he then thought that it was fine to be a cheat, because he didn’t believe he would get caught. If all young sportsmen were randomly being tested and they knew from the first declaration form that they signed that what they are taking is or isn’t prohibited. This will eliminate taking drugs. The first recommendation will not rid us of the pressure or accessibility but more so deter from such factors.It does not seem very stereotypical for a GPS student to be taking drugs for it goes against all GPS schools beliefs and culture of sportsmanship and honesty. This is why I have chosen my second recommendation to be education. The Cultural level of Figueroaà ¢â‚¬â„¢s framework is concerned with the assumptions, norms and values within the GPS culture, as I have mentioned before the stereotypical GPS student when educated with the recommendation in place would have been taught to say no to drugs and doping, hence reinforcing the schools moral values.Supported by the recent press article, â€Å"Schools urged to spell out risks of sports drugs† The Age May 18 2013. The reasoning behind selecting only the athletes that made a representative side comes down to cost, and effort. It would be too difficult to test every student who makes a firsts side and it would cost too much and the extensive paper work would be too much for any sports administrator. By educating all grades from years 8-12 it fills in the gaps of the first recommendation.Gymnastics is said to be the ‘clean sport’ having only 3 Olympic doping cases, all of which have said to be accidental where the gymnast has taken medication unknown to the fact that they are a banned substance. I believe that the gymnastics have such little doping cases because â€Å"98 percent of the athlete members are under 18 years of age. † Because of the younger age, gymnasts coaches have to go through a criminal background check to be allowed to coach, and parents are much more involved in the gymnasts sporting decisions. â€Å"parents are to be given the highest degree of onfidence that their children are not only receiving good care and proper instruction, but also are safe from negative and improper conduct. † With the amount of care that is given to the gymnasts it shows that the constant cycle between parents and coaches reduces the amount of doping in the sport. In my experience in school sport I can say that this relationship between parents and coaches also exists, with the coaches usually being teachers who have all been through background checks to get the job at the prestigiious GPS school.So why are we still seeing drugs used in sch ools? I have confidence that the reason for this is because there is no testing in place and their athletes are not scared or threatened about the risk of taking the drugs because they feel they won’t get caught. School athletes are also unaware. As a student I have not been lectured about drugs in sport and I am unaware of the consequences and risks of taking drugs. I believe the two recommendations I have made, implementing a testing procedure and educating students should be introduced at Toowoomba Grammar School and all GPS schools.Through greater awareness of the moral values together with a serious threat of being caught through testing and the resultant penalties, drug use at school will be prevented. I believe if students from Year 8 start to learn that taking performance enhancing drugs is wrong then by the time they have reached a professional level they are very aware of the policies and less inclined to use drugs and suffer the consequences. Alarming statistics su ch as these quoted below form research conducted in America would be prevented with the adoption of the proposed recommendations. Monitoring the Future† study revealed that there has been a significant rise in the number of  steroids  among the school age children community from 1991-2002. In this survey, 22 percent of 8th graders, 33. 2 percent of 10th graders, and 46. 1 percent of 12th graders said that it is â€Å"fairly easy† for them to obtain  steroids.

Eli Whitney and his help to the economy essays

Eli Whitney and his help to the economy essays Whitneys genius came about at the perfect time. He helped the United States start its road to success that so many of us are used to now. With his cotton gin and the concept of interchangeable parts the United States was able to compete with England, and in effect, slowly become self-sufficient. Before the cotton boom the U.S. had problems with its economy. There were no highly tradable crops or goods for the U.S. to export. The southern farmers started to find that green seed cotton was highly marketable, but there was a problem it had a rival in Island or black seed cotton. The island cotton was longer and had less clutter to be cleaned. The problem with black seed though was it could be grown in a very small area. Whitney had an idea to solve this problem. He worked and worked, then finally came up with what is now called the cotton gin. The gin could clean the green seed cotton allowing to be shipped just as the island cotton. At the time Whitney was building this, textile mills had started springing up all over the north. Now the cotton was both an exportable product as was it a natural resource used to make more goods to export. With the invention of the cotton gin, farmers could start planting more cotton and cleaning it even quicker than usual. This sped up the process which in turn would allow the farmers to charge a little more. With these raises in price and quantity, the U.S. government would benefit with the farmers on the export income. The second of Eli Whitneys inventions may have been the most important. The United States was preparing for war with France and they were in dire need for weaponry. The Springfield Armory was well equipped and slowly producing muskets, while the newly built Harpers Ferry Armory was lightly stocked and had yet to produce even one gun. This brought about a rather large problem for the Americans. They needed rifles and they needed them fas ...

Italian Heritage Month Celebrations

Italian Heritage Month Celebrations October is Italian Heritage Month, formerly known as National Italian-American Heritage Month. Coinciding with the festivities surrounding Columbus Day, the proclamation in recognition of the many achievements, contributions, and successes of Americans of Italian descent as well as Italians in America. Christopher Columbus was Italian, and many countries celebrate Columbus Day every year to mark his discovery of the New World. But Italian Heritage Month honors more than just Columbus. Over 5.4 million Italians immigrated to the United States between 1820 and 1992. Today there are over 26 million Americans of Italian descent in the United States, making them the fifth largest ethnic group. The country was even named after an Italian, the explorer and geographer Amerigo Vespucci. History of Italian Americans in the U.S. Federico Fellini, the movie director, once said that language is culture and culture is the language, and nowhere is this truer than in Italy. There was a time when speaking Italian was considered a crime, but nowadays many Italian Americans are learning Italian to discover more about their family heritage. Looking for ways to identify, understand, and bond with their familys ethnic background, they are getting in touch with their family heritage by learning their ancestors native language. Most of the Italians who immigrated to the U.S. came from the southern part of Italy, including Sicily. Thats because the pressures encouraging people to immigrate- including poverty and over-population- were greater in the southern part of the country, especially in the latter part of the 19th century. In fact, the Italian government encouraged southern Italians to leave the country and voyage to the U.S. Many ancestors of todays Italian-Americans came due to this policy. Italian-American Heritage Month Celebrations Each year in October, a wide variety of cities and towns with large Italian-American populations host various Italian cultural celebrations in honor of Italian Heritage Month. Many of the celebrations revolve around food, of course. Italians are well-known for their contributions to excellent meals in the U.S. Italian-American heritage organizations often take the opportunity in October to introduce members and others to regional Italian cuisines, which go far beyond pasta. Other events may highlight Italian art, ranging from Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci to modern Italian sculptor Marino Marini and painter and print-maker, Giorgio Morandi. Italian Heritage Month celebrations also provide ample opportunities for learning Italian. For example, some organizations provide language labs for children so that they can discover the beauty of the Italian language. Others offer opportunities for adults to learn enough Italian to get by while traveling to Italy. Finally, many cities- including New York, Boston, Chicago and San Francisco- host Columbus Day or Italian Heritage parades to mark the Columbus Day holiday. The largest parade is the one held in New York City, which involves 35,000 marchers and more than 100 groups.

Histology of the Liver Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Histology of the Liver - Essay Example Being one of the largest glands in the body, the liver has a complex and intricate histology and any disruption of structure can lead to derangements in function. This report discusses the process of two different staining techniques used to visualize both normal and abnormal liver histology and discusses the findings obtained in light of knowledge of liver physiology and pathology. In order to examine the histology of the liver and to elucidate whether the patient was suffering from any liver pathology, in particular hemochromatosis, three sections of the liver obtained via biopsy, labeled A, B and C had been provided to be tested. These sections had been cut from paraffin wax embedded tissue block. Amongst these, section B had been provided as a control section to test the proper functioning of the stains being used. Prior to the commencement of staining, all three sections were de-waxed in order to remove the paraffin wax from the sections and to ensure the proper hydration of the provided tissues. This was achieved via mounting all three slides into a dry staining rack and then placing the slides in to different solutions placed in six different tanks consecutively for 2 minutes each. Amongst these 6 tanks, the first three contained Xylene, following which the slides had to be placed in tanks containing Ethanol, 100% industrial methylated spirits (IMS) and 70 % IMS, in the aforementioned order. The slides were then rinsed with tap water and distilled water, respectively. The slides were then left in distilled water till the time they were stained with either H and E or Prussion Blue. While mounting the slides on the staining rack, steps were taken in order to ensure that the rack was dry as a wet rack would have caused water being deposited in Xylene. The next step was to stain the slides with H and E. To achieve this, the slide marked C was placed in haematoxylin solution for 5 minutes after which it was rinsed with distilled water. It was then dipped in

Turner Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Turner Review - Essay Example According to the review, the major factors that have drove the world in the current financial crisis include among others the increasing financial innovation, growth in the market size, as well as microeconomic imbalances thus, causing overall systemic risk increase. In light of the foregoing crisis there was a great need to revaluate the existing regulatory regime, for instance the assumption that markets function in an efficient and rational way. To this end, Turner proposes a regulatory policy change in his review to a regulation approach that is more systematic (Turner 2009). In designing capital adequacy set of laws, the review postulate a couple of variant approaches which include: forming rules that are geared towards influencing the activities undertaken by different banks through sinking excessive risk taking incentives for the good of the economy at large (FSA 2009). Alternatively, the rules can be formed to shield the creditors in case of failure by a single bank. Turner in his review postulate that in order to direct more attention on Tier 1 capital and Core Tier 1, it would be prudent to boost the value of capital held by banks. The review further proposes that the current optimum level of capital should be substituted with a novel formation. The review however, acknowledges that the increase in the capital requirement should wait until the economy is more stable (Cooper 2009).

John Leonard Vs. Pepsi Co Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

John Leonard Vs. Pepsi Co - Case Study Example Based on this information, it is easy to conclude that there was no written agreement between the two parties. Furthermore, on legal grounds, the advertisement cannot substantiate the plaintiff’s claim that an offer was made. On these grounds, PepsiCo is liable for nothing. The next question is whether Pepsi actually made an offer. When you take such postulates into consideration, it creates a lot of ambiguity about the commercial being an actual offer. In the catalog that PepsiCo issued, the jet was not included as one of the gifts which could be collected. Thus the ad was not an offer, largely because it was not included in the Pepsi Stuff Catalogue that provides further information about the Pepsi Points program. Furthermore, the law on such issues is that if an offer is made that is clearly meant to be a joke and interpreted as such by an objective standard; it does not constitute a binding offer. Thus, PepsiCo again is safe on these grounds. However, John Leonard interpreted the ad as an actual offer and tried to capitalize on it. Based on our conclusion, the plaintiff’s understanding of the commercial as an offer should be rejected because the courts would find that no objective person could reasonably have concluded that the commercial act ually offered consumers a reward of a Harrier Jet. Moving on to the infamous call made by Leonard regarding the details of the offer, he was informed about the procedure of amassing Pepsi points, and at no time was he corroborated that he would receive a Harrier Jet. PepsiCo had already put this in writing in its catalog, both on how to gather points and what would be up for grabs. Hence, Leonard’s call seems to have no legal significance except for that fact that they imply a favor in Pepsi’s camp. But let’s adopt a new vantage point, one that reflects the views of the plaintiff.

Human Resource Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Human Resource Assignment - Essay Example In addition to that, employees are not enough trained on Business Etiquettes, Courtesy, and Business Communication. Hospitality is all about handling people. So an employee must have right attitude, tolerance, and listening skills in order to move up the hierarchy. There is still a long way to go to inculcate good public relation, interpersonal skills. With the increase in competition due to the coming up of major players, the need to train employees has increased more than ever before. The major players are now strategizing to increase the turnover of the customers by training their employees on Communication, Dining and Business etiquettes, etc. Some of the essentials required by this sector are: While resources are most important assets of an organization particularly in hospitality sector, they should be trained enough for handling any kind of situations. Most of today's organization doesn't provide the training to their staffs because of the cost and time constrain as they are unable to keep the pace with the growing competition in shorter term hence they do work with the untrained workers. In longer term this cost as image of the organization and hence on their business. To deal with the above situation, organization needs to develop workplace training sessions for adults. There are some pre requisites before conducting the training namely identifying what exactly is needed, why this is needed and what will be the benefits for the same. Following are the method for identifying the training need. 1. questionnaires/surveys 2. Interview 3. Observation 4. Brainstorming 5. Performance appraisal etc. Once this is done, there need to identify how the training should be conducted. This will depend on various factors such as 1. Budget 2. Convenience 3. Training need 4. Resource availability Training can be conducted as 1. On the job Training 2. On site Training 3. Off the Job Training 4. Off site Training. Once all these factors are analyzed, training can be initiated at the work place. Effectiveness of workplace training: Training is an investment for long term benefit of an organization so it's become important to track how your investment is doing, whether it's producing the desired results or not etc. Once an organization has implemented a training program it will hopefully strive to improve it. The first important tool to consider is the training feedback or evaluation survey. These tools should have enough information so as to be relevant and should be filled out anonymously by the training attendees. If there is criticism, turn that criticism into a positive and put forth the effort to eliminate the cause of the criticism. Once all these things are done, training can be evaluated statically to see whether it met the desired results or not. Approaches to the evaluation of workplace training: While organization spend significant amount of money on training it's become important to define metrics for evaluating the effectiveness of the training. There could be various ways for the same. Some being as 1. Reactions Level: This can be identified

European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Essay

European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) - Essay Example n Foundation ‘the EFQM (European Foundation Quality Management) Excellence Model was introduced at the beginning of 1992 as the framework for assessing organisations for the European Quality Award; it is now the most widely used organisational framework in Europe and it has become the basis for the majority of national and regional Quality Awards’ (European Foundation for Quality Management, 2007). In fact, EFQM Excellence model has become quite known in organizations operating both in the public and the private sector. Its effectiveness regarding the measurement and the evaluation of organizational performance has been the main reason for the expansion of this model in many countries around the world; EFQM Excellence model has been proved to be equally effective in the private and the public sector. Current paper examines the particular aspects of EFQM Excellence model and the applicability of this model on modern organizations around the world. In order for the structu re and the role of this model to be clearly understood, the application of the specific model in a particular case is examined. In this context, the application of European Foundation Excellence model in Dubai has be considered to be a characteristic example of the effectiveness of this model both on the private and the public sector internationally. In order to understand the role and the development of European Foundation for Quality Management, it would be necessary to refer primarily to the general characteristics of this model the main aspects of its application (positive and negative – if any – aspects of the application of EFQM in firms operating within the international market). In this context, it is noticed by the European Foundation of Quality Management that ‘the Excellence model is a management model for excellence which can be applied to any organisation to evaluate qualitatively its performance; it enables private, public and voluntary sector organisations to compare their

Human Resource Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Human Resource Assignment - Essay Example In addition to that, employees are not enough trained on Business Etiquettes, Courtesy, and Business Communication. Hospitality is all about handling people. So an employee must have right attitude, tolerance, and listening skills in order to move up the hierarchy. There is still a long way to go to inculcate good public relation, interpersonal skills. With the increase in competition due to the coming up of major players, the need to train employees has increased more than ever before. The major players are now strategizing to increase the turnover of the customers by training their employees on Communication, Dining and Business etiquettes, etc. Some of the essentials required by this sector are: While resources are most important assets of an organization particularly in hospitality sector, they should be trained enough for handling any kind of situations. Most of today's organization doesn't provide the training to their staffs because of the cost and time constrain as they are unable to keep the pace with the growing competition in shorter term hence they do work with the untrained workers. In longer term this cost as image of the organization and hence on their business. To deal with the above situation, organization needs to develop workplace training sessions for adults. There are some pre requisites before conducting the training namely identifying what exactly is needed, why this is needed and what will be the benefits for the same. Following are the method for identifying the training need. 1. questionnaires/surveys 2. Interview 3. Observation 4. Brainstorming 5. Performance appraisal etc. Once this is done, there need to identify how the training should be conducted. This will depend on various factors such as 1. Budget 2. Convenience 3. Training need 4. Resource availability Training can be conducted as 1. On the job Training 2. On site Training 3. Off the Job Training 4. Off site Training. Once all these factors are analyzed, training can be initiated at the work place. Effectiveness of workplace training: Training is an investment for long term benefit of an organization so it's become important to track how your investment is doing, whether it's producing the desired results or not etc. Once an organization has implemented a training program it will hopefully strive to improve it. The first important tool to consider is the training feedback or evaluation survey. These tools should have enough information so as to be relevant and should be filled out anonymously by the training attendees. If there is criticism, turn that criticism into a positive and put forth the effort to eliminate the cause of the criticism. Once all these things are done, training can be evaluated statically to see whether it met the desired results or not. Approaches to the evaluation of workplace training: While organization spend significant amount of money on training it's become important to define metrics for evaluating the effectiveness of the training. There could be various ways for the same. Some being as 1. Reactions Level: This can be identified

Medical biotechnology and leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Medical biotechnology and leadership - Essay Example Prior to the commencement of any project, one must consider the external environmental factors that may affect its outcomes. In this case, the paper will be looking at the carcinogenic effects of heavy metals. Certain political players may have liaised with industrial leaders in their election processes. They may frown upon researches that link these businesses to a health problem. Conversely, those who are interested in protecting their constituents’ rights may use results from this study to make laws that protect the citizenry (Morrison, forthcoming). Certain economic factors will also be relevant to this study. The project will rely on moderate external funding. This will come from the church around the study area. Such financial support will only be forthcoming if the economic environment in the country is favourable. Additionally, the sociological element in this study revolves around the problems faced by people who deal with heavy metal pollution. Persons in developing countries are exposed to heavy metals in fish, water, food and their occupations. Therefore, the ability to obtain such samples will be dependent on getting cooperation from locals (Grundy, 2006). The technological factors in the study project refer to the availability and ability to use scientific equipments needed. Knowledge of microscopy and immunofluorescence is critical in achieving this. Furthermore, the university already has these machines, so gaining access to them will be vital. There could be more advanced methods of studying DNA repair, so the researchers ought to familiarise themselves with these methods. Legal factors include the regulatory policies and laws that govern the disposal and exposure of the public to these heavy metals. If handlers of the materials are flouting laws, then this could be a legal problem (Turner, 2002). Finally, the study has an

Performance Appraisal Essay Example for Free

Performance Appraisal Essay Appraisal is a procedure by which an organization assesses employee performance based on present standards . The main purpose of appraisals is to support managers effectively, staff companies and deal with human resources, and to develop efficiency . Being â€Å"part of an organization measurement process†, performance appraisals serve that purpose by showing employees how to improve their performance, establish goals for employees and helping managers to evaluate subordinates’ efficiency and take actions related to hiring, promotions, training, job design, compensation and terminations. In the last 30 years companies use the employee evaluations not only for administrative purpose, but also for motivational and organizational planning purposes. The object of this paper is to understand and explain the role of human resources which to ensure the effective and efficient use of human talent to accomplish organizational goals in a company. Human Resources Management deals with what can or should be done to make working people more effective and satisfied. In a few words, the management of human resources means that they must be recruited compensated,  trained, and developed. It is HRM’s responsibility to make job analysis (describe work and personal requirements of a particular job), to communicate to the employees performance standards (translate job requirements into levels of acceptable / unacceptable performance) and to coordinate performance appraisal programs. Thus, all aspects of human resources managements are critical to an organization’s ability to adequately effectively provide a quality work force. In fact, performance appraisals are a significant part of performance management system responsible for designing a work environment in which â€Å"people can perform to the best of their abilities.† Job description The focus in this paper is on presenting information about conducting a performance appraisal for a bus driver position. I choose this position because, bus drivers are important for our contemporaneous society which is in a continued development. This aspect implies the need of more connections between places, more transits and travel for people. It is essential that this action be done in the most safety and comfortable ways. The behaviour of each bus driver employee has to be evaluated and improved if it is necessarily. The training programs are the key in helping drivers learn how to deal with difficult people and avoid violence while on duty. Making a job analyse, bus driver is a position is responsible for transporting people from one place to another for work, errands, school, or other reasons. Takes fares from passengers, issues receipts, announces routes, and ensures passengers get out safety. Their primary responsibilities imply transport people, operate bus, and drive regu lar routes on a schedule or on chartered trips. They obey traffic laws, stop frequently and check the bus tires, lights, and oil and other basic maintenance. They have to report mechanical problems and accidents. May load and unload passengers’ luggage. A bus driver has to deal with unruly passengers, assist disabled ones and keep passengers informed of delays. Bus drivers are employed by urban transit system, elementary and secondary schools and private transportation companies. According to Service Canada the job prospects in this occupation is good having an annual average salary of 43,895. Thus, customer service skills are important because of the interaction with passengers. For a school bus driver is essential to ensure the safety of the children, which  may include accompanying students across the street and providing first aid in emergencies. The following skills are very important for a bus driver: active listening, operation monitoring, social perceptiveness – being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do, equipment maintenance, operation and control, reading comprehension, coordination, time management, speaking, and critical thinking using reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems. Performance appraisal method Measurement of bus driver performance starts with the evaluation of skills and effectiveness during and following the year of work. The primary objective of performance appraisal is to establish whether drivers are performing their job safely serving the customer adequately, and following work rules, policies, and procedures that ensure efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Analyzing the above information and knowing the job description for a bus driver, the behaviourally anchored rating scale (BARS) would be a good method for performance appraisal. This method scales points and is defined by statements of effective and ineffective behaviours. It puts together the benefit the benefits of narratives, critical incidents and quantified scales by attaching a rating scale with specific behavioural examples of good or poor performance. It provides better appraisals than the other tools. The evaluator has to show which behaviour on each scale describes an employee`s performance. For constructi ng the BARS process imply the generation of critical incidents the development of performance dimensions, the relocation of incidents, the scale of the incidents and the development of final instrument. Managers have a file folder for each employee, which can be hard copy or electronic. Critical incidents are important employee actions which help or hurt performance. The BARS is developed by a committee that includes both subordinates and managers. Thus, the main advantage of this method is that personnel outside HR department join with HR staff in its development. Of course, the employees will have a greater acceptance of the performance appraisal process and its measures. In the same time BARS requires considerable time and effort to develop it. Another disadvantage is that a  scale designed for one job might not apply another. For example, the BARS for a bus driver will contain the rating scale from 4 (exceeds expectations) to 1 (unsatisfactory) and its evaluation of safety, timeliness, student conduct, bus cleanliness and care, and attitude. Identification of appraiser Appraisal and feedback system should be made by a multi-rate assessment because bus driver position is multifaceted and people see different things. A range of people are asked to assess an individual against company framework. The feedback can be from subject`s staff, from their bosses and from colleagues and clients and passengers. This is called 360 ° appraisal. The intention of it is to give a boarder and more objective assessment of employees’ competence. This multi-rate feedback is only use when manager has 4-8 people reporting to them. It is important that the employee do not know how any evaluation team member responded ensuring the anonymity concept of 360 ° system. The exception of this rule is the supervisor`s rating. When this feedback comes from more people, it may lessen bias or prejudice. In the same time, feedback from peers and other may increase employee self-development. In the conclusion of this paragraph, remind that HR department has the primary responsibility for supervising and coordinating appraisal program. Conclusion A valuable performance appraisal program makes feedback and instruction to employees and gives a useful framework to the managers and to the supervisors which asses their staff’ performance. The conduct appraisal program should be set up once and reviewed whenever the manager and the employee meet for the regular performance report or periodically: annual or once every six months. Preferable, managers and supervisors should consecutively estimate and direct employees so that performance imperfections do not go unexamined for a long period of time only to be discerned and debated at the functioning appraisal survey. In summary, the performance appraisal for a bus driver position it’s important for the evaluation of this position’ skills but also for the safety of passengers in  their work and personal environment and their daily activities. That’s why a serious and concrete performance and appraisal method should be applied in a schedule planed time in al l the transportation company. Bibliography Belcourt, Monica, Singh Parbudyal, Bohlander George, Swell Scott. Managing Human Resources. Toronto, Ontario: Nelson Education, 2014. Service Canada, http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/qc/job_futures/statistics/7412.shtml Sage Publication, http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/45674_8.pdf Transportation Research Board, www.30hrsdc.gc.ca/NOC/English/NOC/2006/Profile

A Pestel Analysis Of Malaysia Economics Essay

A Pestel Analysis Of Malaysia Economics Essay Introduction During the late 18th and 19th centuries, Great Britain established colonies and protectorates in the area of current Malaysia; these were occupied by Japan from 1942 to 1945. In 1948, the British-ruled territories on the Malay Peninsula formed the Federation of Malaya, which became independent in 1957. Malaysia was formed in 1963 when the former British colonies of Singapore and the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak on the northern coast of Borneo joined the Federation. The first several years of the countrys history were marred by a Communist insurgency, Indonesian confrontation with Malaysia, Philippine claims to Sabah, and Singapores secession from the Federation in 1965. During the 22-year term of Prime Minister MAHATHIR bin Mohamad (1981-2003), Malaysia was successful in diversifying its economy from dependence on exports of raw materials to expansion in manufacturing, services, and tourism. Economy overview: Malaysia, a middle-income country, has transformed itself since the 1970s from a producer of raw materials into an emerging multi-sector economy. Under current Prime Minister NAJIB, Malaysia is attempting to achieve high-income status by 2020 and to move farther up the value-added production chain by attracting investments in Islamic finance, high technology industries, medical technology, and pharmaceuticals. The NAJIB administration also is continuing efforts to boost domestic demand and to wean the economy off of its dependence on exports. Nevertheless, exports particularly of electronics remain a significant driver of the economy. As an oil and gas exporter, Malaysia has profited from higher world energy prices, although the rising cost of domestic gasoline and diesel fuel, combined with strained government finances, has forced Kuala Lumpur to reduce government subsidies. The government is also trying to lessen its dependence on state oil producer Petronas, which supplies at least 40% of government revenue. The central bank maintains healthy foreign exchange reserves and its well-developed regulatory regime has limited Malaysias exposure to riskier financial instruments and the global financial crisis. Nevertheless, decreasing worldwide demand for consumer goods hurt Malaysias exports and economic growth in 2009, although both showed signs of recovery in 2010. In order to attract increased investment, NAJIB has also sought to revise the special economic and social preferences accorded to ethnic Malays under the New Economic Policy of 1970, but he has encountered significant opposition, especially from Malay na tionalists. Statistics GDP $381.1 billion (2009 est.)Rank: 30 GDP growth 2.2% (2009 est.) GDP per capita $14,800 (2009 est.) GDP by sector agriculture: 10.1% industry: 42.3% services: 47.6% Inflation (CPI) 0.4% (2009 est.) Population below poverty line 3.5% (2007 est.) Labour force by occupation agriculture: (13%), industry: (36%), services: (51%) Unemployment 5% (2009 est.) Main industries Peninsular Malaysia rubber and palm oil processing and manufacturing, light manufacturing industry, electronics, tin mining and smelting, logging and processing timber, tourism, petroleum production and refining, logging Economic Policies The Malaysian New Economic Policy was created in 1971 with the aim of bringing Malays a 30% share of the economy of Malaysia and eradicating poverty amongst Malays, primarily through encouraging enterprise ownership by Bumiputeras. After 30 years of the program, the NEP had somewhat met some of its goals. Bumiputera ownership increased to 18.9% in 2004 against 2.4% in 1970 and poverty decreased to 8.3% in 2004 against 64.8% in the 1970s. The NEP is accused of creating an oligarchy, and creating a subsidy mentality. Political parties such as Parti Keadilan Rakyat and Democratic Action Party have proposed a new policy which will be equal for every Malaysian, regardless of race. When the Democratic Action Party was elected in the state of Penang in 2008, it announced that it will do away with the NEP, claiming that it   breeds nepotism, corruption and systemic inefficiency. On April 21, 2009, the prime minister Najib Tun Razak has announced liberalisation of 27 services sub-sector by abolishing the 30% bumiputera requirement. The move is seen as the government efforts to increase investment the service sector of the economy. According to the premier, many more sectors of the economy will be liberalized. On June 30, 2009, the premier announces further liberation moves including the dismantling of the Bumiputera equity quotas and repealing the guidelines of the Foreign Investment Committee, which was responsible to monitor foreign shareholding in Malaysian companies. However, any Malaysian companies that wish to list in Malaysia would still need to offer 50 percent of public shareholding spread to Bumiputera investors. Politics of Malaysia The politics of Malaysia takes place in the framework of a federal constitutional monarchy, in which the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is head of state and the Prime Minister of Malaysia is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the federal government and the 13 state governments. Federal legislative power is vested in the federal parliament and the 13 state assemblies. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature, though the executive maintains a certain level of influence in the appointment of judges to the courts. The Constitution of Malaysia is codified and the system of government is based on the Westminster system. Malaysia has a multi-party system since the first direct election of the Federal Legislative Council of Malaya in 1955 on a first-past-the-post basis. The ruling party since then has always been the Alliance Party (Malay: Parti Perikatan) coalition and subsequently from 1973 onwards, its successor the Barisan Nasional (National Front) coalition. The Barisan Nasional coalition currently consists of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) and 11 other political parties. Although Malaysian politics has been relatively stable, critics allege that the government, ruling party, and administrationare intertwined with few countervailing forces. However, since 8 March 2008 General Election, medias coverage on countrys politics has been noticeably increased, making the politics more transparent to the citizens. The current Prime Minister is Dato Seri Mohd. Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak. He took office following the retirement of Dato Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (colloquially known as Pak Lah) on April, 2009. The national media are largely controlled by the government and by political parties in the Barisan Nasional/National Front ruling coalition and the opposition has little access to the media. The print media are controlled by the Government through the requirement of obtaining annual publication licences under the Printing and Presses Act. In 2007, a government agency the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission issued a directive to all private television and radio stations to refrain from broadcasting speeches made by opposition leaders. The official state ideology is the Rukunegara, which has been described as encouraging respect for a pluralistic, multireligious and multicultural society. However, political scientists have argued that the slogan of Bangsa, Agama, Negara (race, religion, nation) used by UMNO constitutes an unofficial ideology as well. Both ideologies have generally been used to reinforce a conservative political ideology, one that is Malay-centred Executive power is vested in the cabinet led by the prime minister; the Malaysian constitution stipulates that the prime minister must be a member of the lower house of parliament who, in the opinion of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, commands a majority in parliament. The cabinet is chosen from among members of both houses of Parliament and is responsible to that body. In recent years the opposition have been campaigning for free and fairer elections within Malaysia. On 10 November 2007, a mass rally, called the 2007 Bersih Rally, took place in the Dataran Merdeka Kuala Lumpur at 3pm to demand for clean and fair elections. The gathering was organised by BERSIH, a coalition comprising political parties and civil society groups(NGOs), and drew supporters from all over the country. Malaysias government has intensified efforts on March 6, 2008 to portray opposition figure Anwar Ibrahim as a political turncoat, days ahead of Malaysian general election, 2008 on March 8, 2008 that will determine whether he poses a legitimate threat to the ruling coalition. Campaigning wrapped up March 7, 2008 for general elections that could see gains for Malaysias opposition amid anger over race and religion among minority Chinese and Indians. Malaysians voted March 8, 2008 in parliamentary elections. Election results showed that the ruling government suffered a setback when it failed to obtain two-thirds majority in parliament, and five out of 12 state legislatures were won by the opposition parties. Reasons for the setback of the ruling party, which has retained power since the nation declared independence in 1957, are the rising inflation, crime and ethnic tensions. Law of Malaysia The law of Malaysia is mainly based on the common law legal system. This was a direct result of the colonisation of Malaya, Sarawak, and North Borneo by Britain from the early 19th century to 1960s. The supreme law of the land-the Constitution of Malaysia-sets out the legal framework and rights of Malaysian citizens. Federal laws enacted by the Parliament of Malaysia applies throughout the country. There are also state laws enacted by the State Legislative Assemblies which applies in the particular state. The constitution of Malaysia also provides for a unique dual justice system-the secular laws (criminal and civil) and sharia laws. Dual justice system The dual system of law is provided in Article 121(1A) of the Constitution of Malaysia. Article 3 also provides that Islamic law is a state law matter with the exception for the Federal Territories of Malaysia.[1] Islamic law refers to the sharia law, and in Malaysia it is known and spelled as syariah. The court is known as the Syariah Court. Looking at the Malaysian legal system as a whole, sharia law plays a relatively small role in defining the laws on the country. It only applies to Muslims. With regards to civil law, the Syariah courts has jurisdiction in personal law matters, for example marriage, inheritance, and apostasy. In some states there are sharia criminal laws, for example there is the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code Enactment 1993. Their jurisdiction is however limited to imposing fines for an amount not more than RM 3000, and imprisonment to not more than 6 months.[2] In August 2007, the then Chief Justice of Malaysia proposed to replace the current common law applicat ion in Malaysia with sharia law.[3] As an example of the dual system, sometimes a nightclub is raided, and Muslim patrons drinking alcohol are prosecuted in Shariah courts, while the others are allowed to drink. Also the nightclub operator is not charged with any offense, because he is not legally required to check if customers are Muslim before serving them. Complications Complications have arisen with regard to the dual justice system, for example with regard to freedom of religion. Article 11 of the Constitution provides that Every person has the right to profess and practice his religion. However in the case of Lina Joy-a Malay who converted to Christianity-the Federal Court of Malaysia refused to allow her to change her religion indicated in her identity card (MyKad). The judges held that they had no jurisdiction on the matter-that it was a matter of the Syariah Court, as indicated in Article 121(1A) of the Constitution. Technology in Malaysia Science Policy in Malaysia is regulated by the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation. Other ministries, such as the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Health also have science departments. Training in scientific areas was promoted during the 1970s and 1980s. From 1987-1997 research and development used 0.24% of GNP, and in 1998 high-tech exports made up 54% of Malaysias manufactured exports. In 2002 the Malaysian National Space Agency (Angkasa) was formed to deal with all of Malaysias activities in space, and to promote space education and space experiments. It is focused on developing the RazakSAT satellite, which is a remote sensing satellite with CCD cameras. In early 2006, Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor and three other finalists were selected for the Angkasawan spaceflight programme. This programme came about when Russia agreed to transport one Malaysian to the International Space Station as part of a multi-billion dollar purchase of 18 Russian Sukhoi Su-30MKM fighter jets by the Royal Malaysian Air Force. In an effort to create a self-reliant defensive ability and support national development Malaysia privatized some of its military facilities in the 1970s. This has created a defence industry, which in 1999 was brought under the Malaysia Defence Industry Council. The government continues to try and promote this sector and its competitiveness, actively marketing the defence industry. One way it does this is through the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition, one of the largest defence and civil showcases in the Asia Pacific, regularly attended by over 500 companies. The Malaysian Armed Forces relies heavily on local military technology and high-tech weapons systems designed and manufactured by foreign countries. Environment of Malaysia The environment of Malaysia refers to the biotas and geologies that constitute the natural environment of this Southeast Asian nation. Ecologically, Malaysia is a megadiverse nation with a biodiverse range of flora and fauna found in various ecoregions throughout the country. Tropical rainforests encompass from 59% to 70% of Malaysias total land area, of which 11.6% is pristine. Malaysia has the worlds fifth largest mangrove area, which totals over a half a million hectares (over 1.2 million acres). Human intervention poses a significant threat to the natural environment of this country. Agriculture, forestry and urbanisation contribute to the destruction of forests, mangroves and other thriving ecosystems in the country. Ecosystems and landscapes are dramatically altered by human development, including but not limited to the construction of roads and damming of rivers. Geographical phenomena, such as landslides and flooding in the Klang Valley, along with haze, stem from widespread deforestation. Subtle climate change occurs as a direct result of air pollution and the greenhouse effect, which in turn is caused by the emission of greenhouse gases. Low-lying areas near the coastline of Sabah and Sarawak are under threat from current sea level rise. The environment is the subject of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment at the federal level. The Department of Wildlife and National Parks is responsible for the preservation of flora and fauna in Malaysia. Several environmental organisations have been established to raise awareness regarding the environmental issues in Malaysia. Environmental issues There are a number of environmental issues faced by Malaysia, such as deforestation and pollution. According to a study by Centre for Marine and Coastal Studies in 2008, about 30% of Malaysian coastline is subject to varying degrees of erosion. According to the United Nations, Malaysias deforestation rate is the highest among tropical nations. The countrys annual deforestation rate increased 86% between 1999-2000 and 2000-2005. Malaysia lost an average of 140,200 hectares of its forests or 0.65% of its total forest area every year since 2000, whereas in the 1990s, the country lost an average of 78,500 hectares or 0.35 percent of its forests annually. Widespread urbanisation, agricultural fires and forest conversion for oil palm plantations and other forms of agriculture are the main causes of Malaysias high deforestation rate. Logging is responsible for forest degradation in the country, and local timber companies have been accused by environmental organisations of failing to practice sustainable forest management. Mining in peninsular Malaysia has left a mark on the environment. Deforestation, pollution of rivers, and siltation have resulted in losses of agriculture, and road projects have opened new areas to colonisation. Air pollution from industrial and vehicular emissions is a major issue in the urban areas of Malaysia. Malaysia is ranked 42nd in the world in terms of vehicle ownership per capita, with 273 Malaysians having vehicles out of every 1000. Public transportation has been introduced in the form of bus networks and railway systems as mitigation, but utilisation rates are low. Water pollution occurs due to the discharge of untreated sewage; the west coast of the Peninsular Malaysia is the most heavily populated area. 40% of the rivers in Malaysia are heavily polluted. The country has 580 cubic km of water, of which 76% is used for farming and 13% is used for industrial activity. Cities in Malaysia produce an average of 1.5 million tons of solid waste per year. In 2000, Malaysia was ranked fourth in the world in terms of per capita greenhouse gas emissions after taking into account land use change with 37.2 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per capita. Periodic fires, which usually coincide with the events of el Nià ±o, burn thousands of hectares of forests across Malaysia, especially in Malaysian Borneo. The haze originating from these fires and the fires in Kalimantan, Indonesia typically have adverse health effects on the populace, besides causing air pollution. In particular, the 1997 Southeast Asian haze, the 2005 Malaysian haze and the 2006 Southeast Asian haze were caused by slash and burn activities in neighbouring Indonesia. Society of Malaysia Malaysia is a multi-cultural society. The main ethnic groups are the native Malays as well as large populations of Chinese, and Indians. When visiting the country it is clear that the ethnicities retain their religions, customs and way of life. The most important festivals of each group are public holidays. Although growing up, children are educated in the same schools and will eventually work in the same offices, few marry outside their own ethnicity. Families tend to socialise within their own ethnic group all part of retaining their individual traditions and lifestyles. Despite the ethnic differences there are commonalities culturally speaking. Social Stratification Classes and Castes- Class position in Malaysia depends on a combination of political connections, specialized skills, ability in English, and family money. The Malaysian elite, trained in overseas universities, is highly cosmopolitan and continues to grow in dominance as Malaysias middle class expands. Even with the substantial stratification of society by ethnicity, similar class experiences in business and lifestyle are bridging old barriers. Symbols of Social Stratification- In Malaysias market economy, consumption provides the primary symbols of stratification. Newly wealthy Malaysians learn how to consume by following the lead of the Malay royalty and the prosperous business families of Chinese descent. A mobile phone, gold jewelry, and fashionable clothing all indicate ones high rank in the Malaysian social order. Given the striking mobility of Malaysian society, ones vehicle marks class position even more than home ownership. Most Malaysians can distinguish the difference between makes of cars, and access to at least a motor scooter is a requirement for participation in contemporary Malaysian social life. Kuala Lumpur has more motor vehicles than people. Skin color, often indicative of less or more time working in the hot tropical sun, further marks class position. Distinct class differences also appear in speech. Knowledge of English is vital to elevated class status, and a persons fluency in that language indexes t heir social background. Social Welfare and Change Programs The Malaysian government has promoted rapid social change to integrate a national society from its ethnic divisions. Its grandest program was originally called the New Economic Policy (NEP), implemented between 1971 and 1990 and continued in modified form as the National Development Policy (NDP). Since poverty eradication was an aim of the NEP a considerable amount of energy has gone to social welfare efforts. The consequences of these programs disseminate across the social landscape: home mortgages feature two rates, a lower one for Malays and a higher one for others; university admissions promote Malay enrolment; mundane government functions such as allocating hawker licenses have an ethnic component. But the government has also tried to ethnically integrate Malaysias wealthy class; therefore many NEP-inspired ethnic preferences have allowed prosperous Malays to accrue even greater wealth. The dream of creating an affluent Malaysia continues in the governments 1991 plan of Vision 2 020, which projects that the country will be fully developed by the year 2020. This new vision places faith in high technology, including the creation of a Multi-Media Super Corridor outside of Kuala Lumpur, as the means for Malaysia to join the ranks of wealthy industrialized countries, and to develop a more unified society. Porters Diamond of Competitiveness Factor conditions: These are the economists traditional factors of production: land, labor, capital, and infrastructure. Demand conditions: The characteristics of the domestic market, including the size, demand, value, and sophistication. Related supporting industries: The presence of suppliers and supporting industries that are equally competitive and of high quality. Firm strategy, structure, and rivalry: The regulatory and other governmental environment in which companies are created, organized, and managed, including the nature of the domestic competition. Stages in Economic Development The relative importance of the four factors depends on the stage of economic development of the industry or country. National economies, like industries, go through stages in their development. The first stage is factor-driven, with the economy based essentially on the traditional factors of production: natural resources, commodities, and availability of cheap power and labor. This was Malaysia of the 1960s and 70s, its primary competitive advantage being its cheap resources (rubber and tin), land and labor, and favorable tax treatment. These advantages were not only limiting but also transient. When commodity prices dropped, Malaysia lost its competitive advantage. When China entered the game with her endless supply of even cheaper labor and land, Malaysia could hardly compete. During this phase, the basic source of competitive advantage is obviously the factor conditions of the diamond. The next stage is investment driven where the competitive advantage is governed by the willingness of firms and nations to invest in modern factories, upgrade the skills of their workers, and adopt efficient technology. Factor conditions are still important, but in addition, the fourth-firms strategy, structure and rivalry-becomes the major determinant. This is where Malaysia is currently. The third stage is innovation driven where all four points of the diamond are in full play. This is where Malaysia aspires to be. With all four points in equal play, the relative role of factor-driven variables like cheap labor and commodities becomes relatively less important.