Alcohol and Drinking - Alcoholism as a Disease Essay -- Exploratory Es

Alcoholism as a Disease   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Unfortunately, alcohol brings on the risk of many diseases. "Recent evidence indicates that a wide variety of diseased conditions are brought about by a substance that coats the body's red cells, causing them to adhere to one another in clumps. These clumps, sometimes called 'sludge,' can be created by the ingestion of alcohol"(Burgess,p.130). Alcohol has a disastrous affect on all of the body's organs, the main one being the brain. "At death, the brain of the dependent drinker or alcoholic invariably will reveal enormous numbers of small areas of atrophy in which brain cells have been destroyed"(Burgess,p.131). The brain begins to shrink when under the influence of alcohol. This means that the space that a brain cell took up is now gone because the cell has been destroyed. "In extreme cases most of what is left [of the brain] may be nothing but connective and structural tissue. The neurons themselves, the cells that do the work of the brain, have been destroyed"(Bur gess,p.132). If drinkers, casual or heavy, knew more about alcohol and the effects this drug has on the brain, the number of drinkers would probably drop to a very low amount of people. Unfortunately, this type of material is not made available to many people unless people got suddenly interested to look up the effects alcohol has on the body. There is another type of disease people do not know about called the D.T.'s. This disease is that of body convulsions. This disease is commonly mistaken as being epilepsy, but it is caused by alcohol. It is caused by people trying to quit drinking. The body is suddenly taken off a sedative and is having withdrawals. The withdrawals are convulsions which also kills brain cells. "Depende... ...t also all of the innocent people that are involved. With so many scary things that can happen to the body, why enhance death when a person ca try to prevent it?    Works Cited: Burgess, Louise Bailey. "Alcohol and your health" 1973. Denzin, Norman K. The Recovering Alcoholic. New York: Sage Publications, 1987.    Works Consutled: Berger, Gilda.   Alcoholism and the family.  Ã‚   New York:   Franking Watts, 1993. Graeber, Laurel.   Are you Dying for a Drink?:   Teenagers and Alcohol Abuse.   Ã‚  Ã‚   NewYork: Julian Messner, 1992. Kowalski, Kathiann.   "The Dangers of Alcohol."   Current Health   2 February 1998: 6-7. CD-ROM. Marlatt, Alan G.   "Alcoholism: Disease or Addiction?"   Professional Counselor October 1996: 104. Schulte, Brigid.   "How to Deal with a Family Alcoholic." Knight-Ridder Newspaper 23 December 1997.   CD-ROM.   

Psychological Influences of Midlife Transition in Men Essay

Understanding human development has, for quite a time, concentrated on childhood and adolescence and it took some time for researchers to shift considerably on exploring adulthood. This does not indicate however that there is a dearth of data about specific facets of the adult life (e. g. marriage, life expectancy, occupation, retirement, etc. ). Still, one may consider that there is a very restricted understanding of the basic principles of adult development. Consider for example one significant phase in the adult life cycle, specifically that which has been acknowledged as the â€Å"midlife† crisis. Isn’t it a fact that individuals, in one point of their lives, regardless of the phase they are in, experience critical moments? Perhaps we should consider the â€Å"midlife† as a transition or a common phase in an individual’s life as Dr. Fred Horowitz, an executive coach who has worked with hundreds of business owners, executives and professionals assisting them in the transition process sees this phenomenon. One may assert nonetheless that this stage is one of the most critical stages in an individual’s life cycle, next to adolescence, since individuals experiencing crisis during the midlife transition may end up re-living the extreme options to the crisis a particular individual is experiencing at that particular time. Passage to this phase of the life cycle may well be considered of equal importance as the understanding of separation anxiety of a two-year old or the questions on identity and self-expression commonly experienced by the adolescent. The midlife transition is developmental and inherently built into the structure of the personality and the Self. It is Psychological Influences 3 at this phase that the deepest inner strivings of the soul press for expression, even if that expression threatens a well-structured world and sense of identity. As much as undergoing the â€Å"midlife† transition† is inevitable, so is the recognition that in spite of the confusing and serious psychological influences that accompany this phase in the life cycle, an understanding leading to acceptance of these facts, can serve as a threshold for growth and change. In this connection, I have found two articles that provide insights on what could be considered debilitating psychological effects of man’s passage to this particular phase in the life cycle: 1) Les Brown, H. (November 09, 2008). â€Å"Is the Man in the Mirror a Fraud,† and 2) an article titled, â€Å"Crisis in Middle Adulthood: Age 45- 65. † Both articles describe this transitional phase, where the man who could not overcome the pressures accompanying the transition, puts on a â€Å"psychological defense mechanism. † L. Brown refers to such response as projection. On the other hand, â€Å"Crisis in Midlife Adulthood,† points to â€Å"stagnation† or â€Å"self-absorption† as a direct psychological response of an individual undergoing this transition. Les Brown, while positioning his article on a latest book titled, â€Å"Irritable Male Syndrome,† written by Dr. Jed Diamond, centers on the family as he considers it as the main context in which this male psychological response to midlife transition is most discernible. He rationalizes that in this context where a man experiences the most intimate relationships is where he is also most vulnerable— â€Å"When a guy’s inner world starts to come unglued, the first to notice it are those who love him. † As a result, the man ‘projects’ a personality that is entirely different to what he really is in real life as the Psychological Influences 4 ‘midlife male’ sees all around him in his most intimate surroundings reflections of his own (supposed) shortcomings. † The process continues: 1) the male perceives a reality (which is assumed to have been distorted by his present psychological state) and assumes that such circumstance poses a threat to his personality; 2) as he moves from the source of the reflection he carries and projects a self-image (presumably to defend himself of being unmasked of his real emotional state); 3) his significant others perceive the obvious change however are uncertain of what is really going on with the â€Å"midlife male. † They try to act out as what is the â€Å"midlife male† tries to picture to them as what should be their response to his behavior. The â€Å"midlife male† still sees such behavior in a different perspective. The seemingly unending and continuous empowering of â€Å"cultural bias, faulty assumptions, and dysfunctional belief,† results to the â€Å"midlife males† feeling of â€Å"shame. † Les Brown ends with a reminder to the â€Å"midlife males† who are in constant struggle as they try to understand the transition phase. He provided an analogy of the â€Å"reflection process† to the literal â€Å"mirroring† act— what the person is seeing is â€Å"exactly the person [his] going to need to confront, and, in spite of [his] fears, he’s not a fraud†¦[rather] he is the person [you’d] need to know for the first time. † He ends by pointing out the imperative nature of this life cycle that one’s reaction to the process may undeniably shape what the person will become afterwards. Though the presentation of the writer’s ideas relative to â€Å"midlife transition† is obviously clear and lucid, however, his earlier attribution to a recent writing on the subject did not make him as credible as the author he earlier referred to. It sounded much Psychological Influences 5 more of marketing strategy than a call for credibility. It would have been better had he presented his ideas first then anchored them on not just one reference, which would made him sound more authoritative on the subject –matter. The second article, alternatively presents a general understanding on middle adulthood, specifically the â€Å"crises† that both genders experienced during the midlife transition. A brief characterization of the â€Å"crises† experienced by the two sexes were delineated in the article. At the end, however, the writer differentiated two models that apparently â€Å"explain such events as the midlife transition and the midlife crisis. † Such transition seems illogical and unnecessary and made the presentation of the articles idea unclear. I would consider the second article rather loose since it presents a number of although related thoughts do not present a holistic clarification of what these separately identifiable elements are. A little explanation on different aspects in the subject (middle adulthood) made his presentation unacceptable. Ideas were presented from the specific to the general, but the relatedness as well as the transition from one of the sub-topics to another could not be considered conclusive of foregoing statements. Also the fact that there was no reference to the author or other authority on the subject (except for Erickson, though reference to authority was not rationally done) made the presentation less acceptable. In conclusion, both articles although to some extent served their purpose as being content articles could not be considered successful in providing new insights in the subject matter. Finally, in a word of hyper-mediation, which is the primary facet of the Psychological Influences 6 Web and the internet, writers as those specified here, should have maximized what their medium could offer (though this is not part of the review, I still consider this part and parcel of that which contributes to the efficiency of the distribution of specific content to its intended audience). As such hyperlinks may have been considered in presenting the articles they have written. References: Les Brown, H. (November 09, 2008). â€Å"Is the Man in the Mirror a Fraud? † Retrieved April 06, 2009 from Midlife Mastery Website: http://www. midlifemaster. net/2008/11/for-the-past-few-days-ive-been-reading-dr- jed-diamonds-newest-book-the-irritable-male-syndrome-with-rapt-attention-in- adv. html CliffsNotes. com. Crisis in Middle Adulthood: Age 45–65. Retrieved April 06, 2009 from Cliffnotes Website: http://www. cliffsnotes. com/WileyCDA/CliffsReviewTopic/topicArticleId- 26831,articleId-26814. html

Panera Bread Company Essay

Executive Summary This report focuses on what Panera Bread Company (PBC) needs to do in order to be profitable, provide healthy and quality foods to consumers and above all retain its leadership potentials in the restaurant and fast food business. The report also looks at what organization’s vision and mission statement means. It touches strategic objectives by dealing with strategy formulation, analysis and implementation. Corporate governance has to be used to reposition the operations of PBC, analysis of both the micro and macro environmental points of view of the organization – where demographic, socio-cultural, political/legal, technological and global considerations of the organization in question. It also dwells on strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats including studying trend analysis of the organization. Porter’s five forces model, concept of strategy groupings, resource based view, triple bottom line reporting, value chain analysis and financial analysis would have to be examined critically so as to make PBC have competitive advantage over its rivals. Based on the above concepts in this report, it is hereby recommended that PBC has to:†¢open new markets and establish branches in other countries by targeting major cities and towns using same standards, quality, menu, site selection and construction. †¢develop more healthy and quality foods, unique brands, always be ahead of competitors and try to use trend analysis to know the lifestyles of people, tastes, maintain its corporate social responsibility with stakeholders, look at marketing mix, develop its technological base and have a friendly atmosphere at their various cafes including motivating employeesIf these recommendations are implemented, it is believed that PBC will occupy more than 30% of the market share within the next few years. 1.Introduction1.1The aims of the report†¢how PBC can reposition its leadership edge by ensuring the management concepts remains special, opening up franchises, encourage transparencies in management practices and be  proactive in terms of change and innovations. †¢how PBC can sustain its rising profit and growth levels. 1.2Objective of the report†¢how PBC can ensure consistency in their vision, mission and strategic objectives by using major processes like strategy analysis, strategy formulation, implementation and corporate governance†¢Analyzing the micro and micro environments of PBC †¢Using Porter’s five forces model and concept of strategy groupings to make PBC have competitive advantage over their competitors. †¢Using resource base view and value-chain analysis to identify possible opportunities and threats for PBC. 2.Background of the CompanyPBC is a market leader in the restaurant industry business. Started business in 1981 with three bakery cafes and by 1997, their bakery cafes were 160 with branches in five countries and cafes in domestic airports and hotels. PBC’s concept is to sell only fresh dough and no preservatives. Their mission is ‘a loaf of bread in every arm’ with 18 different products. It intends to establish Wi-Fi access in 2003, and has many awards in its kitty. They have a good distribution network, franchise operations, management information system and supply chain management and highly professionalized staff. The 2004 first quarter performance showed an increase of 26% over same period in 2003 with a highly priced shares. 3.Case Study AnalysisStrategies are set of actions that firms use to achieve its goal. While strategic management focuses where an organization is at present and where it intends to be in the future. The task of analyzing a firm’s internal and external environment and selecting an appropriate strategy is known as strategy formulation. Strategy implementation involves  putting appropriate controls and organization mechanisms to keep the company’s chosen strategy into action. Vision statement is the long run aspirations of the organization while mission statement means what is expected of the organization by its stakeholders. This report focuses on micro-macro environment of PBC in order to retain their leadership role, increase market share and profitability. Resource Based View, Porters five forces model, strategic groupings, value chain, SWOT and financial analysis including triple bottom line reporting, and how these concepts would help the PBC to be a market leader would be analysed. 3.1Macro EnvironmentMacro economic factors are political, socio-cultural, environmental, economic, technological and legal. 3.1.1Political considerationPBC has to maintain its corporate governance issue by making sure that taxes are paid promptly and study government policies as it affects the business. At the moment political consideration is not really a big issue with PBC but if it intends to expand its operations, government polices of countries it wants to do business would have to be examined to see if it is business friendly or not. 3.1.2Demographic forcesAreas that are less profitable by the organizations should be closed down and move to areas that increases profitability (Hill et al 2004). Presently there is significant growth for young people and children who rarely cook at home and they patronize these fast casual restaurants. These youths are concerned about their health by eating healthy and quality foods which PBC should target for high profitability. 3.1.3Socio-cultural factorsIncreases in the population of women in workplaces are massive and higher levels of health consciousness have created a boom to many industries (Campbell et al 2006). PBC should study population demographics, income distribution and lifestyles changes within their areas of operation to their advantage. 3.1.4EnvironmentalOperating environments have to be friendly. This should  done in such a way that corporate social responsibility to communities in terms of pollution, waste disposal and environmental protection laws are adhered to (Johnson et al 2005). At the moment it runs ‘Operation Dough Nation’ where all monies received and all unsold inventories goes back to the community it operates. 3.1.5Economic factorsAlmost all the industries are prone to general economic conditions. High interest and exchange rates, and average disposal income can affect organizations to larger extent (Campbell et al 2006). At the moment business is booming for PBC, therefore it has to consider business cycles, product trends, interest rates, inflation and also disposable income of consumers in order to have a competitive edge. 3.1.6TechnologicalThis is now a global phenomenon in virtually every business. For a company to remain competitive it has to enhance its technological base to compete with rivals (Campbell et al 2006). PBC is expanding its technological base by introducing point of sale machines and credit cards network at each cafà ©. This helps in planning for marketing information, product mix, quicker accounting information and other variance analysis. 3.1.7LegalJohnson et al (2005) pointed out that organizations should be cautious of health and product safeties, employment laws and legislations. Taken into account its franchise operations with other organizations, it has to make sure that organizations’ it enters into agreements comply with its standards, quality, menu, site selection and construction of cafes. The training program organized by the organization prior to franchisee starting business is applauded. 3.1.8GlobalChanges in the environment such as political and economic have created a business boom to some countries, while some have witnessed economic recession as a result of this. Government policies and changing cultural patterns by consumers have had a positive impact in some industries while some are unhappy with these changes (Hill et al 2004). PBC should study these changes and know those ones that affect their business  especially intra-country trades where they have to convert currencies of their branch companies overseas. 3.2SWOT AnalysisThis shows the internal strengths and weaknesses of an organization from the customers’ point of view as they relate to external opportunities and threats (Hannagan 2002). 3.2.1StrengthStrengths of organizations are the committed leadership zeal of managers, experience in the industry, clear and articulate line with external stakeholders, strong product design and commitment to consumers in the area of innovation (Lee et al 1999). The strengths or core competencies PBC has at the moment over its competitors include the product, distribution and franchising, operations, marketing mix, general managerial ability and low personnel turnover. 3.2.2WeaknessesThese can be in the form of no clear management styles, poor image, research and development issue, competitive disadvantage, poor track record, insider problems, financing problems and possible training problems by managers and supervisors (Dess et al 2007). PBC has to invest in research and development, improve its image with stakeholders and improve on its marketing strategies. 3.2.3OpportunitiesThe growing demand for healthy and quality foods is an opportunity that PBC has at the moment over its competitors and it has to be sustained to make them have continuous dominant role in this industry (Stead et al 2004). Managers of PBC should analyse competitive forces in the restaurant sector in order to identify the various opportunities in terms of product enhancement and new products, create new markets and prediction of trends. 3.2.4Threats:What makes an organization to be strong is to identify possible threats within its operational base. The threats could be in the form of government policies, research, competitive pressures, new entrants, changing customers tastes, adverse demographic changes, recession, growing bargaining power of suppliers and customers (Dess et al 2007). PBC has to lay  particular emphasis on new entrants, watch industry indicators, government adverse policies and changes in customers needs and tastes. 3.3Resource based viewThis considers the opportunities available to a company either to add value to its products and services or look at ways of reducing costs (Dess et al 2007). It may be possible to add value to the value chain of an organization in terms of procurement of raw materials and production processes. The present system that PBC is using where it has signed agreement with Dawn Food Products and also having economic of scale in terms of supplies makes the pricing of their product very competitive. 3.4Porter’s five force industry competitionPorter’s five force industry competition include the threat of new entrants, the bargaining power of suppliers, the degree of rivalry among competitors in the same industry, the bargaining power of buyers and the threats of substitutes products. Porter argues that the stronger these forces are within an industrial setting the more limited companies raise prices and earn greater profits (Campbell 2006). As far as this is concerned a strong competitive force can be regarded as a threat because it would drastically reduce the profit of an organization (Williamson 2004). 3.4.1The threat of substitute productFirms within the same industrial setting are competing amongst themselves. Substitutes limits potential returns on an industry by placing a ceiling on the prices companies charge. This should be a lot of concern for PBC because there are lots of organizations offering same product in the market. 3.4.2The threat of new entrantsWhen new entrants enter the industry they tend to take extra effort in order to take full control of the industry. The extent to which new entrants can enter an industry exerts a significant influence on the degree to which companies may act to earn above average in terms of bottom line (Johnson et al 2005). At the moment PBC enjoys some element of economies of scale, brand recognition, access to distribution channels and experience in carrying out operational activities leading to lower cost of production. But it is good for new entrants to enter the  market because this brings about competition in the industry. 3.4.3The power of buyersBuyers are seen as competitive threats when they are in a position to demand lower prices or better service . Conversely when buyers are weak, a company can raise its prices and declare higher profits (Johnson and Scholes 2002). This has to be taken into account by PBC following volume of restaurants around. PBC should recalculate its costs since it intends to increase prices by 2% to see the justification prior to embarking on it. 3.4.4The power of suppliersSuppliers can be viewed as threats when they are able to force up the price for raw materials or reduce quality of materials. However, if suppliers are weak, companies can force down their prices and demand higher raw material quality. PBC believes it can have cost savings from switching to Dawn. 3.4.5Rivalry among established companiesIf rivalry is weak this will result to increase in prices of products at the detriment of consumers and ultimately increase profits and vise versa (Johnson 2005). PBC should regularly study competitors’ moves. 3.5.Value Chain Analysis (VCA)VCA helps managers to understand how effectively and efficiently the activities of their organizations are structured and coordinated. In other words, it seeks to provide an understanding of how much value an organization’s activities add to its products and services compared to the costs of the services used in their production. This helps management to identify core activities, know if there is breakdown or blockages to their detriment (Tsai et al 2006). The distribution network of PBC is good since it uses an independent contractor that delivers products to the bakery cafes and thus making the organization to concentrate in the retail operations. Their franchise operations should be sustained. 3.6Strategic groupsPotter (1980) defined strategic (SG) groups as group of firms in the same line of business having identical strategy following  through the strategic direction. Carroll et al (1992) as cited in Flavian and Polo (1999) organizations within the same SGs often compete for market share. PBC has a lot of organizations within the same SGs, and therefore should use this to their advantage by understudying their competitors strengths and weaknesses. 3.7Tripple bottom lineThis is the combination of social, environmental and financial reporting for an organization to its stakeholders (Dess et al 2006). PBC does not show its report in this format, although this is optional for organizations but to enable stakeholders understand PBC’s business better they should incorporate this into their report like the Operation Dough Nation and the unsold inventory proceeds. 4Recommendation†¢Encourage research for new products and branding. †¢Explore the possibility of new branches across borders. †¢Improve marketing drive to increase sales since its closing inventory in 2003 was $8066 million dollars as against $5191 million dollars in 2002. †¢Identify threats and weaknesses through strategic groupings†¢Pursue recovery of debts from debtors which shows $9646 million in 2003. Reduce its liabilities which gave $35,552 million dollars. †¢Plan for succession incase of possible changes in leadership hierarchy. 5.ConclusionIn conclusion, PBC should regularly scan the micro and macro environments for signals of environmental changes or general trends that are occurring. On observing a trend that may lead to a market changes, the company needs to monitor the change so it has a better understanding of the exact nature of the change and whether it applies to the organization. If the monitoring mechanism suggests the change is relevant, then the company needs to forecast how the change will affect its operations in future. It is then necessary to assess the forecast implications to determine whether the market change will require a change in the company’s strategy. Benchmarking,  reengineering and total quality management should not be left out. . References Dess, GG, Lumpkin, GT, Eisner, AB 2007, ‘Strategic management’ , 3rd edn, McGraw-Hill, New York. Campbell, D, Stonehouse, G, Houston, B 2006, ‘Business strategy’, 2nd edn, Elsevier Butterworth-Heeinemann, Oxford. Stead, EW, Stead, GJ, Starik, M 2004 ‘Sustainable strategic management’, M.E. SharpeInc., New York. Tsai, YC, Fan, CL, Liou, CN, Wu, CL 2006 ‘The application of parts control and standardization by exploration of the value chain in new product development and innovation’, The Business Review, vol. 6, no. 2, pp 213 (online Emerald). Hanaagan, T 2002 ‘Mastering strategic management’, Palgrave, New York. Hill, CWL, Jones, GR, Galvin, P 2004, ‘Strategic management: an integrated approach’, 5th edn., John Wiley, Milton. Johnson, G, Schooles, K, Whittington, R 2005, ‘Exploring corporate strategy’, 7th edn, Prentice Hall, Harlow. Williamson, D, Jenkin, W, Cooke, P, Moreton, KM 2004, ‘Strategic management and business analysis’, Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, Burlington. Johnson, G, Scholes, K 2002, ‘Exploring corporate strategy’, 6th edn., Prentice Hall, Harlow. Porter, ME 1980, ‘Competitive strategy’, The Free Press, New York

Alien

The airport seemed like a morgue in the Dark Ages through my toddler eyes. Everyone looked ill with excess travel, sick from impatience. Menacing towers, which looked to be in fact, men, glared at me as if I were someone to suspect. As if I didn’t belong. The expansive line of Immigrations painfully edged forward, but my mind scampered away to curiosity. What was India like? Was I going to enjoy it? What was I going to do there? We finally reached the stern officer in sky blue, equipped with a stately handlebar moustache. He and my dad exchanged sympathetic glances and polite greetings, as if they were old friends, seeing each other for the first time in years. He did the same for my mother and sister, but stopped at me. â€Å"Born in the USA? What is this boy doing in an airport in India?† Everyone laughed, but I didn’t. Regardless of what he meant, it hurt my toddler mind deeply. For the first time in my life, I felt different. I felt guilty of my presence, guilty to be who I was. As I walked into the streets of India, the kids stared at me for quite some time, and chattered accusingly amongst themselves. I did not dress like them. I did not act like them. I did not talk like them. I felt like the aliens I had read about so avidly from the comics back home. I tried fervently to make myself the epitome of a native Indian boy, but my relatives constantly hindered my progress. Cricket is like baseball. Flats are apartments. Auto-rickshaws are like taxies. I constantly reminded myself these things, but no matter how hard I tried, these concepts would not stick. Language became a ruthless and unforgiving adversary. My parents had prepped me well prior to the trip, yet still I was hit with unfamiliar phrases. While my accent was consistent, constructing the words proved to be a grueling task. I realized any slight mistake could question the quality of my parents’ teaching, and slowly I stopped talking. I was limited to a stubborn shake of the head for no, and an eager nod for yes. I was always the quiet one, the one who said very little, but they didn’t know why. I wouldn’t let them know, for my alien nature would be exposed. Years come and go with new perspectives. The toddler state of mind was black and white, frank and simplistic. I was so driven by stubborn anger and frustration that I never really tried or wanted to search for the answers I needed. Questions of doubt and difference gradually became answered by my friends, schoolmates, and teachers. We all realized our experiences were not so seclusive, and countless stories met laughs of recognition and understanding. Time allowed for me to accumulate the points that define who I am, whether it is by a distressing day at Immigrations, or the inability to master a language. By birth and by residency, I am an American. But, by the principals I abide to and the traditions I willfully obey, I am an Indian. I don’t feel different anymore. Rather, I feel honored to have the opportunity to share and experience two cultures simultaneously. The polarity of the two nations sometimes proves to be troublesome, but also adds a contrast that intrigues me t o the point of enlightenment. It now seems amusing to imagine a confused little boy, paranoid of his imminent transformation into an unknown being. Paranoid of becoming an unfamiliar creature in unfamiliar territory; not able to identify with his environment. I was once an alien.

Module Four Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Module Four Assignment - Essay Example The high profile individuals with information falsification charges included a former director of â€Å"Massachusetts Institute of Technology†, head coach at â€Å"Notre Dame† football team and â€Å"CEO of RadioShack†. These mentioned individuals were fired due to resume forgery. According to a survey conducted by â€Å"ADP Screening and Selection Services† in 2001, it was found that more than 44% of the applicants furnish fake information in their respective resumes (DeKay & DeKay, 2008). Falsification of employment application relates to fraud resume information which is usually found to be furnished by the applicants during interview and candidates found guilty of such activities are usually barred from proceeding further (Texas Workforce Commission Values, 2011). It has been deciphered from the case that Laura serves as a transcriptionist in a company where Jeremy acts as a director of ‘Health Information System (HIM)’ department. Laura was known to acquire this position by providing incorrect information that she held an associate’s degree. But after a definite period of time Jeremy discovered the reality from one of Laura’s colleagues that she was yet to receive the degree after completing two classes. In such a circumstance, Jeremy should terminate Laura from her designation as soon as possible. However, if Laura is found to hold an effective performance record then it would be quite difficult for Jeremy to undertake such an action. In this situation, Jeremy needs to consider the fact that whether his decision of firing Laura would affect the profit of the company or not as a company’s profit is believed to depend on employees’ performance (McCuen Sayles & Schnering, 2007). According to the US employment act, this kind of fraudulent information is considered to be illegal by the companies. Jeremy can terminate Laura for a specified time period till

High Turnover concerns Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

High Turnover concerns - Essay Example ve due to the fact that the customers are not willing to pay more money to for the guards and the company has to make a profit from each of them if it was to stay in business. High staff turnover is also another issue that may need to be addressed. Like most other guard companies, Omega Security Services is faced with high rates of staff turnover and this makes it more difficult for the firm to be able to provide good services. There are certain factors that have led to the high rate of staff turnover in Omega Security Services. To begin with is the problem of the fact that the jobs are low-paying and there are better paying jobs in the government is an issue. Most of the officers are likely to be looking for better pay elsewhere in the government or even in other private security firms. With regard to Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital, more issues then come up such as the issue of the highs risk environment in that the guards have to work in a hospital where the issue of likely infection is a challenge. Insufficient training is also another issue that has increased high rates of staff turnover. There is also the problem of miscommunication between the staff (guards) and the management and this means that the Gerard’s dint feel that their issues are being taken care of. In a nutshell, overall job dissatisfaction is major cause of the high rates of staff turnover. As Lyma (1974) points out, the first short term cost that is imposed on the firm due to high rate of staff turnover is the selection and recruitment cost. Recruiting even for such low level jobs is always a hard task and it costs the firm not only money but also time (Jeanne & Pau, 1987). Every time there is an officer who needs to be replaced, this means that the firm will incur cost and this is not acceptable. There is also the issue of training cost increasing every time there is a new officer who needs to be trained. Although these officers who are recruited are already trained to be security

According to the British charity Action Aid, cheap fashion comes at a Essay

According to the British charity Action Aid, cheap fashion comes at a human price (BBC news 20th July 2010). Critically discuss - Essay Example Therefore the basic theory of trade is supported by the fact that it makes both the participating nations better off in terms of their economic positions. Trade is further facilitated with reduction in protectionism or import tariffs. The advantageous position is usually assessed in terms of cost. This can further lead to the belief that: â€Å"When trading partners use more of their time and resources producing things they do best, they are able to produce a larger joint output, which provides the source for mutual gain† (Carbaugh, 2008, p.14). Now looking at the comparative advantage theory of trade one can study the labor market where Krugman observes that the developing nations have been able to compete with the developed ones on the basis of their ability to supply cheap labor. Therefore export-oriented growth is of great help to these people. The industries like textiles and garments firms have capitalized on the unskilled labor force of the developing nations and it mig ht not be very just to oppose the idea of providing cheap fashion at human cost unless a suitable alternative can be provided to industrialization on the basis of low wages. While it cannot be denied that while people crave for the designer sport shoes, they might not realize that the products are manufactured at the cost of hard labor efforts of women and children compelled to work in malnourished conditions and almost â€Å"slave wages†.... Hence the remark of the British charity Action Aid, that is, â€Å"cheap fashion comes at a human price† might be analyzed in the light of trade in industrial goods with a specific focus on fashion and textiles. Trade is also supposed to keep the domestic producers busy in innovations and increasing efficiency of their production processes. It helps in curtailing monopolies and decreasing the prices of goods like electronics, clothes and household appliances. However other sectors like sport tickets, car repair and other service segments which are unaffected by globalization show rise in prices. Thus the industrial goods sector mostly witness a control of inflationary pressures. Now if one looks at the technology behind the production process there always exists an asymmetry of information across the nations such that one group shall have technological advantage over the industrial sectors than the other group. The dependency theory proposed by Baran also divides the world int o center and periphery where the center is represented by the developed nations with the technological advantage and the periphery is concentrated by developing countries that mainly produce raw materials for the center and lack of the technological know-how is the essential factor behind their setback. A line of inequity also marked the multilateral trading framework. The GATT ignored two very significant sectors – textiles and agricultural and no stabilization was rendered for commodity prices which declines against the prices of industrial goods (WTO, 1999). The steady decline in commodity prices deteriorated their conditions further and hence led to worsening of economic conditions of the