Global Systems Theory Essay

Global systems theory is perhaps one of the many theories related to capitalism and transnational corporations. This paper attempts to look into global systems theory in the context of capitalism by making use of three articles as part of the literature for the research. By outlining the major contentions for each of these three articles, this paper will further juxtapose these main points with global systems theory and arrive at a more developed and comprehensive understanding of the theory as a whole. Brief Literature Review In Robert Granfield’s article â€Å"Making It by Faking It: Working Class Students in an Elite Academic Environment†, he indicates how working class law students experience inequalities among upper class students which influences the class of law students. By collecting data through observation, personal interviews, small group interview and survey from a national law school in the eastern part of the United States, Granfield was able to expose the essential differences between law students in terms of class background. Through class background, Granfield also identifies the apparent discrimination between working class students and upper class students at school whenever working class students feel that they are being treated as ‘cultural outsiders’. In Hays’ article â€Å"The Ideology of Intensive Mothering: A Cultural Analysis of the Bestselling Gurus of Appropriate Childbearing†, he presents the key components of the ideology of intensive mothering, specifically: children are outside the market value, are priceless and are not economic assets; good childrearing requires intensive commitment on the part of the caregiver, and; childcare is the primary responsibility of the individual mother. The central focus of Hays’ article focuses on childcare especially on the role of mothers towards their children. The author further gives the emphasis that children are ‘sacred’ in a sociological sense because of the fact that childrearing and its effects on children reaffirm the belief in the importance of children. It creates a protected space of security, trust and close human connection inasmuch as it illustrates the generous and nurturing characteristic of individuals rather than being individualistic and always inclined for competition. In Webb’s newspaper article â€Å"A Crowded Family Enters the Space Age† featured in the New York Times, the author explores the case of Eric Alan’s family through the functionalist perspective. From a functionalist perspective, social institutions such as families and governments are analyzed and explained as collective means to satisfy specific or individual biological requisites. These social institutions, along with the rest, are composed of interconnected roles or norms such as the interconnected roles within the family (e. g. father, mother, etc. ). In the case of the family of Eric Alan, the worth of his family proves the idea that the family as a social institution has interconnected roles with the larger society. In particular, having to redesign his family’s home into something more ‘breathable’ exemplifies the presumption that the individual roles in the family, such as the role of the father to provide an ‘inhabitable’ home for his family, and the family in general is tied with the other segments of the society in such a way that one reinforces the values of the other and vice versa. Featured in the November 8 issue of the New York Times, â€Å"A Crowded Family Enters the Space Age† conveys the story of a father, Eric Alan, wanting to provide a larger house for his growing family with the aid of Architect Neil Denari. In return, Denari’s expertise and skills acquire a ‘living experience’ thus proving to be another feat not only in his career as an architect but also in the discipline of architecture. From a functionalist perspective, this very well provides a real life example of how the units of the society interact together harmoniously in order to continue with survival. Description of the Case Global system theory is a base for the concept of transnational practices. However, cross state boundaries do not necessarily originate with state agencies or actors. The global capitalist system operates to maximize profits at the expense of others. Murray Dobbing (1998) claims that the economic world order has changed and the nation-state is in decline. This paper will outline and support the claims of Dobbing through a discussion of the transnational practices in the economic and the cultural-ideological spheres in relation to the political sphere. The paper will further discuss the agencies that facilitate transnational growth. In the economic sphere, the global capitalist system offers a limited place to the wage earning masses in most countries. It has very little need of the subordinate classes in this sphere as sophisticated machines replace human laborers for cost saving and greater profit for capitalists. As John Kenneth Galbraith in Rifkin’s The End of Work (1995) indicates, the global capital system requires scientific minded managers who have specialized talent and can operate sophisticated machines. Unskilled workers and their families become part of an underclass and face permanent unemployment. Meanwhile, the global economy has created an environment in which many large corporations are becoming transnational corporations which bring wealth to both developing and developed countries often by lobbying to their governments so as to gain access to these developing countries. The governments of developing countries are jeopardizing their own legitimacy to cultivate an inviting environment for the private sector. While the global capital system provides resources for economic development, the global capitals’ desires for low prices and high dividends result in child labor, environmental destruction and the expropriation of land and resources from local communities including indigenous people. In the culture-ideology sphere, the aim of global capitalists is to persuade all classes, especially the working middle-classes, to consume above their â€Å"biological needs† for pursuit of capitalists’ profit, which will ensure the belief that global capitalist system will be perpetuated. The cultural ideology of transnational growth proclaims that the meaning of life can be found in the things that we possess. To consume, therefore, is to be fully alive, and to remain fully alive people must continuously consume. Moreover, the notions of men and women as economic or political beings are discarded by global capitalism as the system does not even pretend to satisfy everyone in the economic or political spheres. Their value to society is determined by what they can afford to purchase. Therefore, people primarily become consumers rather than citizens. The point of economic activity for working middle-class of the global capitalist system is to provide the resources for consumption to create the â€Å"global shoppers,† and the point of political activity is to ensure that the conditions for consuming are maintained. The advancement of the internet and technology has hastened the reduction of trade barriers and the increment of the â€Å"global shoppers. † According to Chomsky (2003), mass media overwhelmingly corporate and embraces the values of corporate leaders. Moreover, the major media outlets are linked in huge media chains, with many of these conglomerates owned by transnational corporations. Corporate control is further solidified by advertising paid in dollars to the media by corporations. Thus, the mass media consistently supports globalization, neo-liberalism, and the politicians who push these corporate agendas. Transnational marketing such as TV commercials, billboards, etc. are forced on the world’s middle-class consumers. Transnational corporations, such as Disney, heavily market their American pop culture products. By selling the same thing, the same way, everywhere with little or no reference to local cultural differences, transnational corporations has homogenized world culture. Analysis of the Case Robert Granfield’s article helps one to understand ‘global system theory’ as a whole. For the most part, Granfield’s discussion on how working class students adapt in the academic environment dominated by upper class law students gives us a brief but useful overview of how working class students attempt to join the remainder of the upper class of the workforce. The startling irony is that while Granfield espouses the idea that working class law students can blend well with their environment which is presumed to give much preference to upper class students by ‘faking it’ or by posing as one of the upper class, global system theory on the other hand implies that there is no substantial place for these working class students especially in the workforce. This is because the lower classes of the society or the working force comprising the bulk of the lower hierarchy, have already been replaced by sophisticated machines. Hence, manpower or physical labor becomes confined to those individuals who have sufficient learning to operate these sophisticated machines. If this is indeed the case, then it must also be the case that global system theory also espouses the presumption that the disparity between the highest and the lowest ranks of the social hierarchy grows parallel to the pace of global capitalism. But Granfield suggests that the working class students have the ability to ‘fake it’ which may also suggest the probability that even the individuals from the lower ranks can also make it to the bulk of the workforce able to operate the sophisticated machineries of the contemporary world. Nevertheless, the totality of the global workforce remains to this day comprised of a large number of working class citizens who fall at the median of the social hierarchy, notwithstanding children or minors who work which leads us to the next point. In Hays’ â€Å"The Ideology of Intensive Mothering: A Cultural Analysis of the Bestselling Gurus of Appropriate Childbearing†, we are given the presumption that children should be given the sufficient care and attention. This includes the idea that children or minors are not individuals who are expected to literally work whether in offices or factories. However, the opposite is true especially among nations below the poverty line or less-developed third-world countries. It is estimated that around 250 million children are under what we call â€Å"child labor† according to the statistics provided by Think Quest, an online database providing global child labor information (Think Quest, 2007). If global system theory is indeed true, then there would be little reason to believe that there is child labor among the less-developed countries where capitalism is beginning to grow its roots since children have very little knowledge on the use of sophisticated machines intended to replace the workers who handle the basics of the tasks in the corporations, for instance. But the case is that 250 million children work across the globe, which prompts us to question the claims of global system theory. On the other hand, global system theory may respond to this criticism by stating that the replacement of manpower with sophisticated machineries is only true for those transnational corporations operating in developed countries. Part of the reason to this is the idea that underdeveloped countries are not suitable locations for transnational corporate ventures largely because developed nations have what it takes for global capitalism—a strong and sustained demand for the goods and services being offered by these corporations. Webb’s article â€Å"A Crowded Family Enters the Space Age† reiterates the presumption that the family has its roles in nurturing its members which partially relates to Hay’s article that children should be nurtured and protected and should be treated as economic assets especially in terms of manpower or a part of the work force. The fact that Webb implies the idea that there are parental responsibilities towards the needs of the family especially of the children at least in terms of a suitable place to live point us to the idea that children or minors should be nurtured and cared for instead of being treated as members of the working class whether or not parents are able to provide for their needs. Ultimately, this brings us to the understanding that the decline of the nation-state as espoused by global systems theory is not fully achieved precisely because the basic unit of the society or of the nation-states for that matter—the family—reinforces the entirety of the nation-state by sustaining its integrity as a functional basic unit able to maintain its internal status. Conclusion In the end, global systems theory may not necessarily apply to the broadest range of nations, from developed to the developing and less-developed precisely because these nations have differences although similarities may also be noted. The presumption that the family remains a cohesive force in the society may substantially refute the claim that the nation-state is dissolving. Nevertheless, there are certain arguments of global systems theory that remains to this day a force with grains of truth in it. Apart from the fact that sophisticated machineries have slowly replaced the manpower of the working and lower classes of the society, capitalism has been reinforced by the expansion of transnational corporations worldwide. Works Cited Chomsky, Noam. Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies. House of Anansi Press, 2003. 1-20. Dobbing, Murray. The Myth of the Good Corporate Citizen: Democracy under the Rule of Big Business. Stoddart, 1998. 49-60. Hawken, Paul. The Ecology of Commerce: A Declaration of Sustainability. 1st ed: Harper Business, 1993. 1-17. Rifkin, Jeremy. The End of Work: The Decline of the Global Labor Force and the Dawn of the Post-Market Era. G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1995. 3-14. Think Quest, http://library. thinkquest. org/03oct/01908/800/whatisit_childlabor. htm, December 4, 2007.

Whistle Blowing

A whistleblower is someone that raises a concern about a wrongdoing that is happening in their company or organization. There are many things that the whistleblower can reveal such as the breaking of laws, exposing fraud, corruption, or health and safety violations. These allegations can expressed to the people that run the company or organization and they can be expressed to the outside world such as the media or law enforcement. The whistleblower normally faces reprisal from their company, related organizations, or sometimes from the law.Whistle blowing happens when people get caught between business and social responsibility. They have to decide what is best for the business and what is best for the world. In the Insider Big tobacco denies that nicotine is an addictive drug. Jeff Wigand is a tobacco executive and has to decide whether or not give an interview with 60 minutes about cigarettes and if nicotine is and addictive drug or not. Jeff signed a confidentiality agreement with his company saying that he will not disclose any information about nicotine.Even though he is fired and receives death threats, Jeff decides to give the interview and whistle blow on his company by exposing the facts about nicotine that his company was hiding. There are three elements in whistle blowing and when these elements are combined they make whistle blowing very bitter and distaste full. They are dissent, accusation, and breach of loyalty. Dissent is a disagreement with a superior or the majority which can be hard to do in a work environment.Whistle blowing’s dissent is shedding light on a risk and assigning responsibility for the risk. The whistleblower also accuses someone of who is often higher on the corporate ladder than him. When he accuses this person it is like he calls that person a foul and that gets the strongest reaction from that person and they try to defend themselves. The whistleblower is calling out his own colleagues and this is seen as a breach of loyalty because he has certain obligations to his colleagues and this loyalty is put against the public interest.There are many different views on when it is appropriate to whistle blow. Michael McFarland uses a study by Simon, Powers, and Gunneman that there are four factors that must be present in order to morally require someone to go and help another person. They are that there is a critical need for the help, is within the â€Å"network of social relations† which means a person duty to family, friends and so on, the ability to help without damage to self, and the lack of other sources of help.McFarland states suggests that engineers should be held to a higher standard of social responsibility than ordinary individuals but the responsibility should be dispersed among all of the members of the engineering society instead of just an individual engineer. He uses the example of Kitty Genovese. Kitty was murdered and many people in her apartment building either watched or list ened and did nothing. It has been argued that had the neighbors banned together they could have prevented the murder. McFarland uses this example to show that when no other sources of help are available that engineers should take responsibility by banding together.McFarland encourages engineers to change their thinking of individual responsibility to the responsibility of the engineering profession on a broader level. Richard De George states that loyalty to the company is the most important thing for a person to have. He gives three requirements for a person to have permissibility to whistle blow which are as follows. If harm to the public will be serous and considerable, if the person informs their superiors of the problem and nothing is done, and if the person informs everyone above them on the cooperate ladder and nothing is done.George also gives requirements for when whistle blowing is a moral obligation of a person. They include the three previously stated requirements and th at the person has documentation about their concern and that there is strong evidence that making their concerns know to the public will stop the problem. This seems like good criteria for a person to whistle blow but this approach can take a long time to complete because sometimes informing all the people above the whistleblower on the cooperate ladder can be an extensive process. This caused the Challenger disaster.The shuttle that was launched prior to the challenger had many time because of weather and mechanical factors. NASA did not want delay the launch of the Challenger so the launch pad could be refurbished on time and so it would launch at the same time as President Reagan gave his State of the Union address. The Challenger uses solid rocket boosters with solid fuel to overcome Earth’s gravity. These boosters are assembled with four segments that are held together by two O rings. The O rings keep hot gas from escaping from the motor.Heat putty is used to separate th e rubber rings and the hot gases. Engineers discover that the O rings may not be able to keep the boosters sealed at temperatures lower than 40o F and they brought this up to their superiors. The superiors disagreed and thought that the O rings would hold regardless of the temperature. The night before the launch the temperature dropped greatly below the safety limits of the O rings. Ice formed on the pad and some fell on a booster cooling it to 28o F causing the seal to fail. The shuttle was launched and fifty nine seconds later the shuttle exploded.Had the engineers whistle blowed instead of bringing up the problem all of their superiors then the shuttle may have not launched. While they did not have enough low temperature data to prove that it was dangerous to launch, they also did not have enough data to prove that it was safe enough to launch. Had they gone to the media there may have been enough public support against the launch for NASA to delay it. We will never know. What w e do know is that informing all of the engineer’s superiors took too long and the engineers did not have enough time to try and find another way to stop the shuttle launch.The National Society of Professional Engineers’ Code of Ethics for engineers has six fundamental cannons that state that for engineers to fulfill their professional duties they must, hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public, perform services only in areas of their competence, issue public statements only in an objective and truthful manner, act for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees, avoid deceptive acts, and conduct themselves honorably, responsibly, ethically, and lawfully so as to enhance the honor, reputation, and usefulness of the profession.The first principle states that an engineer has the duty to the public’s safety, health and welfare before a duty to a client or employer. This keeps an engineer protected in the event of whistle blowing. Some c odes even go as far as disciplining or revoking the engineer’s license if the engineer fails to report something that the engineer knew was not in the public’s best interest.Having this principle in the Code of Ethics has help justify whistle blowing by engineers and has the courts often side with engineer, overruling confidentiality agreements and duties to employers that in the past would have prevented the engineer from speaking out. I believe that whistle blowing is a necessary part of being an engineer. It gives the engineer some power over the company or organization that has hired them.If the company fears that the engineer may go and tell the public things that the company does that are harmful to the public, the company will try to avoid doing things that are harmful to the public. While whistle blowing is often times distasteful and hard to do, it is often a necessity. There are companies in the world that only care about making a profit and do not worry abou t the public’s health.These companies need the help of engineers to design their projects which gives the engineers insight that the public will not have. While the engineers have loyalty to the company that they work for, it is also the engineers’ duty to the public to make sure that the company acts in the public’s best interest. And if the engineers can not convince the company that what they are doing is wrong, then it is time to bring the act to the public’s attention. Whistle Blowing A whistleblower is someone that raises a concern about a wrongdoing that is happening in their company or organization. There are many things that the whistleblower can reveal such as the breaking of laws, exposing fraud, corruption, or health and safety violations. These allegations can expressed to the people that run the company or organization and they can be expressed to the outside world such as the media or law enforcement. The whistleblower normally faces reprisal from their company, related organizations, or sometimes from the law.Whistle blowing happens when people get caught between business and social responsibility. They have to decide what is best for the business and what is best for the world. In the Insider Big tobacco denies that nicotine is an addictive drug. Jeff Wigand is a tobacco executive and has to decide whether or not give an interview with 60 minutes about cigarettes and if nicotine is and addictive drug or not. Jeff signed a confidentiality agreement with his company saying that he will not disclose any information about nicotine.Even though he is fired and receives death threats, Jeff decides to give the interview and whistle blow on his company by exposing the facts about nicotine that his company was hiding. There are three elements in whistle blowing and when these elements are combined they make whistle blowing very bitter and distaste full. They are dissent, accusation, and breach of loyalty. Dissent is a disagreement with a superior or the majority which can be hard to do in a work environment.Whistle blowing’s dissent is shedding light on a risk and assigning responsibility for the risk. The whistleblower also accuses someone of who is often higher on the corporate ladder than him. When he accuses this person it is like he calls that person a foul and that gets the strongest reaction from that person and they try to defend themselves. The whistleblower is calling out his own colleagues and this is seen as a breach of loyalty because he has certain obligations to his colleagues and this loyalty is put against the public interest.There are many different views on when it is appropriate to whistle blow. Michael McFarland uses a study by Simon, Powers, and Gunneman that there are four factors that must be present in order to morally require someone to go and help another person. They are that there is a critical need for the help, is within the â€Å"network of social relations† which means a person duty to family, friends and so on, the ability to help without damage to self, and the lack of other sources of help.McFarland states suggests that engineers should be held to a higher standard of social responsibility than ordinary individuals but the responsibility should be dispersed among all of the members of the engineering society instead of just an individual engineer. He uses the example of Kitty Genovese. Kitty was murdered and many people in her apartment building either watched or list ened and did nothing. It has been argued that had the neighbors banned together they could have prevented the murder. McFarland uses this example to show that when no other sources of help are available that engineers should take responsibility by banding together.McFarland encourages engineers to change their thinking of individual responsibility to the responsibility of the engineering profession on a broader level. Richard De George states that loyalty to the company is the most important thing for a person to have. He gives three requirements for a person to have permissibility to whistle blow which are as follows. If harm to the public will be serous and considerable, if the person informs their superiors of the problem and nothing is done, and if the person informs everyone above them on the cooperate ladder and nothing is done.George also gives requirements for when whistle blowing is a moral obligation of a person. They include the three previously stated requirements and th at the person has documentation about their concern and that there is strong evidence that making their concerns know to the public will stop the problem. This seems like good criteria for a person to whistle blow but this approach can take a long time to complete because sometimes informing all the people above the whistleblower on the cooperate ladder can be an extensive process. This caused the Challenger disaster.The shuttle that was launched prior to the challenger had many time because of weather and mechanical factors. NASA did not want delay the launch of the Challenger so the launch pad could be refurbished on time and so it would launch at the same time as President Reagan gave his State of the Union address. The Challenger uses solid rocket boosters with solid fuel to overcome Earth’s gravity. These boosters are assembled with four segments that are held together by two O rings. The O rings keep hot gas from escaping from the motor.Heat putty is used to separate th e rubber rings and the hot gases. Engineers discover that the O rings may not be able to keep the boosters sealed at temperatures lower than 40o F and they brought this up to their superiors. The superiors disagreed and thought that the O rings would hold regardless of the temperature. The night before the launch the temperature dropped greatly below the safety limits of the O rings. Ice formed on the pad and some fell on a booster cooling it to 28o F causing the seal to fail. The shuttle was launched and fifty nine seconds later the shuttle exploded.Had the engineers whistle blowed instead of bringing up the problem all of their superiors then the shuttle may have not launched. While they did not have enough low temperature data to prove that it was dangerous to launch, they also did not have enough data to prove that it was safe enough to launch. Had they gone to the media there may have been enough public support against the launch for NASA to delay it. We will never know. What w e do know is that informing all of the engineer’s superiors took too long and the engineers did not have enough time to try and find another way to stop the shuttle launch.The National Society of Professional Engineers’ Code of Ethics for engineers has six fundamental cannons that state that for engineers to fulfill their professional duties they must, hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public, perform services only in areas of their competence, issue public statements only in an objective and truthful manner, act for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees, avoid deceptive acts, and conduct themselves honorably, responsibly, ethically, and lawfully so as to enhance the honor, reputation, and usefulness of the profession.The first principle states that an engineer has the duty to the public’s safety, health and welfare before a duty to a client or employer. This keeps an engineer protected in the event of whistle blowing. Some c odes even go as far as disciplining or revoking the engineer’s license if the engineer fails to report something that the engineer knew was not in the public’s best interest.Having this principle in the Code of Ethics has help justify whistle blowing by engineers and has the courts often side with engineer, overruling confidentiality agreements and duties to employers that in the past would have prevented the engineer from speaking out. I believe that whistle blowing is a necessary part of being an engineer. It gives the engineer some power over the company or organization that has hired them.If the company fears that the engineer may go and tell the public things that the company does that are harmful to the public, the company will try to avoid doing things that are harmful to the public. While whistle blowing is often times distasteful and hard to do, it is often a necessity. There are companies in the world that only care about making a profit and do not worry abou t the public’s health.These companies need the help of engineers to design their projects which gives the engineers insight that the public will not have. While the engineers have loyalty to the company that they work for, it is also the engineers’ duty to the public to make sure that the company acts in the public’s best interest. And if the engineers can not convince the company that what they are doing is wrong, then it is time to bring the act to the public’s attention.

Dioxin and human health Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Dioxin and human health - Essay Example The producibility is relatively high in presence of a catalyst like iron. Chemistry of Dioxins Para-dibenzodioxins are formed when two oxygens combines two benzenes (or chlorinated benzenes). The number of isomers is several as both could have upto 8 chlorines – 75 for PCCDs and 135 for PCDFs. These compounds are called as congeners. Toxicity is expressed as Toxic Equivalent Factor (TEF) and toxicity is based on 2,3,7,8 TCCD which is expressed as TEF. The toxicity is caused because of the four chlorine atoms at positions 2, 3, 7, 8 on the dioxin molecules. The toxicity is expressed as pg TEQ/g lipid (ppt) and is summed up based upon their toxicity equivalent concentrations. OCCD is the most abundant isomer related to human contamination followed by the 2,3,7,8 substituted hepta and hexa-chloro congeners. 2,3,7,8 TCCD is normally less abundant than PCCD. The activation of Ah receptor determines the TEF. The oxygen bond between the two benzenes could be substituted to sulphur or azide. Chlorine could be replaced by bromine. Effect of Dioxins on Human Health Eating, breathing, and polluted air and skin contact with contaminated soil and materials are the major routes for human exposure. The PCCDs reach the blood stream after passing from the gastrointestinal tract and eating food containing the PCCDs.

To See and Not See Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

To See and Not See - Essay Example For instance, Virgil is known to have lived in blindness for nearly forty-five years and when this surgery is fronted up, for him it does not seem oblivious of any worries given that he longed to see. Several reasons can be suggested as to whether the surgery was right or wrong, but, it is clear even before the operation that the success of the surgery would have meant a new hope for all cases of blindness like Virgil. In essence, the success of the surgery would have appeared as start up for surgeries for the blind people in the future. According to Amy, there was nothing to be lost given that Virgil was already blind and not trying the surgery even if it would fail would have been detrimental (Sacks, 2012). Therefore, by pushing for the surgery, Amy was doing the right thing given that at the end of it all, it was successful and Virgil got his sight back despite a few challenges of confusion upon regaining back his sight. Additionally, the case of Gregory’s patient who received transplant at the age of fifty years was an indication that the surgery could be successfully achieved regardless of age. Several other surgeries of similar kinds had been done thus, indicating that Virgil’s could succeed (Sacks, 2012). This type of surgery that was performed on Virgil in 1991, and since then, based on the technological advancements that have been witnessed in the field of medicine, it would be expected that the methods of conducting the surgery have been advanced. Other than this, the advantages attached to the success of this surgery would be beneficial to a blind patient. Hence, I would gladly support someone I knew who would be contemplating this surgery. However, as Sacks notes in his book, the patients who have undergone through this process, just like Virgil, are commonly faced with the challenge of the state of confusion in

U02d2 The Uninsured Problem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

U02d2 The Uninsured Problem - Essay Example It was noted that this number increased to 255.1 million in 2008, when compared to 253.4 million in 2007 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). c) The year has also shown the decline in use of private health insurances. It was noted that the health insurance from private providers has reduced from 202.0 million in 2007 to 201.0 million in 2008 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). d) The government health insurance saw a higher level of applicants and people have turned more towards the government insurance than the private. The year 2007 saw a total of 83.0 million while this increased to 87.4 million in 2008 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). e) As mentioned earlier the private insurances reduced a great extent. In 2007 the total percentage of people covered by the private insurances was around 67.5% which reduced to 66.7% in 2008 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). f) The employment based health insurances also saw a decline and it fell from 59.3% in 2007 to 58.5% in 2008. The number of people covered by health insurance for employment bases also decreased from 177.4 million in 2007 to 176.3 million in 2008 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). CNN has also presented a report which talks of the issue of uninsured. Here in an interview with Ron Pollack, the Executive Director of Families USA, stated, ‘The huge number of people without health coverage is worse than an epidemic’. He also went on to explain, ‘Inaction on health care reform in 2009 cannot be an option for the tens of millions of people who lack or lose health coverage each year ... the cost of doing nothing is too high’ (Pifer-Bixler, 2009). The report has also brought out more details of the issue of being uninsured. The report also states that, ‘Critics say the number of uninsured Americans cited in the Families USA report is misleading. "No one disagrees we have a problem with the uninsured," says Douglas Holtz-Eakin, who advised Sen. John McCain on domestic and economic policy during the 2008 election’

A critical evaluation of infection control issues for the patients Essay

A critical evaluation of infection control issues for the patients withconjunctivitis - Essay Example In so doing, the said specialty nurses are expected to attend to the actual and potential needs of the clients who are experiencing visual impairment or deficits. As such, this paper aims to critically analyze infection control issues pertaining to conjunctivitis, which is one of the ophthalmic ailments that are of major concern to ophthalmic nurses. ANYONE can get conjunctivitis (Health Protection Agency [HPA] North West, 2007) — students in school, patients in hospital or long-term care facilities, and even doctors and nurses in any health care institution. Due to its highly infective nature, prompt intervention and appropriate management are definitely indispensable. In this regard, nursing interventions that are particularly focused on infection control issues in clients with conjunctivitis shall be typified in due course of this paper. Hence, the discussion and critical analysis herein shall be guided by reputable references and relevant literatures in order to exemplify the aforementioned purpose of this essay. Conjunctivitis, which is commonly called â€Å"pinkeye†, is an inflammation of the mucous membrane that lines the eyelids― bulbar and palpebral conjunctiva― and extends over the white of the eye (sclera) (Berman et al., 2008). In general, according to the Health Protection Agency (HPA) North West (2007), the characteristics of conjunctivitis are (1) swollen eyelids - sometimes causing the eye to almost fully close, (2) pink/red eyes, (3) sore, itchy and sometimes painful eyes, (4) a discharge causing the eye to be sticky and crusty, and (5) sometimes the sticky discharge may cause the eyelids to stick together after sleeping (HPA, 2007). Moreover, conjunctivitis can be caused by bacteria, virus, allergy, chemical, or other irritants (San Diego City Schools Nursing and Wellness Program, 2002). On the other hand, conjunctivitis can also be caused by foreign bodies (HPA, 2007; Berman et al., 2008: 586). An example of

Operations Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 9

Operations Management - Essay Example The manner of creating these goods and services is the purview of operations management. As a field of endeavour, operations management â€Å"deals with the design and management of products, processes, services, and supply chains. It considers the acquisition, development, and utilization of resources that firms need to deliver the goods and services their clients want.† (MIT Sloan School of Management, 2009) It may be said that the operations function is the heart and soul of business. It is that organizational activity which actually gives birth to the good or service which is the reason for the firm’s existence. The operations manager stands at the helm of the operations department, and plans, organizes, directs and controls its performance. He determines, in line with the organization’s overall goals, the strategic, tactical, and operational activities undertaken. Strategic issues involve the implementation of long-term goals of the corporation, and are usually decided upon by the corporation’s board of directors, or the owner or proprietor of the small firm. Issues decided by the operations manager that are within the scope of strategic management are those that yield decisions of a relatively permanent nature, and usually require substantial capital outlay. They include determining the size of the manufacturing plants or the capacity of the equipment, as well as their location, deciding which telecommunications networks to have installed, and designing technology supply chains. Should the operations manager make a mistake in planning and implementing strategic issues, it would profoundly compromise the company’s survival. The operations manager also deals with tactical issues the operations manager. These decisions involve the relatively medium-term prospects of the business, and while not as far-ranging as strategic issues, could also entail a substantial loss for the

Diabetic Retinopathy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Diabetic Retinopathy - Essay Example Results from numerous clinical trials of laser photocoagulation and various other treatments and a good understanding of the pathogenesis would have a huge impact on blindness in the diabetic population. [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] The prevalence of retinopathy is strongly linked to the duration of diabetes. A stringent control of blood sugar levels delays the onset of diabetes. Vision loss with diabetic retinopathy may occur from several different mechanisms such as Macular oedema or ischemia which may impair central vision. Extensive studies have reported the cost effectiveness of screening for diabetic retinopathy as it saves vision at reduced costs. The cost of screening modalities depends largely on various factors such as trained professionals and accessibility of screening equipment. Current management of diabetic retinopathy includes systematic control of blood pressure and glucose levels, surgery including laser photocoagulation or pars plana vitrectomy; and currently developed pharmacologic interventions. Vitrectomy is capable of restoring useful vision to patients suffering from severe diabetic retinopathy and vitreous hemorrhage either with or without an accompanying traction retinal detachment. [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] Systemic Control: Development and progression of diabetic retinopathyis delayed by glycemic control. Laser photocoagulation, which represents the only treatment modality in large, controlled, prospective randomized, clinical trials, shows limited efficacy. Currently, new pharmacologic modalities now being evaluated show promise, but should undergo rigorous prospective randomized clinical trial in order to gain widespread acceptance. Intensive therapy brought down the risk of developing diabetic retinopathy by 76% and reduced the risk of progression of already existing retinopathy by 54%. Maintaining a strict and systematic control of blood pressure and glucose has proven to be difficult for many patients with diabetes. A good number of them will still develop progressive retinopathy and would require either vitrectomy or laser photocoagulation [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] Surgery: The latest in surgical techniques is the use of the "Pulse Electron Avalanche Knife" (PEAK-fc, Carl Zeiss Meditec, Jena, Germany) (British Journal of Ophthalmology 2007;91:949-954) which is a new pulsed electrosurgical device that helps in the precise "cold" traction- free tissue dissection. It is very useful in all complicated eye surgeries. For late stages of retinopathy, current laser or surgical treatments are applicable. It also includes proliferative diabetic retinopathy or sight-threatening ME. The study that was conducted proved that photocoagulation can reduce the risk of severe visual loss by about 50%. [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]In this process, laser photocoagulation leads to decreased oxygen levels by the retina due to the destruction of the photoreceptor. Anakinra, which is a drug used in arthritis has tested favorably for reducing blood sugar levels. Benfotiamine is a fat-soluble form of vitamin B1 has proved effective by reversing the damage done to the retina due to high blood sugar in the cells. Another surgical research is the

Language learning experiences of year 10 & 11 Dissertation

Language learning experiences of year 10 & 11 - Dissertation Example The research methodology explained various elements of the methodology and based on the selection of anti-positivism philosophy and inductive research approach; primary data were collected in the form of interviews being conducted on 20 students and one teacher of Manningtree High School, Colchester Road, Essex and observational study on 20 students of Colchester Academy School, Hawthorn Avenue, Essex. Findings suggested that majority of students understand the importance and significance of foreign languages but lack motivation. Based on the findings, it was concluded that the government and schools need to work in tandem in order to motivate students along with highlighting the benefits and advantages of foreign language learning within the secondary school setup. ... Sampling 24 3.7: Interview Questions 24 3.8 Observational Study 25 3.9: Ethical Considerations 25 3.10: Summary 25 Chapter 4.0 Findings and Analysis 26 4.1 Introduction 26 4.2 Interview Analysis 26 4.3: Interview Analysis of Teacher 39 4.4: Observational Study 40 4.4: Summary 41 Chapter 5 Conclusion and Recommendations 42 5.1 Introduction 42 5.2: Conclusion 42 5.3: Recommendations for Foreign Language Learning 44 5.4: Recommendations for Future Research 44 5.5: Summary 45 REFERENCES 46 APPENDIX 50 A. Interview Letter 50 B. Consent Form 51 C. Interview Transcript for Students 52 D. Interview Transcript for the Teacher 61 CHAPTER-1: INTRODUCTION 1.1: Introduction Language can be described as a systematic mean of communication and holds great importance at every level of personal and professional development. Every country has its native language that is spoken by the people living in it without any difficulty considering the fact that the culture and people around help in learning the native language from an early age. However, learning a foreign language is always a stringent task considering the difference in alphabets and phonetics. However, learning a foreign language is always an additional advantage as it offers understanding over a new culture and language. Language learning is a process that helps learners to learn about new things and cultures. Moreover, learning a foreign language offers great confidence and awareness that can be further used in future endeavors. The chapter offers an overview of the research topic that aims to explore the language learning experience of year ten and eleven. It can be said that learning does not

Immigration in the 19th Century vs. Now Research Paper

Immigration in the 19th Century vs. Now - Research Paper Example America is a secular democratic country with high levels of living standards and equal respect to all religions which makes America the paradise of immigrants now. On the other hand, poverty and poor living standards forced people from all over the world to immigrate to America in the nineteenth century. This paper briefly compares and contrasts the current and nineteenth century immigration to America. Nineteenth century witnessed industrial revolution in America. The evolution of better technologies and advancements in science helped America to focus more on industrial development in the nineteenth century. Factories and manufacturing units established large in number during this period which forced people from other parts of the world to immigrate to America because of the scope of getting better jobs â€Å"Majorities of immigrants came during the 1820s - 1890s were mostly from Ireland and Germany. Famine and poverty in Ireland, and political upheaval in Germany brought about fiv e million immigrants† (Immigration and Industrialization in the Nineteenth century). Though life in Ireland was cruel, immigrating to America was not a joyful event...it was referred to as the American Wake for these people knew they would never see Ireland again. Those who pursued this path did so only because they knew their future in Ireland would only be more poverty, disease, and English oppression. America became their dream (Irish Immigrants in America during the 19th Century) The nineteenth century immigrants mainly focused in getting jobs in American industrial units. However, current immigrants are not only exploring job opportunities, but also exploring the opportunities for establishing small scale businesses in America. Many of the current Indian and Pakistani immigrants have their own industrial units in America. Many of the people who are relocating to America at present are looking for opportunities to establish their own business units in America, rather than exploring the possibilities of getting a job. The nineteenth century immigrants got only lowly paid hard jobs with high amount of risks. The scope for a better future forced them to accept risky jobs (Immigration and Industrialization in the Nineteenth century). On the other hand the current immigrant community is not much keen in accepting risky jobs. They always give preferences to safe and secure jobs with the chances of getting a decent salary. Mexicans were another prominent community which started to immigrate to America during the latter part of the nineteenth century. Poor administration, low wages, poverty, increasing population etc in Mexico forced Mexicans to cross the border, both through legal and illegal channels. Mexico and America are neighboring countries which helped the Mexicans to cross the borders easily. Currently Mexicans are the largest minority groups in America. The flow of immigrants from Mexico to the United States has declined sharply since mid-decade. T he Mexican-born population in the U.S., which had been growing earlier in the decade, was 11.5 million in early 2009. That figure is not significantly different from the 11.6 million Mexican immigrants in 2008 or the 11.2 million in 2007 (Passel). The recent recession problems in America are suspected as the major reason for the stabilization of Mexican immigration. The American economic growth was seriously affected

Social Work Law and Practice Assignment Essay Example for Free

Social Work Law and Practice Assignment Essay â€Å"To be accountable is literally to be liable to be called upon to give an account of what one has done or not done. The account may include all or some of descriptions, explanations, excuses or justifications. † (Banks, 2004, p. 150). Within my current agency context I have a professional accountability which appoints me a duty to carry out and justify my work through; informed theoretical knowledge, professional judgements and legal frameworks which govern the social work profession in the field of criminal justice (Kleinig, 2008). To date I have carried out my ‘supervised direct practice placement’ within a third sector agency whose aim within the ideal of social care and protection is to promote the economic and social welfare in Scotland in working with ex-offenders and young people deemed ‘at risk’ to provide them with the transferable skills they each require to help them find or stay within employment or education (Agency Policy, 2010a). The variety of settings and engagement styles I worked within over this period of time, although diverse, all aimed to uphold the organisations statement of purpose which defines that, â€Å"our work adheres to the use of the organisation’s employability model to; identify, assess and tackle barriers faced by our service users such as debt, family problems and offending. This service delivery should reflect upon the relevant techniques and guidance which focus on reducing re-offending and providing both guidance and advice on conviction relevance and disclosure† (Agency Policy, 2011b). As a social work student I have accountability and adherence to various bodies and individuals whom govern my professional practice. This duty to the work within the lines of multiple accountabilities which are often in tension with each other pose complexity on the work I deliver, which in turn both represents thus public bodies whilst safeguards and promotes the welfare of service users. This statement is agreed by Ingram (2011) who indicates that social workers within Scotland have â€Å"complex interdependencies and relationships in delivering safe, effective, accountable and professional practice† (Scottish Government, 2011). This comment also expands on the crucial professional partnerships I have with other agencies and statutory services. In the purpose of my professional practice I have worked together with the appropriate officials and agencies that all have the common purpose of tackling and delivering practice of various degrees to service users within the criminal justice field. Our service users are the key components of our interest focus and have brought us together to work with a common purpose; their welfare (Banks, 2004). Knowledge of the remit in which other agencies work within is vital, allowing for the reduction in both overlaps and voids in our service delivery (Glasby and Peck, 2004). In my current agency I have used partnership working as a tool to both source information and gather professional opinions from those working with individuals in a different capacity. This has marginally been in liaising with social workers for developed background information on the service users I have worked with and informing their professional decision making with regard to each individual’s progression with the organisation following referral. This multi-disciplinary style of working, although beneficial to my development and progression of work with individuals is additionally a legal standard of conduct which governs my professional performance (Pycroft and Gough, 2010). The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) is the regulatory body whom describes and governs the standards of conduct which I am accountable to deliver in my work with individuals. Through my essential registration to them it is their guidance that outlines those standards and values I must adhere to in my professional practice. It is this Council that foresees the essentiality of; â€Å"Recognising and respecting the roles and expertise of workers from other agencies and working in partnership with them† (SSSC, 2003: 6. 7). This code of conduct influenced my role of with a number of service user during practice placement in collecting data both verbally and in the form of documentation from professionals, most commonly their social workers, whilst elaborating on the underlying goals I had in terms of developing ‘employability skills’. This in turn reflected upon my code’s of practice in contributing to the learning of others in improving and developing my knowledge of our each specific; accountabilities, powers and skills within our contrasting roles of working (SSSC, 2003: 6. ). Various research and informative legislation outlines my upheld values and duties within the Scottish context of social work. It is this legal writing alongside academic literature that influences my ‘need’ to act in particular ways and deliver ‘required’ services. It is in balancing my duties and accountabilities outlined by this published guidance that I am obligated to make my informed decisions and professional judgements with regard to my service user group (Lishman, 2007). Alongside this is additionally my duty o service users and my practice organisation, they may both have expectation from the practice I deliver, however striving to compliment this by working closely within the remit of my allowances as a trainee practitioner is what I have aimed to evidence to date (Fraser and Matthews, 2008). â€Å"It seems that the balance of accountabilities of social work practice has become somewhat skewed, with too much emphasis on accountability to the employer and not enough on individual professional accountability† (Scottish Executive, 2006, p. 30). This argument agrees that the delivery of effective practice is often focused more heavily upon one group or organisation. My working has aimed to display professional accountable to all those individuals and appropriate agencies during this practice learning whilst still implementing and working within the legislation that governs my work as a student social worker. Within my individual working with service users I have used both theory and ‘skills’ derived from the professional context such as active listening and open ended questions. These ‘skills’ are essential in portraying my professional competence as a social work student and beneficial to the forming of effective professional relationships and information gathering. As well as displaying my ability to practice these methods within my working I am accountable to do so by the SSSC who state that I must ; meet the outlines standards of practice whilst working in both an effective and safe way whilst within the boundaries of current legislation (SSSC, 2003: 6. 1). This has been displayed most commonly been through the initial contact assessment meetings I have both conducted and participated within. The main purpose of these meetings is to; inform, assess and discuss available routes and options available to each service user whilst anticipating their offending behaviour and criminal convictions and other relevant factors which could influence the sustaining of current or future employment (Agency Policy, 2010b). A common example of my working in this service delivery is in collaborating a disclosure letter with an individual, this document details their criminal convictions and gives an account for their occurrence; whilst drawing on the influences that were apparent for them to have happened. In order to complete such a letter with a service user I have had to obtain signed authorisation from them in order to access their charge sheet which is in the possession of their social worker. This element of work is governed by Shedule 20 of the Data Portection Act 1998; which outlines that the social worker has the authority as an official worker to supply confidential information if requested whilst permitted by the individual who is specified within the data (Gibbons-Wood, 2008). Upon receiving a copy of this official summary of convictions, I then calculate what convictions are ‘spent’ and ‘unspent’ under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. This legislation governs the provision of the ‘employment and guidance’ service the organisation delivers. I worked within the remit of its legal guidance by calculating what convictions need to be disclosed to an employer and what ones do not in each service user’s case. This calculation is made dependant on; nature of conviction, time in between offending and reoffending and the length of sentence/probation period they served (Croall, et al. 010). The outcome of supporting service users to write a disclosure letter is ultimately to have a paper document that will support their job applications and interviews. The letter, in accordance with the relevant legislation provides the information that will allow an employer to assess the relevance of an individual’s convictions to the post being applied for (McLaughlin, 2008). Within this work I was mindful to be honest in my recommendations with regard to service user’s wishes towards employment whilst respecting their decisions and desires towards work. I did not at any point wish to be seen as discouraging or negative about their ambitions but had to be realistic about how the nature of their convictions could affect the post they want. One example of this lies within my working with Stacey*; she was eager to learn about the most appropriate way to disclose your past to en employer including her criminal convictions with the help of the organisation. Stacey wished to pursue a career in child care however had four convictions of ‘assault causing permanent disfigurement’ and several pending charges of theft. Although she may have been deemed as having the ambition and caring nature which is required for this work her convictions would most likely put a barrier on working with children and those within a vulnerable people grouping. I had to convey this information to her appropriately whilst being sensitive to her feelings. Ultimately I explained that I could not provide a factual answer to whether or not employment in this field would be possible as it is always at the employers’ discretion, however had to be realistic in terms of how these convictions may influence er working with children. Delivering this information in the most; open honest and accurate way I could posed complexity on the relationship I was building with Stacey through this discussion as I was unable to determine how she would respond although I aimed to not allow any false pretences within her expectations. This honesty to service users is a factor governed by my professional duty to practice and uphold the ap propriate ethical decision making and values for social workers (Walker and Crawford, 2010). My values and ethics although in part derive from some personal beliefs and experiences are governed within my professional practice through my accountability to the British Association for Social Workers (BASW*). This association defines my responsibility to service users alongside the ethics and values I must adhere to within my work with them. It is within this guidance that my obligation and duty to respect service user’s backgrounds and beliefs are outlined as well as valuing their thoughts and wishes whilst working at all times to meet their needs and interests (BASW, 2002). The dilemma I faced in working with Stacey came following the discussion we engaged in about her criminal convictions posing limitations on her desire to work with children. She told me that she understood why she may not be able to work in this sector and how limitations to other jobs in the care and support field may also be a result of this. Despite Stacey acknowledging and showing understanding to this information she disclosed that if she thought within any job application that she would not be considered due to her criminal record she would simply claim that she has no criminal convictions or pending charges. This left me with a an ethical decision to make; although I felt that Stacey had many personal attributes and the passion to make a success of a career within child care her not disclosing this information could ultimately put individuals including the children she may come to work with at risk. I was both duty bound and accountable to convey this information to employers or other professionals in this instance for the purpose of both public and child protection if she were not to do so herself and I made this clear to Stacey. Although I encouraged the importance of being honest with employers when it comes to the criminal history of service users I am bound by governmental policy in relation to child protection to share any information that may put the welfare or safety of children in jeopardy (Scottish Executive, 2002). Parallel with my accountability to service users are my additional accountabilities to my organisation and practice of the social work profession in which I represent as a student. I upheld this obligation through adherence to and practice within the diverse organisational policies which were in place and abided by the local and national policy that administers work within the field of criminal justice. A key document which outlines my learning requirements and elements I must both adhere to and demonstrate is The Framework for Social Work Education in Scotland. It is this document, set out by the government, which displays thus guiding principles I am expected to uphold and practice through my work with service users. One of which is my ability to demonstrate within a practice setting a â€Å"high level of transferable skills† (Scottish Government, 2003). This in turn defines my obligation to put my learning of theory and a range of; modules, skills and information I have studied from the social work context into practice within my practice organisation and demonstrate it to a competent standard. An obligation I have which is outlined in sections within the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 is to record with respect to each individual; what I did, why I done it and the outcomes or professional judgements I made in each instance (Davis and Gordon, 2011). In relation to my organisation I fulfilled this duty by keeping records up to date and accurate, documenting only information that was relevant to the welfare of the service user and purposeful regarding their employment needs. Most of my work with the organisation has been with young people aged between 16-25 years who are in contact with social work. A large proportion of my working with them has been influenced by conditions/orders or convictions they have incurred through the Crime and Punishment (Scotland) Act 1997 and Care and Protection (Scotland) Act 1995 (Gibbons-Wood, 2008). However it is dependent on the nature of conviction which deems what legislation most heavily influences the sentencing of each service user and also the diverse nature and aims of the working style being formed with them. In my working with convicted sex offenders I was aware of the relevant legislation and guidance in place a national level which governs my working objectives and outlines my duty to be proactive in sharing information with external organisations and local authority teams. The Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA’S) framework was formed following the Management of Offenders Act 2005. It is this framework that governs my professional working with those convicted of a sexual offence making me â€Å"obligated by a statutory duty to cooperate, all relevant agencies including local authorities, voluntary organisations and, crucially, health services are jointly charged with the ‘management’ of such offenders (Gibbons-Wood, 2008, p. 232). Prior to my first assessment meeting with an individual charged with a sexual offence I used supervision from my workplace supervisor to discuss my concerns over my lack of experience in dealing with those service users convicted of schedule one offences. I felt I required more information on the individual’s circumstances and convictions prior to this arranged contact to aid my preparation and knowledge of his criminal history. I explained to my supervisor that I wished to contact his social worker to collect this information, which would ease my concerns on this occasion with respect to his referral information being extremely brief. This allowed for more relevant preparation to be conducted and a strengthening in partnership working with his social worker as we shared professional opinions and other information relevant to the purpose of his referral to the service. This professional partnership working adhered to the MAPPA framework in assisting our delivery of effective and applicable practice (McNeill and Whyte, 2007). The preparation on this occasion also included me independently requesting a risk assessment to be carried out before meeting the individual via one-to-one engagement. As I have to date had no sex offender or collusion training I requested this be carried out with support from my colleagues. My workplace supervisor explained to me that this is not mandatory within the policies and procedures of the organisation however I explained that I felt it to be necessary on this occasion and how I felt it would positively assist future practice. Following the expression my concern I was forwarded risk assessment paperwork from my superior in which I passed onto the individual’s social worker to be completed. The risk assessment paperwork aimed to allow his social worker to; â€Å"Make professional judgement on the level of risk this individual may pose onto staff members whilst detailing their conviction and victim group and showing what they recommend for risk management for the named individual† (Agency Policy, 2011a). I felt in my request for such an assessment to be carried out I displayed competence in my ability to use resources to aid my working relationships and support a ‘safe’ working environment. Although it was not essentially common practice within my agency is proved to be good practice in assisting my readiness for initial contact. Conclusively, a dilemma I faced throughout the duration of my practice placement was that the agency was not a statutory organisation. This meant that my work on a day to day basis was not always governed by national guidelines and government legislation, instead by organisational policies and procedures which were in certain cases only influenced by this relevant legislation. I responded to this by working as well as I could within the provisions set from both my organisation and those in place for me to best utilise my skills as a social work student. Working in the closest relation to the obligations I have as a trainee practicioner from the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 I acknowledged that; â€Å"the need to have an understanding of legal issues which service users may face even though there may not be a direct social work responsibility involved in the issue† (Brammer, 2010, p. ). I understand that I am not a qualified or approved social worker therefore I am not yet liable for to make individual decisions without the input of supervision from colleagues (Lackey, 2006). However, I aimed to show my accountability to the vast array of individuals and organisations I came into contact with over the duration of direct practice learning despite my obligations lying mostly with the organisation I was practicing within.

Introduction To Aircraft Manufacturing Industry Marketing Essay

Introduction To Aircraft Manufacturing Industry Marketing Essay The Aircraft Industry is a duopoly industry comprising of Airbus (EU) and Boeing (US). If there are to be viewed from political consensus they are two-party political system. Anthony Downs proposed a classic model in the political science that suits the situation in the perfect way. His proposal reversed the conservative connection between party ideologies and elections. He said that instead of parties achieving victory in the elections on the basis of the appropriateness of their agenda, his findings give elections pre-eminence, with insinuation that all actions taken by the party are aimed at maximising votes. According to Downes, both parties will try to resemble each other as much as possible. Both parties will keep their policies modestly different from each other. Also majority of voters only want to see minor alterations in government functionality. The Market of large and mid size aircrafts works on the same ideology. There is an immense consensus among market players to what an attractive product comprises, that is, an economically efficient and safe aircraft. But there are also some interest factions that have wagered in product design, just as there are much potential groups within a democratic system(Ibsen n.d.). Â  The Government of the United States and its Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are considered to be influential as they look upon the largest air transport market in the world. Regulations laid by the European and United states government will prove to be a major driving force for orders of new aircraft in the coming years. In the similar way, the deregulation of European airlines, which begun in 1990s, promises to expand the markets for smaller regional jets(Ibsen n.d.). Trade of large commercial jetliners has been tariff free under the agreement of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The high degree of political intervention has effect on the purchase of aircraft. The decision of buyers to buy which aircraft depends on the political reasons because the support and interference from the government could effect the future of buyers. For Example, presently Boeings biggest market is China and is estimated to be for next twenty years. As a result Chinas purchase of boeing aircrafts has led to lot of political influence in the United States(Ibsen n.d.). ECONOMIC FACTORS Air traffic in US and UK is likely to increase as they have just recovered from the recession. The commercial aircraft is estimated to rise worth US$ 2 trillion in the coming twenty years, which will result into need of 16,600 new aircrafts (estimated). The largest demand is expected to come from airlines from China, US and India. Huge amount of growth is expected from the Middle East countries. It is expected that China alone will need 2,200 new aircrafts to meet its travel needs. Also, international freight sector is estimated to grow by 253% in the next twenty years (Irwin Pavcnik n.d.). China being the biggest emerging market and considering its population size, the growth in air passengers is likely to shoot up which would result in increasing demand for new aircrafts (The Economist n.d.). High Oil prices: towering oil prices have elevated the operating cost of airlines. In the year 2007, the worldwide airline industry had to pay 136 billion US dollars for fuels, its a 300% increase compared to what they had to pay in 2003. Even in 2008, when crude oil prices fell dramatically, it still accounted for 32% of the operating expenses. Global GDP- the primary factors in determining the demand of aircraft and growth in the industry is the GDP, which is expected to grow by 3.2% by 2030 The global recession: The recession which impelled a theatrical drop in load factors in the middle of 2008. In response, airlines have been putting aircrafts out of service and rethinking plans to order replacement for the existing aircrafts. In the third quarter of 2008 24 airlines went bankrupt. The loses during this period were estimated about 4-8 billion US dollars. The credit crunch: The credit crunch in combination with the above mentioned factors, has made it hard to purchase new aircrafts, airlines are finding difficulties to finance new aircrafts. Despite of the credit crunch, orders for business and commercial jets have seen increase at the beginning of 2008, but the credit crises has resulted in delays and deferrals and failure to take delivery of many aircrafts(Captain n.d.). SOCIAL FACTORS Recent changes in society have led to increase in air travel. Also changes in life style of people and the viewpoint of air journey being a feasible option. Demand of air travel is driven by convenience. However, the trend is changing as the consumers travel decisions is primarily based on price. Rising cost and competition produced by low-cost carriers is affecting majority of Airlines. Business travels, once a stable of income, now is a conduct by corporate travel guidelines. As a consequence, airlines are combining their networks to utilize economies of scale, minimize environmental impact and offer smaller markets with new and improved services. The noise generated and CO2 emission near the airport is also a thing of higher concern as people living near the airport are pressurizing authorities to change their operating style(Ferreri n.d.). TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS In the commercial aviation industry, there are huge amount of costs connected with Research and development for the development of a new aircraft. European Union governments sustain European technology R D sector, just as the united states government does, though FAA, NASA, Department of Defence (DOD) and programs that reliefs export tax (Colantonio n.d.). Though United states has three times more support than the European union. The Aircraft industry is very demanding with very high quantity of time and money dedicated to innovations and RD. Now a days carbon fiber is used for the construction of an Aircraft body. (example: A350 XWB with 50% carbon fiber body) Concentration on development on making more fuel efficient engines for longer ranges (Szodruch et al. n.d.). Use of alternative sources of fuel to counteract raising oil prices The development of supersonic aircraft is also a chance because it will lead to creation of whole new market segment. Commercial carriers will buy these aircrafts to meet customers demand of reaching the destination quickly and on time. The largest and cost efficient advancement for commercial aircraft industry is the faster designing of planes. The augmented manufacturing time will save aircrafts manufacturers time on labor and help them to better utilize resources. For Example: Boeing 777 used computer to design a prototype, this saved them the cost of building a real prototype(Szodruch et al. n.d.). In todays competitive world, robots are also considered an effective tool for the manufacturing of aircraft. LEGAL FACTORS There are many restrictions when it comes to entering the market but due to globalisation circumstances have changed and also due to US open skies agreement. Open skies agreement has led to smooth flow of national and international flights in and out of US, promoting tours and business activities, improving productivity and creation of job opportunities and economic growth (BBC n.d.). United states open skies policy has been proved very effective in airline globalization. It enabled the airline carriers limitless admittance in the partners market and right to go to all middle and beyond points. This agreement has offered the most operational flexibility for airline coalitions. This agreement has been successful in achieving over hundred partners from every part of the world and every level of economic growth (BBC n.d.). Also there is IATA (International Air Transport Association). Its aim is to provide assistance to airlines to decrease complexity of their process and increase passenger convenience, decreasing costs and develop efficiency. The pioneering simplifying the business scheme is vital in this area. Moreover, IATAs primary priority is safety and its aims to continuously improve safety standards via IATAs Operational safety audit (IOSA)(Rothman Rothwell n.d.). The Boeing company and government have long complained that Airbus has ignored the 1992 bilateral agreement, which is one of the key agreement, which says that launch aid will be available to Airbus till its in the level of its competitor Boeing, but that is no longer the case with Airbus having 52% of the market share. The US government says that the aid given to Airbus is illegal under the WTO agreement and had also asked for litigation. The case is solved and US won the battle and Airbus was penalised and WTO promised to restore fair trade in the industry (EU Business n.d.). Major regulatory bodies such as EPA, FAA have a major impact on the industry as they decide on the laws and regulations that various suppliers, producers and operators have to deal with. The impact is substantial as they are capable of creating major obstacles in the final approval of aircrafts (Barriage n.d.)(Clarke n.d.). ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS Environment factors generally include ecological aspect of climate and weather change, which in turn can influence industries such as insurance, tourism and farming. Today, there is an awareness of climate change in the minds of people, which is becoming a deciding factor on how companies function and what are their offerings, because it can lead to formation of a new market or destruction of the present market. ACARE is an European group of airports, eurocontrol, airlines, manufacturers, universities and members of EU and EU commission. Its primary challenges are safety, reasonable, quality, environment and security. Some of their objectives are to reduce air accidents to 80%, 15 minute less wait time on airports for little distance destinations and 50% less time needed to market. One of most popular intention of ACARE was to reduce specific CO2 discharge by 50%, the discharge of NOx by 80%, and to decrease the exterior noise of fixed wing aircraft by 10 db per operation. For example- Boeing is a major element of the commercial aviation industry. It is executing some new plans to improve its aircrafts environmental performance. Compared to present It also claims that it will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2020(Szodruch et al. n.d.). The purpose of ACARE clearly reflects the demand of society, especially in the area of security and stability of environment. Also, their purpose reflect the requirements of aircraft operators, which are major driver for innovation in technology. The ACARE objectives reflect requirements which are demanded by society, particularly in the areas of environmental compatibility and security. On the other hand, the ACARE objectives also reflect the needs of aircraft operators, which are an important driver for technological improvement. On the other hand, the mounting pressure from society regarding emissions, noise around airports is affecting airline operations(Szodruch et al. n.d.). In addition, with increasing pressure from society as a whole, as well as from local communities around airports, noise and local emissions have an impact on airline operations(Clarke n.d.). CONCLUSION Commercial Aviation Industry is optimistically connected to the world economy. As a result, with the continuous growth of world economy, this industry is also presenting signs of swift growth. Airbus and Boeing forecasted immense growth in the future and adjusting their strategies accordingly. Boeing and Airbus create a duopoly in the market. However they still face competition from small companies located in Russia. Also China is entering the market with its first home made commercial jetliner COMAC C919 coming in 2012. This sector is heavily dependent on outsourcing and external factors. Their operations are carried out around the world so multiple trade policies of different countries affect their strategies. Rising oil prices is a serious problem for the industry; airlines are forced to shut down their old planes because of increased fuel consumption. After the PESTEL analysis, it can clearly be concluded that the biggest challenges are expected to come from economic, legal and e nvironmental factors in the near future. PART B AIRBUS FUTURE FORECAST According to Airbus latest Worldwide market forecast, there will be a delivery of 25,000 new freighter and passenger aircrafts between 2009 to 2028, which are expected to be worth US$ 3.1 Trillion. Rising economies, developing airline networks, extension of low cost airlines and increasing number of big cities as well as growth in traffic and also the also the orders to replace new aircrafts with the new ones which are more efficient are creating more demand for the aircrafts. In 2009, there was a downfall in Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPKs) by 2%, it is expected to rise to 4.6% in 2010. The forecast also estimates that in next twenty years, passenger traffic RPKs will show resiliency to the repeated effects of the sector and raise itself by 4.7% per year or double in the coming fifteen years. This will only happen if demand rises to 24,100 new aircrafts of value US$2.9 trillion. When the old 10,000 aircrafts will be replaced with the new ones, the global aircraft fleet of hundred seating or more will twofold from some 14,000 today. According to the forecast, airfreight tonne kilometres (FTKs) are expected to increase annually by 5.2%. Pooled with fleet renewal, this will lead to requirement of 3,440 new freighters. More than 850 of these are new, which are expected to valued more than 210 billion dollar, with the remainder converted from passenger aircraft. Economics of Oxford predicts that in the next twenty years, this industry will directly employ 8.5 million people and will add US$ 1 trillion to the world GDP. Other indirect advantage and tourism are even bigger. The biggest demand will come from the Asia pacific and the emerging economies. They are China and India (31%), followed by Europe (23%). Also in terms of domestic market China (10%) and India (7.9%) will be the fastest growing in the next twenty years. But the US will retain its title of being the biggest domestic network. Not very surprising, Airbus also predicts requirements for Very Large Aircraft (VLA) which can accommodate more than 400 passengers like the A380, at above 1,700. About 19 percent by value of passenger and freight deliveries, or seven percent aircraft units are valued at over US $570 billion. Out of these, 1,318 will be used to link the mega cities of the world, which are continuously increasing in numbers. This implies greater increase in air traffic. Also more than half of the VLA will be operational in Asia-pacific. In the segment of twin aisle aircraft which can accommodate 250 to 400 passengers, forecast states that there will be a need of 6,250 new aircrafts in the next twenty years, expected to be valued at US$ 1,300 billion, or 25% by units, 42% by value. Out of these 6,250, 4,240 will be small twin aisle (250-300 sitting capacity) and about 2,010 will be twin aisles (350-400). Such sections include members of A330/A340 family. It is also expected that from 2013, A350 XWB will replace the whole twin aisle market requirements. According to the forecast, in the single aisle section, aircrafts worth US$ 1,200 billion or 68% by units, 39% by value will be distributed in the next twenty years. There is comparatively an increase in forecast compared to previous ones due to arrival of low-cost transporters and liberalization in route and increasing requirement of single aisle aircraft in Asia pacific(Leahy)(Airbus n.d.). BOEING FUTURE FORECAST Global economic activity revealed that gross domestic product (GDP), is the most powerful driver of development in commercial aircraft and airlines industry and also affects demands of aircraft. The worldwide GDP is anticipated to rise at an average of 3.2% on a yearly basis for the next twenty years. Revealing on the economic growth, global traveller traffic will rise average 5.3% and cargo traffic to 5.9% over the forecasted period. The traveller and cargo traffic growth rates are comparatively higher than prior years due to fall in air traffic. After calculating the twenty year growth rate on the basis of lower base year results into a higher growth rate. If the low starting point is neglected, it is estimated that traveller traffic will increase to a rate of 4.9 percent and the cargo traffic will also increase to 5.4 percent each year. To meet the current demand of business-related aviation services, the number of aircrafts needed worldwide will increase at an annual rate of 3.2% , doubling-up from 19,000 aircrafts present today to a total of 36,000 aircrafts in 2029. Also airplane deliveries for the purpose of substituting old planes and growth of fleet will total 30,900 over the next twenty years of value US$ 3.6 trillion. Diverse demand for air services: Air travel around the world continues to change in response to challenges and opportunities. New airline Business models and energetic growth of air travel in the emerging countries are expanding the demand of airplanes. Despite the downfall in travel in 2009, there were still several business models and markets that experienced growth. In the next twenty years, seventy seven percent of the demand of new aircrafts will arise from outside of north America, with 34% going to Asian region. According to the Boeing forecast the biggest demand form market value point of view will come from United States, followed by china. Amazingly, the United Arab Emirates, with less than five million population, is home to numerous highly competitive airlines, is expected to be the third biggest market by value (Boeing n.d.). AIRBUS COMPANY PROFILE AND STRATEGIES IMPLEMENTED Airbus is an aircraft manufacturing company based on France, Toulouse, is presently the worlds largest commercial aircraft manufacturer with 52% of the market share in the European market, and has been involved in an intense competition with Boeing since 1970. Airbus is a supplementary of European Aeronautic defence and space space company (EADS). In 2001, Airbus officially became a solo company, BAE and EADS relocated their assets to newly formed company and became stakeholders of 20% and 80% respectively. A shareholder committee that contains seven members and work as an administrative council, 5 members from EADS and 2 members from BAE administer airbus, they approve the investment and make up three year investment plan. In the May month of 1974, Airbus successfully made its first delivery, it was an A300B2, to an air operator in France Airbus has been restructured into centres of excellence and each centre is managing its own policy of buy and make accordingly, making decision to subcontract trying to find out whether they can lower cost, which is the only way to continue profitability. Airbus has also adapted differentiation strategy for its core activities since it rolled out its first wide bodied twin aircraft which differentiates it from its competitors (UscubaComission n.d.). Airbus follows an expansion strategy by proving itself expert in the industry and put it in use in the military program A400M program. Airbus has started research on the new engine option (NEO) that could result into reductions of operating costs. Boeing plans to offer a new aircraft in 2020 followed by 737NG in 2011. The company make use of only prime and properly tested technology to chose its suppliers to assure quality. The company used synergies between its aircrafts, which leads to shorter training time between engineers and pilots, leading to savings in maintenance processes and reduction in spare parts inventory. This leads to monetary gains and competitive advantage for them(Goold n.d.). Airbus functions on the thinking of foreseeing and listening properly to their customers and employees in building more fuel efficient, less noisy and comfortable aircrafts. Airbus operates on the principles of thinking ahead and listening to their customers, passengers, and employees in building constantly more comfortable and efficient aircrafts. Also Airbus corporate culture and diversity is competitive advantage for the company (Composed n.d.). The increment in oil prices and journey cost may interfere in the low cost offerings by Airbus, which may put pressure on the firm to switch to more fuel efficient engines(Chapman n.d.). BOEING COMPANY PROFILE AND STRATEGIES IMPLEMENTED Till now, Boeing has been conventional leader in the global aviation industry, with Airbus lying behind. Nevertheless, in the last few years Airbus has been ahead Boeing repeatedly because of the large number of orders its been receiving and surpassing its deliveries in 2003. Boeing is the key producer of commercial airplanes and the foremost aerospace firm and offer connected support services. Boeing is currently the worlds biggest producer of large commercial aircrafts (LCAs)(Composed n.d.). Boeing has been keeping up with its objective of giving its customer eco friendly products. Boeing has been aggressive in taking over, expanding and putting into practice new technological solutions for reducing aircraft noise, and also maintaining operational effectiveness and customer satisfaction of its products in parallel. The Boeing capital corporation also invests in commercial apparatus and private airplanes. The Boeing is also involved in design, growth, sale, production as well support of industrial jetliners, rocket defence, satellites, space flight of human and launch services and systems. Boeing is one out of the two main producers of 100 plus seat aircrafts for the global commercial airline industry and the second biggest defence constrictor in the United States. Boeings major operations are carried out in the United States of America. They depend heavily on their chain of suppliers, subcontractors and partners which are situated around the globe(Arkell n.d.). Boeing has injected huge amount of capital in the construction of new facilities, equipments to carry out their tests, and to improvise on their noise control and aero-acoustics research. There are also several research project that focus on applying the new technology and implementing it to the production. Most of the important research projects are employed to deal with cost, maintenance, production and cross functional design and problems coming in the adaptation of new technology. NASA Boeing is also a NASA contractor who has worked vigorously in the operations conducted by it and so that it can gain access into new technologies in the field of aerospace. Boeing also has its full database linked with the NASA. Boeing has been involved with NASA for quite a long time regarding noise problem in commercial planes. This also enables the firm to have a very strong RD department. Boeing has made a decision to market in a different way by turning their focus on small and mid-size aircrafts to increase flexibility between airline operations and to cover longer distances. They focus not on increased capacity but to cover longer distances, this differentiates them. This will enable airlines to provide much convenience to travellers, at much less operational costs, leading to combination of lower rates for travellers and profit for airlines. Their potential success which they foresee is based on three of strategies of running core business values in a healthy way, using strength into new products and opening up new limits (Horton McKay n.d.). Their potential success which they foresee is based on three of strategies of running core business values in a healthy way, using strength into new products and opening up new limits. SWOT ANALYSIS OF BOEING This segment analysis the strengths if Boeing, they will use the strength to meet the upcoming future demand to gain competitive edge. Strength Customer Satisfaction: The project named My Boeing fleet has implemented web service and XML technology to improvise operations, reduce general work errors and decrease costs. Enhanced Customer Satisfaction: Boeing uses the latest IT technology to execute tasks from their work locations. They improve their time spent in meeting to learn new things every time they undergo training. These action lead to rise in productivity. High performing employees: Boeing endeavours to be improve quality continuously and with the help of its workforce benefit programme and maintaining balance between work/life culture. Also, Boeing also recognizes that its competence lies with its employees. Well Developed Organization: Boeing has several dedicated project teams and subsidiaries to give a hand in improving overall companys performance. For example, Aero-info is a subsidiary of Boeing focused on providing aircraft maintenance solutions. New Facility Supply: With the numerous increments in commercial communication satellites, Boeing has decided to build a new construction factory in Alabama and Decatur for the production of newest generation of missiles used to push the satellites into space. Weakness Recent suspension of Boeing from the military contracts and re-assignation of those contracts to Lockheed martin, this occurred to ethical lapses. Columbia Shuttle Tragedy: The name of Boeing suffers drawback every time the tragedy is re-called because Boeing is a very special part of United Space Alliance. Ongoing controversy linking ex-CFO and ex-CEO: This happened due to hiring of a military regulator while negotiating an important contract. Change of Aircraft Supporting: Boeing has decided to fold up the production of Boeing 757, while Boeing 717 and 767 are on lifeline. This could have a bad effect on consumers confidence and interests. Opportunities: Government Support: Boeing is the biggest exporter and second biggest weapons manufacturer in the US and primary contractor in many the countries missile programs, it can gain government support anytime they want. Expected deal from Boeing 7E7 contracts: The program has already started and it has also received orders from All Nippon Airways and also from airlines from New Zealand and Australia. They expect sales of around 500 at the end of the year. Threats Aggressive competition: Boeing is in the middle of a fierce competition, especially from the field of LCAs. It was once leader in LCA but now its on a very close competition with Airbus, which is the leader in producing commercial aircrafts. Foreign Barriers: The growing concern for Boeing is the foreign government involvement in the production of LCA. A term suited to this situation is called Regulatory Nationalism. This can result into refusal of US made aircrafts in some countries(Campbell et al. n.d.). SWOT ANALYSIS OF AIRBUS Strength Diversity in employees: Airbus has been very conscious about its employees, it believes in keeping diversity in their employees. Ingenuity: The ingenuity of Airbus company has enabled it to survive for the last three decades. Since its commencement in the 1970, the has risen to be the leader surpassing its main competitor Boeing in 2005. Freezing of Spare parts: Airbus freezes the price of its spare parts for three years. For example, the prices of spare parts in 2009 were same as in 2006. This practice has gained them lot of customer support. Weakness The A380: The Airbus company invested almost everything in the A380. Even after that it faced delays in the delivery of A380. This lead to a lot of stir with its parent company EADS, so much that its management was changed in 2006. Airbus also made huge amount of cuts by reducing its suppliers from 3000 to 500, resulting into saving of US$ 2 billion and cut administrative costs by US$ 446 million. These steps were taken to accommodate growing needs with the launch of A350. When A380 production was delayed for two years, the parent company EADS reportedly lost US$ 6 billion dollars. After shocks came when FedEx world largest express transportation company, cancelled its ten orders for the double decker and ordered 15 Boeing 777 in place of that. Also one of the major weakness of Airbus is that it has low RD investment compared to its competitor Boeing which can prove harmful in a long run. Opportunities Airbus is continuously going on a green path. This is a very auspicious position for any company who intends to be in forefront of Greening technology. Development of new aircrafts that significantly lower the carbon footprint on the environment is an opportunity no company would pass. Today, people are concerned about the environment and this act by airbus will gain a lot of public support. Airbus plans on being the industry pioneers when it comes to keep the environment clean. All of its manufacturing sites are kept within the environment standard, all ISO14001 certified. Threats Legal actions are inherited in this industry and no one is immune from it. For example, Air France sued the company for the crash occurred in 1992 near Strasbourg. A major finance risk is also there when there are exchange rate clashes. A major part of the revenues of EADS are generated in US dollars and most of its cost incurred are in euro, this can seriously affect profits (Weidner et al. n.d.). Conclusion Airbus strategies are to the point, provide every variety of product available to meet the different requirements of the customers with the latest technology, also maintaining low cost of operations and maintenance expenditure. Airbus implements mixed type of strategies on different types of its products, it follows differentiation strategy on commercial airplane segments for different needs of customers and invent units to operate at lower costs. Boeing has a very strong Research and Development network, the company uses its innovative technology to gain competitive advantage. They know that they are lagging behind airbus but they put high amount of work to improvise the quality of their products. They are going in a different direction by catering to different set of customers. Both Airbus and Boeing cater to different kind of customers. Airbus makes bigger jets and Boeing makes smaller jets. Boeing needs to overcome the situation and regain their position in the market.