Informative Essay on Hpv

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Testing What is the Human Papillomavirus? Commonly known as HPV, it is an infection that spreads through sexual contact. There are over one hundred different types of HPV; several types cause genital warts, while other high risk strands can lead to cancer of the cervix, anus, vagina, and penis. Because HPV is often asymptomatic, many people are unaware of their infection status, and thus, their potential for transmitting the virus to a sexual partner.The significance of the Human Papillomavirus is that fifty percent of Americans who are sexually active will contract it within their lives, and at any given point there are twenty million Americans already infected with it (â€Å"By the numbers: HPV Vaccine†). Infection with HPV is a significant public health burden in the United States because of the costs for screening and treatment for cervical abnormalities, as well as costs associated with treating benign genital warts. There is a vaccine known as Gardasil that will prevent strands of HPV. The vaccine, FDA approved, is effective towards different types of HPV.Human Papillomavirus vaccines should be administered to females, who are sexually active, to fight against certain strains of the virus, such as genital warts and most importantly cervical cancer. Genital warts is a skin infection caused by the sexually transmitted disease, the Human Papillomavirus. HPV types associated with genital infections are transmitted sexually, primarily through skin to skin contact during sexual activity. Warts are extremely common. Statistics show that â€Å"each year 250,000-500, 000 Americans develop genital warts† (â€Å"By the Numbers: HPV†).All are benign. In women, warts occur in or around the vagina, on the cervix or around the anus. In men, genital warts are less common but might occur on the top of the penis. There are currently several different strains of HPV that cause both external and internal warts. In the United St ates, about 1. 4 million people have genital warts, which cause HPV (Board, A. D. A. M. Editorial). According to researchers, â€Å"vaccines for the Human Papillomavirus are available to protect against the two types of HPV† (types 6 and 11) that cause about 80% of genital warts (â€Å"HPV Vaccine†).The Human Papillomavirus vaccine has been recommended for females nine to twenty-six years old; it should be administered before the onset of sexual activity, but the girls and women who are sexually active should be vaccinated as well (â€Å"HPV Vaccine†). Most infections go away within 1 to 2 years, but some persevere. Persistent infection can increase the risk of certain types of cancers. Nearly two decades ago, experts discovered a relationship between infection with HPV and cervical cancer. Since then, these experts have learned much more about what HPV can lead to (â€Å"Cervical Cancer Symptoms, Causes, Treatments†).The Human Papillomavirus can cause ch anges in a woman’s cervix. If the body clears the infection, the cervical cells go back to normal, but if they do not and the infection continues, the cells will abnormally change. The American Cancer society says â€Å"about 12,170 women will find out they have cervical cancer in the U. S. this year† (â€Å"By the Numbers: HPV Issues†). Many women in the United States get Pap smear tests, and if they have abnormal cells, they have them removed before they become benign. The high strands of HPV cause Pap smear tests to show that the cells are abnormal.According to Statistics â€Å"researchers say that virtually all cervical cancers, more than 99%, are caused by these high-risk HPV viruses† (â€Å"Cervical Cancer Symptoms, Causes, Treatments†). The most common of the high-strains of the Human Papillomavirus are types 16 and 18, which cause seventy percent of all cervical cancers (â€Å"HPV Vaccine†). Cervical cancer has an effect on women not only in a health manner. The emotional cost from HPV is a further burden as it may include fear of cervical cancer, apprehension, and the stigma associated with a sexually transmitted infection.HPV is so common that drug companies long sought to develop a vaccine against it. In June 2006, Gardasil, a Human Papillomavirus vaccine made by Merck & Co. , was licensed for use and brought to the market (â€Å"HPV Vaccine†). Gardasil, which is given into a series of three injections, targets the main types of HPV. The types targeted are HPV 6, HPV 11, HPV 16 and HPV 18, which cause ninety percent of the genital warts and are the leading causes of cervical cancer (â€Å"Cervical Cancer Symptoms, Causes, Treatments†). Brought to the attention by researchers â€Å"combined, those strains affect an estimated 3 million women in the U.S† (â€Å"HPV Vaccine†). Since HPV is so common in the United States, the makers of Gardasil are trying to get a law approved that wil l make the shots mandatory. In 2006, Upon Gardasil’s release, Merck & Co. launches an intensive lobbying effort to convince state lawmakers to make the vaccine mandatory for girls entering middle school. Approximately two dozen states consider adopting such a law in the first few months after Gardasil’s debut. â€Å"Key Events in the History of HPV† Women are not aware of the causes or effects of HPV. They lack knowledge of the infection and are more at risk.Circumstances are worsened when accompanied by a lack of knowledge about the transmission of the virus and its association with genital warts and cervical cancer. Doctors are recommending Gardasil to their patients to prevent genital warts and cancers. â€Å"I’m a Pediatrician, and in Pediatrics, we do routinely recommend Gardasil to both boys and girls,† says Dr. Marney Gundlach (â€Å"Undernews†). Dr. Alvin Bay Lin also quotes, â€Å"As a family physician, I recommend Gardasil to all appropriate patients, boys & girls 9-26yo, to prevent cervical and other genital cancers, anal cancer, and genital warts.There is some evidence that it may even be useful in women 27-45yo† (â€Å"Undernews†). In today’s generation, girls begin having sex as young as nine years old, and that is causing the risk of HPV to increase. Recently, Gardasil has been approved for males, in order to decrease the risk for spreading infections and to primarily lowering the results of spreading it to women (â€Å"HPV Infection in Men: Symptoms, Treatments, Causes. †). Note that the vaccines are not an HPV cure. Gardasil has been shown to provide protection for five years. The Human Papillomavirus vaccination does not mean women can skip their Pap smear test.Gardasil is slowly becoming known in order to enhance the awareness of its prevention against HPV. Should girls and young women receive the Human Papillomavirus vaccine? Yes. The vaccine is nearly one hundred effecti ve in preventing diseases caused by high-risk strains of HPV (â€Å"By the numbers: HPV Vaccine†). HPV is so common within the United States that at any given point there are twenty million people that have it (â€Å"By the numbers: HPV Vaccine†). The Human Papillomavirus causes skin infections, also known as genital warts. They occur in both men and women, in or around the genital areas.There are over one million people in the United States that have contracted genital warts (â€Å"Cervical Cancer Symptoms, Causes, Treatments†). If infections are not cleared up, they may lead to cervical cancer. Approximately, 3,700 women die each year from cervical cancer (â€Å"By the numbers: HPV Vaccine†). There is a vaccine out that has been Federal Drug Association, and Center for Disease Control approved to help prevent strains of HPV. Gardasil helps target the four main types of HPV. It is administered into a series of three shots, is effective to work up to five years. The shots may be presented to both men and women, in order to reduce etting high risk strains of HPV. Doctors are recommending Gardasil to their adult patients as well as their adolescent patients in order to create awareness against HPV. Due to lack of knowledge of how severe HPV can be, Gardasil should be administered to both men and women to decrease the number of HPV infections a year and the number of deaths of cervical cancer. Statistics show the vast number of Americans who have contracted HPV, and how they are rising every year. Gardasil may be the safest choice in protection for women, in order to slowly decrease future numbers. Works Citied Board, A.D. A. M. Editorial. â€Å"Causes, Incidence, and Risk Factors. † Cervical Cancer. U. S. National Library of Medicine, 18 Nov. 0000. Web. 06 Mar. 2012. â€Å"By the Numbers: HPV Vaccine. † Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 18 Sept. 2009. Web. 6 Mar. 2012. â€Å"Cervical Cancer Symptoms, Causes, Treatments. † WebMD. WebMD. Web. 06 Mar. 2012. â€Å"HPV and Cervical Cancer. † WebMD. WebMD, 10 Jan. 0000. Web. 06 Mar. 2012. â€Å"HPV Infection in Men: Symptoms, Treatments, Causes. † WebMD. WebMD. Web. 06 Mar. 2012. . HPV Vaccine. † Issues & Controversies On File: n. pag. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 18 Sept. 2009. Web. 6 Mar. 2012. â€Å"Key Events in the History of the HPV Vaccine. † Issues & Controversies On File: n. pag. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 18 Sept. 2009. Web. 6 Mar. 2012. â€Å"Undernews. † : Gardasil: A Case Study of What Can Happen When Pharma Hustling Goes Wild. Web. 06 Mar. 2012. | | | competency| 50|   37| clear maintained position| 10|   9| analysis/synthesis| 15|   14| use of sources| 15|   14| distinctive presentation| 10|   7| grade|   | 81|

Patriot Act, Pros and Cons

The Patriot Act was signed into law by President Bush in response to the tragedy of the events of 9/11. This report explains the issues that warranted this law, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of the Patriot Act of 2001. Passed in the weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks, the law expanded the government's powers in anti-terrorism investigations. And as expected, controversy is always an issue when such laws are passed. The Patriot Act in no exception. Although the law was designed to counter terrorism within the borders of the United States, some provisions of this law are controversial due to infringements on civil liberties. The following are a list of pros and cons based on information provided by the United States Department of Justice, and ACLU. The Pros: †¢Allows law enforcement to use surveillance against more crimes of terror †¢Law enforcement can conduct investigations without tipping off terrorists †¢Federal agents ask a court for an order to obtain business records in national security terrorism cases †¢The Patriot Act facilitates information sharing and cooperation among government agencies so that they can better â€Å"connect the dots. †¢The Patriot Act reflects new technologies and new threats †¢Law enforcement officials may obtain a search warrant anywhere a terrorist-related activity occurs The Cons: †¢FBI can demand â€Å"any tangible thing,† including books, letters, diaries, library records, medical and psychiatric records, financial information, membership lists of religious institutions, and genetic information without your knowledge or conse nt a. The FBI needs only to tell a judge (no need for evidence or probable cause) that the search protects against terrorism. The judge has no authority to reject this application. †¢Section 213: a. It expands the government's ability to search private property without notice to the owner †¢Violates the 1st and 4th Amendments to the Constitution †¢Does not work: a. 0 out of 5,000 suspects detained for terrorism have been convicted Opponents of the Patriot Act argue that this law was pushed through Congress with some measure of haste and opportunistic tones. The debate and controversy will obviously continue as is with most laws passed within the halls of the United States Congress. As guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States with respect to the right of protest, the Patriot Act will continue and amendments will sure to follow. The act’s own framers admit that it reduces peacetime liberties but argue that it is must continue in order to fight terrorists. As is the case with a law such as the Patriot Act, once it is implemented the government is always reluctant to relinquish its additional powers regardless of whether or not the original threat that prompted the act still exists. Such laws are sometimes viewed as too harsh or simply appalling and sometimes a person feels that his or her privacy is being violated. Sometimes all one has to do is to remember the tragic events of 9/11 to renew their sense of well being, security, and the freedom that is afforded by this great nation, the United States of America.

Confucianism in Chinese Business Culture Essay

Introduction China as a civilization is one of the oldest that has lived in the face of the earth, through out history they can pride themselves with abundance of technological and sociological breakthrough that are ahead from the rest of the civilization in the ancient times. As its best China was the most prosperous and highly intellectual civilization especially during the Tang Dynasty, which were synonymous with the golden era of ancient Chinese history. Nowadays, as a citizen in this modern civilization we can never hide away from the impact of china in the global economy, based on a personal point of view the superpower of China today has always maintain the same philosophy, culture and tradition as they have always have which could that back the most ancient of times, none more apparent than the language that has been honed and maintain to this day, and also business culture that has always been distinct from the rest of the world. The China of today root back to the beginning of their civilization, therefore the history of China business is a subject that should be keenly approach as the basis of understanding the China of today. In this particular paper we will focus on the root of Chinese business philosophy that branch from Confucianism, we will discuss how Confucianism came to influence the everyday business culture in china lay foundation to the modern Chinese society, from this objective we will then discuss Confucian ideology on harmony, hierarchy, collectivism and reciprocity within his philosophy. The principles makes up the differences of how Chinese approach business, we can take an analogy of how Chinese pervasiveness in saying ‘no’ in which Westerners are likely to find it different the way how things come about, but it roots back to Confucius teaching of humanity and etiquettes which consider the embarrassment and potential awkwardness such situations may create and do not want to make others feel ashamed or rejected. In this paper we will research the parameters of the philosophy and how it came to be to further convey the understanding of Chinese business culture. Outline Confucianism is something that embodied China, it is everywhere and it stick to every aspect of a Chinese person daily life, therefore to search on this topic of how to understand what role does Confucianism have in influencing the Chinese Business culture it is to be more aware of what is the philosophy is all about. Firstly we learn the basic of this philosophy, which are the principles that Confucius has laid and preached. These information are attainable through books, websites in the internet, databases, journals and personal observation that are carried out during the whole process of the making of this paper. Once we get the basic understanding of Confucianism, we will then try to see how it fits into the Chinese business culture in the past. Literature review. The first and foremost literature we will review is the textbook ‘An introduction to Chinese Business culture’ by Xu Huifen, which is the preferred text for the course. The text will be use as the basis of understanding the background and teaching of Confucius, the book provide a good information to help understand the basic philosophy of Confucius and also relate them to other lateral disciples of his teaching such as Mencius and Xun Zi. In addition we will use the text to gain more understanding of the relation of Confucius’ teachings and his follower in relations to economic thoughts and business culture. Although there a concise amount of knowledge and information on this text we it lacks literal view on the actual business culture and examples on how the philosophy is being practiced, therefore in this particular issue we will try to use other sources. The second source will be the different article and point of views that taken from the Internet. One of the sources that are selected is a presentation titled ‘East meet West: Understanding Cultural Differences when Doing Business in China’ by Dr. Eugene Chang. This source will be use as a guideline to common Chinese business practice and culture, to get us more accustomed to the reality side of the study, and from it we will find connection to Confucianism from the business practice and culture in China. The third source is an academic paper titled The Influence of Confucianism and Buddhism on Chinese Business: the Case of Aveiro, Portugal by Tianbo Li and Gillian Owen Moreira of the University of Aveiro, Portugal. The text gives us great insight to China business today, with data from questionnaires and how Confucianism exists in the world today. the source will be useful affirm hypothesis with real data and also provide knowledge on the Confucianism that is being practice today. Through out the paper we will use several other references and literature that are not as significant as the above texts, these sources and references will further aid our paper. Argument: How does Confucius teaching reflect on ancient Chinese business culture and practice and today Chinese business Culture and practices? History Commerce and trade has always been part of the social system in China for as long as we can remember, and as we know back in the ancient times, businessman are not as highly regarded during the ancient times when compared to today, as in the ancient times commercial success had never won the respect of the society and Scholars, farmers and artisans was ahead in the social rank based on Confucian scheme of social stratification (xu,2007) . But still, it doesn’t deter businessmen during that time from being wealthy and rich, Chinese businessmen has a long history of being smart, strategic, and agile thinker, which makes them as we can still aware today that they are great businessmen. The beginning of Commercial prominent with the merchant groups that started in Shanxi, Anhui and Zhejiang and Guangdong province, as the former two take advantage of the strategic location in which they were in that became eventually the hub for trading between the north and south part of the country. But the good times for commerce as for other old Chinese tradition were negatively affected when the monarchy came to an end. But the latter two merchants (Zhejiang and Guangdong) has different approach to the trend of decline mainly helped by the strong international influenced and investment put towards coastal and southern cities of Guangzhou and shanghai that resulted with the trade network for these merchant that expand to the western region bring prosperous times for these merchants as well. As two merchant groups fell out of their luck the other face a different fate and from then we came to know that the ancestral root of China’s modern merchant were the Zhejiang and Guangdong merchants. Business culture in the ancient times for china as mention earlier were divided by four merchant groups that were originated from four different areas, we come to know that Shanxi and Anhui merchant were a more traditional merchant groups, due to ancient China emphasis on political influence more than economical benefits these two merchant groups become the more prominent merchant groups compared to the others due to their close relations with the government therefore ensuring their prosperity with favorable policy by the government to them, and for a long time this has become a huge part of the traditional business model in China until the monarchy ended, which turn its favor to a more to the more independent merchant of Zhejiang and Guangdong merchants. As these two merchants lay the foundation for the modern Chinese business culture we will explore more the how the teaching of Confucius influenced them. Confucius concept in Business Confucius may not rank businessman in in high society rank, but there is no doubt that his teaching influence the many generation of businessmen up until today. There are many ways in which Confucianism affected how Chinese approach business practice. We start with ideology which we must first understand that Confucian theory work on three principles which were ‘ren’ (humility), ‘yi’ (collectivism) and ‘li’(etiquette), these three concepts run like the blood though the vein within Confucius’ teachings. We can learn from the littlest action to the biggest and most controversial business practice can leads its way to Confucius teachings, but it is still by no means that Confucianism is in every business practice. Within Confucius teachings of harmony are taken and instill into business culture in the same way that he believes that society need to maintain harmonious relationship within each other, and also it can apply in finding the correct balance in ethics versus profits. To achieve these harmony there are always ways in which ‘ren’, ‘li’ and ‘yi’ is incorporated and be use as the doctrine to act upon, in ways that ‘ren’ which were filled with kind heartedness, benevolence and goodness, act upon to bring restraint on bad motives to gain profits in ways such as cheating, corrupting and manipulation. As for ‘li’, which brings order, rituals, and hierarchal importance, it is definitely a prominent source to the reason for Chinese importance of politeness, and hierarchical relationship is more importantly emphasized than anywhere else in the world. And lastly ‘yi’ which requires the promotion of collectivism to achieve social stability, we can definitely notice this in the way Chinese consider a proposal from a wider point of view, which consider the impact as a whole. Action influence by ‘yi’ sometimes does not easily received in the West where individualism is more prominent (secondchina. com, 2012). When all ‘ren’,’li’, and ‘yi’ were achieve harmony within the system will be achieved. Second important concept that Confucius based his teachings on is the hierarchical relationships. Within China generally all tend to center around politeness and respect for the dominant figure in the relationship. Confucius specified the relationship of ruler-subject, husband-wife, parent-child, the elder-younger brother, and the friend-friend relationship. Within this concept we feature ‘li’ as the dominant doctrine as it is the source of order, and hierarchical concept aim to achieve order, to apply this concept within the business practice in china, we can see that through the hierarchical status within the the management of a business, or even the relationship within the government and the people. Unlike the more egalitarian approach of the western society, where you can find managers try to break the formalization of ranks by asking a subordinates to call them by the first name, within china this situation will be hard to come by, as this teaching has been invested so deep into Chinese culture. In other example where hierarchical system is important for Chinese is that, we might notice Chinese businessmen reluctant or offended when a more lower rank personnel is assign to handle his matter, and also within a family business which were very common in China, the elder son might take over the management of the company while the father have less responsibility, but when it comes to any important decision it is likely that the son will console the father to make final say. Third concept is Collectivism, which is the power of group over individualism as mention above collectivism is also ‘yi’ which states that social stability, in part, depends upon the co-dependence and focus on the family unit. Collectivism is inherent in a Confucian society. In order for Chinese society to operate smoothly, it was necessary to subject one’s own desires to the greater good of the group. In other words, people didn’t exist independently of one another. Instead, an individual was defined by his or her relationship to the group (Chang, 2011). In a business environment especially in the modern times, this is apparent in how there are more emphasis being put to the group performances when it comes to projects within the company and While the opinions of elders have great influence, decisions are often made collectively and reached through a consensus. Lastly there is reciprocity, which is in general definition the practice of exchanging benefits or things. It is in fact something in most western country known as the term ‘the golden rule’ which is to do unto other, as you would want to be done to you. Within the Chinese business culture, it is to always act with respect toward each other, may it be to a subordinates or superior. This last concept in a way balances collectivism and hierarchical concept, with which it provides boundaries that a businessman should conduct themselves, with reciprocity businessmen is preach to always have respect towards everyone whether your in a position of power or not. Confucius in today’s world Now that we have connected in some dots that connect Confucianism from the realm of philosophy and politics to the business culture that still persist today, we will now try to further understand on how important is Confucianism in today’s world and especially the business world. As we know China has grown rapidly over the past 30 years and it has establish itself as the factory of the world and its just a matter of time until it stake claim to be the largest economy in the world. But among this highlights we also can see from the what’s happening with this growth that Chinese businessmen were again on the raise, not since the cultural revolution that halted the economy so much and causing many businessman to flee to country outside of China has businessmen of China has this much claim their respected status of being great businessman. It is comebacks that may have been predicted since the opening of china to the world, a philosophy that during the Mao Zedong Cultural Revolution the philosophy was believe to be the main culprit for China not moving forward. But, it is an underestimation that a philosophy that was created in china and for what it seems a eternity that the basis of Chinese culture surround upon this philosophy, to be replaced by another philosophy of an alien kind. Nowadays Confucianism is everywhere, and it seems the nations supports and feels the needs to rekindle their old philosophy, with books, films, and study programs within the China education system on Confucianism, but the most intriguing aspect of the manifestation is its recent adoption by the communist party. As an article from the economist explains since becoming China’s top leader in 2002, President Hu Jintao has promoted such slogans, which include â€Å"Harmonious Society† and â€Å"Xiaokang Shehui† (â€Å"a moderately well off society†) which possessed hints of the philosophy of Confucianism. (economists, 2007) Taken from source on the study of the ‘influences and Buddhism and Confucianism on Chinese business’ by Li Tianbo and Gillian Owen Moreira, it is revealed on the importance of Confucianism philosophy are for Businessmen of china considered guanxi which are ‘connections’ as an important part of business in china, along with other Confucius teaching of harmony, politeness etc. in their studies Li and Moreira set out a questionnaires to 550 to 59 different company to each of their personnel and received 288 valid questionnaires back, their result are indicative to Confucianism in Chinese business culture with, as the result show when asked about cultural values considered important, â€Å"68. 7% of the respondents selected interpersonal harmony, 62. 6% considered trust, 50. 8% included collectivism, and 46. 5% chose guanxi ( ), followed by endurance, social status, thrift, face and others. These results demonstrate how much importance is attributed to the role of interpersonal harmony, trust, collectivism and guanxi ( ) in successful business in China. † (Li and Moreira, 2007). The study from Li Moreira goes beyond just how Confucianism is perceived today but also how it works in managing a company and its contribution to the Chinese business culture, with many acknowledging its presence, and ready made ideology, that can fit in any business day to day running’s. Conclusions Based on the process of understanding the background of Confucius teachings and the application it has on the business culture in china through out the civilization our argument of how Confucius teaching reflect on ancient Chinese business culture and practice and today Chinese business Culture and practices can be conclude that Confucianism does have a significant impact on the business culture in china, and how businessmen of China mold their thoughts, from simple transactions, managements and ethical view of the company. For me the whole idea of Confucianism is something that has been invested for too long within the Chinese culture that it makes what Chinese people, not just the Mainland Chinese people but also any nationalities with Chinese origins who they are. Even during the times of cultural change something that defines a race cannot be change. The modesty, hierarchical thinking and collectivism is something that cannot be taken away, and for me personally, being a person of Indonesian nationalities with Chinese origin it something that you grown up with, albeit I never actually thought specifically what it was, but it felt like it is our identity to act upon Confucianism idea. Having experience a fair share working and understanding with people of two different mindset of both western and Chinese, I notice many differences in approaches that they go about when they do business. I can confirm based on personal experience from the above statement that Guangxi is the most important philosophy ahead of harmony within chinese businessmen, having experience first hand of how connection can get you further ahead than the rest in business but also for western culture I experience and witness how individualism is promoted, having seen this in many western fast food chain where employee of the month award was given and etc. In conclusion, Confucianism I believe was, is and will be everywhere in Chinese business culture, the nature of Chinese culture that support and accepted it are always going to be there as it is a philosophy that has become the norm within everyday life in China. as the future tilt closer to favor China as the world biggest economy it will only be the matter of time when Confucianism business culture spread and no longer be seen as a culture shock by the western civilizations. References Economist, ‘Ideology in China Confucius makes a comeback’, Beijing, May 2007, ‘http://www. economist. com. hk/node/9202957’ Chang, E. , ‘East Meets West:understanding cultural differences when doing business in china’, April 20th ,2011, MeteringChina. com Li and Moreira, ‘The Influence of Confucianism and Buddhism on Chinese Business: the Case of Aveiro, Portugal’, university of Aveiro, Portugal, 2007, ‘http://www. immi. se/intercultural/nr19/tianbo. htm’ University of Florida, ‘CHINESE BUSINESS CULTURE? Confucian Business Ethics – General’, 2009, ‘http://secondchina. com/Learning_Modules/BUS_web/content/BUS_confucian_ethics. html’ Xu , ‘An introduction to Chinese Business culture’, 2007, Jinan University Press.

Research Paper - Health Care Reform Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Research Paper - Health Care Reform - Assignment Example There would be adjustments to other health care providers, agencies and even the psychiatric facilities. These market reduction updates are likely to be offset by newer yearly productivity changes in order to reflect an increase in the economy of the United States. Issuing of budgets to the productive changes will not be an easy task for the reason that measures used in establishing them are not recognized. If there are no doubts of the effectiveness of charge arrangements, collection and billing, health care providers may plan in reducing the market updates and containing the costs (Saltman, 320). The law of health care reform takes for granted that payments of the disproportionate share hospital will be less significant if a large population of people get coverage by insurance. These disproportionate share hospital payments will continue to be vital in healthy margins maintenance in many health care providers (Elmendorf, 196). To assist in offsetting the health care costs for Medicaid patients, other providers of health care may get huge amounts of money as reimbursements. In addition, these health care providers are likely to make best use of Medicare disproportionate share hospital payments by estimating the capture of services used in charity care. Payment changes are likely to affect all people participating in health care provision. The reform issues directives on new models of payment then the patients and the health care providers know the changes made and modify their behaviors so that the new model can be accommodated (Gonzalez, 160). There will be changes in collection of data, how they are shared and analyzed by the health care providers. In a life science company, increase in value emphasis will need amendments in how information can be employed in positioning and presenting the products. The latest large sets of data are likely to be put into use by

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PROBATION PRACTICE IN ENGLAND - Essay Example Institutionalized racism produces discriminatory effects on health through public policy, the physical environment, social and medical services and preventive health policy. The studies conducted by various organizations and individuals shows that the practice of racism is prevails in the criminal justice system also. There is recent evidence (from the 2000 British Crime Survey) that black and particularly Asian people are more likely than whites to say that the criminal justice system is effective in bringing offenders to justice, dealing with cases promptly and efficiently, and meeting the needs of crime victims. But at the same time Minority ethnic people were less confident that the system respected the rights of suspects and treated them fairly, and black respondents especially were less likely than whites to believe that the police treated witnesses well (Mirrlees-Black, 2001)(1). Whatever it is, it is important to explore the field of probation practice and the treatment of minority ethnic groups in the criminal justice system, to identify the criminogenic needs of black and Asian offenders, and to explore their views about probation supervision, and to inform decisions about appropriate service provision. Thereby we can have a deep look into the p... 1. Mirrlees-Black, C. (2001) Confidence in the Criminal Justice System: Findings from the 2000 British Crime Survey. Research Findings No. 137, London: Home Office. 2 Thereby we can have a deep look into the probation practice to diversity in working with these Black and Asians .Moreover we can corroborate the possibility that people from minority ethnic groups may be subject to disadvantageous treatment at all stages of the criminal justice process, even if this does not result from overt racist discrimination (Phillips and B rown, 1998).(2) Before going to explore the areas of diversities in the probation practice regarding the black and Asian offenders, it will be helpful to have look on the scope of probation practices and criminal justice system. Probation service and Criminal Justice System The National Probation Service is a law enforcement agency delivering community punishment, supervising offenders within terms set by courts & the parole board and working with offenders to reduce their re-offending & to protect the public. It is an integral part of the criminal justice system. The criminal justice system is defined by government as:(3) (1)Home Office - police, prison and the probation service, 2) Lord Chancellor's Department - crown and magistrates' courts and court of appeal 3) Law Officers' department - crown prosecution and serious fraud office.This informal supervision was given a statutory basis by the Probation of Offenders Act 1907, which allowed courts to appoint and employ probation officers. They were required to advise, assist and befriend

Intraprofessional Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Intraprofessional Project - Essay Example Regulated Health Professional A health professional’s efficiency could mean the life or death of a patient; hence, health care is placed in the foreground when it comes to public safety (Field, 2007, pp. 3-4). This is where the regulation of the health professional comes in. These set of professionals equate the obtainment of legal professional licenses to the practice of their profession (Forrester & Griffiths, 2010, p. 321). Licensure is the legal conferment of authority to utilize professional titles one is qualified to use upon meeting the standards thereof and entitlement of the said professional to put into practice their medical skills (Sultz & Young, 2010, p. 187). Regulation of health care is deemed necessary to ensure quality public service (Field, 2007, p. 4). Regulation also affects the education of individuals in the medical field as their curricula is focused on what is deemed appropriate by their regulatory board (Aries, Middaugh, & Nickitas, 2011, p. 106). Nurs ing is one of the regulated health professions, along with dentistry, physiotherapy, pharmacy, and medicine (Forrester & Griffiths, 2010, p. 321). Standards of practice. The standards of nursing practice discuss the responsibilities of registered nurses in their entirety to ensure their competitivity (American Nurses Association [ANA], 2010, p. 2). The first standard of nursing practice deals with assessment. Also, it talks about the registered nurses responsibility in data collection of appropriate information related to the management and treatment of the patient’s condition (ANA, 2010, p. 9). In the second standard, the registered nurse is expected to formulate diagnoses on the health problem or concerns the patient has based on the information collected (ANA, 2010, p. 9). The third standard revolves around outcome identification, wherein the registered nurse is tasked to determine the results of a plan of care to be developed for the individual patient based on the diagno ses formulated (ANA, 2010, p. 9). In the fourth standard, the nurse develops a comprehensive plan of care for the patient, including the techniques, regimens, and treatments needed to achieve the aimed results identified (ANA, 2010, p. 9). The fifth standard expects the registered nurse to carry out the plan developed. He or she is likely to coordinate with other members of the team to provide health teachings that would further promote patients’ safety and wellness, to consult more experienced nurses for the provision of optimal patient care, and to abide by state laws in the implementation of treatment, use of referrals, and prescription (ANA, 2010, p. 10). In the sixth standard, the registered nurse evaluates the success of the plan of care formulated based on the expected outcomes achieved (ANA, 2010, p. 10). The seventh standard reminds him or her to be ethical in the practice of the profession (ANA, 2010, p. 11). The eight standard tackles education; the registered nurs e is expected to pursue continuous learning in the face of recent techniques and skills of the nursing profession (ANA, 2010, p. 11). The ninth standard is evidence-based practice and research in which he or she should incorporate into her care, evidence, and research findings obtained (ANA, 2010, p. 11). The tenth standard equates to ensuring quality in the nursing care the registered nurse gives (ANA, 2010, p. 11). The eleventh standard deals with effective communication in all aspects of the

24 Hour Diary Entry Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

24 Hour Diary Entry - Assignment Example Harry was and is truly my life, and no hologram can take his place. Stephanie will be coming by with Peter in a few hours to spend the rest of Valentine's night with me. I will never understand why they prefer to travel to the house via particle transfer. It has always seemed so dangerous to me. Specially since I have to make sure they both show up fully atomized on my end. After what happened to Scampi, I just don't want another mess of red globs on my transporter floor again. I'll have to try and convince them to travel by jet pack again. It really is so much safer for all of us to be navigating through sky traffic than atom links. I'll be preparing their favorite dish to celebrate the night. The Duck L'Orange should only take about 1 minute to materialize from the Imaginfood maker. I hope the food maker doesn't act up tonight. It's been serving me double patty grilled pork pulls all week no matter what I think up. The repairman said I was thinking of too many foods so the analyzer could not figure out what I really wanted to eat. I hope it can see my visualization tonight. There goes the holophone. I better go answer it. It sounds like Peter on the other end. He hates it when his hologram has to stand around for more than 2 rings. I certainly hope they won't be canceling on me. I could really use the company of my daughter and her husband tonight. March 19, 2050 My how time flies! Just a few weeks ago I was celebrating Valentine's Day and here I am now, just back from another birthday appointment with my doctor. Really, these annual doctor visits become a bane for someone like me who doesn't really feel anything wrong with me. But I have to do it because Stephanie insists that I continue to be carried on her insurance policy even though I have my own. Why I have to be checked out by my doctor each year on my day of birth itself is beyond me. All this government red tape... Anyway, my doctor showed up via video conference while my medical emergency robot took care of the blood, urine, and fecal testing that the doctor required. I am really glad Stephanie got me a female carebot, I doubt I would have been able to allow the tests if it were a male. These robots look so lifelike that I oftentimes forget they are just wires and processing chips underneath the silicone skin. My results were fine as expected. Save for some Anemia and arthritis, Stephanie doesn't have to worry about raising her insurance premiums for elderly catastrophic care just yet. My grandson Skip will be spending the weekend with me while his mom and dad are away on business. I always like having him around. He never minds hanging with his 80 year old mumsie. I think it is because he feels more intelligent around me. I could never work that streaming music player he got me for Christmas last year. He promised to teach me how to use the humming feature in order to search for the correct music I want to listen to over the preset web stations. June 23, 2050 Summertime! My f riends and I are planning a virtual trip to Acapulco this weekend. All this rain outside my bio dome has been making my arthritis act up. I need the heat of the sun. Ever since global warming reversed the weather conditions. Summer has never meant summer and neither has the rainy season. It's been raining when the sun should be out and sunny when the rain should be pouring. Don't even get me started on that erratic snow fall that is wreaking havoc on my green house. You never know when that powder is going to fall. What I would without my artificial sun maker, I will never know. My best friends Linda and Laura will be using our life

Role of the student in higher education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Role of the student in higher education - Essay Example This is also a right approach to ensure that students get the right knowledge so that they can be able to rely on themselves. On the other hand, this form of education will be instrumental in ensuring that the students acquire the necessary job related skills. On the other hands, it provides theoretical knowledge to apply to real work (Kay 2010). These institutions provide social and community incorporated education and hence reinforces the relevance of higher education towards national development. As a result, this strengthens job relevant skills and innovation skills. This will help especially in nursing due to technology influence (Mastrian et al. 2010). Therefore, it can be viewed as a way of making a connection between formal schooling and social/community learning (Baumann & Blythe, 2008). All these ideals help in shaping a career. Higher education is of essence to nursing student as it makes them professional, relevant, and follow regulation. Nursing education is paramount in higher education (HE). This will help in improving nursing knowledge before and after they get their licenses. This is because a difference exist in the practice nurses were educated in the 20th century. These skills are no longer up to quality as compared to the health care needs in the 21st century. This is because patient needs and care setting has become more involved. This has been the case due to the rise of chronic diseases such as diabetes and the ever-increasing aging population. Therefore, nurses need requires competencies to deliver high quality care (Chiarella & McInnes n.d.). Such competencies include leadership, health policy, system improvement, research and evidence based practice, and teamwork as well as collaboration (Institute of Medicine (IOM) 2010). Likewise, competency is needed in different areas. The HE will also help nurses to cater for increasing roles in healthcare and obtain necessary technological skills and data management system (IOM 2010). This will take place as they cooperate and coordinate care across teams of health professionals. On the other hand, nursing should be treated like a profession. In fact, in this decade nursing requires more skill, intelligence, and education. This is because the increasing demand for nurses calls them to have unique and attainments. In the past, uneducated, wicked women were allowed to take care of the sick as nurses. It is also necessary to note that the medical profession was against nurses acquiring education and awareness in the early years (DeNisco & Barker 2012). However, this has changed significantly with the acceptance of health care professionals having learned nurses. Hence, nursing need to be considered as a profession. This way the knowledge they earn will help them in linking theory to practice. Therefore, just as other profession requires a recognised higher education to be able to link theory to practice, the same should apply to nursing. In higher education, nurses get an opp ortunity to learn concepts and put it into practice. In such institutions, nurses get an opportunity to develop critical thinking to manage nursing care and service within a group of intellectuals when meeting the requirements of the patients. For example, they will be able to use the current technology in communicating with doctors in the theatre section. In addition, patient is most likely to be able to trust a nurse based on his or her competency (Price 2013). On the other han

Final Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Final Project - Essay Example The First Amendment protects the rights of individuals, including prisoners, to their freedom of communication via letters. It makes Jail Officers wonder why other charges like harassment or deprivation from access to court were included in the complaints. Knowing the drug syndicates have lots of means to access lawyers and media, this can be a clear indication of the effectiveness of the new Mail management system against unwanted activities in jail. Or Civil Rights Groups may be right up to a certain extent. There should be more transparency and clarifications concerning the initiatives of the Department of Corrections. What should be made known to the public ought to appease every listener and definitely satisfy courts and lawyers as soon as they hear those explanations for clarifications. The government’s lawyer should be made to clarify that the procedures are merely temporary. And the reason for its being temporary ought to be further explained to judges behind closed do ors. Security measures require some level of confidentiality and private discussions among lawyers and judges only. II.Details A.Statement of Facts A new mail policy of the Department of Correction dictated the specification for incoming and outgoing communications by saying that communication â€Å"must be on a 5x7 inch pre-stamped postcard†. Even the ink color was restricted. Return address had to be either written or printed. Adhesive label was not allowed. However, there were logical reasons connected to law enforcement against the entry of contraband through mails. The other reason was not directly related to law enforcement, because the Correction Officers simply wanted to make it easier for them to manage the mails daily in the light of insufficient Staff. There was also a policy that would provide three FREE postcards per week for indigents. To be considered indigent, the prisoner â€Å"must have less than $ 10.00 balance for 45 days prior to the request for indigent supplies.† If not indigent, a prisoner will have to buy the 5 x 7 postcard for $0.50 cents per post card. As a result of these changes, the Department of Corrections received complaint suits for violating the 1st Amendment civil rights pertaining to freedom of expression. Complainants also accused the department of invading the privacy of prisoners, of interfering with the prisoners’ access to the courts, of harassing prisoners, of not having a legitimate purpose, of being unnecessarily different from most other prisons in the management of packages and letters. Is it right to heed a few legislators who wanted the Corrections Department to revert back to the original process of mailing? What should be done in response to newspaper editorials’ condemnation of the changes believed to be unnecessary? Figure 1 shows the contents of The First Amendment, as follows: Figure 1. The First Amendment â€Å"CONGRESS SHALL MAKE NO LAW RESPECTING AN ESTABLISHMENT OF RELIGION , OR PROHIBITING THE FREE EXERCISE THEREOF; OR ABRIDGING THE FREEDOM OF SPEECH, OR OF THE PRESS; OR THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE PEACEABLY TO ASSEMBLE, AND TO PETITION THE GOVERNMENT FOR A REDRESS OF GRIEVANCES.† Included in the first amendment are the following implied situations: 1. Censorship is a violation of the freedom of speech. (SCJ Stewart, Potter 1966, Ginzberg v. US, 383 US 463) 2. â€Å"The right to think is the beginning of freedom†¦speech is the beginning of thought.† (SCJ Kennedy, Anthony M. in Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition) B.

Managing Diversity and Equal Opportunity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Managing Diversity and Equal Opportunity - Essay Example The female literacy and economic empowerment is crucial not only for development but also for the children in the country. It is emphasized in the millennium development goals that child health and literacy levels in a nation show the quality of future population. Thus, at this epoch, management diversity with the provision of equal opportunity is a must to stimulate the economic growth of a country. The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 The parliament of United Kingdom had passed another gender related Act in 1975. The name of this Act was Sex Discrimination Act. This Act attempted to eradicate the discriminations on the grounds of sex and marriage in United Kingdom. The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) was established under the regime of this Act in U.K. The major concern of this Act was to create equal opportunities for both men and women in the workplaces. It was believed by the government of U.K., that progress of the nation would be just impossible without the support of gender u nbiased features in the economy (NCJRS, 1979). Equal Pay Act 1970 The parliament of United Kingdom (U.K.) in 1970 had established the Equal Pay Act that was related to gender issues in the economy. This Act primarily concentrated in reducing the unequal treatments between genders regarding factors like pay and employment opportunities. The Act was incorporated in the country after five years in 1975. The Act considered the factors like pensions, top wages, and leaves which are allotted equally to both the gender in the workplaces. However, the employers protecting their pay rights under the norms of this Act were supposed to consider that the work done by a competitor (whose salary the employers claims) should be same to the work executed by the employer. This Act made it sure that the salaries of two employees are same when the work load is alike. Differentials in pay would be gender neutral (EEOC, 2013). Case Studies Dr Bhal is an African black woman who lived in United Kingdom si nce she was 9 years old. This was the phase of time when the government of U.K. was demanding for equal opportunities for both men and women the country. So as a representative of the Commerce and Industry group in 1990, Dr Bhal was elected as one of the members of Council of Law Society in U.K. In 1993, she became the chairman of the EOC (Bailii, 2006). Dr Bhal had adopted active measures to improve the condition of women in U.K. Her work was appreciated by many officials in the U.K.’s government body. However, traces of her arrogance and rude behaviour were reported in 1998. Jean Johnson the director of the Human Resources claimed that Dr Bhal spoke to him very rudely over official calls (Xperthr, n.d.). The Director of Corporate Management also commented that Dr Bhals attitude in the business affairs were not good at all. It was very difficult to comment on the actual reason for such claims; it could take place due to gender discriminations or could also occur because Dr B hal became egotistical in her attitude. Ultimately the Law Society made Dr Bhal resign on such grounds. Dr Bhal claimed that this was done because the Law Society was gender biased in U.K. and filed a case against the organization in this ground. Dr Bhal’s strong comments to the media claimed that the Law Society had inherent â€Å"fossilised bureaucracy† and was â€Å"full of champagne-sipping racists†. On one hand, the staffs claimed that Kamlesh Bhal’s attitude was shrewd and unprofessional. On the other hand, Dr Bhal has claimed that alpha

The happy slapping craze is now Essay Example for Free

The happy slapping craze is now Essay The germans have a word for taking pleasure in someone elses misery its called schardenfoirde. It soudnlike some weird psychological theory. The basic translation means to laugh at someone elses misfortune. . We all do it, people are always secretly happy when something goes wrong for someone else because theyre glad its not happening to them. Like in youve been framed, when a man slips on wet concrete much to the delight of the audience. but schardenfroide can sometimes go very wrong, I knew a guy called Joseph once, he was one of those people who all the boys wanted to be and all the girls wanted to be with. Hes just got amazing Alevel results and was on the bus just minding his own business when he got a brick to the back of the head and died. They caught the guys who murdered him, in their defence, the guys said it wasnt murder, it was just happy slapping. To them it was just pure entertainment. Thats what happy slappers do, they go around and slap, smack, set fire to people while videoing it so they can watch it and be entertained later. The happy slapping craze is now a nationwide phenomenon. But as its moved from London to the home counties to the north of England, so the attacks have become more menacing, with increasing numbers of severely violent assaults In the past 6 months police have investigated 200 happy slapping incidents in London alone and earlier this year, some schools even went so far as to ban camera phones because they were worrid this would increase playground bullying. Leonard Cohen sang iv seen the future, brother: it is murder. And with happy slapping becoming more and more violent and universal he may not have been that wrong. So be careful when your out and about doing your christmas shoping or even just sitting on the bus, plaese just be vigilant and aware of whats going on around you.

Wholeness of society Essay Example for Free

Wholeness of society Essay Carlyle uses repetition, morals, and Biblical allusions to point his arguments towards philosophers, stressing the salutary benefits of work, and his very positive attitude of fending of idleness with the weapon; he denounces the rubble of human nature, praising work and conformity through his use of imagery. Innate man is portrayed as the chaotic jungles of the world, dangerously crouching toward the desert insanity. Though in our present day, man is given his individualism, Carlyle describes it as a curse. It is pure torment which leads to worse unquenchable thirst to be satisfied. Only by the rich calling of society will man escape his sorrows and despair. Human nature was not built to work for itself; aspirations for its own personal satisfaction. On the contrary, Carlyle sees the selfish individual draining off the sour festering water into his own corrupted soul. The idea of materialistic and fortuitous gain is made implausible as the rupture caused in ones life is made over by absurd consequences. These are the means of redemption as well as conformity. The world as one has created a necessity to reach and ultimately obtain true satisfaction; Carlyle makes this clearly obvious that no one can be oblivious to this global aspiration. Work itself is elevated to the level of divinity, as it is called sacred and the only means to true happiness. Human nature is known to form a kinship to the prosperity and comfort that results from wealth, yet none seek work with the fervor and passion it relies upon. Man is born to work, thus any contrast leads to perpetual despair. At birth man is ignorant but learns that through labor and the conformity into reality, man perfects himself. The illusion of Christs resurrection is made through the sermon-like diction; for it was been written; that the purifying fire at work will only free the soul from their pity. Blessed is he who holds a life purpose and becomes noble towards the standards of society; for only then can man become pure and stable. Through work, individualism is thus destroyed and ignoble the tyrant. For only them will knowledge be held good and finally contain the harvest of darkness will bring more satisfaction than the heaps of wisdom, for the life will only be filled with despair. Through and abundant array of biblical allusions and the descriptive imagery to portray the spoils of individualism and the consequences of ignorance, Carlyle praises conformity and those whose life purpose is to benefit the wholeness of society.

Social Psychology: Concepts and Research

Social Psychology: Concepts and Research Sophia Ashraf Social Psychology Assignment At times people and groups resort to negative, cruel and even murderous behaviour. Drawing upon contemporary or historical examples analyse whether this behaviour is influenced more by social pressure/structure or by something more personally sinister or selfish. Social psychologists have devoted extensive interest in studying the attitudes, feelings and behaviours of human beings. They have come up with numerous explanations for both helpful and aggressive human behaviours. Philosophers explain these differences in terms of human nature. For instance, Rousseau believes humans are innately peaceful creatures. Therefore, anti-social behaviours are a consequence of wider societal and structural factors. In contrast, Thomas Hobbes believes humans are born evil and are predisposed to criminality. Overall, history is filled with numerous examples of altruistic behaviours. One such example is of Oskar Schindler, who risked his life and saved over 4,000 Jews during the Holocaust. Equally, history has also witnessed inhumane atrocities which include the My Lai Massacre in Vietnam in the 1960’s and the Rwanda and Bosnia genocides of the 1990’s (Hogg Cooper, 2007; Hogg Vaughan, 2014). Social psychologists have offered numerous explanations that influence the behaviours, attitudes and perceptions of people, in performing horrendous crimes against humanity. These include: social pressures like conformity and obedience, and also individual personality traits such as possessing an evil, sadistic and psychopathic character. In this essay, I will use examples of historical and contemporary atrocities, social psychological studies and theoretical concepts to explain the reasons behind why certain individuals and groups commit negative, cruel and murderous behaviours. In doing so, I will analyse whether this behaviour is influenced more by social pressure/structure or by something more personally sinister or selfish (ibid). Social psychologists identify obedience as a major social influence on human behaviour. This is because it involves obeying the orders of other living beings. Psychologists have found obedience to have both a positive and negative impact on human behaviour. For example, it prevents chaos in everyday life as people are socialised to obey laws such as traffic lights, and do so even without the presence of an authority figure. Alternatively, obedience has also proven destructive as many people have blindly obeyed the orders of an authority figure without thinking of the consequences of their actions. Social psychologist Stanley Milgram (1963, 1974) was highly interested in the effects of obedience on human behaviour, and in particular whether an individual would follow the commands of an authority figure if it involved harming another living being (Aronson et al, 2013; Hogg Vaughan, 2014). In 1963, Milgram carried out a famous ground-breaking experiment on obedience to authority at Yale University. He recruited around forty participants from the community via an advertisement, to participate in a study that tested the effects of punishment on learning. The experiment consisted of three roles which include an experimenter who was a man dressed in a white lab coat, a teacher whose role was always played by the participants, and a learner named Mr Wallace who was actually a confederate of the researcher. All participants were provided with a shock generating machine which had thirty levers in total and ranged from 15 to 450 volts. Participants were also given a sample shock of 45 volts before the experiment commenced. As part of the study, Mr Wallace had to learn a set of pair associates, whereas the teacher was required to administer electric shocks progressively to the learner each time they gave an incorrect answer (ibid). During the experiment, the learner made some correct and incorrect responses. Whenever the learner received a shock for an incorrect response, he would cry and scream in pain and often demanded to be released from the experiment. Consequently, this made participants feel agitated and want to withdraw from the research. In response, the experimenter would reply with a series of direct coercive statements such as ‘the experiment requires that you continue’, and ‘you have no other choice, you must go on’. (Hogg Vaughan, 2014: 242). Milgram’s initial assumption was that his participants would refuse to follow orders that involved harming another individual. However, he was extremely shocked when his results revealed that 65% of his participants continued administering electric shocks till the very end. This study illustrates the devastating impact of obedience, a social pressure which induces ordinary people to perform damaging acts against innocent vict ims (Hogg Vaughan, 2014; Helm Morelli, 1979). Milgram’s experiment has received considerable support from numerous researchers such as Hofling et al, 1966 who found that nurses also obeyed doctor’s orders to administer what they knew were harmfully incorrect doses of drugs to their patients. Milgram’s study has also received substantial criticism for its ethical concerns. Firstly unknown to the participants, the learner was actually a confederate who did not receive any electric shocks throughout the study. Secondly, Milgram’s participants were not provided with a fully informed consent and right to withdraw. This is because the experimenter verbally prodded them to continue during the experiment. His participants were also deceived about the true aims of the study, as Milgram was actually investigating the effects of obedience to authority on human behaviour. Milgram’s findings also lack generalisation to the wider population. This is because the study involved male participants and was conduc ted in a laboratory setting which does not reflect real life situations (ibid). Many historical and contemporary crimes have been committed in the name of obedience to authority. These include historic atrocities witnessed during World War II and the Nazi era, and also contemporary atrocities such as those which have been witnessed in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. In all of these horrific events, the perpetrators have claimed to be following orders. For instance, the Nazi official Adolf Eichmann who was held responsible for the death of six million Jews claimed he was following and implementing Hitler’s orders. Eichmann’s trial was covered by the journalist Hannah Arendt (1963) in her book ‘Eichmann in Jerusalem: A report on the banality of evil’. Like Milgram, Arendt was also interested in what made Eichmann and other war criminals commit such devastating crimes against humanity (Aronson et al, 2013; Hogg Vaughan, 2014). Within her book, Arendt reveals a shocking finding and asserts that ‘these ‘monsters’ may not have been monsters at all. They were often mild-mannered, softly spoken, courteous people who repeatedly and politely explained that they did what they did not because they hated Jews (or Muslims etc.) but because- they were simply obeying orders’ (Hogg Vaughan, 2014: 240). Here, Arendt illustrates the importance of structural explanations, in particular obedience which a form of social influence that predisposes war time criminals to commit negative, cruel and murderous behaviours. Nevertheless, this structural explanation has been criticised for ignoring the very fact that an individual’s pathological personality and a group’s cultural norms, may also make them more vulnerable to anti-social and murderous behaviours (Aronson et al, 2013; Hogg Vaughan, 2014). To explain a perpetrators negative human behaviour, Milgram makes reference to the terms the agentic state which denotes absolute obedience. He claims that within the agentic state people see themselves as mere instruments obeying the commands of an authority figure. As a result, individuals experience a diffusion of responsibility for their actions. This is because they transfer personal responsibility onto the authority figure. For this reason, Milgram believes that the agentic state can be used to explain the behaviour of perpetrators, who claim they are not liable for their actions as they were simply following orders. Moreover, even the threat of punishment for disobedience can force many people and groups to perform criminal behaviours against their own wish. However, it must be noted that not everyone obeys the commands of an authority figure, and many people do display resistance to commands that go against their own beliefs (ibid). Social psychologists have also identified conformity as another major social influence on human behaviour. It is defined as a process in which the individual changes their attitudes and behaviours in accordance with the group’s views. Psychologists have identified two types of conformity. These are informational and normative social influence. Firstly, informational influence is a type of conformity where the individual relies on information, knowledge and opinions of others as evidence about reality. Secondly, normative social influence is a type of conformity which is heavily based on others expectations. Here, the individual conforms because they feel a need to gain acceptance and social approval from their group. They also want to avoid feeling socially ostracised. In support of conformity pressures Mark Twain asserts, ‘we are discreet sheep; we wait to see how the drove is going and then go with the drove’ (cited in Kassin et al, 2008: 221). This quote shows how suggestible and compliant people can be as a result of numerous group pressures (Aronson et al, 2013; Kassin et al, 2008). The famous psychologist Philip Zimbardo was highly interested in understanding the downside of conformity, and coined the concept ‘The Lucifer Effect’ to describe how good people turn evil. In 1971, he conducted a famous study named the Stanford Prison Experiment, where paid volunteers were randomly assigned to the role of either a prisoner or a guard. The prisoners were arrested from their house, and were taken to a prison which consisted of bare necessities. Their possessions were removed from them and they were provided with a uniform and a unique ID number. Alternatively, the guards were also given a uniform to wear, along with items such as clubs and whistles which were symbolic of their authority. All prisoners were required to follow a set of fixed rules; otherwise they risked receiving severe punishment (Baron and Branscombe, 2012: Meyers, 2008; Zimbardo, 2007). Within the experiment, Zimbardo played the role of a prison warden who was interested in observing the reactions of his participants. He also wanted to know whether his participants would conform to the norms and requirements of their roles and whether they would behave like genuine prisoners and guards. Zimbardo found that the prisoners were rebellious at first but, then later became passive whereas, the guards grew more and more brutal and sadistic in their character. This was seen in the manner in which they harassed and dehumanised prisoners. Zimbardo found that these changes in behaviour were so disturbing that it became necessary to end the study after six days, when initial plans called for it to last two weeks. According to the individualistic explanation of crime and deviance, such inhumane behaviours may be attributed to individual factors such as a genetic predisposition to criminality (ibid). In opposition to the individualistic explanation, Zimbardo (2007) adopts a structural perspective to explain his findings. He argues that a person inclination to conform to the norms of their social roles such as that of a soldier or prison guard can have harmful consequences, as they may make decent people perform indecent behaviours against members of their own species. A real life parallel to the Stanford Prison experiment is the disturbing events of the Abu Ghraib prison which started in Iraq in 2003. In this horrific event, American soldiers physically abused Iraqi prisoners as they perceived them to be less than human. According to the individualistic explanation, these horrific atrocities are attributed to individual deficiencies and limitations. For instance, people who are labelled psychopaths, sadists, and evil creatures are more vulnerable to behave inhumanely with innocent people than psychologically normal people (Aronson et al, 2013: Baron and Branscombe, 2012; Keller, 2006). In relation to the Nazi Holocaust, the historian Daniel Goldhagen argues that ‘many German citizens were willing anti-Semitic participants in the Holocaust, not mere ordinary people forced to follow orders’ (Kassin et al, 2008: 243). Therefore, it may well be argued that the Germans had a character defect and were prejudiced and pathologically frustrated individuals. These factors influenced them to behave with cruelty towards others. On the other hand, developmental psychologists argue that anti-social and aggressive personality disorders can also predispose individuals to resort to criminal behaviours. For example, Adorno et al, 1950 adopts a psychodynamic framework and argues that early childhood rearing practices that are harsh and authoritarian produce individuals who are obsessed by authority and are more likely to be hostile and aggressive towards other people. This provides support for the claim that personality factors cause individuals to behave in a negative and cruel manner towards others (Aronson et al, 2013; Hogg Cooper, 2007; Kassin et al, 2008). In conclusion, social influence has proved to be a fundamental area of inquiry for social psychologists who attempt to explain the numerous influences on human behaviour. Psychologists argue that people and groups are subject to powerful and complex social pressures. These may originate from people, groups and institutions. Social psychologists explain violent and anti-social human behaviours as being either attributed to the individual, situation or system. Social psychologists have identified conformity and obedience to play an important role in influencing human behaviour. They have also identified individual factors such as a genetic predisposition to crime and also personality attributes such as a possessing a selfish, sinister and authoritarian personality to predispose people to behave criminally. There are also other factors that may shape. These include prejudice, discrimination and a radical ideology which may predispose people and groups to behave inhumanely with others. O verall, research on crime and deviance have revealed that it is highly complex to determine whether negative, cruel and murderous human behaviours are due to social/structural pressures or individual factors or a combination of both. Sexual Offences Act 2003: An Analysis Sexual Offences Act 2003: An Analysis The questions as posed raises a number of issues concerning the interplay between child and youth sexuality and the criminal law that is not readily resolved. The question shall be addressed using the following analytical approach that is intended to be considered progressively, commencing with the identification of the specific provisions of the Sexual Offences Act that demand the greatest scrutiny in when considering the interests of children. The analysis then explores the implications of the key terms employed in the question and how each may be interpreted in light of the Sexual Offences Act provisions; ‘children, ‘protection, ‘sexual abuse, ‘legitimate sexual behaviour, and ‘mistake are highlighted. The expression ‘over-criminalise is afforded a distinct consideration in view of the breadth of the potential sexual acts that might be prosecuted pursuant to the Act, coupled with the potential reach of both police and prosecutorial discretion in these proceedings. The analysis includes the review and inclusion of relevant academic commentaries that consider the issues noted above; the paper concludes with the assertion that while the Sexual Offences Act is an imperfect mechanism upon which to construct a protective scheme for children who are exploited or otherwise the victim of nonconsensual sexual activity, the current statute represents a legislative scheme that is clearly rooted in the public interest and one that addresses a number of important societal issues. The Sexual Offences Act, 2003 The Act provides for the regulation of a broad range of defined types of sexual misconduct. Commencing with s. 5 (Rape of a child), the enumerated Child Sex Offences provisions that are set out at sections 9 through 19 define the age limits applicable to establishing proof of the various enumerated offences. Section 10 (Inciting a child to sexual activity) is an example of the age definition employed in all of the Child Sex Offences: A person aged 18 or over (A) commits an offence if he intentionally causes or incites another person (B) to engage in an activity the activity is sexual, and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Either: (i) B is under 16 and A does not reasonably believe that B is 16   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  or over, or (ii) B is under 13 Various acts of sexual touching are criminalised: the offence of ‘Grooming (s.15) is noteworthy in that the proof of the offence does not require proof of any physical contact directed by the perpetrator to the child victim to establish criminal liability for a sexual offence. The ‘grooming provisions are primarily directed to Internet based contacts (such as by way of Internet chat rooms) or mobile telephone media, such as text messaging between adults and children as defined. Commentators have suggested ‘à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦that applying the ‘grooming clause in practice is highly problematic given the difficulty of demonstrating ‘sexual intent towards a childà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦(previous case law) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦illustrates the extent to which some sex offenders are prepared to go to secure a child for sexual activity and the overt manner in which ‘grooming occurred. The penalty provisions of the Act generally invite one of two types of dispositions. For the more serious offences such as rape, the maximum penalty is 14 years in prison; for the lesser offences the maximum penalty is a 5 year term. Subject to the definitions contained in each section, most offences are also capable of prosecution by summary means and a corresponding maximum penalty of 6 months in prison, or fine in the alternative. These provisions are considered in the context of the suggested ‘over-criminalisation, below. Key words As noted in the introduction, five words and phrases extracted from the question are employed to advance the present analysis. ‘Children It is submitted that while the definition of ‘child may be variable and highly dependent upon the context of any particular sexual circumstance, the age parameters set out in the Act are generally appropriate for the following reasons. While a child aged 13 or under may have the physical maturity and the emotional desire to engage in sexual activity (this varies significantly from person to person), there is strong academic support for the proposition that a young person of this age will generally lack the appreciation of the consequences of sexual activity, coupled with a lack of emotional maturity to necessarily deal with the activity in a safe and socially acceptable manner. Further when children are provided with the opportunity to use the Internet to make contact with virtual strangers, one comprehensive study revealed that over 60 percent of a sampling of London children aged 10 to 13 had limited understanding of the extent to which others could potentially harm them if they were not discreet concerning their personal identifiers or if they agreed to meet someone they did not personally know. In many respects the statutory definition may be regarded as a societal approximation. For any critic of the Act who believes that the age bar is set to high, particularly with regard to the 13 to 16 year old age range that involves the additional consideration of the concept of honest and reasonable mistake as to age, there are significant segments of modern UK society that define a child not simply by their biological age but in terms of their status as members of the family household, or as unmarried persons. Without stereotyping a particular group, the conservative elements of Christian, Muslim, and Jewish faiths all hold strong cultural / religious views that would place the definition of a child above age 13, or above age 16 where the mistake defences are invoked. An anomaly in the legislation is the disparity between the general age of majority laws in the UK and the sexual offence age provisions in some circumstances, a person can have consensual sexual intercourse at age 16 but be prohibited from voting, consuming alcohol, or entering into most kinds of contracts. The justification for this anomaly is beyond the scope of this paper; it is acknowledged that a greater measure of uniformity of age limits promotes consistency and social utility. However, it is also to be noted that the provisions are in general accord with the corresponding European Union conventions. ‘Protection It is submitted that one may properly be uneasy when significant consideration is given to concepts of protection when the conduct, such as sexual activity, is generally discovered after the fact. The protection afforded the public is that of the combined effects of publicity concerning the provisions and deterrence associated with the criminal process. ‘Sexual abuse The Act has properly defined a broad range of sexual touching and physical contact as potentially constituting sexual abuse. The definition must be broad to encompass the psychological and emotional harm that can (but not always does) stem from any kind of assaultive behaviour, no matter how seemingly minor. Further, the risk of long term damage in such occurrences is well documented; ‘à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦More convincing evidence of the dangers of adult-child sexual activity comes from studies of cycles of sexual abuse The evidence is much stronger here-penetrative sexual acts by certain sorts of adults are virtually universal in paedophiles‘ childhood. Cramer reviewed numerous academic studies in this respect and concluded that ‘à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦it is not surprising that no measurable harm comes to some teenagers who knowingly consent to an involvement with adults just a few years older than themselves. In some communities with different laws, they might be old enough to be free to engage in sexual relations. ..However, this does not mean that all adult-young person sexual relations are invariably non-damaging-or that it is possible to predict ‘harmless‘ ones with any confidence. The question as posed carries the implicit suggestion that sexual activity involving a ‘consenting child (consent as defined in the Act) is not a risk to the child. Cramer properly identifies the fact that harm is a considerable variable for the reasons noted above. Further, all considerations of what is abusive behaviour deserving of societal sanction and what is acceptable will engage a number of different perspectives. As mentioned with respect to the definition of a child, the cultural and moral position of the child and their family may be a significant factor in how the activity is characterised. Biological, emotional and psychological considerations are also at stake. Given the passage of the Act by the UK Parliament, there must be some measure of societal acceptance of the statutory regime as one that properly reflects UK societal concerns regarding this activity. ‘Over-criminalise This term must be approached from two perspectives. The first is the effect of the statutory penalty sections. These provisions on their face provide significant latitude for a sentencing judge to fashion a disposition that meets the demands of each case. One would expect the cardinal sentencing rule of ‘worst offence, worst offender to draw the sentences approaching what is unquestionably a significant penalty of 14 years for rape; rape is equally a horrible offence. It is also clear that the mitigating factors of a positive relationship between the offender and child, relative age disparity, and similar issues must mitigate in the favour of the offender. The concern expressed for over-criminalisation is addressed at least in part through the power to deal with the extremely minor transgressions of this nature by way of the conditional caution provisions, or by virtue of the general powers of discretion vested in the Crown Prosecution Service. There are elements of UK society who may legitimately feel that public legislation that mandates certain proceedings or dispositions is far preferable a public interest safety mechanism than a discretion vested in the prosecution that is essentially unreviewable. Conditional cautions have attracted a mixed review in the UK press and legal commentaries; they are perceived in some quarters as a system soft on crime. However, the conditional caution mechanisms address precisely the issue posited in the present question while the Act may provide significant sentences in the proper case, like all other UK statutes, its effect is ameliorated by the discretionary caution. The distinctiveness of the administrative structure of the conditional caution has been furthered through the development of the Gravity Factor Matrix, an assessment tool developed by the Home Office to assist police services and prosecutors in the determination of which types of occurrences should be subject to a conditional caution. Police forces throughout the UK have now incorporated the matrix into their internal policy and procedures. The general considerations of both aggravating and mitigating circumstances are set out in detail; the Home Office issued a similarly comprehensive guideline concerning warnings for young offenders in May 2006. The use of the caution process enjoys a widespread acceptance with prosecutors, with 24 per cent of all UK criminal offences charged resulting in this disposition; 17per cent more conditional cautions were issued in 2005 over the previous year. Given this trend, concerns regarding the risk of over-criminalised youth sex activity are misplaced, provided the prosecutorial discretion remains active in the consideration of sexual offences. ‘Legitimate sexual behaviour The question is one that is loaded with the assumption that ‘children (depending upon the age definition) will innocently engage or perhaps experiment with sexual activity. In a hypothetical occurrence between a 14 year old boy and a 13 year old girl, where consent in the practical sense is alleged, it is difficult to imagine a reasonable person characterising the interaction as ‘sexual abuse† (subject to the cultural and religious observations noted above). The Act is clearly aimed at circumstances of the prescribed age difference creating a practical presumption of inequality, or the obvious circumstances of harm that are consistent with abuse. ‘Mistake It is contended that there is nothing within the framework of the Sexual Offences Act, 2003 that creates a potential deviation form the now well developed legal principles in support of the defence of mistake. Due statutory deference is paid to the fact that sexual offence circumstances are often emotionally charged, carrying the potential to affect recollection and perception,. For these reasons reasonable mistake of fact as to age must remain an available defence; wilful blindness and recklessness are relegated (as they should be) to the category of mitigation, if any. It seems doubtful given all of the factors noted above that the UK courts would embrace the de facto reverse onus now imposed upon an accused in these circumstances by the Supreme Court of Canada. The availability of mistake in the statutory regime is consistent with the European Convention provisions regarding the assurance of a fair trial. Conclusion The present question does not recognise the strengths of the Sexual Offences Act as they pertain to children who are victims of sexual assault. The act strikes an appropriate balance between individual rights and societal protection.

Howard Dean for President :: Politics Political Essays

Howard Dean for President As more and more polls and data seem to indicate the Howard Dean will be the Democratic nominee for president next year (barring a last minute entry by Hillary Clinton) more and more pundits are pulling out their history books to find comparisons to the front-runner. Most point to Dean as an old-school liberal, in the vain of men such as George McGovern, Lyndon Johnson, and Jimmy Carter. An advocate of increased taxes and bigger government, one can find his photo in the dictionary under â€Å"tax and spend liberal†. But while Dean is a member of the Old Left, his entrance in the 2004 presidential election bears stronger to the rise of Barry Goldwater than Michael Dukakis. Dean has been catapulted onto the scene through the efforts of the hard left, anti-war, Bush-hating liberal Democrats which turned out for him in an early summer Internet primary, and won it for him. In 1964, conservative Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater was given the Republican nod for president through the intensive efforts of right-wing grassroots groups like the Young Republicans and Young Americans for Freedom. Like Dean, his critics charged that he was â€Å"unelectable† for his extreme views, and they were proven right when Lyndon Johnson trounced him in the greatest landslide ever. The lesson to be learned from all this is not that the Bush/Rove team can let down their guard in 2004, but that Republicans need to realize, when Dean loses, that it is not the end of the fight. After the 1964 election most pundits declared that extremism was dead, and that all presidential elections would be fought between two moderates. Yet in 1980, Ronald Reagan swept into office on an equally conservative platform. How’d he do it? By using the grassroots forces left in place by Goldwater while presenting himself as a less acidic candidate who would invigorate a stagnant American dream. In 2008 Hillary Clinton will attempt to repeat the success of Ronald Reagan by using the grassroots left behind by Howard Dean while de-emphasizing her own Bush-hating.

The Costs and Benefits of Funding Military Research and Development Policy :: Papers

The Costs and Benefits of Funding Military Research and Development Policy The central issues when evaluating the overall the United States research and development policy are the characteristics of a public good. A public good by definition is one that has a zero marginal cost of providing the good an additional person and from which individuals cannot be excluded. Research and development policy contributes to the level of knowledge and technology of the entire country. Knowledge, is in most cases, a public good under the aforementioned definition. Giving knowledge to an additional individual does not take away from the total amount of knowledge available, and exclusion from knowledge is often difficult to maintain. A market failure is often associated with public goods, and knowledge is not an exception. Regarding knowledge, and specifically research and development, the market fails to provide this good at adequate levels. The government then steps in to attempt to correct this failure through its research and development funding policy. The following paper details the costs and benefits incurred through funding research and development specifically within the realm of national defense. National defense is also a public good. The government provides national defense to correct the reality that if left uninfluenced, the market will not provide national defense at an adequate level. The U.S. government funds research and development in the area of defense at a much greater level than any other. Background Major policy initiatives were undertaken during the Reagan and Bush administrations in order to research and develop technologies that would aid in the Cold War. This was the era of Reagan’s arms stockpiling that pushed the defense budget to nearly three times the amount it is today, maxing out at just over $800 billion. (Stiglitz, 332) Policymakers were concerned with creating weapons and technology that were more sophisticated than those of the Soviet Union. Programs such as the semiconductor research consortium, SEMATECH, the Defense department’s Technology Reinvestment Program (TRP) and the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) grew out of these years all of which took advantage of defense funding to establish dual-use technologies, that is technologies with specific uses to both the civilian market and the military. In 1986, the Federal Technology Transfer Act was established to allow federal laboratories to conduct cooperative research and development agreements (CRADAs) with private firms. The Reagan and Bush era policies supported high technology research and development that related to both the civilian market and to the military.

How John Lennon Made the Beatles More Popular than Jesus Essay

The story of the most legendary group in the history of popular music began in 1960, in Liverpool, England. The Beatles, were an English rock band, whose most well-known lineup, consisting of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, is considered by many as the most innovative, emulated, and successful music group of the twentieth century. John Lennon was largely responsible for the development of the band, since he, together with Paul McCartney, wrote most of the music for the Beatles. Lennon is largely responsible for the Beatles being considered the first rock performers who were truly considered groundbreaking artists in their own time, and years after the band broke up, with his lyrics, â€Å"Beatlemania†, and the controversy that he caused the band. John Winston Lennon was born in Liverpool, England on Oct. 9, 1940. His father abandoned the family when John was a baby, and his mother, Julia (after whom Lennon titled a song on the ‘Double White Album’ in 1968) could never bring herself to settle down to parenthood, leaving her son to be raised by her sister, Mimi Smith, and her husband. Growing up in a working class family provided John with a typical upbringing and exposure to current music. As a teenager, while studying at art school in Liverpool, Lennon decided to follow his passion for music, and started the group, The Quarrymen. In 1957, Lennon met Paul McCartney, who became a member later that year, when the group first played at The Cavern, a local jazz club. In early 1958, McCartney introduced Lennon to another guitarist, George Harrison, who was accepted as a member of the group without hesitation. The Quarrymen continued as before, with Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison joined by other young ... ...The Beatles. Avonmouth: Parragon Book Service, 1994. Print. Gopnik, Adam. "A Point of View: Why Are the Beatles so Popular 50 Years On?" BBC News. BBC, 15 June 2012. Web. 12 Nov. 2013. Hogan, Randolph. "He Love They Take and Make: Beatles Beatles Bibliography." The New York Times 5 Apr. 1981: 9. ProQuest. Web. 12 Nov. 2013. Lennon, John, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. "Beatles Chicago Press Conference #1 - 8/11/1966 - Beatles Interviews Database." Interview. Beatles Interviews Database. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2013. "Lennon of Beatles Sorry for Making Remark on Jesus." The New York Times 12 Aug. 1966: 38. ProQuest. Web. Turner, Steve. The Beatles: A Hard Day's Write. New York: MJF, 1994. Print. Urish, Ben, and Kenneth G. Bielen. The Words and Music of John Lennon. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2007. Print. The Praeger Singer-Songwriter Collection.

Sales Report Example

Table of Contents Executive Summary3 Part 1: GSM Personnel Specification4 1. Experience4 2. Qualifications4 3. Required skills5 Part 2: Key issues and Recommendations6 1. Introduction6 2. Key issues6 2. 1 Motivation and job satisfaction6 2. 2 Recruitment and selection7 2. 3 Training and development7 2. 4 Key account management8 2. 5 Sales team structure8 3. Conclusion9 4. Recommendations10 4. 1 Change the reward system10 4. 2 Set up the formal recruitment and selection process11 4. 3 Set up a standardized training11 4. 4 Restructure the sales team with the new role of KAM13 . 5 Action Plan15 4. 6 Expected Outcomes16 5. Limitations17 6. Bibliography18 7. Appendices19 7. 1 The recruitment process19 7. 2 Sales people calculation19 Executive Summary The report is divided in two parts. The first part ‘Personnel Specification’ is aimed to identify the required main skills areas of the new GSM. Those are: * Five to eight years sales experience and management; * University degre e of business or marketing management; * Excellent and proven communication skills and interpersonal skills; * Ability to reate a work environment and culture to stimulate individual’s development and motivation; * Ability to negotiate and high levels in numeracy and literacy skills; * Personal traits: high motivation, ambition in sales, enthusiasm, full commitment, and ability to work under high pressure. The second part, which is the most important part of this report, consists two main sections: key issues and recommendations. The key issues have been identified through analyzing our current company’s situations and related theories.Those key issues are: * Low motivation and decreasing job satisfaction; * The lack of formal recruitment and selection process; * The lack of quantity and quality in training and development; * The missing role of Key Account Management in the sales operation; * The inappropriate sales team structure. Based on the analysis of key issues, the fully detailed recommendations are provided in the end of this report, following with an Action Plan and expected outcomes. Part 1: GSM Personnel SpecificationAccuClean is in crucial need of a new General Sales Manager, who will be in charge of the sales team in all regions and report directly to the Managing Director, Peter Ward. Our company is facing several leadership problems and lack of focus in sales team. The new GSM is expected to bring the new fresh leadership style and able to manage the sales team in all regions to achieve the highest performance and long-term development. The personnel specification of GSM will be illustrated in details. Experience The new GSM is expected to have at least 7 to 8 years sales experience, preferably in B2B market (CPSA, 2012; Myjobs, 2012; Reed, 2012).The experience in B2B sales market is very important for our company since our customers are ranging from small to large sized companies, and many of them are with us more than ten years. He/she has a minimum of 5 years experience in business management, marketing and sales strategies and planning, and financial oversight (Inc, 2012; Myjobs, 2012). With these experiences, the new GSM is able to diagnose the management problems within our sales operation, and bring in his/ her new approach in leadership style, in order to improve sales team’s performance as well as increase the motivation and satisfaction of sales people.However, we should be very flexible in selecting candidates based on experience. If a candidate had excellent qualifications regarding his/ her education and 2-3 years experienced, we should not exclude him/ her from our shortlist. The requirement of sales experience is likely to cause a problem of excluding potential candidates (Jobber and Lancaster, 2006). Qualifications The candidate needs to have Bachelor degree of Business or Marketing Management (CPSA, 2012). The university degree is necessary since the good educational background will h elp the new GSM a lot in management.Besides, the combination of education and experience for the GSM position is ideal for long-term development of our sales force. Required skills The new GSM is required to have excellent and proven oral communication skills (Inc, 2012). In addition, the candidate needs to prove his/ her skills in exceptional customer facing and interpersonal skills to enable difficult situations to be overcome successfully (JCT600, 2012). Communication skills are the most crucial qualities of sales people, especially sales manager (Jobber and Lancaster, 2006).Furthermore, the new GSM should be able to create a workplace environment and culture that allows all the sales people in the team to develop and excel their jobs (JCT600, 2012). This requirement is essential since the current leadership style in our sales operation does not seem to work very well and need a crucial change and improvement. The potential candidate is able to negotiate effectively and at the hi ghest level together with excellent numeracy skills and literacy skills (JCT 600, 2012). For both short-term and long-term development of our sales force, these skills are necessary.Besides, the most two important basic qualities that a good sales person must have are empathy and ego drive (based on the study of Mayer and Greenberg, 1964, cited in Donaldson, 2007). Empathy is defined as â€Å"the important central ability to feel as the other fellow does in order to be able to sell a product or service† (Donaldson, 2007, p. 60). Ego drive is a desire to want and need to make a sale (Donaldson, 2007). Both of these basic qualities are a must for our potential GSM since in order to be a good sales manager, he/ she should be a good sales person.Last but not least, we are looking for a new GSM with high motivation, ambition in sales, enthusiasm, full commitment, and ability to work under high pressure (Mathews and Redman, 2001, cited in Jobber and Lancaster, 2006). Part 2: Key is sues and Recommendations 1. Introduction Part 2 is aimed to illustrate the key issues regarding our sales operation in AccuClean. The analysis based on our current situation and theory is presented for every issue. Recommendations are coming in the end of this report, followed by the Action Plan and expected outcomes.All the key issues and recommendations are ordered according to its priority of taking urgent actions. Key issues 1. 1 2. 1 Motivation and job satisfaction Motivation is â€Å"the amount of effort that a salesperson expends on each activity or task associated with the job† (Donaldson, 2007, p. 230). Many factors are believed to cause positive motivation, such as monetary reward, workload, promotion, degree of recognition, supervisory behaviour, targets, and tasks (based on Adams’s inequity theory, Jobber and Lancaster, 2006).In AccuClean, the first factor that causes the low motivation in the sales team is bonus system, which is perceived by many staffs as unfair. The bonus system in AccuClean is set based on achieving a sales figure above the individual sales target, starting from 5% above target sales with a bonus of 5% basic salary. Last year, only nine sales people out of 71 have been able to achieve the bonus, which gives the evidence about the inappropriate bonus system. In addition, the salary is based on individual negotiations when they joined the company, which might lead to unfairness between individual sales people in the team.According to Vroom’s expectancy theory, it is assumed that â€Å"people’s motivation to exert effort is dependent upon their expectations for success† (Jobber and Lancaster, 2006). It means to what extent AccuClean sales people believe by working harder (increase effort), they will achieve 5% above target sales (high expectancy), and that higher sales will lead to higher salary – bonus of 5% of basic salary (high instrumentality), and higher salary is very important for t hem (high valence).Moreover, during the merger, there were several sales staffs left to join competitors, which may result from the lack of motivations. According to Herzberg’s motivation- hygiene theory, working conditions and company policies are two of the hygiene factors, which cause dissatisfaction, thus, lead to low motivation (Donaldson, 2007). Bonus as money is the only type of rewards that is used in AccuClean, nevertheless, there are many more types of rewards that could also be applied, in order to motivate various types of sales people.The suggested bonus system will be illustrated in the recommendation part in the end of this report. 2. 2 Recruitment and selection Bob Carter is in charge of the selection process for new sales people. However, he has no formal system for recruitment and selection as well as no job description. Formal selection process is crucially important to ensure the quality of sales persons, which can have a substantial effect on sales turnov er (Jobber and Lancaster, 2006). Furthermore, hiring a sales person is very costly, much more than the basic salary.Therefore, selecting the right person for the right position is essential, and can be achieved through setting up a formal selection procedure. Another problem is Carter’s way of selection – ‘he knows a good sales person as soon as he sees one’. This bias can harm the screening process, which is part of the recruitment process (see Appendix 5. 1). Either selecting the wrong person or dropping good persons is costly (Donaldson, 2007). Donaldson defines job description as the roles and duties attached to a specific position in the organization (2007).It is necessary for AccuClean to prepare job descriptions for any new positions in the sales team, to ensure the responsibility of each team members, thus, no role ambiguity can occur. 2. 3 Training and development Training is one way for sales managers to improve the performance of the sales peopl e under their controls, broadly to meet the company objectives (Donaldson, 2007). Training and development for sales people in AccuClean are lacked due to several reasons. Any trainings or development relies on the management style and differs in every ASM.There is no formal training process since Carter believes that sales people learn best ‘on the job’. Indeed, there are many kinds of training, which includes individual on-the-job training as Carter’s opinion (Donaldson, 2007). However, good trainings can also be achieved through company-specific programs that are organized in a standardized and professional manner. The irregular and occasional training sessions, usually occur when introducing new products (currently in AccuClean), might lead to the lack of knowledge about products and new skill practices.As the merger of one cleaning chemicals and the other in cleaning machinery, training should have been taken at the early stage of the merger, in order to sup port sales people in both companies about the company objectives and targets, the knowledge of different and new products, competitors and their products, selling procedure and techniques (Jobber and Lancaster, 2006). 2. 4 Key account management Area sales teams are responsible for all accounts regardless their size and importance.The treatment for key accounts, medium-size accounts or small accounts is much dependent on each ASM’s view, its current mix of accounts in the area and experience. There are in fact 21 customers; each has accounts worth over ? 4 million. Those customers are important to our business and need to be prioritized as key accounts since the loss of even one of them would significantly cause a radical drop in sales and profits (Jobber and Lancaster, 2006). Key account management seems currently necessary, in order to serve our key customers with special treatment in all areas of marketing, administration, and service (Jobber and Lancaster, 2006).In additi on, key account management will help to develop a close relationship between our company as supplier and our customers, in order to enhance the communication and co-ordination between us, thus, create more in-depth penetration of DMU, which includes push and pull opportunities for buying decisions (Jobber and Lancaster, 2006). 2. 5 Sales team structure The sales territories of AccuClean, which are merely geographic based, have not been changed since the merger. Geographic structure is traditional and the most widely used type of sales organization in the UK.It has several advantages such as simplicity, shorter journey times, low travel costs, and less potential for conflicts over responsibility (Donaldson, 2007). However, geographic structure has some drawbacks, which might influence to the effectiveness of the sales team and its management. Examples of disadvantages are the need to sell full range, broad expertise needed, and overhead costs for more layers of management evolved (Do naldson, 2007). In order for the sales team to work more productively and better management, it is necessary to make some changes concerning our sales team structure (see Recommendations, section 4).The number of sales people in AccuClean is currently more than necessary, compared to the number of customers. Figure 1 illustrates the current sales people in each ASM as well as the actual needed sales people based on the number of customers in each area. Territory| Number of customers| Current number of sales people| Actual number of sales people| Spare sales people| Midlands| 1973| 26| 18| 8| South| 1545| 22| 14| 8| North| 1196| 16| 11| 5| Scotland/ North Ireland| 499| 7| 5| 2| UK total| 5264| 71| 47*| 24*|Figure 1: Number of Sales people (* approximate number) 1 2 Conclusion Five key issues that have been listed and analyzed above are low motivation and decreasing job satisfaction, informal recruitment and selection process, unstandardized and the lack of regular training, the lack of key account management, and the ineffective sales team structure. Those issues are the most urgent in AccuClean that need to be solved as soon as possible, in order to improve the sales team to work more effectively. Recommendations 4. 1 Change the reward systemBonus (monetary reward), which is the only form of reward using in AccuClean, shows its limitation, therefore, improving the bonus system is crucial. The starting point of 5% should be set lower and dependent on different products and accounts. There should also be other chances to get commission, which can be based on the annual sales revenue and profits. In addition to the monetary reward, AccuClean can apply many other types of rewards such as promotion or workload (based on Adam’s inequity theory, Jobber and Lancaster, 2006).Not all sales people highly value money; some of them might place higher value on promotion, responsibility or recognition. Thus, the variable of rewards will motivate different type of sale s people, in order to maximize the expectancy and value of reward (Vroom’s expectancy theory, Jobber and Lancaster, 2006). A study of sales force practices by Chartered Institute of Marketing showed that sales people are mostly motivated by individual meetings with supervisor to discuss career, job problems, etc. The second ranked motivating factors is ‘regular accompaniment in the field by the sales manager’ (Jobber and Lancaster, 2006).These methods of improving leadership style should be aware by ASMs and higher management. 4. 2 Set up the formal recruitment and selection process The formal recruitment process is proposed as below (according to Jobber and Lancaster, 2006, p. 384). Bias in selecting applicants should be minimized by carefully preparing job description and personal specification. Of course, the experience of employer should be used during the selection process. However, those five steps above should be strictly followed to avoid any mistakes dur ing recruitment. 4. Set up a standardized training Good training programs will help to equip our sales people with sufficient knowledge and skills. Besides, it plays as a motivation factor for sales people and positively influences the job satisfaction. 4. 3. 1 When should our company train our sales employees? According to Donaldson (2007, p. 208), the training should be held properly when: * New sales person is recruited * A sales person takes on a new territory * New products * New business, new market segments * Company new policies or procedure * Selling habits are poor or inappropriate An individual is being considered for promotion The sales techniques are very important to train all sales people in the organization (69% of North European firms providing sales techniques training). The market and customer knowledge is also essential in training (42% of firms providing this, based on Roman and Ruiz, 2003, cited in Donaldson, 2007). 4. 3. 2 Who should do the training? Sales tra iner can be senior managers (i. e. ASMs, GSM), technical specialists (from Production department), external specialists, or inside experienced sales people (i. e. from other ASMs).In many cases, training is more likely to be provided by inside company specialists, who not only have the best understanding about the organization and individual needs, but also can tailor training programs to suit both internal and on-the-job requirements (Donaldson, 2007). 4. 3. 3 Where should training be done? The training can be organized in internal single location (different ASMs), a centralized external location or a decentralized location (on the job). It depends on the purpose of training and variable factors to decide where to hold the training.Below is the nine possible options that are proposed by Donaldson (2007, p. 210). 4. 3. 4 What methods of training should be used? Lectures, films, role playing, case studies, or in-the-field training are options of training methods (Jobber and Lancaster , 2006). Each has its advantages and limitations. The point is how to use them properly for different training purposes, in order to achieve the best results and highest satisfaction of participants. 4. 4 Restructure the sales team with the new role of KAM New proposed sales team structure is presented in Figure 2 with two radical changes. ASM North and ASM Scotland will be combined into Regional Sales Manager of North and Scotland * Key Account Manager is added to our sales team structure as one independent function Figure 2: Sales Team Structure (proposed) The Regional Sales Managers are formed to ensure the number of sales people is interrelated to the number of customers in each region. The number of customers in the North and Scotland, which is 1196 and 499 respectively, is much fewer than the number of customers in Midlands and South (1973 and 1545 respectively).Therefore, it is appropriate to merge two ASMs North and Scotland together, in order to enhance the performance in t he broader area, and increase the influence on organization’s decision-making of sales people in the North and Scotland area. The Key Account Manager is added to be in charge of all key accounts in the whole UK. KAM’s responsibility is to manage all sales people, who are managing those key accounts in different regions. Moreover, KAM is also responsible for potential key accounts and complex DMUs. The communication and leadership style are crucially important to be successful in managing sales people in different areas.Monthly meeting can be organized and the advanced record system (computer based) should be built up to develop the whole sales team’s communication flows in long-term. This proposed sales team structure is based on all forms of selling simultaneously: KAM for very big accounts, general territory representatives (Regional Sales Managers) for the medium and small- sized accounts (Jobber and Lancaster, 2006). The number of sales people in AccuClean i s currently more than necessary, as calculation based on the current number of customers. In fact, it is difficult to get rid of 24 sales people at once, and should not be done in that way.AccuClean can evaluate sales people in the whole company by their performance, motivation and achievement in past years. In a period of 12 months, it is expected to dismiss six sales people. After two years, 12 sales people in total will be fired. AccuClean may attract more customers in the future and need more sales people; therefore, it is dependent on the situation at the time to decide how many more sales people have to leave. 4. 5 Action Plan 4. 6 Expected Outcomes Limitations The merger of two ASMs North and Scotland into one Regional Sales might cause problem in the span of control.The new RSM will manage 20-23 sales people, which might lead to the role ambiguity and lack of coaching and supervision. The Action Plan illustrates many tasks that need to complete in the first year, thus, it mi ght be very challenging in the first year for the new GSM. It is a tough decision to fire some sales people in the next two years. It might cause several problems within the sales team concerning rumours or miscommunication. Therefore, it is necessary to have a serious evaluation based on a formal checklist and consultancy from different people in the team.Furthermore, the training needs to be held at the beginning of the year, to inform the sales team about new changes, thus, reduce miscommunication. Bibliography CPSA (2012) Sales Manager Job description [Online]. Available from :< http://www. cpsa. com/pdf/src/tools/Sample%20Sales%20Manager%20Job%20Description. pdf> [Assessed 16 December 2012]. Donaldson, B. (2007) Sales Management. 3rd ed. NewYork: Palgrave MacMillan. Inc (2012) General Manager Job description [Online]. Available from :< http://www. inc. com/tools/general-manager-job-description. html> [Assessed 16 December 2012].JCT 600 (2012) General Sales Manager Job descripti on [Online]. Available from :< http://www. jct600. co. uk/data/cm/careers/1028. pdf> [Assessed 16 December 2012]. Jobber, D. And Lancaster, G. (2006) Selling and Sales Management. 7th ed. England: Pearson Education Limited. Myjobs (2012) Senior Sales Manager (Oil Machinery) [Online]. Available from :< http://myjobs. classifiedpost. com/index. php/Job-Search/ENGINEERING-GENERAL-BUSINESS-DEVELOPMENT-ACCOUNT-MANAGEMENT-Job-Description/SENIOR-SALES-MANAGER-OIL-MACHINERY/597925> [Assessed 16 December 2012]. Reed (2012) General Manager – Milton Keynes [Online].Available from :< http://www. reed. co. uk/jobs/general-manager-milton-keynes/22306659#/jobs/general-sales-manager-in-milton-keynes> [Assessed 16 December 2012]. Appendices 3 4 7. 1 The recruitment process 7. 2 Sales people calculation The Figure 1 calculation will be illustrated in details as below. Based on: Number of sales people = (Number of customers x Number of call pa) / (number of calls per day x Number of working day s per year) Suppose there are 225 work days per year, 12 times calling per customer per year (once a month) Each sales person supposes to make 40 calls per week, 10 of those are to be made to prospects.Therefore, each sales person has to make: (40-10)/5 = 6 calls per day. * Number of sales people in Midlands = (1973 x 12) / (6 x 225) = 18 * Number of sales people in South = (1545 x 12) / (6 x 225) = 14 * Number of sales people in North = (1196 x 12) / (6 x 225) = 11 * Number of sales people in Scotland/ North Ireland = (499 x 12) / (6 x 225) = 5