It was a selfish idea to build the long groyne at hengistbury head Essay Example

It was a selfish idea to build the long groyne at hengistbury head Essay For this piece of coursework, I have been asked to investigate if weather or not the building of the long groyne at Hengistbury Head was a selfish idea. This is an issue worth discussing because Hengistbury Head (HH) is a popular area, with many local residents and a lot of visiting tourists who come for the beach activities and services etc. HH is on the South coast of the UK, the most attacked coastline in the world, which is what causes the controversy, why protect one part of this coast, when all of it needs protecting? To help me in this investigation, I will answer some key questions: Where are HH and Highcliffe (HC) located? How has the shape of the coastline changed over time? (Before and after the groyne) what is HH and how was it formed? Why is it popular amongst tourists? What is there to do and see? What is an SSSI? What are the problems at HH regarding coastal erosion? What coastal protection methods are already in place? What evidence is there of coastal erosion at HC? Is there any coastal protection already at HC, if so, what? What do residents of HH and HC think about the erosion taking place along their coastline? I will also compare and contrast what is going on at HH and HC with case studies from across Britain. I will be using primary information; information that I myself has gathered, e.g. my booklet from the field trip, and secondary information, e.g. information from internet sites. I will draw this coursework to a close by giving my own opinion, using the information gathered from various sources as evidence to answer the key questions, and using them to back up what I think. We will write a custom essay sample on It was a selfish idea to build the long groyne at hengistbury head specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on It was a selfish idea to build the long groyne at hengistbury head specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on It was a selfish idea to build the long groyne at hengistbury head specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Two: Prediction Building the groyne at Hengistbury Head a selfish idea. In agreement with this statement, there are many things that could make the building of the groyne seem like a selfish idea. For example, the south coast of England is the most attacked coastline in the world, why should only one part be protected? What about the rest? Furthermore, Hengistbury Head is not only a friendly, bustling residential area, but also a popular tourist attraction, over 1,000,000 people visit HH every year, the groyne was very expensive, and needs maintaining, the money could have been spent on other things in the area to make it better for the those who live there and to make it better for, and attract more tourists. On the other hand however, it could be seen as unselfish, as there are almost always two sides to a story. As stated before, HH is a busy residential area, and very popular among tourists, the groyne is stopping the beaches from moving further and further along the coast, and protecting the land. Without it, the head would be at increasing risk of eroding further and further back, losing more and more land. This would be very unsuitable, due to the vast amount of people that live around/visit the head, homes and attractions would be destroyed, as well as memories. These are only 4 points arguing weather or not the groyne was selfish or not, by the end of this piece of work I hope to have many more, creating a stronger argument on this statement. Three: Key Questions One: Where are Hengistbury Head and Highcliffe located? Hengistbury Head and Highcliffe are both located in the South East of England, in the UK. Hengistbury Head is in Bournemouth, Dorset and South of Southampton, West of Portsmouth, East of Exeter and is on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. Highcliffe is in Christchurch Dorset, located South of Hinton, west of Barton-on-Sea and East of Southbourne. Two: How Has the Shape of This Stretch of Coastline Changed Over Time? This is Hengistbury Head published in 1895, long before coastal erosion was understood or a worry. We can see here that the spit is much longer than it is in the most recent image, this is because they long groyne has not been built, so the area to the east of the spit is not deprived of beach material. It also shows that the small islands the Beerpan Rocks) are disappearing This is a more recent image of Hengistbury head, after the long groyne was built. We can see that the slat marsh has become larger since then; the groyne has also helped to trap beach sediment to the west of the headland. The spit is shorter, but the headland is wider and we notice that the Beerpan Rocks have completely disappeared. Three: What Is H.H How Was It Formed? Hengistbury Head is a headland; the definition of a head land is an area of land that is adjacent to water on 3 sides. It was formed by a number of natural processes, including erosion, long shore drift (where the sand and shingle are moved along the coast by the sea) and weathering where the elements erode the land causing it to change shape. What do Residents of H.H H.C think about the erosion taking place along their coastline? Four: Why is HH a popular tourist destination? Hengistbury head gets over 1,000,000 visitors a year, for a variety of reasons. The picturesque British coast provides a hot spot for families, and anyone who enjoys the beaches and coastline. HH also offers a lot of facilities for visitors; it has a nature reserve, and is a site of both scientific archaeological importance. The area surrounding HH makes perfect conditions for hikers and ramblers and the lowlands in the area to the west of the head are used a lot for kite flying and it is also a general picnic area. Another popular destination around HH is at its peak, named warren hill, where it is grassy and a pleasant place for families and couples. The surrounding towns such as Christchurch also have their own things to offer, the world famous Stone Henge is also only 30 miles away, which is always worth a stop. Five: What is an SSI? And why is HH one? The Wikipedia definition of an SSSI is: A Site of Special Scientific Interest or SSSI is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. S.S.S.Is are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon them, including National Nature Reserves, Ramsar Sites, Special Protection Areas, and Special Areas of Conservation. Hengistbury Head is an SSSI because it is home to many rare plants and animals. It is home to over 500 species of plant to date, including sea knotgrass (a nationally rare species) 14 types of Birds-Foot Trefoil (they are scarce) and 39 locally rare plants. There are also 300 types of bird have been recorded there, as well as large numbers of insects. Six: What are the problems at HH regarding coastal erosion? Erosion has been a huge problem for a number of years at HH, especially as the sea has now reached its base, where the can reach it with ease. The head was provided with some natural protection in the form of Ironstone Doggers that fell from the cliffs above onto the beach below, building natural barriers both on the beach, and out to sea.. Because of these, erosion was an extremely slow or possibly even stationary process, and HH remained stable for about 2000 years. But the ironstone doggers got their name from the fact they could provide excellent quality iron ore, some were even found to contain 30%by weight iron ore. Their use dates back top prehistoric times, but their exploitation since the Iron Age had left them rusty in colour and less useful. Another major problem that HH is faced with is long shore drift, a phrase that has come up a lot in this work so far. Before the groyne, the sand and shingle from the beach was being washed further and further up the coast by the sea, as there was nothing to stop it meaning that the beach was moving away. Seven: What coastal protection methods are already in place at HH? As we already know, there are groynes at HH, as this is the main subject of this investigation, but there are also other things in place. A Gabion Revetment has been built at HH as well as the groynes at HH in order to protect its weakest point on its eastern end. Even though it is not too attractive, it is effective in that it protects HH from becoming an island! But, it does have a downside; its lifespan is limited as it is in a very harsh environment, enduring all the things that we are trying to protect HH against. Another technique used at HH is beach replenishment, where the sand that has been washed away by the sea is replaced with shingle, that is less prone to be moved my the water, however it is not a permanent solution and had to be repeated every 10 years or so, also, it does not bode well with beach lovers as the stony shingle does not give the same experience as a sandy beach. There is also currently a debate going on, to decide weather or not to build and artificial reef at HH. While the main drive for this is to attract wildlife, surfers and divers etc, it would also partially replenish the original marine/iron ore reef that was removed by mining in the 1850s. Eight: What evidence is there of coastal erosion at HC? At Highcliffe, there is a lot of evidence to show that there is coastal erosion taking place There is slumping taking place, meaning that the cliff is collapsing into itself. This is happening for a number or reasons. Firstly, the rock is made of clay, an extremely soft rock, which absorbs a lot of water, making it even softer and prone to collapsing. It is not protected whatsoever; it is open to elements, also attacking the soft rock. Furthermore, coastal protections elsewhere (e.g. the groyne at HH) have an effect of this area. There is also growing human development taking place onto of the cliff, weakening it. Nine: Is there any coastal protection at HC? If so, what? There are quite a few different methods of coastal protection being used to protect Highcliffe at the moment, all of different costs, effectiveness, appearance, scale and use. Rock Armour or Rip-Rap is used at Highcliffe; it consists of large boulders, commonly granite, placed along the coastline to protect it from erosion and other processes caused by the sea. It has both good and bad qualities, it looks natural, as it is rock, it is a long term solution and will last, it is also very effective. But, it is very expensive, because the rock has to be bought or extracted and then transported to the coast and set up, it then has to be maintained, it is could also be dangerous, as people, especially children climb on it etc. There are also Groynes at Highcliffe, just like the one at Hengistbury Head; they are also effective in that they stop sand and shingle from moving down the coast in long shore drift. But, it also has a downside, they are not very attractive, they are very expensive and require a lot of maintenance, without which they become less effective. There are Drainage Gullies these help to drain the excess water from the cliffs, to prevent saturation, and direct it back to the sea. They are nearly unnoticeable as they are inside the cliff. But, they are also very expensive, and the cliff is weakened slightly when they are inputted into the cliffs. Vegetation is plated on the cliffs, it is cheap, it also absorbs excess water to prevent saturation, it looks natural and is attractive. But, it has no where near the same effect as other methods of protection. There are rocks and boulders placed on the coast as part of Rock Armour/Rip Rap, but standing alone or in small groups and they have the same effect. Beach replenishment is used at HC as well as at HH, where the sand that has been moved is replaced with shingle, again it is cheap, but it is not the same as having a sandy beach, and needs replacing every 10 years or so. Finally, a technique called terracing has been used on the cliffs, where they have been cut into levels similar to stairs; this puts less pressure of the cliffs and prevents slumping. Unfortunately, it is very expensive and laborious to do and make it harder for water to run off of the cliff, unless there are drainage gullies. What do residents of HH and HC think about the erosion taking place along their coastline? Ten: What do residents of HH and HC think about the erosion taking place along their coastline? To answer this key question I will use my questionnaire, analysing it and using it as evidence to answer this question with. The first question on the questionnaire was Do you live locally? and the most popular answer was A: Yes, Im a local resident with 54%. The least popular answer was B: I am a tourist (19%). This survey was conducted on a Friday, during the daytime, if it had been done at the weekend, or school holidays etc, the outcome may have been completely different, as a less people would be at work ; school etc. The third question on my questionnaire was Have you seen a change in the coastline? and the most popular response was C: Yes, quite a lot of change (72%) and the lest popular was D: Yes a massive change (30%) although there has been a lot of change on this stretch of coastline over the years, it is very slow, so even local residents, may have only noticed a certain amount of change, those who have lived there their whole lives, may notice more of a change than others. I then went on to ask what changes have you seen along the coast?, if any and the most popular answer to this was More erosion taking place (46%) and the least popular was More damage caused by those that use H.H (14%) So from this, I can conclude that the residents are fully aware of the changes that are going on with their coastline, also, while filling in my questionnaire, people also gave us some of their opinions of what was going on at H.H, and the general feeling is that more should be being done to protect it, as H.H is their homes. When asked What do you think of the coastal protection in place already in this area? the most popular answer was B: Its working fairly well (68%) and the least popular by far was A: No good at all, theyre ineffective (8%) this shows that the residents are not only aware of the problem, but are also aware of what is being done to try and slow it down. Eleven: Compare and Contrast what is happening at HH and HC to other case studies from around the coast of Britain. Hengistbury Head is not the only case like this in the UK, for this key question I will compare and contrast this scenario to others around Britain. Recently there has been a lot in the news about the collapsed cliff in Lyme Regis. In February 2001, the latest phase of an operation to stop the Lyme Regis falling into the sea was revealed; a new sea wall, at the cost of about à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½4m, but on the evening of the 6th of May 2008, the cliff partially collapsed and 100s of tonnes of debris tumbled onto the beach below, thankfully no one was hurt, and no buildings were lost. The area is very prone to landslips like this, and they have happened before, but the most recent one is being said to be the worst in 100 years. Lyme Regis, similar to HH and HC is a busy residential and tourist area and the main reasons for the protection of this part of the coast is the 170 homes, the football pitch, St Michaels Church (a historical landmark) and Charmouth Road, the main route out of the town. The reason behind the landslips is not only attack by the sea, but also just the make up of the rock; it is made from layers of soft blue lias clay that lay over a layer of harder limestone, this set up means that the rock takes on rainwater, becoming saturated, causing the land to become more unstable. The first phase of this project was completed in 1996, and the second and third were completed in 2007, the work was taken on very quickly after falling rocks destroyed two buildings. This related to what is happening at HH and HC because although work is being done, the land is still collapsing and slipping away. This is however, different in many ways to what is happening to HH and HC, large pieces of these cliffs have yet to fall away and bring the message truly home. This part of coastline also had protection already in place, this shows that sometimes one thing isnt enough to tackle the elements, and more perhaps needs to be done. Another example of a similar scenario is Steephill Cove, which is on the Isle of Wight: Steephill Cove is backed by residential development, and has Victorian coastal defences, which were partially upgraded in 1992/3 it was then recognised that further work was needed on the sea wall in the centre of the bay. The reason behind this need for further work of the coastal defences was that the land was unstable, similar to Lyme Regis, due to coastal erosion. As said before, the fact that further work was needed was recognised years ago, just not the extent of what was needed. This shows that not enough is understood about what is happening to our coasts, it is often taking landslides or cliff collapses to remind people of what is going on, work is also left until the area is truly desperate, as is in this example. These two other cases link back to my prediction that it could be seen as a selfish or unselfish idea to build these defences, or in some cases not building them quick enough. These two cases will help me with my conclusion. Four: Conclusion. Over this piece of coursework I have looked at lots of pieces of evidence to help me answer the question I was asked at the beginning. Before giving my final opinion I will sum up both sides of the argument, using everything I have learned over the past few weeks, finishing with my own opinion, again backing it up with what I have learned. On one hand, the building of the groyne at HH can be seen as a selfish idea. I will go through these points in order of importance as I see them from least to the most important argument. Firstly, there is a religious view to this argument, God built the earth and the sea, and provided us with the elements, he didnt provide coastal defences, the land is only doing what is natural to it .Secondly, although coastal defences are effective and protect our beautiful country from crumbling into the sea from the outside in, but they are not attractive, HH and HC are both very beautiful places with high numbers of residents and tourists and the groynes and other defences subtract from their natural magnificence somewhat. Thirdly, coastal defences are very expensive, costing thousands, sometimes even millions of pounds, as well as needing to be maintained and repaired, as stated before, HH is very popular tourist area, with over 1,000,000 visitors per year, the money used to build the groyne could have been better spent elsewhere, improving local services etc in order to bring back and bring in more visitors to the area. Fourthly, and possibly the best argument in my opinion, is that the south coast of Britain is the most attacked coastline in the world, but not all of it is being protected, some parts are left completely bare to be worn away by the sea, wind and rain. This is obvious if you visit Hengistbury Head, there is a point where you can stand, if you look to one side, you can sea the long groyne and the difference that it makes, look to the other, there is no defences what so ever, where you can see the effect the sea has had on the area. On the other hand, the building of the groyne can be seen as unselfish. As I said before, HH and HC are both busy residential and tourist areas, the coastal defences that are in place are protecting the area so that it can continue to be enjoyed in good condition and also stay safe to live on and visit. HC already has a lot of coastal defences, in the form of sea walls, gabions, rock armour and beach replenishment etc. The residents of Hengistbury Head, when filling in a questionnaire, answered the question would you prefer it if the coast was left unprotected? 72% said no, this shows that the residents of HH and HC want the protection there to keep their towns and homes etc safe, on this level it is unselfish, because it is what the majority want. Furthermore, the residents of Highcliffe also answered this questionnaire, the main argument is; is the groyne a selfish idea because of the effect it has on the neighbouring town of Highcliffe? The residents here do not think that the coa st should be left un protected either. In conclusion I feel that the building of the long groyne at Hengistbury Head was NOT selfish one. I think this because of the amount of protection that is present at Highcliffe too, both areas are equally protected from coastal erosion for the time being. Also, I feel that it wasnt a selfish idea due to the amount of tourism the area attracts with over 1,000,000 visitors per year, the protection in place means that people will continue to come back and more new visitors will come to enjoy the scenic British coast this will maintain the economy in the area and keep local businesses thriving etc. Lastly, I feel that the groyne was not a selfish idea because not enough awareness is being raised of the issues of coastal erosion, the councils at HH and HC are obviously aware of what is happening to the coast around their areas but others are not, it more awareness is raised then more parts of the British coast can be protected. Five: Evaluation. Although the visits to HH and HC were useful, trips are different times of the year and day would be useful too because the groups of people visiting would be different and they would give different opinions are answers to questionnaires etc as would the landscape, we went on a typical summer/spring day during the week in the middle of the day, if we were to visit in mid winter at the weekend for example, we would have probably met some completely different people and the results of our questionnaires would be very different. In an ideal world case studies for things such as coastlines would be done over a period of a number of years, in order to see the changes happening first hand instead of researching it and asking people about it. From completing this piece of coursework I have learned quite a lot, the different types of coastal protection, how they work, how much they coast, how this case relates to others around the country, what the residents of the area really think, I have also learned the importance of spreading coursework out evenly and giving yourself enough time to complete it, and not panicking if youre struggling. If I was to do this coursework again there are several things that I would do differently, I would ask more people to fill in my questionnaire, and gather more in depth information from them on their opinions of what is happening at HH and HC I would also try to keep my field work more detailed and neater to help me later on.

2014s Best and Worst Words to put on Your Resume

2014s Best and Worst Words to put on Your Resume Last week, as reported by Forbes in The Best and Worst Words To Use On Your Resume, CareerBuilder came out with a list of both recommended and ill-advised resume words and phrases for 2014. The list was generated through interviews with 2,200 hiring managers and human resources staffers. One surprising result from this survey, says Forbes, is a possible change in the length of time hiring managers spend looking at a resume: 17% said they spend 30 seconds or less, but 68% said they can read for up to two full minutes before moving on! That’s fairly good news for any job seeker – but it means you need to avoid turning off the reader with distasteful words and phrases so that they will be more likely to read further. I believe an even bigger trick would be to leave out these â€Å"worst† words while also including the keywords from the job description your resume is targeting. No problem right? For instance, one of the no-nos on the list is â€Å"self-motivated.† But what if the job description asks for someone who is self-motivated and you know your resume will be going through an ATS (Applicant Tracking System) for screening? What if, by some stroke of misfortune, the job description contains the words â€Å"results-driven,† â€Å"team player† or â€Å"detail-oriented† – phrases I have banished from my resumes since day 1? I think that would be my worst nightmare. My point is: Do avoid these words, but do not do so at all costs. Sometimes exceptions need to be made. By the same token, just because a word is on the â€Å"best resume words† list doesn’t mean you should overuse it. Of course hiring managers want to see words like â€Å"improved† and â€Å"increased/decreased.† But these words can get very old very fast. Repeated usage of the same verbs can put your readers to sleep; so consider varying your language to keep them on their toes! Consider synonyms like â€Å"heightened,† â€Å"boosted,† â€Å"multiplied,† â€Å"accelerated,† â€Å"cut,† â€Å"shrank,† and other power verbs. I for one will use more colorful words until a report comes out with those words on the â€Å"worst† list. For a robust list of power resume verbs, check out my e-books, How to Write a WINNING Resume and How to Write a STELLAR Executive Resume. OK I won’t keep you in suspense any longer. Here’s CareerBuilder’s list of the worst words to use on your resume: Best of breed Go-getter Think outside of the box Synergy Go-to person Thought leadership Value add Results-driven Team player Bottom-line Hard worker Strategic thinker Dynamic Self-motivate Detail-oriented Proactively Track record And the words hiring managers want to see: Achieved Improved Trained/mentored Managed Created Resolved Volunteered Influenced Increased/decreased Ideas Negotiated Launched Revenue/profits Under budget Won The real lesson here is that hiring managers want to see results, not descriptions of your greatest characteristics, nor broad claims of greatness. The more you can convey the facts and numbers of your achievements, the better. Now do this: Check your resume. How many of the â€Å"worst resume words† are on it? Can you transform your resume into one that will keep a hiring manager reading for an entire †¦ two †¦ minutes? If so, you might be able to list â€Å"Won resume game† as one of your most impressive credentials. Category:Resume TipsBy Brenda BernsteinMarch 24, 2014 1 Comment Susan Gainen says: March 25, 2014 at 11:39 am Thank you for sharing this. Log in to Reply

Cooperate power Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

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Obama presidency and the media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Obama presidency and the media - Essay Example In this respect, managing the president’s message is of paramount importance to the White House’s communications operations because it inevitably determines how the message is perceived both internally and externally, how it is interpreted, thereby influencing its outcomes respectively. This paper is an update chapter to Martha Joynt Kumar’s â€Å"Managing the president's message†, examining how the Obama administration has coped with new media and traditional media, and the effectiveness of the administration in conveying its message. Additionally, the paper comments on how the old and new media have covered the Obama presidency from the perspective of a news consumer on the premises of whether or not one can make judgment or take action based upon the information received by the news media. Out of seven US presidents in the period following World War II including Eisenhower, Nixon, Reagan, Clinton, and George W Bush developed effective communications ope rations because both the presidents and their staff understood the significance of explaining to the public the administration’s priorities and strategies that promoted their achievement (Kumar 1). Unlike these five heads of state, Republican George H W Bush and Democrat Jimmy Carter, the two chief executives who had minimal interest in presidential communications since they did not consider them as fundamental aspects of their presidency, had a lot of difficulty winning support of legislators and the public on many issues. The four basic functions of the presidential communications operations include advocating, explaining, defending, and coordinating on behalf of the chief of state; how effectively the communications operations carry out these functions depends on various factors. These include the nature of what the administration is trying to sell, the chief executive’s communication competence, organizational components of the communications operation; most import antly, the organization of the communications operations needs central control, an infrastructure that satisfies the ever-large news reporters need for news, and a team of communications staff that has vast knowledge of reporters’ routines. The single most important benchmark for effective communications operations is the nature of policies and effective performances of the administration that is trying to sell them since even if the communications operations is so good at what it does, it cannot function on a backdrop of weak policy or weak implementers. Like his predecessors, the US president Barrack Obama also regularly communicates with his fellow citizens to inform them of his administration’s plans, decisions, as well as stand points on both global and domestic policy issues as need may dictate, but through new media. Coping with new and traditional media The Obama presidency values the significance of an effective communications operations mechanism for the effe ctive delivery of his messages and, unlike all other presidents who have also longed to reach the people directly, bypassing the big national news agencies, the Obama presidency has taken this quest to extreme heights altogether with his thorough disdain of the media (Rubin). The Obama presidency has shunned mainstream media, and while he engages with both print and broadcast media every day, the chief of state together with his staff

The Privatization of Intelligence Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6000 words

The Privatization of Intelligence - Term Paper Example The conventional intelligence cycle is characterized as fragmented and Clark argues for a more conjoined intelligence cycle under what is described as a target-centric approach to intelligence collection and sharing. However, one of the significant post-9/11 changes made to the intelligence cycle was the outsourcing of intelligence to the private sector. The Department of Homeland Security explained that since 9/11 the DHS has enhanced private sector involvement for â€Å"facilitating more effective and rapid communication with key organizations† and as a means of â€Å"bolstering regionally-focused information sharing efforts†. Russell argues however, that the intelligence community remains fragmented in that a number of agencies are responsible for collecting intelligence. For example, the National Security Agency is responsible for intercepting and decoding â€Å"communications†; the National Geospatial-Intelligence is responsible for analysing satellite images; the Defense Intelligence Agency is responsible for running â€Å"military defense attachà © collection abroad;and the Department of State oversees the collection of information from diplomats abroad. Moreover, the CIA has its own collection functions and also recruits spies for the benefit of US security. Complicating matters,the different agencies within the intelligence community have a tendency to jealously guard their information. While putting a tight lid on information can be justified on the grounds that it is too sensitive to risk unauthorised leaks, often times, information â€Å"hoarding† is cultivated by â€Å"petty bureaucratic rivalries†.8 This is problematic since analysts are required to make informed assumptions on the basis of information received from all the various sources of intelligence.9 Intelligence that merely informs decision-makers of what is taking place abroad or at home has less intrinsic value than intelligence that informs of what might be happening.10 The outsourcing of intelligence functions to the private sector can only serve to further fragment the collection and

Benefits of Developing Integrated Global Strategies

Benefits of Developing Integrated Global Strategies â€Å"As multinationals mature, they become aware of the opportunities to be gained from integrating and creating a single strategy on a global scale.† Discuss, with reference to theories regarding economies of scale, scope and global competitiveness, drawing on real world organisation to illustrate your answer. â€Å"Clearly, a substantial challenge for multinational corporations (MNCs), in the current environment of intensified competition and rapid industry consolidation, is one of much greater worldwide integration. Necessitated by intense competitive pressures, MNCs are integrating their disparate country operations in order to achieve economies across markets and operating units. Preliminary results from a pilot study of the characteristics of common global practices among a sample of MNCs†¦explore the benefits MNCs derive from the implementation of common practices across their worldwide operations, in pursuit of a global strategy.† (Cavusgil, Yeniyurt and Townsend, 2004) It is clear from this most recent piece of research into the worldwide integration of multinational corporations that there are immense potential benefits to multinationals from pursuing a strategy of integration across markets and regions. However, expanding internationally requires managerial adaptation due to differences between national cultures, and these dynamics have not necessarily been used to represent the cultural diversity that may hinder efforts to integrate and coordinate efforts as required by global strategies. Tempering popular perspectives that extol the benefits of diversity, some theories claim that cultural diversity among international divisions of a global firm may actually impede efforts to merge activities and expertise between those units. Specifically, direct, such as market, production and technology, and indirect: knowledge-based benefits are more difficult to exploit when cultural diversity makes activity sharing and expertise transfer less efficient. Pa rallel to established product relatedness theory, this postulates that culturally related international firms will enjoy greater efficiencies than culturally diverse multinationals. (Johnson and Scholes, 2002) Nowhere is this better seen than in the strategies of Novotel, a strategic business unit of the Accor group, and one of the worlds major hotel chains, occupying a leading place in Europe and with locations globally. Calori, Baden-Fuller and Hunt (2000) interpreted Novotels change management programme in the 1990s, summarising the actions that managers took in terms of strategy and organization, also carefully considering the sequence and timing of events, and how this resulted in rapid transformation in an organisation employing more than 30,000 people. They also strongly emphasised the dialectical nature of the change processes: an element often ignored in the literature, observing both deliberation and experimentation; both integration and differentiation. They found that, Novotel was careful to offer different offerings in each nation it operates, dependent upon the local customs, culture and expectations for a hotel. However they also found that, in line with several of Morriseyà ¢â‚¬â„¢s (1996) theories on long range strategic planning, the managers were careful to always ensure that the company’s global direction and overall strategy were clear and consistent in the minds of staff, and were strongly projected to the customers. Nowhere is this more clearly seen than on Novotel’s website, with its headline: â€Å"412 Hotels Resort in 56 countries. Novotel guarantees you the best price†, showing that no matter where in the world you go, Novotel always aims to offer you a budget hotel room. Such clear positioning and marketing is one of the main reasons the company has been so successful for so long. Another important consideration in integrating a strategy is that competitive advantage can be gained through quality, even in mature commodity industries, but that a quality-based competitive strategy will be successful only if managers understand both how quality is perceived by their customers and their company s level of quality performance. As such, the critical issue of many modern strategies is the importance of gaining customer attention: the underlying view that a global business strategy can be simply programmed and customers merely involved in the activity as rational agents ignores the value of seasoned judgment and, ultimately, critical thinking. The essential objective is clearly to engage in producing a value- added customer relationship, and therefore, gaining customer attention is equally, or indeed, more important than a simple focus on customer relationship management. What is required is a strategic focus on the real complexity of the relationship which organizati ons are initially able to establish with customers. (Pearson, 1999) Nowhere is this more apparent than in the UKs food and beverage sector, which remains the countrys single largest manufacturing sector, thanks in part to a general economic recovery and its world-renowned high quality and innovative products. In recent years, the economic performance of the UK has been robust, owing to low inflation, resilient growth, strong job creation and increases in consumer spending: â€Å"According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the UKs GDP rose 3.1% in 2004, compared with 2.2% in 2003. As a result, household spending on food has been increasing over the past few years. Merger and acquisiton activity in the UK is on the rise. According to the Office of National Statistics, the number of MA in the food industry increased 14.4% in 2004 to 278 deals from 243 in 2003.† (Mergent Industry Reports, 2005) There is a significant foreign investor interest in UK companies, which shows a general confidence in the UK economy. In addition, the increase in convenience stores and hypermarkets: which sell groceries and offer a much wider choice of brand products, along with intense competition, has had a large impact on the food industry. As a result, many food companies are looking to consolidate their business to maximize competitiveness in terms of price, innovation and coverage. As companies seek to improve corporate profitability in a competitive market environment, further consolidation is expected. The growth of convenience stores and hypermarkets is likely to be the main force in the food and drink sector over the next few years. (Mergent Industry Reports, 2005) Judith Bevan (2005) examines the battle between the supermarkets in a recent book: â€Å"Trolley Wars†, where the ‘wars’ in question are not just price wars; they are space and strategy wars. With UK retail being the most competitive sector in one of the most competitive countries in the world, supermarkets desperate for supremacy fight over prices, squeeze suppliers and grab land in order to win. Each of the players has brought the industry forward at a crucial time: â€Å"Whether it was Sainsbury for quality, MS for innovation or Tesco for value, one message is clear: the winners, and today this is Tesco by a long way, never forget that the customer is king and that only by constantly listening, anticipating and reacting can they survive in todays market.† (Bevan 2005) UK supermarket customers are in search of quality, price and value, and are among the savviest in the world. The lesson is clear: complacency kills, and a fragmented, unclear, strategy, as witnessed in Sainsbury’s recent advertising campaigns, which have driven away some of the chains traditionally loyal customers. (Finch, 1999) However, it is also vitally important for firms to consider that any strategy they formulate should not only offer customers what they want and expect from the overall corporation, but should also be financially and commercially viable. In particular, managerial considerations, desires, priorities and egos should not override the need to remain profitable and fulfil shareholder, and other stakeholder, goals and expectations. This is covered quite clearly in the managerially theory of the firm, developed by Stoelhorst and van Raaij (2004) as a meaningful alternative to the neoclassical theory of the firm. Their paper argues that the main use of a managerial theory of the firm is explaining performance differentials between firms, especially in the area of marketing strategy, which we have already seen is of great import to multinational corporations. Indeed, the authors explicitly state that: â€Å"Marketing shares an interest in explaining performance differentials with strategic ma nagement and organizational economics.† (Stoelhorst and van Raaij, 2004) Likewise, they show that a generic understanding of the sources of performance differentials is emerging across these three disciplines, and incorporate this understanding in a unifying conceptual framework that is both managerially relevant and embedded in economic theory. The lessons from this paper would be well learnt by easyGroup ltd. director, and well known entrepreneur, Stelios Haji-Ioannou. In 2003, Haji-Ioannou announced that easyCinema would open in Milton Keynes, England, with the introductory cinema chain aimed at providing an addition to the existing easyGroup architecture, which at the time encompassed rental cars, internet cafà ©s and an airline. (Ritson, 2003) Haji-Ioannou has frequently admitted that price elasticities are ‘the core’ of the easy brand, and is careful to always select markets where consumers will make differential trade-offs between time and price. â€Å"For example, if one is a price-sensitive European student flying home to spend holidays, he is likely to book months in advance and will probably accept an early morning departure.† (Ritson, 2003) By using technology and just-in-time inventory systems, easyGroup allows its component firms to flexibly set prices and automatically respond to market el asticities. However, just two months after Ritson’s article, Haji-Ioannou was forced to admit, in June 2003, that he may have to close the easyCinema in Milton Keynes by the end of the year. EasyGroup companies, excluding the publicly owned easyJet, in fact lost about  £120m over the past four years, with EasyInternetCafe forming the bulk of this, turning in about  £90m in losses between 1999 and 2003. However, in the same time period, easyCar lost about  £20m, the Internet shopping portal easyValue lost  £5m and the easyMoney credit card  £2.7m. The basis for these losses can be seen in the fate of easyCinema, a good model for the management style of Stelios Haji-Ioannou and â€Å"his declining empire, EasyGroup.† (Kroll, 2004) Kroll’s article recalls the earlier giveaway of airplane tickets on the steps of an Athens courthouse, where he was being sued by travel agents, but focuses on his ‘potshot’ at U.S. film distributors, which initially refused to give EasyCinema first runs because his ticket prices were too low to offer them a decent cut. The US film distributors’ move was mirrored by distributors in Britain, which meant that, although Stelios had found another price elastic market: in its first week, easyCinema filled 56% of its seats, patronage has dropped steadily since. (Wylie, 2003) The main reason for this is the lack of recent release, as traditionally distributors make money by creaming a high percentage of box-office revenue in the first weeks of a films run, a percentage that easyCinema was unwilling and unable to provide. Stelios tried to persuade Britains Office of Fair Trading to investigate what he alleges is illegal collusion and resale price maintenance among distributors (Wylie, 2003); but this appeared to be yet another publicity stunt from the self-styled ‘consumer’s champion’, who had yet again failed to address the concerns of some of the most powerful stakeholders in one of his ventures. Of course, a single, integrated strategy pursued to it’s fullest: by integrating the strategy of a multinational corporation involved in just one market, can reap the highest rewards of all. Research into this was recently conducted by Kim and Lee (2001), who admit to being â€Å"motivated by an empirical observation that two Korean carmakers, Daewoo and Hyundai, have pursued very different globalisation strategies despite their structural similarities.† Using in-depth case studies and extensive interviews with top managers, they explained several lessons that can be drawn from these strategies. Being direct competitors in the Korean automobile industry has affected the firms globalisation strategies to a great extent: each company took into account its competitive position, vis-à  -vis the other’s, when forging its global strategy. For instance, Daewoo focused on achieving economies of scale by targeting the East European markets for its overseas capacity expan sion, as a way of overcoming its manufacturing cost disadvantage in the domestic market vis-à  -vis Hyundais. Likewise, Hyundais globalisation strategy: exporting supported by technological advancement; was driven by an implicit assumption of its competitive advantage vis-à  -vis Daewoos. This initial observed pattern of decisions was formed mostly by such determining factors as top managements commitment to specific strategic decisions and resources, both managerial and financial, from each companys parent business group. It is vital to note here that, unlike easyGroup’s strategy, driven largely by the ego and self-image of it’s director, was in fact driven by the core competencies of each company: developing and exploiting new markets to obtain economies of scale, and maintaining a technological advantage. Subsequently, these integrated strategies were altered or reinforced as each company accumulated different learning experiences, demonstrating that unless the learning process is well managed, it can do as much harm as good to a company. (Kim and Lee, 2001) Indeed, Hamid (2002) has shown that leading companies around the world are developing integrated global compensation and benefit strategies in order to help them stay ahead of the competition. â€Å"These companies are finding that their human resource strategy can be structured using similar philosophies to reward people regardless of their geographic boundaries.† (Hamid, 2002) The need to develop more consistent global strategies in concert with reward practices worldwide, is driven by companies finding that global compensation and benefit strategies can also, in fact, achieve cost savings through economies of scale. The ability to shed the costs of communicating, administering and coordinating several compensation strategies is proof positive that multinational corporations can derive benefits from integrating their global strategies in almost any area of their operations. An excellent example of this is Ryanair, which in August of this year (2005) shrugged off â€Å"soaring fuel charges, fierce competition and an ongoing row with pilots, to announce record pre-tax profits of â‚ ¬76.9m for the three months to July. Despite increasing capacity by 30pc, the airline managed to increase its yield per seat by 3pc, while simultaneously cutting costs per passenger by 6pc. Yesterday, by way of an encore, it released figures which showed that it carried a record 3,198,977 passengers in July, breaking the 3m barrier for the first time, and taking the number of passengers it has carried over the past 12 months to just over 30m. But, according to Michael Cawley, Ryanairs chief operating officer, whether you are talking about expansion, cost cutting or alternative revenues, the airline, which now operates on 250 routes across 21 countries, is only just beginning.† (McEnaney, 2005) One of the key messages from the latest results is that Ryanair has no trouble cutting costs and generating economies of scale: both vital advantages in the global budget air travel market. In fact, when you factor out fuel costs, over which the company has only limited control, Ryanair managed to reduce costs by 11pc in the last quarter. This is despite the fact that Ryanair is now unable to significantly reduce costs by cutting back on the trimmings: with no trimming left to cut, the company has been forced to take a ‘big-picture approach’, through a single intergrated global strategy: take as many passengers as cheaply as possible. According to Mr Cawley, much of the current cost reduction is due to the replacement of the companys 737-200 airplanes, which carry 130 passengers, with new 737-800 aircraft, which carry 189. â€Å"The 737-800 has boosted passenger numbers per plane by 45pc. As we get more and more of them in the fleet, our costs per passenger go down. Als o, newer aircraft have lower costs.† (McEnaney, 2005) There seems to be no end to the expansion of Ryanair, which also recently announced that it would fly eight routes to Poland by November, and recently made Pisa in Italy its fourteenth European base. In the coming months, the airline is expected to announce two new European bases. One of these will most likely be Beauvais in France, which is the only major European country where Ryanair does not yet have a base. The second is likely to be either in Spain or in Scandinavia. According to Cawley, this expansion also helps to lower costs: â€Å"We enjoy significant economies of scale. We used to have three routes from Pisa. Now we have eight, but there is no increase in our Italian advertising costs.† (McEnaney, 2005) Thus, the potential opportunities gained by multinationals that develop integrated global strategies are almost too large to measure, with economies of scope and scale, and large technological and consumer based advantages However, it is also extremely important that, as well as aim for these advantages, and the associated global competitiveness benefits, that MNC’s ensure that they are not pursuing a single integrated strategy for the wrong reasons, as easyGroup has done recently. They must also continue to monitor and analyse the needs and demands of all shareholders and stakeholders, especially the major ones, and remember that the most important stakeholders in many markets, regions, cultures and industries may not be the customers, as is usually believed. This task is far from easy, but for a multinational with the required knowledge, capabilities and learning capacity, the benefits cannot be overstated, and the potential to grow, diversify and consolidate, as Ryannair ha s recently shown, can be huge. References: Bevan, J (2005) Trolley Wars. Profile Books. Calori, R. Baden-Fuller, C. and Hunt, B. (2000) Managing Change at Novotel: Back to the Future. Long Range Planning; Vol. 33, Issue 6, p. 779. Cavusgil, S. T. Yeniyurt, S. and Townsend, D. (2004) The framework of a global company: A conceptualization and preliminary validation. Industrial Marketing Management; Vol. 33, Issue 8, p. 711. Finch, J. (1999) Rivals maul Sainsbury GM ad. The Guardian. Authors: Hamid, H. (2002) Global convergence in remuneration patterns. Business Times (Malaysia). Johnson, G. and Scholes, K. (2002) Exploring Corporate Strategy; Sixth Edition. FT Prentice Hall. Kim, B. and Lee, Y. (2001) Global Capacity Expansion Strategies: Lessons Learned from Two Korean Carmakers. Long Range Planning; Vol. 34, Issue 3, p. 309. Kroll, L. (2004) Easy.com, Easy Go. Forbes; Vol. 174, Issue 12, p. 138. McEnaney, T. (2005) Man with a mission, airline with a future. Irish Independent. Mergent Industry Reports (2005) Food Beverage – Europe. Morrisey G. (1996) A Guide to Long-Range Planning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Pearson, G. (1999) Strategy in Action. Prentice Hall. Ritson, M. (2003) Stelios shows theres an easy way to a smart pricing strategy. Marketing (UK); p. 16. Rogers, D. (2003) Not So Easy After All. Marketing (UK); p. 20. Stoelhorst, J.W. and van Raaij, E. M. (2004) On explaining performance differentials: Marketing and the managerial theory of the firm. Journal of Business Research; Vol. 57, Issue 5, p. 462. Wylie, I. (2003) In Movieland Not So Easy. Fast Company; Issue 75, p. 35.

Economic Systems Of Different Countries :: essays research papers

Economic Systems of Different Countries Canada: The Government of Canada is a Federal Parliamentary Democracy and a member of the Common Wealth. The Prime Minister of Canada is the Honorable Jean Chretien. The Deputy Prime Minister is Sheila Copps and the Governor General is Romeo LeBlanc. There are five major political parties in Canada they are; the Progressive Conservatives, the Liberal Party, New Democratic Party, the Reform Party, and the Bloc Quebecois. The GNP per capita (1991) was $19,934 (in millions). The annual GNP growth was 3.4%. The amount of GNP for defence was 2.2%. The majority of workers in Canada are in the Service field (73%), Industry has 23% of the workers, and Agriculture has the remaining 4% of the labour workforce. Canada has an unemployment rate of 9.5% and an inflation rate of 2.3%. Canada's top three natural resources are Nickel, Zinc and Copper. Canada's top three agricultural products include Wheat, Barley, and Corn. The three major Canadian industries are automobile manufacturing, lumber industry, and petroleum products. Canada has a healthy trading market with major partners such as the United States, Mexico, and Japan. The top three imported products are vehicles, foodstuffs, and animal feed, while the three major exports include vehicles, petroleum products and natural gas. Canada's exports vastly outweigh their imports. The balance of trade is $9,823,000,000 (more exports than imports).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Canada's economy is a market economy based on free enterprise and the ideology of capitalism. As a Canadian citizen you are free to buy and sell as you please on the open market, so long as you are within the law. Since Canada is a democratic state we are guaranteed these rights and freedoms. Canada has a very efficient economy. We have an unemployment rate of only 9.5% and a reasonably small inflation rate. Canada has been rated as one of the best countries in the world – Coincidence? Niger:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Government in Niger is a republic in which there is a President and a Prime Minister. The President of the Republic of Niger is Mahamane Ousmane. The Prime Minister is Hama Amadou. There are five major political parties. They are; The National Movement for the Developing Society, The Democratic and Social Convention, Nigerian Party for Democracy and Socialism, The Nigerian Alliance for Democracy and Progress, and The Union of Progressive Patriots and Democrats.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Niger has a Gross National Product per capita of $550 (in millions). There is an annual GNP growth of 1.4%, 0.1% more then the allotted funds for defence. The majority of the labour force works in agriculture (45%), the service field represents 39% of the workers, and the remaining 16% are employed

Scholarship

Passion, dedication and time embody a no ordinary volunteer for service and gratitude. Imagining the smiles in the faces of people, especially the less fortunate who have experienced charity is a pretty good feeling knowing that you have given your unconditional time and was able to lend a helping hand. I have shown my spirit of volunteerism for many years now and have been involved in many outreach programs and projects that help communities improve not just their livelihood but also their spiritual growth in many places. Likewise, serving my community church as a Bible study teacher and Usher made me realized how important public service is. This made me grow not to the worst but to the best of my ability to serve for the greater good. With my degree in Human Resource Management and International Relations, I was able to work and assist over 50, 000 Quartermaster Soldiers as a Career Manager with an aim in helping them with their ideal professions or careers. Also, I call myself for response to soldiers who are victims of Sexual Assault in over 85 cases as a Sexual Assault Coordinator while also working as a Unit Victim Advocate. Because of this uncontrollable and worsening abuse, I wanted to go beyond the â€Å"comfort zone† by providing a shelter for battered men and women and do simple but courageous everyday things that will express my deep love and concern for the common abused people. This is the reason why I am dreaming to earn the scholarship offered by the US Army Foundations. Through this, I can be able to help the abused Soldiers and their family members who are victimized by Sexual Assault. Although this dream is but small, the realization of these small actions that we do everyday gives pretty big results because it is through little raindrops that we make big floods. Scholarship I believe I deserve the Bloom Trail Alumni Scholarship because with its assistance the cost of college will be more obtainable. Being able to attend college is important to me because it provides many opportunities for me in making sure I have a successful career and future. By attending college, I will be able broaden my horizon and grown not only as an individual, but more importantly I will be able to grow academically. This fall I will be attending Northern Illinois where I plan to receive my English degree along with my teacher’s certificate. With a teacher’s certificate I want to return to a school similar to Bloom Trail. During my experience here at Bloom Trail I have encountered many opportunities that have shaped these decisions. The diversity here has caused me to look at everything with more of a patient, open approach so I can understand the different personalities I come across. I also have met many teachers along my journey who have affected my decision to further my education in becoming a teacher at a similar school. Even though they probably could have found a job at a better school, they still decided to teach at a school where students need a little more work and someone who has a love for sharing their knowledge and wants to see students succeed. These are the kind of teachers who have pushed me to excel academically instead of just settling for the easy way out. Not only did they push me to do my best educationally, but to also break out of my â€Å"shell† that was holding me back from being someone who could one day make a difference in someone else’s life. Along with these skills, there have been several times I had a lot of pressure on me to meet a certain deadline all while managing the other aspects of my life. These situations have helped me to be a more disciplined and organized individual. With all the chaos of juggling two jobs, a social life, and school going on I’ve still been able to remain a reliable person. My teachers, friends, family, and employers can still count on me to be there when needed and meet my deadlines. So with my skills and experiences I believe I have what it takes to make a good teacher. School is a major aspect in children’s live by helping them shape and mold themselves into for whatever the future has in store for them. I would love to one day be able to say I could do that for someone, and being a teacher would make that possible. Being able to just reach out and touch the life of one child would mean a great deal to me, and with the assistance of your scholarship I will be able to do just that. I will be able to start the next chapter in my life where I look forward to conquering all the obstacles I come across on my journey to one day being able to give back to the community and students just like you have done for me. So I greatly appreciate the opportunity of being considered for this honor and I hope you will be able to make my dreams possible by awarding me your scholarship. Scholarship Passion, dedication and time embody a no ordinary volunteer for service and gratitude. Imagining the smiles in the faces of people, especially the less fortunate who have experienced charity is a pretty good feeling knowing that you have given your unconditional time and was able to lend a helping hand. I have shown my spirit of volunteerism for many years now and have been involved in many outreach programs and projects that help communities improve not just their livelihood but also their spiritual growth in many places. Likewise, serving my community church as a Bible study teacher and Usher made me realized how important public service is. This made me grow not to the worst but to the best of my ability to serve for the greater good. With my degree in Human Resource Management and International Relations, I was able to work and assist over 50, 000 Quartermaster Soldiers as a Career Manager with an aim in helping them with their ideal professions or careers. Also, I call myself for response to soldiers who are victims of Sexual Assault in over 85 cases as a Sexual Assault Coordinator while also working as a Unit Victim Advocate. Because of this uncontrollable and worsening abuse, I wanted to go beyond the â€Å"comfort zone† by providing a shelter for battered men and women and do simple but courageous everyday things that will express my deep love and concern for the common abused people. This is the reason why I am dreaming to earn the scholarship offered by the US Army Foundations. Through this, I can be able to help the abused Soldiers and their family members who are victimized by Sexual Assault. Although this dream is but small, the realization of these small actions that we do everyday gives pretty big results because it is through little raindrops that we make big floods.

Constitutionality of Same Sex Marriage in the Unit Essays

Constitutionality of Same Sex Marriage in the Unit Essays Constitutionality of Same Sex Marriage in the United States of America LAW (Gay Rights/Legislation) Constitutionality of Same Sex Marriage in the United States of America The proposed legalization of same-sex marriage is one of the most significant issues in contemporary American family law. Presently, it is one of the most vigorously advocated reforms discussed in law reviews, one of the most explosive political questions facing lawmakers, and one of the most provocative issues emerging before American courts. If same-sex marriage is legalized, it could be one of the most revolutionary policy decisions in the history of American family law. The potential consequences, positive or negative, for children, parents, same-sex couples, families, social structure public health, and the status of women are enormous. Given the importance of the issue, the value of comprehensive debate of the reasons for and against legalizing same-sex marriage should be obvious. Marriage is much more than merely a commitment to love one another. Aside from societal and religious conventions, marriage entails legally imposed financial responsibility and legally authorized financial benefits. Marriage provides automatic legal protections for the spouse, including medical visitation, succession of a deceased spouse's property, as well as pension and other rights. When two adults desire to "contract" in the eyes of the law, as well a perhaps promise in the eyes of the Lord and their friends and family, to be responsible for the obligations of marriage as well as to enjoy its benefits, should the law prohibit their request merely because they are of the same gender? I intend to prove that because of Article IV of the United States Constitution, there is no reason why the federal government nor any state government should restrict marriage to a predefined heterosexual relationship. Marriage has changed throughout the years. In Western law, wives are now equal rather than subordinate partners; interracial marriage is now widely accepted, both in statute and in society; and marital failure itself, rather than the fault of one partner, may be grounds for a divorce. Societal change have been felt in marriages over the past 25 years as divorce rates have increased and have been integrated into even upper class families. Proposals to legalize same-sex marriage or to enact broad domestic partnership laws are currently being promoted by gay and lesbian activists, especially in Europe and North America. The trend in western European nations during the past decade has been to increase legal aid to homosexual relations and has included marriage benefits to some same-sex couples. For example, within the past six years, three Scandinavian countries have enacted domestic partnership laws allowing same-sex couples in which at least one partner is a citizen of the specified country therefore allowing many benefits that heterosexual marriages are given. In the Netherlands, the Parliament is considering domestic partnership status for same-sex couples, all major political parties favor recognizing same-sex relations, and more than a dozen towns have already done so. Finland provides governmental social benefits to same-sex partners. Belgium allows gay prisoners the right to have conjugal visits from same-sex partners. An overwhelming majority of European nations have granted partial legal status to homosexual relationships. The European Parliament also has passed a resolution calling for equal rights for gays and lesbians. In the United States, efforts to legalize same-sex domestic partnership have had some, limited success. The Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc. reported that by mid-1995, thirty-six municipalities, eight counties, three states, five state agencies, and two federal agencies extended some benefits to, or registered for some official purposes, same-sex domestic partnerships. In 1994, the California legislature passed a domestic partnership bill that provided official state registration of same-sex couples and provided limited marital rights and privileges relating to hospital visitation, wills and estates, and powers of attorney. While California's Governor Wilson eventually vetoed the bill, its passage by the legislature represented a notable political achievement for advocates of same-sex marriage. The most significant prospects for legalizing same-sex marriage in the near future are in Hawaii, where advocates of same-sex marriage have won a major judicial victory that could lead to the judicial legalization of same-sex marriage or to legislation authorizing same-sex domestic partnership in that state. In 1993, the Hawaii Supreme Court, in Baehr v. Lewin, vacated a state circuit court judgment dismissing same-sex marriage claims and ruled that Hawaii's marriage law allowing heterosexual, but not homosexual, couples to obtain marriage licenses constitutes sex discrimination under the state constitution's Equal Protection Clause and Equal Rights Amendment. The case began in 1991 when three same-sex couples who had been denied marriage licenses by the Hawaii Department of Health brought suit in state court against the

Domestic and International Human Trafficking Involving India

Domestic and International Human Trafficking Involving India Overiew:Human trafficking is a wide-spread issue that is present in essentially every country of the world. This growing black-market based crime is a problem that severely affects South Asia heavily. The vast socio-economic disparity that is present in heavily-populated or undeveloped countries, such as India and Indonesia, contributes heavily to the trafficking of individuals from impoverished villages, regions of conflict, and areas with corrupt local governments.Extent of Human Trafficking:GlobalThough there are many task forces, non-governmental organizations, and government agencies that have been investigating the global human-trafficking problem, the actual amount of people and money involved has yet to be widely agreed upon. The United States Department of State Trafficking in Persons most-recent annual report estimates that there are approximately eight-hundred thousand people that are trafficked across international borders. The number of those that are intra-nationally tr afficked is in the multi-millions according to the 2008 report, as well. The report also states that the global-market is up to $32 billion a year industry, taking the profits of the workers and the sale of them into account.India1, 3 The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has yet to release any numbers on the amount of humans trafficked, but has, in various reports, used millions as an expression to describe the magnitude of the crime. The UNODC has, however, has released estimates that the trade-business is worth anywhere from $10 billion to in excess of $30 billion per year. 2Indian (Domestic and International)South Asia, where India falls geographically, is ranked second, to Southeast Asia, in the number of annually internationally trafficked persons, according to the UNODC. 3 The American Anti-Slavery Group (ASI) estimate that there are approximately two-hundred thousand to three-hundred thousand enslaved children that are ‘employed at factories that work on looms wea ving carpets and other textiles with little...

Medicare Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Medicare - Research Paper Example However, it is of essence to note that this insurance program is faced with numerous challenges that have led to strains on various stakeholders that access help from this program. This essay will attempt to assess the Medicare Insurance Program and the issues that have faced this program, the costs of the challenge and the possible solutions that could help solve the issues facing the insurance program. As Schieber, et al (2009) write, Medicare has had its share of problems for the longest time. Among the challenges that Medicare faces ranges from financial problems to management issues that have seen the insurance program fail to deliver services as would be expected of them. Failure of Medicare to fully deliver its services is huge challenge as the beneficiaries fail to get the required services. With reimbursement of funds being a major challenge, it is obvious that the persons with chronic conditions will not help as they would wish. On a deeper insight, it is evident that the population is growing by the day. Schieber, et al (2009) write that as soon as the younger generation get to their old age, the healthcare system will not provide the required services to the aged. This fact explains the reason behind the healthcare services being very expensive for a majority of US citizens. The Medicare challenges affect a huge percentage of people, organizations and even government agencies. However, it is very crucial to note that the tax payers are the most affected persons by the challenges of Medicare. As seen in the research conducted by Schieber, et al (2009), the American workers are spending too much of their pay towards the Medicare program, but most of them do not enjoy the outcomes of the health service. Worse still, the authors continue to indicate that some individuals actually spend from their pockets to get treatment (Schieber, et al., 2009). An analysis of this fact

Improving Performance through Learning,coaching and development Essay

Improving Performance through Learning,coaching and development - Essay Example As a response to the need for better, bigger, quicker and cost effective communication, call centres are continually introducing improved infrastructures and more advanced technologies. This has resulted to an environment where the call length is measured in seconds, and overt and covert monitoring systems that make certain compliance of employees to precise operating procedures (Holdsworth & Cartwright, 2003, p. 131). Such a setting is what Endeavour communication firm in the UK is trying to adopt. The paper will discuss the firm’s transformation from a phone based call centre to a multichannel service offering centre. This requires coming up with a comprehensive training and development framework. The paper will highlight the basic skills and competencies that will form the basis of the new programme, where the training managers and their team have an assignment of designing and delivering a 4-week training and intervention, which will make sure all the front line staff are fully competent with the new systems and procedures before the launch of the new multi-channel call centre. It will further outline a proposal for training intervention, a description of how the programme would be implemented to meet the specific requirements, and lastly, discuss how reinforcement of the initiative would be done and evaluation of the programme to make sure that the learning outcomes have been realised. Identification of training and development needs Endeavour is an outsourcing provider operating customer contact centres both in the UK and abroad. It has three contact centres, two in the UK and one situated in India. Approximately half of the UK’s front line staffs are situated in one modern call centre. The firm does its recruitment and selection from the local labour pool. Consequently, the firm strives to embark on a major challenge of altering the business model from that of a predominantly phone based call centre to a multichannel service offering. As a consequence, the core drivers of a training and development program for an outsourcing firm like Endeavour include: shifts in customer tastes and preferences, new and challenging business opportunities, technology advancements, and management planning (Garavan, Hogan, & O’Donnell, 2003, p.21-23). The firm required to train and develop its employees because clients have numerous channels for communication. Therefore, it was crucial for the contact centre to provide them with a wide range of options to match their requirements, with the major aim being to enhance customer satisfaction. The range of channels consisted of the following: phone, web chat, fax, email, social media, internet, call queuing, and call back. Consequently, the front-line staffs of Endeavour needed to be trained on key board entry skills, call handling and product knowledge to be fully competent in these areas. Since the firm was launching a new product, this signifies that it was targeting a new market. T his new market consisted of customers who were fond of using the phone, email, social media, and internet among many others. This would result to issues coming up such as mismatch of skills. Therefore, this need for additional training and development was as result of taking up new business opportunities. The refurbishment of the on-site classrooms and training resources led to the installation of special technology system that