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

ETHICAL DECISION - Research Paper Example I append below my views on the matter: A. Three possible decision alternatives to address the problem regarding the whistles: 1. Withdraw the entire consignment of the order and arrange to have cancellation of the order. If any advance payment has been made, to arrange to have it refunded to the customer. 2. Let the consignment go as it is upon the assumption that just a few whistles have been carrying the high lead content and the others are quite safe for children’s use. 3. Further carry randomized checks on lead content of the whistles contained in the consignment and bifurcate the passable whistles vis-a-vis the reject able ones. Make a fresh consignment containing only the Quality Check (QC) passed whistles. Thus, the three alternatives and their explanations before the company in the wake of this contingency are as follows: (A) Arrange for total withdrawal of the tainted consignment and arrange for cancellation of the order and refund of the money if paid by the buyer. . .. However the reputation and goodwill of the company in terms of ethical and moral values is intact and no legal action would ensue since the consignment has been called back. The main advantages of this alternative would be that the company would not lose face or face lawsuits for supplying toxic whistles. The disadvantage would be the loss of the entire shipment and losses of $100,000 (b) The second alternative would be to allow the consignment to go on as though nothing has happened, and presume that the toxicity would be minor and negligible confined to just a few odd whistles, which would have been there, anyway, considering the bulk of the shipment. Sometimes, companies need to take such risks, in the greater interests of business and in order to circumvent economic losses, or lowered profits. It is quite possible that these may be few in numbers and not create a major issue with customers. The main advantage is that economic losses would be avoided but the disadvantages would st em from probable lawsuits and loss of business reputation. In the event the Government institutes an inquiry to alleged high toxic levels in toys, the company would be in real trouble. The ethical aspects are also heavily compromised since the company is taking a calculated risk that its products would be accepted without further inspection by health authorities. (c) The third alternative seems to be the most sensible and rational under the circumstances, that is, once again, carry out thorough checks on lead content of the whistles contained in the consignment and separate the Quality Checked whistles vis-a-vis the rejectable ones. Make a fresh consignment containing only the Quality

International Perspectives in Childhood Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

International Perspectives in Childhood - Essay Example There could be a number of factors that contribute to this development including political, social and economic factors. UNICIF report card 7(The United Nations Children’s Fund, 2007) ranks different dimensions of child care in 21 developed countries including United Kingdom and Sweden. Following is the ranking of both the countries in those dimensions. Dimensions of Child Well-being United Kingdom compared Sweden Dimensions of child well-being Average ranking position (for all 6 dimensions Material well-being Health and safety Educational well-being Family and peer relationships Behaviours and risks Subjective well-being Sweden 5.0 1 1 5 15 1 7 United Kingdom 18.2 18 12 17 21 21 20 Source:( Unicef, 2007) Above figures reflects that United Kingdom stands at 18th no. among all the 21 countries where as Sweden stands 5th. Clearly, Sweden has a developed material and educational system as compare to United Kingdom. In Sweden, all 3, 4 and 5 year olds has the right to pre-schoolin g for 525 hours a year. This is provided in pre-schools and is free of charge for the parents. Further, here parents of the children under one year age have privilege of one year leave.

Impacts of Business Environment Change Essay Example for Free

Impacts of Business Environment Change Essay IP/MIP techniques have been used most often to aid supply chain configuration decisions and there have been many successful applications [9]. Two recent articles [9; 11] made comprehensive reviews about facility location models relevant to global manufacturing operations. This review section focuses on optimization models which are closely related with impacts of business environment cost parameters on the design of manufacturing networks. Cohen and Lee [12] developed a MIP model for a global manufacturing and distribution network. It demonstrated significant impacts of changes in the foreign exchange rate. Cohen and Moon [13] used a MIP model to analyze impacts of changes in a firm’s cost environment. It was found that scale economies, scope economies, and transportation costs could alter optimal facility network design strategies. Vidal and Goetschalckx [14] analyzed impacts of uncertainties on global supply chains through a MIP model. Foreign exchange rate was identified to be influential on global supply chain configurations. Using a two-stage optimization model, Kulkarni et al. [15] evaluated trade-offs between risk pooling and logistics costs in a multi-plant network with commonality. Their analyses showed that impacts of operational cost parameters may be significant and non-intuitive. All these models suggested that cost parameters have significant impacts on manufacturing facility location decisions, and may even alter supply chain configuration strategies. However, they only considered a single objective of profits or costs. The consideration of both costs and responsiveness was seen in the reconfiguration of global manufacturing and distribution network at Digital Equipment Corporation. It used a bi-objective model to minimize total costs and activity days. The model was implemented successfully with savings over $100 million [10]. However, the application did not explore impacts of changes in cost parameters. Overall, there is a lack of using a bi-objective approach to analyze impacts of business environment changes on the configuration of GMNs.

Examining The Concept Of Crime And Its Dimensions Criminology Essay

Examining The Concept Of Crime And Its Dimensions Criminology Essay Tappan (1947:) defined crime asan intentional act or omission in violation of criminal law, committed without defense or justification, and penalized by the state and vehemently advocated the notion that the legal definition of crime is representative of what society consensually defines crime as. However, as both Greer and Hagan (2001) and Morrison (2009) emphasised, whilst what is deemed a crime will be based on the shared societal perceptions in many instances, ultimately acts are legislated as criminal by those in authority and therefore disagreement between what is legally deemed a crime and what is perceived as a crime by members of the society to which the law applies will inevitably exist. Furthermore, Henry and Lanier (1998) also highlighted that if the concept of crime is based purely on the legal definition then actions such as racism, sexism, and other denials of human rights as well as other deviant and anti-social behaviour may fail to be recognised, since these have of ten been excluded from what constitutes crime in the definition proposed by law. As such, Hagan (1977) posited that crime should be regarded as a subcategory of all harmful acts, regardless of whether they are proscribed by law, thus emphasising that the legal definition of crime alone is too narrow. Similarly, some theorists (Burgress 1950; Durkheim 1933; Roshier 1989) have attempted to expand the legal definition further still to include a universal sense of morality and argue that actions should be defined as crime when moral outrage ensues from a breach of social norms. This perspective thus considers the reactions of society, although as Blackburn (1993) emphasised, not all criminal acts violate moral codes, such as supposed victimless crimes including the gambling, drug abuse and prostitution. Hence this definition may still not encompass the crime phenomenon fully. Whilst a good starting point in terms of defining crime, evidently, the legal definition alone is too narrow since it lacks recognition for the social nature of crime, social harm and morality and is ultimately determined by those in power rather than a general consensus. As Lindgren (2005) emphasised, social constructionists, alternatively, argue that what is defined as crime in law is historically, temporally and culturally relative and as Sumner (2003) argued, we, as a society, have an impact on what is defined as crime, firstly by the social conditions that enable or encourage the behaviour that causes harm and secondly by our reactions to that behaviour and our collective disapproval and condemnation of such behaviours, which ultimately lead them to becoming defined as criminal, but which are subject to change over time as our societal attitudes change. The notion that the definition of crime is subject to change with changing societal attitudes, was supported by Feldman (1993) who suggested that whilst the core of criminal law is consistent across societies, the borders move. So whilst, as Lemert (1972) found in a cross cultural comparison, murder, rape and theft are universally condemned crimes whatever the prevailing legal system and time context, the definition of many other acts as criminal depends heavily of which societies are examined and when. For example, in 1533 English law identified homosexuality as punishable by hanging, and until the Sexual Offences Act 1967 was passed, homosexuality remained illegal within the UK. The prohibition of alcohol between 1920 and 1933 in America is another example of crime being context and time dependent. Notably in both cases, homosexuality and the consumption of alcohol are still illegal in various other cultures. This definition of crime therefore accounts for the social nature of crime, and explains how societal attitudes influence what becomes legally defined as crime, how definitions of crime are time and context dependent, and is able to recognise that not all actions are legally classified as criminal but nevertheless constitute behaviour worthy of the definition according to societal beliefs. In an initial attempt to integrate the aforementioned components of crime into one conceptual model, Hagan (1977) postulated that deviance and crime are akin and fall under rule breaking which constitutes anything from minor deviance from accepted standards of behaviour such as public drunkenness to highly offensive acts involving serious harm such as terrorism or murder. He emphasised that crime is a deviation from a social norm proscribed by criminal law, thus recognising the social constructionists idea of relativity of crime via norm violation, the legal tradition of law violation, as well as societal consensus and social harm. Hagan (1977) demonstrated his attempt to integrate the various definitions of crime within a framework named the Pyramid of Crime which is illustrated below, and reflected the definitions within three measures of seriousness each ranging from low/weak to high/strong, namely societal consensus regarding the crime, the severity of the legal response, includi ng fines, imprisonment, the death penalty and so on, and the level of harm inflicted, arguing that some crimes such as drug use, gambling and prostitution are victimless crimes, thus producing less social than individual harm. Source: Henry and Lanier (1998) In response to Hagans (1977) pyramid of crime, Henry and Lanier (1998) decided to redesign the visual presentation of the pyramid into a prism, to expand on some elements of the crime phenomenon, namely dimensions of social agreement, probable social response, individual and social harm and the extent of victimisation into a more integrated approach. The complex visual representation of the definition of crime highlights the complexity of defining crime. Their model is illustrated below, with the upper pyramid representing the highly visible crimes, typically those of the structurally powerless, which are committed in public including assault, murder, stranger rape, and arson, and the lower, inverted pyramid representing relatively invisible crimes, including a variety of crimes of the powerful, such as offences by government officials, corporations, organisations, crime that people commit through their occupations such as fraud and embezzlement, and even some offences such as domest ic violence, sexism and hate crimes. These crimes are typically perpetrated in private settings such as the workplace, homes and involve violations of trusted relationships. The manner in which the prism is formed has several implications for the way crime is examined. Firstly, the position of crimes in the prism varies over time. As vocal dominant groups and mass-mediated culture focus on different issues so the public awareness of what counts as crime is formed and reformed. In such a formation acts are recognised as more or less visible, more or less serious and more or less harmful, for example the position of domestic violence and sexual harassment have changed, both recently have begun to move from the lower to the upper half of the prism. Second, the upper half of the prism contains predominantly conventional crimes whereas the lower half contains white collar crimes. It is arguable that those committing most of the conventional/street crimes are relatively powerless in society whereas those committing most of the white collar crimes hold structural positions of power. Due to this, white collar crimes are located at the bottom of the prism as they are very harmful, but often obscured as they harm their victims indirectly and diffusely. Often the victims are not aware of who the offender or even if they have been victimised. By developing Hagans (1977) analysis, Henry and Lanier (1998) have produced an integrated approach to defining crime, which consider the major constitutive dimensions of what counts as crime. The prism is able to capture the contingent and changing nature of crime, locating its constitutive features into a framework that allows criminologists to see their combined and interactive effects, but is by no means definitive. The prism allows one to see how specific crimes are related to one another and to wider social forces that intersect with those crimes at certain moments in time, rendering some acts rather than others serious crimes.

The Mighty Wedge of Class :: essays research papers fc

Mighty Wedge of Class by Todd Erkel Class is a curious, almost elusive thing. It makes rare appearances now and then in talk of the economy and such or in more heated academic debates, but rarely in private. It seems American pretty much avoid the subject at every opportunity by attempting to deny that these class divisions between people exist. But the stark reality is that class structures in America create the very nature of society, setting the hierarchical framework on which every American maintains an identity. This identity is often easily defined by economic standing or material wealth. But it can’t be that easy. As R. Todd Erkel seems to imply in his essay, "The Mighty Wedge of Class," which explores his working-class background, "class" is largely a construction of environment, while money factors little. But does it? Careful analysis of his essay shows that, although the cultural environment of a class, particularly the influence of parents and education, are important factors in d etermining one’s class, it is clear that money essentially determines and ultimately defines one’s class status in American society. Although Erkel presents evidence that the culture into which one is raised influences one’s future class status, he clearly suggests that it is essentially the possession of money that constructs this culture. His experience of growing up in a working class environment made him familiar with the general environment of the working class culture, particularly the behavior of those around him, especially his parents. However, this common behavior among the working class is largely shaped, if not determined, by common financial status. It is his parents’ status of low wealth in society that causes this behavior. He notes that, "the message received by children whose parents have battled with the world and come away feeling defeated is that they are better off not even trying." Erkel’s parents are one of many who try to make it financially in this "land of opportunity," but fail to achieve great wealth, fail to land the jobs that could elevate thei r status to one of high economic standing; thus, they are "willing to settle." Implied by his parents’ example is that the inability to find success financially in life shapes the common lifestyle of the working class and way of approaching life, particularly behavior. This behavior, the appearance of low wealth, creates and perpetuates the culture of the working class. Erkel was naturally influenced by this and learned to imitate this appearance. The Mighty Wedge of Class :: essays research papers fc Mighty Wedge of Class by Todd Erkel Class is a curious, almost elusive thing. It makes rare appearances now and then in talk of the economy and such or in more heated academic debates, but rarely in private. It seems American pretty much avoid the subject at every opportunity by attempting to deny that these class divisions between people exist. But the stark reality is that class structures in America create the very nature of society, setting the hierarchical framework on which every American maintains an identity. This identity is often easily defined by economic standing or material wealth. But it can’t be that easy. As R. Todd Erkel seems to imply in his essay, "The Mighty Wedge of Class," which explores his working-class background, "class" is largely a construction of environment, while money factors little. But does it? Careful analysis of his essay shows that, although the cultural environment of a class, particularly the influence of parents and education, are important factors in d etermining one’s class, it is clear that money essentially determines and ultimately defines one’s class status in American society. Although Erkel presents evidence that the culture into which one is raised influences one’s future class status, he clearly suggests that it is essentially the possession of money that constructs this culture. His experience of growing up in a working class environment made him familiar with the general environment of the working class culture, particularly the behavior of those around him, especially his parents. However, this common behavior among the working class is largely shaped, if not determined, by common financial status. It is his parents’ status of low wealth in society that causes this behavior. He notes that, "the message received by children whose parents have battled with the world and come away feeling defeated is that they are better off not even trying." Erkel’s parents are one of many who try to make it financially in this "land of opportunity," but fail to achieve great wealth, fail to land the jobs that could elevate thei r status to one of high economic standing; thus, they are "willing to settle." Implied by his parents’ example is that the inability to find success financially in life shapes the common lifestyle of the working class and way of approaching life, particularly behavior. This behavior, the appearance of low wealth, creates and perpetuates the culture of the working class. Erkel was naturally influenced by this and learned to imitate this appearance.

Speech Analysis -- essays research papers

This is the speech delivered by President Bill Clinton at the annual White House prayer breakfast on Friday, September 11, 1998, to an audience of more than 100 ministers, priests and other religious leaders. First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton was also in attendance. The speech, written in long hand by the president, was delivered at the beginning of a day of tremendous political and personal turmoil surrounding the publication of the first report to Congress by Independent Counsel Ken Starr. The Starr Report, published on the Internet about 2 p.m. on Friday, laid the grounds for possible impeachment of the president, accusing Clinton of perjury, obstruction of justice and other offenses in connection with his sexual affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky. If the President did in fact write this address himself, I am very impressed with his communication skills. Repeatedly throughout the speech, Clinton appeals to the forgiving nature of all those listening. Within the first few opening sentences, the President manages to gain sympathy by saying that he â€Å"was up rather late thinking and praying about what he ought to say†. Through a combination of this and stating that he himself wrote the speech, he has already gained support form his audience – which can set the tone for how they will react to the remainder of what he has to say.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  President Clinton then continues his attempt to put himself on the same ground as the American publi...

Great expectations Essay

Charles Dickens ‘Great expectations’ was written in the 1800, and at that time there was a great divide in the social structure and this was between the lower and middle classes, because of Charles was born in the lower class of society he was forced into leaving school at the age of twelve and to go to work to help bring in food. Ni this assignment I am going to analyse three characters which are Pip a young orphan that I think that he is very lonely, Miss Havisham a middle class eccentric who appears to be lost in time and Magwitch a convict that is on the run and is very self conscious. When we are first introduced to Pip he is in a churchyard looking at his mothers and farther gravestone scripts, this first tells us they are both dead and he is trying to imagine there appearances, his farther a square, stoot, dark man, with curly black hair, the mood of the graveyard is cold gloomy and foggy, which further more depresses Pip and also ha s the effect on the reader to feel sorry for him and also I think makes the reader feel closer to Pip because every one has felt some sadness and depression. Extract one is written in Pips point of view this encourages the reader without knowing to think they understand pip and have a bond, without ever meeting him or knowing if he’s real or not. When first encountering Magwitch, Pip is shocked and scared for his life because the only place he might feel safe next to his parents graves he is grabbed by a convict on the run and puts Pip upside down. The way Pip reacts to Magwitch on there first encounter tells us that Pip is very polite and obedient because he does what Magwitch wants him to do and does it without question and no answering back and the way he kept his ‘cool’ tells the reader that he is brave. When Pip is described as a ‘bundle of shivers’ Dickens wants us to feel that pip is scared and a helpless boy, so the reader is more sympathetic towards him. The techniques that Dickens uses to make you feel sympathetic for Pip are good because he makes Pip real inisant. When we first meet Magwitch he is lurking in the grave yard bushes and he is there because he is a convict on the run and when he grabs Pip, and finds out that he is living with the blacksmith he wants Pip to bring him some tools and food so he can get rid of his ball and chain and eat. From Magwitches first encounter the reader finds him very selfish and self conscious and rough because of the way he handles Pip by putting him upside down and shaking him. On lines 33-37 there is a description of Magwitch and from this I think the reader is meant to imagine how he looked and imagine what they would do if a man in that state even approached you, and by doing this also brings and sense of more sympathy for Pip, and maybe some slight sympathy for Magwitch. The church yard setting in which Pip and Magwitch first meet is very gloomy and dull something that you would imagine a haunted house setting and this adds to the impact upon Pip from Magwitch because that’s is the situation that you only dream of meeting a beaten convict. The way that Magwitch speaks to Pip (short and suddenly) says that he hasn’t got much time and he’s tired and this shows the reader the impression Dickens wants Magwitch to show that he is a scary, ugly, frightening and a man who hasn’t got time for little boys who are getting in the way. Satis’ s house is quite large and it is a lighted by wax candles and so seems to be quite dirty because on line 18-19 in extract 2 it says that ‘had lost its lustre, and was faded and yellow’ and he also says that she is half dressed in a bridal dress and she had withered away and so the dress was to big for her and she only has one shoe on, this tells us that she has been stood up by a husband or she has had second thoughts and stood up her future husband years ago and she has never taken the dress of because she either wants to remember that she had a future husband at one point and wonders why she got stood up or she regrets standing up the man she stood up. Miss Havisham speaks with anger because in line 70 in extract 2 she says ‘you can break his heart’ and this my indicate she got stood up and so taking it out on Pip since he like Estella and he is only a working boy and she is an upper-class girl she Miss Havisham says break his heart, this sho ws both social differences and Miss Havishams revenge and anger. Dickens wants us to feel sorrow and also anger at Miss Havisham because she seems depressed and to be in a wedding dress so long it has turned yellow and also she does not know what day or month it is. Dicken creates a sense of inisance around Pip and a sense of sorrow around Magwitch I think is remarkable since these two characters have meetings all the through extract 1. in my opinion I found Magwitch the most rememborable character because I liked the way that Dickens court the basic characteristics so well in the way that he was ruthless and selfish but also I found that I could understand the actions that he did because I would probably do the same, and also I liked the description of him that he had scratches and was muddy and wet shows there was a struggle escaping and also still having the steal ball to his leg shows me that he had to have great desire and determination to escape.