Moral Dilemmas

4 November 2012 HUM 115 Catherine Reynolds: Moral Dilemmas The five of the moral dilemmas I chose were the following: The Partiality of Friendship; A Poisonous Cup of Coffee; A Callous Passerby; The Fat Man and the Impending Doom; and A Father’s Agonizing Choice. Out of these 4 dilemmas I have chosen the dilemma that is titled: A Callous Passerby. The reason why I chose this particular one is because I got a story that relates to this story. When it comes to saving a person life and not caring how the situation may go while doing but you know you can succeed in doing is a great deed.This certain dilemma would go under an altruistic moral theory because in the reading it states this moral is under the golden rule that I always taught: â€Å"Do unto others as you have them do unto you. † And this is basically saying do the right thing at all times and don’t let minor things do give you a set-back on the situation. My experience with this type of moral was to see a lady in a burning house trying to find her kids and grandkid and get them out the burning house. I was on my way to a movie and I was dressed too. I had new clothes, shoes, and just left the hair dresser early that morning.When I saw the house it looked like it just started burning. No fire trucks, polices, or ambulances were on the highway to come to the seen. The lady was outside and screaming for help. Good thing I had took the back way to my destination or else I would not have seen this incident. As the lady screamed â€Å"call for help, my kids are in there! † I knew right then she didn’t have a phone or couldn’t get to it. So I called for help and they said they were coming. So as I asked the lady how long has this been going on and she said about 30 minutes. As she was telling me what happened I heard some kids hollering and crying.I asked her how many were in the house and she said 4. Two of her grandchildren and her other two were her kids by adoption. When it came to me getting them out, I burned up my pants and shirt and also damaged my hair. But I think of the situation as a blessing because those kids would’ve of been burnt if I would not of save them. I was just thinking I am going to be late for the movie I have no more clothes to change into and my hair smells awful. However, I had to look at like this, I saved a life that wouldn’t have been here another day. The movies are always playing movies.My general conclusions about my moral compass are what I was taught growing up from childhood. When it came to me helping people when I knew I could I would go for it. My mother and father always said â€Å"think about what you do, and don’t do anything that you’ll regret later and always remember this â€Å"treat others how you wanted to be treated; and do unto others as you would have them do unto you. † Those words meant a lot to me growing up and the reason why is because I followed through t hose words in life and it got me feeling good about life because I know have done right.

Elderly Healthcare Limitation

While there were many provision s of the act, there were specific amendments and legislation focused on healthcare delivery to t e costliest and most inefficiently serviced population which is the elderly population. Statistics Let's analyze the current numbers really quickly: The U. S. Population is aging r vapidly. At the same time, the life expectancy of seniors is extending, and they will place a significant strain on the health care system in coming years. Medicare, the U. S. Federal govern meets health care program for Americans 65 years or older, provided coverage to an estimated 54. Million seniors in 2014 (Plunked Research, Ltd. 2014). National expenditures on Medicare of r fiscal 2014 were projected to be $615. Billion, including premiums paid by beneficiaries. By 2 030, the number of people covered by Medicare will balloon to about 81. 4 million due to the mass Sieve number of baby boomers entering retirement age (Plunked Research, Ltd. 2014). While it is true that the hea lth and lifestyle of people at the age of 65 is very different than it was in g enervation past, the reality is that chronic conditions continue to plague this population.Multiple s tidies declare that of the total outlay for all Medicare costs, [email  protected]% occur in the last year of life f or beneficiaries (Giovanni, 2012 ppup29). Most of these beneficiaries being chronically ill are b eiEwingoorly medically guided and managed in the last year of their life. Now that we have a better idea of how the elderly, primarily the chronically ill account for such high expenditures and healthcare cost, we must ask ourselves a few simple but important questions: How do we better manage the elderly population?How do we better deliver care in the last years of an elderly person's life? How do we provide a better q ualaityf life? But the single most important question we must ask is: should health care for the elderly be limited? When seniors reach a phase in life where their life expec tancy is limited, shshould we really spend a high amount of money in order to keep them alive for a limited amount of titite; whether it be a few days, a few weeks, or a few months? Does the 92roadsideatient who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer really need aggressive chemotherapy and radiation?Ho w do they benefit? Will they survive the cancer treatments? What chances do they stand or have for recovery? While the answers are complex, we do know that we cannot go about apapplying aggressive methods to elderly patients without a proper cost and quality of life benefits a a aylistsNow that we have a better understanding of costs associated with care of an elderly person in the last year of their life, we have to come up with solutions to help cut spending and to provide a better quality to a seniors life; particularly the last year ofoffbeatife.While we face moral and ethical dilemmas on how to better approach care for the elderly, ththere are two initial approaches that can be used to better drive outcomes: the introduction of ad vaVanceirectives early on in a disease process and shifting care to more transitional care prpriormampshat reduce ossotsnd focus stronger education with patients and families in regards to fuifile care. Advance Directives An advance directive, also known as a living will, is a legal document that exexpertssees person's wishes for the type of care they would like to receive should they bebeckmmomnable to 2 make such decisions themselves.They allow patients to document their wiwishes, whether they want all lilibertarianismeasures to be taken or if they'd prefer to avoid such p roreoccurredGordon, 201 1). EnEndocrineare accounts for more than one quarter of MeMedicare spending in a patient last year of life (PlPlunkedesearch, Ltd. 014). Many patients are illeperared to deal with their enendocrinerocess. Many patients come into hospitals unprepared to understand the impact of heroic measures, invasive treatments, and aggressive medic ine has on their disease process. Many of them do not have an understanding for what an advanced d irreceives.No one has had a conversation with them or if they have, it has not been emphasized enough. Educating elderly patients early on in their disease process helps them better prepare to understand resuscitation, inintubationsartificial breathing, transfusion, feeding tubes, and r etturno acute measures. Having a thorough understanding of what each of these processes entails for the purpose of lilibertarianismr quality of life, is important. While advances in me didicingnd technology can help people stay alive longer, it does not necessarily give them a better quality to their life.At many points, it only further prolongs a person's suffering. That is why introducing advanced directives early helps better prepare for enendocrinerocesses and popopssibylelp reduce unnecessary costly aggressive treatments. Transitional Care Model In the last several years transitional care models ha ve been introduced into h alaltercates a way to help reduce costs, provide more effective care and help keep patient s, more specifically, the elderly and chronically ill out of hospital settings. These models are used t o manage the chronically ill, frequently hospitalized, and terminally ill population.These pop ulululationsave the highest utilization rates and longest length of stays of inpatient bed days at h oscapitalsationally. 3 Transitional care programs identify and target these populations with the use of mid level practitioners, nurse case managers, ancillary service providers and paparticipate of primary care physicians and outpatient clinics. They deliver timely and necessary services t o patients who can be better managed in a more supportive way in their home setting or in sesettingsgasway from the hospital (NaAnally1990). Ambulatory care also assists in the management of ththe chronically ill population.Health managed systems use telephonic case managers and med ickc altaff to ensure patients are being reached out to in their home setting and make sure patient s are following up with their visits to their primary care physician, checking for medical and non medical needs, ndNDnsuring patients are communicating issues and medical problems that may arise so support is given when needed. Due to higher use of these types of programs, patients are getting more care away from the hospital, lessening the need for them to be in an acute set ting which helps drive down cost.Within the use Of transitional care models, the disciplines in t heHessodels focus on having discussions with families and patients to better understand what fuifile care is. Futile Care How or when do we know when an illness is not curable or no longer best to be treatable in a heroic or aggressive manner? What ethical or moral principles do we apapply in order to find better understanding and find resolutions to this issue? According to WiWisped, futile medical care is the cocontain eduerovision of medical care or treatment to a patient whwhew there is no reasonable hope of a cure or benefit.Medical futility is also described as a pr opopposedherapy that should not be performed because available data has shown that it will not imIMrove the patient's medical condition (MeNetscape2007). Futility is used to cover many situations of predicted improbable outcomes, improbable success and unacceptable benefit burden atotioseBeBà ©chamel 4 ChChildless2013, ppup170). Educating a patient and family on what takes place c an be difficult; much less a conversation about how certain interventions are deemed to be useless or medically inappropriate.A good example of futility is as follows: If a patient has died, but remains on a respirator, cessation of treatment cacanttoarm him or her, and a physician has no obligation to continue to treat. However, some religious and personal belief systems do not consider a patient dead, according to the same criteria healthcare instituti ons recognize. For example, if there is a heart and lung fun ctactionsome religious traditions hold that the person is not dead, and the treatment is, fro m his perspective, not futile even if healthcare professionals deem it on useless and wasteful (BeBà ©chamel ChChildless2013, ppup69). We understand that futile care is the most important Issue in helping to cocontactn healthcare costs. Addressing futility as a valued choice to patients is important. There mumumtSSTe an educational understanding that death is a natural part of life and should not be extended with aggressive medical interventions or heroic measures. Aging is not a curable didideceasein fact aggaggEngs not a disease at all. Discussions that providers need to have, must be early on in a patients disease process in order to better provide them with a better quality to their lilieefee/p>Example Scenario In order to better understand futile care in relation to quality of life quality of I iffifeone must also understand scenarios where futile care is considered but not appaperrprivateHere's an example: a 91earldomemale who has been considered a frequent flyer in a h oscapitalmergency room gets admitted after a few stints in a nursing home. This poor ununfortunateelderly woman was admitted with a diagnosis of sepsis, extremely low blood pressure, and s hohormonesf breath. This lady was bed bound, suffered from dementia, she was never lucid or con sccouscousand she was very frail.She had several ununstableedeciduousounds all over her body. H ererrrotein levels were really low upon lab draws, which indicated she had suffered from very p ooorutrition. The 5 only family this patient had was a husband who was very loving according to s taTaftbut rarely visited his wife at the nursing home. Her husband was power of attorney and made all her healthcare decisions. Every time she visited the hospital, her husband wanted her to be aggressively treated, he wanted her resuscitated.She was known as a full cod e patient. When she coded in the hospital, her husband wanted all aggressive and heroic measure s to be applied including inintubationsnd artificial respiration. When asked as to why he was d oiowingt seeing his wife suffer, he merely stated that he believed in â€Å"divine intervention†. The her measures applied would require her to be inintimatedon a ventilator, treated with fluids and antibiotics. She would also require surgery for a feeding tube in order to make an attempt at proving her nutrition.As you read this scenario, questions come to mind: Is it right to agagarsexcessivelyreat this 91 year old lady, who has a poor prognosis, because her husband believes in something miraculous? This unfortunately is morally and ethically inappropriate trtreatmenttNTBefore identify how my personal code of ethics informs my perspective in rereeltactiono this topic, let's first look at the functional utility of the principles of justice, autautnanomynomalefactionand beneficence as the y apply to this issue. Respect for Autonomy Having respect for person's autonomy is probably the single most important riRenvillender the four ethical lenses.This principle supports a person's ability to mamake their own decision. Autonomy can only occur when there are no other factors that ininternre with the ability for a patient to make decisions. The only factors that can interfere with auautumnmmomre cognitive impairments such as dementia, AlAlchemist'sloss of orientation and any other illnesses that limit dedecommissioningMany patients, in particular those with lack Of advanced care planning, such as 6 having an advanced directives in place, are illapidarieso understand how her directly impact their enendocrinerocess.In these cases, respect for autonomy r eqsquireshat a patient's values and goals are set and balanced with the goals Of care to accacheeeve better outcome. Because so many scenarios are very complex, the reality is that patient's auto noanomyan only be respected w hen proper education about possible medical treatments, patient goals, and values are understood and leveraged with goals of effective care and outcomes. The plplanninningnd incorporation of advance care planning also known as advanced directives is a very important factor with respect to autonomy.Forming an advanced directive allows papatientsTTSo form a value aseasedpinion on the future of their care. It gives the patient full control over how patient would like any healthcare provider to apply decisions regarding aggressive medicine, heroic measures and any other forms of invasive treatment. Nonetheless, the advanced didirecteeves a valid way for competent persons to exercise their autonomy (BeBà ©chamel ChChildless201 3, ppup189). It simply allows them to live their last year of life with some dignity.Beneficence BeBeneficences to contribute to a person's welfare; it is the action that is done for the benefit of others, not merely refrain from harmful acts (BeBà ©chamel ChChil dren, 2013, ppup202). It attends to the welfare of the patient, it's not merely avoiding harm; it emmobies medicinal goals, rational thinking, and any form of justification. Beneficence is embrace d in preventative medicine; and in this case preventative medicine being applied to elderly paPattin.NETho should no longer seek aggressive treatment because it's considered futile.PhPhysiciansn.NETelationship is vital in principle of beneficence. Only a physician can help relate with an elder lylayatient who is in their last year of their life. Only then, with clear communication and proper education towards end of life treatments; can beneficence truly apply. PhPhysiotherapistselations hip has to embody values of honesty, integrity, and consideration. In today's age, a good phphysician is considered a physician that puts their patient first by taking positive steps towards helping their patients by being caring, open, honest, and empathetic.NoMalefactionuality of life judgments are very important when discussing limitations of ca re for the elderly. The principle of nomalefactionays that we should avoid causing ha rmarmo others (BeBà ©chamel ChChildless201 3, ppup150). So how do we avoid harm? In the siispamplestorm for physician; avoiding harm is to introduce early education, early goal oriented d isconcussionsand most importantly set up an advanced directive. In many ways nomalefactionverrides beneficence.There is a moral and ethical obligation to not harm others, which is greater than the obligation to help (BeBà ©chamel ChChildless201 3, ppup150). When we see a pat ieintentf elderly status at the end of their life's term suffer, whether physically, emotionally, or spiritually; it is important that any healthcare professional protects them from further harm. The only rational ay to practice this with a patient who is alert, oriented, and competent is to be honest, forthright, and to have a goal oriented discussion ababouthe potential harm a procedure might cau se vsvs.heHeuality and quantity of life they may have left. Justice The final principle is justice. Justice can be defined as an act of fairness, hahaving a sense of entitlement, fair, equitable, and appropriate treatment in light of what is du e(BeBà ©chamel ChChildless2013, ppup250). The use of medical resources to intervene when car e is deemed futile 8 can directly affect the poor quality of life and in essence may not be what's jujug for all elderly in the same end of life situation.We have a responsibility to treat the elderly in a way that their choices are absolutely important, honor their wishes, maintain their respect, and their dideignersonal Perspective My personal perspectives are formed around the basis of honesty, being fort hrWrightand responsible. For me honesty is essential in helping someone make a proper d ecsessionSometimes honesty can be brutal, and for the elderly at the late stage of life, can be the dididfpreferenceetween living a dignified life or a life o f suffering. elLivehat being forthright is also mpimportantMedical professionals should have clear and opopenediscussions as to the value of pursuing treatments that are no longer considered beneficial to an elderly patient and ensure that the drive and persuade their point There are so many instances in my professional car eeerehere I run into scenarios where families and patients are not given a thorough explanation a ndNDr education about what's happening in their disease process.

Immigration Paper

From the air we breathe to the food we eat, we as people are all the same. Whether it may be light skin or dark skin, characteristics in which make us different on the outside differ, not because we want it to, but because of our ancestral history. History shows us that because of a person's location, adaptation to that location occurs.For instance, history shows us that people of darker skin are found in countries closer to the equator because more pigment is needed in a persons genetic makeup In order to withdraw themselves from the various diseases and effects that may be obtained from standing in the sun for an extended period of time. There are several causes and disparities of external traits or appearances that divide us Into several groupings or categories which are called â€Å"races. † In other words, races categorize people through socially significant hereditary traits.With the has been defined differently all throughout history. These indistinct interpretations ef fect the way one approaches the topic. Racism can broadly be defined as a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement; usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others. Racism and discrimination being the acts of ones prejudicial thoughts can lead us to believe that discrimination based on someone's ethnicity occurs everywhere.From the houses or apartments we live in to the shoes we wear anything and everything is a reflection of ethnic discrimination. For example, in America we have a capitalistic economy. In a capitalistic economy entrepreneurs profit off of work done by others who are hired to do the Jobs that business owners do not want to do. Statistics show that Jobs such as farming, cleaning, plumbing, etc. Are done by minorities while the superior race who is usually a white male gains a vast majority of profit due to many hours worked and low pay. Racism, a n ideology that is taught not born with, is present throughout the labor force.Ethnic discrimination is used to maintain balance throughout the division of labor. As stated previously in a capitalistic economy every Job requires someone of a Geiger position. No matter what Job title a person may have there is always someone of higher power. With that said, the workers who usually do the low end Jobs are usually Latino and African-Americans who are a minority race in America the land we call a democratic territory, though many beg to differ. Everywhere we look serves as a primary example to ethnic discrimination.This can be illustrated when stepping foot into a McDonald's seeing almost every worker of colored skin working six to twelve hours, still having trouble having a place to sleep, and knowing that the rooters Richard and Maurice McDonald are multi billionaires off of the work done by mostly minorities. Ethnicity: I am Spanish. I am White. I am Black. I am of Korean decent. I a m British. I don't have race or culture. Comments such as these are every day examples of how many people view their race and identity. Even though many people are unsure of what it truly means to have culture we make claims about it on a daily basis.Some feel they have a race while others simply feel they do not. We include based on who fits into this ideal and exclude those who do not. The fact of the matter is that culture is employ, learned through every day experience, conflicting and contradictory, relational because it is learned through interactions with others, and per formative, as our interactions are performances with public domain, is something that people never seem to think about, until we are put in a situation, in which we then become aware that we are different.Our knowledge of culture, ethnicity and identity is subconsciously internalized on a daily basis through constant social interactions. Although the concepts of race and ethnicity are socially constructed, th ey are real in their consequences. Their affects on the social world can be seen from my very own how Vive come to view my own sense of identity. As an adoptive child of white decent in a Hispanic family which lived in a predominately African American neighborhood I noticed many things as a child that allowed me to constantly become aware that I was different.Through interactions with peers in my elementary school, I noticed my hair was different; my color was a lot lighter than most, and that I was overall different. â€Å"Look who has nice shiny hair† were comments that lingered through my Junior high school days, where I struggled o fit in by shaving my head and dressing a certain way. Although I longed to feel a part of a certain group I kept sane by hanging with people of similar background. We were all ethnically similar in the sense that we all derived from Hispanic households. Based on this exclusion, ethnic symbols such as Spanish music and dancing were what set us a part and defined us.Not only was this alienation felt among my peers and myself, but it was also felt inside the classroom. Growing up I never quite felt that I could speak up in class and show my outgoing personality at such a young age n fear that people would make fun of me. I knew I was different and did not want to cause them to focus their attention on that difference. For projects in school, I would always take the role that required speaking the least, so that I wouldn't have to speak in front of them. I got along with everybody, but was not truly myself until I set foot inside my home, my private domain.At home I could eat all the rice and beans I wanted to without the fear of abandonment. Moving on to high school it was as if there was a shift from being ashamed of my race and culture to embracing it and wanting to showcase it. It was overnight, and I don't think that there was ever a time where I Just changed overnight, but it was definitely a process of starting to becom e comfortable in my own skin and being surrounded in an ethnic school with different cultures, and not Just whites, that allowed me to really embrace my racial difference. High school whether subconscious or not, racial sub-cultures emerge.In high school, cliques are formed on that very aspect of ethnicity and culture. People hang out with people that look like them, that dress likes them, and who they feel they can relate to. It was high school where I truly Egan to have a sense of my Hispanic culture. I ate all the rice and beans, danced to salsa and meringue, and sang along to Marc Anthony and Victor Manuel. It was only there that my true outgoing and friendly personal came out. I became more a more active participant in the school. For instance, becoming part of committees such as film club, debate club, and music club. Also big part of the swim team.Although I associated with all races, I took pride in hanging with my friends in my ethnic group. Only there we could talk about t he latest of our countries. The newfound confidence in my culture had a lot to do with media presentations. Despite the embedded racism towards Hispanics and African Americans on television, when growing up Hispanic artists had become increasingly popular, and so had urban culture. Spanish music had been brought back to light, and it had taken my fear of being different with it. Not only did I listen to it, I made it apart of me and welcomed it with open arms.When I watched television though I look nothing like the Hispanic people on television I knew I was apart of them because of the family I had been growing up in. I related to the culture. The culture have respect for it. Not only did media representations of black culture help me to understand my identity, it also helped redefine it. What I through it meant to belong to my Hispanic culture had begun to change. â€Å"Why can't you dance to Meringue? â€Å", â€Å"Can't talk Spanish? † , were common questions that were m ade to me as I moved up in my high school years.I began to feel stigmatize by my own Hispanic people. No I had to work twice as hard because I didn't fit in with the whites, and I didn't fully fit in with the Hispanics. For whites, I was to loud, liked too much Spanish music and had a style that was too â€Å"ghetto'. So again, I began to have doubts as to where I fit in. My university years were where I surrounded myself with other adoptive students who were able to relate, and find a true sense of identity. It is now since I am older and in university do I understand the power the media had in reinforcing stereotypes and maintaining social inequalities.It is this aspect do I continue to four struggles with today. As I am plagued with images of Hispanic women pregnant, speaking in slang, fighting, and in music videos half naked. Only within the last few years have I come to understand why I was struggling with fitting in. It is because the media portrays how they perceive the majo rity of Hispanic women. We get caught up in their misconceptions, and Just buy into what we think we are destined to become. The media leaves out the successful Hispanics who have struggled to make their life one worth living.Immigration: In 21st century America, illegal immigration is an issue at the forefront of many a debate. While people have always unlawfully crept across borders, recent history has seen no such wave of this crime as has been on display in the USA over the last few decades. Stemming from Central and South America, primarily Mexico, the flow of â€Å"border mummers† has increased substantially, and continues to do so, despite the efforts of border patrols and organizations such as Americans for Legal Immigration, Americans for Immigration Control, and the Minutemen Civil Defense Corps.According to the INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service) estimates of the illegal immigration population, between 1990 and 2000 the amount of illegal immigrants to the US rose at an average of 350,200 people every year, doubling the nation's entire illegal population. ‘ The amount of illegal immigrants has become so vast that since the mid-sass the umber of people entering the US illegally has surpassed that of their legal counterpart. Ii In 2000, INS estimates had the number of illegal immigrants from Mexico alone at 4,808,000, more than 60% of total Mexican immigrants. Ii By amount of illegal immigrants, the next 9 source countries combined provide less than a quarter of the people Mexico does. One of the most significant impacts of illegal immigration in the US has been crime. According to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on incarcerated arrested a total of 459,614 times, averaging about 8 arrests per illegal alien. They were arrested for a total of about 700,000 criminal offenses, averaging about 13 offenses per illegal alien. 49% had previously been convicted of a felony, 20% of a drug offense; 18% a violent offense, and 11%, other felony offenses. 1% of the arrests occurred after 1990 56% of those charged with a reentry offense had previously been convicted on at least 5 prior occasions. Defendants charged with unlawful reentry had the most extensive criminal histories. 90% had been previously arrested. Of those with a prior arrest, 50% had been arrested for violent or drug-related felonies. Iv Note the â€Å"reentry offense† in the last two statistics. There are criminals who had already been convicted of crimes and deported on previous occasions, only to return illegally and continue a life of crime.According to the US Justice Department, over the course of 2003 an estimated 270,000 illegal immigrants served Jail time throughout the country. Of those, 108,000 were in California, the state that suffers the most from crime on the part of illegal immigrants. According to an Urban Institute study, 17% of America's prison population at a federal level consists of illegal aliens, an astounding f igure, engendering they only make up 3% of the US population. Former California Gob. Pete Wilson places the percentage of illegal aliens in U. S. Prisons even higher, at 20%.The incessant illegal immigrant crime wave shows no signs of slowing down, and the US government is not taking serious enough prevention measures. According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform, citing US Justice Department statistics, â€Å"In March 2000, Congress made public Department of Justice statistics showing that, over the previous five years, the INS had released over 35,000 criminal aliens instead of deporting them. Over 11,000 of those released went on to commit serious crimes, over 1,800 of which were violent ones [including 98 homicides, 142 sexual assaults, and 44 kidnappings]. While many deported aliens reenter the country, it is a daunting enough task to prevent some from doing so a second time, and undoubtedly is a more effective measure in prevention than simply releasing them on to the streets, where crime in their demographic is prevalent. Part of the reason for such an enormous amount of crimes carried out by illegal aliens is the ease with which they can obtain assistance and backing from gangs, cost notable Mar Cultural, otherwise known as MS-13.Created in the sass by a group of Salvadoran peasants trained in guerilla warfare, MS-13 has become possibly Central America's greatest problem, and a growing one in the United States. Since â€Å"precise† statistics are impossible to obtain, the true strength of MS-ass's presence in America is unknown, but estimates claim over 15,000 members in over 115 cliques in 33 states, and these numbers are ever growing. Unlike Mafias of the past, where there was at least some code of conduct, MS-13 has become infamous for their depravity and brutality, not limiting themselves in any way.As noted in press releases by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, in 2003 multiple members of MS-13 were deported for the sexual assault of 2 minors, aged 16 and 17, displayed this brutality with the killing of children. V Physical harm caused by illegal aliens does not only come in the form of outright crime. Of 71 fatal car accidents on the Eastern Shore since 2002, thirteen were caused by illegal aliens, all but three of which had no insurance. In most cases, the vehicles had no inspection stickers, the drivers carried no license and alcohol was a factor.To anyone with common sense this comes as no surprise, seeing as one who displays contempt for the law by illegally entering the country, will probably show the same lack of respect toward any other laws, such as those put in place to keep US drivers safe. As well, there is the factor of diseases that are not endemic to the United States being spread by illegal aliens, who cross the border unscreened. Diseases either no longer existent in America, or seen only rarely, have seen comebacks or growth, including Malaria, Dengue, Leprosy, Hepatit is A-E, Chaos Disease, Sadomasochists,Guiana Worm Infection, Whooping Cough, Streptococci, Morsel's, Tuberculosis and HIVE. Malaria has seen recent outbreaks in New Jersey, New York City, Houston, and California, although it was eradicated from the US in the sass. Dengue, a disease heretofore unknown in the US, has now been recognized in a few outbreaks. In the 40 years prior to 2002, only 900 cases of Leprosy had been recorded in the US. From 2002 to 2005, that number ballooned to 9,000, most of which were illegal aliens.In 2004, more than 650 people contracted Hepatitis A at a single Mexican restaurant in Pennsylvania, four of whom died. Chaos disease is endemic to Central and South America, and until recently was unknown in the United States; current estimates show up to 500,000 people infected with it, mostly illegal aliens. Tuberculosis is a highly contagious disease that kills approximately 2 million people around the world each year, and is spread in the same fashion as the c ommon cold.The United States has one of the lowest Tuberculosis rates in the world, whereas Mexico is 10 times higher. As if that wasn't bad enough, a few years ago a Multi-Drug-Resistant (MAD) strain of TAB has emerged, that is resistant to all tankard antibiotics, and treatment can cost between $250,000 and $1 per person. According to one expert, in 2005, of the 407 known cases of MAD-TAB in California, 84% were in â€Å"foreign born† patients, mostly from Mexico and the Philippines who had been in America less than 5 years.According to the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2006 a newer strain was recognized, referred to as CDR-TAB (Extensive/Extreme Drug Resistant), which, as of late 2006, accounted for 4% of all US MAD-TAB cases, and is virtually incurable regardless of cost. While exact numbers for HIVE infected illegal aliens are impossible to obtain, due to he fact that researchers rarely ask one's citizenship status, what is known is that in California there are roug hly 2 HIVE infected Latin women for every infected Caucasian woman. The criminal ramification of so many illegal immigrants plays a role in the financial effect as well.Between 2001 and 2004, the Federal Bureau of Prisons' cost to incarcerate illegal aliens rose from about $950 million to about $1. 2 billion. As this is federal spending, it is money obtained through taxation, essentially leaving law- incarcerated illegal aliens deported, federal spending could drop more than $1 lions dollars a year, by all means a small move toward pulling the country out of debt, but a move nonetheless. The sheer mass of humanity pouring over the borders is something that cannot be withstood by America's financial means, and it's starting to show. In August 2009, the unemployment rate in America peaked at 9. %, more than double the 4. 6% of Just 2 years earlier, partly due to the fact that illegal immigrants have taken many Jobs once held by taxpaying American citizens. These illegal laborers have little trouble finding Jobs, especially those requiring little to no special skills, since they are willing o work for little, and their employment is under-the-table, saving employers money that would otherwise be spent on employee benefits and taxes. In the US, illegal immigrants currently make up 20% of cooks, 25% of construction laborers, 22% of maids/housekeepers, 25% of grounds maintenance workers, and 29% of agricultural workers.The combined total Jobs now unavailable to taxpaying Americans Just in these 5 professions exceeds 1. 72 million! Viii As if the direct financial ramifications of illegal immigrants taking Jobs from citizens weren't enough, taxpaying Americans are all but forced into financial benison by the second half of the coin. Due to millions of dollars in taxes not being paid due to illegal immigrants being paid off the books, taxes are hiked up to compensate for the drop in money being obtained by the government through taxation.So, while the illegal alien has a Job that pays him in cash, and no taxes to pay, the unemployed American citizen is now forced to pay higher tax rates without any income, which by definition can only lead to financial ruin, and subsequent reliance on the government for sustenance. A vast majority of those who advocate amnesty for illegal aliens are liberal Democrats, whose central political belief is that of a powerful government, and perhaps the fact the sudden influx of humanity would force more people into reliance on federal aid is precisely why.Amnesty for illegal aliens is, in concept, a beautiful, humanitarian idea. The argument usually flows along the lines of how poor, unskilled, uneducated workers from foreign countries only want to legally succeed, and support families, and become law abiding citizens who can better society. Statistics, however, quickly disprove this by displaying the truth behind the scourge of illegal immigrants. How their blatant, overall lack of respect for the nation's laws harms Americans financially and physically. How even after being arrested, or deported, they continue to break the law with little regard to possible consequences.As well, advocates for amnesty refuse to realize the practical impossibility of it. If amnesty to all illegal aliens was granted, the economy would not be able to provide nearly enough Jobs (as we are now seeing). Thanks to â€Å"anchor babies† (babies born in the US to illegal alien parents, so that the baby will be US citizen by birth, thus asking deportation of its parents all but impossible), millions of dollars are doled out by the government every year to illegal aliens to care for their US citizen children in the form of WICK, food stamps, and welfare.If the parents of these children were all suddenly legalized, welfare and food stamps would be handed out for them as well, raising government spending, and vicariously all taxpaying citizens would suffer by sustenance to families that would prefer to suckle at the t eat of the American government than to go out and work for a living. Every year, hundreds of thousands of people pour into America unlawfully. They upriver Americans of Jobs, receive government benefits that cost every taxpaying citizen, bring diseases, steal, assault, kill, drive recklessly, over-populate our prisons, and generally ignore the law.They come in such swarms that the entire American culture has been forced to bend to their will, with every large corporation and government agency now offering Spanish versions of all their services. They make life for American citizens financially difficult, and infuriate many with their brazen attitude toward learning English, with the belief that things must be available to them in Spanish. They make America a more dangerous place for all. Illegal immigration is a plague, and like all other plagues throughout history, it must be quashed quickly and decisively.Conclusion: All in all, we are all people. We all aspire to be something. Des pite the facts that show the negatives upon minorities, they are forced into situations in which they cannot control or have a hard time in doing so because of racism. Racism puts them in an environment in which violence is constantly around them. Without the absence of racism and the acceptance of people into a new world in which is made for all and not Just some, there will never be a world which can prosper.

International business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 7

International business - Essay Example The company offers varied range of products or services to different customers by expanding their business portfolio in many countries. The internationalization of Tesco PLC has created huge impact to change the supplier-retailer dynamics in terminating, weakening and consolidating relationships. The internationalization also created problematic situation for the company. The aim of the paper is to present and describe mistakes done by Tesco Plc. during the process of internationalization. It has been understood that learning concept delivers new perspective and theoretical framework for filtering, re-evaluation and reinterpreting on the process of internationalization. Furthermore, the paper provided vivid explanation about mistakes done by Tesco PLC. The application of effective theoretical concepts or models enables to provide better understanding about the problem. In recent years, the amount of cross-border operations that are conducted by retailers is on rise. The group of growing retailers has seen a substantial structural change. A redefinition of balanced externalized and internalized purposes has provided vivid evident that retailers are expanding their business operation to move out of domestic marketplace. The application of internationalization has become pivotal requirement for these multinational enterprises to gain and grow their scale of economies. Tesco PLC has focused to diversify their grocery retail business. The process of internationalization has become prime focus of the company to grow their market globally (Knight, 2008, p.92). Tesco PLC has globalized environment with stores in the Turkey, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, South Korea, etc. In the year 2006, there was a headline which stated that foreign market growth is the one of the key goals of Tesco PLC. But now it seems like this strategy of global ambition is heading for the checkout

Present the argument from evil against the existence of god,and Essay

Present the argument from evil against the existence of god,and explain the major objections to the argument, and the major resp - Essay Example One of the primary assumptions of a supreme being is that they would embody morally just or ‘good’ qualities. With a morally just God the question then becomes why there is evil in the world. Another important consideration is that if there is a God or creator figure then he must be an extremely powerful entity. With this power then why does the God not eliminate evil in the world? In these regards, the actual structure of the argument is that: 1. If God exists, then God is supreme and moral. 2. If God is supreme, then God has the ability to do away with evil. 3. If God is supreme, then God knows where to locate evil. 4. If God is moral, then God has the desire to do away with all evil. 5. There is evil in the world. 6. If evil exists and God exists then God would have done away with evil. Therefore, God doesn't exist. Objections When considering these points, there are a number of objections that have been raised. When considering these points a number of objections hav e been raised. One of the major objections surfaces from believers in God who argue from a religious perspective. This perspective is that the existence of evil and God are not contradictory because God intends for individuals to have free will.

Bug, Inc. Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Bug, Inc. Paper - Essay Example e of Trademark law by registering the logo which is a ladybug wearing a set of headphones.(see Trademark Dilution Act or possibly the Anti-cyber squatting Consumer Protection Act 2000.) In case anyone would like to misuse this trade mark now on the internet or the offline world. Additionally, they can use the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy, and succeed in the suit for saving their trademark if they can show that they have a registered trade mark ,legitimate interest and if the misuse is in bad faith. Jurisdictional issues are a big problem in intellectual property disputes and since Bug.Inc is a multinational they are advised to ensure that they register their trademark in at least two or three major jurisdictions beforehand. Finally if they have invented the software and the equipment they are advised to patent this technology at the earliest. Patents can be secured for a specified period and will need to be renewed beyond that. The patent Registration confers powers on the product inventor of exclusive use and sale .In case the patent is a modification of an earlier product or process, the permission of the original patent holder needs to be sought and recorded. If, because of the reworking done, the identity of the final product is lost, the new registration to be availed of, and with the original patent’s consideration, the new patent is secured. 2) The borderless nature of the Internet involves problems both for the resolution of disputes between private parties in courts of states and for law enforcement authorities of a state to impose and enforce its regulations. The rules determining jurisdiction use certain localisation factors based on where the actors are located, on where the activities are carried out and on where the activities take effect. The problem of applying these traditional localisation principles to an Internet transaction is that every country in the world may potentially assume jurisdiction since the Internet is

How to make oral presentation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

How to make oral presentation - Essay Example It is also easier to understand the topic if it is interpreted in simpler words. Make an outline of the presentation. This will help organize not only the presentation but also the thought of the person delivering the oral presentation. Outline serves as guide for the presentation. This could be done through powerpoint and the presentor’s own printed copy with corresponding explanation. Do a dry run presentation a couple of days before the presentation. It will also help a lot if such dry run will be recorded so that the student can play back and observe how he or she is doing in the presentation and do some corresponding adjustments to make the presentation better. Dry run will also let the student have a feel of the presentation which would help diminish the nervousness during the presentation proper. Also, dry runs allow the student to make all possible mistakes without the deduction in grade or embarrassment. Do one last review and dry run of the subject matter to be presented a day before the presentation. Then relax and get enough sleep. Arrive at the presentation venue earlier to be able to relax and settle down. This will help to remove the nervousness and make the presentor more

The U.S. Constitution- Bill of Rights, needed changes and amendments Research Proposal

The U.S. Constitution- Bill of Rights, needed changes and amendments to meet a changing World - Research Proposal Example All these acts have led the Bill of Rights being disregarded in the rush to make it quicker to investigate people after which they are put in jail and tortured if necessary. According to Giraldi, P (2008), a recent executive has authorized the President to get the property of anyone found or suspected of threatening the stabilization efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. To him, the order does not give permission for the concerned party to challenge the information which seizure is based on. According to Giraldi, P (2008) further, the United States will have to deal with home grown terrorists soon and that, for the country to be on the safe side, something has to be done in anticipation so as to neutralize the problem. The bill of rights should deals firmly with this issue by creating of a commission which will be charged with holding hearings, conducting investigations and to determine whether various groups which exist in the country can be called terrorists. To him, this commission should be allowed to propose a new dispensation that will enable the government to take punitive action as it deems fit against the said groups as well as the individuals who are associated with such groups. Unlike in the past, this commission should go around the country holding hearings meant to find the terrorists and root them out completely. This commission will empower its members to prepare for hearings to obtain testimonies while administering oaths to potential witnesses. This translates to more hearings running at the same in various parts of the country. However, homegrown terrorism prevention Act can easily be abused against any group which pressures the political system and be dumped as terrorists. The September 9/11 unleashed American lack of trust towards foreigners. The country has spent billions of dollars while strengthening law enforcement as well as intelligence

Philosphy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Philosphy - Essay Example The difference must be made between the case of Osma Bin Laden, and a murder case occasioned by an instant passion. Death Penalty should be abandoned. However, the time for the idea to get realized would be decided by healthy social conditions. Theories of Punishment In its Hammurabi’s sense the retribution stands for letting punishment fit the crime as eye for an eye, or hand for a hand, or life for a life. There is no place in this conception for replacing the consequence of crime with any thing other than the nature of committed crime. For Utilitarians, however, punishment should look for consequences resulting through the incurring of punishment. The Utilitarians put forward Deterrent and Reformative punishment theories. Deterrent means to punish others in order to deter from committing crime. It may be expressed in a dictum of a judge, â€Å"you are not punished for stealing sheep, but in order that sheep may not be stolen (Mackenzie 374).† This theory is oppressiv e in nature and considers human being as a thing. The Reformative theory of punishment emphasizes on changing the structure and thought of human being, compulsory volunteer service and social services are the examples of this theory. Retribution as connection between Punishment and Guilt Retributive theory of punishment aims to make a return of a man’s deed upon his own head. For Mackenzie, the aim of Retribution is to make it apparent that the evil consequences of his acts are not merely evils to others, but evils in which he is himself involved. Retributive theory therefore emphasizes upon facing the similar consequences as that of the committed crime. Being different from the other two theories, and often interpreted in its literal meaning, the important meanings of this theory remain hidden. The aim of retribution is to make connection between punishment and guilt, that is, to develop a sense of guilt regarding the crime. Retribution as expression of Moral outrage There i s an aspect and meaning of retribution that becomes operative in certain situation in order to try to answer the question whether some social phenomenon should be punished because it is violating the moral order of the society? Morality works upon the defined and prevailed conception of human being and the owned world-view, this may include religious position. The retributive theory, understood in its literal sense, may operate to curb the increase of a social phenomenon endangering the social moral order, and thus may operate as a utilitarian principle. For example, the increase of the crime rate in juvenile may trigger an operation against such groups to keep control of social moral order. Popular Instinct Retribution may be seen through the upsurge of popular instinct. In this situation, the need to go deep into the reality, and placing event within discursive world, does not play a role. The popular instincts decide retributively the punishment for the crime. For example, a rape of a female in a village may invoke a popular reaction that results into a strict punishment. In this situation, no other shade of retribution will be looked upon. Purely retributive justification It is difficult to understand the concept pure, as it may mean going back directly to Hammurabi’s literal intention and may mean understanding retribution only in the sense of an eye for an eye and

Globalisation , the World Economy and MNE's mini essay - 4

Globalisation , the World Economy and MNE's mini - Essay Example This paper therefore seeks to explore the emerging global markets, the advantages and disadvantages that accrue from venturing into such markets based on a case study of Research in Motion (RIM). The paper further endeavours to ascertain the extent to which RIM has been successful in penetrating this market. Basically emerging markets are developing countries that are experiencing a fast growth rate that are shifting from centrally planned economies to more liberalized economies. There are several advantages that accrue from emerging markets that make it attractive for investment purposes. The main advantage of these markets is target markets. For example in India, there is a large pool of skilled workers that are readily available and at a relatively affordable price (Hansen 2010). On the same note, its counterpart has equally a large pool of highly skilled and technical staff whose rates are affordable. In relation To The case study, RIM through it research and development unveiled a strategy to choose R&D sites that were backed by mature skills and strong technological institutions. For example, RIM curved out a niche as a centre for innovation with doubling number of patents every two years and the R&D ratio to GDP doubling in the previous decade. The two emerging markets have an advantage as manufacturing bases. There is readily available skilled labor at reasonable wages for manufacturing and assembly operation. Due to the cheaper production costs, was able to attract a sharp increase in the foreign direct investments between 1994 and 2007 with a steep increase in 2006. The same case is applicable to India. Under such circumstances, RIM’s strategy of investing in these emerging markets is valid and helps in reducing production cost whilst making the company stay competitive. Another critical advantage is the outsourcing of expatriates (Dolfsma, Duysters, & Costa 2009). RIM’s

Bethany hamilton Essay Example for Free

Bethany hamilton Essay My name, Bethany Hamilton, may not ring a bell, but I am known as the girl who never gave up. I survived the unthinkable. I want to make a difference in peoples lives by sharing my story, so here it goes. Every morning I hit the beach with my friends. Halloween is usually the time to go trick-or-treating, but for me it was the time to catch a perfect wave. So at sunrise I was already at Tunnel Beach, feeling as though my veins were filled with salt water. The water was crystal clear and very calm. I was relaxing on my board with my left arm dangling in the water as I waited for the next big wave. My friends were floating not too far away. All of them were looking out to sea. Out of nowhere, came a giant tiger shark, and all I saw was a flash of grey. All I felt was a lot of pressure and a couple of fast tugs. It was all over in seconds! Thats all it took for the 15 foot tiger shark to bite my left arm off near my shoulder. I waited in shock as all the water turned bright red. I said in a loud but not panicky voice l Just got attacked by a shark. After the attack, I kept saying Get to the beach. Get to the beach. My arm was bleeding badly, but that didnt prevent e from praying. They tied a shirt around my stub as a tourniquet. As I was rushed to the hospital, I remember the paramedics guy saying, God will never leave you, nor forsake you. He was right. At the hospital, surgeons cleared out of the operating room so I could be rushed in. They gave me blood and cleaned out my terrible wound. I stayed in the hospital for about a week after the accident, because I needed time to heal and regain my strength. My family was with me constantly, but honestly I Just wanted to go surfing. Many visitors came to see me, and all I saw was pity on their faces. After I was out of the hospital, I discovered that my life had changed dramatically. Everyday tasks suddenly became difficult. I knew I needed to forget about surfing, but I couldnt. The attack hadnt lessened my love for surfing, and I wasnt ready to give up. Less than a month later, I was back on my surf board, but paddling with only one arm was not easy. Standing up on the board was equally tough. Catching my first wave after the accident, made everything worthwhile. I rode the wave all the way to the beach, and after that, I had tears of happiness running down my face. A lot of people think soul surfers are Just people who surf and dont compete, but I think its someone who Just loves surfing for what it is, never gives up, and always sticks with the ocean. I still dream of surfing victories, but now IVe got other dreams, too. I want to make a difference in peoples lives. I want to help others deal with pain and loss. Most importantly, I want to encourage people to follow their dreams, no matter how hard it seems. All I know is that my life will include plenty of surfing. IVe been surfing since I was five, and Ill be surfing until however ling I can. bethany hamilton By hfeuch

Intuition and Decision-Making Essay Example for Free

Intuition and Decision-Making Essay This paper basically talks about intuition and leadership and takes into account the intuitive decision making that the leaders take into account while making decisions where adequate knowledge is not available or where there are time constraints. There are a lot of arguments regarding this intuitive decision making by leaders where some people argue that it should not be like that as they may turn out to be wrong and others hold to the fact that at times intuitions lead to the right decision as leaders have this ability to analyze all the available information and make the decision on it along with using their past experience and expertise. The paper will first start by defining what actually intuition is and what makes leaders to promote or prevent decision making using intuitions. Then the paper will take a leaders point of view regarding decision making and how they bring in account all the available information to come up with a decision. In the end, the report will compare decisions made on intuitions with the decisions made upon logical reasoning in order to give a better knowledge to the readers regarding the two concepts and terminologies. Defining Intuition Starting with the report, we all know what decision making is, however, it will be helpful for us to know what exactly intuitions are on which leaders tend to make their decisions on. Intuitions are basically the ability of a person to actually judge or perceive an appropriate outcome without using reasoning and adequate information for that. The word is actually derived from a Latin word that means to â€Å"look inside† and that is exactly what we are talking about in this report. While using intuitions, leaders are able to look into the matters, problems or situations without even making an effort to gather or probe into the matter or its complexities (Aqor, 1986). With intuition, leaders actually tend to break into the thickness of the surface reality through their gutt-feeling, a feeling from inside that may be based on their past experience, a fear based interpretation or the actual leadership quality in their personality. What promotes or prevent leaders from using intuitions Moving on, as we have realized that intuitions are feelings, emotions or responses that are based on your own abilities, thus, it is not always true that they are right, they can also be wrong. A leader may be good in doing so in a lot number of instances but still, he is not sure whether his next intuitive decision will actually lead to the same positive results. Every important matter has its own requirements to mitigate risks and probing into complexities, thus for that purpose leaders do need appropriate information in order to come up with their decisions. However, many leaders fear this because of the fact that there personal bias in shape of their previous good or bad experience to a similar problem can actually influence their decision to a great extent. This personal bias or personal judgment that we are talking about is basically based on personal abilities or past experiences and has very less to do with analyzing the current information that is available (Williams, 2001). Thus, leaders do fear with their intuitive decision making that it can actually make them make a wrong decision. On the other hand, there are instances, where leaders have to take charge of the matter and make decisions on just a small amount of information or at times no information. These are situations where there time and resource constraints and decisions have to be taken. There, the best thing a leader can do to save time and resources in gathering all the relevant information and risk factors is to use intuitive decision making approach. A leader is a qualified team member who is chosen because of his ability to look at things with a broader and a next level thought process, thus team members also tend to conform with their this ability and promote them to take such decision. An example of such decisions can be taken as sales predictions after a natural calamity or a sudden fall in the stock market. Although, the demand would fall due to these circumstances, but it might be the other way round for a leader who is looking at the matter with a different approach using his intuitive decision making ability. Role of decision-making to a leader’s position Moreover, a leader is the person who is actually held responsible for all the actions of his team. His team basically conforms to his decisions and relies on his orders and directions because they also accept him as more capable in decision making and his abilities to solve problems and handle situations. Thus, with all this responsibility, a leader has to make sure that his decisions are correct and the best interest of the project and the team he is looking after. Any false decision can cost him and his team a failure of project. When we talk in management terms, we see that one thing that is always argued is the fact that decisions made upon inadequate information are mostly wrong. However, when we look into the practical world of leaders, can we say that leaders always have the right amount of information at the right time and at the right place? Obviously not is the answer to this question because of the fact that if all information would have been made available to the team, then there was no need of a leader to make decisions. In that case just a checker or manager would have done the job of a leader (Aqor, 1986). But, when we look at the decision making role of a leader, he has to make a large number of decisions everyday for which he might not have all the information and which won’t allow him much time to think upon them otherwise he will have to compromise all other important things that he and his team has to complete. A leader, as we have already discussed is chosen because of his special abilities, and this intuitive decision making skills is a part of them. Although on the surface we might say that while intuitively making decisions, a leader does not takes into account all the information, but he is actually thinking with a different angle and approach using his abilities that other team members cannot(Bealer,1998). Difference between decisions made with logical reasoning and decisions made with intuition In the last part of this report we will now discuss the difference between logical decision making and intuitive decision making. Logical decision making involves a high level of reasoning and data that is analyzed in order to come up with a decision. this approach is mostly advocated by most of the critics because of the fact that through this type of decision making, a leader tends to take into account and mitigate a large number of threats and risks which he might not through intuitive decision making. However, this type of a decision making approach may require more time and resources to come up with the decision (Williams, 2001). Also these decisions are mostly based on the theoretical knowledge and proven facts. For example, as we have seen in a number of stock markets that when people with logical reasoning were un-holding their stocks with losses, there were some others as well who were actually earning by using their intuitive knowledge. On the other hand, as we have discussed above that while making intuitive decisions, a leader might not take much time to make those decisions as they are usually made in circumstances where there are time constraints. Moreover, a leader uses his abilities to reconcile his past experiences and trends to come up with the decision rather than core number, figures and theoretical knowledge only.  Another major difference between the two is that both the types of decisions can actually go in the opposite directions as well as we have already discussed above in the stock market example(Giannini Rhodes,1978). Conclusion Thus, the report will conclude the discussion with an argument that no one can actually say whether intuitive decision making is good or bad. It all depends on the situation. Yes, it is true that when there is adequate time and resources, the leader should also take into account the other approaches as well but in constraints of time, a leader may take these decisions depending on his abilities. Also we cannot also say which one of the two types of decision making is good or bad for the project because it again depends on the situation that the organization is in. however, as we know that intuitive decision making involves personal bias of leaders as well and may also reflect their personality traits such as risk taker or risk averse, it is recommended that whenever possible, a leader should take into account the logical reasoning approach and compare it with his intuitive perspective before taking any decision as it might make him realize a number of risks that he may have ignored in the first thought.

Strategic alignment

Strategic alignment Chapter 1: Introduction 12 Chapter One Introduction 1.1 Overview This chapter introduces the research background and context for this investigation. An introduction to strategic alignment is presented with the aim of establishing the context of this research, followed by an explanation of the importance of business strategy and Information Technology (IT) and the uniqueness of organizational culture in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). In addition, the knowledge gap and research methodology were explained. In light of these arguments the aims and objectives are presented together with an outline of the thesis structure. 1.2 Research Background For the last two decades the relevance of alignment between business and IT strategies has continuously grown and remains a top priority for academics and practitioners. Research suggests that aligning business and IT strategies has a positive effect on organisational performance (Teo and King, 1996; Reich and Benbasat, 2000; Chan et al., 2006). The annual survey on top management concerns by the Society for Information Management (www.simnet.org) however ranked ‘IT and Business alignment as the No. 1 concern for four years in a row (Society of Information Management, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006). In last years survey, alignment lost its doubtful honor as the ‘top concern to drop to only the second place on the list (Society of Information Management, 2007). But it came back in 2008 and regained the No.1 spot as the top concern. Moreover, the value of IT has been related to strategic alignment (Tallon and Kraemer, 2003). They found that organisations with strategic goals for IT showed higher levels of strategic alignment and, as a consequence, the perception of IT business value was higher. However, organisations that have developed IT strategies often fail to deliver IT business value, despite having integrated their business and IT strategies. This suggests business-IT strategy is necessary but not sufficient to deliver business value from IT investments (Peppard et al., 2000; Benbya and McKelvey, 2006). Strategic alignment research has extensively discussed the coordination between business and IT strategy (Henderson and Venkatraman, 1993; Reich and Benbasat, 2000; Kearns and Sabherwal, 2007). As strategic alignment has become embedded in the strategic management process, a closer relationship between IT and business managers is required to establish a two-way commitment that enables managers in both IT and business domains to prioritise IT projects that will support the business strategy (Luftman et al., 1999). Figure (1) summarizes the Information System/Business relationship which can be described as ‘Interdependent; where any changes in the IS (Software, Hardware, Database and Telecommunication devices will have an impact on the Business and vice versa; any change in the business (Strategy, Rules and Procedures) will have its impact on the Information Systems function of the organization [2]. Figure 1: The interdependence between organizations and information systems (Laudon Laudon, 2006) This commitment, however, has been difficult to achieve at strategic level in organisations and consequently difficult to transmit to lower levels within organisations (Lycett et al., 2004; Srivannaboom, 2006). Additionally, the frequent failure of IT projects has reduced the trust of senior managers in IT investments and their business value (Peppard et al., 2000; Taylor, 2000; Hartman and Ashrafi, 2004). When an IT strategy is conceived at strategic level, it may be aligned with company goals; however, as it moves down through the lower levels of an organisation to be implemented, the original objectives for which the strategy was conceived can be lost. Relationships between business and IT implementers are not always close and IT staff tends to be more concerned with technical issues. Business and IT also need a close relationship at implementation level to ensure the project goals are well communicated and understood (Lederer and Salmela, 1996; Campbell et al., 2005). The interaction between information technology and organizations is influenced by many mediating factors, including the organizations structure, standard operating procedures, politics, culture, surrounding environment, and management decisions as shown in figure (2). and information Technology (Laudon Laudon, 2006) Therefore the motivation behind this research is to develop a model that depicts the dynamic interrelationships between the factors affecting strategic alignment taking into consideration the organizational culture (OC) in Saudi organisations. OC and strategy Connie Curran, (2002) a researcher and practitioner in the healthcare sector, wrote â€Å"Culture eats strategy for lunch every time†. In this simple statement she has eloquently summarized one of the strongest themes in the literature on strategy implementation, which is that it doesnt matter how wonderful your organizations strategy is, if its culture does not support it, the strategy will not be realized even if the goals and infrastructure are aligned. Aligning organizational culture to strategy accelerates strategy execution. Organizational culture includes the highly influential sets of norms, values, assumptions, beliefs and behaviors which influence the selection, design and implementation of strategic initiatives, impacting growth and operational strategies. Misaligned cultures create drag that impairs the performance of the organizations ‘engines for growth, hobbling strategies from being achieving to their full potential. OC and IT It is a common statement that we are now living in an era of rapid technology development. The adoption and implementation of new technologies, in many cases, is imperative not only to improve productivity, efficiency or to cater to new demand and requirements but also to ensure the survival of the business itself. ‘The introduction of any new technology into an occupation, organisation, or society can be seen as a cultural change problem (Schein 1989). The success or failure of integrating a new technology in an organisation is, to a large degree, dependent on its ability to adjust or change its culture. The creation and/or existence of a certain cultural environment may be essential to ensure the successful implementation of a new technology. The new technology once has been put in use in an organisation, in turn, will dictate further changes in the organisations culture. Many current examples can be found in relation to the areas of automation and information technology. 1.6 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) The culture of Saudi Arabia is a rich one that has been shaped by its Islamic heritage, its historical role as an ancient trade center, and its Bedouin traditions. Saudi Arabia is considered a very high context culture, which means that the message people are trying to convey often relies heavily on other communicative cues such as body language and eye-contact rather than direct words. Saudi traditions are rooted in Islamic teachings and Arab customs, which Saudis learn about at an early age from their families and in schools. Arab traditions also play an important role in Saudi life. These age-old traditions have evolved over the millennia and are highly regarded. They include generosity and hospitality, which every Saudi family offers to strangers, friends, and family [50]. One of the most important features of the Saudi culture is the segregation of the sexes. Segregation, which means not permit women to mix with unrelated men. Also Shyness is another important characteristic that people should uphold. The other important feature in the Saudi culture is family ties, where Muslim is expected to keep contact with his relatives [51]. Respect and friendship are values that are held very highly by the Saudi people, business setting, favors based on mutual benefit and trust are ways of enhancing these cultural values. Due to the personal nature of business in Saudi Arabia, family influence and personal connections often take precedence over other governing factors [52]. Saudi Arabia is behind in the area of IT, which could be contributed to several factors including Computer illiteracy, lack of government incentives to attract businesses, the absence of adequate infrastructure to support industry, poor enforcement of intellectual property and copy right laws, and lack of resources [53]. 1.7 Knowledge Gap Based on the above, and through screening some of the existing strategic alignment models in the literature review, the researcher figured out that to achieve such an alignment there is a need to consider and integrate the following points: Most of staff, if not all, is unaware of business goals and objectives, especially in the environment of Saudi Arabia. Important technical investments decisions are made by the IT manager alone. No relationship exists (Gap) between Business strategy and IT strategy. A lot of factors are not taken into consideration when forming strategic alignment, such as Structure, Culture, politics, and others. Strategic alignment models discussed only top management level and discarded other levels. Previous strategic alignment models are hard to be understood and implemented in reality. The models discussed in the literature review may have achieved one or two of the above six points, however, there is no existing model that has achieved the above six points altogether. Based on the above, the researcher has selected Strategic Alignment as a starting and a centre area of research that he is building on to fulfill the other points mentioned. The model that the researcher is aiming to establish differs from the existing ones in that it will meet the requirements and challenges of the Saudi environment taking into consideration the 6 above points. 1.8 Research Aims Significance To bridge the gap between Business Strategy and Information Technology Strategy through developing and designing a simple Strategic Alignment Model, that includes the essence of the major research works in addition to other strategic alignment theories available To highlight the role of socio-cultural aspects as a critical success factor for successful IT implementation, which were not taken into consideration in the past To measure the contribution of such a model to business performance. To encourage Saudi Firms to use such a model to gain competitive competition. To reduce the associated costs of implementing Information Systems in Organization 1.9 Research methods The researcher has used the mixed research methodology. Mixed research involves the mixing of quantitative and qualitative methods or paradigm characteristics within a stage of the study or across two of the stages of the research process. It collects data either sequentially of simultaneously to best understand research problems [16]. Advantages of using mixed research includes: the major goal for researcher who design and conduct mixed research is to follow the fundamental principle of mixed research, in other words, the researcher should mix quantitative and qualitative research methods, procedures, and paradigm characteristics in a way that the resulting mixture or combination has complementary strengths and non-overlapping weaknesses. When different approaches are used to focus on the same phenomenon, while providing the same result, is a strong evidence for the result. Other important reason for doing mixed research are to complement one set of results with another, to expand a set of results, or to discover something that would have been missed if only a quantitative or a qualitative approach had been used[17]. 1.9.1 Quantitative Method One of the most widely used research techniques can be defined as collecting data through written questions [17]. There are a number of different ways in which questionnaires can be administered; for example: posted to the intended respondents or administered over the telephone or face-to-face. A questionnaire design provides a quantitative description of trends, attitudes, or opinions of a population by studying a sample of that population. From sample results, the researcher generalizes or makes claims about a population [18]. 1.9.2 Qualitative Method Interviews are considered to be the main tool of the qualitative researcher for data collection [18]. Additionally, since the interpretive stance is also being followed, interviews are viewed to be the main and appropriate source from where data has been collected. According to Walsham, interviews allow the best access to the interpretations that the participants have regarding the actions and events, which have or are taking place and the views and aspirations of themselves and other participants. An added benefit is that it allows researchers to step back and examine the interpretations of their fellow participants in some detail, and this is an advantage that other methods may not allow [18]. There are several types of interviews possible for use, structured, semi-structured and unstructured interviews. In this study the semi-structured interview type was used due to different reasons. The semi-structured interview lies somewhere in between the other two types. It allows the interviewer to explore, probe and ask questions within a subject area less freely than the unstructured interview and with more freedom in sequencing of questions and timing for each question than the structured type. It allows the interviewer to explore more ideas and make use of unexpected and unforeseen information as it revealed. In addition, this study is a limited time study and since the timing required in conducting semi-structured interview is less than that required from the unstructured type, this type was chosen. To make the interview proceed smoothly, an Interview Guide was designed. A participation information sheet was also designed to familiarise the participants with the research purpose and to assure them of anonymity and confidentiality. Before conducting the semi-structured interview, each participant was asked to fill and sign a consent form with a copy kept with him/her. See Appendix F and G for the (Interview Guide, Invitation letter, Participation Information Sheet, and Consent Form). 24 interviews were conducted within the four organizations. The collected data from the interviews were converted into a quantitative format (frequencies) using content analysis method, where the collected data were summarized on a summary sheet. Then it was categorized to meet the research objectives, which was then displayed on a table. Rating for the results was calculated using Microsoft office Excel spreadsheet. 1.9.3 Secondary Data In order to gain a richer picture of Strategic Alignment concepts, a literature survey was conducted from published books, articles, journals, etc. All data from the primary case study (questionnaires and interviews), secondary case studies and documents were combined and linked together to give the base for designing the Strategic Alignment Model. 1.9.4 Data analysis Data gathered was analyzed through frequency distributions. These have given way to reviewing the data categories and the number of referrals in each category. With relation to data analysis, the indicators that were used in evaluating the study include the age of the respondent; the social status; the educational attainment of the respondents; the occupation of the respondents and their length of stay in the company they belong to [19]. The research has involved 4 large organizations, SABB (Saudi British Bank), Saudi Airlines, AL-Marai, and AlTawniah, where interviews have been conducted with business managers to have a clear idea about the companys business strategy. Also, other interviews took place with IT directors to investigate about the IT strategy and its relationship with the business strategy. In addition,2 sets of questionnaires were distributed among different levels of the organizations to come up with the types of organizational culture and the use of Information technology in those organizations. At the end, data were collected and analyzed through using SPSS software and content analysis. Figure depicts the various steps that compromised the research framework 1.10 Expected Research Outcomes The results from this research are anticipated to be of great help to top managers, strategic planners, IT managers, and other work force in Saudi environment, and will contribute to the following factors: Increasing the awareness of Strategic Alignment Concept and its importance. Showing the importance of the use of Information Technology in organizations Identifying the organizational culture as a major factor of achieving strategic alignment. Encouraging decision makers and top management to apply and implement strategic alignment throughout the organization. Highlighting the weaknesses of previous strategic alignment models and the lessons learned, which would help other researchers for future work 1.11 Indicative Thesis Structure The thesis will contain nine chapters: Chapter 1: Introduction: Presents an overview about the research subject. It shows the importance of strategic alignment in all sectors, followed by bridging the gap between business strategy and IT strategy, and the factors that affect strategic alignment, including the organizational culture in Saudi Arabia. The research aims and significance then was explained followed by a brief discussion of the research methodology, research framework, then prospected research contribution was mentioned. Chapter 2: Literature Review: Provides the literature review for this research. It begins with explaining Business strategy, Business planning and its tools, followed by a discussion of IT strategy, IT planning, and its tools. Then a discussion of strategic alignment was presented. And ended with an overview of previous strategic alignment models. Chapter 3: Research design and methodology: The chapter details the research process adopted and continues with an explanation of the data collection and data analysis methods employed by the researcher including justification for the approach and methods. The detailed questionnaire and interviews preparation and use process is described, followed by the reliability and validity tests. There is reasoning provided in this chapter for the use of data interpretation techniques and softwares like the SPSS Content analysis. Chapter 4: Selection of Strategic Alignment Model Parameters: Presents the organizational culture parameters selected by the researcher, the validity of this selection, and their relationship with the two main components of strategic alignment (Business strategy IT strategy) Chapter 5: Information Technology Use Questionnaires Analysis: This chapter introduces findings from a survey of 62 Information Technology (IT) managers to establish general perceptions of added value(s) of IT investments in Saudi organizations. Chapter 6: Organizational Culture Impact Questionnaires Analysis: Discusses and examines the data collected through the questionnaires from 400 staff in the selected Saudi firms, to identify the importance of organizational culture in strategic alignment. Chapter 7: Interviews Analysis: Talks about and analyses the data collected through the interviews in the 4 Saudi firms where 12 Business managers and 12 IT managers were approached. The chapter ended with an interviews summary and conclusions. Chapter 8: Hypothesis Formulating: Chapter 8 presents and discusses the research hypotheses. Dependent and independent variables were discussed in details. The chapter ended with a detail visual model showing the predicted relationship between dependent and independent variables Chapter 9: Conclusion and Recommendations: Proposes the new strategic alignment model, and concludes the study and gives recommendations and future directions. The Effect of OC on Strategic alignment in Saudi Firms Hatem Tamimi

Essay example --

What do I want to be when I grow up? What is answer to that question lies in some self-evaluation. What are my strengths and what are my weaknesses? What do I love to do and what I hate doing with my time. What would be realistic in the next maybe 60-70 years, possibly even more life that I have life left? Do I want structure mighty tall towers that touch the sky? Do I want to manage tens of billions of dollars of people’s money? Do I want to be an artist? Do I want to start my own successful enterprises? Or, will I fall into poverty, wage slavery, financial misery, and do nothing? Do I just sit there with student loan debt and not take action. Do I let my time to be spent in a matter I would not like, but â€Å"forced† so? So, many questions, so many possible answers to consider, let us consider some ultimate goals that have many ways to fortune, happiness, and success. First what do I, not anyone else, consider a success to be? Does it mean fame, power, and influence? Does it mean secrecy and peaceful. It depends on which one gives me the most utility of my life. I consider one is a success is to have control over time, to not have being dependent on anyone. I do have to put â€Å"work† over everyone else. If I could I could just walk off the job if I wanted and not have to worry about my standard of living going down. That presents a choice for me today, what do I have to sacrifice today to achieve tomorrow’s results and goals? Can I careless about debt and ring up the cash register for little toys that are going to be worthless in the future? Besides the fact of student loans, will I take out auto loans, go into credit card debt, and lose precious years of compounding to debt? All of the years that I will need for paying debt for l... ...icked a job and give a surmise of it. But, I am purposely being opaque. It just makes life all the better for me. It leaves for the reader (including the writer that is reading the text as he writes) to decide. Clearly there is a road that I am going down, which lane I am going down is to be known later. The basic topic of this essay is what you want to be when you grow up. Frankly, I will never stop growing. I might have some roles when I am growing up. While others fear about age, I love what it can bring. Ubiquitous thinking, eh, so as the writing goes to formal to causal to formal again, I will not recap what we learned. It is far easier for the reader to flip back to first three pages. Saves me a whole lot of time too, and time is a precious currency. This essay was started at 5:35am 7/25/13 and finished around 8 am that day. I hope you have a wonderful day

Alexander Popes An Essay On Man -- Alexander Pope An Essay On Man

Alexander Pope's An Essay On Man Alexander Pope's An Essay On Man is generally accepted as a wonderfully harmonious mass of couplets that gather a variety of philosophical doctrines in an eclectic and (because of its philosophic nature) antithetic muddle. No critic denies that Pope's Essay On Man is among the most beautifully written and best of his works, but few also deny that Pope's Essay On Man is an incoherent conglomeration of "incongruous scraps" ("A Letter..." 88) of philosophical axioms. In forming An Essay On Man into perhaps the greatest philosophical poem ever written, Pope masterfully incorporates allusions and metaphors in which to constrict a world of meaning into the compact work that verse must be, in comparison to prose. Perhaps, then, Pope's greatest flaw is that, because a work of philosophy must be coherent and complete in order to be successful in most cases, An Essay On Man is too difficult to decipher because the structure and sequence of the work, as well as allusions and metaphors, while ad ding to the quality of verse, diminish the quality of the philosophical work. Pope's only mistake in writing An Essay On Man is his attempt to fit too much information into such a compressed work. However, viewed as separate thoughts, the majority of passages in the Essay seem to hold true - not a central and coherent truth, but an "angular and splintered" truth (De Quincey 224). As a philosophical argument represented in verse, the simplification of so many varying theories cannot be avoided. While the Essay lacks central doctrinal coherence, it still succeeds as a poem, even at the expense of its philosophy (Edwards 37). One must also recognize the greatness of the work itself, despite its lack of centra... ...ondsworth: Penguin Books, 1971. 224. Edwards, Thomas. "The Mighty Maze: An Essay on Man." Modern Critical Views: Alexander Pope. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1986. 37-50. Hazlitt, William. From "On Dryden and Pope." Penguin Critical Anthologies: Alexander Pope. Eds. F.W. Bateson and N.A. Joukovsky. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1971. 197. Keener, Frederick. Introduction. An Essay on Pope. New York: Columbia University Press, 1974. 8. Magill, Frank, ed. Critical Survey of Poetry: Revised Edition. Vol. 6. Pasadena: Salem Press, 1992. 2632-2635. Pope, Alexander. An Essay On Man. Ed. Maynard Mack. Twickenham Edition. London: Methuen, 1950. Warton, Joseph. From "An Essay on the Genius and Writings of Pope." Penguin Critical Anthologies: Alexander Pope. Eds. F.W. Bateson and N.A. Joukovsky. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1971. 111-115.

Plight of Women in Song of Solomon, Life of a Slave Girl, and Push Essa

Plight of Black Women as Double Minorities - Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Song of Solomon, Push      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Typically minority groups are thought of in the context of race; however, a minority group can also consist of gender and class. The struggles facing a minority group complicate further when these different facets of minority categories are combined into what is sometimes called a double minority. Throughout American history, African American women have exemplified how being a double minority changes the conditions of being a minority. In Reminiscences by Frances D. Gage of Sojourner Truth, for May 28-29, 1851, a speech by Sojourner Truth is recalled where she poses the question-"Ain't I a woman" (Lauter 2049). Truth speaks for women's rights in this speech, but her question becomes more interesting when applied to African American women because they move from being a double minority to a single minority with this statement. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Song of Solomon, and Push demonstrate in their African American female characters the impact of havin g a double minority status.    In Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs depicts her struggle as an African American woman during slavery. As a female slave in her master's house, she was subject to her master's sexual advances. Jacobs explains her feelings about her master's desires and the struggle of female slaves in the following comments:    The felon's home in a penitentiary is preferable. He may repent, and turn from the error of his ways, and so find peace; but it is not so with a favorite slave. She is not allowed to have any pride of character. It is deemed a crime in her to wish to be virtuous. p. 363    Thi... ...n American female writers are much more popular today than their male counterparts. Perhaps Sojourner Truth should not have posed the question, "Ain't I a Woman," because that still implies that the only move up for African American women is from a double minority to a single minority (Lauter 2049). Perhaps the real question is-Ain't I a Human?    Works Cited Gage, Frances D. "Reminiscences by Frances D. Gage of Sojourner Truth, for May 28-29, 1851." Paul Laufer, ed. The Heath Anthology of American Literature, vol 1, 3rd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998. Jacobs, Harriet Ann. "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl." Henry Louis Gates, Jr., ed. The Classic Slave Narratives. New York: Penguin Group, 1987. Morrison, Toni. Song of Solomon. New York: Penguin Group, 1977. Sapphire. Push. New York: Vintage Contemporaries/ Vintage Books, 1996.

IBM: Corporate Level Strategy Essay

IBM operates primarily in a single industry using several segments that create a value by offering a variety of solutions that include, either singularly or in some combination, technologies, systems, products, services, software and financing. This may lead you to believe that IBM has adopted a corporate level strategy of concentrating on a single business unit, but this is only half the picture. For IBM there is not one general type of corporate strategy that best suits their needs, but a combination of both a concentration on a single business strategy as well as a vertical integration strategy. A single business unit strategy means that IBM is concentrating on competing successfully within the confines of a single business unit. An advantage of choosing such a strategy is that the IBM can focus its total and collective resources to dominating and becoming successful in this business area. If IBM were to attempt to pursue some other strategy such as diversification, they might spread their resources out too thin, thus inhibiting them from taking advantage of some other opportunities that may come about due to a lack of available resources. Another advantage to pursuing a single business unit strategy is that IBM is remaining within an area with which it has a great deal of competence and experience. This decreases the likelihood of IBM partaking in a venture that may be unsuccessful and it keeps IBM in an area where their existing capabilities and resources can contribute and add value. But concentrating on just one business area may not be enough and so as previously stated, IBM has also adopted a corporate level strategy that involves vertical integration. Vertical integration can be seen in the corporate level strategy of IBM in their acquisition of various inputs such as the LSG Group Inc., which offers services ranging from application development to information technology consulting. This is known as backward or upstream integration. Choosing a strategy such as vertical integration generally gives a company a competitive advantage by improving scheduling, by creating efficiency-enhanced assets, by protecting product quality and by enabling the company to build barriers to new competition. IBM operates in more than 150 countries worldwide and derives more than half of its revenues from sales outside the United States. IBM has adopted an international strategy with respect to how it plans to compete and operate globally. By adopting an international strategy IBM looks to create value on a global basis by transferring valuable skill and products to foreign markets where local competitors lack those skills and products. Although much of IBM’s revenues come from overseas sales, they tend centralize the majority of the decision-making and other company functions right her in the United States. This means that they first develop marketing and product decisions in the United States and then transfer what they have done in the United States to other countries. This does not mean that no adaptation was done at all but it does mean that any adaptation that may have been done was kept to a minimal. In many cases the modifications IBM may carry out with respect to its business decisions in a particular market may be due to the laws and policies in a particular country. IBM could also be forced to modify its business decisions in a certain country due to the economic and political changes in those countries and by macroeconomic changes, including recessions and inflation. An example of this would be when a weakness in the economy of Asia had an adverse effect on the companies business in 1998 and forced it to change its strategy with respect to that market while the countries economy got itself back together.