Monday, September 30, 2019

Genetically Foods Essay

Genetically-modified foods (GM foods) have made a big splash in the news lately. European environmental organizations and public interest groups have been actively protesting against GM foods for months, and recent controversial studies about the effects of genetically-modified corn pollen on monarch butterfly caterpillars1, 2 have brought the issue of genetic engineering to the forefront of the public consciousness in the U. S. In response to the upswelling of public concern, the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) held three open meetings in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Oakland, California to solicit public opinions and begin the process of establishing a new regulatory procedure for government approval of GM foods3. I attended the FDA meeting held in November 1999 in Washington, D. C. , and here I will attempt to summarize the issues involved and explain the U. S. government’s present role in regulating GM food. What are genetically-modified foods? The term GM foods or GMOs (genetically-modified organisms) is most commonly used to refer to crop plants created for human or animal consumption using the latest molecular biology techniques. These plants have been modified in the laboratory to enhance desired traits such as increased resistance to herbicides or improved nutritional content. The enhancement of desired traits has traditionally been undertaken through breeding, but conventional plant breeding methods can be very time consuming and are often not very accurate. Genetic engineering, on the other hand, can create plants with the exact desired trait very rapidly and with great accuracy. For example, plant geneticists can isolate a gene responsible for drought tolerance and insert that gene into a different plant. The new genetically-modified plant will gain drought tolerance as well. Not only can genes be transferred from one plant to another, but genes from non-plant organisms also can be used. The best known example of this is the use of B. t. genes in corn and other crops. B. t. , or Bacillus thuringiensis, is a naturally occurring bacterium that produces crystal proteins that are lethal to insect larvae. B. t. crystal protein genes have been transferred into corn, enabling the corn to produce its own pesticides against insects such as the European corn borer. For two informative overviews of some of the techniques involved in creating GM foods, visit Biotech Basics (sponsored by Monsanto) http://www. biotechknowledge. monsanto. com/biotech/bbasics. nsf/index or Techniques of Plant Biotechnology from the National Center for Biotechnology Education http://www. ncbe. reading. ac. uk/NCBE/GMFOOD/techniques. What are some of the advantages of GM foods? The world population has topped 6 billion people and is predicted to double in the next 50 years. Ensuring an adequate food supply for this booming population is going to be a major challenge in the years to come. GM foods promise to meet this need in a number of ways: Pest resistance Crop losses from insect pests can be staggering, resulting in devastating financial loss for farmers and starvation in developing countries. Farmers typically use many tons of chemical pesticides annually. Consumers do not wish to eat food that has been treated with pesticides because of potential health hazards, and run-off of agricultural wastes from excessive use of pesticides and fertilizers can poison the water supply and cause harm to the environment. Growing GM foods such as B. t.corn can help eliminate the application of chemical pesticides and reduce the cost of bringing a crop to market4, 5. Herbicide tolerance For some crops, it is not cost-effective to remove weeds by physical means such as tilling, so farmers will often spray large quantities of different herbicides (weed-killer) to destroy weeds, a time-consuming and expensive process, that requires care so that the herbicide doesn’t harm the crop plant or the environment. Crop plants genetically-engineered to be resistant to one very powerful herbicide could help prevent environmental damage by reducing the amount of herbicides needed. For example, Monsanto has created a strain of soybeans genetically modified to be not affected by their herbicide product Roundup  ®6. A farmer grows these soybeans which then only require one application of weed-killer instead of multiple applications, reducing production cost and limiting the dangers of agricultural waste run-off7. Disease resistance There are many viruses, fungi and bacteria that cause plant diseases. Plant biologists are working to create plants with genetically-engineered resistance to these diseases8, 9. Cold tolerance Unexpected frost can destroy sensitive seedlings. An antifreeze gene from cold water fish has been introduced into plants such as tobacco and potato. With this antifreeze gene, these plants are able to tolerate cold temperatures that normally would kill unmodified seedlings10. (Note: I have not been able to find any journal articles or patents that involve fish antifreeze proteins in strawberries, although I have seen such reports in newspapers. I can only conclude that nothing on this application has yet been published or patented.) Drought tolerance/salinity tolerance As the world population grows and more land is utilized for housing instead of food production, farmers will need to grow crops in locations previously unsuited for plant cultivation. Creating plants that can withstand long periods of drought or high salt content in soil and groundwater will help people to grow crops in formerly inhospitable places11, 12. Nutrition Malnutrition is common in third world countries where impoverished peoples rely on a single crop such as rice for the main staple of their diet. However, rice does not contain adequate amounts of all necessary nutrients to prevent malnutrition. If rice could be genetically engineered to contain additional vitamins and minerals, nutrient deficiencies could be alleviated. For example, blindness due to vitamin A deficiency is a common problem in third world countries. Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Institute for Plant Sciences have created a strain of â€Å"golden† rice containing an unusually high content of beta-carotene (vitamin A)13. Since this rice was funded by the Rockefeller Foundation14, a non-profit organization, the Institute hopes to offer the golden rice seed free to any third world country that requests it. Plans were underway to develop a golden rice that also has increased iron content. However, the grant that funded the creation of these two rice strains was not renewed, perhaps because of the vigorous anti-GM food protesting in Europe, and so this nutritionally-enhanced rice may not come to market at all15. Pharmaceuticals Medicines and vaccines often are costly to produce and sometimes require special storage conditions not readily available in third world countries. Researchers are working to develop edible vaccines in tomatoes and potatoes16, 17. These vaccines will be much easier to ship, store and administer than traditional injectable vaccines. Phytoremediation Not all GM plants are grown as crops. Soil and groundwater pollution continues to be a problem in all parts of the world. Plants such as poplar trees have been genetically engineered to clean up heavy metal pollution from contaminated soil18. How prevalent are GM crops? What plants are involved? According to the FDA and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), there are over 40 plant varieties that have completed all of the federal requirements for commercialization (http://vm. cfsan. fda. gov/%7Elrd/biocon). Some examples of these plants include tomatoes and cantalopes that have modified ripening characteristics, soybeans and sugarbeets that are resistant to herbicides, and corn and cotton plants with increased resistance to insect pests. Not all these products are available in supermarkets yet; however, the prevalence of GM foods in U. S. grocery stores is more widespread than is commonly thought. While there are very, very few genetically-modified whole fruits and vegetables available on produce stands, highly processed foods, such as vegetable oils or breakfast cereals, most likely contain some tiny percentage of genetically-modified ingredients because the raw ingredients have been pooled into one processing stream from many different sources. Also, the ubiquity of soybean derivatives as food additives in the modern American diet virtually ensures that all U. S. consumers have been exposed to GM food products. The U. S. statistics that follow are derived from data presented on the USDA web site at http://www. ers. usda. gov/briefing/biotechnology/. The global statistics are derived from a brief published by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) at http://www. isaaa. org/publications/briefs/Brief_21. htm and from the Biotechnology Industry Organization at http://www. bio.org/food&ag/1999Acreage. Thirteen countries grew genetically-engineered crops commercially in 2000, and of these, the U. S. produced the majority. In 2000, 68% of all GM crops were grown by U. S. farmers. In comparison, Argentina, Canada and China produced only 23%, 7% and 1%, respectively. Other countries that grew commercial GM crops in 2000 are Australia, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Mexico, Romania, South Africa, Spain, and Uruguay. Soybeans and corn are the top two most widely grown crops (82% of all GM crops harvested in 2000), with cotton, rapeseed (or canola) and potatoes trailing behind. 74% of these GM crops were modified for herbicide tolerance, 19% were modified for insect pest resistance, and 7% were modified for both herbicide tolerance and pest tolerance. Globally, acreage of GM crops has increased 25-fold in just 5 years, from approximately 4. 3 million acres in 1996 to 109 million acres in 2000 – almost twice the area of the United Kingdom. Approximately 99 million acres were devoted to GM crops in the U. S. and Argentina alone. In the U. S. , approximately 54% of all soybeans cultivated in 2000 were genetically-modified, up from 42% in 1998 and only 7% in 1996. In 2000, genetically-modified cotton varieties accounted for 61% of the total cotton crop, up from 42% in 1998, and 15% in 1996. GM corn and also experienced a similar but less dramatic increase. Corn production increased to 25% of all corn grown in 2000, about the same as 1998 (26%), but up from 1. 5% in 1996. As anticipated, pesticide and herbicide use on these GM varieties was slashed and, for the most part, yields were increased (for details, see the UDSA publication at http://www. ers. usda. gov/publications/aer786/). What are some of the criticisms against GM foods? Environmental activists, religious organizations, public interest groups, professional associations and other scientists and government officials have all raised concerns about GM foods, and criticized agribusiness for pursuing profit without concern for potential hazards, and the government for failing to exercise adequate regulatory oversight. It seems that everyone has a strong opinion about GM foods. Even the Vatican19 and the Prince of Wales20 have expressed their opinions. Most concerns about GM foods fall into three categories: environmental hazards, human health risks, and economic concerns. Environmental hazards Unintended harm to other organisms Last year a laboratory study was published in Nature21 showing that pollen from B. t. corn caused high mortality rates in monarch butterfly caterpillars. Monarch caterpillars consume milkweed plants, not corn, but the fear is that if pollen from B. t. corn is blown by the wind onto milkweed plants in neighboring fields, the caterpillars could eat the pollen and perish. Although the Nature study was not conducted under natural field conditions, the results seemed to support this viewpoint. Unfortunately, B. t. toxins kill many species of insect larvae indiscriminately; it is not possible to design a B. t. toxin that would only kill crop-damaging pests and remain harmless to all other insects. This study is being reexamined by the USDA, the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other non-government research groups, and preliminary data from new studies suggests that the original study may have been flawed22, 23. This topic is the subject of acrimonious debate, and both sides of the argument are defending their data vigorously. Currently, there is no agreement about the results of these studies, and the potential risk of harm to non-target organisms will need to be evaluated further. Reduced effectiveness of pesticides Just as some populations of mosquitoes developed resistance to the now-banned pesticide DDT, many people are concerned that insects will become resistant to B. t. or other crops that have been genetically-modified to produce their own pesticides. Gene transfer to non-target species Another concern is that crop plants engineered for herbicide tolerance and weeds will cross-breed, resulting in the transfer of the herbicide resistance genes from the crops into the weeds. These â€Å"superweeds† would then be herbicide tolerant as well. Other introduced genes may cross over into non-modified crops planted next to GM crops. The possibility of interbreeding is shown by the defense of farmers against lawsuits filed by Monsanto. The company has filed patent infringement lawsuits against farmers who may have harvested GM crops. Monsanto claims that the farmers obtained Monsanto-licensed GM seeds from an unknown source and did not pay royalties to Monsanto. The farmers claim that their unmodified crops were cross-pollinated from someone else’s GM crops planted a field or two away. More investigation is needed to resolve this issue. There are several possible solutions to the three problems mentioned above. Genes are exchanged between plants via pollen. Two ways to ensure that non-target species will not receive introduced genes from GM plants are to create GM plants that are male sterile (do not produce pollen) or to modify the GM plant so that the pollen does not contain the introduced gene24, 25, 26. Cross-pollination would not occur, and if harmless insects such as monarch caterpillars were to eat pollen from GM plants, the caterpillars would survive. Another possible solution is to create buffer zones around fields of GM crops27, 28, 29. For example, non-GM corn would be planted to surround a field of B. t. GM corn, and the non-GM corn would not be harvested. Beneficial or harmless insects would have a refuge in the non-GM corn, and insect pests could be allowed to destroy the non-GM corn and would not develop resistance to B. t. pesticides. Gene transfer to weeds and other crops would not occur because the wind-blown pollen would not travel beyond the buffer zone. Estimates of the necessary width of buffer zones range from 6 meters to 30 meters or more30. This planting method may not be feasible if too much acreage is required for the buffer zones. Human health risks Allergenicity Many children in the US and Europe have developed life-threatening allergies to peanuts and other foods. There is a possibility that introducing a gene into a plant may create a new allergen or cause an allergic reaction in susceptible individuals. A proposal to incorporate a gene from Brazil nuts into soybeans was abandoned because of the fear of causing unexpected allergic reactions31. Extensive testing of GM foods may be required to avoid the possibility of harm to consumers with food allergies. Labeling of GM foods and food products will acquire new importance, which I shall discuss later. Unknown effects on human health There is a growing concern that introducing foreign genes into food plants may have an unexpected and negative impact on human health. A recent article published in Lancet examined the effects of GM potatoes on the digestive tract in rats32, 33. This study claimed that there were appreciable differences in the intestines of rats fed GM potatoes and rats fed unmodified potatoes. Yet critics say that this paper, like the monarch butterfly data, is flawed and does not hold up to scientific scrutiny34. Moreover, the gene introduced into the potatoes was a snowdrop flower lectin, a substance known to be toxic to mammals. The scientists who created this variety of potato chose to use the lectin gene simply to test the methodology, and these potatoes were never intended for human or animal consumption. On the whole, with the exception of possible allergenicity, scientists believe that GM foods do not present a risk to human health. Economic concerns Bringing a GM food to market is a lengthy and costly process, and of course agri-biotech companies wish to ensure a profitable return on their investment. Many new plant genetic engineering technologies and GM plants have been patented, and patent infringement is a big concern of agribusiness. Yet consumer advocates are worried that patenting these new plant varieties will raise the price of seeds so high that small farmers and third world countries will not be able to afford seeds for GM crops, thus widening the gap between the wealthy and the poor. It is hoped that in a humanitarian gesture, more companies and non-profits will follow the lead of the Rockefeller Foundation and offer their products at reduced cost to impoverished nations. Patent enforcement may also be difficult, as the contention of the farmers that they involuntarily grew Monsanto-engineered strains when their crops were cross-pollinated shows. One way to combat possible patent infringement is to introduce a â€Å"suicide gene† into GM plants. These plants would be viable for only one growing season and would produce sterile seeds that do not germinate. Farmers would need to buy a fresh supply of seeds each year. However, this would be financially disastrous for farmers in third world countries who cannot afford to buy seed each year and traditionally set aside a portion of their harvest to plant in the next growing season. In an open letter to the public, Monsanto has pledged to abandon all research using this suicide gene technology35. How are GM foods regulated and what is the government’s role in this process? Governments around the world are hard at work to establish a regulatory process to monitor the effects of and approve new varieties of GM plants. Yet depending on the political, social and economic climate within a region or country, different governments are responding in different ways. In Japan, the Ministry of Health and Welfare has announced that health testing of GM foods will be mandatory as of April 200136, 37. Currently, testing of GM foods is voluntary. Japanese supermarkets are offering both GM foods and unmodified foods, and customers are beginning to show a strong preference for unmodified fruits and vegetables. India’s government has not yet announced a policy on GM foods because no GM crops are grown in India and no products are commercially available in supermarkets yet38. India is, however, very supportive of transgenic plant research. It is highly likely that India will decide that the benefits of GM foods outweigh the risks because Indian agriculture will need to adopt drastic new measures to counteract the country’s endemic poverty and feed its exploding population. Some states in Brazil have banned GM crops entirely, and the Brazilian Institute for the Defense of Consumers, in collaboration with Greenpeace, has filed suit to prevent the importation of GM crops39,. Brazilian farmers, however, have resorted to smuggling GM soybean seeds into the country because they fear economic harm if they are unable to compete in the global marketplace with other grain-exporting countries. In Europe, anti-GM food protestors have been especially active. In the last few years Europe has experienced two major foods scares: bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease) in Great Britain and dioxin-tainted foods originating from Belgium. These food scares have undermined consumer confidence about the European food supply, and citizens are disinclined to trust government information about GM foods. In response to the public outcry, Europe now requires mandatory food labeling of GM foods in stores, and the European Commission (EC) has established a 1% threshold for contamination of unmodified foods with GM food products40. In the United States, the regulatory process is confused because there are three different government agencies that have jurisdiction over GM foods. To put it very simply, the EPA evaluates GM plants for environmental safety, the USDA evaluates whether the plant is safe to grow, and the FDA evaluates whether the plant is safe to eat. The EPA is responsible for regulating substances such as pesticides or toxins that may cause harm to the environment. GM crops such as B. t. pesticide-laced corn or herbicide-tolerant crops but not foods modified for their nutritional value fall under the purview of the EPA. The USDA is responsible for GM crops that do not fall under the umbrella of the EPA such as drought-tolerant or disease-tolerant crops, crops grown for animal feeds, or whole fruits, vegetables and grains for human consumption. The FDA historically has been concerned with pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and food products and additives, not whole foods. Under current guidelines, a genetically-modified ear of corn sold at a produce stand is not regulated by the FDA because it is a whole food, but a box of cornflakes is regulated because it is a food product. The FDA’s stance is that GM foods are substantially equivalent to unmodified, â€Å"natural† foods, and therefore not subject to FDA regulation. The EPA conducts risk assessment studies on pesticides that could potentially cause harm to human health and the environment, and establishes tolerance and residue levels for pesticides. There are strict limits on the amount of pesticides that may be applied to crops during growth and production, as well as the amount that remains in the food after processing. Growers using pesticides must have a license for each pesticide and must follow the directions on the label to accord with the EPA’s safety standards. Government inspectors may periodically visit farms and conduct investigations to ensure compliance. Violation of government regulations may result in steep fines, loss of license and even jail sentences. As an example the EPA regulatory approach, consider B.t. corn. The EPA has not established limits on residue levels in B. t corn because the B. t. in the corn is not sprayed as a chemical pesticide but is a gene that is integrated into the genetic material of the corn itself. Growers must have a license from the EPA for B. t corn, and the EPA has issued a letter for the 2000 growing season requiring farmers to plant 20% unmodified corn, and up to 50% unmodified corn in regions where cotton is also cultivated41. This planting strategy may help prevent insects from developing resistance to the B.t. pesticides as well as provide a refuge for non-target insects such as Monarch butterflies. The USDA has many internal divisions that share responsibility for assessing GM foods. Among these divisions are APHIS, the Animal Health and Plant Inspection Service, which conducts field tests and issues permits to grow GM crops, the Agricultural Research Service which performs in-house GM food research, and the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service which oversees the USDA risk assessment program. The USDA is concerned with potential hazards of the plant itself. Does it harbor insect pests? Is it a noxious weed? Will it cause harm to indigenous species if it escapes from farmer’s fields? The USDA has the power to impose quarantines on problem regions to prevent movement of suspected plants, restrict import or export of suspected plants, and can even destroy plants cultivated in violation of USDA regulations. Many GM plants do not require USDA permits from APHIS. A GM plant does not require a permit if it meets these 6 criteria: 1) the plant is not a noxious weed; 2) the genetic material introduced into the GM plant is stably integrated into the plant’s own genome; 3) the function of the introduced gene is known and does not cause plant disease; 4) the GM plant is not toxic to non-target organisms; 5) the introduced gene will not cause the creation of new plant viruses; and 6) the GM plant cannot contain genetic material from animal or human pathogens (see http://www. aphis. usda.gov:80/bbep/bp/7cfr340 ). The current FDA policy was developed in 1992 (Federal Register Docket No. 92N-0139) and states that agri-biotech companies may voluntarily ask the FDA for a consultation. Companies working to create new GM foods are not required to consult the FDA, nor are they required to follow the FDA’s recommendations after the consultation. Consumer interest groups wish this process to be mandatory, so that all GM food products, whole foods or otherwise, must be approved by the FDA before being released for commercialization. The FDA counters that the agency currently does not have the time, money, or resources to carry out exhaustive health and safety studies of every proposed GM food product. Moreover, the FDA policy as it exists today does not allow for this type of intervention. How are GM foods labeled? Labeling of GM foods and food products is also a contentious issue. On the whole, agribusiness industries believe that labeling should be voluntary and influenced by the demands of the free market. If consumers show preference for labeled foods over non-labeled foods, then industry will have the incentive to regulate itself or risk alienating the customer. Consumer interest groups, on the other hand, are demanding mandatory labeling. People have the right to know what they are eating, argue the interest groups, and historically industry has proven itself to be unreliable at self-compliance with existing safety regulations. The FDA’s current position on food labeling is governed by the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act which is only concerned with food additives, not whole foods or food products that are considered â€Å"GRAS† – generally recognized as safe. The FDA contends that GM foods are substantially equivalent to non-GM foods, and therefore not subject to more stringent labeling. If all GM foods and food products are to be labeled, Congress must enact sweeping changes in the existing food labeling policy. There are many questions that must be answered if labeling of GM foods becomes mandatory. First, are consumers willing to absorb the cost of such an initiative? If the food production industry is required to label GM foods, factories will need to construct two separate processing streams and monitor the production lines accordingly. Farmers must be able to keep GM crops and non-GM crops from mixing during planting, harvesting and shipping. It is almost assured that industry will pass along these additional costs to consumers in the form of higher prices. Secondly, what are the acceptable limits of GM contamination in non-GM products? The EC has determined that 1% is an acceptable limit of cross-contamination, yet many consumer interest groups argue that only 0% is acceptable. Some companies such as Gerber baby foods42 and Frito-Lay43 have pledged to avoid use of GM foods in any of their products. But who is going to monitor these companies for compliance and what is the penalty if they fail? Once again, the FDA does not have the resources to carry out testing to ensure compliance. What is the level of detectability of GM food cross-contamination? Scientists agree that current technology is unable to detect minute quantities of contamination, so ensuring 0% contamination using existing methodologies is not guaranteed. Yet researchers disagree on what level of contamination really is detectable, especially in highly processed food products such as vegetable oils or breakfast cereals where the vegetables used to make these products have been pooled from many different sources. A 1% threshold may already be below current levels of detectability. Finally, who is to be responsible for educating the public about GM food labels and how costly will that education be? Food labels must be designed to clearly convey accurate information about the product in simple language that everyone can understand. This may be the greatest challenge faced be a new food labeling policy: how to educate and inform the public without damaging the public trust and causing alarm or fear of GM food products. In January 2000, an international trade agreement for labeling GM foods was established44, 45. More than 130 countries, including the US, the world’s largest producer of GM foods, signed the agreement. The policy states that exporters must be required to label all GM foods and that importing countries have the right to judge for themselves the potential risks and reject GM foods, if they so choose. This new agreement may spur the U. S. government to resolve the domestic food labeling dilemma more rapidly. Conclusion Genetically-modified foods have the potential to solve many of the world’s hunger and malnutrition problems, and to help protect and preserve the environment by increasing yield and reducing reliance upon chemical pesticides and herbicides. Yet there are many challenges ahead for governments, especially in the areas of safety testing, regulation, international policy and food labeling. Many people feel that genetic engineering is the inevitable wave of the future and that we cannot afford to ignore a technology that has such enormous potential benefits. However, we must proceed with caution to avoid causing unintended harm to human health and the environment as a result of our enthusiasm for this powerful technology.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Legalizing Prostitution Essay

Your Grade: 90.4 A- Informative introduction to the topic, a controversial issue (worth 15%)87 ~political or historical context ~facts or statistics ~examples or anecdotes ~quotations from authorities and experts Informative introduction to two sources (web pages, articles, editorials, or essays) and their opposing positions on the issue (worth 20%)90 ~two authors’ names ~their professional affiliations or credentials ~titles of the two sources ~publication information ~each author’s thesis Analytical and constructive analysis of the opposing positions (worth 40%)88 ~points of disagreement (values, moral principles, ideology, needs and interests, fears and concerns, priorities or agendas) ~points of agreement (over same, values etc.) ~suggestions for developing the conversation, building common ground, possibly striking a compromise Fair and impartial presentation (worth 10%)100 ~represent each side fairly and accurately ~be clear your purpose is to highlight and foster common ground ~don’t judge either of the opposing positions ~give equal attention to both Readable structure (worth 10%)95 ~thesis and forecasting statement/s (saying that in the face of disagreement common ground exists) ~topic sentences for paragraphs ~consistent labels for the opposing positions (e.g. authors’ last names) ~transitional words or phrases Sentence-level issues (worth 5%)93 ~following the guidelines on style, syntax, and punctuation that I’ve covered in PP presentations Rulx Muller Malbranche Nathanael Tagg 06/03/2013 Eng. 101 Legalizing Prostitution Considered as the world’s oldest job, prostitution has hunted society for ages. In some culture, it is seen as taboo, while in the United States the debate of legalizing it is prevailing. As a fact, prostitution cannot be put aside, something have to be done about it. Therefore, people from different background want to convey their point of view by any means possible. Some individuals come to say that prostitution should be legalized because it is a consensus between two people, and therefore, it should be respected. While others advance the principle of ethics, values and morals. In any case, this debate is in course, and prostitution on the other hand is still practiced, legalized or not. In 2012, an article appeared in the New York Times magazine called â€Å"Legality brings protection and better care†. Chika Unigwe, PhD; the Nigerian-born author gives some of the reasons why prostitution should no longer be without law controls. She argues that where prostitution is illegal, women are more at risk of being violated by their customers, because they are by themselves; without help from any other. Cecilia Hoffman, Secretary of the Coalition against Trafficking in Women, wrote in 1997 a paper, â€Å"Sex: From Human Intimacy to Sexual Labor†. In this text she asserts that â€Å"prostitution  violate the right to physical and moral integrity† and also â€Å"the right to liberty and security†; therefore, it should not be legalized. Admittedly, Unigwe and Hoffman seem to be on different sides of the question. However, both share a common ambition, which is to protect women in general. Unigue states that, â€Å"criminalizing prostitution does not irradiate it†¦, it gives the customers in unfair advantage†. (Chika Unigwe, nytimes,com, April 19, 2012). From her point of view, the fact that we associate prostitution with crime and violence does not eliminate its existence. It reinforces the customers to take profit of the situation, knowing that it is a dirty game; therefore they should also play dirty. For Unigwe, legalizing prostitution will give women better advantages in this practice. Whereas Hoffman, who does not consider the advantages that would bring such legalization. She focuses instead in the consequences of prostitution in real life. She declares that â€Å"Prostitution violates the prohibition of slavery , of force labor and trafficking in person†(catwap.wordpress.com, Cecilia Hoffman, n.d).It is clear that for Hoffman prostitution have too much negative effects on women, that should not lead to its legalization. Unigwe continues to emphasize the benefits of legalizing this old practice by asserting that it would give support to women who need help in the business. â€Å"Pimp have these illegal prostitutes in their power because the women can find no resource to help† (Chika Unigwe, nytimes,com, April 19, 2012). According to her, the fact that women are suffering in this practice is undeniable, thus, their need for help is prevailing. The legality of prostitution, for the author, will protect the right for women to be safer in their practice, to have the laws and regulations as their backup in any case of attack or violation. On the other hand, Hoffman does not comply with this point of view; she belittles the practice of prostitution in itself. Conforming to her view point, prostitution is a set of violations of human’s right. â€Å"It violates the right to enjoy the highest standard of physical and mental health† (catwap.wordpress.com, Cecilia Hoffman, n.d). She implies the violence, diseases, unwanted pregnancies, and unsafe abortion, all part of the common problems encountered in prostitution. For this reason, legalizing this practice also means legalizing diseases, unsafe abortion and so forth, something that Hoffman would totally disagree upon. Besides Hoffman ideas, there are other points to denote. Unigwe would say that the rate of disease is high among the prostitutes because many of them do not have easy access to health care as the legal workers. â€Å" even though some charity organization provide health care for illegal sex workers, many of them are reluctant and fear to accept the help† (Chika Unigwe, nytimes,com, april 19, 2012). The fact for these prostitutes to be illegal, cause them to resort to stay in darkness in order to survive. According to Unigwe, there is a way to decrease the rate of diseases between the prostitutes, which is by making prostitution legal. Subsequently, they will have better access to health care; there will be no fear among them of being marginalized. Both Unigwe and Hoffman are aware of the consequences or effects of prostitution on women in particular. This shared value- women right prevails- constitute a common ground between the two sides. Both have a common preoccupation, but they have different ways of expressing it. Nevertheless, this common ground does not lead them to the same conclusion. Hoffman is totally against the legality of prostitution, considering it as a humiliation or degradation of women values, reducing them to â€Å"simple commodity† to be â€Å"bought and sold†. She stands against prostitution as a practice, and considers it as an aberration that need to be eradicated in our society; if possible. However, Unigwe is more open minded on the subject, while being against the problems encountered by the prostitutes. In contrast with Hoffman, she proposes the benefits related to such legality, both for the women and for society. She advances that:â€Å"women who work legally have better access to health care, protection against violent customers and protection against exploitation†( Chika Unigwe, nytimes,com, april 19, 2012). She also believes that society gains money from such legality, precisely through income tax revenues. In her point of view, this is a good approach to face the blatant phenomenon of prostitution. As two sociological active people, Hoffman and Unigwe are obviously emphasizing the need for women to be treated fairly well. Hoffman believes  that the female gender would be more protected and considered if prostitution’s rate was decreasing; thus legalizing it is out of her list. Whereas Unigwe, who consider the fact that there is actually prostitutes who are suffering in order to survive. Based on this, she thinks of the legality of prostitution as a way to help them in their cause. Although Hoffman and Unigwe view prostitution on different angles, they shared a key value that can probably lead them to a consensus in the future. Work cited Chika Unigwe, Legality Brings Protection and Better Care, The New York Time website, april 19, 2012. Cecilia Hoffman, â€Å" Sex: From human intimacy to sexual labor†, CATW-AP website, n.d.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Theories of International Financial Managemen Assignment

Theories of International Financial Managemen - Assignment Example With intent to increase cross-border trade for international expansion, nations have liberalized their cross-border trade regulations. Hence the world is said to have facilitated with effective circulation of ideas, languages and cultural ideologies. Countries opened their doors to each other and thereby entrepreneurs looked for opportunities even outside their home lands. This liberalization process was further intensified by the rapid advancement in telecommunication and transportation technologies which offered increased flexibility to day to day business operations. Apart from this, as described in the article International Financial Management (August 29, 2010), a series of financial innovations such as cross border stock listings, international mutual funds, currency derivatives, and multi currency bonds have also contributed to the development of international financial management. The practices and scope for domestic financial management and international financial management are entirely different. Although, the meaning and objective of financial management will not change in an international setting, its dimensions and ranges vary dramatically. This report will critically evaluate theories of international financial management and the extent to which each stands up in the real world. Major elements of financial management The management of business finance is a complex process as it plays a crucial role in each and every area of a business. For the successful operation of financial management process, three key elements have been included. They are financial planning, financial control, and financial decision making. 1. Financial planning As in the case of every management process, planning is an inevitable factor in the organizational financial management. It is necessary to ensure that sufficient fund is available at the right time in order to meet the business needs (The 100 times). An organization generally plans short term and long term financial programs. Short term funds are required to pay salaries to employees and to invest in stocks and other securities. On the other hand, medium and long term funds increase the productive capacity of the business for making business acquisitions. 2. Financial control Financial department is highly vulnerable to fraud. Hence every financial manager would implement ranges of internal check systems in order to check falsification of accounts and thereby fraudulent transactions of money. In short, the financial control element ensures the safety of business assets so as to comply with business rules and thereby act in accordance with the best interest of the shareholders. Financial decision making The important financial management decisions relate to investment, business financing, and distribution of dividends. It is the duty of the financial management to discover the most appropriate resource of money in times of contingencies. A most major financial management decision is whether the business profits must be retained as reserves or distributed to shareholders as dividend. This element is the focal point of the financial management process as this tool determines the degree of efficacy of business financing process. Domestic and international financial management These two concepts aim at the same goal but function differently to achieve them. To

Friday, September 27, 2019

20 paragraphs relating to the Rio Grande Valley Research Paper

20 paragraphs relating to the Rio Grande Valley - Research Paper Example This paper is going to focus on some of the natural physical features in the region of Rio Grande. The earth space pictures of Rio Grande shows that there exists only one major basin in the region. This is the Piceance Basin. This basin exists in the northwestern parts of Colorado. The Piceance Basin is a geologic formation. Its formation dates back from Cambrian to Holocene periods. It is important to note that the basins in the Rio Grande have large reserves of coal and natural gas. In addition, the basins contain oil shale reserves (Phillips et al, 73). This is very critical in the economy of the region. The extraction of such natural resources is important in industrial development as well as strengthening of the economy. This is because these natural resources are good sources of energy needed in many sectors of development in the region. Forests are some of the natural features found in the earth space pictures of Rio Grande. The picture shows that there is only one large forest in Rio Grande. The forests in Rio Grande is very crucial in modifying the ecosystem of the region. The Rio Grande National Forest is important in maintaining high diversity of species in the region. The pictures of earth space science show that several flats are found within the Rio Grande. The flats are natural phenomena that have certain roles in the region. In Rio Grande, there are a total of twenty four flats. Some of these flats include Dry Lake Flats, Big Park Flats as well as Corral Park Flats among others (Phillips et al, 78). Some of these Flats are found within areas suitable for hiking, bird watching as well as other activities. The earth space pictures shows that several lakes are found in the Rio Grande region. These lakes are important sites for several economic activities. They provide water necessary for irrigation purposes. In addition, the lakes are

Thursday, September 26, 2019

UN Convention on Genocide Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

UN Convention on Genocide - Essay Example The contribution of Raphael Lemkin is hailed as he was the leading force behind this convention and through extensive lobbying in which he made the word "genocide" an official word. The word genocide was rooted from the words "genos" which means family, tribe, or race, while "cide" stood for killing. Lemkin was of Jewish descent, and was greatly affected by the Jewish Holocaust. It is important to note that the Armenian genocide was the first annihilation that truly ignited his passion to raise awareness on genocide. Article 2 in the Resolution 260 (III) of document defines the acts of genocide as, killing any groups of people due to their nationality, ethnicity, race or religious group. Before the document there was no way to legally define what was considered genocide, and there was also no way to punish any person or groups of people for committing it, especially during wartime (Wilt 238). The document is important because it protects the citizens of every country involved with the convention from genocide. For example, Article 3 punishes any person who commits genocide, "whether they are constitutionally responsible rulers, public officials or private individuals". Another important point is Hitlers infamous genocide which contributed in shedding more lights on the acts of genocide that is why there was plenty of support from the United Nations for The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

High school Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

High school - Research Paper Example There are various phases in a person’s development and growth which are more memorable than others. For some, high school life is the most endearing due to the new relationships and experiences that occur at the opportune time. As adolescents explore the world and develop strong bonds with friends and teachers, it is recognized that level and depth of relationships differ according to formal or informal structures (Chapter 4: School and Classroom Environment). With regard to student-teacher relationships, some students have formal relationships with teachers, and some of them have informal relationships with teachers. Formal relationships between students and teachers exist when communication patterns and lines of authority are clearly established and enforced. As defined, formal structures observe â€Å"sets of rules and regulations that define the relationships between people and tasks, and determine the distribution of power† (Capra 104). In formal relationships, there are evident boundaries and communication is made on a professional manner. The manner of speaking, words chosen, topics of conversation are formally structured and focus mainly on academic performance and progress of the student. Likewise, even the way professors dress or be addressed by title affects the way students apparently perceive relationships as strictly formal (Sebastian and Bristow).

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Genetically Modified animal-to-human xenograft Term Paper

Genetically Modified animal-to-human xenograft - Term Paper Example The present article discusses the perception about xenotransplantation as an opening for a better future and the fact that for others, it signifies a move towards one more AIDS-like epidemic. The article discusses research, debate and also the decisions in this area of science. Xenotransplantation, as the name suggests, is a kind of transplantation that is performed between two different species; it encompasses transplantation of living cells, tissues or organs, usually as transplantation from non-human animal species into humans. This could be from mouse to humans or from pig to humans. The transformed tissue or organs are known as xenografts/ xenoplants. On the other hand, if the transplantation is performed between two similar species, then the process can be referred as allotransplantation. With the increasing population, there is an increase in demand for health care and facilities that performs these procedures. It is not currently possible to perform allotransplantations. Moreover, a great number of patients in anticipation of getting organ replacement die on before they get the alternative organ or tissue. There is an augmented demand for allotransplants of heart, kidney and liver, and the most feasible method sought to fulfill the enhanced demand is xenografts. This is of critical interest to those whose ailing lives are on the verge of death and who are still waiting for any donated organ or tissue. A survey was performed to take an assessment from patients regarding their understanding of types and techniques of transplant. The results display that around 75% of respondents knew about xenografting; of these 50% were ready to accept a xenograft for self and 43% for relative; 10% found a xenograft to be intolerable. On the other hand 40% were uncertain and wanted to know about the technology (Arundeii,, 1996). Only 27%

Monday, September 23, 2019

E-commerce Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

E-commerce - Assignment Example These pages can be viewed through an internet address known as uniform resource locator (URL). There are two main types of websites namely static and dynamic website. Static website offers limited opportunities for the clients or visitors control the information received. Dynamic websites on the other hand offers a dialogue platform between the buyers and sellers. Visitors or clients are informed to their specifications. This work is about alibaba.com. It entails the features that make it better than other electronic commerce website among other issues.Alibaba.com is a Chinese e-commerce website that provides a platform for online market place, payment platforms among other services. It is my favorite e-commerce websites due to the fact that it offers sale and purchase of a wide range of electronic products ranging from laptops, cameras, satellite decoders among others. It is simple to use with limited accounts verifications. Alibaba.com website has got several capabilities that favor the site from other competitors. The site contains contact information through which buyers and sellers can communicate. The contact information includes emails, phone numbers-both mobile and landlines. Further more it has social network tools like face book, twitter, YouTube, Google+ and MySpace among others which ease buyers and sellers interaction. Alibaba.com adopts different business strategies like operational business strategy which ensures; delivery of products to the buyer, operational electronic money transfer system, updated order list among other functions. Business unit strategy is observed by attractive advertisement and fair prices that attract and retain customers. A buyer pays the required amount through electronic money transfer platform, ‘alipay’ before goods’ delivery. Corporate business strategy applies with the website as different companies and individuals can do their business through the website. Security is a very important aspect in

Sunday, September 22, 2019

External Business Environment for the New Entrants Research Paper

External Business Environment for the New Entrants - Research Paper Example Changing demographics are again important because of the base of individuals who comprise the music industry particularly those belonging to electronic dance music (EDM). The audience including producers and disk jockeys fall in the age bracket of 13 to 35. Social Issues The shift in social life to digital space has impacted the music industry greatly with digital platforms like iTunes, Beatport, and other stores transforming the social life of avid music listeners and music makers. Competitors Competitors of my chosen record label, Monstercat, compete on the basis of content, artist or music which defines the various record labels apart from genres. New entrants New entrants into the music industry are quite frequent due to the emergence of various free online platforms like YouTube, Soundcloud, iTunes, and Bandcamp to name a few. Substitutes and Compliments Indeed there is availability of wide amounts of substitutes however fan loyalty goes a long way in maintaining consumer stickiness. Also, musical collaborations are now a common occurrence. Customers The customer’s loyalty affects competitiveness immensely as this is what provides support for the record labels in terms of sales. Questions 1. The record label I chose, Monstercat, has adapted to its external environment really well by responding to the changes that were needed such as maintaining most of their presence online so that they can connect with upcoming producers, artists, vocalists, promoters, and so on. Also, it has developed various instruments to allow it to release their music to millions of its fans online. 2. Monstercat has inspired a generation of avid and enthusiastic producers who want to get signed on the label. The label has influenced the external environment with its unique content and music that it releases on specific genres of EDM such as chillstep, trap, progressive house, and so on.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Three Dreams, One Future Essay Example for Free

Three Dreams, One Future Essay Closing my eyes, a quaint structure amongst a vast green field and a clear blue sky paints itself in my mind. On the wooden porch, it is the serenity of an elderly couple, gently rocking amongst a calm breeze, silently content in each others company that depicts the final years of my journey. Looking back then, I hope to have gained what I strive for today: the security of a successful career, the warmth in a loving companion, and the pride from cherished ones. Today, I awake to see my efforts directed at a single goal; being accepted into a prestigious university. This drive is emphasized by the illuminated prospects of what a successful career can offer, the doors it can open. Yet it also propelled by the momentum of witnessing the struggles of being chained to an inadequate job. A career is what I comprehend to be the code of the outcome of ones life, the security to your future and this monumental impact is why I aspire to achieve an accomplished career. What good is security if you have nobody to share it with? Finding this undisputable, indescribable, irrevocable love is not a meager endeavor or false hope, but rather a way of living. To laugh with freedom, live with dreams and wear your heart on your sleeve permits a life with great highs but also daring lows. Like the striking crash of tides, only a soul-mate is capable of drawing out such powerful emotions. Someday, I long to have experienced this brilliance in life. Life is beautiful but devastating. Too often do you hear the cries of famine, the shots of war and the agony of poverty. There is little in your control except for the ripple effect of your very own actions. If even for the briefest of moments, I am capable of igniting a smile on a loved ones face, I will feel joy. Perhaps it is selfish, but if my works and efforts have the influence to provide delight to others then I will feel a sense of honour. Because amongst the tragedies and anguish of living, I hold a key to bringing enlightenment and will undeniably treasure this gift. The promise of a bright career, passionate partner, and spreading happiness is what careens me to trek forward through this wayward world. If I can look back in time on that dainty porch, I will have know to cherish three dreams but one future; my future.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Specific Job Description And General Job Description Commerce Essay

Specific Job Description And General Job Description Commerce Essay General job des is best suitable if the single task has to be carried on by the group of people or if the same duties and functions are to be performed by multiple people may be at same department, place or at different places the best example may be the call canter executives or the customer support executives where as it may not the case in job des of specific nature General Job des may be for the lower level positions where the requirement is for huge amount of personnels or it may even be good for operational level. Whereas specific job des is for tactical and strategic levels General Job description may explain vision, mission, policies etc where as the later is position specific in an organisation Their may be group of people with same designation, salary ,roles and responsibility in general job des but the case may not be the same in specific job des specific job des may be required when the organisation wants to recruit the specialised person with specific skill sets 2. Suppose several people are employed in the same job as the one for which you are writing a job description. Would it be necessary to write a different job description for each person who works in the same job? In an organisation to develop the job description, it is necessary to study the competencies, abilities and skills that are required because when developing job description manager is supposed to make an analysis of job not the job holder of the position not the person, because all the people are supposed to carry on same function, has to achieve similar objective, it will also support you in evaluation the performance or performance appraisal, The training and development cost may be reduced The promotion structure and monitoring will be facilitated It will be advantageous in compensation management, declaring financial and non financial incentives The poor and the best performers may be well identified 3. Carefully follow a format for the specific Job Description when writing the job description for the job you selected. Make sure that you include in you job description the following elements: job description is an activity which will be based on the job analysis and it will be a document where filtering process will be undertaken as at first when I wanted to prepare the job description and wanted to list down the number of activities that are performed it has gone unto 43 then I have started clustering it under different headings therefore I have first started from macro then gone for micro, as already been mentioned in my previous explanation also that we have to develop job or position not job holder or person as the organisation will be stable and positions will be stable but it may be replaced with many eligible people so we designate power, authority accountability, and responsibility to positions and most importantly first the position is created then we will match with the person which is important function in job description The job description is developed to know why the job is to be performed, what are the task that are to be accomplished, and how it has to be performed THE DESCRIPTION FORMAT FOR HR EXECUTIVE Department : Human Resource Department Designation Or Title Of The Job : Human Resources Executive or HR assistant Job Summary :- the job includes carrying on the recruitment and selection for the organisation for which identify the potential sources from which the talent or potential candidates may be sourced, arranging the recruitment and selections. Coordinating with various departments and .forecasting the manpower requirement and coordinate and plan internal and external recruitment, maintaining of database of human resources Job duties and responsibilities :- The job responsibilities may include job analysis Manpower planning by collecting the data from all the departments of organisation Coordinating with all the heads of departments and collecting necessary details of requirements and eligibilities Manpower forecasting and planning Recruitment of candidates by internal and external sources Coordinating with all placement agencies and placement consultants Conducting interviews, review of application forms by various screening techniques Development and maintaining recruitment policy Work with accounts admin department for developing payroll Designing and conducting the induction and skill enhancement training program Reviewing and evaluation of employee performance and constant performance appraisal activities has to be carried on. All the other human resource activities also has to be looked after d) Job requirements :- Candidate has to be well versed with reading, writing and speaking English Person has to have in-depth knowledge of human resource management Should possess negotiation, counselling and motivational skills He has to have knowledge about International labour organisation rules and regulations Thorough knowledge in computers, web browsing and other packages of payroll management e) Minimum qualification The person has to have bachelors or masters degree in personal management, human resource management or any other HR degree from reputed university Diploma in computers Task 2 Clone or Complement? What to look for in a team In many organizations that have moved to a team structure, the team is the principal unit where work gets done. However, most organizations recruit and hire as though there was one job description and the team did not exist. The reality is that people have natural strengths or tendencies and therefore end up playing different roles on a team. For example, some people are naturally empathetic and focused on interpersonal issues. Others are focused on and most comfortable with technical aspects. Others like the excitement of identifying new concepts and solutions but arent cut out for dealing with the operational details needed to carry them through. Recent research has found that allowing people to play to their strengths can yield maximum performance and employee satisfaction. Critical thinking questions IF THERE ARE DISTINCT ROLES TO BE PLAYED ON A TEAM, HOW WOULD YOU GO ABOUT RECRUITING AND HIRING FOR THEM? The business world had made tremendous growth and development not only operationally but also strategically, due to the liberalisation ,globalisation and privatisation the whole world had became a global village ,therefore the need of an hour is the dynamism in operation and matching the trends with constant change for which their has to be the dynamism in the human resources as the organisation does not have any existence if there are no people which has been explained in the definition of organisation Further the recruitment may be by many ways which are as follows The internal recruitment process may be followed where the employees has to be motivated for facilitating in organisation recruitment process, the company may also declare some financial and non financial incentives to present personals (reference method) by this the company may have various advantages like Company may get the trust worthy people as they are been referred The new recruited will be knowing the policies and operations of organisation as referee might have updated him The cohesiveness among the team mates will be high as the are been referred by them only, the learning process will be comparatively faster The company may even have cost effectiveness as this process comparatively will cost less in monetary as well as risk terms The company may also hire the people from the channel member as they may be with good knowledge about organisation modus of operation The present employees working in an organisation on contract or temporary basis also may be hired The organisaton may go for campus recruitment where they may hire fresh talent as trainees where they have to be exposed to the concern teams, the students may also provided the internship or projects where based on their efforts ,ability and interest they may also be recruited The characteristics needed by individual team members depend on the team and the strengths and weakness of others who are on the team. In other words, the situation is much more dynamic than assuming that there is one static job with a single set of qualifications. How could you model or include this dynamic and interactive nature in the recruitment and hiring process? The company may follow as mentioned above and the referral strategy may be also be followed The company may focus on high level and professional induction training with both in house and on the job training methods One of the most advanced method may be Japanese method of life time employment where the candidates has to be hired from their schooling only, there fore the cohesiveness among members will be more ,they will be clear about career path etc The company may also hire some reputed placement consultants and take the help from employee clubs The organisation may also go for set up of its own college or make mou with some reputed university to impart the specialised knowledge of company its policies and procedure as done b mc Donalds and icici Team exercise As a team, identify the roles that you think are important for teams in the workplace. Identify the skills needed to perform each role. It has been stated in the book essentials of management that their are three major skills required in an organisation that has been explains as fallows Conceptual skills Human Skills Technical Skills TOP LEVEL MIDDLE LEVEL LOWER LEVEL The fist category of skills is the conceptual skills: the conceptual skill has to be in maximum quantum by top level and as we go down the level i.e at lower level it decreases The second category of skills is the human skills which are to be in equal quantum by all the levels Third skills are the technical skills which will be at high quantum at lower level and decreases when moved till top level Other skills required are as fallows profitable judgment knowledge about product both technical and non technical effective time managing skills planning and organizing skills communication skills computer and it skills problem-solving and decision-making team-working and developing/helping others energy, determination and work-rate steadiness under pressure leadership and integrity innovativeness ,adaptableness, flexibility, and mobility personal appearance and image appreciation and application of social responsibility, sustainability, and ethical considerations In addition to skills, a natural tendency or motivation to perform in a particular type of role can be critical. How could you measure the motivation needed for each role? How could you measure the skills needed for each role? Motivation is an ongoing process where the motivational needs of the employees change from time to time more so over it has been identified by great researchers like Maslow and Hertzberg who stated different motivational factors for a human being .as stated by Maslow who correlated the needs hierarchy the form of basic needs, security needs, social and love needs, esteem needs and self actualisation need where he explained there are different set of factors at each hierarchy. Which can be correlated as major motivational factors for which a manager has to do following To know the motivational factors of employees first the manager has to be motivated He has to be epithetic Study in detail the organisational goals so as to correlate with goals of employees Then understand what factors motivate them by judgment and experience as well as collecting information from employee itself Recognize that supporting employee motivation is a process, not a task Support employee motivation by using organizational systems (for example, policies and procedures) dont just count on good intentions The factors once identified by analysis ands reviewing job and job description they may be put on a structured or semi structured questionnaire, generally all the motivational factors will be qualitative factors therefore standard scales for measurement may not be used so develop own scale with open-ended, ranking, grading and other qualitative ways of questions the manager may use even attitude measurement scales like likert, thurstone, semantic differential scale etc. How could you effectively recruit for the various positions or roles? In a simpler words the effective recruitment starts with development of effective recruitment plan by appropriate feasting, perfect job analysis ands developing good job description, Present your recruitment and selection plan by preparing a report not exceeding e500 words. R-RESOURCEFUL E-ENERGETIC C-CHARISMATIC R-REALISTIC U-UBIQUITOUS I-INQUISITIVE T-TACTFUL E-EAGER R-RIGHTEOUS Be prepared there is an old phrase in management which says if you fail to plan then you are planning to fail. Therefore if the organized planning is done it will definitely result in reducing time and cost of recruitment at the same time tabbing high potential for which following are to be done Analyze market trend within your business and industry is a very important element of the planning stage. Yet a day is able to create a gigantic differentiation so plan to have a hoard of resources which you can instantly take from as soon as the need arises. There are usually three type of role you will apply in your industry: High churn role usually the least possible time to employ, but the very ften advertisement. The advantage of high churn functions is that you repeatedly get the opportunity to analyse new technique to well adjust your hiring method. This is the group of candidate that your ongoing recruitment drive should be target. There are numerous instance where organisations run recruitment campaign even when they have no vacancy. Medium churn roles these are the role which are seen less frequintly for additional vital part of your organisation. This could be a mid-level manager who leaves their subordinate with no one to report to, or a expert member of staff who has a exceptional skill set. The best way to decrease time to employ with these position is to put up a talent pool which you can contact when the time comes. combine this with a extremely targeted online recruitment campaign should bring you a good number of prospects of candidates to select from. Low churn roles For long term strategically important role which are much less often hired for, its not as much of important for you to fill up the role rapidly and added significant to identify the right person. However, there are still some things you can do to help drive the progression all along.recruiters usually work on commission only and you should be able to get often day to day reports on who in the business may be ready to make a move so when the time comes you know the best people out there to fill the departing shoes. Internal recruitment is your other option for filling a position quickly, although remember that shifting an employee into a new role will only open up a gap elsewhere. Strategy =2 measure trend in: external labour markets, Current employees Future organisational plans, General economic trends Æ’Â ª Predict demand Æ’Â ­ Æ’Â ® Forecast internal Forecast external supply supply Æ’Â ® Æ’Â ­ Compare future demand and internal supply Æ’Â ª Plan for short-falls or over-staffing Steps for recruitment Describe the work or the job Profiling the candidates Converse your job needs Decide precisely the methodology Important questions to be considered whether we have the requirement for the said job? What are the task involved in job? What are the skill sets to be possed by the person? What may be the sources of getting person How to call them to our organisaton ? Formal and strategic approach Man power planning and forecasting Detailed Job analysis Development of Job description Specifying the job roles and responsibilities Starting the Recruitment Conducting Selection process Induction and job offer Different ways of Job Analysis Developing the Questionnaire Conducting Individual Interview Observational method Judgement and Expert Analysis method Work Participation Critical Incident Technique Job Descriptions Job Specifications Elements of a Job Description Job title Department Location Reporting toà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Main tasks Staff responsibilities Rewards conditions Impact on others Qualifications Innate abilities Motivation Emotional adjustment Most Popular Methods Advertisement in local news papers Advertisement in specialist press Advertisement in national press Placement and Employment agency Putting Notice inside premises Job centres Education liaison Unsolicited application Careers service Head hunters Careers fairs Internet Word-of-mouth

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Marketing External Environments :: essays research papers

I ¡Ã‚ ¦m not sure if I am taking the right definition of  ¡Ã‚ §external environments ¡Ã‚ ¨ in my answer, but I will talk about them in the way I have learned about them before. There are always a number of external factors that affect customers, and if a marketing team is good they will take all of them into consideration. Demographics: Defined as: The characteristics of human populations and population segments, especially when used to identify consumer markets. I think this is one of the most important factors to look at because in take into account many things about the population including, but not limited to:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Æ’Ã ¦Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Race Æ’Ã ¦Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gender Æ’Ã ¦Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Average Income Æ’Ã ¦Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Location Æ’Ã ¦Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Population This makes a huge difference in marketing because marketing to middle aged Hispanic females may need a totally different campaign then elderly white males, although they may both be interested in the product. This is generally used in the initial stages of planning to decide if a certain area will even be profitable to market in. Political Factors: Depending on the political group of the area there may be bans on certain advertising or activities. Certain businesses may be supported more by specific political groups. For example a gun shop may flop in a more democratic area but be a huge success in a primary republican area. You could compare say, Texas and Massachusetts. In Republican Texas the gun ownership percentage is much, much higher then in Democratic Massachusetts. Economic Factors: This includes things like interest rates, exchange rates, government policies on taxation and spending, among other things. One of the most common examples of this is car dealerships advertising  ¡Ã‚ §Lowest Interest Rates Ever! ¡Ã‚ ¨ It may be much more successful to push a product more when interest rates are lower, and more appealing to consumers. Technological Factors: The technological world is booming, products are moving from Version 1.5 to Version 6.7 in a matter of months. With so much new technology being introduced it ¡Ã‚ ¦s important to remain user friendly, cost conscious, and efficient. Competitors: This one is huge. Companies and consumers alike need to be aware of the competing business in the area. Cost conscious consumers will look in flyers to see if Big Y or Stop and Shop has cheaper grapes, and the businesses need to be aware of this so they can appeal to the customer in a way the other business is not. If there are competing businesses in a specific area, you will RARELY see one advertise and the other abstain, for the simple fact that you need to do everything your competitor is doing and then some.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

John Steinbeck Essay -- essays research papers

John Steinbeck John Steinbeck was a famous American author who wrote from the 1920 to the 1940. Steinbeck was constantly moving across the country trying to succeed as a writer. John Steinbeck lived a life of constant up and downs, successes and failures before he landed on his feet and became a famous author. John Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California on February 27, 1902. He was the only son and the third child of John Ernst Steinbeck and Olive Hamilton. Steinbeck’s father owned comfortable Victorian house in Salinas. John’s father managed the Sperry Flour Mill. Things were pretty good for the Steinbeck, they were settled in a nice home they did not have to many financial problems, but then economic difficulties forced John’s father dismissal from the mill. Steinbeck’s father deiced to open a feed and grain store and go into business himself. The store struggled to survive and eventually failed completely. A close friend of John’s father got him a job as an account for the Spreckles Sugar Company. "Although he had a job, John’s father was extremely devastated by the lose of his business"(Stephen) "Encouraged by his parents John began to develop a love literature"(Morrow). At his ninth birthday John received a copy of the book Morte d’Arthur. This was the first book John ever owned. He later said it was a great influence upon his life. During his years at Salinas High School, John excelled in English. At...

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Essay example --

Post Impressionism Essays 1. Post impressionism is a term that is used to describe a group of late-19th century and early-20th century artists whose work helped art transition into a new era. These artist defied the naturalism of the Impressionist to explore color, line, and form. This rebellion led to the development of Expressionism. Generally, the approaches were so varied that it is difficult just to focus on one artist and their technique. One of the most prominent Post-Impressionist artists was Vincent Van Gogh. His work is best known for its rough ascetic and bold colors. Van Gogh favored fauvism, which was a movement that implemented vivid expressionistic and non-naturalistic color. Van Gogh’s color was typically saturated and arbitrary. Most of Van Gogh’s paintings show gestural brushwork and examples include: Starry Night and Wheatfield with Cypresses. Also, he often experimented with different perspectives. Another influential post-impressionist artists was George Seurat. Seurat’s main emphasises were surrealism and expressionism. Seurat used Renaissance techniques and styles, creating a hybrid approach to Post-Impressionism. This scientific, more disciplined approach is called Pointillism or Neo-Impressionism. Pointillism is characterized by applying many small dots of pure color so that they become blended to the viewer’s eye. The aim of pointillism is to produce a greater degree of luminosity and brilliance of color. With his new techniques, Seurat generally painted the middle class during their leisure time and his subjects include circus, parks, and harbors. Paul Gauguin was a leading French post impressionist artist whose focus was his imagination. He worked in a studio and experimented with color. His wo... ...rit of the dead, watches over her. Gauguin, in this painting, created a supernatural and fearful aura in this painting. Gauguin experimented with color to arouse deep emotion. Besides the upsetting color, the general composition of the painting is disturbing. The old woman in the background that is watching the girl is eerie. A painting that inspired The Spirit of the Walking Dead was Olympia by Manet. With the completion of Olympia, Manet had set a new precedent for the modern female nude. Also, Manet rejected the standards and challenged people’s morality with his painting. Gauguin's painting challenged society by its form. The most shocking thing about the woman depicted is her age. When this was painted, she was fourteen. Also, the body is disproportionate. An example of this is how her hands are larger than her feet and how her body is awkwardly positioned.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Example of Interpersonal Communication

Concept Application Paper Aside from food, water, oxygen and other practical needs, communication with the people around us has proven to be essential for our own well-being. The different types and styles of communication allow ourselves the opportunity to create and build relationships with the people around us. It is also the basis on how we define ourselves through self-image and self-esteem. Through social, inflated, and deflated comparison we shape ourselves into the image in which we feel would satisfy the people around us; how we think others want to see us.In more cases it is a negative thing as the true soul inside a person is usually too ashamed or scared to reveal themselves to the public. We then force ourselves to shape into an image we feel will please the people around us. Evolved from our life experiences, we set an imaginary guideline in our mind for people to be considered ‘normal’ based on our perception of how society should behave. We automatically isolate anyone who deviates from these â€Å"guidelines†; they might include a person from a different culture or someone who simply wants to express themself.It was our responsibility to investigate how society reacts to an adjustment in the social norm. In this experiment I wore a tank top, board-shorts, and flip-flops in which I enacted in unordinary verbal and non-verbal communication with the people around me. As a male in the American culture, I dress myself according to what I suppose is ‘trendy’ in my sub-culture. By observing a person’s patterns in the way they dress and how they act, it is possible to discover a person’s personality. An identity is created through our manners, appearance, and the environment we associate ourselves around.We pick and choose how we want others to see us in different situations, so of course no one would ever think of dressing out of their usual pattern for no apparent reason. However, the purpose of the expe riment is not to continue to carry on with daily procedures, but to deviate and record reactions and changes in behavior of bystanders. I devised a theory that I would be able to observe two sets of reactions, one from the people whom I share relationships with and random students whom I have never met before.People who have knowledge about my existence would be able to detect a change in behavior while a stranger would just consider their encounter simply as something out of the ordinary. I chose to wear clothing not typically suited for the weather; Corvallis was reaching mid 40os and I had decided to be dressed in clothes one would wear to the beach. I felt this was an appropriate change in behavior because it would not be following the usual guidelines of the social norm. Everyone had one or two jackets and long pants, setting the basic social code to follow.However, since I was not abiding to this ‘system’, I was considered an outcast or placed in an out-group of t he current social culture. Even if I were not doing an experiment and intentionally dressing this specific way, I would be relaying non-verbal codes to whoever saw me which in their opinion would be interpreted much different than what I may have meant them to be. It would all be a matter of opinion or relational communication between me and the people in the environment. The channels of communication would be through non-verbal/ non-vocal communication.Other channels would be invalid because I would not be communicating through other means including spoken or written words. However, fewer available channels did not result in any less interaction. In the experiment, it was interesting as the deviation from the social norm sparked two reactions in people whom either allowed this contact to prohibit them from verbally communicating with me or on the contrary, the change actually was a catalyst and started verbal communication as the main topic of discussion.This occurred in both group s of people whom I was acquaintances with and people I did not know. A friend who had happened to see me first as I left my room was slightly shocked and warned me about the weather. Although their tone wasn’t hostile, more trying to help, the message that I interpreted was â€Å"If you’re not going to change clothes you’re going to look really weird wearing that type of clothing and secondly, you’ll be cold for the rest of the time until you decide to change your mind. My reaction to this conversation was close to emotionless because I would have reacted the same and produced similar responses because we interpret any change in behavior as ‘not normal’. Walking to a dining hall outside in public, my first observation was receiving numerous stares from the people passing me. Through my analysis this was a form of intrapersonal communication because I decoded their body language with a certain meaning and message.By simple gestures of staring and changes in body language, it encoded a message of ‘out casting’ to the receiver solely based on the type of clothing I wore. I am thankful that I was not dramatically influenced by any of the responses and reactions I observed between my friends and the public. My analysis is these responses were forms of communication which easily could have been affected by culture and perception. People’s different interpretations would eventually lead to the shaping and defining of one’s identity through their behavior and appearance based on how they want others to see themselves.Although it apparent that media has a large influence on choosing how we present our public self, it may seem that the people around us also have a large influence as well. They might include significant others or just ordinary people whom we compare ourselves to in social comparison. This experiment was a great understanding of how some people automatically separate someone just by expr essing themselves. Society defines certain things such as fashion or behavior attached with the message, â€Å"follow the same guidelines or beware of being put in an out-group. Majority of people will be high-self monitors and follow the norm. Personally, I feel I am this way because of the need to feel belonging to a particular group or something. I learned that it is much harder to express one-self based on our own intuition of being ‘judged’ for what we do. By investigating how society reacted to an adjustment in the social norm, it was evident when I wore different clothing; the results when engaged were rather un-warming incidents of unordinary verbal and non-verbal communication.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Identification of food constituents in milk Essay

Objective †¢To compare and analysis the composition of two different types of unknown milk, K1 and K2. †¢To determine the differences of the fat content in milk samples, K1 and K2. †¢To compare the reducing sugar in the both samples of milk, K1 and K2. †¢To compare the protein concentrations in the both samples of milk, K1 and K2. Introduction Milk provides a useful dietary source of calcium, which is vital for the growth and maintenance of bone and tooth. Milk is the first source of nourishment as it played an important role in human nutrition. The constituents in milk that are vital in food preparation are enzymes, vitamins, pigments, salts, sugar, fat, and proteins. Different milk samples which contain different food constituents will have a different nutritional value respectively. Sudan (III) is fat-soluble dye used for staining of triglycerides (fat). It is used in the experiment to detect for the presence of fatty acids. It will appear as red globules if fatty acids are present in the milk sample. Benedict’s reagent is used to test for the presence of reducing sugars. The solution will form a brick-red precipitate when the milk sample contains reducing sugar (glucose, maltose, lactose.) Sugar that can form an aldehyde and ketone in the presence of an alkaline solution is known as reducing sugars. The Biuret test is used to test for the presence of protein. The biuret test is based on the ability of Cu (II) ions to form a violet-coloured chelate complex with peptide bonds (-CONH-groups) in alkaline conditions. In Biuret’s test (consist of sodium hydroxide and copper (II) sulphate solution),the solution will turn to purple when the proteins are present in the milk sample. Proteins are organic compounds important for growth and repair. Protein molecules are composed primarily of amino acids linked together through peptide bonds. Materials Copper(II) sulphate solution, unknown milk sample (K1,K2), cooking oil, distilled water, salad oil, Sudan(III), full cream milk, Benedict reagent, 10% potassium hydroxide, 0.5% copper(II) sulphate Apparatus Test tubes, plastic pipettes, cork, water bath Methods (A) 1. A clean test tube is filled until 1cm of the top with copper (II) sulphate solution. 2. A small amount of K1 is pipette into a clean plastic pipette and a drop is gently released into the copper (II) sulphate solution as shown in Figure 3. Another drop of milk is further released. 3. Then the pipette is withdrawn slowly without disturbing the copper (II) sulphate solution. The movement of K1 is observed carefully and the observations are noted. 4. The procedure above is repeated using new, fresh copper (II) sulphate solution, new clean glass apparatus and the sample of K2. Observations on the movement of K2 are recorded and any differences in the behaviour of the drops of K1 and K2 are noted carefully. (B) 1. 6 test tubes are obtained and numbered them from 1-6. 2. The materials listed in Table 1 are added. 3. The contents of each tube are mixed thoroughly. 4. The colour changed of the tubes contents are recorded. TUBETUBE SOLUTION 1.1ml cooking oil + 1ml distilled water 2.1ml salad oil + 5 drops of Sudan III 3. 1ml full cream milk + 5 drops of Sudan III 4. 1ml distilled water + 5 drops of Sudan III 5.1ml distilled water + 1ml cooking oil + 5 drops of Sudan III 6.1ml cooking oil + 5 drops of Sudan III (C) (i) Reducing sugar test 1. 2cm3 of K1 obtained is poured into a test tube and added by 2cm3 of Benedict’s reagent. The reagent with the K1 solution is mixed thoroughly. 2. The test tube is shaken occasionally when placed in the water bath with the temperature of 94á ¶ ¿c and left for 5 minutes. 3. The colour changed is observed and the observations are recorded. 4. Procedures 1-3 are repeated with another sample of milk, K2. The observations are recorded. (ii) Protein test 1. To 2cm3 of K1 obtained in a test tube, 2cm3 of 10% potassium hydroxide solution is added into it and the tube is shaken to mix the contents. 2. 0.5% copper sulphate solution is added a drop at a time and the tube is shaken continuously. The drops added did not exceed 10 drops. 3. Procedures 1 and 2 are repeated using another sample of milk, K2 in place of rest solution. Results A.(i) Type of unknown milkObservation K1Milk droplets sank in the CuSO4. (ii) Type of unknown milkObservation K2Milk droplets floated on the top of CuSO4. B. TubeTube solutionDescription of reaction BeforeAfter 11mL cooking oil + 1mL distilled water2 layers solution formed, oil floated2 layers solution formed, oil floated 21mL salad oil + 5 drops of Sudan III2 layers of oil and Sudan III droplets formed2 layers solution formed (slightly red), Sudan III floated 31mL full cream milk + 5 drops of Sudan III2 layers of milk and Sudan III droplets formedSlightly pink milky solution formed 41mL distilled water + 5 drops of Sudan IIITransparent slightly red solution formedTransparent slightly red solution, small black precipitate formed 51mLdistilled water + 1mL cooking oil + 5 drops of Sudan III3 layers solution formed, Sudan III at the top while oil at the middle2 layers solution formed (slightly red), oil floated 61mL cooking oil + 5 drops of Sudan III2 layers of oil and Sudan III droplets formedSlightly orange solution formed Table 1 Questions: 1.What is the rational of Sudan III is used in this experiment? Sudan III in this experiment is used for staining lipids or fats. Sudan dyes are a group of lipid soluble solvent dyes called lysochromes. Sudan III also used to color the protein bound lipids in paraffin sections. 2.Which test tube is i.Positive control? Test tube 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 are positive control. ii.Negative control? Test tube 4 was negative control. 3.Describe the chemistry of liquid test using Sudan III. Sudan III is used to determine the presence of lipids. It will stain the fat cells red. Sudan III is usually using in lipid test. First, the liquid being test and water are filled to a test tube about half full. 3 drops of Sudan III are added to test tube and being shaken gently. There will form a red-stained oil layer separate out and float on the water surface due to the presence of fat. C.(i) Reducing sugar test Types of unknown milkObservation K1Orange precipitate is formed. K2Yellow-orange solution is formed. (ii) Protein test Types of unknown milkObservation K12 layers solution of darker slightly purple milky solution and white colour milk is formed. K2Slightly purple milky solution is formed. Discussion In the part A experiment, milk droplets of K1 and K2 are released into the copper (II) sulphate solution gently. After released, both of the droplets are not dissolved in it. The K1 droplet slowly sank in the copper (II) sulphate solution while K2 droplet slowly floated on the top of copper (II) sulphate solution due to the different density. The density of K1 was higher than the density of K2 and copper (II) sulphate solution while K2 was lower density than CuSO4 solution. This experiment is used to determine the fat contained in different types of milk by the movement of milk droplets in CuSO4 solution. The higher the density of milk, the lower the fat contained. The results showed that K1 contained less fat compared to K2. Therefore, K1 was low-fat milk while K2 was full cream milk. In the part B experiment, cooking oil, salad oil, full cream milk, and distilled water were mixed with Sudan III in different test tubes for determining the lipid. Lipids are insoluble in polar solvent s for example water and can dissolve in non-polar solvent. Lipids are less dense than water and will float on the surface of solution. Sudan III in this experiment was used to colour the lipids. It stained the fat cells to become red colour. If lipid was presented, Sudan III will stain it and form red-stained oil. In test tube 1, cooking oil floated on the water surface after being shaken. In test tube 2, slightly red solution being observed after shaken showed that salad oil contain lipids. In test tube 3, the white colour full cream milk became slightly pink milky solution after added with Sudan III due to the fat presented in it. In test tube 4, distilled water formed a transparent slightly red solution after Sudan III was added to it. Sudan III was dissolved in distilled water but water is always negative control because there are only H2O molecules in it. In test tube 5, 3 layers solution became 2 layers solution that cooking oil at the surface. Oil became slightly red and Sudan III dissolved in oil. Sudan III is much more soluble in oil than in distilled water, so the distilled water still clear after experime nt because of Sudan III was absorbed by the oil. The last test tube which is test tube 6, the observation was similar to test tube 2 but it formed slightly orange solution which also contained lipids. Test tube 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 stained red showed the presence of fat while test tube 4 was the only sample liquid that did not stained by Sudan III which fat absent. In reducing sugar test, Benedict’s reagent was used. Samples of milk, K1 and K2 became orange colour solution when tested with Benedict’s solution and heated. The observation showed that there was reducing sugar presented in both two milks. The solution added with Benedict’s reagent will change colour from green to red depend on the concentration of sugar provided. Before heating, K1 and K2 were bluish milky solution because added with blue colour Benedict’s solution. The colour of the milk changed during heating in the water bath. During the heating section, both of K1 and K2 were changed to green colour and finally orange colour solutions were formed. K1 produced darker colour of orange than K2 and precipitate formed in K1 showed that the sugar concentration of K1 was higher than K2. The biuret test is based on the ability of Cu (II) ions to form pink or purple colour when attached with peptide bonds in alkaline conditions. This was used to test protein in milk K1 and K2. In protein test, both of two samples of milk formed slightly purple milky solution as a result of reacting with potassium hydroxide and copper (II) sulphate solution in Biuret’s test. The solution turned purple in the end of experiment indicated that milk contained protein. After 0.5% copper sulphate solution added to K1, it became 2 layers solution of slightly purple milky solution at top and white colour milk at the bottom. The different concentration of protein can show by observing the different level of purple colour formed. The slightly purple colour formed in K1 was darker than K2 showed that higher protein concentration presented in K1. Precautions: 1.Released the drop of milk inside plastic pipette at the center of CuSO4 solution to avoid affection of movement of milk droplets in part A. 2.Shook the mixtures with Sudan III by using stopper as it is toxin. 3.Carried out the Biuret test for proteins at room temperature as it will cause negative results. 4.Added 0.5% copper sulphate solutions not exceed 10 drops as it will cause negative results. 5.Handled potassium hydroxide carefully as it is caustic. Washed affected area immediately if it contacted with the skin. Conclusion The experiment identified the major food components in different sample of milk. The part A experiment indicated that K2 milk sample contained more fat compare to K1 milk sample. K1 was low-fat milk while K2 was full cream milk. The part B experiment was conducted to determine the presence of lipid by adding Sudan (III) into different test tubes. Sudan III will stain it and form red-stained oil. The result showed that Test tube 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 contains fat while test tube 4 did not contain fat. When tested with Benedict’s reagent, K1 milk sample produced darker colour of orange than K2 milk sample and the precipitate formed in K1 showed that the sugar concentration of K1 was slightly higher than K2. K1 milk sample formed more slightly dark purple solution than K2 when conducted in Biuret’s test. Therefore, it can conclude that K1 contained more protein compare to K2. References Websites †¢The chemical constituents of living matter. 2009. Retrieved October 27, 2012 from: http://voices.yahoo.com/the-chemical-constituents-living-matter-3856864.html †¢Analysis of the Chemical Components of Milk. 2000. Retrieved October 27,2012 from: http://uncw.edu/chem/Courses/Reeves/OnLineLabs/NonScience/9-milk%20lab.pdf †¢Experiment 3: Identification Of Food Constituents In Milk. 2012. Retrieved October 27, 2012 from: http://www.markedbyteachers.com/as-and-a-level/science/experiment-3-identification-of-food-constituents-in-milk.html

Litreature Review on Banking Essay

It was emphasized that the use of computers changes the processing, storage, retrieval and communication of financial information and may affect the accounting and internal control systems employed by a bank. The potential for human errors in the development, maintenance and execution of computer Information Systems may be greater than in manual systems, due to level of details inherent in these activities. Through audit reviews, a thorough look and understanding of IS in bank can be seen. The audit of IS would provide us general understanding of IS in bank, managing authentication of users, access control, data security, data integrity, audit 14 2. Literature Study and Analysis logs, testing, accounting entries, data migration, network and RDBMS security, business continuity and disaster recovery plans, hacking, identification of transaction for substantative checking, use of reports generated by system and documentation. The paper titled â€Å"Application of IT in Banking† by K. S. Rajashekara (2004), talked about impact analysis of IT on banking. The problem of doing proper impact analysis is due to difficulty of measuring output accurately when the quality of service is changing as a result of such factors as convenience, speed, and lower risk. Through IT, banks anticipate reduction in operating costs through such efficiencies as the streamlining back office processing and elimination of error-prone manual input of data. Owing to IT, bank can offer new products and services. Banks are able to develop and implement sophisticated risk, information management system and techniques with more powerful data storage and analysis technologies. IT has positively affected the stakeholders of bank like management, employees, and customers. Vasant Godse (2005) in paper titled â€Å"Technology: An Impact Analysis† talked about role of Information Technology in banking. Banks faced the enormous task of re-orienting their technology infrastructure towards such interactive decision support and information gathering tools, much different from transaction processing and final accounting. The impact of technology could be on relationship with information technology providers, organizational aspects, banker-customer relationship, control and supervisory aspects, new concepts and processes, which help in further gaining competitive advantage. 15 2. Literature Study and Analysis A paper titled â€Å"Information Orientation: People, Technology and the bottom line† by Donald A. Marchand, William J. Kettinger, John D. Rollins (2000), stressed upon the effective usage of information for business performance. It was stressed that IT improved business performance only if combined with competent information management and the right behaviors and values. The research was applied on banks. Banks were evaluated on three broad scales i. e. IT Practices (including IT practices for Operational support, IT for Business-process support, IT for Innovation support, IT for Managerial support); Information Management Practices (Sensing information, Collecting information, Organizing information, Processing information, Maintaining information); Information behaviours and values (Information Integrity, formality, control, sharing, transparency, proactiveness). Companies that incorporated a people-centric, rather than merely techno-centric, view of information use and that are good at all three information capabilities would improve their business performance. A paper titled â€Å"Understanding the impact of IT-based coordination on the performance of Information-intensive firms: A Gestalt approach in Banking Industry† by Yannis A. Pollalis (2003), moved towards the development of such an explanatory and predictive model of IT-based performance by distinguishing coordination) three that types impact of the organizational performance systems of integration (or nformation-intensive organizations: Technological Integration (i. e. the integration of various IT components such as data, applications telecommunications, and systems); Functional integration ( i. e. , the coordination of responsibilities and roles 16 2. Literature Study and Analysis across a firm’s value-chain activities between corporate and IT planning activities); a nd Strategic integration (i. e. effective decision-making at all levels, increased productivity and better return on investment). The organizations with coordinated elements (i. e. strategy, structure, and technology) will be more successful than uncoordinated ones. Banks were chosen as the context for the empirical phase of the study because of their high information intensity and their focus on customer service and cost management. The research indicated the existence of successful and unsuccessful patterns of integration, that is, certain combinations of technological, functional, and strategic integration might lead to better or worse performance. Strategic and Technological integration were found to be most important elements of success, which indicated the importance of consistency between echnological and strategic infrastructure. The paper titled â€Å"Learnings from Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Implementation in a Bank† by M. P. Gupta and Sonal Shukla (2004) attempted to highlight the learnings from CRM implementation in the banking sector. CRM systems were particularly relevant to ret ail financial services companies, allowing much of the management of the customer relationship to be automated with the objective of maximizing the profitability of individual customer relationships while minimizing the cost of managing those relationships. The study was supported by a case study of CRM systems in a major Japanese Bank—Bank of Mitsubishi and also a field survey of scenario in Indian banking sector. The various issues examined included organizational information, the CRM strategy, strategic changes resulting from CRM 17 2. Literature Study and Analysis implementation, implementation priorities for the banks and the factors indicating the performance after CRM implementation. The study revealed that CRM was gradually picking up and was definitely considered as a viable proposition by banks in improving services to their customers. One of the major challenges experienced during implementing CRM was resistance to change. To get CRM to work, high commitment was required in those who were implementing it. The paper titled â€Å"Impact of Information Technology on the Indian Banking Sector† by Harmeen K. Soch and H. S. Sandhu (2003) emphasized that impact of IT on banking was so radical that it would be a key determinant of success or failure in the industry, a key determinant of whether banks as a recognizable grouping continue to exist, and a key determinant of the differentiation between competitors in financial services.