The nature of relationship marketing in Greek SMEs Essay Example

The nature of relationship marketing in Greek SMEs Essay Marketing is defined by the American Marketing Association as the process of planning and carrying out the design, pricing, promotion and the distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that will satisfy individual and organizational objectives.(Lancaster, 1998) A study by (Hogarth-Scott et al., 1996) examined how complex the marketing practiced in small business was and how it is used to strategically gain a competitive advantage over a competitor. Carson (1990) in a longitudinal study of small firms in Belfast area has made a strong contribution to the understanding of market practice of marketing in small firms and concludes that marketing is often seen as peripheral to small firms requirements. Research has found some small businesses use sophisticated marketing strategies and others use no marketing. Small business owners are seen as generalists and should not be expected to change to specialists in marketing. We will write a custom essay sample on The nature of relationship marketing in Greek SMEs specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The nature of relationship marketing in Greek SMEs specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The nature of relationship marketing in Greek SMEs specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer In their work Fitchew, Stokes and Blackburn (Jack, 1998) aimed to provide an understanding of what marketing means to small business owners and stated that small firms share a number of characteristics differentiating them from larger organizations. They continued by stating that empirical work suggests that these characteristics lead to a number of marketing problems. To illustrate their point they use the following factors as examples; limited customer base, limited activity, owner/managers marketing competency, lack of formalized planning and evolutionary marketing, and, innovation, niches and gaps. Jack and Bower (Jack, 1998) found that the firms they studied attributed their success to the product/service supplied, their willingness to adopt to and meet customers requirements, helping to build, maintain and retain customer loyalty and building a marketing strategy around their competitive advantage. It follows therefore that marketing is particularly relevant to the small business, the use and application may determine the winners from the losers. The relationship and affinity that many SME owners/managers have with their customer base has frequently been cited as an advantage of the SME sector. For instance Carson (1990) discussed the importance of customer relationships for the small business. Similarly Carson, Crombie, McGowan and Hill (1995) who implied that the best strategy a small business can adopt is to fully appreciate and exploit any existing customer base, prior to attempting an expansion of this base. Similarly, McAuley (Jack, 1998) discussed how important it is for the entrepreneur to be interested in the customer, developing a relationship and building on it over time, not just for the domestic market but also for the internationalization of the small business. This relationship between the firm and the customer is called relationship marketing Thus Shani and Chalasani (1992) define relationship marketing as an integrated effort to identify, maintain, and build up a network with individual consumers and to continuously strengthen the network for the mutual benefit of both sides, through interactive, individualized and value-added contacts over a long period of time Aims The aim of this project is to develop an explanatory theory that will associate certain factors to the effectiveness of relationship marketing in small business in Greece. It will seek to determine how relationship marketing can be practiced by small businesses. It will try to further understand the special features of relationship marketing implementation in small businesses. It will also try to highlight the importance of the entrepreneur in practicing relationship marketing. Research questions 1. If small business in Greece practice relationship marketing 2. How effectively do small business use relationship marketing in Greece? 3. How important is the entrepreneur in practicing relationship marketing? 4. Are there any other elements that need to be considered in relation to small business use of relationship marketing? Plan of Investigation Literature review Surveying 2000 SMEs in 1991 and 1995, the study sought to identify the particular factors which small firm owners-managers believe contribute most to their competitive advantage (Cambridge Small Business Research Centre, 1992; Kitson and wilkinson, 1996). In 1991, the main competitive advantage of small firms was found to be personal attention to client needs, although established reputation, the provision of specialized expertise and product quality were also believed to be important factors. In the marketing domain it is essential for managers and others to keep in close touch with customers to assess their needs and aspirations. It is also beneficial to maintain a long-term relationship with customers. Loyal customers who continue to purchase particular goods or services over time are very attractive to business. The costs of acquiring new customers is considerable and the latter are likely to be more fickle and responsive to marginal additional benefits provided by competitors. Long-term relationships generate a self-sustaining dynamic, which allows each party to weather the storms that arise between interdependent people. (Carson et al., 1995) In 1990s, the topic of relationship marketing has become one of great interest to both marketing scholars and marketing practitioners. In the increasingly mature and complex markets in which organizations are now operating, building relationships and sustaining then are frequently, ore important than customer acquisition. McKenna (1991) offers a more strategic view of relationship marketing by putting the customer first and shifting the role of marketing from manipulating the customer (telling and selling) to genuine customer involvement (communicating and sharing the knowledge). Berry (1993), in somewhat broader terms, also has strategic viewpoint on relationship marketing. He stresses that attracting new customers should be viewed only as an intermediate step in the marketing process. Developing closer relationship with these customers and turning them into loyal once are equally important aspects of marketing. Thus he defines relationship marketing as attracting, maintaining, and-in multi-service-organizations-enhancing customer relationships. A considerable amount of work has focused on the relevance and applicability of relationship marketing to all customers and suppliers as well as the limitations of relationship marketing. Blois(1996) examines the conditions under which a customer is willing to become involved in and then to continue a relationship. The customer must be convinced of the overall benefits of the relationship, so that the advantages outweigh the costs of obtaining similar supplies through discrete transactions. Some researchers have questioned whether relationship marketing practices benefit both customer and supplier. Worthington and Horne (1996) consider whether relationship marketing operates in a mutually beneficial way across customer-supplier with reference to the affinity card industry. Other researchers, such as Murphy (1996), have examined the financial services industry and found that both customers and suppliers benefit from relationship marketing. For the customer a long-tern relationship helps reduce perceived risk in purchasing financial services, whereas for the supplier it allows enhanced retention rates and therefore improved profitability. Other academic work by Palmer (1994) explores the role of relationship marketing in the marketing curriculum and the alternative perspectives of relationship marketing held by a sample of U.K managers (Palmer Mayer, 1996) Unfortunately there is a lack of research of relationship marketing in SMEs sector. In the vast majority of the academic literature we found out about the importance of relationship marketing in firms and especially in SME. But there is very limited research on how a firm can implement relationship marketing and relationship marketing techniques. In this study we will try to understand how relationship marketing is been practiced in the SMEs sector in Greece. Greece could be a very helpful example as personal relations are very important and quite different to U.K Also be aware that effective working relationships emerge: (1) when interacting parties communicate openly and regularly; (2) when a degree of trust develops between individuals and groups; (3) when the parties understand the viewpoint of their counterparts; (4) when non-coercive methods of influence are utilized; (5) when those who interact accept their adversaries have a legitimate right to express their point of view; and (6) when joint decision-making is neither unduly emotional nor hard-headed (Carson et al., 1995). Sample The sampling frame will consist of small manufacturing enterprises in the Attica district of Greece. As Athens, the capital of Greece, is located in Attica, this district contains a high concentration of small enterprises. An estimated population of 4000 SMEs in the district operating in a variety of different manufacturing sectors. ICAP (Greek Business Information Company) will be contacted to generate the sample required from their database. Through the use of stratified random sampling the population is divided into three strata of non-overlapping groups. These are based on the number of employees outlined in the EC February 1996 definition of small businesses. ICAP will carry out three separate searches, draw a random sample from each subset to form the total sample of businesses. Probability sampling will be used to answer the research questions by making inferences from the sample about a population. This sampling technique is used to obtain a representative sample. Overall research design A multi-method approach was felt to be the most suitable for this study as the in depth knowledge of social contexts acquired through qualitative research can be used to inform the design of survey questions for structured interviewing and self competition questionnaires.(Bryman, 2001). The use of qualitative methods would generate information on individual views and opinions and quantitative to facilitate theory testing. The issues of reliability and generability of qualitative research findings can be overcome through the use of quantitative research at the same time. Method-qualitative This was felt to be appropriate to the research strategy, as in depth understanding of a number of small businesses in Greece would be obtained. It would also enable the understanding of managers views and opinions of the implications of relationship marketing strategies. Interviews are the most appropriate method as they are insightful and able to focus on the relationship between marketing and small businesses. The disadvantage is the bias associated with poor questions, not objective interpretation of results and also time consuming. Interview Design The types of interviews to be used are in-depth, face to face as a natural conversation and personal contact can be achieved. They allow exploration, probing of interviewee and story-telling to generate theory. To achieve an equivalence of stimulus the same types of topics will be asked to all participants. The researcher will make sure that the interviewee understands any theoretical concepts used. The final questions will be formed after the literature review. Relevant information on the themes of the interview will be supplied to participants before interviews so they are able to gather appropriate information. This also helps to promote validity and reliability. (Saunders et al., 2000) Data processing and analysis Categorization of the themes and sub themes will be developed when reading the data to identify relationships and patterns. Categories are then named using existing theory and parameters will be implemented so no confusion of what is included. The categories will be analyzed to see how they fit together. Unitizing then takes place when the data is assigned to a category through the dissection of the transcripts. Hypotheses will be developed and tested to identify relationships between categories (Saunders et al., 2000). Method-Quantitative The most appropriate method is a survey. It will allow the collection of a large amount of data from a sizeable population in a highly economically way.(Saunders et al., 2000) It is used to describe population characteristics and to test practices on small business relationship marketing. Other quantitative methods are incompatible with the nature of research and are not selected. The data collection tools consists of questionnaire, structured observation and structured interviews. In using a questionnaire the data is in a standardized form and comparison can be made easily and quickly. Structured interviews and observations were not selected as it was felt that in depth interviews would generate richer information on the topic. Sample The questionnaires will be sent by post to the remaining business from the sample. Questionnaire Design In designing the questionnaire, time will be spent planing, collecting and analyzing the data required, as you are unable to use prompts to explore further and have only one chance to collect the data. Self-completion questionnaires will be used, as they are inexpensive. As the questionnaire is completed independently the answers will not be contaminated or affected by other peoples opinions. The owners of small businesses are unlikely to have assistants so it is felt that they will fill it in themselves. A disadvantage of a postal survey it is low response rates and incomplete data. This can be solved by attaching a covering letter to the questionnaire explaining the purpose of the study will maximize response rates and the importance of completing it along with a pre paid envelope. The questionnaire is designed with an attractive layout, clear instructions and a minimum number of questions. A reminder will be posted one week after the questionnaire to the sample. Data processing and analysis The closed questions will be coded at the design stage. Open questions will be grouped into categories and coded once the questionnaires have been received. A unique identification number will be assigned to each questionnaire to help when checking for errors after inserting data. The computer programme SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) will be used to process and analyze the data. The data is manually keyed and stored in the SPSS worksheet. The advantage is that data can be input quickly with few errors. In using the commands available statistical tests can be carried out easily and quickly. (Tukey, 1997). emphasizes the use of diagrams to explore and understand your data. (Saunders et al., 2000). The results can then be presented in the form of tables and graphs appropriate to the research questions. Ethical issues As an external researcher the main weakness is how to gain access to small business, as it could be difficult to negotiate and time consuming. To overcome this the selected businesses will be contacted by telephone and informed of the study and its purpose allowing them to agree to take part in the questionnaire and interviews. Managers will be informed of the value and credibility of the research. The goodwill of the organizations in allowing access will be relied on. A consent form will be constricted and signed by all those participating. All information will be anonymous, as the study does not need to name participants. Appropriate data protection principles will be put in place to maintain confidentiality and privacy. Due to the anonymous nature of questionnaire unique identification numbers will not be used.

Spanish American War essays

Spanish American War essays A number of factors contributed to the U.S. decision to go to war against Spain. Since the early years of the 19th century, many Americans had watched with sympathy the series of revolutions that ended Spanish authority throughout South America, Central America, and Mexico. Many people in the United States were irritated that the Spanish flag continued to fly in Cuba and Puerto Rico. The brutality with which Spain put down Cuban demands for a degree of local autonomy and personal liberty aroused both sympathy and anger. Support for the cause of Cuban independence had deep historical roots in the United States, and this cause became the stated objective of the war. However, I believe that the U.S. reason for going to war was primarily due to their the growing imperialism and Cuba s independence was just a good excuse for them to try to extend American influence overseas knowing that they would be able to defeat Spain. The United States was booming industrially and without a foreign market, the country would have been fully saturated and very little consuming could be done. Therefore, fighting Spain for a noble cause would make them look good as well as be able to force Spain to give up much of their territories for the US to make use of. This is exactly what happened after the US won the Spanish-American War. The Spanish withdrew from Cuba, leaving the island under temporary U.S. occupation. Cuba was given its independence as promised, making the US look like heroes, while Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines were ceded by Spain to the United States. Then on December 1898, the United States announced the establishment of U.S. military rule in the Philippines. The US tried to justify taking over the Philippines. They argued that the United States could not honorably hand the islands back to Spain because Filipinos were "unprepared for self-government" and the islands would simply fall prey to Germany or an...

TLMT313 Assignment 1 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

TLMT313 1 - Assignment Example Thurston Howell, was the in charge of the X-ray supply. Moreover, in relation to the case scenario, it has also been reflected that after the death of Mr. Howell, Mr. Rubble is having the option to opt for new supply as per his convenience and overall profitability of the healthcare. Mr. Rubble has noticed that Kodak is charging higher prices as compared to other suppliers. The key problem is that. Rubble is accountable for the authority for the selection of the suppliers. The alternative measures that Mr. Rubble can take in this underlining situation is that he needs to clearly define the problem that the pacific healthcare is encountering or may encounter in the future state of action. Moreover, being left as the sole authority of overall supply requirements of the healthcare, he could now freely sign the agreement with other suppliers of the X-ray sheets with regards to considering the current contractual agreement with Kodak company on the basis of his own individual decision mak ing aspect. Apart from that he and other higher authorities needs to determine and evaluate the products and services of Kodak in regards to quality, services, price, maintenance and other necessary equipments. The proper evaluation of the quality supplied in the previous years and current scenario must be evaluated with the proper measures. With regards to this alternative, the healthcare can significantly ask other suppliers to provide the sample, which the healthcare can evaluate with its requirement so that the best alternative gets selected out of the available alternatives. Furthermore, it is important to consider the most likely impacts of the existing alternative approach over the long term prospective impact. Nevertheless, the healthcare to stay with the supply of Kodak is also available to them. In the healthcare industry in order to effectively manage and improve the patient health conditions, it is quite important and critical to evaluate their

An analysis of an aspect of human culture from an anthropological Essay

An analysis of an aspect of human culture from an anthropological viewpoint - Essay Example It has further fostered the subordination of poor and developing nations by the rich and developed nations of the western world. This has lead to an environmental degradation and is regarded as a serious threat to non – western indigenous cultures and economies. This article further argues that the Western countries has set up international bodies like IMF, World Bank, United Nations and other donor agencies to control all major economic and political affairs prevailing in the rest of the world. This papers approaches this issue from the holistic and anthropological perspective which surrounds the economic and non – economic factors at the same time. Let us refer to the works of the famous economist and anthropologist Karl Marx. This great thinker anticipated disturbances and imbalances associated with the unfettered expansion of the global capital. According to Marx, societies go from simple to complex in a number of steps. The pre – historic human culture of th e Aborigines was at a lower evolutionary stage than the Western – European civilization. Similarly, during the cold war between communism and capitalism, the two opposite developing strategies were some form of Central planning and Western economics. Here, the Western developed economic nations with their capitalist approach managed to destroy the so called communist approach which were prevalent in the then U.S.S.R.

Treatment of Autism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Treatment of Autism - Research Paper Example It is shown by the fact that identical or monozygotic twins have more chances to get the disease than do the dizygotic twins or the siblings. Conditions affecting the language skills are more prevalent in the family of the patient. Other chromosomal and neurological disorders are also present in the family with autism. Other factors which can also prove causative include; Diet, changes in the digestive tract, metal poisoning specifically with mercury, metabolic disorders in which the body is not able to utilize the vitamins and the minerals and hypersensitivity to some of the vaccines. There are a group of people who are of the view that mercury is a part of some of the multi dose vaccines as thimerosal so in their opinion these vaccines can cause autism but this a misperception as The American Academy of Pediatrics, and The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has agreed to the fact that all the children who are currently diagnosed as autism’s patients, vaccination is not the cause of this disease in a single case even. It should also be considered that the benefits of the vaccination outweighs the disadvantages so vaccination should not be discontinued on account of diseases like autism as most of the vaccines are single dose prescription and thimerosal is not a constituent of any of the single dose vaccine. Treatment: B. F. Skinner who was a psychologist showed that the patients who are diagnosed cases of autism can benefit maximum from participating in Applied Behavior Analysis Training which is also known as ABA training; though there are other treatment strategies also available for the management of autism patients but ABA training proves to be much superior than the other treatment modalities. The cost of using this technique as the treatment modality should be brought into consideration before initiation of the therapy. ABA Training: It is also known as Intensive Behavioral Intervention. There are differences between these two kinds of therapy but most o f the parents as well as layman usually consider both of these as a form of intense treatment plan which primarily includes careful observation and studying the patient usually the affected child and the treatment mainly applies the principles of Operant Conditioning which was1st presented in the theories presented by B. F. Skinner. A study of the children affected by autism was carried out by Ivar Lovaas in 1980’s and it was evident from the results of the study that main principles of ABA can be used in a program designed to treat the patients of autistic disorders. This study showed marked improvement in the patients of autism if these techniques are used in a proper manner. There are many techniques which are currently the part of ABA management system and one of the principle techniques is Discrete Trial Teaching (DTT) which is used extensively nowadays. The main aim of this technique is to maximize the learning process in the affected children and it is useful in the de velopment of most of the skills e.g. cognitive, social, behavioral, fine motor, play as well as it can also be used to accelerate the ability of the children to help them at times. DTT usually involves the fragmentation of the main skill into several sub skills and then each sub skill is taught to the children intensely at a time. In actual practice, repeated sessions are planned with the child and involve prompting and then the prompt is faded to make sure the successful learning of that particular skill by

Prudhoe Bay Oil Field: Discovery, Formation and Impacts

Prudhoe Bay Oil Field: Discovery, Formation and Impacts The Prudhoe Bay oil field: The largest oil discovery in the USA The Prudhoe Bay oil field is located in Alaska on the North Slope. The onshore field spans 214,000 acres. Due to the immense size, satellite fields are established within the field. These extract smaller quantities of oil and gas. In total, there are an estimated 24 billion bbls of OOIP and 40 tcf of OGIP (BP, 2006). The National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPRA) is also in the North Slope, which is owned by the federal government. In 1944 the U.S Geographical Survey conducted an extensive exploration program on behalf of the U.S navy costing over $55 million (Morgridge, 1969). Seismic, gravity and magnetic surveys were completed and 3 oil and 6 gas reservoirs were found. Without this survey, there is little doubt this field would have been discovered so soon by ARCO and Exxon in 1968. This was followed by 8 years of legitimacy issues where surrounding lease owners including BP and Exxon resolved their equity participation for the future oil extractions. Production then began in 1977. Currently, BP is the operator of the Prudhoe Bay field and all satellite fields on the Prudhoe Bay unit. ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil have the highest joint percentage ownership of 36% each followed by BP (26%) and lastly Chevron (1%) (BP, 2013). The stratigraphy and structural formations made it possible for the reservoir to form. During rifting, rocks were uplifted which gave rise to an unconformity; these rocks were buried again, giving rise to an unconformity trap. Figure 1 shows the cross section of the field and the most important reservoir is found in the Sadlerochit group. The western boundary of this reservoir is sealed by the structural straddle in the upper surface on the reservoir. A stratigraphic trap seals the reservoir; this is an unconformable layer composed of a cretaceous mudstone. At the start of production the depth of oil bearing sandstone was 600ft, recently the thickness average is 60ft. (Jamison, Brockett and McIntosh, 1983, pp. 279–302) The deposition of the sadlerochit layer occurred under 2 separate conditions giving rise to an upper and lower sequence, containing different compositions. The main composition of the lower sequence ranges is clastic sediments, such as sandstone. This was derived through a northerly source, and crucially deposition occurred in a shallow-marine environment – the believed source of the petroleum. The sediments from the upper layer were derived from the south where non-marine alluvial complexes were present. Figure 2 shows the age of the reservoir is the Triassic age and visually shows the sadlerochit group and the different rocks present including the dipping that occurs. The Ivishak layer contains sandstone and has a slight dip of 2O south; this layer produces the largest proportion of the oil in the field (Erickson and Sneider, 1997, pp. 18–22). The permeability varies across the field. The Ivishak layer is subdivided into 8 vertical zones and in descending order these zones are 4B, 4A, 3, 2C, 2B, 2A, 1B, and 1A. Zones are defined by the individual petrophysical properties of each vertical section. The permeability in each individual zone varies considerably, for example in zone 2A there is a 100-fold difference in minimum and maximum values- 25md to 2500md. This difference implies that there is a vast change in the pore system, not the magnitude of porosity (Sneider and Erickson, 1997, pp. 23–30). Figure 4 shows the varying rock type and thickness, as well as the geophysical properties. For example, the low gamma ray count indicates the presence of silt and shale. Development of the field has been hugely successful. There were 25 billion bbls of oil, of which only 9.6 billion bbls was initially thought to be recoverable. This estimate has increased to 13 billion bbls due to technological advances in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and through gas reinjection programs (ConocoPhillips, 2006). Of these 13 billion bbls, 11.3 billion bbls of oil has been extracted. Production rates of oil began to exceed one million bbls in 1969 and peaked in 1987 to 1.6 million bbls a day (Alaska Department of Administration, 2013). Since 1991 daily output began to decline annually at a rate of 7-12% a year; this is shown through Figure 5 (Standing, 2000). Nowadays, the Prudhoe Bay field produces 271,000 bbls of oil a day. Miscible gas injection is a successful EOR method used in Prudhoe Bay. Miscible gas acts as a solvent, vaporizing the oil from the residual oil content, thus more oil reaches the producing wells (BP, 2006). Once miscible gas is injected, water is then pumped into the reservoir. This method increases efficiency by preventing gas channeling within the reservoir. This EOR method is known as water-alternating-gas. In 1983, the Prudhoe Bay miscible gas project began. The project aimed to optimise the oil recovery of the field by carrying out a number of trials where the amount of miscible gas injected was varied. Each trial was ranked in order of efficiency in terms of produced oil and in respect to the amount of solvent retained in the reservoir (Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, 1983). The most efficient injection ratio remained which is one of the reasons the ultimate recovery is around 60% of the initial reserves. Of this 60%, the miscible gas injection contributes up to 10% of the recovery in certain areas. This project occurred early in the field’s production increasing the oil production from the onset. Oil extracted from the Prudhoe Bay field is transported along the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS). The TAPS spans from the Prudhoe Bay field to the Valdez Marine terminal located 800 miles away; here up to 7.13 million barrels of oil can be stored which can then be loaded on tankers (Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, 2011). Without the pipeline, resources extracted from the North Slope cannot be monetised as the product cannot reach the market for sale due to the field’s location. The TAPS was the largest privately funded construction when built, costing $8 billion; since then, 16 billions barrels of oil has been transport to the Valdez Marine terminal (ConocoPhillips , 2014). However, the decline of oil output is soon to be an issue; with no investment, the minimum flow rate may occur as soon as 2045, which will lead to the shutdown of the TAPS. This is because, if flow rate is not achieved, corrosion and ice will occur to a greater extent causing the pipe to wrinkle and kink. Gas is just as important a resource as oil. Since a gas pipeline from the North Slope is non-existent; gas is not marketable as it cannot be transported away from the North Slope. Since startup, the majority of the gas extracted with the oil was re-injected into the reservoir to enhance oil recovery while some supports power the production plants. Gas and water are separated from the oil at a separation plant where the gas is then transported to the world largest central gas facility (CGF) that is located in Prudhoe Bay. The CGF can handle 9 bcf of gas daily and has the world largest smokeless flare where excess gas is burnt. The gas in the CGF is cooled and separated according to the size of the gas particles, the cooling facility alone costs $1 billion to build (BP, 2006). Most of the larger natural gas liquids are mixed with the oil and sent along the TAPS. The rest is mixed with methane giving a miscible gas, which is injected into the reservoir as an EOR method. The unused gas i s sent to the central compression plant (CCP), where it is compressed and injected into the reservoir to maintain pressure, which aids oil recovery. Consequently, since production the reservoir pressure has only declined by 1000 psi (4300 to 3300psi) (Weaver and Uldrich, 1999). The future prospects of the field are less promising due to the depletion of the oil. However, these prospects can be restored if the Alaskan gas pipeline is approved. The Alaska liquefied natural gas project (LNG) would be one of the world’s largest construction projects with estimated costs of $45 billion to $65 billion, funded by Exxon, ConocoPhillips and BP (Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects, 2014). The project includes an 800-mile pipeline shown in figure 6 spanning from Prudhoe Bay to Nikiski. LNG carriers would then transport the liquefied natural gas (LNG). The project includes a purpose built liquefaction plants and a gas purifying plant to remove carbon dioxide and other impurities. The pipeline will have the capacity to carry up to 3.5 billion cubic feet of gas, while the LNG plant will be capable of making up to 20 million metric tons of LNG a year (processing 2.5 billion cubic feet a day). This project would allow the gas extracted to be monetised and exp orted to countries with a free trade agreement with the United States. This includes South Korea, which is the second largest LNG importer (Hong, 2013). This project will increase the field’s economic outcome, attracting further investment. The productivity of the field is improved by establishing satellite fields. Figure 7 illustrates the 5 satellite fields. The Polaris and Orion satellite field produces the viscous oil in the formation that is difficult to extract at a depth of 4000-5000 ft. In comparison Midnight Sun extracts the hydrocarbon from a sandstone formation at a depth of 8000 ft. The Aurora and Borealis fields are established on similar formations. These fields combined contribute to around 30,000 barrels of oil a day (BP,2013). The satellite fields use existing infrastructure, which meant that the field was being optimised further by increase production while the initial costs were kept low. It is important to consider the impacts of oil and gas production in Prudhoe Bay. Approximately 2% of the land surface in the region has been altered due to the oil industry. Monitoring species diversity in the region has shown that there is little change due to this alteration. In fact, most animals use the oil field for nesting, breeding and summer forage. Some habitat has been lost which has resulted in some species being localised, however, there was no decline in population. This shows that the impacts of the oil industry on the North Slope are negligible showing sustainable development (Maki, 1992, pp. 1691–1707). Following the decline in production, exploration was renewed, which led to the discovery of two previously unutilised areas. The areas are in the west region of the field and the Sag River formation, which overlies the main Prudhoe Bay reservoir. Due to the potential of these new areas, BP has increased investment in Alaska by 25% to $1.2 billion. Part of this investment will be used to conduct a 190 square mile seismic survey and a new well pad. It is estimated that the investment may increase production by 40,000bpd, thus reduce the likelihood of the TAPS shutdown as minimum flow rate is easily overcome (Platts, 2014). The Sag River formation is a thin unexploited reservoir in which a 15 well test program will be conducted during 2015 and 2016. The success of this could enable a future 200 wells being built, this may yield 200 million barrels of oil once developed. The Western part of the field hasn’t been fully exploited yet with only the Borealis satellite field tapping in to a reservoir that is in a lower position than the main reservoir. Continuing west, the oil column reduces in thickness at times being only 30ft, this is in the Northwest Eileen. Horizontal drilling will be needed to maximize extraction of the thin oil column; this comes with the associated risks of water encroachment on top of the increased cost due to horizontal drilling (Bailey, 2013). Due to these issues, the decision to develop the Northwest Eileen is still in the pipeline and if approved would further increase production rates. To conclude, the possibilities and the history of Prudhoe Bay make it attractable to investors. Prudhoe Bay is a giant field where majority of the oil has been extracted resulting in a decline in production rates. The TAPS is vital for the success of the field and if minimum flow rate is not achieved then the oil can no longer be transported and sold. Investments to the pipeline will mean that minimum flow rate can be lowered extending the life of the TAPS. There are no plans of abandonment due to the likelihood of future proposals being successful. The liquefied natural gas project alone would be highly profitable and successful for investors as around 40 tcf of gas is still present. If the future exploration projects are successful in areas such as the Sag River formation then oil production will begin to increase. A successful future of the field is dependent of these tests but if encouraging, investors will be in a privileged position. Bibliography: Alaska Department of Administration (2013)AOGCC Pool Statistics. Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects (2014)Alaska LNG project. Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects. Available at: http://www.arcticgas.gov/alaska-lng-project (Accessed: 6 December 2014). Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Comnission (1983)PRUDHOE BAY MISCIBLE GAS PROJECT. Alyeska Pipeline Service Company (2011)The Valdez Marine Terminal. Alyeska 2011. Available at: http://www.alyeska-pipe.com/TAPS/ValdezTerminalAndTankers (Accessed: 6 December 2014). Arctic Gas (2013)Alaska natural gas pipeline projects guide, maps. Arcticgas.gov. Available at: http://www.arcticgas.gov/alaska-natural-gas-pipeline-projects-guide-and-maps (Accessed: 16 December 2014). Bailey, A. (2013) ‘BP looks to new development at Prudhoe Bay to help stem decline’, Petroleum News, August. BP (2013)Greater Prudhoe Bay. Available at: http://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/pdf/bp-worldwide/prudhoe-bay-2013.pdf (Accessed: 6 December 2014). BP (2006)Prudhoe Bay factsheet. Available at: https://dec.alaska.gov/spar/perp/response/sum_fy06/060302301/factsheets/060302301_factsheet_PB.pdf (Accessed: 6 December 2014). ConocoPhillips (2006) ‘Viscous oil the Slope’s next major proven oil opportunity’,Arctic Energy: For today and tomorrow. ConocoPhillips (2014)Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS). Available at: http://alaska.conocophillips.com/who-we-are/alaska-operations/Pages/trans-alaska-pipeline-system.aspx (Accessed: 6 December 2014). Division of Oil and Gas (1996) ‘Generalised North Slope Stratigraphic column displaying oil and gas reservoirs and associated columns’. Erickson, J. W. and Sneider, R. M. (1997) ‘Structural and Hydrocarbon Histories of The Ivishak (Sadlerochit) Reservoir, Prudhoe Bay Field’,SPE Reservoir Engineering, 12(01), pp. 18–22. doi: 10.2118/28574-pa. Hamilton, J. (2007) ‘The challenge of depletion’. Holstein, E. D. and Warner, H. R. (1994) ‘Overview of Water Saturation Determination For the Ivishak (Sadlerochit) Reservoir, Prudhoe Bay Field’,SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition. doi: 10.2118/28573-ms. Hong, C. H. (2013) ‘South Korea LNG Imports Climb 19 Percent on Higher Power Demand’, Bloomberg, November. Jamison, H., Brockett, L. and McIntosh, R. (1983) ‘Chapter 13 Palaeogeomorphic and Unconformity Traps’,Developments in Petroleum Science, pp. 279–302. doi: 10.1016/s0376-7361(08)70097-9. Maki, A. (1992) ‘Of measured risks: The environmental impacts of the Prudhoe Bay, alaska, oil field’, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 11(12), pp. 1691–1707. doi: 10.1002/etc.5620111204. Morgridge, D. (1969) ‘Geology and Discovery of Prudhoe Bay Field, Eastern Arctic Slope, Alaska: ABSTRACT’, AAPGAAPG Bulletin. doi: 10.1306/5d25cc57-16c1-11d7-8645000102c1865d. Platts (2014) ‘BP to hike 2014 Alaska investment 25% to $1.2 bil, plans new projects’, Bradner, T., February. Sneider, R. M. and Erickson, J. W. (1997) ‘Rock Types, Depositional History, and Diagenetic Effects, Ivishak Reservoir, Prudhoe Bay Field’,SPE Reservoir Engineering, 12(01), pp. 23–30. doi: 10.2118/28575-pa. Standing, T. H. (2000) ‘Data shows steep Prudhoe Bay production decline.’,Oil Gas Journal. Weaver, J. W. and Uldrich, D. O. (1999) ‘Optimizing Solvent Allocation in the Prudhoe Bay Miscible Gas Project’,SPE Western Regional Meeting. doi: 10.2118/54615-ms.

Legal Advice - Aqua Sciences, Inc. Essay -- Business Law

Aqua Sciences Inc. is a Miami-Beach based company that develops innovative water technologies and brings the water everywhere â€Å"that human beings live.† This company creates new technologies that extract water from the moisture in the air. Thus, the water can be found everywhere, even in low humidity conditions. The newest technology equipment already includes Emergency Water Plant – mobile enclosed self-sustaining unit that can produce 2,600 gallons of water per day without additional power (Aqua, 2012). The major initiative the Aqua Sciences Inc. plans to do is to produce new Micro Water Plants, Rooftop Oasis, and Water Farms. Micro Water Plant will capture the solar heat through the solar panels and use the solar energy for pumps and fans. Rooftop Oasis will be the movable water plants for private residences or commercial buildings. Water Farm will be a large scale water facility that will be able to deliver 100,000 gallons of water and more per day. All of these tree initiatives plan to be distributed in and outside of the United States. Aqua Sciences, as any other businesses in the same area, has to operate under many strict laws. Administrative law is the law relating to the powers and procedures of administrative agencies. In the case of Aqua Sciences’ initiatives, the most relevant laws would be those of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In 1970’s, the EPA received the authority for setting standards, giving permits, coordinated water quality programs, and ensured that the states enforced the national standards (Kochtcheeva, 2009). Under the EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) signed in 1974, the Water Farm and Micro Water Plant projects of Aqua Sciences would be considered as public water systems.... ...age, D. W. (2010). Managers and the legal environment:2010 custom edition (6th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Federal Water Pollution Control Act. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/laws_regulations/docs/fedwaterpollutioncontrolact.pdf Goldscheider, R. (2002). Licensing Best Practices : The LESI Guide to Strategic Issues and Contemporary Realities. Wiley. Kochtcheeva, L. V. (2009). Administrative Discretion and Environmental Regulation: Agency Substantive Rules and Court Decisions in U.S. Air and Water Quality Policies. Review Of Policy Research, 26(3), 241-265. doi:10.1111/j.1541-1338.2009.00381.x License. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/license New Water System Capacity Development Planning Manual. (2003). Retrieved from http://www.dep.state.fl.us/water/drinkingwater/docs/CDPlngManual403.pdf

What Is Strategy?

Today's dynamic markets and technologies have called into question the sustainability of competitive advantage. Under pressure to improve productivity, quality, and speed, managers have embraced tools such as TQM, benchmarking, and reengineering. Dramatic operational improvements have resulted, but rarely have these gains translated into sustainable profitability. And gradually, the tools have taken the place of strategy. As managers push to improve on all fronts, they move further away from viable competitive positions. Michael Porter argues that operational effectiveness, although necessary to superior performance, is not sufficient, because its techniques are easy to imitate. In contrast, the essence of strategy is choosing a unique and valuable position rooted in systems of activities that are much more difficult to match. In answering the question ‘what is strategy? ’, some theorists focus more on the role of strategy in allowing a firm to ‘position’ itself in an industry, hence to make choices regarding ‘what game to play’. Others focus more on the role of strategy in determining how well a given game is played. Strategy is about both: choosing new games to play and playing existing games better. One of the biggest disagreements among strategy researcher concerns the process by which strategies emerge. Some describe stratgy as a rational and deliberate process, while others describer it as an evolutionary process which emerges from experimentation and trial and error. Some place more emphasis on external factors, like the structure of the industry to which he firm belongs (e. g. the industrial organization approach), while others place more emphasis on factors internal to the organization, like the way production is organized (e. g. Resource-Based approach). Furthermore, some describe a relatively static relationship between strategy and the environment where firms respond to external conditions, while others describe a dynamic picture of competition, where firms not only are influenced by the environment, but also actively seek to change it. (e. g. he Schumpetarian approach). This feedback relationship between firm strategy and the environment is the focus of industry ‘lifecycle’ studies which look at the sources and effectrs of changes in industry structure. Porter(1996) claims that not all business decisions are strategice. Decisions can only be defined as strategic if they involve consciously doing something ‘differently’ from competitors and if that difference results in a sustainable advantage. To be sustainable it must be difficult to imitate. Activities which simply increase productivity by making existing methods more efficient (‘operational efficiency’) are not strategic since they can be easily copied by others. Although a firm must engage in both types of activiteis, it is strategic activies that will allow it to develop a sustainable superior performance. One of the factors that renders strategies hard to imitate, hence unique, is that they are the result of a complex interaction between diffenrent activities, which is not reducible to the sum of the indicidual activities. It is this synergy between activities that produces value, not the activities in themselves. Whittingtton(2001) introduces us to four different perspectives on stragey: the classical perspective, the evolutionary persperctive, the processual perspective and the systemic perspective. The classical perspective assumes that the manger has near to complete control over how to allocate the internal and external resources of the firm, and can thus manipulate the internal organization of the firm to better suit these objectives. In this view, strategic behaviour is guided by rationality, opportunism and self-interest. The evolutionary perspective places emphasis on behacioural differences between firm (e. g. some firms base their descisons on rational caculations, others simply on imitaion) and on the market selection mechanisms that allow some firms to frow and survive and others to fail. This view causes the image of the heroic entrepreneur, centreal to the classical perspective, to fall apart: it is not one manager but the mix between the forces of market selection, random events, and processes of positive feedback that determine performance. The processual perspectiver holds that economic outcomes emerge from the interactions between individuals and between individuals and their environment. The result of this interacion is unpredictable because actions are often unintended. Humans are not perfectly rational but ‘bounded’ in their rationality. This, along with the fact that interaction between individuals is guided not only by self-interest but alsoby collective bargaining and compromis, causes economic dynamics to be fuzzy and unpredictable. The systemic perspective argues that each of the above approaches is characterized by a narrow view of the world: a Western, often Anglo-Saxon, view. The ‘rationality’ of a particular strategy depends on its specific historical, social and cultural context. Strategic behaviour is ‘embedded’ in a network of social relations that includes cultural norms, class and educational background, religion and so on. Hence what if labelled as ‘irraional’ behaviour in one context may be perfectly rational in another.

Biography of Robert Cavelier de la Salle, Explorer

Biography of Robert Cavelier de la Salle, Explorer Robert Cavelier de la Salle (November 22, 1643–March 19, 1687) was a French explorer credited with claiming Louisiana and the Mississippi River Basin for France. In addition, he explored much of the Midwest region of what would become the United States as well as portions of Eastern Canada and the Great Lakes. On his last voyage, his attempt to set up a French colony at the mouth of the Mississippi River met with disaster. Fast Facts: Robert Cavelier de la Salle Known For: Claiming the Louisiana Territory for FranceAlso Known As: Renà ©-Robert Cavelier, sieur de La SalleBorn: Nov. 22, 1643  in Rouen, FranceParents: Jean Cavelier, Catherine GeesetDied: March 19, 1687 near  the Brazos River  in what is now Texas Early Life Robert Cavelier de la Salle was on November 22, 1643, in Rouen, Normandy, France, into a wealthy merchant family. His father was Jean Cavelier, and his mother was Catherine Geeset. He attended Jesuit schools as a child and adolescent and decided to give up his inheritance and take the vows of the Jesuit Order in 1660 to start the process of becoming a Roman Catholic priest. By age 22, however, La Salle found himself attracted to adventure. He followed his brother Jean, a Jesuit priest, to Montreal, Canada (then called New France), and resigned from the Jesuit order in 1967. Upon his arrival as a colonist, La Salle was granted 400 acres of land on the Island of Montreal. He named his land Lachine, reportedly because it means China in French; La Salle spent much of his life trying to find a route through the New World to China. Exploration Begins La Salle issued land grants of Lachine, set up a village, and set out to learn the languages of the native people living in the area. He quickly acquired the language of the Iroquois, who told him of the Ohio River, which they said flowed into the Mississippi. La Salle believed that the Mississippi flowed into the Gulf of California and from there, he thought, he would be able to find a western route to China. After receiving permission from the governor of New France, La Salle sold his interests in Lachine and began planning an expedition. La Salles first expedition began in 1669. During this venture, he met Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette, two white explorers, in Hamilton, Ontario. La Salles expedition continued from there and eventually reached the Ohio River, which he followed as far as Louisville, Kentucky before he had to return to Montreal after several of his men deserted. Two years later, Joliet and Marquette succeeded where La Salle had failed when they navigated the upper Mississippi River. Upon his return to Canada, La Salle oversaw the building of Fort Frontenac,  on the eastern coast of Lake Ontario in present-day Kingston, Ontario, which was intended as a station for the areas growing fur trade. The fort, completed in 1673, was named after Louis de Baude Frontenac, the governor-general of New France. In 1674, La Salle returned to France to gain royal support for his land claims at Fort Frontenac. He was granted support and a fur trade allowance, permission to establish additional forts in the frontier, and a title of nobility. With his newfound success, La Salle returned to Canada and rebuilt Fort Frontenac in stone. Second Expedition On Aug. 7, 1679, La Salle and Italian explorer Henri de Tonti set sail on Le Griffon, a ship he had built that became the first full-size sailing ship to travel the Great Lakes. The expedition was to begin at Fort Conti at the mouth of the Niagara River and Lake Ontario. Before the voyage, La Salles crew brought in supplies from Fort Frontenac, avoiding Niagara Falls by using a portage around the falls established by Native Americans and carrying their supplies into Fort Conti. La Salle and Tonti then sailed Le Griffon up Lake Erie and into Lake Huron to Michilimackinac, near the present-day Straits of Mackinac in Michigan, before reaching the site of todays Green Bay, Wisconsin. La Salle then continued down the shore of Lake Michigan. In January 1680, he built Fort Miami at the mouth of the Miami River, now the St. Joseph River, in todays St. Joseph, Michigan. La Salle and his crew spent much of 1680 at Fort Miami. In December, they followed the river to South Bend, Indiana, where it joins the Kankakee River, then along this river to the Illinois River, establishing Fort Crevecoeur near what is today Peoria, Illinois. La Salle left Tonti in charge of the fort and returned to Fort Frontenac for supplies. While he was gone, Fort Crevecoeur was destroyed by mutinying soldiers. Louisiana Expedition After assembling a new crew including 18 Native Americans and reuniting with Tonti, La Salle began the expedition he is most known for. In 1682, he and his crew sailed down the Mississippi River. He named the Mississippi Basin La Louisiane in honor of King Louis XIV. On April 9, 1682, La Salle placed an engraved plate and a cross at the mouth of the Mississippi River, officially claiming the Louisiana Territory for France. In 1683 La Salle established Fort St. Louis at Starved Rock in Illinois and left Tonti in charge while he returned to France to resupply. In 1684, La Salle set sail from Europe to establish a French colony on the Gulf of Mexico at the mouth of the Mississippi River. Disaster The expedition started with four ships and 300 colonists, but in an extraordinary run of bad luck during the journey, three of the ships were lost to pirates and shipwreck. The remaining colonists and crew landed in Matagorda Bay, in present-day Texas. Due to navigational errors, La Salle had overshot his planned landing spot, Apalachee Bay near the northwestern bend of Florida, by hundreds of miles. Death They established a settlement near what became Victoria, Texas, and La Salle began searching overland for the Mississippi River. In the meantime, the last remaining ship, La Belle, ran aground and sank in the bay. On his fourth attempt to locate the Mississippi, 36 of his crew mutinied and on March 19, 1687, he was killed. After his death, the settlement lasted only until 1688, when local Native Americans killed the remaining adults and took the children captive. Legacy In 1995, La Salles last ship, La Belle, was found at the bottom of Matagorda Bay on the Texas coast. Archaeologists began a decades-long process of excavating, recovering, and conserving the ships hull and more than 1.6 million well-preserved artifacts, including crates and barrels of  items intended to support a new colony and supply a military expedition into Mexico: tools, cooking pots, trade goods, and weapons. They provide remarkable insights into the strategies and supplies that were used to establish colonies in 17th century North America.   The preserved hull of La Belle and many recovered artifacts are displayed in the Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin. Among La Salles other important contributions was his exploration of the Great Lakes region and the Mississippi Basin. His claiming of Louisiana for France contributed to distinctive physical layouts of cities in the far-ranging territory and to the culture of its residents. Sources Renà ©-Robert Cavelier, sieur de La Salle: French Explorer. Encyclopaedia Britannica.Rene-Robert Cavelier, sieur de La Salle. 64parishes.org.Renà ©-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle  Biography.  Biography.com.La Belle: The Ship That Changed History. ThehistoryofTexas.com.

The Bio-Legal Issues Surrounding Physician Assisted Suicide Essays

The Bio-Legal Issues Surrounding Physician Assisted Suicide Essays The Bio-Legal Issues Surrounding Physician Assisted Suicide Paper The Bio-Legal Issues Surrounding Physician Assisted Suicide Paper A most troubling issue in the bio-legal discourse is that of the so-called ‘right-to-die,’ which continues to receive debate in current medical and legal consideration. The concept of euthanasia implies that the dignity of human life may be compromised by the affliction of terminal illness, intractable pain or an incapacity to function without artificial life-support systems. Under this pretense, we are suggested to have an entitlement to choose a dignified passing rather than a prolonged suffering. This is an incredibly complex issue though, subject to variation based upon one’s ethical, biological and philosophical understanding of any given medical case. Ultimately, the exploration here will suggest that there is, among other defenses, a legal basis for the defense of physician assisted suicide which denotes that a failure to allow such is tantamount to a failure to relieve suffering where such is the only means that might accomplish such and a failure to apply the proper regulatory oversight to standards precipitating physician assisted suicide. In contrast, the sanctity of human life has for centuries been considered an objective fact of universal rationality, with great intellectuals such as Plato decrying suicide and any enabling of the practice as both existing in contrast with our rights of self-determination. This thinker is joined by most established religions, broad swathes of society and most of the highest offices of American governance due to a sociologically crucial interest in the sanctity of human life. In the last two years or more of executive-led religious indoctrination, it is important that one’s moral background not become the driving force behind the formation of legislative backing though. There is a clear duality in the debate, where beneath an explicit layer of semantic and legislative wrangling, there is an enormous religious subtext which calls into question the effectiveness of the separation of Church and State, as defined in the Constitution. With conservative lawmakers such as Samuel Alito and John Roberts ascending to the Supreme Court bench in the last two years, there is a certain thrust away from bioethical progressivism. However, such a reality is in clear contrast to the well-established virtues of a pragmatic protection for the right to such a decision as euthanasia. At the very base of the philosophical impulses in providing medical care, as set forth in the Hippocratic oath, is the function of relieving illness, injury, suffering and pain. This is the perspective which provided foundation to a perspective which found legal support in the last decade and a half. In 1994, the Oregon legislature passed Measure 16 of the state’s pre-existent Death With Dignity Act. Thus, now, â€Å"in Oregon, US, only physician-assisted suicide is legal, and this began in 1997. † (Pasterfield, 450) Designed to protect and ensure the medical rights of the terminally ill, the measure was approved by a very slim majority through public referendum, establishing a standard by which physicians may assist in the termination of life for patients who desire an immediate cessation of pain due to intractable and fatal conditions without fear of legal reprisal. One of the bill’s key segments, section 127. 885, indicates that â€Å"no person shall be subject to civil or criminal liability or professional disciplinary action for participating in good faith compliance,† with the conditions set forth in the measure. (Oregon, 7) This is to indicate that for physicians adhering to the parameters allowing for the administering of life-suspending procedures as set forth in the legislation, the State of Oregon may take no retaliatory action. Such legislation would be the first of its kind in the United States, though it has yet to achieve any genuine penetration to precedent on the federal level. Still, the ‘right to death’ movement, which has gained greater notoriety in recent decades than ever before, is informed by the premise that it is within the Constitutional body of rights for an individual to decide to terminate one’s own life. The purpose of this initiative has been to proliferate entitlement and access, to those suffering from intractable pain or illness, to those that might help them achieve death with comfort and dignity. Its supporters are typically those aligned with civil liberties organizations such as the ACLU. Likewise, many in the medical community view this is as a natural right which should be accorded to all patients, fundamentally reflecting one of the most basic freedoms regarding one’s own life. This speaks to one perspective on the capacity of this legislation to alleviate personal pain and suffering for those contained within Oregon’s public healthcare system. The terms of the 1994 legislation are quite specific in their delineation of preconditions required for the administering of a lethal injection using a legally controlled substance. These include multiple levels of physician and witness approval concerning the patient’s physical and emotional state as well as a mandatory waiting period during which the patient is enabled to reflect on the decision before reaching a final resolution. The helps to shape its effect as one which is beneficial only to those patients desiring its parameters, thus expanding the medical options available to those suffering from terminal illness. The legal implication of this legislation would be highlighted during the mid-90’s with the high-profile focus on ethical considerations entering the courts. The issue of physician assisted suicide attained its highest degree of public acknowledgement with the media-embraced case of Michigan physician Dr. Jack Kevorkian. Developing his practice around the provision of assisted suicide for those suffering irreversibly from untreatable medical conditions, Kevorkian ignited public controversy, with many viewing him as a champion of a theretofore untested Constitutional right and others still labeling him a murderer. It was his very publicly visible philosophy of entitlement which caused the state of Michigan to pass legislation denying his right to the practice, as well as retracting his license to practice medicine. This would help authorities, in nothing less than Kevorkian’s fourth trial, to place him behind bars for manslaughter. This would be consistent with the prevailing legal appropriation of his practice. Following the prohibition of physician assisted suicide in Michigan, other states adapted a similar strategy, with important distinctions and regulations being framed around the debate. For instance, a 1998 Supreme Court decision held a Washington State decision making illegal physician assisted suicide, likewise helping to clarify additional euthanasia related issues, concluding that it was lawful to end life-support systems even separate from the subject of physician assisted suicide. (Meisel, 1) For those in the ‘right to die’ camp, this would demonstrate a fear that prohibition against such practices as Kevorkian’s would undo the right for those on life-support, in a persistent vegetative state, to cease artificial life-functions. Indeed, this fear would prove somewhat justified by the celebrated recent case of Terri Schiavo. Florida Governor Jeb Bush intervened on behalf of the comatose patient’s parents to prevent the vegetative woman’s husband from having her feeding tube removed, which would have terminated her life. The governor offered a brief statement that indicated what he perceived as the legal crux of the matter, assessing that the â€Å"potential for irrevocable harm to Terri Shiavo is real and imminent. Even an erroneous decision not to terminate the withdrawal of sustenance results merely in the maintenance of the status quo. †(2). For precedent, the governor cited a court decision that captures current legal perspective in Florida on the debate: . . . the possibility of subsequent developments such as advancements in medical science, the discovery of new evidence regarding the patient’s intent, changes in the law, or simply the unexpected death of the patient despite the administration of life sustaining treatment at least create the potential that a wrong decision will be mitigated. An erroneous decision to withdraw life-sustaining treatment, however is not subject to correction. Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Dept. of Public Health, 497 U. S. 261, 283 (1990). † (Bush, 2). This legal intervention does not exist in the vacuum of constitutional law, as evidenced above. Instead, it casts a broad net of views on the matter, drawing the serious medical dissensions to such a terminal commitment into the debate. One of the primary impetuses for allowing the practice is the claim that a patient who is suffering from intractable and ongoing pain is in a state of such reduced quality of life that death is the only humane option. However, according to the state of Florida as represented by its governor’s actions, there are relatively few conditions of this nature which cannot be treated by current standards in pain medication. Still, it is particularly visible when one considers states such as Colorado and Oregon, that the governor’s behavior would be contradicted by legal standard. â€Å"According to the United Network for Organ Sharing, many states. . . follow the Uniform Determination of Death Act, drafted and endorsed by the American Medical Association in 1980. That act sets the ‘irreversible loss of cardiorespiratory or whole-brain functions according to medical standards of practice’ as the standard for declaring death. † (Auge, 1) The Bush administration’s conservative agenda has helped to return this issue to the legal spotlight. Though the current presidential administration has attempted on several occasions to undermine the Oregon legislation through its courts, the euthanasia of these individuals remains legal under state law. As recently as January of 2006, the Supreme Court upheld the still pertinent Oregon State law permitting the practice. In a 6-3 decision, senior justice Antonin Scalia offered the dissenting opinion, arguing that â€Å"the federal government has long used its powers ‘for the purpose of protecting public morality,’ and that Congress granted the executive branch authority to prevent assisted suicide. † (Christie, 1) It should therefore be evident that the intention of legal and constitutional efforts to provide protection for euthanasia is not to increase its implementation but to find appropriate parameters within which to protect the freedom of choice. The movement which favors an institutionalization of clearly defined euthanasia laws is guided by the need for a safer, better regulated and more readily available accessibility to the option. Bibliography: Auge, Karen. (2004). Deaths border now less defined. Denver: Denver Post. Bush, Jeb. (2004). Appellant, Case. : SC04-925. Schiavo v. the State of Florida. Supreme Court of the State of Florida. Christie, Tim. (Jan. 2006). Assisted Suicide Upheld. Eugene, OR: The Register Guardian. Keown, John. (2002). Euthanasia, Ethics and Public Policy: An Argument Against Legislation. University of Cambridge Press. Meisel, Alan. (2004). The Right to Die: The Law-of-life Decisionmaking. Aspen Publishers. Pasterfield, Diana Wilkinson, Clare. (2006). GPs’ views on changing the law on physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia, and willingness to prescribe or inject lethal drugs. British Journal of General Practice, Vol. 56, No. 527. Olevitch, Barbara A. (2002). Protecting Psychiatric Patients and Others From the Assisted-Suicide Movement. Praeger. Oregon. (2008). Death With Dignity Act 1994. The Oregon State Website. Online at oregon. gov/DHS/ph/pas/docs/statute. pdf. Young, Robert (2002) Voluntary Euthanasia. Palo Alto: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Online at http://plato. stanford. edu/entries/euthanasia-voluntary

Research proposal (add payment) Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Research proposal (add payment) - Assignment Example The main benefits of this topic and research is that it allows the managers of the 21st centaury understand how to motivate their employees based on the various theories that have been developed in the past. The main aim of this research is to use the knowledge gained from the past theories and to provide a clearer view to managers to help them be able to incorporate these theories into the current time in the corporate world. The research will also contain recommendations based on the various theories however will be a newer approach to fit into the current corporate world. Managing people at work is an essential element of any business. Human Resources Management is a specialised function by itself and requires to be managed with special care and attention. Employees are an asset to any company. Human resource management deals with managing these assets. Human resource management deals with ensuring that all the needs of employees are met and that the company receives the best from the employees. It is very important for the business to ensure that the employees that have been recruited are able to perform the duties both effectively and efficiently. The key ideas for managing people revolve around Psychology, Sociology, Unitarism, Pluralism, Contingency theory and Ethics (Buchanan and Huczynski, 2004). There are a number of different strands of thoughts in the field of motivation of employees. There have been several scholars who have developed a number of theories about the optimum ways to manage people at work. The dissertation will include the theories of many that will be discussed further. The management theories to a great extent provide a clear ground work of this provides a steady base for this study. This is majorly because it is essential to understand the theories of management before moving into the motivational theories. Management theories are in a number if ways the first and most essential elements of business which every

Coca-Colas New Vending Machine Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Coca-Colas New Vending Machine - Case Study Example I would recommend Coca-Cola to follow "price discrimination" strategy in such cases as: (1) different customer groups (lower prices for students and higher prices for business organizations); and (2) when a customer buys high quantities of a product. Pricing is a sensitive and complex decision area affecting sales, costs, and profits for both industrial and consumer goods. For consumers, price reductions and increases have symbolic meanings. A customer may associate a price reduction with a reduction in quality, the anticipation of new models, or even lower prices or poor market acceptance. Higher prices may indicate better quality, a good image, and good value (Das Narayandas 2000). Price discrimination is effective tool when it is applied to each individual consumer. For instance, if a buyer is willing to pay more for a product and receive exceptional quality, he/she should pay more. The second situation when Coca-Cola can follow price discrimination is when a customer buys products in large quantities. For instance, price reductions can be proposed to repeat customers and loyal customers. The third case when "price discrimination" is justified is when the company serves different customer groups.