Pms (Pre-Menstrual Syndrome) Defense Essays - Menstrual Cycle

Pms (Pre-Menstrual Syndrome) Defense The question has been posed, ?What characteristics of employees, other than those explicitly covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act, can employers consider when hiring, firing, or promoting employees. This is a question that has become critical to answer, as ADA claims exceeded 91,000 in number between 1992 and 1997. Of these claims, the agency discovered reasonable cause to believe that discrimination occurred in only 3.1% of the cases. Many of these claims were built on seemingly weak foundations. Actual cases of discrimination have been brought (and denied) on claims of disability due to myopia, body odor, infertility, and ?anxiety brought on by admonishment from a supervisor.? Considering the costs of defending oneself against a claim, how likely are firms to capitulate to the specter of impropriety? Put another way, even if a firm believes that a candidate for hiring or promotion is not qualified for advancement, is the possibility of the candidate raising issue under the ADA enough to scare the company into selecting them? This question becomes even more convoluted when the malady in question is a legitimately recognized disability, but is itself an offshoot of some other syndrome. The PMS Defense Pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS) affects nearly all women at some point during their reproductive years. Fifty percent of women suffer from PMS regularly throughout their lives, and as many as 10% of women seek medical help to alleviate the symptoms of PMS. While the question of whether or not PMS is disabling is a contestable topic, the symptoms of PMS are widely accepted as having a debilitating effect on one's life functions. These symptoms range from headaches and insomnia to irritability and fatigue and their negative affect on one's ability to work at peak performance seems to be a reasonable inference. You will have to search under many rocks to find a company that will discriminate against a candidate on the basis of her suffering from PMS. But it seems reasonable for a company to consider factors such as ability to get along with other employees, attendance record, and consistency of performance when determining (as one example) which candidate to promote to a managerial position. The underlying biology of PMS gives credence to claims of it as a disability. While there are some ?corrective steps? women can take to mitigate the effects of PMS (such as a well balanced diet or vitamin supplements or other medical intervention), there is little to nothing that can be done to do away with PMS altogether. PMS is caused by a drop in progesterone levels or an increase in estrogen levels at a relatively predictable period during a woman's menstrual cycle. Implications for employers PMS has successfully been used as a defense in a criminal case in at least one incident. A Virginia state court accepted a woman's claim that PMS caused her to ?become intoxicated more easily? and justified her hostility towards a Virginia State Trooper who had pulled her over for erratic driving. Her lawyer successfully argued that her PMS had caused her to become ?more irritable and hostile than other people?. Lets assume for a moment that this is a reasonable ruling by the Virginia court, and PMS can be considered a disability protected by the ADA. What are the implications for employers? What are the ?reasonable accommodations? an employer might be expected to take to ensure a fair environment? To illustrate the difficulty of this situation, let's consider an industry where human interaction is the predominant responsibility, such as a retail establishment. The primary responsibility of a retail establishment, such as a restaurant or hotel, is customer service. The fundamental requirement of customer service is pleasant human interaction. In order for an individual to represent a company well, employees must maintain a professional demeanor throughout their dealings with the customer. If a woman suffering from PMS is more likely to be impatient or hostile with a customer, does an employer have the right to consider that? In this environment where the most basic duty of the job requires interaction, moving the employee to a ?back-office? job might be considered onerous and unreasonable. There may not be a back office job available that fits the particular skill set of the woman in question. In a service environment

Bills Made Into Law essays

Bills Made Into Law essays Describe the process of how a bill becomes a specific law with specific attetnion to the hurdles that result in the death of most bills. Our government consist of three branches wich re the judicial legislative and executive. This branches of government , for the most part are the ones that maintian order in our country. Each branch is assigned to a sepcific task. for example the legislative branch, wich is made up of congrss, is responsible for making the laws. but how are laws made? Congrees has two annual sessions with in each term. During this sessions many bills are propsed . However oly about five to ten percent of all the bills porposed will pass as laws. As the steps abill must go through to become a law. The chances of it becoming a law become slim to none. first a bill is introduce by anone in either the senate or the house. in the house of reprsenatives the represenative signs his name on a bill and putds it on the clearks sesk or it in a box called the hopper. however, in the senat, it is usually introduced by the sponers from the floor. There after one must wait for the bill is then given a number (HR 253- Hr indicates the House of Represenatives) and put on the it to be put onto the agenda. The bill can be made public,wich pertains to public affairs or private whichpertains to a particular invidual. Then the bill is referred to a standing commitee, here the bill is heard by hearings. After the billl is heard it id gave to differnt committies. It could be given to many committies to be passed through multiple referral. Although through muliple refferel, it gives the bill toa chance to be heard by many peole , it takes along time becaue it goes through eveyrone and by the time it is done it could have been agrreed on in differnt ways. If this haapens members have to come together in a gargantuan joint meeting. The multiple referral does have an advantage becaue it lets all the views be heard...

US HEALTH POLICY Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

US HEALTH POLICY - Assignment Example This is where I belong, as my employer pays for my insurance cover. The US political system has several limitations, especially concerning its healthcare policies. The major limitation of this political system is that it locks out many Americans from health insurance (Fuchs, 2007). Before the coming of Obamacare, there was only Medicare and Medicaid. The working poor are largely ineligible for any of these programs due to their age and income. Most are at the mercy of their employers to insure them. Their only hope is in the non-group insurance market. However, the non-group insurance market is usually limited and its prices are way beyond the reach of the working poor (Gruber, 2011). Furthermore, it does not actually provide real insurance against illnesses due to its policy of pre-existing conditions exclusions. The responsibility of a health care administrator in a hospital is to ensure that reform is instituted in the healthcare sector (Betts, 1994). There is an opportunity for nurses to enact reform on healthcare in hospitals. This is because the provisions of the new laws effectively broaden the roles of nurses in advancing access to primary care and other health services (American Academy of Nursing, 2010). For example, Section 2951 authorizes Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Programs, creating opportunities for nurses to expand and enhance the Nurse-Family

English Composition Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

English Composition - Coursework Example On the other, human memory differs from computer memory. The computer memory requires hardware and software in order for information processing to take place. Human memory does not require any hardware or software. The computer memory stores information in a hard disk which can be affected by virus and have all information corrupted. The human brain is not affected, and it is difficulty to have the information stored in the human brain erased (Ullman, 2003). From the ideas generated from different texts and construction of outlines, it is simple to write a standard thesis. I will utilise the use of different information from different authors to come up with constructive ideas about the problem of study (Gundersheimer, 2011). I will also use the texts to contract a literature review which will help readers to understand other author’s ideas about the problem or study. From the material research, I will emerge with a conclusion of the thesis (Turkle,

Man in the middle and secrity in multichannel Essay

Man in the middle and secrity in multichannel - Essay Example Hence, the attacker makes two systems believe that they are communicating to one another while the attacker controls and modifies the communicated messages. The attacker achieves this by splitting the original TCP connection into two new connections and acting as a proxy where it can read, insert, and modify the data in the intercepted communication. The man in the middle is unauthorized and attacks in real time. The attack can occur in two ways. It can occur where the attacker controls a router along the normal point of traffic communication between two communicating systems. It can also occur where the attacker is located on the same broadcast domain with one of the systems.  The attacker uses several tools like packet creator, Ettercap, Cain e Abel and Dsniff that are efficient in LAN networks. The tools manifest Arp spoof capabilities that that permit interceptions. The man in the middle can attack and modify a HTTP because the HTTP traffic is unencrypted and contains no authen tication. It can also attempt to intercept HTTPS traffic by using a custom certificate. The attacker uses proxy tools like Paros Prox and Proxy Fuzz to interact with HTTP protocol (OWASP, 2009, p.1). The man in the middle attack takes advantage of weak network communication protocols to convince a host to route the information through the attacker instead of through the normal router. However, the man in the middle attack is also affirmative in developing a step of a web application and in creating Web Vulnerability assessments. Because of these attacks, the computer technological sector has derived various ways to secure to the communications in the systems in Multichannel and Multi-level Authentication security protocols. To ensure data integrity and originator authenticity between devices such as Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) whose owners has no past

Strategic options to globalisation

Strategic options to globalisation Different organizations around the world strive to expand and grow. Igor Ansoffs matrix is a tool that helps businesses decide their product and market growth strategy. Ansoffs product/growth matrix suggests that a business attempts to grow depend on whether it markets new or existing products in new or existing markets. The output from Ansoffs matrix is a series of suggested growth strategies that a set direction for the business strategy. They are as follows: Market penetration. Selling existing products existing markets. Product development. Selling new products to existing markets. Market development. Existing products being sold to new markets. Diversification. Selling new products to new markets. The report explores the strategies mentioned above in detail and provides examples of global firms that have used the strategies. INTRODUCTION Globalisation is the gradual integration and growing interdependence of natural economies. It allows firms to view the world as an integrated market place. Firms will use different methods to expand. METHODOLOGY The contents of this report were acquired by research, that is, by reading different books as well as the internet. MARKET PENETRATION This strategy applies to selling an existing product in an existing market. It is suitable in a growing market which is as yet not saturated. Market penetration seeks to achieve four main objectives: Maintain or increase the market share of current products- this can be achieved by a combination of competitive pricing strategies, advertising, sales promotion and perhaps more resources dedicated to personal selling. Secure dominance of growth markets Restructure a mature market by driving out competitors, this would require a much more aggressive promotional campaign supported by a pricing strategy designed to make the market unattractive for competitors. Increase usage by existing customers, for example by introducing loyalty schemes. . An example of market penetration is recognizing that software as a service can be a potent market penetration tool, Dell is assembling a services portfolio that now includes e-mail disaster recovery, spam/virus filtering and archiving via its messageOne acquisition.(www.soopertutorials.com). It is unlikely for this strategy to require much investment in new market research as it is likely that the firm will have good information on competitors and customer needs. The typical risk of market penetration is that it may lead to price wars with competitors with the same strategy and low pricing could be detrimental to the perceived brand value and to the company reputation. PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT This involves developing new products to sell in existing markets. It is usually employed with branded goods so that the qualities of the new product are linked to the customers confidence in the established brand. This strategy may require the development of new competences and builds on customer loyalty. New product development can be an amendment of existing products in order to produce products which are new to the market or it can totally be innovative. The Booz Allen Hamilton model outlines the stages of new product development as follows: IDEA GENERATION Ideas are collected from perhaps the sales force, distributors and customers. The company actively looks for opportunities, and new products can be produced in response to a perceived, or recognized demand. Ideas must be collected, considered feasibility and eventually passed to people who are responsible for screening. SCREENING The firm will set a certain criteria, for example the product must fit with the rest of the range; there must be a recognized level of demand; it must give a stated level of profit. Assuming some ideas meet the criteria, they are then passed on to people responsible for the next stage. CONCEPT TESTING This is not a product test but an idea test. The idea is taken to potential buyers as well as to the internal processing people to check on manufacture, packaging, distribution. OUTLINING POSSIBLE MARKETING STRATEGIES The results of the concept testing can help a company to decide just how it will market the product. Discussions made at this time depend a great deal not only on the results of the concept testing but also o the knowledge of the marketplace and the planning skills of the marketers involved. Knowledge of the marketplace is something which requires research. BUSINESS ANALYSIS It is here that potential profits are compared to the production and marketing costs to see if its worth proceeding. It is at this stage that products are often rejected as they do not demonstrate enough potential earnings in a given period of time, whereas given the appropriate support they may actually be products which could give huge profits over a longer period of time. PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT To begin manufacturing a new product is a risky venture. Because of this some manufacturers will choose to produce a prototype, or small batches, in order to test effectiveness before they give full commitment to production. The effort in producing in small quantities adds to the expense and time involved, not to mention the possibility of the competition becoming aware of what the company is doing. TEST MARKETING The product is introduced to a representative sample of the potential market. Although it may be expensive, it is better to use more than one testing area so that comparisons can be made. Different prices, advertisements, methods of distribution and perhaps even packaging may be used in different areas so that the company can see which methods are most effective. The problems that arise at his stage include: Buyers people often buy a product just to try it. They may like it and tell a researcher so, but will often revert back to their normal purchases because of brand loyalty. Distributors and suppliers they may be willing to give a new product exposure because of an introductory incentive, but once the incentive is withdrawn they may not be so willing to cooperate. Competition if they have relatively similar products, competitors may take defensive action and introduce promotional activity that will undermine the testing. COMMERCIALISATION This is the full scale manufacture and launch of the product onto the marketplace. If all of he stages have been carried out correctly, the product should have a good chance of success. An example of a firm that used the product development strategy is Hewlett and Packard who practiced allocating work time to encourage new designs. Another example is the Apple iPhone has been such a success and the company now dominates the smart phone world.(Michael Malone) The risks of product development are uncertainty of new technology, teething troubles of the new products and time pressure due to competition. MARKET DEVELOPMENT This involves offering an existing product in a new market. This strategy is used when a regional business wants to expand, or when new markets are opening up. Market development might take three forms: New segments. For example in the public services, a college might offer its educational services to older students than its traditional intake, perhaps via evening courses. New users. Here an example would be aluminium, whose original users packaging and cutlery manufacture are now supplemented by users in aerospace and automobiles. New geographies. The prime example of this is internationalization. The four risks of internationalization are commercial risk, currency risk, country risk, cross-cultural risk. When selecting an entry strategy, managers should consider the following six variables: The goals and objectives of the firm, such as profitability and market share. Unique conditions in the target country such as legal, cultural, economic circumstances, as well as the nature of business infrastructure, such as distribution and transport systems. The nature and extent of competition from existing rivals and from firms that may enter the market later. The characteristics of the product or service to be offered to customers in the market. The financial, organizational, and technological resources and capabilities available to the firm. The risks inherent in each proposed foreign venture in relation to the firms and objectives in pursuing internationalization. A firm can use the following strategies when entering new markets geographically. EXPORTING Exporting is the strategy of producing products or services (often the producers home country), and selling and distributing them to customers located in other countries. There are two types of exporting Indirect exporting which is accomplished by contracting with intermediaries located in the firms home market. Direct exporting that is accomplished by contracting with intermediaries located in the foreign market. Firms venturing abroad for the first time usually use exporting as their entry strategy. Exporting is also the entry strategy most favored by small and medium sized enterprises. Advantages of exporting Increased overall sales volume, improve market share, and generate profit margins that are often more favorable than in the domestic market. Diversify customer base, reducing dependence on home markets. It minimizes risk and maximizes flexibility as compared to other entry strategies. It avoids substantial costs of establishing manufacturing operations in the host country. Increases economies of scale therefore and reduces per-unit cost of manufacturing. Lower cost of market entry since the firm does not have to invest in the target market or maintain a physical presence there. This is how Sony came to dominate the global TV market, how Japanese automakers made inroads in the U.S market and how South Korean firms such as Samsung gained market share in computer memory chips. location to the rest of the world. The more successful managers use a systematic approach to improve the firms prospects by assessing the potential markets, organizing the firm to undertake exporting, acquiring appropriate skills and competencies, and implementing export operations. FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT This is an internationalization strategy in which the firm establishes a physical presence abroad through acquisition of productive assets such as capital, technology, labor, land, plant and equipment. Foreign direct investment is characterized by six key features. It represents greater resource commitment. It has far more taxing on the resources and capabilities than any other entry strategy. It implies local presence and operations. It allows the firm to achieve global scale efficiency, which helps enhance the performance of the firm. It entails substantial risk and uncertainty because establishing a permanent fixed presence in a foreign country makes the firm vulnerable to specific circumstances in that country. Investors must deal more intensively with particular social and cultural variables presenting the host market. Multi national firms increasingly strive to behave in socially responsible ways in host countries. STRATEGIC ALLIANCES Strategic alliances refer to cooperative agreements between potential or actual competitors. Strategic alliances range from formal joint ventures, in which firms have high equity stakes (Fuji-Xerox), to short term contractual agreements, in which two companies agree to cooperate on a particular task. Advantages of strategic alliances Strategic alliances facilitate entry into foreign markets. Alliances allow firms to share fixed costs of developing new products and processes. Alliances are a way of bringing together complementary skills and assets that neither company could easily develop on its own. Disadvantages of strategic alliances They give competitors a low cost route to new technology and markets. Unless a firm is careful it can give away more than it receives. JOINT VENTURES A joint venture entails establishing a firm that is jointly owned by two or more otherwise independent firms. The firm benefits from the local partners knowledge of the host countrys competitive conditions, culture, language, political, systems and business systems. When risks and costs of opening a foreign market are high a firm might gain by sharing these costs or risks with a local partner. A firm entering into a joint venture risks giving control of its technology to its partner. However, joint venture agreements can be contracted to minimize this risk. LICENSING A licensing agreement is an arrangement whereby a licensor grants the rights to intangible property to another entity (the licensee) for a specified period and in return receives a royalty fee from the licensee. Intangible property includes patents, inventions, formulas, processes, designs, copyrights and trademarks. High technological firms routinely license their patents and know-how to foreign companies. For example, Disney licenses the right to use its cartoon characters in the production of shirts and hats to clothing manufacturers in Hong Kong. Disney also licenses its trademark names and logos to manufacturers of apparel, toys and watches for sale worldwide. Coca-Cola has licensed its famous trademark to clothing manufacturers, which have incorporated the design into clothing. Many firms have made the mistake of thinking they could maintain control over their know-how within the framework of the licensing agreement. RCA corporation for example, once licensed its colour TV technology to Japanese firms including Sony. These firms quickly assimilated the technology, improved on it, and used it to enter the US market, taking substantial market share away from RCA. TURNKEY CONTRACTING This refers to an arrangement where the focal firm or a consortium of firms plans, finances, organizes, manages, and implements all phases of a project abroad and then hands it over to a foreign customer after training local personnel. Turnkey projects are most common in the chemical, pharmaceutical, petroleum refining, and metal refining industries, all of which use complex, expensive production technologies. For example, many Western firms that sold oil-refining technology to firms in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and other gulf states now find themselves competing with these firms in the world oil market. FRANCHISING Franchising is an advanced form of licensing in which the focal firm allows an entrepreneur the right to use an entire business system in exchange for compensation. The franchisor will often assist the franchisee to run the business on an on going basis. McDonalds is a good example of a firm that has grown by using franchising strategy. McDonalds strict rules as to how franchises should operate a restaurant extend to control over the menu, cooking methods, staffing policies and design and location. McDonalds also organizes the supply chain for its franchises and provides management training and financial assistance. Another example is the curves fitness center which was ranked the number two franchise in 2004 by the entrepreneur magazine. . DIVERSIFICATION Diversification is the name given to the growth strategy where a business markets new products to new markets. This has the advantage of preventing the company from relying too much on its existing strategic business units. Diversification might be chosen for a variety of reasons, some more value creating than others. Potential value creating reasons for diversification areas follows. Efficiency gains can be made by applying the organizations existing resources or capabilities to new markets and products or services. These are often referred to as economies of scope. Stretching corporate parenting capabilities into new markets and products or services can be another source of gain. In a sense, this extends to a point above about applying existing competences in new areas. Increasing marketing power can result from having a diverse range of businesses. There are two types of diversification these are related diversification and unrelated diversification. RELATED DIVERSIFICATION This is when a company develops beyond its present product and market whilst remaining in the same area. This form of diversification can occur by: Backward diversification, when activities related to inputs in the business are developed further backing the value chain. Forward diversification, when activities are further forward in the value chain. Horizontal diversification, when a company develops interests complementary to its current activities. An example, internet search company Google has spread horizontally into news mages and maps and other services. UNRELATED DIVERSIFICATION This is used to describe a company moving beyond its present interests, that is, it moves beyond its current capabilities and value network. Unrelated diversification is often referred to as a conglomerate strategy because there are no obvious economies of scope between the different businesses. Examples of unrelated diversification include: the easy Group which consists of easy Jet, easy internet cafà ©, easy car, easyValue.com and easy.com. Virgin media which moved from music producing to travels and mobile phones. Walt Disney which moved from producing animated movies to theme parks and vacation properties. The typical risks of diversification include It requires a company to acquire new skills , new technologies and new facilities Insufficient know how Insufficient management span of control May require risky acquisitions Loss of brand focus or credibility RECOMMENDATIONS Market penetration is generally the cheapest strategy to adopt. It is the least risky and is especially suitable for small and medium sized firms that may not afford to develop new products and/or enter new markets. Before taking up product development or diversification, a firm should ensure extreme research and development that the new product and/or venture is viable as it is costly to develop new products as new technologies have to be purchased and employees would have to be trained on the new practices. It takes time to be effective. CONCLUSION In conclusion it can be seen that global firms can apply any one of Ansoffs strategies in an attempt to expand and grow be it in their existing markets or new ones, and their current product offering or new ones.

Grapes of Wrath :: essays papers

Grapes of Wrath The Grapes of Wrath There's an old saying, "Blood is thicker than water." Well, nothing proves truer than the families in The Grapes of Wrath. When faced with hardships, people leaned on their kin for support and love, and in the worst of times would even turn their backs on those they had known for years to protect and provide for their families: ...Can't think of that. Got to think of my own kids. Three dollars a day, and it comes every day. Times are changing, mister, don't you know? Can't make a living on the land unless you've got two, five, ten thousand acres and a tractor. Crop land isn't for little guys like us any more. You don't kick up a fowl because you can't make Fords, or because you're not the telephone company. Nothing to do about it. You try to get three dollars a day someplace. That's the only way. (50) The Joad family is no exception. Their trials, tribulations, and broken dreams while suffering through the harsh realities of a fallen America only bring them closer together and remind the reader of true family values. When the reader is first introduced to the Joads, as a full family, one can sense the love immediately. "[Ma] moved towards [Tom] lithely, soundlessly...And her joy was almost like sorrow (101)." Even though she hasn't seen him for quite some time, and that may be the initial reason for her wonderment, she truely loves Tom and Steinbeck does an excellent job of portraying the emotions involved. Even when Granma and Granpa come into the house, the same emotions are evident, although the actions are quite opposite. Granma repeatedly "pu-raise[s] Gawd," while Granpa "walk[s] up and slap[s] Tom, [with] his eyes grinn[ing] with affection and pride." The reader knows the Joads can hold love for a person no matter how long he's been gone, or where he's been (and in this case, prison). Former Reverend Jim Casy is even accepted as one of their own when he arrives with Tom at Uncle John's house. Ma makes sure there is room on the truck for him and Tom calls him over as if he were one of the men in the family. "[Casy] knew the government of families, and he knew he had been taken