Medical Equipment Inc

Medical Equipment INC Q1) No, Grover thought that he has a good understanding for the culture because he was raised in Saudi Arabia, but the reality is he grew in an expatriate compound with limited contact with the Saudi people or the Saudi culture. He went to an Indian school and then went to take his college degree in the USA. His internships gave him the opportunity to work in France and the United States. The internships prepared him to work in the field but Saudi business concept is foreign to him.Grover did not understand the Saudi culture and missed some critical points while he was trying to get the deal. He knew that relationships are important in making business in Saudi Arabia which is completely true. The problem was he tried to build relations with the wrong persons the foreign cardiologist, the Egyptian biomedical engineer and the purchasing manager, but he could not reach the purchasing director. In a hierarchy community as Saudi Arabia the purchasing director is the most important one to build a relation with he is the one who can give Grover the deal.Grover spent his time building relation with people who can’t help him with the deal. It was obvious for me that Al Humaidi was avoiding meeting with Grover and when he finally met him after approximately one month it was a formal conversion. I lived in Saudi Arabia for 9 years and from my experience Saudi’s only have a say in Saudi Arabia. Foreigners or non Saudi Arabs working there have no say when it comes to business deals.A Saudi will always prefer to work with an Arab like Najjar and not an Indian because of the language and religious similarities this may sound harsh but is true especially in a situation like this where Al Humaidi had established a long relation with Najjar. Q2) Bribe is never justified and it is unethical, unless you are working in a pharmaceutical company or in a medical equipment company. I am a pharmacist who worked in Egypt and lived in Saudi Arabia and f rom my experience that all the deals in this field need bribes.Bribes are not ethical at all but are a common practice in field of pharmaceutical and medical equipment companies. In Grover’s case it’s within company rules to offer a trip to a business customer to one of the showrooms to view and get more details regarding medical equipments latest software and technology. This can be considered a bride but it’s not as obvious as cash. Cash bribery’s is not allowed, and would be a mistake. The hospital that Al Humaidi works for is a government owned one with a large budget to work with so if Grover offered money this wouldn’t be viewed as an incentive to buy the medical equipment.In Egypt companies give the mangers of the client gifts depending on the field that the company works in and how popular and attractive the actual product being offered is. I remember a famous company that produces the devices that measures blood sugar level, in a way to pr omote its devices the company offered the product free to the physicians and the pharmacies with the strips needed so the physician can use it himself on patients or give it as a gift or use it in his clinic and the pharmacy of course will use it to measure the blood sugar level for the customer.The company will get double benefit, the physician and the pharmacy will advertise the product to the patient by using this device and the patient will be advised to buy one. Q3) Grover has limited options that may be acceptable. There are 4 options I see as possible the first one is to continue in his way of conducting business. Grover’s current plan of action is morally and ethically safe, will not break any rules of the company or of his conscious but he may lose the deal.The second option is to proceed with the trip offer which will give him a chance to win the deal and in the same time he can document it as a business expense so it will not look as a bribe. As a show of commitmen t Grover should accompany Al Humaidi to the trip to help build a long lasting relationship. By going on the trip with Al Humaidi he can try to secure the current sale and also build for the future by assuring Al Humaidi that Medical Equipment INC. will be ready to work with him and be there for support and logistical backup and no also provide the best, outstanding technology for a reasonable price.The third option is to create a plan B and try to secure a sale regardless of the size, just to try and get in good favor with Al Humaidi with a potential of future business. It seems that even with careful analysis and generating a sales plan that offered all the best equipment according to the hospitals needs; this was still not adequate to secure the sale. From what Grover knows now he can create a plan B and modify the list of equipment that is offered and tailor it to the needs of the engineering and cardiology department only.The ECG machine that is being offered is far superior to that of the equivalent product that Wilson’s is offering. Knowing this and already having established a positive relationship with Dr. Saxman, Grover can push the two products that appeal more to the hospital. If the desired sale of $725,000USD worth of equipment is out of reach, then Grover could go forward with plan B and put an emphasis on the two ranges of products that Medical Equipment INC. has the edge over.While implementing this plan Grover already knows he is in good place with the cardiology department and engineering department so he could meet again with the purchasing manager Sultan and persuade him to schedule a meeting between the cardiology, engineering department, Sultan and Al Humaidi to discuss the new plan. This way not only would Grover have the support of the department but he would have a Saudi in Sultan to help push this new idea. Al Humaidi will be still able to take the two devices from Grover and take the other devices the hospital needs from Najja r.In the case it was mentioned that the low or high estimation of the order is wrong and will result in losing the deal but in Grover case he make the right evaluation of the need of the hospital but he will provide just 2 devices of these needs and this is acceptable, during my work in a governmental institution that need medical devices I saw a lot of deals involve buying the needs of the institution from 2 and 3 different companies depend on the price and the quality of the devices each company offers. So it is not weird or strange to just provide part of the needs even when you can provide it all it depends on the situation of the deal.The One option that would cause him to lose the deal is to offer cash to Al Humaidi. For one Grover would not be able record the cash gift and it would be highly against company ethic code. If an unethical cash type bride was offered, Grover would not be able to predict the reaction of Al Humaidi and the deal could be lost and Grover could risk hi s job or worse be deported from the country. Q4) I think the best option is to go with the trip option. In my field of work in pharmacy I saw these trips happen a lot and it is a common practice in the pharmaceutical and medical equipment companies.It’s an acceptable way to close the deals and gives the seller a higher percentage of closing the deal. So I think this trip will give him a great opportunity to win this deal especially if he went with the director in it and build a good relation with him and at the same time Grover won’t risk his position in the company because it is not considered a bribe or unethical for the medical equipment’s company. If the trip did not secure the deal he can always use plan B which will be easier to use after the trip because of the good relation he built with Al Humaidi.

Philosophy as Metaphysics Essay

ABSTRACT: Philosophy works with special types of objects: the totalities. The basic characteristics of this type of object are their metaphysical, transcendental, and total character. The character of these objects determines the specificity of language and the methods of philosophy. The language of philosophy represents symbolic language; speculation is the basic method of philosophy. On the one hand, objects of this type emphasis homo sapien as essences capable of constructing such objects, which in turn assumes the ability of human consciousness to make synthetic acts. On the basis of philosophy as metaphysics, an original approach is offered which divides the history of philosophy into periods as well as providing analysis of different philosophical systems. Feature of philosophical activity, as against a science, is the work with special, not physical objects — the totalities, which are constituted by the philosopher. One of such objects is the world, and, in this sense, we often say, that philosophy is a wel-tanschauung (world-outlook) . Certainly, the world as some set of things can be studied by physics (sciences in a broad sense), but in this case a researcher can miss the point that the world is a totality, not just a simple set of things. As distinct from scientific study the philosophy takes its objects as the totalities, which the subject of knowledge cannot study as ordinary objects, because the including the learning subject character of these the totalities excludes any standard scientific approach to knowledge in principle. Others examples of the above mentioned objects (the totalities) are Ego and God. Objects of this type (with some reservations) are a lot of human being phenomena, such as love, virtue, conscience, courage, bravery, understanding and so on. All these objects are those, that the precise fixing of objective criteria of their existence is impossible, it is impossible to create the high-grade theory of these phenomena (for example, theory of love or bravery), as they assume not only objective Contemplator (as it occurs in case of objects of scientific knowledge), but also postulate the Actor inside them, that causes essentially twinkling way of them being. (2) Exactly the character of these objects determined essential features of the philosophizing as metaphysical activity. The underlining of metaphysical character of philosophy objects dictates the special procedures of work with them, distinct from of methods of scientific knowledge. Metaphysical objects — constructs cannot be given in frameworks of physical experience; the study — constructing of these objects occurs by a way of thinking means, procedures of speculation. That is why the one of the most typical mistakes in the researching of these objects is procedures of naturalization metaphysical objects, i. e. consideration of natural (physical) analogs of these objects. For example, instead of work with the world (the world as totality) we consider the world as some sets of physical, chemical, biological etc. objects, and instead of the analysis of phenomenon of consciousness proper as metaphysical object the natural analog of consciousness — brain or mentality of the particular human being, we examine. Specifying the status of these objects, it is possible to tell, that the subject of the philosophy activity are metaphysical-transcendental objects, i. e. objects having the boundary status of their existence. The boundary character of these objects allows to specify Kantian distinction sensible phenomena and transcendent things in itself. Moreover, metaphysical-transcendental objects are located on border of other known distinctions of classical philosophy. (3) They are, for example, not subjective and not objective, not conscious and not material. It is interesting in this respect appearance of the first proper philosophical category of being, which, in fact, was entered Parmenid`s as boundary metaphysical-transcendental object being-thinking (in this case, alongside with Parmenid`s postulating his first thesis, entering a category of being, presence of the second his thesis, establishing the coincidence of an entered category of being with another category — the category of thinking). In some sense, metaphysical-transcendental objects are Husserl`s phenomenal, from which as a result of procedures of objectivizing and (or) subjectivizing the subjects and objects can be received, i. e. is entered subjective-objective distinction of New time. On the other hand, the boundary character of these objects allows still to work with them ( I specially avoid the term to learn, as far as these procedures are applied only for work with usual objects). Above this mode of working with them was named as speculation, which, as a result, the construction of these objects to occur by a way of thinking means. The creation such thinking construct is caused by that the person aspires to understand mode of functioning of the totalities, which surround him. And just this phenomenon of surprise before presence of such totalities is a beginning and basic nerve of philosophy. In this sense, philosophizing is possible only as an act of work of the beings, capable to postulate these totalities, due to synthetic acts (Kant), as being, perceiving the environmental world not in itself, but by means of symbolical function (Cassirer), through a prism of the transformed forms (Marx, Mamardaschvili). Another important characteristic of metaphysical objects is their total-making nature. It means, that the purpose of designing such objects is the attempt of understanding of some phenomenon of totality (for example, the world as whole, totality) in light of a question how (why) this phenomenon is possible?. The answer to this question assumes revealing mechanism of existence of this phenomenon. That is why it is important for the philosopher not to know some common aspect, that is allowed at a level of the primary, superficial description of it and other similar objects, but to know general (total) principle of functioning of objects of this type. For example, if a row of the plane polygons is given to us, a triangle(4) will act as general principle of this variety, because all others plane polygons can be given with the help of a triangle. Thus, philosophical constructs act as transcendental condition of seeing of other physical objects. That the phenomenon of seeing of a house was possible as some totality, it is necessary to postulate a row of transcendental conditions of this phenomenon, among them we can allocate necessity being of the house (Parmenid), recognition (and taking shape) this being by means of idea of home (Plato), fixing the house as an object of perception by some subject (Decartes) within spatial-temporary a priory forms of sensuality (Kant). On the other hand, a row of such philosophical constructs define a horizon, a way of seeing of subjects (Wittgenstein), associated with a certain epoch. For example, the mentioned above transcendental conditions of a phenomenon of seeing of a house define a way of seeing of subjects within the framework of classical philosophy. In this sense these constructs act as total-necessary cultural machines, that set the cultural way of living activity of the person and made imperceptible but essential background of his existence. For example, when a modern man looks at star sky, he sees not simply separate stars, but constellations — and it is impossible to explain to a person from other culture (and the more so, being, which is not having ability to the synthetic acts). Moreover, developing this example with constructing of constellations, it is possible to tell, that exactly it has made possible occurrence of such activity as an astrology. The above mentioned metaphysical character of philosophy objects causes the specification of the language and methods philosophizing. The language of philosophy has not signal, but symbolical character. Let’s stop on it hardly more in detail. Already science differs from the common sense description, because it uses some abstraction, ideal elements, which, in a common case, it is impossible to compare any certain objects of the physical validity. For example, as D. Gilbert says, in mathematics, those are language fictions, and one of the main problems of a substantiation of mathematics is either an exception these fictions, or imposing some certain restrictions — all that prevent the appearance of negative consequences, while using language fictions. Any language works with signs, besides that, any theory deals with mentioned language fictions (=  «symbols »), i. e. such kinds of signs, with which nothing corresponds in sensible reality. For example, in physics has concepts a material point, an absolutely black body, etc. They are often called as abstract — ideal objects, which turn out by a way of abstraction (idealization) from any properties of real physical objects. But in physics there are and more fictitious objects: cwarcks, for example, which not only is evident not imagine, but also until last time have acted only as theoretical constructs essentially of unobservable nature. In this case we can postulate a metaphysical mode of existence for these objects. It is important to emphasize, that these metaphysical objects do not exist in the same sense, as it is for the particular objects of a physical reality, such as table, chair,etc. The majority of the philosophy terms, its categorical apparatus have such symbolical character. It is impossible to give any referents of philosophical categories inside a physical reality. We can take as an example of such philosophical categories as being, consciousness etc. , for which we can somehow find certain physical analogues (for example, for a philosophical category  «being  » such analogue is the category  «substance » or matter). But there are more humanitarian objects connected with some features of a human being way, for which in general there are no analogues in a nature. These are, for example, concepts virtue, conscience, love, debt, bravery†¦ This specification of the philosophy language, which symbols indicate an existence of a special metaphysical dimension of a reality could be expressed by Kantian exclamation â€Å"Excuse me, but it is not, what I speak about (mean)! † in reply to German poet Schiller`s misunderstanding his categorical imperative. The metaphysical character of the categorical philosophical apparatus predetermines also specification of philosophical reasoning. The postulated non-sense character of perception of objects of the filosophizing assumes the special procedures of work, which were above characterized as a procedure of speculation. The main difficulty thus — is absence of a support on sensible analogy, which often helps us in daily life. The structure a reasoning about pure being (or conscience) is principle different from the reasoning about a tree, or a sex, or other objects of the physical world. Danger, which here waits us — influence of our vital experience, influence sensible hooks, which can destroy the ability for the reflex and philosophical analysis. To explain the idea about involuntary influence ours sensible apparatus, M. Mamardaschvili in the lectures about M. Proust, used as an example biblical commandment when they beat you on the one cheek — put another one as a vivid example of inhibition (Husserl`s  «phenomenological reduction ») of a standard human reaction (reflex), imposed to us by sense-figurative thinking (if somebody hearts you — reply with the same). Moreover, it is possible, that some other logic operates in area of speculative objects, distinct from usual, earthly logic. In particular, according to opinion of the Russian philosopher and the logic N. A. Vasiljev, validity of the logic law of excluded third, has purely earthly an origin and it is connected with primacy, after Aristotle, of individual existing things. (5) If we, following Plato, consider classes of subjects as primary (for instance, subject a class of tables), the law of excluded third will be incorrect, as the table as one of set of subjects of a class of tables can be simultaneously both white and non-white (in instance, green). Of course, here it is necessary to realize, that the opposite properties are attributed to the different individuals of primary â€Å"subject† — different things of the same class). The transfer of the point of view from single objects to classes of objects has allowed N. Vasiljev to formulate imagined logic with the law of excluded fourth. This logic in anything does not concede on its parameters to our habitual logic with the law of excluded third, but expands opportunities of our thinking. Within the framework of this logic the paradoxical coincidence between maximum and minimum, revealed Nikolaj from Kuza, does not cause surprise. The only acceptable procedure for understanding of philosophical categories within of some philosophical framework is the correlation of the different speculative (metaphysics) objects with the help of a method language game.

Vietnam and Gulf Wars Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Vietnam and Gulf Wars - Essay Example The decision to send U.S troop to Vietnam did not take into considerations the view of the public or the Congress. Negative impressions by the public and many political bigwigs persisted throughout the time that the U.S troops were in Vietnam. The public was up in arms at the amount of money that was used during this time of war in Vietnam. The losses were not only in monetary terms but also in the number of soldiers who perished (Rosenau 46). So many soldiers died and others were also injured. It was the first time that the United States had suffered a loss in war. The Vietnam War left an economic dent that was felt throughout the U.S. apart from that, shame and perceived weakness in military force and policies were exposed for the whole world to see (McNamara and VanDeMark 67). The eventual pull out of the force seemed like an acceptance of a mistake and defeat. The eventual effects of the Vietnam disaster were still lingering in the minds of the American public and political players. When the ‘free Kuwait† decision that ultimately led to sending of troops in the Gulf region was made, the American citizens were not very pleased. They criticized the decision. The aftermath of Vietnam had an effect on the foreign policy decisions and the reluctance of people to go through an ordeal like the previous one. The public saw it as another catalyst for an economic slowdown and massive loss of lives for an international situation that did not â€Å"scream† out for their participation. According to the public and some political players, it was not necessary to go to war at the moment leave alone going there with brimming confidence of a win. Since the US aimed at being the superior power, involvement in the war led to the breaking of relations especially after the US invaded Grenada and Panama (Murrin, et al. 844).   Countries such as the Soviet Union were silently not amused by the antics of United States. Slowly, U.S was creating a divide and even causing tensions with its long-term allies.  Ã‚  

Human Resource Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Human Resource Management - Essay Example According to the research findings the success of any organization depends on its human resource. Motivated human resource would strive to meet the goals of the organization while demoralized employees would conduct their duties in a clumsy manner. Every organization has to be sensitive to the human resource department because it is the motor engine of an organization. When human resource of an organization fails, the success of the organization is at stake. This means that the department must work in conjunction with other departments to realize the set goals and objectives. Developing appropriate policies in an organization motivates and provides an opportunity for employees of an organization to gain promotion. Australian company ninemsn provide a wide range of services to its clients in media practice. The company offers the following services to its customers, publishing of Magazine and TV brands, MSN online services, news Websites; Web based email services, entertainment among others. It also offers information in many fields such as health, business, lifestyle, shopping and travel among others. The company products attract large number of customers thereby influencing the number of workers that the company has to employ in order to meet the need of its customers. The labor force of the company includes IT technicians, sales executives, accountants, customer care executives, directors among others. Such labor force requires comprehensive human resource planning and management in order for the company to meet its goals. Scope ninemsn Company offers media services in Australia and beyond. This report focuses on human resource department of the organization. Methodology This report intends extracts company information from company website, on line information and newspapers. The aim is to identify internal human

Topic 7-1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Topic 7-1 - Essay Example Individuals are given an exercise in which they complete self-assessment forms and provide information on skills, competencies, attitudes, and interests. Career planning workshops form the next component of career development programs. These allow individual to share their self-assessment results with supervisors and colleagues hence get feedback from others and evaluate if their own plans are realistic. Individual counselling is the other crucial component. This element of the programs help individual employees in understanding their personal objectives, making changes where necessary and working to improve important skills and competencies. A very important component in career development programs involves organisational assessment programs. These are important in evaluating the potential of employees to grow in the organisation. Developmental programs on the other hand help organisations in developing their employees to hold future positions that may arise within. Job rotation, organisational trainings, seminars, mentorship and tuition refunds are some of the techniques used in developmental

Negotiation Strategies and the Ethics in the Movie Essay

Negotiation Strategies and the Ethics in the Movie - Essay Example Nick faces strong opposition from Vermont's Senator Ortolan Finistirre, who defends in the Senate the use a skull and crossed bones in the cigarette packs. However, he does his best even as his son comes to know of his immoral venture. Nick Naylor and his friends use many business strategies to survive in their businesses. Nick Naylor invokes many negotiations in line with his duty some of which are successful while others are not. Among the many strategies that Nick Naylor uses, there are negotiating strategies that are so dominant in the movie (YouTube Web). A negotiation is a process that involves two or more individuals with an aim of work together to formulate agreements about the issues in dispute. A negotiation strategy in this case is a pre-determined approach to achieve a desired goal or objective to potentially find and make an agreement or contract in a negotiation with another party or parties (Moore Web). Negotiation strategies also involve ethics that drive the negotiat ions and dictate relations between the negotiators. This paper will address the various negotiation strategies as used in the movie, thank you for smoking and the ethics of the negotiation strategies that apply in the same movie. ... Subsequently one is supposed to plan the best environment for the negotiations and draw a concrete program for the engagement. This procedure is very fundamental in any negotiation process though it varies from one dispute to another. In some cases it even not possible to follow this procedure subject to the urgency of the matter. However, where time allows, professionalism calls for the adoption of this procedure in negotiation. This way desired results have a guarantee. Planning is indeed, very important in implementing any negotiation strategy. One should prioritize his interests in a negotiation process and rank them accordingly. In addition, one should equip themselves with the knowledge about other negotiators. They should also consider the effect of money in a negotiation process. Then plan factual inquiries carefully and plan money moves based on negotiation objective principles (Cronin-Harris, Web). Indeed, among the many factors that can lead to a failed negotiation strateg y poor planning is very significant. Other factors like failing to pay attention to your opponent, paying too much attention to anchors, caving in too quickly, gloating, and thinking the pie is fixed come in handy to the failure of a negotiation strategy (Stanford Graduate School of Business Web). In the negotiation table, one should adopt given attributes to ensure that the negotiating parties focus on the dispute and you win the dispute. It is very significant that one separates the negotiators from the problem so that they can have an independent focus in addressing the dispute. For a winning situation, a negotiator should put informed emphasis on their interests in the dispute and not necessarily on the positions

Canadas Health Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Canadas Health Policy - Essay Example The Chapter discusses how social structure and healthcare policy correlate. How is the correlation of social structure and health Socioeconomical factors are deterrent of health. There is no question that income levels have direct link to health. For example, social classes of higher income are more likely to report their health as good. Those below the poverty level are more likely to address their health as poor. How does socioeconomical status affect people psychologically, physically, and emotionally These variables are referred to as stressors. Stressors are interconnected with the bodies physiological results its common knowledge that high levels of emotional issues are heavy influence on common diseases such as respritory illnesses and even worse illnesses. The example given in this chapter done by Kiecolt-Glaser, Malarkey, Cacioppo on page 169 discusses how abusive relationships between married man and women lead to decreased levels of proved decreased levels of health protecting hormones. This decrease was much more promanate with women then with men. The Social Gradient discussed on page 164 and beyond details into deeper theory into how social class influences health. This distribution of inequality of classes within a country has different healthcare reactions due to the actual country. Comparative examples of how social status affects countries would be alcohol related deaths in France, coronary diseases in Great Britain. Easily states, different illnesses in different countries. The Social Gradient is indirect support of the main theme of SES. Human's relative position in society is a factor but not as stated further into the chapter. Stressors have a larger impact of an individual's health. However, it's a well knows fact that higher income levels are more likely to care better and seek better levels of care. This Chapter addresses the basic fundamentals that create the demographic data needed in shaping Canada's Healthcare Policy. Economists value the state of the economy, culture, and distribution of wealth among the country when deciding in care coverage and reimbursements. How are the needs of the citizens distributed across the country This is just a surface scratch of how the Canadian government formulates and controls healthcare and provides access to all its citizens. Socio-economoical class fits inside both Interpretivist and Positivist Approach. If the premise for Interpretivist is the truth is experienced, then social experience needs to be witnessed first hand and the voices of the people of the community must take a very active role in forming health policy. Positivist Approach asks the questions how truth and facts. This is the scientific and analytic approach based on empirical evidence. Demographic Data can be collected, analyzed, trended and statistically manipulated in order to conclude on such ideals as income levels influence heart attacks. How does the status of social groups form healthcare policy The different groups address the different needs of patient population throughout the country. Do these groups require different levels of care and coverage The current healthcare policy as a universal policy promotes equality among the social classes. Many classes in society have the same basic needs

Construction assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Construction - Assignment Example In order to implement a given responsibility, relationships need to be established in partnering. Type of relationship depend on the type of partnering, for example in the joint venture contract between a contractor, and a design firm is a one-off type of relationship since it does not last. A single firm with both the design and construction capability is a long-time relationship type since the parties involve are employed full time and permanent. When the agreement is successful, then the flow of work is always continuous, for example, a contractor will undertake all the work awarded to him. The contractor will then get a written approval from the Engineer-in-charge or the supervisor. The contractor will then plan its operation. If the supervisor realize that there is a risk factor involve, the supervisor has the right to stop the work. An inspector always ensures that the construction meet the quality level required, but they do not have the authority to get a contractor to give the owner of the highest quality material. If the engineer or the owner dispute the work being performed by a subcontractor, then the owner should attempt to resolve the issue with the main contractor first before embarking on the administration. CQC is the contractor Quality control. The purpose and function of the CQC are to assure that the completed project meets the quality requirement. The representative also has the duty of guiding the contrac tor by preparing a plan. However, the Corps ad engineer provides guidance to Corps in performing effective CQM. In order to manage construction firm but fair policy need to be implemented. Firm but fair policy is a type of policy where both or all parties involve are considered to stick to the laid down policy. An inspector always ensures that the construction work is done according to the laid down codes. They are responsible for; pointing

SOCIAL THOUGHT AND SOCIAL CHANGE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

SOCIAL THOUGHT AND SOCIAL CHANGE - Essay Example Marx developed his theory based on the existing economic, social and political scenario through a series of economic manuscripts in 1850s. After the fall of Russia in 1991, the world underwent some significant changes especially in value system, financial policies, production and distribution of wealth. Many nations in the world including China, and other Asian countries show their willingness to accept new liberal ideologies in social formation. Existing social scenario demands economic growth rather than social changes. Therefore, Marxian explanations on social change have been losing its relevance and it is not capable to understand capitalism. Historians often remark that Marxian philosophy denies centralization of wealth and it always requires a society with equal distribution of wealth. Unfortunately, individuals with power in later generation discard Marxian concept of social changes. Marx follows certain moral principles in his life and expects his followers to live in accord ance with some code of morality which ensures effective social changes. As John Cunningham Wood (n. d. p.20) comments; â€Å"In fact Marx expects the individual to act according to a code which is generally accepted and when individuals with power overlooked this demand, Marx was outraged.† Another significant area that Marxian ideologies face problem is that the acceptance of private property among the public. Exponents of capitalism demand maximum profit in financial dealings. In it the thoughts gain demands men to work hard and use all their potentialities. Marxian theories individuals are not given much priority and so in this special circumstances man power and his services are often discarded. Professional competence in work field as well service sector demanded maximum products than changes in work fields. It made a flaw for the Marxian ideology. It created a group of people who became less industrious and energetic. Marx’s explanation of Social Change: Marx was a man who had great vision on the change of society and the growth of all individuals. â€Å"Marx can recognize the centrality of individual action in social explanation while at the same time insist on the irreducibly social character of the conditions that constrain individual action† (Little, 1986, p.150). He had much concern for the progress of the working class individuals and he had seen that the exploitation on the working class would come to end with the implementation of the rule of Proletariats. The Marxian theory on social change was based on his concepts of class. The notion of class in a society is seen as the constant struggle with the oppressors and the oppressed. The struggle between these two is a prolonged struggle in the history. The working class is majority in number and they try to overturn the bourgeoisie. The struggle between these two will finally take place the victory of the proletariats over the bourgeoisie. He stressed the need of individual free dom from the hands of the oppressors. According to Daniel Little, Marx’s model â€Å"indicates that he accepts the view that the ultimate source of social change is the active individual within specific relations. Indeed Marx’s view that class conflict is the engine of historical change indirectly expresses this same point; for class conflict proceeds through definite

Tate Modern Art Gallery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Tate Modern Art Gallery - Essay Example The researcher of the essay "Tate Modern Art Gallery" gives a review of Tate Modern, London modern art gallery. In the year 1930, the responsibility was given to Sir Giles Gilber Scott. The power station got completed in two phases, with a 200m long brick clad steel structure having a 99m high central chimney. The height was kept a bit lower than the dome of St. Paul’s cathedral, situated on the other side of the river. The power station was made to order due to a power shortage back in 1947; but as the power pant was an oil-based one, it had huge emission of polluted gas in surrounding air. Apart from this, dumping of noxious chemicals in nearby grounds was a part and parcel of the plant operation. Due to gradually rising oil prices it seemed to be uneconomical to carry on with the power station. Finally in 1982, the power station was shut down. After that for several years, this power station was at jeopardy of being knocked down by the developers. A number of people campaig ned for the new usage of the unused building. In 1993, the knocking down process started with digging up a hole on the station wall. Then only BBC came up with a program called â€Å"One foot in the past† focusing on the imminent danger of the old building; a passionate appeal was given by Dan Cruikshank, the reporter in there. Later on in the year 1994, Tate Gallery announced that they are going to develop new house of Tate Modern in the Bankside Power station. At present this is one of the successful art galleries. ... In the eighteen century it was an important trade and industry sector. It was destroyed heavily during Second World War, but construction of Bankside bought a major change. Being an oil based power generating station, it resulted in different pollution related factors. The power station dumped harmful chemicals in the nearby ground that polluted the underground water and surrounding water bodies. The station had emitted different gases directly into the atmosphere without treating them properly for purification and filtration. These gases contain high concentration of carbon dioxide and several other toxic exhausts which deteriorated the environment around. When an international survey was conducted in 1962 by National Survey on Air Pollution, a high volume of smoke and sulphur dioxide was found to be present. The reasons behind such changes were pointed towards a decline in the consumption of coal and a growth in use of oil as a fuel. It was also found that the black smoke emitted b y diesel engines contain carbon mono oxide which is highly poisonous for the health of living being (The British Medical Journal, 1967). The oil based power generation station neglected many legal factors to keep the pollution level low and all these had resulted high pollution of land, water and air. It caused harm to both vegetation and animals of the nearby locality and turned to a major threat to the environment. Health and safety issues related to Tate Modern Bankside power station was in a closed state for many years, so when Tate Gallery decided to convert it in an art gallery there were many safety and health related issues that required to be handled with due importance. The air

United Kingdom’s Economic Low Unemployment Advantage Essay Example for Free

United Kingdom’s Economic Low Unemployment Advantage Essay In 2002, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), UK’s standardized unemployment rate is 5. 1. For France the standardized unemployment rate is 8. 9, for Spain is 11. 5 while for Italy is 9. 0. Let us examine first why UK had this low unemployment rate compared to the France, Spain and Italy. First UK is very attractive to foreign investors compared to France, Italy and Spain. This is partly because UK has a proven track record of economic stability strengthened by its government economic policies. UK has one of the most stable exchange rates which equates to stability for investors. Increase in foreign investors also means an increase in employment, resulting in lower unemployment rate. If UK had not been attractive to investors, there would have been no rise in real GDP in UK brought about by new business and expansions in 2002. Another determinant factor of the low unemployment rate is the labour environment in UK. UK is home of highly skilled and dynamic labour force. Its pool of workforce comes from top universities and trained by RD centers (Research and Development). This workforce together with UKs less constricting laws for labour generates high level of employment. In terms of innovation UK is far advance compared to France, Spain and Italy. â€Å"Although UK has only 1 per cent of the world’s population but conducts 5. 5 per cent of global research† (OIPA, 2005). Innovation promotes more investment and thus lowers unemployment. Another factor that makes UK’s unemployment rate low is its being a leader in world trade. UK is second in the world in terms of exports and third in the world in terms of imports. The magnitude of trade is an indication that there is a corresponding high level of workforce behind this trade. There are also a considerable proportion of world’s leading companies who reside in UK. These companies provide stability and maintain the employment force in UK. If assuming that UK was not a leader in exports and imports, the economic indicators showing UK as having roughly 50% exports to other European countries would have shown otherwise. Another most significant contributor that makes UK’s unemployment rate low is its low taxation compared to other European countries. The corporate tax, which is at 30%, is relatively low compared to other key European countries. The Value Added Tax (VAT) in UK is also lower than most European countries. Lower corporate tax and lower VAT induces more investment and thus decreases unemployment rate. Let say for example we are a company from another country like Japan and we wanted to have some presence in Europe. Logically, if we have France, Spain, Italy and UK as alternatives we would definitely put up our business site in UK because we will be paying lesser taxes. Lesser taxes in our investments mean more income for the company. Even if looking at this corporate tax rate from a percent perspective, the difference seem small like 3% or 2%, but if we are talking about millions of dollars 2% is already a large amount. Thus a slight advantage in corporate tax means a lot in attracting investors. France, Spain and Italy’s Higher Unemployment Economic Advantage Most European countries suffer some levels of growing unemployment due to the pressures of lower labor cost in the world market like China. China’s growing threat of low cost manufacturing expands not just in employment but to the whole economic state of European Companies. France has been in a state of falling down GDP since 2000 and in 2002, France unemployment rate reach 8. 9%. Although France has easy access to UK, the France has a higher corporate tax compared to UK. France effective corporate tax rate is 34. 33% (Export Entreprises SA, 2005). This is 4. 33% higher than UK’s 30% maximum corporate tax. This higher tax rate is a major contributor why France has higher unemployment rate compared to UK. Higher tax rate deters investment and therefore lowers employment. Spain suffers the same condition of growing unemployment just like France because of its higher corporate tax and rigid employment scheme. The corporate tax of Spain is 35% (Export Entreprises SA, 2005). It is even higher than France. Even if Spain offers lower corporate tax of 30% to companies whose turnover does not exceed 6 million EUR, the overall average is still somewhere in 35%. The regulatory framework of employment in Spain is not so flexible leading to high dismissal cost and low part time employment. The overall result of higher corporate tax and less flexible employment leads to higher unemployment compared to UK. Italy is affected the most by China’s threat of low cost manufacturing. This is because Italy has a large number of manufacturing enterprises that belongs to the small to medium sized. Small to medium sized manufacturing enterprises fall under those than finds low cost alternative in China. Similarly the corporate tax in Italy is 33% (Export Entreprises SA, 2005), 3% higher than UK. Again this explains why Italy has higher unemployment rate than UK. To what extent might the pursuit of full employment conflict with other economic objectives. Looking at the previous explanation of why UK’s unemployment is much lower than France, Spain and Italy, the most significant contributor is the taxation. This is because low corporate tax can give economic advantage over its rivals. As corporate tax decreases, investment spending increases and employment rises. In reality this is not always true because as corporate tax decreases, the government collection also decreases. If we keep on pushing by lowering corporate and individual tax rate, it will also have some negative effects. A lot of economist cautioned that lowering corporate tax will result to short term economic growth unless backed up by extensive government economic infrastructures. â€Å"KPMG concludes that indirect taxes appear to be playing an increasingly important role in the revenue-gathering strategies of many countries around the world† (KPMG, 2007). Lowering corporate tax may reach to a point that the overall collection is not enough to sustain the expenses required to maintain government maintained organizations and infrastructures needed for economic stability. The stress cause by such condition may swing the economy to a condition where the overall economic structure will cause impediments to investment. An example is that if it increases crime rate due to the poor security given by the government. High crime rates can deter investors and bring down employment. Another possible case is poor roads and transportation. This could greatly affect the decision of investors. Therefore a balance must be achieved. When the lowest minimum corporate tax is achieved it must be offset by some other means in it needs to be lowered further to compete in the world market. One possible strategy is increasing VAT when lowering corporate tax. VAT increase has major benefits over corporate tax because VAT is continuous flow of cash as oppose to lump sum corporate tax. Another similar approach to offset a reduction in corporate tax which has the same effect as VAT is increasing Goods and Services Tax (GST). Again GST has the advantage of bringing a continuous cash flow as oppose to lump sum corporate tax. â€Å"On the other hand, the survey shows that corporate tax rates are continuing to fall worldwide, but there are signs that this trend is slowing† (KPMG, 2007). This year it is 26. 8 from 27. 2% last year which indicates that the average rates have decreased compared to the major reductions in 1997 to 2007. So far UK still has some capability to lower its corporate tax to compete with other country. The more relaxed labor regulations in UK, although helpful in keeping more people get employed, may also have some limits. This may also lead to inefficient employees that would take a toll on company’s revenue. This could lead a company to loose interest in investing their money. If we take for example if we make employee regulations very relaxed like for example by not having to require that employee need to have a specific security measures in applying for a job, the employee might end up to be a member of an underground organization. An organization that may have some security threats to the company. If a security breach would occur like a patent design being stolen, the company will loose millions and end up withdrawing their investment. In the end everything is just a matter of balance, where the equilibrium between a relax labor regulation and the negative effects that it might bring. References OIPA (2008). Invest in UK. Retrieved from the Overseas Investment Promotion Agency website: http://www. investoverseas. org/United_Kingdom/Invest_UK/uk_economy. htm, on February 8, 2008 Export Entreprises SA (2005). France TAXES ACCOUNTING. Retrieved from the Export Enterprises website: http://country. alibaba. com/profiles/FR/France/taxes_accounting. htm, on February 8, 2008 Export Entreprises SA (2005). Spain TAXES ACCOUNTING. Retrieved from the Export Enterprises website: http://country. alibaba. com/profiles/ES/Spain/taxes_accounting. htm, on February 8, 2008 Export Entreprises SA (2005). Italy TAXES ACCOUNTING. Retrieved from the Export Enterprises website: http://country. alibaba. com/profiles/IT/Italy/taxes_accounting. htm, on February 8, 2008 KPMG (2007). Indirect Taxes The price for low corporate tax. Retrieved from the Winterman-am. blogspot website: http://winterman-

Ethical Dilemmas in a Business

Ethical Dilemmas in a Business Introduction Ethical Dilemmas often occur in business situations as well as everyday life. These could be simple problems such as whether to lie about deadline requirements in order to get work done faster, or something complex such as manipulation of facts and figures in financial statements. The core value system of the person making any such decision plays a huge role in the extent of his or her ethical manipulation. Competitve pressure on the other hand can force people to make ethical decisions radically different from what their value system might relay. This is a problem that is widespread in todays business environment, where stepping on someone else ensures an easier platform for growth. The model of The ends justify the means has overwritten a lot of the value based ethics which was heavily ingrained in our psyche. This report hopes to make simple guidelines which will allow one to make decisions keeping a humane as well as ethical approach which emphasizes the Right decisions, not the Easy ones. Business Scenarios Entailing an Ethical Dilemma Some of the best learning regarding any Ethical dilemma occurs when one experiences it firsthand. These problems occur when we are unprepared for it, thus a pre-determined framework would prove extremely useful. Ethical decision making deals with moral issues: A moral issue is present where ever individual actions, when freely performed, may harm or benefit others (Jones, 1991, p. 367). An ethical decision is defined as a decision that is both legal and morally acceptable to the larger community whereas an unethical decision may be regarded as either illegal or morally unacceptable to the larger community (Jones, 1991, p. 367). Thus let us have a look at some examples of Ethical Dilemmas which would require such Ethical Decision Making. Company Bankruptcy and Employee Loyalty Lehman Brothers which was a premium investment bank until its Chapter 11 bankruptcy declaration in September 2008 was a preferred employer for over 25000 people and their families. The company evoked a vehement sense of loyalty and pride, but bankruptcy changed all that. Lehman Brothers Services India LTD, which is the outsourcing and knowledge center in India received the news on a Monday, employees which included the author himself resolved themselves to jumping ship before even trying to see if they could do anything to help the firm. This is an ethical dilemma since on the one hand the employer has helped support the families of its employees, however on the other hand the employee has to decide quickly about the future course of action which will affect his or her family. A possible solution which would have been feasible was for the employees to provide their utmost support to management in order to steer the company out of rough waters. This is a difficult decision to make since it may even involve no pay during the period of bankruptcy, and hence almost no employee chose this decision. Service Bonds in Companies A widely used vehicle in corporate culture today is service bonds, issued by the company against almost all its new employees. These simply state that the employee must stay within the employ of the company for a certain duration before switching companies and/or leaving the job, failing which he or she would be penalized a certain amount of money. The Ethical Dilemma appears here mainly when the employee gets hired by the company while he or she may have an offer or opportunity in the near future. A prime example is when freshers are hired out of college, but they are waiting for an MBA admission. The job is just a failsafe option, and as soon as said MBA admission goes through, the employee will leave the firm. This is an Ethical Dilemma on both fronts, from the point of view of the employer as well as the employee. On the one hand, the bond is in itself a vehicle which does not hold any value in a court of law. Thus most companies will harass the employee but ultimately they are unable to recover any of the amounts mentioned in the bond, however they do withhold experience and relieving certificates. On the other hand the employee himself signs up for the training knowing full well that he or she may be leaving the job early, it is a very hedonistic approach, and is done only for self benefit, he or she does not care whether the company hired him or her keeping in mind requirements, and does not bother about the damages the company may incur due to a sudden loss of an employee. A possible solution here, which is unfortunately infeasible is a full disclosure on the part of the employee while joining up a company, this would usually result in the employer not hiring said employee to prevent any problems should the employee suddenly leave. Credit Sharing in the Workplace As rational human beings most of us understand the value of teamwork. The workplace however emphasizes this in order to have smooth and uninterrupted functioning. Teamwork is a prime requirement for any employee who joins any firm. One of the biggest ethical dilemmas faced both as an employee as well as a manager is how best to recognize individual contribution in a team based environment. It would be wishful thinking to assume that all employees contribute equally to the success of a project, thus the emergence of performance rewarding was born in the workplace. Here employees are gauged on individual performance in a team context, their contributions, mistakes as well as ideas are all assessed and suitable reward systems are kept in place. This however results in what is known as Credit Sharing whereby employees try to gain credit for work that they had a minimal contribution in. This usually happens when the work itself provides a sizeable benefit to the project, either in terms of revenue generation or cost minimization. Employees who were unrelated to this work still try to leverage it since it could provide a boost to their immediate future in terms of salary raise, or promotions. A possible solution to such a problem unfortunately cannot be found, this is simply because it is highly dependent on individual ethics to determine how low he or she may be willing to stoop to gain credit where credit was never due. Management unfortunately also cannot efficiently monitor this since it might result in inefficiencies in overall management of the project. Guidelines for Self for Dealing with Ethical Dilemmas An easy way to create a guideline for self to deal with Ethical Dilemmas, one needs a reference model of some kind which will allow for such a guideline to be created in the first place. Moral Dilemmas and Ethical Dilemmas both share a common thread in that they deal with moral issues at their core. Thus for a decision maker to act ethically he or she must (a) recognize a moral issue, (b) make a moral judgment, (c) give priority to moral concerns and establish a moral intent, and finally (d) act on the moral concerns (Selart and Johansen, 2010, p. 3). Thus logically it would be a necessary condition that the moral agent in this case the decision maker should be able to recognize a moral dilemma. This is highly relevant since pressure or competition usually dull our senses in this regard, since profits or immediate gains will be present and must be decided upon. However the severity of the moral dilemma elicits a moral impulse which could be radically different from what rationality tells us to pursue. What this means is that we may be more prone to making moral/ethical decisions, when we are able to identify the severity of the problem at hand. This is referred to as moral intensity and is a prime candidate for allowing ethical decisions to be made. Let us have a look at how some external factors could influence decision making and use them to form a basic guideline for dealing with ethical dilemmas. Effect of Stress or Competition on Ethical Decision Making Stress is deemed as having a negative effect on leaders decision making by preventing them from recognizing ethical/moral dilemmas which their decisions could entail. Time related deadlines have an effect which could result in limited focus and to cognitive biases. It also makes leaders have less access to external information sources (Selart and Johansen, 2010, p. 11). Thus a primary rule of thumb which we should ensure while dealing with any decision that could involve moral issues is Prevent or reduce stress while making a decision, since studies have shown that stress influences ethical decision making primarily through its effect on pro-social behavior or the willingness and motivation to take others interest into account (Jex et al., 2003) Studies also show that a root cause of stress related problems comes from the reward or lack of thereof which results in stress related ethical failings in managers (Selart and Johansen, 2010, p. 12). Effect of Globalization on Ethical Decision Making Globalization is the new mantra by which todays companys move. It ensures competitive advantage by reducing costs and promoting more profitable sales opportunities, it also results in a diversified and distributed workplace. This is one of the prime causes of ethical dilemmas. Being distributed could result in marginalization of branch employees when decisions affecting corporate culture or financials get made; this is often seen in the case of a lot of the leading multinationals which operate with an IT arm in India. Another great challenge for managers in global business is the misunderstanding of their decisions due to conflicting moral compasses of their stakeholders from different cultures, which could result in their best decisions being, confounded (Thompson, 2010, p. 1). An effective tool suggested to counter this is the Global Moral Compass which allows for managing complex moral challenges that business leaders cannot ignore, as well as providing an adaptive framework which allows for linking diverse value propositions and wisdom traditions (Thompson, 2010, p. 1). This is the global moral compass for business, its 4 parameters include. Vision Moral vision is the true north of the moral compass; the spiritual, affective aspect of moral identity expressed in the power of myth, narrative, and images representing core values. Code it is the moral code by means of which one lives ones life, this code is enhanced by personal experience and is ever changing. Fitness Moral fitness is the symbolic aspect of moral agency; it is ritualized action that expresses and reflects the vision and values of moral identity. Performance Performance is the proof of the pudding the intentional aspect of moral agency demonstrated in concrete decisions and behavior (Thompson, 2010, p. 13-14). Thus some more rules of thumb can be generated via the means of globalization and its effect on ethical decision making Globalization requires a more complex set of moral principles which guide decision making; this is enhanced by the use of the global moral compass which can be used to point decisions to the right direction. Globalization requires that the culture, socio-economic situations, geographies as well as history of stakeholders involved be understood to a certain degree, before a decision benefitting them all can be made. True value addition can be had when all the stakeholders are in almost full or full agreement with decisions made, thereby we may need a certain degree of inclusivity to be incorporated in decision making to ensure that stakeholders are completely in sync with the decisions being taken. Effect of Monetary Gain in Ethical Decision Making In recent times a lot of unethical decision making has been uncovered in terms of financial misreporting done by CEOs and other top ranking officials of various companies. The lure of money is thus viewed as a serious barrier in ethical decision making; this is something even laymen can understand. Simple financial incentives like bribes given to government officials influence how fast they perform work, and as such is an ingrained habit in the minds of people today especially in a corrupt bureaucracy like Indias. However studies have found that it cannot simply be narrowed down to the lure of financial incentives that lead to such behavior, other factors including CEOs narcissism, shareholders expectations and subordinate silence as well as CEOs dishonesty could all be possible causes for such unethical decision making (Chen, 2010, p. 1). Now the study also aims to look just beyond financial remuneration as a source of ethical failing on the part of the CEOs, since a lot of them have contributed to charities of some kind or the other (contributions themselves being significant). Thus this evidence suggests that simply CEOs character flaws cannot conclusively be used to resolve this ethical failing (Chen, 2010, p. 2). Some factors which could influence this include Moral or Ethical standards present in the country of origin, cultural norms which influence managerial behavior, corporate and individual corruption levels in the country of origin and incorrect assessment of information due to inflated self expectations in terms of performance. All of these factors can lead to unethical decisions being taken mainly in regards to financial reporting of the firms performance. However we must also identify the effect that stakeholders can cause on mangers when it comes to financial reporting or ethical decision making. Ever increasing expectations, continuous percentage improvement requirements and unrealistic targets all have a direct influence on managers and CEOs making the decisions that they do. However most people are ready to brush this aside as it would result in the blame being spread across people rather than rest squarely on a single person, this unfortunately is a Scape-Goat mentality and is highly ingrained in the psyche of the general populace as was amply demonstrated by the victimization of Mr. Kalmadi in the Commonwealth Games scandal in India. More attention needs to be paid to the responsibilities of shareholders, financial analysts and the financial press in setting realistic expectations for companies. Simply focusing on improving the ethical behavior of individual CEOs without removing this root cause is unlikely to have much effect on the level and frequency of misreporting (Chen, 2010, p. 15). Thus the rules of thumb which we can garner from the above include. While making financial decisions, it is better to make it keeping multiple trustworthy people in the loop, this ensures that decisions although signed off by a single entity (the CEO) would still be ratified by multiple people. The key point here is that decisions made collectively have the possibility of dissonance among stakeholders making said decisions, which would lead to further questioning of the decisions and thus a more refined and correct decisions can be made. Altruistic perspectives aside, stakeholders themselves should be able to handle negative results and management must have enough moral fiber to take the right decision in letting the stakeholders know of any failings without fear of castigation. Effect of Communication in Ethical Decision Making In todays competitive environment, communication or a lack of thereof can lead to decisions being made which may seem unethical. Information is a powerful tool which can prevent decisions which can negatively affect people. Thus communication of this information from the holders to the decision makers becomes paramount to ethical business decisions being made effectively and efficiently. Communication on corporate culture itself can have a positive impact on ethical decision making in the workplace, we thus explore the use of a Business Code of Ethics or BCE which is a pre-requisite in recent times for any company in operation. The BCE simply conveys acceptable behavioral norms and rules which are active in the workplace, and could prove to be an efficient tool in curbing unethical decision making which managers might make in the absence of such an instrument. Studies however show that such a BCE comes with several limitations, this could include, frequency of communication of the BCE, quality of communication used, reinforcement of the BCE via actions of top management, level to which the BCE is ingrained in the decision making of middle and lower level management and finally overall adoption of the BCE via the general populace in the workplace. Communication in this regard is mainly seen via the means of this code of ethics. Now this could result in certain limitations with respect to achievable targets, or patterns of behavior which can be deemed acceptable to meet said targets, however in the long run it is observed that this has a positive impact on both the quality of work culture ingrained in the organization, as well as individual ethical standards which permeates through the employee base (Kaptein, 2010, p. 16). Thus some takeaways from communication and BCE include Effective communications of acceptable ethical standards have a significant positive impact on both workplace culture as well as individual ethical/moral standards improvements. Although a certain degree of compromise must be made in terms of performance for enforcing said ethical standards, it will have a positive impact in the long run and will allow the company to overcome any future negative impacts which may have occurred had such a provision not been in place. Conclusion Thus all throughout we have seen that just external factors alone cannot be used as the final determinant of ethical decision making abilities of an individual. He or she can also influence the surroundings and make decisions which can be both Right as well as beneficial to the maximum number of people, not just his or her organization. This is illustrated by the use of effective communication, utilizing the moral compass, reduction the impact of stress and financial incentives and finally realizing that the individual has to take the ultimate responsibility of his or her decision, and although redemption may be found by attributing any fallacies to external factors, the price will still have to be paid by the individual who made the decision.

A Study On Scottish Smoking Ban Social Policy Essay

A Study On Scottish Smoking Ban Social Policy Essay When it comes to health and social policy, governments have the difficult task of balancing the desires and rights of individuals with the desires and rights of society as a whole. This is particularly evident in the recent smoking legislation in the Scotland. Current literature and opinion has much focused on the effect of smoking bans on the hospitality industry, and the cost to society of tobacco-related illnesses. This literature review examines the social policy considerations of the recent ban on smoking proposed by the Scottish Executive and currently under consideration. This review first considers the smoking ban bill and an overview of smoking restriction issues. It then deals with one smoker in particular, examining the effect of the proposed legislation on the complex care issues of a middle-aged cancer patient, and the balance between her right to choose her actions, even if self-destructive, and the rights of others in the hospital where she resides. Smoking is undeniably destructive to the smoker, and the Scottish government is considering action to restrict its use. Among other things, the Scottish Smoking, Health and Social Care Bill will prohibit smoking in wholly enclosed public places (Scottish Parliament 12-2004). It faces final vote in 2005, with implementation, if it passes, scheduled for 2006. Objectives listed in the bill include preventing people, including children, from being exposed to the effects of passive smoking in certain public areas and safeguarding the health of the people of Scotland from the effects of tobacco smoke (Scottish Parliament 2-2005). There is also hope for changing public attitudes towards smoking, preventing Scots from beginning to smoke, and assisting those smokers who want to quit in breaking the habit Scottish Parliament 2-2005). Similar legislation has recently been implemented in Ireland, Norway, and parts of the US with great success (BBC 2004). According to Irish Medical Organisation p resident James Reilly, in the almost one year Ireland has banned smoking in public, cigarette sales have dropped sixteen percent, demonstrating that more Irish are quitting or reducing smoking (Salvage 2005, 36). The need to reduce the destruction caused by smoking, therefore, is not limited to Scotland. Countries around the world have begun to address the tobacco situation, with over forty ratifying the WHOs Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO 2004). The FCTC just went into effect in February 2005, establishes packaging and labelling guidelines, addresses tobacco advertising, provides for regulation to prevent second hand smoke, and tightens efforts on tobacco smuggling (WHO 2004, WHO 2003). The Scottish legislation replaces the less than effective Scottish Voluntary Charter on Smoking in Public Places. Implemented in May 2000, as of 2005 only 61% of hospitality establishments had some type of non-smoking provision, demonstrating the Charters inadequacies (Anon 2005). Bill ONeil, Scottish Secretary of the British Medical Association, supports the bill, contending that each year we continue to rely on these half-hearted measures, Scots continue to suffer from passive smoke-related illnesses and significant numbers die (BBC 2004). Smoking is a profoundly destructive health and social issue. The World Health Organisation (2005) lists tobacco as the second major cause of death in the world, affecting one in ten adults worldwide. Half the people who smoke today, that is about 650 million people, will eventually be killed by tobacco (WHO 2005). The government contends, smoking is the main avoidable cause of early death in Britain, killing more than 120,000 people a year, even publishing a White Paper titled Smoking Kills (Gardiner 2004, DOH 1998). Scotlands Chief Medical Officer, Mac Armstrong states nicotine is twice as addictive as cocaine and that it takes sixteen years off the average smokers life (Johnson 2004, 8). Tobacco is also destructive to non-smokers. Smoking and exposure to passive smoke are the fourth most common risk factor for disease of any kind worldwide (WHO 2004). This risk extends to those who choose to smoke, and those who are exposed to others cigarettes, regardless of choice. The Scientific Committee on Tobacco and Health (2005) concludes that exposure to second hand smoke, also called environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), is a cause of lung cancer, heart disease, and asthma, and represents a substantial public health hazard. Jim Devine of Unison stated to continue to allow people to work in smoky environments is the 21st century equivalent of sending children up chimneys (BBC 2004). Studies find children regularly exposed to second hand cigarette smoke are more likely to develop asthma (Johnson 2004, 8). Mac Armstrong offers that due to passive smoking, between 1000 and 2000 lives are lost each year in Scotland (Johnson 2004, 8). Some smoking opponents question why it is legal at all, given its social cost and overall destructive impact on human life. Proponents of smoking argue that adequate ventilation would address much of the second hand smoke risk. However, workplaces with designated smoking areas have been shown to still expose smoke to workers (Leourardy and Kleiner 2000, 68). It also raises the question of who should pay for such ventilation. Tobacco already has staggering economic costs to society, typically claiming the lives of people at the ages when they are most productive and exponentially increasing health care costs (WHO 2005). The average smoker takes 25% more sick days than the average non-smoker (Johnson 2004, 8). These costs are passed on to all members of society, whether they choose to smoke or not, just like second hand smoke. Other typical arguments against smoking bans are economic. Tobacco companies and members of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association have argued that a full ban is unnecessary and not supported by the public (BBC 2004). Opponents of the smoking ban contend it will ruin business, cause unemployment, and take away peoples right to enjoy a cigarette with a drink in public (Johnson 2004, 8). Tobacco Manufacturers Association executive Tim Lord held that a study commissioned by the TMA showed 77% of Scots were opposed to a total smoking ban, particularly disfavouring the ban in clubs, pubs, and bars (BBC 2004). These results were not supported by independent studies, however. A policy memorandum produced for the Scottish Parliament found 70% of Scots in favour of smoking restrictions, with 59% of restaurant owners not expecting any negative impact from the legislation (Scottish Parliament 2-2004). More importantly, any economic impact of smoking restriction must be considered in light of t he tremendous cost of smoking to society. Not all opponents of smoking bans cite economic reasons. Salvage (2005, 36) contends, human rights and freedom of choice are two reasons put forward for [smoking] bans not going ahead. For example, opponents of bans cite the uproar of violation of human rights caused by the recent smoking ban in Liverpool. Health Minister Melanie Johnson stated the bill was incompatible with the Human Rights Act, because it extended smoking bans to private homes and prisons, required smokers to prove their innocence, effectively reversing the burden of proof, and extended the power of searches (Merrick 2005). MPs and peers ruled that it breached human rights laws, while a cross-party human rights committee found the smoking ban bill incompatible with the right to a private life, and possibly the right to a fair trail and the protection of property (Merrick 2005). These impositions on human rights, however, seem based on the bills reach beyond public places, and the manner with which that reach is exe cuted. It is unlikely that the legislation currently under consideration in Scotland will have similar flaws. Questions do arise of the National Health Services ability to enforce such legislation. Under the current bill, smoking policies would be enforced by environmental health officers, hired by local councils (Scottish Parliament 12-2004). It is questionable whether they will have the same effect as would police officers, particularly if trying to enforce no-smoking legislation in pubs and bars. As the patient considered here is confined to a hospital, enforcement is not an issue. Of greater concern regarding the National Health Service is whether it will be able to provide the necessary support for smokers who want to quit. Approximately one-third of smokers try to quit each year, but only three percent succeed (Lewis 2005). Kevin Lewis (2005), Clinical Director of Smoking Cessation of Shropshire, Telford, and Shrewsbury, believes, however, there is great potential for smoking cessation in primary care. If smoking bans are accomplish their objectives of reducing the number of smokers and amount they smoke, adequate resources must be available. The greatest success occurs when a motivated individual is provided with a combination of personal support and pharmacotherapy (nicotine replacement or bupropion), under the care of a trained medical professional, typically a nurse (Lewis 2005). As the government progresses with smoking legislation, preparation and funding for the NHS are imperative to the ultimate success of smoking restrictions. To provide some background on the specific case considered in this review, the female patient in reference is forty-three years of age. She began smoking at the age of fifteen, and smoked regularly throughout her life. This is not surprising, as 80% of smokers take up tobacco as children and teenagers (Johnson 2004, 8). The patient was diagnosed with lung cancer at the age of forty, which has progressed with some rapidity; her cancer is now inoperable, untreatable, and terminal. She has recently suffered loss of mobility, in addition to general physical degeneration. Due to these complications, the patient now requires a wheelchair to travel even short distances, including going outside the hospital. She is unable to navigate the wheelchair to the common area outside the facility without assistance. The patient, however, continues to smoke, and the recent ban will make her unable to smoke in her room or a designated indoor area of the hospital. In addition, hospital staff is not allo wed to assist her in going outside for smoking purposes, per hospital policy. She must therefore wait for visitors to take her out. There are several factors of prominence in this particular case study. First, while the government has some (albeit debated) responsibly to protect its citizens from themselves, there are no grounds for the need to guard this woman from the effects of smoking (Lambert and Dibsdall 2002). She has irrevocably made the decision to smoke, and bears the consequences. It is unlikely that quitting smoking now will have a pronounced difference on the time she has remaining or on her prognosis. The government therefore has no right for intervention to protect her from the harms of tobacco. The debate then emerges between her human rights to decide her own behaviour and receive adequate care, her responsibility to society, the rights of hospital staff, patients, and visitors regarding second-hand smoke, and the mandate of the hospital to act in the best interest of the patients health and well-being. Advanced societies recognise the right of every human being to make choices regarding his or her behaviour and life, to the point these choices negatively impact others (Perry 1985, 568). The patient, as a part of a larger society, has a responsibility to the members of her community. She is affected by legislation that could save others, and her government does have a responsibility to encourage its citizens to make wise decisions. Smoking is certainly not a wise decision, as even tobacco companies and smoking ban opponents acknowledge its addictive nature and potential for impaired health (Anon 2005; Black, McKie and Allen 2003, 69). The patient undoubtedly recognises this, as she is dying due greatly to her choice to smoke. Certain laws are passed not because they are required for everyone, but because they are needed by most (Perry 1985, 574). For example, many people would drive at excessive speeds from time to time were it not for speed limits. While there are a few that could probably do so without accident, most need speed guidelines to drive safely. The major difference with smoking is the effect of tobacco smoke on those in the general area. Second-hand smoke, as discussed previously, has been shown to be almost as deadly as actually smoking, and it is often beyond the control of the non-smoker to limit smoking in his or her vicinity. Those commonly cited in this argument are wait staff in clubs and bars, but the same would apply to hospital staff required to clean a designated smoking area or move patients in and out of it (Aung et al 2001, 283; Cuthbert and Nickson 1999, 33). These workers are then faced with either exposing themselves to a potential carcinogen or giving up their jobs (Aung et al 2001, 280). As the patients rights extend only to the point they impact others, the government is therefore within its bounds to restrict her smoking in enclosed areas of the hospital. The question then presents itself, does the patient have the right to continue her destructive behaviour, and what is the hospitals mandate to prevent her injurious choices? J. David Velleman (1999), in writing about his own bout with cancer, discusses the rights of smokers in society. Instead of focusing on second hand smoke as the effect of smoking on non-smokers, he considers the relationship between the individual and society. He sees himself as my sons father, my wifes husband, my parents son, my brothers brother (Velleman 1999, 606). However, he comes to the conclusion that a person has a right to make his own life shorter in order to make it better, if he so chooses and however he defines better. Social organisations, like governments or hospitals, only have the right to intervene when the individual is incapable of rational decision (Velleman 1999, 613). While the patient therefore has the right to smoke, she does not have the right to expect assistance from the hospital. A hospital, as a medical facility, has a corporate responsibility to its patients to promote their healthy living (BBC 2005). Hospitals would not be expected to provide candy machines for uncontrolled diabetics or allow suicidal patients to keep sharp objects. The hospital has a responsibility to promote health (BBC 2005). While this patient may not be more harmed by continuing to smoke, providing assistance or a smoking area for her would require the hospital to do the same for all its patients, thereby assisting many in smoking which would damage their health. The visible issue is her mobility; if she were able to go outside unassisted, her smoking choice would not be limited. It is the combination of her damaging desire to smoke and her degenerative condition that create the quandary. The most feasible solution is to ask the patient to provide her own assistance to and from the outdoor smoking area. Since she is choosing destructive behaviour that the hospital cannot support, she must find a way to accomplish such behaviour. The government and the hospital in the above instance have the right to impose smoking restrictions on the patient for the good of society as a whole. Both organisations have a mandate to protect those in their community from risk to health, and smoking is most certainly a risk to health. Neither, however, has the right to prevent her from smoking. Therein lies the balance. In her situation, she must find or arrange for someone to help her in her choice to smoke. We as members of society can choose to pursue self-destructive behaviours, but society has no obligation to support us in their pursuit. REFERENCES Anon 2005. Second hand smoke: health risks. Scottish Executive Health website [online]. Available at www.scotland.gov.uk, accessed 19 March 2005. Aung, M. et al, 2001. An exploratory study of the smoking issue in restaurants. Management Decision, vol. 29, no. 4, pp. 279-285. Available at www.emeraldinsight.com, accessed 19 March 2005. BBC 2004. Scotland smoking ban to go ahead. BBC news, Scotland [online]. Available at www.bbc.co.uk, accessed 19 March 2005. BBC 2005. The Hippocratic Oath. Nova online [online]. Available at www.bbctv-ap.co.uk, accessed 19 March 2005. Black, M., McKie, L., Allen, E., 2003. A community development approach to tobacco control. Health Education, vol. 103, no. 2, pp. 68-74. Available at www.emeraldinsight.com, accessed 19 March 2005. Cuthbert, L., Nickson, D., 1999. Smoking in the restaurant industry: time for a ban? International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 31-36. Available at www.emeraldinsight.com, accessed 19 March 2005. DOH 1998. Smoking Kills: a White Paper on tobacco. The Stationery Office, London. Gardiner, B., 2004. Scotland readies tough smoking ban, England may follow. Associated Press, Oban, Scotland, Nov. 15, 2004 [online]. Available at www.cbsnews.com, accessed 19 March 2005. Johnson, J., 2004. The Huff Puff CafÃÆ'Â ©. The Sunday Herald, Fresh Section, December 5, 2004. Available at www.emeraldinsight.com, accessed 19 March 2005. Lambert, N., Dibsdall, L.A., Frewer, L.J., 2002. Poor diet and smoking: the big killers. Comparing health education in two hazard domains. British Food Journal, vol. 104, no.1, pp. 63-75. Available at www.emeraldinsight.com, accessed 19 March 2005. Leourardy, B., Kleiner, B., 2000. New developments concerning tobacco smoke in the workplace. Management Research News, vol. 23, no. 7, pp. 67-70. Available at www.emeraldinsight.com, accessed 19 March 2005. Lewis, K., 2005. Helping patients to quit smoking. The Practitioner, 8 March, 2005. Available at www.emeraldinsight.com, accessed 19 March 2005. Malam., S., et al 2004. Workplace Smoking Policies in Scotland. Scottish Exectuive and NHS Health Scotland, research report [online]. Available at www.healthscotland.uk, accessed 19 March 2005. Perry, T., 1985. Two Domains of Rights. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, vol. 45, no. 4, June 1985, pp. 567-580 [online]. Available at www.emeraldinsight.com, accessed 19 March 2005. Salvage, F., 2005. Smoking Cessation: Should it be banned? Chemist Druggist, March 5, 2005 [online]. Available at www.emeraldinsight.com, accessed 19 March 2005. Scottish Parliament 2-2004. Prohibiltion of Smoking in Regulated Areas (Scotland) Bill. Policy Memorandum, introduced 3 February 2004 [online]. Available at www.scottishparliment.uk, accessed 19 March 2005. Scottish Parliment 12-2004. Smoking, Health and Social Care (Scotland) Bill. Executive Bill, introduced 16 December 2004 [online]. Available at www.scottishparliment.uk, accessed 19 March 2005. van Teijlingen, E., Bruce, J., 1999. Systematic reviews of health promotion initiatives the Smokebusters experience. Health Education, vol. 99, no. 2, pp. 76-83 [online]. Available at www.emeraldinsight.com, accessed 19 March 2005. Velleman, J., 1999. A Right of Self-Termination? Ethics, vol. 199, no. 3, pp. 606-628, April 1999 [online]. Available at www.emeraldinsight.com, accessed 19 March 2005. WHO 2003. An international treaty for tobacco control. World Health Organisation [online]. Available at www.who.int, accessed 19 March 2005. WHO 2004. Tobacco Treaty set to become law, making global health history. World Health Organisation [online]. Available at www.who.int, accessed 19 March 2005. WHO 2005. Why is tobacco a public health priority? World Health Organisation [online]. Available at www.who.int, accessed 19 March 2005.

Essay --

Marketing appeals to me because it is a field that that is always evolving to accommodate the needs of the consumer. It is an industry that is always developing and I love the idea of progression and new discoveries. It is difficult to consider that just less than ten years ago, social media was non-mainstream; now it is a universal phenomenon with Facebook attaining its billionth active user the preceding year. A few decades prior to this, television was discovered. Marketing embraces all of these new variations and uses them as a medium for communication. The influence of marketing and the extent to which it helps form someone’s outlook on a brand or company is something which has captivated me for several years. Nonetheless, Marketing has progressed from a creative practice into a form of psychology and both of these characteristics of the course intrigue me. It is for this reason I would love the opportunity to study marketing in depth at university. I currently work part time at Market Probe Ltd, an independent market research company based in London. I interview costumers over ...

Risk Management and Prevention at a Medical Facility Essay -- Medical

Risk Management Risk management is defined as a program directed toward identifying of, evaluating of, and taking corrective action against potential risks that could lead to injury of patients, staff, or visitors. It is a planned program of loss prevention and liability control, and its main purpose is to identify, analyze, and evaluate risks and then to develop a plan for reducing the frequency and severity of accidents and injuries (Decker and Sullivan, 2001). Risk management is a continuous daily program of detection, education, and intervention. This paper will describe the risk management issues at Great River Medical Center as they pertain to medication errors, and will describe the methods that are currently taking place to address this issue. Identifying Potential Risk Identifying potential risks for accident, injury, or financial loss requires formal and informal communication that involves all organizational departments in the facility. The risk management department at Great River Medical Center conducted on study on medication errors in the facility during preparation for a JACHO inspection. During this study, they discovered that medication errors had increased steadily over a 2 year period, and that many of them were because of illegibility reasons. The two most common legibility reasons included reading the initial order and reading the medication on the hand written medication sheet. According to Michael R. Cohen, MS, FASHP, from the Institute for Safe Medication Practices, poor handwriting is the leading cause of medication errors. Poor handwriting can blur the distinction between two medications that have similar names. And, many drug names sound similar, especially when spoken over the telephone, enunciated poorly, or mispronounced. At Great River Medical Center, this was also found to be one of the leading causes of medication errors. The inability of the nurse to read the written order and the inability to read the written medication sheet accounted for 20 % of the medication errors at GRMC. Other reasons for medication errors at GRMC include the following: ï‚ § Incomplete patient information (not knowing about patients' allergies other medicines they are taking, previous diagnoses, and lab results, for example); ï‚ § Unavailable drug information (such as lack of up-to-date warnings); ï‚ § Miscommunication of drug orders,... ...ch new implementation process. With the use of the Omni Cell dispensers, computerized order entry, and the electronic medical record, the hospital has seen a reduction of errors and near misses at approximately 75%. Along with this great statistic, also comes peace of mind to an already stressed out and over worked staff, that wants to provide the best care possible for the patients. References: Anonymous, (2004). Nursing BC. Vol.36, Iss.5; pg.33, Vancover. Retrieved December 18, 2004 from www.proquest.com. Business Wire, (2004). Hospitalist Physicians Partner with Clinical Pharmacists to Improve Patient Outcomes, Reduce Medication Errors. Business Wire, pg. 1, New York. Retrieved December 19, 2004 from www.proquest.com. Davis, J.L. and Smith, M. (2002). Medication Errors Rampant in Hospitals. WebMD Medical News. Retrieved on December 20, 2004 from www.mywebmd.com. Institute for Safe Medication Practices, (2004). Measuring Medication Safety, retrieved on December 19,2004 from www.ismp.org. Stein, R. (2004). Automated Systems For Drugs Examined; Report: Computers Can Add to Errors. The Washington Post, pg. A03. Retrieved December 20, 2004 from www.proquest.com. Risk Management and Prevention at a Medical Facility Essay -- Medical Risk Management Risk management is defined as a program directed toward identifying of, evaluating of, and taking corrective action against potential risks that could lead to injury of patients, staff, or visitors. It is a planned program of loss prevention and liability control, and its main purpose is to identify, analyze, and evaluate risks and then to develop a plan for reducing the frequency and severity of accidents and injuries (Decker and Sullivan, 2001). Risk management is a continuous daily program of detection, education, and intervention. This paper will describe the risk management issues at Great River Medical Center as they pertain to medication errors, and will describe the methods that are currently taking place to address this issue. Identifying Potential Risk Identifying potential risks for accident, injury, or financial loss requires formal and informal communication that involves all organizational departments in the facility. The risk management department at Great River Medical Center conducted on study on medication errors in the facility during preparation for a JACHO inspection. During this study, they discovered that medication errors had increased steadily over a 2 year period, and that many of them were because of illegibility reasons. The two most common legibility reasons included reading the initial order and reading the medication on the hand written medication sheet. According to Michael R. Cohen, MS, FASHP, from the Institute for Safe Medication Practices, poor handwriting is the leading cause of medication errors. Poor handwriting can blur the distinction between two medications that have similar names. And, many drug names sound similar, especially when spoken over the telephone, enunciated poorly, or mispronounced. At Great River Medical Center, this was also found to be one of the leading causes of medication errors. The inability of the nurse to read the written order and the inability to read the written medication sheet accounted for 20 % of the medication errors at GRMC. Other reasons for medication errors at GRMC include the following: ï‚ § Incomplete patient information (not knowing about patients' allergies other medicines they are taking, previous diagnoses, and lab results, for example); ï‚ § Unavailable drug information (such as lack of up-to-date warnings); ï‚ § Miscommunication of drug orders,... ...ch new implementation process. With the use of the Omni Cell dispensers, computerized order entry, and the electronic medical record, the hospital has seen a reduction of errors and near misses at approximately 75%. Along with this great statistic, also comes peace of mind to an already stressed out and over worked staff, that wants to provide the best care possible for the patients. References: Anonymous, (2004). Nursing BC. Vol.36, Iss.5; pg.33, Vancover. Retrieved December 18, 2004 from www.proquest.com. Business Wire, (2004). Hospitalist Physicians Partner with Clinical Pharmacists to Improve Patient Outcomes, Reduce Medication Errors. Business Wire, pg. 1, New York. Retrieved December 19, 2004 from www.proquest.com. Davis, J.L. and Smith, M. (2002). Medication Errors Rampant in Hospitals. WebMD Medical News. Retrieved on December 20, 2004 from www.mywebmd.com. Institute for Safe Medication Practices, (2004). Measuring Medication Safety, retrieved on December 19,2004 from www.ismp.org. Stein, R. (2004). Automated Systems For Drugs Examined; Report: Computers Can Add to Errors. The Washington Post, pg. A03. Retrieved December 20, 2004 from www.proquest.com.

Invisible Man Essay: Inner, Outer, and Other Direction -- Invisible Ma

Inner, Outer, and Other direction in Invisible Man Ralph Ellison wrote his novel, Invisible Man, in an attempt to open our eyes.   Ellison created his nameless character, the Invisible Man, in order to establish a medium for the message of the novel.   It is the opinion of this student that if one chooses to further examine the protagonist character, then she or he can better understand the themes behind Ellison's narrative.   As one analyzes the novel, he or she soon recognizes a number of predominant character traits that can be associated with the Invisible Man.   This student was fortunate enough to experience a lesson of that which the characteristics of inner, outer, and other direction were discussed.   Once an understanding of concepts from the lesson was established, the assessment of Ellison's work became less painful.   The characteristics are simple. Inner simply represents an individual's self-motivation for taking an action.   Outer represents an individual's attempt to please others in the actions the he or she takes, and other signifies an individuals attempts to emulate those around him.   The protagonist in Invisible Man displays each characteristic during the course of the novel, but two dominate his mindset and eventually aid in formulating Ellison's theme.   This scholar will attempt to examine each characteristic in the following paragraphs, and it is hoped that the reader will attain a better understanding of the novel itself.   The inner character attribute is nearly non-existent in the Invisible Man.   This, for the most part, can be contributed to ideologies that the character feels compelled to adopt during the span of the novel.   Although the content of each ideology differs, there are a number of const... ...imply reveal himself to society, combined with his persistence to act the part of another, prevents for true self identification.   As with Bledsoe, Ellison's protagonist remains lost and unfulfilled.   Ellison successfully creates a character capable of expressing inner, outer, and other direction, but often choosing only the latter two.   The lack of inner direction renders the Invisible Man incapable of establishing himself.   The ideologies and principles presented by others never reflected the narrator's true beliefs, and throughout the novel, he struggled to contour his mind and heart to their demands.   Ironically, the reader is faced with the dismal fact that despite the narrator's abilities, he remains just the same as he was presented in the first chapter.   He is a man without an identity.   Works Cited: Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man New York: 1952.