Caste System in India and Social Status Essay

What night is donned upon my nation, lord? â€Å"Atleast she has an employment guarantee.† â€Å"Even if the employment is manual scavenging† â€Å"Someone will do it, why not she† â€Å"She is a little child. She also has a right to education and decent livelihood.† Ah! I then realized what void argument have I given. Who will provide them education and what will it fetch them? â€Å"She is anyway having two meals.† And yes so true is that. Food is much more important than dignity. Even if they are maltreated it is their destiny. The concept of destiny has always remained a puzzle to me. And this destiny is based on the social status of their parents. Yesterday there was a shraaddh ceremony in my village. It is organised to worship, to acknowledge our ancestors. Therefore I made a rare visit to my village. While serving the food I saw two little girls, wearing tattered clothes and with unkempt hairs. On enquiring I came to know that they belonged to scheduled caste. One of my cousins told me that they are engaged in cleaning others’ excreta manually. I could not believe it. They were barely 5-6 years old. I was astonished at the fact that how agreeingly they had given in to the social discrimination. I gave them a sympathetic look but they didn’t react. They didn’t care about by compassion, they just wanted food. My sympathy would not satisfy their hunger and hunger is the m ost prominent feeling they have. They don’t need dignity or education which will not bring them food. They don’t care if they have to clean gutters or do manual scavenging. They are not aware of their rights under Article 15, Article 17, Article 21A or Article 24 and they don’t give a damn to it. I wonder if the twinkling of stars ever reach their eyes. The time running on our wrists seems frozen in their eyes. How hopeless seem their eyes! They don’t question anyone. But once you see them it is impossible to escape (Tears fill my eyes). I wish the oppressor would also look at them once. We have made their life so blunt. Its a crime, I tell you people, it is a crime to kill even the hope of hopes. And then they talk about religion. What religion? Whose caste and cultures? Is God only of the rich and powerful? Do the oppressed have no God? A sin it is. I speculated if they were also acknowledging their ancestors these days. What will they thank them for? Poverty and gloom is their inheritance and ignominy their heritage. Even after spending their entire life doing these odd jobs they gain nothing and remain trapped in this vicious circle. Nothing changes and generations after generations exhaust their life in it. Will someone come to their rescue? When I went to serve them meal I was precautioned many times by my kins to be very careful about keeping the utensils substantially far to keep them (obviously utensils) â€Å"clean†. Even after continually encountering social seclusion they remained undeterred. â€Å"You should be grateful and proud that you are born in human race, in a hindu family and that too in a BRAHMIN family.† According to my family being born in a BRAHMIN family was the biggest achievement of my life. But after seeing what I had lately seen these declarations seem so hollow. I feel pity, I feel guilty for being a brahmin. Where is humanity, God? â€Å"What night is donned upon my country, lord?† Night which gets darker with the sunrise (as its the time to make the world cleaner and their life dirtier). Now the question arises is that how will it change? And more importantly who will bring the change? The more I try to find the answers the more disheartened I am. Who will provide an answer? Politicians- Though the law considers all the people equal but law-keepers don’t. If the casteism and thus untouchability ends, how will their shops run? How will they gain votes by dividing the society? They would not let this stigma end. Education- Even if they go to schools they will be discriminated and secluded. That learning has no meaning which leaves them despondent and unemployed. There is no use of education unless it is free and practical. Bureaucrats- Most of the officials are ignorant and indifferent towards these people though many people from their community are obtaining significant positions. They do little or nothing to improve the condition of these people. Government policies- It is well-known that policies are never rightly implemented in India. Reservation is a fine example. The prosperous are the beneficiaries whereas the poor remain poor and needy remain needy. Common people- It is the foremost responsibility of privileged castes to be humane. I often think if really there is some God we would be punished, our life can’t be so perfect (though it really is not). I would like to summarise my message as FEAR NONE BUT GOD. However I often doubt the presence of God. I really can’t follow a religion which renders people hopeless and suppress their rights. My conscience is my God. And for the unprivileged sections, â€Å"God helps those who help themselves.† So be courageous, be aware and send your children to schools rather than to clean gutters as it is not only about them but even the fore coming generations. Education is much more important than a little more money. I won’t end it on a sad note. The morning of this dark night will definitely come. I urge the people in power to visit these people and see how they have given up the hope to rise, how the dogmas of caste has ran down to their veins. And I request the advantaged sections to restudy the vedas and let these people choose. Make humanity your religion. And do remember that you are not following the Brahmin rules, so don’t push them back. I challenge you to beg for living before pressurising the oppressed to do this inhuman work. Rise! O rise! Before you fall. Let the positivity penetrate into their skin and get to their blood. Let them live before they die. Provide them opportunities to learn the magic of words. Give them a fair chance to realise their potential and talents and choose their work so that Ambedkar becomes their soul and they his shadow. â€Å"†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦This division of labour is not spontaneous; it is not based on natural aptitudes. Social and individual efficiency requires us to develop the capacity of an individual to the point of competency to choose and to make his own career. This principle is violated in the Caste System, in so far as it involves an attempt to appoint tasks to individuals in advance—selected not on the basis of trained original capacities, but on that of the social status of the parents†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..† – B.R. Ambedkar

Emerging possibilities and ongoing reforms Essay

In 21st century, nations are increasingly becoming diverse, globalised, and complex and media structured. This rapidly changing world filled with fantastic new tribulations needs to be addressed using exciting new emerging possibilities. To adopt new possibilities, modern education reforms are progressively driven by a growing understanding of what works in education and how to go about productively improving teaching and learning in schools. This essay will focus on emerging possibilities and ongoing reform in primary education that are necessary for 21st century learning and hence need to be embraced both locally and globally. This essay will include the elaboration on emerging technologies that are being utilized with the purpose of meeting the global and local requirements and ongoing reforms on education such as Gonski for better schools, Melbourne declaration that acknowledges major changes in the world that are placing new demands on Australian education and globalization. People around the world are taking their education out of school into homes, libraries, internet cafes and workplaces, where they can decide what they want to learn, when they want to learn and how they want to learn. (Colin, Allan et.al, 2009, p3). This new learning model uses technologies to enable people of all ages to pursue learning on their own terms. Traditional class room based, single teachers as instructor model of education has now been replaced by emerging technologies that are being developed constantly in today’s fast moving digital world. It is an innovative technology that is reshaping the nature of education. Computer and network based technologies now hold great potential for increasing the access to information as well as a means of promote learning. (schoolcomputing.wikia.com/wiki/Emerging_Technologies). It redefines the way educators teach and the role of sole source of information to being a guide, facilitator and coach in the learning process. The major emerging technologies for primary education can be interactive whiteboard, I pads and cloud computing. Interactive whiteboard is designed to help students learn variety of ways and for teachers to teach in a range of ways with the ability of using online resources and fun presentation. It is an emerging technology in Australia but globally like UK it has been found to be successful and effective in teaching primary students (Torff & Toritta, 2010). Now what is the rationale for using interactive whiteboard in primary classroom? It increases motivation and performance of student as teachers  can integrate flexibly a variety of pedagogical approaches and the power to efficiently deliver multimedia or multimodal presentation with a touch sensitive screen. It can also increase the student and teacher interaction and can make the teachers teaching process smoother and effective. An interesting element of interactive whiteboard is it allows students from different classroom around country and globally to interact through programs such as Skype or YouTube. This allows for an expansive online classroom, broadening the students own community of practice. Another form of emerging technology is the use of Ipad in the classroom, which is a creative, hands-on device which allows students through educational applications, eBooks and iTunes to engage with content interactively and instantly obtain information moving away from the industrial era model where the classroom is the central learning place. Why do teachers might use Ipad in primary classroom? There are number of reasons why Ipad can be very beneficial emerging technology but one of the most useful features is its sharing information, receiving updates and conducting research hence helpful in communicating and collaborating with the world outside the classroom. Ipad can be very useful tool to interact with others around the world so it connects and create extended learning. Final emerging new technology for 21st century learner is cloud computing. It refers to as the future of education and storing and accessing of applications and computer data often through web browser rather than running installed software on personal computer. (www.cloudcomputingdefined.com). It is an interactive tool where student and teacher can instantaneously collaborate both in and out of the classroom and learn in real time with instant feedback. Cloud computing provides transparency for teachers and their student; collectively they are able to communicate with each other. What is the rational for cloud computing being a useful emerging technology for 21st century learner? One of the reasons it can be useful is its versatility as it can be accessed from home or school therefore great for collaborative assessments or group based projects. This new technology will encourage students to develop and maintain ICT skills (http://cloud-computing3100.wikispaces.com/Rationale+for+cloud+computing). The driving force behind educational reform comes from new technologies that greatly enhance educational opportunities. These new emerging technologies  allow the improved pedagogy that will revolutionize learning. ( Molebash, 1999). In 21st century, ubiquitous availability of ICT had significant implications on education. A significant reform is needed in education, world-wide, to respond to shape global trends. Systematic education reform is needed that include curriculum like National education agreement, pedagogy, teacher training and school organization like GONSKI reform. (Mcgaw, 2009, p1). Earlier this year, Skidmore and Carmicheal mentioned in The Telegraph UK that â€Å"reform is not only necessary, it is essential if we are to ensure that pupils are equipped with the knowledge and skills for the twenty first century.’(Skidmore and Carmicheal, 2013). Being able to do my practical placement at Garfield Barwick School managed by Royal Institute of Deaf and Blind Children (RIDBC), I realized that there is a huge requirement of special education teachers not only in Australia but globally. In England, an education reform is passed where parents are given control over their children’s special education needs (SEN) budgets, allowing them to choose expert support rather than local authorities being the sole provider. (Quinn and Malik, 2012). This is described as being the biggest reform of SEN for 30 years. However, while this reform offer hope, it create anxiety among parents too, as it divides children into two groups School Action and School Action plus. Lorraine Peterson, chief executive officer of the Nation Association of SEN, fears teachers could be left with endless lists of pupils and too little expertise as to how to deal with them (Shepherd, 2012). Furthermore ,there is also a concern in relate to this reform that what impact it will have of forward planning and co-ordination of putting budgets in the hands of many individuals and families, keeping in mind that not all parents are best advocates of their children’s needs hence will not be able to provide the best expert assistance for their children. (Shepherd, 2012). This is one of the drawbacks of SEN reform in England. In comparison to that, Australian government has deferred this reform since 2009 in order to allow more time for further consultation. (â€Å"Special education reform put on hold – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)†, 2009). An article by Philip Garner and Fiona Forbes in 2012 mentioned that Australia is appeared to slow down in some areas of special education and appearing to adopt wait and see approach. (Garner and Forbes, 2012, P 62). Currently Australia is investing $550 million in Improving Teacher Quality National  Partnership, in this reform agenda, priority and highest status should be given to inclusive environment to ensure that schools are given best possible teachers to be inclusive for the special need education. (Garner and Forbes, 2012, P 65). Special education need reform is not particularly focused locally but globally like UK it is getting implemented. The core principal behind this reform is proper funding to school and teacher training to allow every child to receive world class education and Australia is endeavoring to establish a reform around SEN. Gonski reform can correlate to SEN reform as it focuses on the funding of schools to support their student and help teachers to receive additional training and support, from pre-service teachers to principals. Under Better School Plans commencement in 2014, it is a plan to improve results of all schools and students by introducing education reforms that evidently improves results. This plan is based on five core areas; 1.Quality teaching 2.Quality learning 3.Empowered school leadership 4.Meeting student need 5.Greater transparency and accountability This plan aims to take Australian schools into top five by 2025 (What is the Better Schools Plan?, n.d. ). Therefore why do we need this plan? This plan is mandatory to meet the international standard as it has been revealed that even though Australian schools are good, our performance is declining and a greater gap has developed between highest and lowest performing students. The recent review of funding of schooling stumbled on current school funding do not fulfill the requirements necessary to meet the educational needs of all students (What is the Better Schools Plan?, n.d. ). In my point of view, Melbourne Declaration on education goals for Young Australians can articulate better school plans core reforms by overarching two goals for schooling in Australia where one goal promote equity and excellence in schools and secondly making creative individuals and active and informed citizen. Under this declaration, local education goals can collaborate with global education goals. The Melbourne Declaration supports National Education Agreement which articulates the commitment of Australian government to ensure that all Australian school students acquire the  knowledge and skills to participate effectively in society and employment in a globalised economy. (Educational goals | ACARA†, 2009). This National Education Agreement (NEA) has been made between the Commonwealth of Australia and all State and territories. The key objective of this agreement is to enable Australian students to compete with world and participate effectively. Under this agreement, the state wise curriculum is abandoned and standardized curriculum is introduced which is called national curriculum. It is ongoing reform and changes to curriculum is commencing from next year starting from English then moving into Mathematics and Science. Consequently, all of these reforms are in cooperating emerging possibilities to meet the local and global requirement. (National Education Agreement, 2012). To meet the pace and acceleration of 21st century, these emerging technologies need to be embraced and in doing so reforms need to be constructed, this way we will achieve success both locally and globally. In conclusion, education is transformed by emerging possibilities and in this technology rich environment, one must remember that educational focus is on learning and instructional goal instead of technology itself, because technologies are merely tools or vehicles to deliver instruction and are just driving force for education reform. These emerging technologies shift the local education scale to global and hence promote to develop reform around these new emerging possibilities so we can meet the global standard. Thus, for successful 21st century learner, emerging possibilities and ongoing reforms are necessary and need to be embraced both locally and globally. References Cloud Computing Defined. (n.d.). Retrieved October 1, 2013, from http://www.cloudcomputingdefined.com Educational goals | ACARA. (2009). Retrieved from ACARA website: http://www.acara.edu.au/reporting/national_report_on_schooling_2009/national_policy_context/educational_goals.html Educational goals | ACARA. (n.d.). Retrieved October 3, 2013, from http://www.acara.edu.au/reporting/national_report_on_schooling_2009/national_policy_context/educational_goals.html Garner, P., & Forbes, F. (2012). Disposable assets. Are special education teachers still needed in 21st

Self-Disclosure, Gender, and Communication Research Paper

Self-Disclosure, Gender, and Communication - Research Paper Example Yes, but not too soon. I am answering this from a perspective of a single person. Self-disclosure is a liberating and in deepens a relationship but it should be done with timing and caution. Revealing too much too soon may scare the other party. Self-disclosure is appropriate when a certain degree of intimacy and length of being together has already been established. 3. What about gender differences? Remember, although research has found differences in gender communication, it has also found similarities. What kind of similarities between genders have you experienced?   I agree that each gender has different communication style. This was best illustrated in John Gray’s book Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus that tells that men communicate in exact quantifiable terms while women communicate in descriptive terms (1993). Still, this does not mean that they do not have a convergent point in communication. Both have a need to relate to each other emotionally, to be understood and to be appreciated. I felt that I do not fit into Terri Orbuch’s generalization because her study was based on married couples of which I am not. I would not know how to relate to the conclusion that couples of more than 50 years only communicate no more than three minutes in an hour long dinner (Orbuch, 2011). I agree however on her point of view that real communication involves really knowing and relating to the other person and not just a conversation about certain tasks. Orbuch, Terri (2011). Can we talk? Chicago Tribute. Retrieved from

Knowledge Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Knowledge Management - Essay Example The paper talks about knowledge management that has been developed as a tool as well as an effective strategy that focuses on using of data, information and knowledge among the people in an organization. It therefore concentrates on creating, sharing and utilizing the data or information that are either stored in database or documented in scripts or papers, and converting them to useful forms of knowledge for the benefits of the organization. Data is un-processed information, and when these are gathered, analyzed, interpreted and recorded in documents or database, it becomes information. Knowledge occurs when people gain information and are processed for the use of them in the organization. For several years, organizations have been solely depending on documents for recording and analyzing the data as well as information, but in recent years, technologies have got major significance and roles in the knowledge management landscape due to the advances in information technology. Tacit a nd Explicit knowledge are common terms in knowledge management literature. Knowledge can be classified as either explicit or tacit. This classification is based on where the data, information and knowledge are stored. According to this classification, knowledge management is a process of storing and making them used for the business throughout the papers, documents, data base as commonly referred as explicit knowledge. Information and knowledge that exists in people’s mind are known to be part of tacit knowledge. ... Tacit and Explicit knowledge are common terms in knowledge management literature. Knowledge can be classified as either explicit or tacit. This classification is based on where the data, information and knowledge are stored. According to this classification, knowledge management is a process of storing and making them used for the business throughout the papers, documents, data base as commonly referred as explicit knowledge. Information and knowledge that exists in people’s mind are known to be part of tacit knowledge (Noe, p. 170). Knowledge that are stored in computers assisted by certain specially built software are very similar to that of tacit knowledge, despite the fact that they are commonly referred as explicit, because they can easily be processed than that of papers or documents. Though both papers and technology data base together are known as explicit forms, technology has made tremendous changes and brought greater conveniences in the field of knowledge managemen t, because technology made knowledge management an easy process. Tacit knowledge is more valuable and possesses greater significance in terms of its effectiveness to business, because knowledge that exist in people’s mind can easily be processed, transferred, shared and converted to more useful forms. People may need more efforts in identifying suitable information from the documents or computers, analyzing them, summarizing and interpreting and finally using them for the business purposes. In short, knowledge management comprises of creation, sharing and using of information and knowledge, that are stored either in papers, documents, database or

Case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 44

Case study - Essay Example An imbalance in global trade also created challenges in the container carriers (New Bioactive Alkyl Sulfates from Mediterranean Tunicates, 2012). The strategies Meli Marine used for competing included increasing competitive intensity this was by container carriers supporting prices. For instance, if demand for containers went down, then vessels could be activated, so that fixed costs could be minimized. Another strategy was to have bigger cascading and ships this was to reduce the cost, and to increase the resulting profits. Having larger ships could result in a â€Å"cascading effect†. The final strategy was overcapacity threat. In the early years, overcapacity was an issue, but later it was implemented as the industries added capacity, faster than global trade could absorb it (New Bioactive Alkyl Sulfates from Mediterranean Tunicates 2012). Other key competitors performed differently from Meli Marine the likes of Evergreen Marine. It was leading to the market capacity with more TEUs than those of Meli Marine. The evergreen was recognized as being the best shipping line for several years. Wan Hai Lines was concerned with diversifying its client’s base and becoming a world carrier. It operated its terminals and competed in a container and vessel leasing. Yang Ming Marine managed the vessel and container leasing, logistic unit and also had its terminal (New Bioactive Alkyl Sulfates from Mediterranean Tunicates, 2012). David Tian being the new CEO was to make several changes and more improvements to ensure Meli Marine competed effectively with its competitors. It was by ensuring that he increased they also owned their operational terminal, and they also operated container and vessel leasing, and he was also to ensure that they held a logic unit. All this could place the industry in a good position to compete with the others (New Bioactive Alkyl Sulfates from Mediterranean Tunicates,

Atomic Bomb Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Atomic Bomb - Research Paper Example Miscamble C.S.C  (Cambridge University Press, 192 pp.) This book focuses on the American use of the atomic bomb and how it affected the result of World War II by exploring the situation and context in which President Truman decided to use the atomic bomb. Miscamble uses archival research and latest scholarship to address the value of the decision to end the war and at the same time writes on the moral premise of such an act. The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb: Hiroshima and Nagasaki: August 1945 by Dennis D. Wainstok  (Westport: Praeger, 1996. x, 180 pp.) In his book Dennis D.Wainstock, a teacher at the Salem–Tieyko University in Salem, West Virginia, discusses the political aspect and the implications of President Truman’s decision in the backdrop of the last year of World War II, when the Japanese were on the brink of conditional surrender. The author uses important sources e.g. Strategic Bombing Survey interrogations of leading Japanese officials to substantiat e his argument. Atomic Tragedy: Henry L. Stimson and the Decision to use the Bomb against Japan by Sean L. Malloy Atomic Tradgedy provides a distinct outlook of the situation in World War II and the decision to drop the atomic bomb. ... In the August of 1945, towards the end of the World War II, the United States of America dropped two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The estimated loss of life within four months after the bombing were more than 80,000 in Hiroshima and 60,000 in Nagasaki, with almost half of the deaths occurring on the first day only.1 To date these bombings have been the only instance of nuclear weapon use in a war. Such an acute episode of mass killing along with its long-term radiological consequence is unprecedented in the wars of the twentieth century. In order to assess the necessity of such an act it is important to analyze the event in the military and political backdrop of the involved nations. In his book ‘The most controversial decision’ Miscamble provides a persuasive argument behind the rationale to bomb Japan. Miscamble states in the book that â€Å"the time has come at long last to explode permanently the myth of a Japan ready to surrender.à ¢â‚¬ 2Although Germany had already surrendered Japan was providing fierce resistance to the Allied forces. The Americans had suffered huge losses in the battles at Iwo Jima and Okinawa and now they had to prepare for more losses which would be incurred during the invasion of Japan. Many in America’s military regime were ready to bend their initial war aim and accept a conditional surrender by the Japanese but the latter’s minimum demand was that their emperor system should remain intact. This was unacceptable to the Americans as President Truman believed that the root of Japan’s militarism was their imperialist government. Furthermore negotiations with the Japanese would take months which would provide Japan enough time to strengthen their

Energy Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Energy Industry - Essay Example Alaska, California, Louisiana succeedingly ranked in its respective slate in 1989 for generating 41% of oil but have degraded its supply contribution to 17% of total oil output recently (Styles, 2013). This decline is supplemented with the development of extractive industry at New Dakota which replaced Alaska in 2012and is contributed further by Colorado, Oklahoma and New Mexico’s rigs (Styles, 2013). The risk however is showed by oil generation reduction when the principal pipeline of onshore oil production became a funnel for oil importation (Styles, 2013). There is imminent reduction of New Mexico’s oil supply too following the Deepwater Horizon incident in 2010 (Styles, 2013). Economists recognized that the challenged nowadays is how the oil supplies from the upper part of the country to be distributed in the regions needing more of oil supply efficiency for domestic market demands (Styles, 2013). Such meant that the company therefore should be re-strategizing its w ays to balance the distribution of oil from region with crude surplus to other areas by transporting or shipping the refined products via multiple tankers to the Midwest (Styles, 2013). Recognizing that there is reduced supply after more than two decades of extraction, the challenge on oil production and efficiency distribution is doubled, notwithstanding fact that there are Oil Companies now eyeing oil resource in Monterey deposit (Styles, 2013). Suffice it to say, there is further challenges in the participation of the states in the west coast and hence, economist purviewed that California, Oregon, Nevada, and Washington will be primordially affected when oil production and distribution disruption happens (Styles, 2013). As an adviser to the consultant of the oil industry sector, the following vulnerabilities are therefore significant for consideration: 1. Improving quality control for oil generation and control.- Oil companies have been confronting problems on facilities and pipe lines safety amid issues that have happened on leakage or destruction in some significant part of the generation or oil refinery plants that caused and cost significant amount of destruction. 2. Problems involving social acceptability of tapping oil reserves- Strong sentiments on climatic changes, environmentalism and protection of indigenous peoples rights, as well as strong presence of armed elements over their lands are major causes of resistance from regions where proposed tapping of oil reserves are abound. Company managers must look into these concerns and seriously deal states and communities in rigorous dialogues. They must also be ready of measures to prevent potential outbreak of violence. 3. Future oil production and distribution efficiency for the Midwest states. The significance of this matter is highly elaborated in the preceding paragraphs of this paper. 4. Adaptation to renewal energy. Review the capacity of renewable energy production of the country and valuate its supplementary contribution to meet the demands for energy for Midwest states. Evaluate if the states can opt to maximize the potentials of renewable sources of power and its feasibility to double or triple it adaption (Department of Energy, 2013). Concerns relating to climatic changes and weather patterns must be accounted for serious consideration too on how renewable energy be maximized in accord to weather

Mercy killing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Mercy killing - Essay Example The terminology mercy killing on the other hand refers to someone taking a direct action to terminate the life of a patient without permission from the patient. The decision to take such an action is usually made on the assumption that the patient’s life is no longer meaningful or that if the patient was in a position to say so, he would express his desire to die (Padilla 219). The distinction between mercy death and mercy killing is that mercy death is voluntary and is conducted with the permission of the patient and often at his request while mercy killing is involuntary and does not involve the patient’s permission or request. None of the actions is more morally acceptable than the other and arguments exist against these actions. Many arguments used against suicide are applicable to mercy death to some extent but the issues surrounding mercy death are complicated by the fact that another person has to do the killing (Padilla 227). If patients who request for mercy de ath would wait to see the results of medical therapy and science, they would probably adjust to their situations and change their minds about dying. Mercy killing is also complicated by the fact that it is done without the consent of the patient and this is a violation of the Value of Life Principle, no one has the right to decide whether a person’s life is worthy. Human beings also have rights and they are not the same as those of animals and no matter what science may say no human being is merely an animal. Question 2: What are the arguments for and against mercy death? Is it morally justifiable in some situations? The first argument about mercy death is that people who are suffering and in pain are usually in a state of fear and depression and therefore cannot simply make rational decisions, if such patients were to wait and see what medical science and therapy can do for them they would probably adjust to their situation and change their minds about dying. The second argu ment states that just as we are generally willing to put animals out of their misery when they suffer, we should do the same for human beings but the rights of human beings to live and die are not the same as those of animals. Western religions maintain that human beings have immortal souls and even non religious humanists talk about the human spirit or personality stating that it should be accorded greater respect than the mere physical self (Padilla 230). Mercy killing is a direct violation of the Principle Value of Life mainly because it involves taking the life of an innocent person, murder is murder regardless of the motive and this is cemented by the fact that patients have not or cannot give their consent for the termination of their lives. The domino argument states that because the consent of patients cannot be obtained, an outside decision about the worth, value and meaning of a patient’s life has to be made but this is a dangerous move because no one has the right to decide if a person’s life is worthy, has value or is meaningful. There is also a possibility of finding cures in future and patients could therefore continue living. In cases of financial and emotional burdens to the family but finances and emotions should not be determining factors where human life is concerned. Both mercy death and mercy killing are not morally justifiable because humane alternatives for both mercy death an

Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) Research Paper

Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) - Research Paper Example This technique has made it possible for people that do have a specific genetic condition to avoid passing it on to their off spring (Ashcroft, 2013, p. 218). It is important to make a distinction between pre-implantation genetic diagnosis and preimplantation genetic screening. The diagnosis procedure refers specifically to the situation whereby one or both of the genetic parents of a child in question actually has one or more numerous types of serious genetic abnormalities. If this is the case, the pre-implantation genetic diagnosis procedure can be performed on a particular embryo to determine if it also carries that specific genetic abnormality as well. Pre-implantation genetic screening, on the other hand, is a procedure that is performed when embryos from genetic parents are thought to be normal from a chromosomal perspective, but the genetic parents are screened for aneuploidy (Ashcroft, 2013). The purpose of the pre-implantation genetic diagnosis procedure is, to a large degree, to ensure that only unaffected embryos end up being transferred to the uterus for implantation. This is a viable alternative to the current diagnostic procedures that are typically run after naturally conception has occurred. Examples of this include amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling. These tests are often followed by difficult decisions having to be made if abnormal results are achieved, such as deciding to terminate the pregnancy. This issue is quite important today as pre-implantation genetic diagnosis remains the only option that is currently available for parents who are genetically predisposed to certain serious genetic diseases to avoid giving birth to a child that will have the same disease. This must take place prior to the embryo being transferred, or lasting psychological and emotional harm may occur (Dayal, 2010). The

BHP Billiton’s Case study for Corporate Citizenship Essay Example for Free

BHP Billiton’s Case study for Corporate Citizenship Essay Corporate citizenship focuses on the kind of responsibility companies apply toward the community they are operating in. The area of focus could be how customers and the community could be impacted by what a given company or corporation is doing. The area of concern could include the communities such companies are operating in, stakeholders that include shareholders, employees, and other businesses such as suppliers that are interacting or working with such entities. What is involved in corporate citizenship is more than statuary obligation where companies are required to meet certain standards and requirements by law. Corporate citizenship evaluates what business entities with various forms are doing to add to the quality of life of their employees and their dependants, as well as the community they are operating in, including the larger society that their community is part of. Corporate citizenship, also known as corporate social responsibility (Catalyst Consortium, 2002) has opponents and proponents where the opponents argue that focusing on corporate citizenship will derail businesses from focusing on their main concern, which is the usual role businesses are playing in the community. Others are saying, in reality the whole concept is not more than a window-dressing. There are opponents who insist that focusing on corporate citizenship will enable businesses to divert the attention governmental watchdogs are directing at them. What the proponents highlight is if corporations and similar businesses are sensitive to social responsibilities, it will directly benefit them by enabling them to avoid focusing on their short-term drive to maximize profit (Fields, 2002). What is involved in all this is the ethics of doing responsible business in communities where these numerous big businesses that could be corporation are involved, whereby being ethical in what they are doing will benefit them more, by enabling them to avoid pitfalls that could come to haunt them. At the same time, the numerous communities that are accommodating numerous businesses will be free of harm by their wrongdoing. It is difficult to quantify and to come up with some kind measurement technique concerning what should be the standard ethical conformity required from each business entity because of the varied involvement each one of them has in what they are doing (Thillmany, 2007). It is possible to mention Demngs’s Fourteen Points, Balanced Scorecards (Leadership Institute) as an effort to introduce some kind of a standard, although it is difficult to see how successfully it will do the job. Furthermore, Orilizty, Schmidt, and Rynes (2003) had demonstrated that there is a correlation between social performance that takes into consideration the environment and financial performance. The problem with such outlook had been since businesses are aware of their social responsibility they would avoid focusing on the short-term gain they would garner from their conducting business. Some of the key components of corporate responsibilities might involve charitable activities or volunteering to activities that require the input of bigger entities. It is also possible divisions such as human resources or public relations could look after corporate responsibility, while using other divisions in an organization if they are suitable cannot rule them out. It is also possible that it could involve the CEOs or the Boards. There are key areas in an organization where corporation responsibility more vivid. One of them is human resources where the kind of hiring and retaining practice that pertaining to a given firm will enable it to attract good employees and having such practice in place would enable to portray a good image in the community it is operating in. Another area that needs attention is the kind of risk management applied in a given firm, where if anything goes wrong it will be difficult to repair a damaged corporation image. Incidents such as corruption and environmental accidents could exacerbate the erosion of a corporation’s image and requires handling with the utmost care. Overall, the kinds of advantages a corporate that has a good image and is good citizen could reap could a long way and could avail a vast advantage for those that could score high marks. There is also a case where corporations would like to minimize outside interference directed at them, especially by governmental bodies that could levy heavier taxes or introduce strict regulations. Such measures could impeded the advancement corporations can make and one way to avoid that is to engage in various activities such as a concern for the safety and health of their workers, introducing diversity, making the environment their priority, and getting engaged in the community they are operating using the available various channels. In all this, it is possible that corporations will find themselves in a dilemma, because their primary goal is to maximize profit for the stakeholders and if they do not fulfill that obligation, they will not generate enough interest to attract investors. There are economists such as Milton Friedman (NYT) who had openly advocated that since the main drive of corporations is to make profit, they do not have to be worried about the society around them. Such strong-held views had been defied simply because if every corporation strives to become a good citizen, whatever it incurs for doing so will be part of doing normal business. The investors who are members of society will reward those that are good corporate citizens, while they shun away from those that are not, and that obviously affects corporations that fall behind in meeting their good citizenship role. It is also possible that some of the operation of some corporations might have a negative impact on society, on their employees, on the environments and the like, yet they could engage in a public relation campaign to distract critics, observers, or regulators. A few examples to cite are tobacco or petroleum companies whose operations cause damages and no amount of public relation could hide that. In a situation like this, those who can control such operators such as governments, investors, as well as suppliers could exert pressure on them to meet certain good citizenship requirements. Overall, it is possible for corporations to be good citizens and become effective business operators. At the same time, even if some corporations try to become good citizens, because of what they are involved in, it will take them longer time to meet the requirements. The outcome validates that if corporations are not responsible and accountable for what they are doing and have more inputs into the communities they are operating, and unless they oversee the welfare of their workers, as well as numerous partners and stakeholders, in today’s market place where information travels fast, it could cost them a lot. The high price to pay could be worse for those that are public companies, simply because they could be deprived valuable resources such as capital, expertise, manpower, and the like to make them conform. In light of that, this paper will analyze how BHP Billiton, an Australian based resource company is meeting its requirements of a good corporate citizenship. BHP Billiton The company claims that it is distinguished from the other resource companies because it has quality assets, a lineup of projects that the other companies do not have, it is claiming to be customer focused in its marketing effort, it is diversified across many countries, the commodities it deals with are also diversified and that includes the markets it is operating in. One final exception the company has is it is into petroleum business too. With its 39,000 worldwide workers, it is industry leader or near industry leader in commodity business, such as aluminum, energy, mostly coal petroleum and natural gas, copper, manganese, iron, uranium, nickel, silver, and titanium minerals. All this information and more, such as the $15. 6 billion net profit it made for the year 2007 is on the company’s website. It market capitalization from the same source is $140. 5 billion for August of 2007. The company came into existence when two dual listed companies, BHP limited and Billiton Plc merged in 2001. One other important information is the two merged companies continue to exists as separate entities, but they operate as a combined company under one board of directors (BHP Billiton, About Us). Stakeholders BHP Billiton clearly identifies its stakeholders and they start from its employees and contractors, the communities around them that use the products the company is coming up with. There are also those it claims to have influence on what it is doing and that group starts from the investment community as a whole, not only its shareholders, its business partners, organizations in the communities it is located in, unions, non-government organizations, suppliers, various governmental bodies, media, and industry associations. The company believes according to its own statement that accountability and transparency go together. Because of that, it claims that the company’s charter, its sustainable development policy, HSEC management standards, and the guide to proper business conduct is honest and done with integrity and fairness. The company claims that it is an avid believer in dialogue with its stakeholders, as it had witnessed the feedback it gets from them had enabled the management to refine their decision making accordingly, where all prevalent relation information is shared among staff that had resulted in strengthening the relationship with stakeholders. Furthermore, there had been a mechanism to address any grievance that originates from stakeholders. Company Approach to Sustainability The company claims that its sustainable development focuses on how its contributions will have a lasting effect on social, environmental, ethical and economic aspects of the company, as well of the communities it is operating in. Because of that, the company’s priority is to get it right the first time and claims that it has a holistic approach to what it is doing. One of its priorities, which is zero-harm is a requirement to all those involved in the company and they are accountable for their actions. The zero-harm drive focuses in creating a harm free work environment, as well considering the impact what it is doing would have on the environment. The reward it is seeking for accomplishing that is it wants to attract investors, by demonstrating their investment will not only be valued, but it will be made in a company that meets all its social obligations that goes beyond the mandated ones. The same applies to employees that it wants them to be attracted to it because of what it offers and because of the stand it had taken in the community. There is also getting preference from communities and stakeholders for being adherent to what the good corporate citizenship consensus requires. As far as the companies strategies are concerned, it take into account that it is a diversified company that will have to look after its cash flows, where some kind of stability is required in order to be in a position to meet financial, social, and environmental needs, while at the same time it delivers value to its stakeholders. The company admits that it also had a business dimension that it has to take into consideration because, without doing that it will find it difficult to meet its sustainability goal. However, it is with dedication to achieve that goal by making its priority the zero-harm policy that focuses on the well being of workers, communities, and the environment. Furthermore, it makes its priority an effective governance and risk management that will be part of how it operates, so that any wrongdoing will not backfire and affect its progress (BHP Billiton). Sustainability Reporting The company has a policy where it has to review its performance regularly and make its findings public. It believes that doing that will enable it to demonstrate that it is accountable and transparent. It further believes that doing so is an effective stakeholder engagement and the reporting process would become a management tool to measure performance, key company issues, and related management concerns and approaches. It claims that it uses two forms of reporting one online reporting and the other in print. To demonstrate there is a convergence between the company’s risk management and sustainability programs, the sustainability summary report is included as a chapter in the annual reports of the company. Because of the size of the company and what it is involved in, it will result in making the size of the stakeholders large, necessitating that each operation produces its own sustainability report in the locale and region that it operates (BHP Billiton, Our Business). There is a sustainability committee of the Board whose job is to oversee health, safety, environment, and community (HSEC). There are also line managers who are responsible to oversee HSEC performance. This function called HSEC function has the responsibility of providing guidance directly or through networks. It is also open for outside inputs that could originate form experts and it is possible to channel them through a forum on Corporate Responsibility. The diagram illustrates the prevalent structure for sustainable development. Accordingly, the structure demonstrates that it is possible to direct feedbacks to the highest governance body at the company. At the top of the structure there is BHP Billiton Board appointed by the shareholders to look after their interest. Then there is a subcommittee called Sustainability Committee and it main job focuses on HSEC risks, compliance with legal and regulatory requirements concerning HSEC, performance concerning HSEC matters. It is also responsible for preparing annual sustainability summary report. The members have the academic qualification that is pertinent to HSEC so that they can carry out their duty effectively. There is also a forum focusing on corporate responsibility that brings various stakeholders together to discuss and debate on social and environmental issues that are relevant to the company. The audit committee of the board has a job to make sure the financial reporting, internal control structure, risk management, and all required audit functions are in sound condition. The sustainability committee of the board and the audit committee work together, so that the overall overseeing of what takes place in the company meets the requirements. There is also a global ethics panel whose main job is to assist the CEO and to enable him meet the governance document requirement, whereby honesty, integrity, forwarding respect and dignity to others would be part of the CEO’s job. In addition, it deals with employees facing ethical issues, it reviews business conduct issues that came into existence, and it assesses new policy issues and recommendations. Healthy People The company claims that the well being of people is key to the success of what it does. Because of that, its zero harm policy is very important for the company. Safe Workplace The company here also claims the safety of those who work for the company, the contractors of various stripes, and the communities the company divisions are located in are all important for attaining its goal as a good corporate citizen. There are a host of measures that the company is introducing on an ongoing basis to safeguard the health of its employees and the communities that are hosting it wherever it operates. Environmental Commitment The company states that it operates in numerous countries operating a wide variety of business in locations that have different ecosystems. It recognizes that the businesses it is in could affect the environments. Key areas it is focusing on are emissions of gases and particulates, impact of what the company is doing on water quality, land disturbance, land-use change and habitat removal and the like that require more attention be paid on how some of the works are carried out. To deal with such problems the company has a charter that states that the company has an overriding priority to health, safety, environmental responsibility, and sustainable development. Some of the methods it is applying to attain this goal is to strive to be the leader in introducing sound industry practices, to set goals to achieve targets, and enhancing biodiversity protection by taking into consideration ecological values and the use of land. Social Responsibility The company recognizes that what it owns and what it does in various communities could affect cultures and living conditions. It strives to avoid negative social impacts as much as possible, and strives to maximize the benefits and opportunities the involved communities would get from what it is doing. Some measures it is taking to oversee the social responsibility issues are building trust and dialogue with those it believes will be affected by what it is doing, promoting human rights among its stakeholders where it would incorporate in what it does issues such as freedom of association, exclusion of child labor, prohibition of forced labor, proper and ethical use of security personnel. Building social and human capital by introducing community development, it proposes to recognize and respect indigenous people culture, belief, and traditional rights, and come up with facilities that will contribute enhancing and reserving of indigenous cultures. It also proposes to control all economic impacts it will create on others by creating economic opportunities such as employment, education in a form of training, and what it calls business spin-off, and all other impacts such as displacements, impacts on food and water supplies (CSR Network). Strength and Weakness The company strength starts from its size and its diversified asset base. As it had been the case if it plans to take advantage acquisition, it has what it takes to allure stakeholders of the targeted companies that had been true when it tried to acquire Rio Tinto for 75 billion pounds (Guardian CO. UK). As well as it could withstand market ups and downs since all its assets could not be subject to price change at the same time. It weakness stems from country risk where it has to go to many localities in order to procure what it wants and that will include undeveloped regions where the requirements could be much higher. As well as the risk of losing its investments without compensation is always because of political instability. The other areas is some of its products that it relies such as uranium and oil are hazardous for the environment and it does what it does amid pressure and opposition resulting making extracting and bringing those commodities expensive. Especially the company is under pressure to bring to a halt all its activities concerning mining uranium and there is a movement going some of it originating from some of its stakeholders who are asking to stop everything it has to do with uranium (Guardian Co. UK). External Corporate Citizenship Rating Sources When it comes to rating companies most of them had given it a very high mark. Among others, Ethics World had highlighted what BHP Billiton is doing as far as sustainability is concerned and accordingly this particular agency had approved the fact that it had a good stand in that area. (Ethics World). Another source SMH Australia had stated that according to Australia’s Responsibilities index had put Westpack a bank in Australia at the top of the index with a score for corporate responsibility of 99. 53, while BHP had come second with 93. 21 and the company it tried to acquire Rio Tinto came third at 91. 54 percent (Sydney Morning Herald). In accountability rating conducted in South Africa where BHP Billiton has interest and operation it had scored first according to Mineweb publication. It was UNISA Center for Corporate Citizenship that conducted the research, the sponsors being Barloworld and the Unisa College of Economic and Management Sciences according to the publication (Mineweb). REFERENCE BHP Billiton, â€Å"About Us†, www. bhpbillition. com-bbccontentrepositary/docs/aboutus/BGF. pdf BHP Billiton, â€Å"Our Business†, www. bhpbillition. com-bbccontentrepositary/docs/ourbusiness/metallurgicalcoal/Illawarracoal/publications/ICsustainReport. pdf

Pattern and Sequences of Child Development

Pattern and Sequences of Child Development Introduction Before birth, after and until adulthood children grow and develop continually. They follow an expected pattern of development to reach a stage to the next. However, we observe that each children develop at their own pace of time. With some children there may be delays in their pattern of development. In general, the pattern is seen in the growth of the body from head to toe, then the building of muscles to gain control on the body and then the formation of speech and the emotional responses are acquired. In order to describe the developmental process of the child, practitioners should base their observations on the following area of development; Physical Development This area of development studies how children acquire the below physical abilities to perform certain activities. Gross Motor Skills – These are movements made by large limbs such as kicking a ball, pulling a heavy object or throwing an object. Fine Motor Skills – These are fine and precise movement shown when holding a pencil correctly, retrieving a tiny object from the floor. Locomotive Skills – These are skills for balancing the body such as walking on a line, standing on one foot for a few minutes. Cognitive Development This area of development describes the intellectual development of the child. Children show a profound development in receiving, retaining, processing information. They are learning to think logical and understand. They are able to form imagination and learn problem solving skills. Communication Development This area of development considers the ability to communicate information in the form of speech, verbal and non-verbal, reading and writing, asking questions, discussing and gestures through body language. Social and Emotional Development This area of development deals with children’s ability to express their feelings and emotions. It also includes forming relationships, self- identity, social behaviour as how to speak courteously, caring for oneself and others and also how to deal with their emotions. Moral Development This area of development is closely related to the Social and Emotional Development. Here children are able to learn how to distinguish between right or wrong activities, how to react and behave towards others, how to make the right choices and they develop abstract moral reasoning. Researchers have observed that the development of children follows an expected stage in the form of time spans. This is referred to as Four Stages of Development according to Maria Montessori. First Plane of Development (0-6 Years) – The Period of Infancy 0-3 Years The human baby is fully dependent on the adult for its movement and interpretation of his needs, unlike other species of beings that are able to walk or make same kind of noises like their adults, almost immediately after they are born. The human child can only express by crying. Physically the child is disproportionate, for example, the child’s head is much larger in proportion to the whole body. By the age of three the child is significantly more independent and although physically still disproportioned the child has acquired movements, if not perfect but reasonably coordinated. 3-6 Years During this period the child of three although more physically proportionate than the child between birth to three, the child is still perfecting his coordination of movements. The Absorbent Mind along with the Sensitive Periods is still functioning, the child is absorbing all the impressions that surround his environment; however he is now able to question and reason before he accepts what he sees. The period between three to six marks the period of expansion, consolidation and completion. The child during this period is attracted to more challenging activities and his hands, Maria Montessori refers to as â€Å"the instrument of his intelligence† aids him to explore his environment sensorially. The child is ready for an environment outside his home; however â€Å"Help me to help myself† is his exclamation. Second Plane of Development (6 – 12 Years) – The Period of Childhood At this stage the child is physically independent and is stronger. The child constantly engages in activities to test how strong, fast, daring and challenging he/she is. The infant soft hair disappears and the first tooth falls. The child becomes slim, lean, limbs become larger showing proportion of an adult. There is mental and physical stability, a uniform growth. The period is characterised by reasoning and imagination. The child builds a bridge towards abstract thinking. The child seeks for intellectual independence. The motto here is â€Å"I can think it myself.† This is the period when the child is attracted to peer groups, what Dr Montessori refers to as the â€Å"Herd Instinct†. Normally, this group is of same sex. The group gives sense of belonging and tend to dress alike. They develop a feeling of loyalty. There is constant seeking of approval for their actions. The group consists of a leader, person second in command and the followers/doers of tasks, what is termed as â€Å"dog’s body†. They form a mini-organisation and establish strict rules and maintain intimate secrets. Dr Montessori believes that influence of such group is so essential that it prepares a child to perform grown up tasks efficiently, it develops the spirit of integrity, power of will and reasoning, able to make decisions, deduce, organise, plan and acquire problem solving skills. The child is also able to experience responsibilities to the group and its functions. Third Plane of Development (12 – 18 Years) – The Period of Adolescence Arrival of puberty marks the end of childhood and is the beginning of adolescence. Enormous changes occur both physically and mentally. Physically, between the ages 12 – 15, the body is disproportionate, example the boys develop longs arms and they become conscious of their appearance and clothing. The body reaches full maturity between fifteen and eighteen. The period is aimed at constructing a social self. It is characterised by self concern and self assessment. By exploring wider cultural issues, in relation to society at large, the adolescent is capable of critical thinking and re-evaluation. Studies show that they are susceptible to anorexia, bulimia. Psychologically they become more aware of the social being and therefore are ultra sensitive, antagonistic to authority, easily discouraged, experience emotional highs and lows, emotional doubts, experience a decrease in intellectual activities. The adolescent becomes interested in music, drama, dance and other creative acti vities, because these activities allows them self-expressions and begins to idolise people and organisations, which can lead to appreciate social values or engage in anti-social behaviours. This is the period when the child seeks to gain financial independence with the motto, â€Å"I can get it myself†. Montessori envisioned this period as the â€Å"Erd Kinder† or â€Å"Children of the Land†. Fourth Plane of Development (18 – 24 Years) – The Period of Maturity or Adulthood The fourth plane of development is similar to the first plane, in that it is the period of consolidation and expansion. This plane depends on how the child has passed the earlier planes of development. If all the needs in the above planes have been fulfilled the child will feel secure and well adapted to his environment, is more able to make decisions on how life should be and how to contribute to the human values. This period is characterised by construction of self-understanding and spiritual development. The person is seeking to know one’s own place within the world. The personality seeks to enhance emotional independence and the motto is, â€Å"I can stand on my own†. Influences of Development Young children are easily influenced by various factors in the environment which affects their learning and behavioural process. They can be affected by various social, environmental, economic and biological factors. Studies are conducted as to how the development of children is affected by both personal and external factors. Personal Factors Personal factors are those that are influenced by nature or genetic formation such as, Problems during pregnancy and at birth An embryo is made up of 46 chromosomes which carried the genetic information of both male and the female partners. An embryo may not survive if there are changes in the number of chromosome. If the embryo does survive, the extra or the missing chromosome will cause an effect in the learning and development of the child. For example, Down Syndrome is caused due to an extra chromosome. The foetal development of the child can be also affected due to mother’s behaviour towards health. If the mother continues to smoke and consume drugs during pregnancy can harm the child.Children with foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) have distinct facial features including small and narrow eyes, a small head, a smooth area between the nose and the lips and a thin upper lip. They also show symptoms such as hearing, facial, immune system problems, epilepsy etc. Children can also be affected if they are born prematurely whereby there development can be delayed Health The development of the child can be affected due to genetic disorders. For example, a blood disorder such as sickle cell disease can be a barrier for development, as the child may not be able to fully participate in any physical activities which require gross muscle movements. Disabilities Children with disabilities are challenged with cognitive abilities and physical growth. Many disabilities are caused due to genetic conditions at birth, for example Down Syndrome. External Factors Many external factors are also reasons affecting children’s development. They can be broadly divided into, Poverty In the United Kingdom many children are experiencing adverse poverty levels causing physical, social, emotional and psychological distress. It has been observed that they are mostly due to Relative Poverty rather than Absolute Poverty. â€Å"Relative Poverty is a comparison of income compared to the average. It is concerned with the material things and personal possessions that society sees as requirement to live daily life.† â€Å"Absolute Poverty is a lack of basic human needs including food, shelter, warmth, sanitation, health care and education.† Children affected by poverty are seen to lack necessities such as; a) Diet A balanced diet consists of right amount of vitamins and minerals in the food, important for the growth and development of children. Families experiencing poverty tend to purchase cheap and highly processes food. These foods contain high levels of saturated fat, sugar and salt causing obesity and malnutrition, the factors largely affecting the social and economic condition of the society among young people and adults. Imbalanced food further affects the diet leading to lethargy and hyperactive conditions which further cause behavioural problems among children in their physical, social and emotional factors. b) Housing Families experiencing poverty or those who fall under the lower income group may have insufficient housing facilities, with inadequate ventilation and heating problems causing colds and asthma. Children living in crowded houses may not have opportunities for physical exercises thus leading to obesity and delay in physical development. c) Play and Leisure Opportunities Children require opportunities to socialise and make use of the various social clubs and settings to develop their physical and social skills and personal interests such as hobbies. Families who are unable to afford the finances may not be able to help their children to make use of these facilities, including transport to travel to and back from the social clubs. Family Environments and Backgrounds A healthy family environment and background is profound for children’s development. Families that are able to provide balanced diet, good housing and play and leisure opportunities contribute to the well-being of children’s development. However, some families are unable to do so due to poverty or lower income causing depression, usage of drugs and alcohol among parents affecting child development. Family Circumstances Stress is another major social issue among families. Conditions such as long term illness, bereavement or separation among parents and other family members creates adverse effect on children’s physical, social and emotional development. Personal Choices and Decisions As children grow older, they are faced to make decisions independently thus causing peer pressure in their societal conditions, leading to consumption of alcohol and drugs. Usage of such substances may cause depression, anxiety, behavioural problems and the development of the brain. When they are not able to make purposeful decisions young people suffer dietary issues leading to malnutrition and obesity. Education Parents are the first educators. The values and beliefs children learn at home are vital for early social and personality development. A good quality education support children’s ability in intellectual development which helps to form self-identity, self-worth, self-esteem and self-confidence. Educational organisations such as schools, clubs, church should be provided such that children are supported in their social and moral development. Why Development May Not Follow the Expected Pattern The growth of children is observed to follow an expected pattern. They follow a successive developmental stage each supporting the other stage of development. At times there are delays in achieving this milestone which allows further investigation as to why the delay has been occurred. The following factors are outlined to describe the dilemma as to why the development may not follow the expected pattern; Emotional Influences Children are seen to thrive in a safe and happy environment. When children are able to develop attachment with their parents, other members of the family, peers and practitioners their emotional needs are fulfilled. Physical Reasons Children should be provided with appropriate environment such that their physical needs are fulfilled. If children experience delays in their growth, their physical development can be affected. Environmental Factors Family and outside environment such as school and clubs play an important role in children’s development. External influences have an immense effect on children’s physical, social, emotional and psychological well-being. Cultural Reasons Cultural differences influence the development of children. For example, cultures that give higher priority to male genders cause difficulties and missed opportunities for female children to thrive in their society, where statutory education or an inclusive practice in maintained. Social Influences Certain structure and lifestyle followed by families may not be appropriate for child’s growth. Parental separation, for example can cause negative effect on children, causing anxiety, stress and fear. Children may become without and find it socially challenging to communicate. Disability Children with disability may find it difficult to challenge the factors affecting their growth if parents, peers and practitioners do not provide the right kind of environment to support their developmental needs. Early Intervention When the child is seen to experience a certain delay or delays in his learning and developmental abilities, it is important to identify the appropriate ways to support the child in those needs and if need be, to bring it to the attention of other professionals for further support. Primary care and early intervention is necessary to reduce the effects of such delays in the developmental growth of the child. It is important for children in the long run. When early intervention is given, children are able to develop their skills and abilities required for further educational and other social needs, which in turn supports in their overall development by experiencing success as adults. The following emotional challenges are observed to be experienced, where delays affecting development are not given appropriate early intervention; Frustration Changes in Behaviour Fewer Opportunities The Role of the Childcare Setting in Early Intervention Early year educational settings can play an important role in identifying the special needs or conditions in children and providing appropriate resources and materials that support their learning and developmental skills. A key worker for each child should be assigned such that the practitioner is able to observe the interests, hobbies, likes and dislikes special needs of the child. A close observation and assessment of the child’s development can be helpful to identify areas where the child feels challenged or faces difficulties in performing a certain activity. According to the EYFS, it is essential that a regular and formal review of the children’s progress is carried out in the early years settings in areas such as, Communication and Language Physical Development Personal, Social and Emotional Development A regular health check should also be followed to review the progress of children’s development such that they are given appropriate support by using effective resources and materials. Meena Sugandha SEN Level 3 Page 1 2014OSC51324

Gender Equality In Sports :: Women Sport

Gender in sports has been a controversial issue ever since sports were invented. In the early years, sports were played only by the men, and the women were to sit on the sidelines and watch. This was another area of life exemplifying the sexism of people in which women were not allowed to do something that men could. However, over the last century in particular, things have begun to change. Women are being allowed to participate now, including professional leagues such as the Women’s National Basketball Association, and the Ladies Professional Golf Association. Women in sports, especially softball and basketball, have become a big-time business. World War II is when the basis of women’s professional sports began. While the men were overseas fighting the war against the Nazis and Germans, the women entertained the people who stayed back by playing baseball. Recently a major issue for women in sports is female coaches and their salaries. The salaries of the male coaches in athletics have continuously been on the rise. And on top of that, the male coaches make 159% of the money that female coaches make. Female participation in College athletics are also on the rise. However, the majority of funding in colleges goes into the men's athletic programs. Another issue of women in sports was the health risk to the women who compete. The recommendations of the scientists state that involvement in sports and other such physical activity reduces the likelihood of developing a number of life-threatening health conditions. Involvement in cooperative and competitive activities can improve a woman’s social outlook, sense of competence and emotional control.

Life Of Fredrick Douglass :: essays research papers fc

Breaking the Shackles   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If there is a theme that has been present in writings since the beginning of time, it is discrimination. Since the creation of man, discrimination has been a problem in society. The theme of discrimination is illustrated through the novel, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass; the essay, “Indian Civilization Vs. White Civilization;'; and the speech, “I Have a Dream.'; The theme of discrimination is clearly present in Frederick Douglass’ Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Frederick Douglass was born in Tuckahoe, Maryland around 1818. He had no accurate knowledge of his age. Douglass was born to a black mother and a white father, who he believed was his master (Douglass 19). By secretly studying books, Douglass learned to read a crime punishable by death. He escaped slavery when he was barely an adult and wrote the story of his life and how discrimination affected it. Not only is discrimination the theme of Douglass’ novel, it is also the cause of his horrible condition. In his autobiography he claims he “was made to drink the bitterest dregs of slavery'; (73). Throughout the novel Douglass never encounters a slave who is not black. “Why am I a slave,'; Douglass asks (Douglass 73). This is surely a question asked by every victim of prejudice. Another piece that illustrates discrimination is Joseph Brant’s, “Indian Civilization Vs. White Civilization.'; Joseph Brant was born in 1742 and died in 1807 (Barnett et al. 938). Brant, or Thayendanega, was educated at Wheelock’s Indian school in Connecticut. He served the British in the French and Indian war and the American Revolution. Being a Mohawk Chief, Brant was subject to much racially motivated discrimination. Discrimination, though most author would like you to believe otherwise, is never one sided. “ Indian Civilization Vs. White Civilization,'; looks at the reactions of those victimized by racial discrimination. Joseph Brant initially takes a defensive stand, but quickly turns to criticism of white society. In this piece Brant is “obliged to give [his] opinion in favor of [his] own people.'; (Brant 939). He describes the white people’s judicial system a pompous parade'; (Brant 939). In conclusion of this piece Brant never overcomes his bitterness for white people and their actions calling them “tenfold more the children of cruelty'; (Brant 939). In addition to this essay, Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech , “ I Have a Dream'; also contains the theme of discrimination.

Nuclear Power - A Short History Essay -- Nuclear Energy Breeder Fissio

Nuclear Power - A Short History Nuclear fission is the splitting of the nuclei of (normally) very heavy or unstable elements (normally heavier than iron), resulting in a release of large amounts of energy as well as the unstable, radioactive isotopes of lighter elements, as well as any logical number of neutrons. For uranium 235, the most abundant usable fuel present in nature, the number of neutrons released is about 2.4 per atom, and the energy released is about 215 MeV per atom (Example, nd), or about 215 MeV * 6.02*10^23 235U * 1000 g * joule 235U 1 * g * Kg * MeV * 1.602*10-13 = 8.05*10^15 joule or 8.05 petajoule per kilogram of uranium 235 However, uranium is not found in natural concentrations of more than 0.7% of any given amount of uranium; in order to efficiently obtain energy from uranium, one must "enrich" the uranium, or concentrate the usable isotopes (Uranium, nd). Leo Szilard, a Hungarian scientist who had recently escaped Berlin for London, first entertained the idea of a chain-reaction of radioactive isotopes in 1933 (Szilà ¡rd, 2006); he patented his idea in 1936 in the U.K., and shared a patent with Enrico Fermi in the United States. Later, Otto Hahn and Fritz Stressmann, along with Lise Mietner and her nephew Otto Frisch, discovered fission when Hahn and Stressmann bombarded uranium with neutrons, resulting in the emission of a few smaller atoms in addition to neutrons and energy; Mietner and Frisch interpreted the resulting energy and atoms as being the results of fission of the uranium atoms' nuclei ("History," Georgia State University, nd); this fission resulted in huge amounts of energy per reaction (on the order of 200 mega electron-volts per atom of uranium 235). In 1942 and after deciding that ura... ...n the Accident at Three Mile Island. Retrieved August 2, 2006 from http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/ doc-collections/fact-sheets/3mile-isle.html Nuclear Tourist. (2005, December 19) Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR). Retrieved August 2, 2006 from http://www.nucleartourist.com/type/pwr.htm Wikipedia. (2006, August) Chicago Pile 1. Retrieved August 2, 2006 from Nuclear Energy 7 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Pile_1 Wikipedia. (2006, August) Leà ³ Szilà ¡rd. Retrieved August 2, 2006 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le%C3%B3_Szil%C3%A1rd Wikipedia. (2006, August) Magnox. Retrieved August 2, 2006 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnox Wikipedia. (2006, August) Nuclear Power. Retrieved August 2, 2006 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power Wikipedia. (2006, August) Nuclear Fission. Retrieved August 2, 2006 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fission

Effect of racism from a functionalist’s point of view Essay

One of the most identifiable effects of racial discrimination in education and training is the negative impact it has on the performance of children at school. The failure to address the needs of minority children and those of migrant workers through, for example, combating racial stereotyping or through formulating school curricula that include modules on minority languages and cultures, can lead to school curricula which lack relevance for those children. As a result, children may lose interest and become bored at school which in turn increases the risk that children will drop out early or even fail to attend school at all. The failure to provide curricula adapted to the specific needs of the children of minorities and migrant workers can also lead to low literacy rates amongst these groups. Similarly, where a child does not have an adequate grasp of the official language, the failure to provide additional language classes in the official language and to provide classes in minority or migrant languages could have the effect of retarding the progress of those children through school. Another long-term effect of racial discrimination is that children learn to accept acts of racial discrimination as the norm. Such learnt behaviour can lead to the consolidation of racial discrimination within society as the norm, with children of minorities or migrants growing up and discriminating against the newest influx of migrants. Thus, a vicious cycle of discriminatory behaviour is produced which reinforces racially discriminatory behaviour. The forced segregation of children of minorities and migrant workers from other children can have serious negative effects on the capacity of these children to integrate with other children and into the society in general. In particular, segregation of children into schools for mentally handicapped children can severely retard the child’s progress through school and can affect his or her self-image. Education is arguably the basis of a functionalist’s beliefs, where children learn social skills and behaviours, these skills help build towards unity in society. Therefore racism is abhored in their beliefs.

Dell Corporation

Dell Corporation 1. Introduction A . Company History In 1983, Michael Dell, an 18-year-old freshman at the University of Texas at Austin, Spent his evenings and weekends pre-formatting hard disks for IBM-compatible PC upgrades. A year later, he dropped out of college to continue with his rapidly expanding business, which had grown from zero to $6 million in 1985, simply by upgrading IBM compatibles for local businesses. In 1985, Dell shifted its focus to assembling it own brand of computers which led to a dramatic growth of the business, with $70 million in sales at the end of 1985.By the year 1990 sales had grown to more than $500 million and Dell was able to supply a number of Fortune 500 Companies. The company now had a broad product line of desktop and portable computers with Intel processors and had earned a strong reputation for quality products and service. Throughout the company’s history, a big part of Dell’s success was due to its unique and distinctive  "Dell Direct Model. † This model took efficiency to new heights by eliminating the intermediaries between maker and user of PC’s and lowered costs by eliminating inventory with the help of an efficient supply-chain management system and internet sales.Today, as the world’s largest PC manufacturer, Dell Computer Corporation offers a great variety of computing products directly to customers, with build-to-order systems and Comprehensive services that fulfill the needs of its customers. Dell’s customers range from Major corporations to individuals all over the world. Efficient cash management has enabled Dell to have both extremely high inventory returns and a â€Å"negative cash conversion cycle. † This cash flow system permits Dell to pass on cost savings to customers in the form of lower prices for the best technology available.These competitive advantages have helped the company achieve a solid cash position with outstanding liquidity B.. In search of a company culture The culture at Dell had always been driven by a continuous program to drive down costs And improve the â€Å"customer experience. † Facts were more important and more highly valued than emotions and personal feelings. As the company grew and succeeded, the company culture that pushed the drive to be number one and to make a personal fortune was based solely on economic terms.But in the year 2000, Dell’s margins in the hardware business began to decline due to a slowing demand for PC’s and a price war with competitors. Investors were disappointed, layoffs were frequent, and employees began to wonder why they worked in a high-tech industry, and why they worked for Dell. Kevin Rollins was aware that all great companies have great cultures. They have a Purpose and a leadership model. Aware of an urgent need to define his company’s culture, he Looked for inspiration, reading books on Franklin, Jefferson, Monroe, and Washington.He soon dis covered that what the founding fathers of the United States believed in went well beyond logic. They were passionate, very idealistic, and had a vision that exceeded their personal gain and involved the risk of losing their lives. Mr. Rollins found this remarkable, and it caused him to think about the country’s soul and its leaders. He believed this was an â€Å"interesting paradigm for a company to examine, as opposed to simply adopting the business paradigm. † With this foundation, he began to develop what became known as The Soul of Dell. C. . Key Players Michael Dell is the founder and CEO of Dell Computers.During the past 18 years, he Has grown the company’s sales from $6 Million to $33. 7 Billion and opened sales offices Worldwide, employing more than 38,000 people around the world. In 1992, Michael Dell Became the youngest CEO of a company to be ranked as a Fortune 500 firm. He has been Honored in numerous occasions for his vision and leadership. One of t he main goals for his Company is to double company profits by 2005 Kevin Rollins became Dell’s President and Chief Operating Officer in March of 2001. Before then, he was president of Dell Americas. He managed all company operations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Latin America.During Mr. Rollins’ tenure at Dell, the Company has gone through a dramatic growth process increasing revenues from $5 Billion to $31 billion in just five years. Before joining the company, he functioned as vice president and Managing partner of Bain & Company Management Consultants, where he specialized in Corporate strategy and the management of high-tech companies. With his development of The Soul of Dell, he would like people to refer to Dell as a place where respect, integrity, honesty, and forthrightness are valued. Elizabeth Allen is currently the vice president of Corporate Communications at Dell.Her Responsibilities include the direction and global management of Dell’s corporate communications functions, including media relations, employee communication, and liaison with brand and product advertising divisions. Allen has spent more 20 years of her career in corporate communications. Before joining Dell, she was vice president of corporate communications at Staples Inc. , where she expanded investor, government, community and media relations. Previously, she worked for Raytheon Company and Loral Corporation as vice president of corporate communications in each.Allen has the responsibility of diffusing The Soul of Dell both inside the company and externally. 2. Current situation A. Vision statement It’s the way we do business. It's the way we interact with the community. It's the way we interpret the world around us– our customers needs, the future of technology, and the global business climate. Whatever changes the future may bring our vision — Dell Vision —    will be our guiding force. So Dell needs full customer sat isfaction. In order to become the most successful computer company, they need the newest technology and loyal customers. B.Mission Statement Dell's mission is to be the most successful Computer Company in the world at delivering the best customer experience in markets we serve. In doing so, Dell will meet customer expectations of: †¢Highest quality †¢Leading technology †¢Competitive pricing †¢Individual and company accountability †¢Best-in-class service and support †¢Flexible customization capability †¢Superior corporate citizenship †¢Financial stability 1- Customer The customer of dell according to the mission statement is the whole world because their aim is to be the most successful computer company in the world 2- MarketDue to the point that Dell wants to be the most successful computer company in the world it is automatically understood that their market is the whole world 3- Concern for profitability and growth Due to aiming to conquer t he whole world their will always be a place for growth which leads to more profitability 4- Concern for employees The mission statement does not talk at all about the employees I think this is the only flaw in the mission statement but if a company has such big goals the employees must be very qualified especially in this filed. The filed of computers because it is very competitive market with the other competitors. . Philosophy: From day one, Dell has built his company up on the premise that what the customer says goes. When he first started Dell Computer at the age of 19 in his University of Texas dorm room, Dell says his concept was simple: buy parts, assemble them, and sell the finished products directly to customers. He effectively eliminated big distributors and was able to reduce the end price he could charge. â€Å"You tell us what you want – how fast you want the programs to operate, how much memory, how expandable – and we will build it for you and ship it o ut, usually within three days,† he says. And if ever you have a question or a problem about your system, you call us direct. We take direct responsibility for the complete satisfaction of each and every customer. † After his company had been in business for three years, Dell created the industry’s first on-site-service program. If there was a problem with your computer, you didn’t have to return to the store to have it looked at. You simply called Dell and a serviceman would come to your house and fix it. â€Å"That was a pretty important plus because we didn’t have any stores,† Dell jokingly recalls.Dell claims that his company operates on a relatively simple concept: â€Å"The most important thing is to satisfy our customers,† he says. â€Å"The second most important is to be profitable. If we don't do the first one well, the second one won't happen. † Thus, the focus of his company remains on concrete issues, such as improving delivery time, cutting operating costs and maintaining customer service. Dell believes in the importance of adding value â€Å"beyond the box†, looking at the customer’s total experience. To this end, he often aligns his company with complementary partners for increased efficiency.Today, Dell builds computers only in response to orders that the company has actually received from users, either by phone or the Internet. Users are able to dictate the company’s supply, relieving Dell of the risk that comes along with trying to predict market demand in the extremely unpredictable computer industry. Because Dell customizes its products, the company is also able to provide unmatched levels of customer service. For instance, on October 27, 1997, after the Asian economic crisis overwhelmed Nasdaq’s online trading site, Nasdaq called Dell, which proceeded to build eight custom-made PowerEdge servers in just 36 hours.Three days later, they were up and running for N asdaq. By prioritizing his customers, Dell was rewarded with their business and loyalty. http://www. evancarmichael. com/Famous-Entrepreneurs/646/Lesson-2-Develop-a-CustomerFocused-Philosophy. html 6. Concern for public image The point that â€Å"Dell's mission is to be the most successful Computer Company in the world† means only one thing and that is the public image for the company must be very good not only domestically but also internationally. 7. Production servicesThe way how dell operates is actually a very smart way to cut of cost and inventory accounting wise leading to more profit for the company also the quote â€Å"Best-in-class service and support† convinces you that any service this company does can only be the best. 8. Technology Technology plays a very important role for dell simply because of the nature of the business. The computer filed is all about technology and service that is what gives any company the edge of survival in this filed so technolog y must be very high. â€Å"Leading technology†, http://www. samples-help. org. uk/mission-statements/dell-mission-statement. htm http://retailindustry. bout. com/od/topusretailcompanies/p/dellincprofile. htm C. Values statement Extending Our Global Success Leadership. Performance. A commitment to expansion. These are the principles that have secured our success in the marketplace and enhanced our ability to anticipate and address the industry’s needs. Our unique position as a technology leader ensures that you’ll always be challenged in your work and supported in reaching your most ambitious goals. [pic][pic][pic][pic] Showing results 1-2 of 2 1. Collaboration. Ambition. A commitment to unique solutions. When you work at Dell, you embody these principles every day. 2.Commitment to Diversity Collaboration. Empowerment. Opportunity. These are the tenets of Dell's strong commitment to diversity. http://content. dell. com/us/en/corp/careers-our-values. aspx D. Dell policies 1. Dell Global Environmental Policy Dell aspires to be a company in which environmental excellence is a priority in  everything we do. Our goal is to fully integrate environmental stewardship into the business of providing quality products, best-in-class services and the best customer experience at the best value. http://content. dell. com/us/en/corp/d/corporate~corp-comm~en/Documents~dell-global-environmental-policy. df. aspx 2. Global social media policy Scope This Global Policy on Social Media (Policy) is a Corporate Compliance Policy and applies to all Dell employees, employees of any Dell subsidiary, assigned workers, as well as to third parties performing services on Dell's behalf (hereinafter collectively referred to as â€Å"You†). For employees, compliance with this Policy is an expectation of employment (subject to local legal requirements). For assigned workers and third parties, compliance with this Policy is a condition of access to Dell facilities and resources, and of being permitted to perform services forDell. Definitions for capitalized terms used in this Policy may be found at the end of the Policy. Purpose Dell recognizes that Social Media tools such as blogs, micro-blogs, online forums, content-sharing Websites and other digital channels established for online interaction and connection are increasingly used to: promote Dell to colleagues, customers, the media and other Dell stakeholders; and/or share personal opinions and participate in online dialogue as individuals.The purpose of this Policy is to establish standards and expectations regarding any Dell-related use of Social Media. Dell's commitment to being direct, supports open communications, provided such communications adhere to this Policy. Policy Statement You must adhere to the following when engaging in Social Media: †¢ Appropriate Use of Information Technology Resources. Dell's Information Technology (IT) resources are company property dedicated to achiev ing Dell's business objectives. Inappropriate use is not acceptable.This includes, but is not limited to, using Dell IT assets to post offensive material on content-sharing websites, publish defamatory remarks about colleagues or customers on web forums or blogs, and leaking Confidential Information. †¢ Speaking On Behalf of Dell. Blogging and other online dialogue are far-reaching forms of communication; distribution is meant for a vast public audience. Information purported to be published by Dell contained within blogs and other Websites could have a negative impact to Dell and our stakeholders, with potential legal implications.Unless You have successfully completed Dell's Social Media training courses and have been certified to speak on behalf of the company  using Social Media, You shall never claim to be speaking on behalf of Dell or expressing an official company position in such communications. †¢ Ethical Conduct. You shall not conduct activities that are illega l or contrary to Dell's Code of Conduct, Privacy Statement Regarding Customer and Online User Information, or other Dell policies. Always respect the dignity and privacy of colleagues, customers, other Dell stakeholders and Dell competitors.Harassing, intimidating, offensive, abusive, threatening, menacing or hostile content communicated through blogs and other online communications is prohibited. Data related to others, including, but not limited to, personal details and pictures, shall only be posted with that party's consent. †¢ Transparency of Origin. You shall disclose Your connection to Dell in all communications with customers, the media or other Dell stakeholders when speaking on behalf of Dell (if authorized to do so) or discussing or recommending Dell or its products or services (even when doing so in Your personal capacity).You must also provide Your Dell contact information upon request. Unless you are certified to speak on behalf of Dell, You should make it clear t hat the opinions are Yours alone and do not necessarily reflect Dell's views or positions. †¢ Accurate Information. Never knowingly communicate information that is untrue or deceptive. Communications shall be based on current, accurate, complete and relevant data. Dell will take all reasonable steps to assure the validity of information communicated  using any channel but it is Your responsibility to assure accuracy in the first instance.Anecdotes and opinions shall be identified as such. †¢ Protection of Confidential Information. You shall protect Confidential Information as such information represents one of Dell's most important assets. It is never appropriate to share, post, publish or otherwise disclose Confidential Information unless You are explicitly authorized to do so. You must respect securities and financial disclosure laws, and must not post or otherwise comment in any capacity on Confidential Information that may be considered financial information (such as earnings, future business performance, business plans or prospects). Accountability. You will be held accountable for the information You share in online activities. Be careful what You share, publish, post or otherwise disclose. You are personally responsible for what You share and should remember that anything You post may be public for an indefinite period of time (even if You attempt to modify or delete). Try to ensure Your online communications reflect Dell's brand attributes of openness, responsiveness, integrity and optimism. Procedures and Training Dell has adopted training materials to assist You in complying with this Policy.Dell's Social Media  and Communities (SMaC) Team will deliver role-appropriate training. Asking Questions You are encouraged to ask any questions You may have about this Policy. To learn more about how to use Social Media in accordance with this Policy, contact Dell's SMaC Team at [email  protected] com. You may also ask Your leader or Human Resou rces representative, or contact the Global Ethics  and Compliance Office at [email  protected] com, or the Legal Department. Reporting and Investigation It is very important that You immediately report any suspicious behavior regarding Dell employees or Dell third parties.To report known or suspected violations of this Policy, contact your leader or another member of management, your Human Resources representative, an Ethics  and Compliance team member, or call the Ethics Helpline, a confidential toll-free, third party-operated telephone service, You may also submit a report  using the Ethicsline, a confidential Web-based online reporting vehicle. Reports made  using the telephone Helpline or the Web-based Ethicsline may be made anonymously where permitted by local law. Anyone reporting a suspected or actual violation of this Policy is protected from retaliation under Dell's Code of Conduct.All good faith allegations of violations of this Policy will be fully and confident ially investigated pursuant to Dell's Global Policy on Raising and Investigating Potential Ethics  and Compliance Violations. You are required to cooperate with all investigations of alleged Policy violations. Discipline and Other Consequences Employees who violate this Policy will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action or other remedial measures up to and including termination of employment if warranted under the circumstances and permissible under applicable law.Assigned workers and third parties who violate this Policy are subject to being denied access to Dell facilities, personnel and assets, and permission to perform services on Dell's behalf. Waivers The provisions of this policy cannot be waived. Dell management does not have the authority to approve waivers to this Policy. Revision and Revocation This Policy is not a contract between Dell and any employee, assigned worker, or third party. This Policy may be revised or revoked by Dell at any time, without advance no tice or cause. Local Policies and ProceduresDell operates in many countries and it is Dell's intention to comply with all applicable legal requirements. Accordingly, if a provision of this Policy conflicts with applicable local legal requirements, Dell will follow the local legal requirement (provided the local requirement does not conflict with U. S. law). In addition, Dell may adopt regional or country-specific policies on this subject to accommodate local conditions or legal requirements, and will inform employees in the applicable region or country of the terms of any such policy. DefinitionsConfidential Information  Ã¢â‚¬â€ Important or valuable business information that is not available to the public. It includes trade secrets and other intellectual property that has been developed, licensed or acquired by Dell. It can also include information of customers, business partners or others that has been disclosed to Dell under obligations of confidentiality. Examples include una nnounced financial information, strategic business plans, unannounced product or services and solutions offerings, planned or contemplated mergers or acquisitions, lawsuits and other legal proceedings, roduct design and technical knowledge, customer and team member personal information. Social Media  Ã¢â‚¬â€ Web-based technologies used to broadcast messages and participate in dialogues. Examples of Social Media software applications on the Internet include social networking applications such as Facebook; video-sharing applications such as YouTube; micro-blogging applications such as Twitter; collaboration applications such as Wikipedia; and Dell's official corporate blog, Direct2Dell. Examples of Social Media applications used within Dell are Dell's internal blog, One Dell Way, and Dell's internal networking tool, Chatter.Global Policy on Social Media Effective Date: August 5, 2010 http://content. dell. com/us/en/corp/d/corp-comm/social-media-policy. aspx 3. Privacy and Data Secu rity At Dell, your right to privacy and data security is a primary concern. That's why, when you visit dell. com, we help you maintain control over your personal data on the Internet. Below are the guidelines we use for protecting the information you provide us during a visit to our Internet sites (www. dell. com/ap) or when you use our online support offerings such as support. ap. dell. com.Other Dell and Dell Co-branded sites may operate under their own privacy and security policies. 3. External scanning A. PEST ANALYSIS PEST analysis is very important that an organization considers its environment before beginning the marketing process. In fact, environmental analysis should be continuous and feed all aspects of planning. The organization's marketing environment is made up from: PEST analysis stands for â€Å"Political, Economic, Social, and Technological analysis† and describes a framework of macro environmental factors used in environmental scanning.It is also referred t o as the STEP, STEEP or PESTLE analysis (Political, Economic, Socio-cultural, Technological, Legal, and Ethical). It is a part of the external analysis when doing market research and gives a certain overview of the different macro environmental factors that the company has to take into consideration. Political factors include areas such as tax policy, employment laws, environmental regulations, trade restrictions and tariffs and political stability. The economic factors are the economic growth, interest rates, exchange rates and inflation rate.Social factors often look at the cultural aspects and include health consciousness, population growth rate, age distribution, career attitudes and emphasis on safety. The technological factors also include ecological and environmental aspects and can determine the barriers to entry, minimum efficient production level and influence outsourcing decisions. It looks at elements such as R&D activity, automation, technology incentives and the rate o f technological change. The internal environment e. g. staff (or internal customers), office technology, wages and finance, etc.The microenvironment e. g. our external customers, agents and distributors, suppliers, our competitors, etc. The macro-environment e. g. Political (and legal) forces, Economic forces, Socio cultural forces, and Technological forces. These are known as PEST factors. Political Factors The political arena has a huge influence upon the regulation of businesses, and the spending power of consumers and other businesses. You must consider issues such as: .How stable is the political environment? For example what is happening because of 25 of January revolution? Will government policy influence laws that regulate or tax your business? .What is the government's position on marketing ethics? And this is not clear in Egypt those days What is the government's policy on the economy? Does the government have a view on culture and religion? Is the government involved in t rading agreements such as EU, NAFTA, ASEAN, or others? Economic Factors Marketers need to consider the state of a trading economy in the short and long-terms. This is especially true when planning for international marketing. You need to look at: . Interest rates 2. The level of inflation Employment level per capital Sociocultural Factors The social and cultural influences on business vary from country to country. It is very important that such factors are considered. Factors include: l. What is the dominant religion? 2. What are attitudes to foreign products and services? 3. Does language impact upon the diffusion of products onto markets? 4. How much time do consumers have for leisure? 5. What are the roles of men and women within society? 6. How long are the population living?Are the older generations wealthy? 7. Do the population have a strong/weak opinion on green issues? Technological Factors Technology is vital for competitive advantage, and is a major driver of globalization . Consider the following points: 1. Does technology allow for products and services to be made more cheaply and to a better standard of quality? 2. Do the technologies offer consumers and businesses more innovative products and services such as Internet banking, new generation mobile telephones, etc? 3. How is distribution changed by new technologies e. g. ooks via the Internet, flight tickets, auctions, etc? 4. Does technology offer companies a new way to communicate with consumers e. g. banners, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), etc? http://www. nishanw. org/Corporate%20Strategy%20lession%202%20tools. doc B. Porter’s model 1. New entrants:- From the point of view of Dell this is considered a low risk simply because to enter a market like this you need a lot of capital, to start up and to get the latest technology. Seconded of all there are a lot of established companies in this field so entering it would be nearly impossible. ttp://www. photopla. net/wwp0503/entry. ph p 2. Rivalry:- Rivalry will always exist in such a market because there are lot of establish competitors such as HP, Sony, Toshiba. And many more. www. csus. edu/indiv/h/†¦ /ComputerIndustryAnalysis8-06. ppt – 3. Threat of substitute products:- In the computer filed you would think there are no substitute products. It matters on exactly what the customer wants if the customer wants a computer just to serf the internet there are substitute products. Like the high tech mobiles and I-Pad.However if the consumer uses a computer to play games or other things computer a pretty much the only product you can buy to do these stuff therefor the computer becomes a nessatiy . In the case of dell laptops are not considered a substitute products compared to the normal Personal computer. Due to that dell is one of the main players in the computer market and are aiming to be the best in all computers as to oppose of Gamma or Philips for example. http://www. vodafone. co. uk/personal/ind ex. htm 4. Bargaining power of buyers:-The consumer or buyer in this case has a lot of power therefore any company that wants to serve has to play by one rule an that rule is. To produce a product at the lowest cost possible selling that same product at the highest cost possible. The highest cost possible is the selling price your competitors sell there product. Consider if you will that the cost the competitor sells his product that to be your ceiling of a price there for you will always find that competitors all there prices are very close if not even the same.Only if there is a huge difference in quality. 5. Bargaining power of suppliers. As for suppliers bargaining power this is a very high risk for any company because a supplier may rise prices or less the quality of the product. There for it is a must for every company to have an excellent relation with its supplier. Relative power or other stakeholders Governments play a big role on any company with law and Terries and so on there for it might not be that easy to enter a new market. C. Strategic groupsIn the case of dell or in general the computer industry you will find that there are a lot of players in the market such as Sony, HP, Compaq, all of these companies just mentioned all work under the IBM Bracket as to oppose of apple which uses Macintosh a completely different operation system. This is more used by advanced users such as engineers and musicians. So from by point of view if we were to compare price of the final product and quality you will find Apple in the top right while dell and all the others will be under apple also on the right because dell always thrive on the highest quality product. pic] D. Strategic types Dell is a reactor company because in this filed of computers all of them work as a reactor company simply because all what dell does is that is manufactures and assembles the computer the only thing that changes in this field is the technology and power of the computer example for the companies that create that technology is Intel and AMD E. Issue priority Matrix Impact on organizationHigh Medium Low | | | | | |Medium priority | |Increasing Turn over |high | | |High priority |rate | | | | | | | |Low priority |Financial crisis |High priority |Medium | | | |Medium priority | | |Swine flu |Low priority | |low | Probability of occurrence The issue priority matrix is a matrix that helps you measure the priority of external factors and its effect on the organization. the financial crisis have a medium level of occurrence, while it have a medium priority, while the swine flu has a low level of occurrence with a low priority, the rate of turn over rate has a high priority with a high rate of occurrence. F. Industry success matrix In the industry we have decided to place all the direct competitors in our bubble according to the Strategic groups. Picking only 3 companies for convenience Key factors |weight |Dell |score |sony |score | |1 | Increased internet |. 20 |3 | . 6 |Increases dell profit | | |access in Egypt | | | |by reaching more | | | | | | |customers | |2 |Outsourcing |. 05 |4 |. |Improve the quality of | | | | | | |services offered by | | | | | | |dell | |3 |Ecommerce |. 10 |4 |. 4 |Increasing profits | | | | | | |through usage of dell | | | | | | |direct model | |4 |Maintaining Low Price |. 05 |2 |. 1 |Questionable as it's an| | Leadership | | | |old strategy used for | | | | | | |companies in growth | | | | | | |stage | |THREATS | |THREATS | | | | |1 |I. T. Advancement |. 0 |4 |. 8 |Well positioned | |2 |Price Wars |. 10 |3 |. 3 |Questionable | |3 |Strong Brands in The |. 10 |3 |. 3 |Dell brand name is also| | |Market (IBM) | | | |a strong ones | |4 |HP / Compaq Merger | . 20 |4 |. |Well positioned | |Total |1. 00 |3. 5 | | | | The 3. 50 WEIGHTED SCORE in Dell’s EFE Matrix is above average and represents that Dell is responding in an excellent way to its opportunities and threats in the I. T industry. In other words we can c onclude that Dell’s strategies efficiently and effectively take advantage of its opportunities and take serious steps to minimize the potential threats. http://www. ijazconsulting. com/uploads/Dell-Strategic_Case-Analysis_by_Ijaz_and_Muffich. pdf 4. Internal scanning A. Organizational structureDell Corporation’s organizational structure is a functional, decentralized structure. The company encourages different departments and functional components to contribute ideas to enhance the strength of the organization. The hierarchical structure provides defines the various functions provided by Dell Corporation, including Business Development, Education, and Global. A decentralized structure provides more learning availability for all members of the enterprise, as decisions come from various levels; in contrast, the centralized structure has more of the decision-making coming from the upper levels of the enterprise, such as the CEO and Vice Presidents.In the divisional organi zation, every division has its own groups to support that specific division (such as purchasing units and human resources units). [pic] 2. Culture: |Dell believes in being direct in everything we do. Our ultimate success is based on maintaining direct | |relationships built on trust. Our relationships with diverse partners help us reach multicultural consumer groups| |across the world and recruit the best and brightest talent to achieve success in the marketplace. | |Dell's Winning Culture and comprehensive diversity initiatives create a corporate environment based on | |meritocracy, personal achievement and equal access to all available opportunities.We focus our internal efforts | |on cultivating and promoting best practices among our global workforce in the areas of policy development, | |training, recruitment, mentoring, development, advancement and culture change. Furthermore, our Work/Life | |Effectiveness and career management programs enhance our ability to retain and develo p valuable team members and | |demonstrate our commitment to the Dell Team. | |Networking Groups | |Dell sponsors a community of networking groups formed by employees with common interests in areas such as | |ethnicity, gender, nationality, lifestyle, and sexual orientation.These groups offer Dell employees the | |opportunity to network with other employees from around the company, while providing encouragement and an | |enhanced sense of belonging through informal mentoring, professional and community events and access to personal | |and professional development and growth. Additionally, networking groups help foster a more inclusive work | |environment, improve communication among employees and enhance understanding of all employees about the value of | |diversity. | |Networking Groups currently chartered: | |BRIDGE – Building Relationships in Diverse Group Environments (African-American Networking Group) | |W. I. S. E. Women In Search of Excellence | |aDellante – Hispanic Networking Group | |PRIDE – Partnering for Respect of Individuality in the Dell Environment (A Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender & | |Straight Alliance) | |A. I. M. – Asians in Motion | | | |Work/Life Effectiveness | |At Dell, our people are our most valuable asset and we are committed to fostering a culture that exhibits this | |value. Our goal is to enable employees to maximize their contribution to the company while also maintaining | |effectiveness between their work and personal lives.We advocate flexibility in the workplace to empower | |employees, teams and managers to hold discussions about both the needs of the business and each employee's | |individual Work/Life Effectiveness goals, and then to construct a plan for fulfilling both priorities. As | |individual circumstances vary, solutions that enable flexibility can be different, including informal and formal | |flexible work arrangements such as variable daily work times, work-from-home, and par t-time work arrangements. | |Additionally, Dell offers corporate employee resources that enable employees to better manage their Work/Life | |situations, such as: | |Employee Assistance Program | |Dependent Care ReferralResources | |Mothers Rooms | |Staying Well at Dell Initiatives like â€Å"Weight Watchers at Work† | | | | | | | | | | | |Career Management Program | |Dell is committed to developing our workforce and helping employees achieve their personal and professional best. | |Through an intensive, six-month Career Management Program, we strive to develop, fully engage, and retain | |high-performing talent. Specifically, participants in the program spend 6-8 hours per month developing and | |strengthening network and mentoring relationships; engaging in new activities; and exploring new assignments or | |positions at Dell. Managers participate in a kickoff session and a mid-program discussion with the coach and | |participant, in addition to holding monthly career- related discussions with participants. | http://www. dell. com/content/topics/global. spx/corp/diversity/en/culture? c=us=en 3. Resources (Value chain): 1. Typical value chain |Raw materials | |Primary | |manufacturing | |Fabrication | |Distributor | |Retailer | In this case dell here saves a lot of cost compared to any other competitor in the market simply because dell acts as a distributor and retailer, leading to a huge reduction of cost. As it is dells signature to deliver their product right to your door as ordered over the internet. This is how it works in America but of course this does not occur here in Egypt. As here in Egypt it only seems enough to have the name dell in the market.This point has many other factors because here in Egypt the income level is lower than in the America so people here such as my self for example would rather want to customize his personal computer. Rather than buying a brand name. 2. Corporate Value chain [pic] Dell Company here in Egypt doesnâ €™t work as a full company, but only works in Egypt as a distributor only. The company works with agents and people have the possibility to buy through the internet as the company use its direct model to deliver customized products anywhere in the world. Dell Company has 2 of the primary activities here in Egypt they are marketing and sales, and services. Marketing and sales:I have seen with my own eyes that Dell Company does marketing activities to increase awareness and sales in booths in computer mall Also they provide discounts on their products to increase sales. Services There are for any dell products after sales services and repair possibilities incase anything could go wrong with a dell computer. IFAS |Internal Factor |INTERNAL STRENGTHS |WEIGHTS |RATINGS |WEIGHTED |Comment | |Evaluation Matrix | | | |SCORE | | |3 |Product Reliability |. 0 | 4 |. 8 |Important as product | | | | | | |reliability leads to good | | | | | | |reputation of dell | |4 |C. Relationship |. 10 | 2 |. 2 |Questionable | |7 |Leading tech |. 10 | 3 |. |Good ,but there are more | | | | | | |powerful technologies | |8 |Supply Chain |. 20 | 4 |. 8 |Excellent supply chain by | | | | | | |using dell direct model | |Internal weaknesses | | | | | | |1 |Little Product Diversification |. 20 | 4 |. |Focusing on laptop | | | | | | |manufacturing | |2 |No in house repair capability |. 10 | 3 |. 3 |Bad service | |3 |No Business Diversification |. 20 | 4 |. 8 |The company doesn't produce | | | | | | |anything rather than | | | | | | |electronics | |Total | | 1. 0 | |4 | | |6 | |5 |duration | |Opportunities (O) |O1. changes in life style |S1. strong brand name |W. 1 low variety of products | | |O2. technology innovation |S2. Huge capital investment |W. 2 low quality products | | |O3. Expand market share |S3. Affordable prices | | | |O4. New Market entrance |S4.High qualified employees | | |Treats (T) |T1. High competition | | | | |T2. finacail recession | | | | |T3. Market entrance (in Middle | | | | |East) | | | S1&O1 as dell has a very strong brand name dell can use its brand name in a way that affects changes in life style.For example entering a new product to compete with the I-pod. S1&O2 In the computer bossiness technological invention is created by the companied that do process the microchips such as Intel and AMD Dell just gives you the final product of the computer. Dell can use this to their advantage to collaborate with tease companies and create a technology that is only available to dell only. S1&T1 in the computer there is a lot of completion so dell can use their high qualified employees to compete with the other companies. W2&O4 one of the weaknesses of dell is their low quality products dell can use this to their advantage to enter new markets for example the African market. Porter’s model |Lower cost |Differentiation | |Broad target |Cost leadership |Differentiation | |Narrow target |Cost focus |Differentiation focus | It is believe that dell ha s more then 1 characteristic according to porter’s model dell has a lot of more products then Acer for example. Laptops, PCs, Monitors ext. While Acer only do laptops For this example dell is certainly in the differentiation for broad target row. While as in the case of Dell and Apple. Dell certainly has a cost leadership over Apple. I would also like to highlight something that in computers there is no cheap or expensive computers. It is all about the power you have in the computer. The more power you have the more expensive it would be. 6-Strategy Formulation 1.Corporate strategy Directional:- It seems that Dell Company is in the stability stage in its life cycle. Dell Company has achieved a lot in its years and is a very well know brand that is why you will find their brand name as strength in the TOWS Matrix. We also believe that the company uses 2 strategies in the stability bracket. It is always the case in the technology filed that if any company does something new a c ompetitor would at least do the same if not even better so in this case Dell is always on the look out for what their competitors do. The seconded strategy Dell uses is the profit strategy by cutting down any unnecessary expensive Portfolio:-Product line of dell 1. Laptops & Tablets 2. Personal computer &workstation 3. Speakers 4. Monitors 5. Monitors LCD 6. Keyboard 7. Mouse 8. Servers BCG Matrix | | | | | Relative Market Share | | | | | | | | | | |High 1. 0 | Medium . 50 | | | | | | | |Low 0. | | | | | | | | | |High +20 |Stars |Question Marks | | | | | |Speakers | | | | | | | | | | |Laptops & Tablets |Keyboard | | | | |Monitor LCD | | | | | | |Mouse | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Industry Sales | | | | | |Growth Rate | | | | | | | |Medium 0 |Cash Cows |Dogs | | | |Personal computers & workstations |Monitors | | | |Servers | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Low -20 | | | Laptops where chosen as stars simply because they have a large market share and a high growth rate. The same is also on the LCD monitors because every computer needs a monitor. The other types of monitors which are the old style are considered to be almost obsolete therefore the original monitors where put in the dogs sector.As for the personal computers because most of the people prefer laptops the demand for personal computers over the years has dropped tremendously. There are more for custom users because you can get more power from a personal computer then a laptop therefore you can say that personal computers have a high market share while the growth rate is dropping. Speaker, keyboards, mice are all considered to be an essential for any computer there froe they have a high growth but a low market share as they are not specialist in these products. 2. Cooperative strategies Strategic alliance: Dell and Perot Systems Announce Strategic Alliance To Provide Fully-Integrated Virtualized Healthcare Technology Solutions To Reduce Cost and Improve Patient Care: Ne w Solutions will Promote Electronic Health Records (EHR) Implementation Dell and Perot Systems today announced a strategic alliance where their combined delivery teams will provide fully-integrated global IT solutions that unite their best-in-class technology and services solutions to provide virtualized desktop, storage and server solutions for hospitals, health systems and physician practices – virtualized on premises or hosted either off-site or in secure, private clouds. Dell, a leading technology provider to commercial enterprises around the world, and Perot Systems, the leading healthcare technology solutions provider in the U. S. , are jointly introducing their first series of innovative solutions that bring desktop mobility and virtual storage and server scalability to the Healthcare Industry at the HIMSS Annual Event in Chicago, Ill.These solutions are designed to help improve patient care and to help healthcare organizations achieve the standard of â€Å"meaningful use† for EHRs established in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). TheNews: Mobile Clinical Computing †¢ Puts virtual technology in the hands of healthcare professionals at the point of care for improved clinical decision-making and efficiency †¢ Improves healthcare delivery with EHR implementation and usability †¢ Improves staff productivity by eliminating repeated, time consuming log-ins and improving application response time for remote users   †¢ Can reduce up-front capital expense and improve TCO Virtual Server Platform Simplifies the provisioning and scaling of health information systems, including servers and storage, by using standardized and virtualized public and private virtual computing environments †¢ Features structured technology assessment and consulting to optimize applications that will benefit most from virtualization   †¢ Addresses technology obsolescence issues by enabling dynamic compute workloads †¢ Ca n reduce up-front capital expense and improve TCO  Ã‚  Ã‚   †¢ Makes compute power a variable expense by aligning technology to business needs Virtual EHR Solutions †¢ Dell and Perot Systems will create hosted and secure private cloud-based EHR  alternatives to dedicated, on-premise EHR solutions †¢ Makes EHR adoption easier by eliminating the need to purchase, deploy and maintain hardware and software onsite †¢ Reduces up-front capital requirements and accelerates time to positive ROI †¢ Reduces burden of systems management for IT staff †¢ Simplifies the challenge of achieving â€Å"meaningful use† as defined in the ARRA Virtual Medical Archiving Solution Simplifies data management by storing patient records, images and other information in a virtual or secure private cloud environment †¢ Reduces capital outlay and total cost of ownership with world-class advisory and consulting services  Ã‚   †¢ Addresses myriad of healthcare ar chiving needs and budgets †¢ Scales as archiving requirements change †¢ Aligns cost and data availability to the regulatory requirements of various types of data produced in healthcare What this means for customers: †¢ Healthcare today is more sophisticated, with more cost pressures and operational complexity than ever before. Healthcare providers need secure access to reliable, real-time and easy-to-use information technology that enables them to obtain and manage treatment information, patient histories and other clinical resources to improve productivity and patient care while reducing costs. These new Dell and Perot Systems virtualized solutions will address these needs while simplifying and reducing the cost of EHR adoption so that healthcare providers can more easily achieve â€Å"meaningful use† for EHR Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments under the   American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). Quotes: Dr. James Coffin, vice president an d general manager, Dell Healthcare and Life Sciences:    â€Å"The role technology plays in shaping the future of healthcare around the globe has never been as important as it is today with medical professionals and government leaders looking for ways to improve the quality of healthcare and reduce its cost to citizens, employers and government.Our partnership with Perot Systems is focused on developing new solutions and delivering them in new ways to improve delivery of healthcare and patient outcomes. † Chuck Lyles, president of Perot Systems healthcare group: â€Å"In the current environment, clients are seeking solutions which improve services while reducing expenses. With the combined capabilities of Dell and Perot systems, these virtual solutions will increase user satisfaction and ease administration effort while reducing cost and preserving capital. † About Dell Dell listens to customers and delivers innovative technology and services they trust and value. De ll serves those who serve with next generation infrastructure for healthcare. About Perot SystemsPerot Systems is a worldwide provider of information technology services and business solutions. Through its flexible and collaborative approach, Perot Systems integrates expertise from across the company to deliver custom solutions that enable clients to accelerate growth, streamline operations and create new levels of customer value. Headquartered in Plano, Texas, Perot Systems reported 2008 revenue of $2. 8 billion. The company has more than 23,000 associates located in the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific. Additional information on Perot Systems is available at http://www. perotsystems. com/. http://content. dell. com/us/en/corp/d/press-releases/DellandPerotSystemsStrategicAlliance. aspx 3. Functional: Manufacturing and Operations at Dell | | | | | |Dell is committed to fully integrating environmental performance into overall business and operational management. Dell | |manufacturing and operations facilities around the globe maintain a strong focus on minimizing impact on the environment| |while providing a safe workplace environment for our employees. | |Dell's direct business model yields strong production inventory and capital investment efficiencies that translate into | |tangible benefits for the environment.Because all products are made to order, Dell currently maintains only three days | |of inventory for most parts and equipment, which keeps the environmental impact of warehousing to a minimum. Components | |and parts are only ordered and shipped to Dell when they are ready to be assembled into the final computer product, | |thereby saving energy and operational costs associated with storing inventory. | |Keeping our employees healthy and well is a high priority, and Dell is committed to providing a safe workplace for our | |employees. Dell's occupational health, safety, and wellness programs are designed to meet our employees' needs, | |motivating them to stay healthy and safe as they go about their daily activities both at work and at home.The | |Environmental, Health, and Safety team works closely with manufacturing, facilities, design, and process engineers, with| |a goal to continually improve the safety of our operations. | http://www1. euro. dell. com/content/topics/global. aspx/corp/environment/en/mfg_ops_main? c=ma=ar | Human resources : | |The Human Resources department has long been the Rodney Dangerfield of the enterprise. â€Å"I can’t get no respect! † the comedian | |complained to anyone who’d listen. And so it goes with HR in the enterprise. | |There are lots of reasons for this.For some of rank-and-file employees, HR embodies the pettiness of corporate life and a slavish | |devotion to inane rules and outmoded processes. Others see it in a more sinister light: the CFO’s enforcer that slashes jobs and | |benefits, all in service of the bottom line. | |Just three years ag o, a business magazine published an article  Ã¢â‚¬â€ â€Å"Why We Hate HR† — that portrayed HR executives as mindless | |bureaucrats. â€Å"I’m the cork in the bottom of the boat,† complained one HR director on a popular Web forum. â€Å"We get no respect until we | |save them from themselves and some of the bad choices they make when our back is turned,† said another. |Fortunately, at least at forward-thinking companies, that stereotype is as out of date as the secretarial pool on â€Å"Mad Men. † Many of | |today’s HR leaders are now accepted among the upper ranks of corporate leadership and act as trusted advisers to their CEOs. | |And increasingly, these HR leaders are turning to their enterprise IT colleagues to pry open the boardroom door and get the respect | |they deserve. A new generation of HR management tools makes it easier to find new talent, enable existing employees, and track trends | |that have an impact far beyond the HR department’s traditional boundaries. | |Of course, any competent HR executive uses the Internet to recruit and select employees.