Plato’s Theory of Knowledge, A Guide to Reaching Higher Grounds Essay

The human knowledge may be regarded as having a two parts: One that he sees hears and touches, on the other he organizes mind s on what he learns through the senses. Philosophers have given considerable attentions to questions about the resources of knowledge. Some philosophers think that that the particular thing seen, heard and touches are more important. They believe that general ideas are formed from the examination of the particular facts. A philosopher who feels that the knowledge is acquired in this way is called empiricist. The view of the knowledge can be attained only through the sense of experience. According to them the real knowledge is based on what our sight, hearing smell and other senses tell us it is really out there and not what people makes up in their heads. Other philosopher thinks it is more important to find a general law according to which particular facts can be understood or judge. This method advocates rationalist. A newer school pragmatism, believe that the value in use is the real test of the truth and meaning and truth of an idea are tested by the practical consequences. These are some of the groups that search about the roots of the theory of knowledge. When a person wants to be enlightened you must know what the light within us is. This light will guide us in every step of our lives. It is a process on what is greater than life, what is greater in the physical things that we see. It is the moment when we begin to know something that is greater than, which is also within ourselves. According to the Augustinian Theory of knowledge, there are two objectives to be considered. One is to show how knowledge of all kinds is achieved and how therefore true reality maybe discovered. The second is to provide the groundwork for the reform of the cultural education to ensure the proper development of the people through teaching knowledge. Inner awakening is that you follow your ego, but after you realize and enlightened, we follow god’s will. We as a person must know and search ways to be enlightened. Enlightenment is the aim of any person. But after you get this enlightened don’t fear that you will loose everything. You must enjoy things more passionate but you know when and how and do not abuse your power of enjoyment like you did before enlighten. The theory of knowledge gives us a guide on how human reach the higher level of enlightenment. It gives us the one by one step and details on how knowledge is acquire. Plato a great philosopher considers some of the details about what is the nature of knowledge and the way it was obtained. In the traditional analysis of knowledge Plato’s theory of knowledge divides into three approaches: (1) the allegory of â€Å"the cave† (2) the metaphor of the â€Å"divide line† (3) and the doctrines â€Å"the forms†. The cave tells us that most of the people who are living in the cave, in the dark has converted to salvation because of the knowledge that they acquire. The â€Å"divided line† visualizes the levels of knowledge in a more systematic way. Plato states that there are four stages of the knowledge development. (1) Imagining, which tells us that the looks or appearance seen as true reality. For example an art, which tells us that what we have seen is not necessarily what, you get. (2) Belief, Plato gives us the idea of seeing the reality does not always believe. We have the strong conviction of what we see but not with absolute certainty. (3) Thinking, it is believe the visible world and move into intelligible world which it stands for the power of mind. Plato wants to see all things as they really are so we can see that all things are interconnected. (4) The development stage of the knowledge due to thinking. The third Approach is â€Å"the Forms† are the highest levels of reality. The forms are called ideas. These are independent existing entities whose existence and nature are graspable only by the mind, even though they are not depend on being so grasped in order to exist A person is in then stage of immaturity, when theory of knowledge takes place he will undergo such different stages like at first he will see what is the source and problem of its immaturity understanding what is immaturity will mean a process that under go such enlightenment. After understanding and knowing the problem he will go to the next stage which is by visualizing the level of knowledge of being immature. He can have a research or he can conduct a qouestion and answer so that he can get some opinion so that it can help a lot in defining the problem of being immature. For instance, what distinguishes real knowledge from mere opinion? The real knowledge is based on the logic, the laws and the methods of reason that we use to understand the universe (Velasquez, 1999) By getting such knowledge and analyzing of what category or level he can create a new solution in order of getting out of being immature.Thingking of the possible solution and ideas is the last satge of getting out of being immature.This process or step of solving ones problem is an example of theory of knowledge which can be apply to enlightenment.In any of the different stages they are interconnected to one another so that it can create a good solution which enlightens on a person. There is a given change of such enlightenment. For Parmenides, Change is the confusion of the appearance (motion) with reality (permanence) and therefore the change is simply an illusion. Reality is the basis of truth (knowledge) where as changes produces only opinion (lack of knowledge). Although the senses tells us that the things appear to change and therefore things do change, our reason can distinguish the truth from that which appear to be true. When reasons say reality must be single permanent substances, then there can be no change. (Hankinson, 1998) Plato’s theory of knowledge leads us down many roads, but we see the same theme through out: the light to dark; ignorant to educate: reality to really real.The theory of knowledge imparts us that in every circumstances in life there is a solution. In every situation that we have there is an appropriate answer. Having a knowledge or education gives us the true meaning of reality and real.That is when enlightenment takes place. When we have already the knowledge and reasons we know now how to handle and solve on any situation that we have.   Enlightenment is one of important part in our life to have a sense of direction. If we can apply the the different stages of theory of knowledge and integrate it   to its process of enl;ightenment there is a good way that humanities can have the truth , the reality, and the essence of having a knowledge.Believing to the knowledge that we have and through by the grace we can struggle and survive in any situation that we have. Velasquez, Manuel â€Å"Philosophy: A text with readings†. New York: Wadsworth publishing company, 1999. Hankinson, RJ.† Cause and Explanation in Ancient Greek Thought†. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998. â€Å"Human Knowledge and Human Nature: A new introduction to an Ancient Debate† Oxford University Press, 1992   ISBN 0-19-875101-X ISBN 0-19-875102-8 (pbk.) http://www.philosophy.umd.edu/Faculty/pcarruthers/HKHN-Conclusion.htm â€Å"Augustinian Knowledge Of theory† http://www.users.bigpond.com/seckington/Augustinian%20Knowledge.htm â€Å"What is Enlightenment ?† (â€Å"Qu’est-ce que les Lumià ¨res ?†), in Rabinow (P.), à ©d., The Foucault Reader, New York, Pantheon Books, 1984, pp. 32-50. http://foucault.info/documents/whatIsEnlightenment/foucault.whatIsEnlightenment.en.html

Collusion Between British Airways and Virgin

The tacit collusion case to be discussed involves the illegal collusion and setting of fuel surcharges to commercial and cargo transatlantic fares between British Airways (BA) and Virgin Atlantic Airways (Virgin). The factors which contributed to its success will be discussed, as well as why, and its implications, of becoming public. To begin with, it would be beneficial to define both collusive behaviour and the nature of the competition involved in the aviation industry. Collusion is the act of a number of firms within an industry agreeing to set a certain price, output or another parameter and is almost always against the law.This is as they all compete in the given industry, with the setting of prices or outputs done in favour of the companies, and is therefore anti-competitive behaviour, as this moves the outcome away from the market equilibrium. The generated inefficiency is considered illegal by The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) within the UK, who’s mission is to protect consumer welfare whilst ensuring businesses remain competitive and fair (OFT,2011). A brief overview of the UK aviation industry will help in explaining and justifying certain factors which led to the successful collusion.Aviation is key not only for transportation purposes but for commercial flights, employing around 234,000 staff and contributing ? 18. 4 billion to Gross National Product (GNP). The industry is not only essential for global business and trade, but 75% of all visitors to the UK travel by air and adds a further ? 14 billion towards GNP (BATA, 2011). The USA and the European Union have signed an ‘open skies agreement’ allowing full access to all routes between the two continents, although is more restrictive to EU airlines (IACA, 2007).In the specific case of BA and Virgin, oil price rises based on the price of barrel oil as shown in ‘Appendix 1’, created rising fuel costs and uncertainty over future profit levels. Several airlines in the UK and global aviation industry brought in flexible fuel surcharges for passengers and cargo planes. The tacit collusion case of Virgin and BA showed that through communication, and agreeing to certain price rises at a given date, the negative impacts on production costs can be in part offset direct to the consumer. Through the formation of such an agreement, a ‘prisoner’s dilemma’ game scenario is formed.This game revolves around joint outcomes based on individual actions, and the payoffs which are created from this. The choice to co-operate in decision making proves to be more beneficial than the absence of any collusive behaviour, although there is always the threat of deviation to add even more uncertainty to the question. Carlton and Perloff (2003) describes how in such a game, both firms must consider each rival’s actions when making their own, and relate the combination of actions to determine best policy. Airline Market – Transatlantic flights | | | | Virgin Atlantic| | | | High surcharge| Low surcharge|British| Higher surcharge| 25,25| 15,30| Airways| Lower surcharge| 30,15| 10,10| | | | | | | Profit from Cooperation = 25 + Profit from deviation= 30 + Note: ? D > ? C if r > 1 will prove that deviation from collusion unlikely This constructed game holds several assumptions which may be of use to explain the relative success of the collusive agreement. To begin with, it involves the firms meeting and setting prices more than once, in a repeated game, as fuel surcharges are relatively flexible prices which were changed to relate to the price of fuel, which was extremely volatile as shown in Appendix A.Following on from this repeated game, it is also for an undefined period. As the price rises came very suddenly, it created an uncertain future with no foreseeable end. Carlton and Perloff (2003) agree with the theory that in a multi-period game, deviation becomes much more costly, and through signalling can lead to suc cessful collusion to benefit both parties. Edgeworth (1897) touches upon capacity constraints which are relative here in the theoretical success of this collusion, when based around the residual demand faced by both firms when looking at its pricing strategy (Carlton and Perloff, 2003).As the nature of the good is a seat on a plane, clearly capacity constraints are present in the form of the limited seating on aircraft, as well as the inability to in the short run increase output beyond full capacity. During the setting of price, clear communication will most likely result in a non-static equilibrium. As well as this, the symmetry in terms of the market and cost structures has played a part in creating a successful cartel. Each firm produces a relatively homogenous good in terms of economy, business or first class, with a limited amount of features it can differentiate itself from its competitors.As well as this, using Figure 1, which will be discussed later on, demonstrates that th e main costs to an airline are those which cannot be easily reduced or offset, most notably the cost of fuel and aircraft maintenance. Therefore both firms have near perfect knowledge of the cost structure and revenue through observing prices, and will aid in choosing a certain pricing strategy. What follows will be a detailed discussion of the specific market conditions which lead to the successful collusion between BA and Virgin.The UK Transatlantic Flight market as a whole can be said to hold many key factors which have led to successful collusion. The first is due to the high levels of barriers to entry; the level of costs specific to new entrants in the market. Barriers to entry show that new entrants find it extremely difficult to raise the financial capital needed to establish themselves as long term competitors. The nature of these costs also plays a part, with a high amount resulting in ‘sunk costs’ which are not transferable to any other industry such as an ae roplane and machinery specific to air travel.Emphasis also has to be placed on barriers to entry which do not take a physical form, with the restricted capacity of many major airports and regulation within the aviation industry significantly limits the ability to expand operations. An airline company needs to purchase several assets in order to offer the product of a transatlantic flight to a HUB in the USA. The first begins with the licence to operate in an airport and the parking/docking bay such as Manchester or Gatwick. With limited capacity at many leading airports both in the UK and the USA, they become extremely costly.With Heathrow being used as the main airport for comparison, due to the fact both BA and Virgin primarily operate there, Appendix B shows the extensive capacity constraints for all slots throughout each day. The purchase and maintenance of aircraft is clearly an essential fixed cost, and with strict litigation procedures meaning that there is little opportunity to save costs. The last main fixed cost is in the form of landing fees and en route charges, which each airline needs to pay. Figure 1 (British Airways, 2010)Figure 1 attempts to demonstrate these barriers to entry, which prevents new firms from entering the market after the monopoly pricing of fuel surcharges sends a signal to potential competitors for the opportunity of supernormal profits. The largest growth in the cost structure for British Airways has been in the sections discussed which pose the biggest barriers to entry; fuel and oil costs at 44. 5%, landing fees at 14. 2% and engineering and other aircraft costs at 13. 1%, placing ever more emphasis on the difficulty for new firms to compete in this market (British Airways, 2010).Another key factor which contributed to the successful collusion was the weak buyer power in the demand for air travel, and in this specific case for transatlantic flights. The nature of the good is long distance travel, both for leisure and busine ss with no other direct substitute in terms of time and comfort of travel. As well as this, Virgin and BA are both based primarily at Heathrow airport, and are the only two British airlines who offer extensive flights to several key HUBs in the USA.Along with three U. S airlines they make up the total flights offered to the USA from the busiest airport in the world in terms of international passengers (ACI, 2011). The two combined impact upon the price elasticity of demand, a key concept which may help illustrate why the collusion was a success. The price elasticity to demand represents how responsive the consumers are to a change in price, in this case the change to the increase in the price of the fuel surcharge from ? 5 to ? 0 between the period August 2004 – January 2006 (OFT, 2007). The nature of the good is relatively price inelastic as no low cost airline or competitor can offer the same flight schedule to the important airports in the US, such as New York (JFK). Going hand in hand, this type of travel cannot simply be postponed or chosen differently, especially for business people who have little power over the price they will pay but quite significantly have less financial constraints than those travelling for leisure.There have been many cases of tacit collusion which have been broken down within the UK, through the act of the Competition Commission (CC) and the OFT investigating what it deems could be found to be collusive, illegal behaviour. The case of BA and Virgin is a unique one as to how it was broken down. The agreement ended directly through Virgin Atlantic Airways admitting to the collusive behaviour directly to the Office of Fair Trade. There may be both relevant theoretical and practical explanations as to why Virgin deviated from co-operation, which will be outlined briefly.Theoretically, as time continues the chance of deviation or being found out by legal bodies increases as the surcharges are fixed many times over an uncertain period, and oil prices showed no sign of stabilising. With no foreseeable end to the game leaving both firms with an area of uncertainty, and the threat of punishment playing an ever more important role, certain strategies in the game may have been altered. However, practically it may prove to offer a more credible reason as to why Virgin ended the collusive agreement by going to the relevant authorities.With the fine by the OFT standing at ? 121. 5 million, and the Department of Justice fining BA ? 148 million as the case was co-ordinated between both countries, the cost of colluding was severe (OFT,2007 BBC, 2007). As well as this, the timeline constructed in Appendix C highlights the previous hostile relationship of the two parties. Even though Virgin cannot compete financially or in number of flights/routes, a fierce rivalry and competitive relationship has always existed with Virgin Atlantic being the only British non-flag carrier to survive the transatlantic flight market.This collusive agreement then goes exactly to the contrary of what has just been set out, so it may lead to one believing Virgin set out with this goal from the start, or once it became clear a court case would mean the parties involved would financially suffer, Virgin used the immunity clause to allow the collusion became public knowledge. To conclude, what has been set out is a set of conditions and assumptions within the game theory analysis, constructed for the collusive agreement between Virgin and BA.It aided in discussing the collusion itself, and the nature of which resulted in its success. Following on, the most significant market structural conditions were discussed relating to how they facilitated the successful collusion between the two parties. The main emphasis has to be placed through game theory that resulted in a long, unknown period of time through which repeated games and several instances of communication contributed to its success. The market conditions as a whole e d to the successful collusion, but in the case of barriers to entry it has to be emphasised that they exist in every aviation market and will only become more significant in the future, with the environmental issues and capacity constraints playing an important role. The weak buyer power of consumers contributed hugely, to not only the surcharge actually being introduced, but following on to at least 6 occasions of joint price increases. The amount BA was fined is a clear signal to all other firms that collusive behaviour will be punished severely, and therefore promotes its own punishment strategy.References ACI, 2011 – ‘Year to date International Passenger Traffic December 2010’, Airports Council International accessed from http://www. aci. aero/cda/aci_common/display/main/aci_content07_c. jsp? zn=aci&cp=1-5-212-1376-1379_666_2 as of 22nd March 2010 BATA, 2011 – ‘Welcome to the British Air Transport association’, British Air Transport As sociation accessed from http://www. bata. uk. com/Web/Default. aspx as of 21st March 2011 BBC, 1993 – ‘1993: BA dirty tricks against Virgin cost ? 3m’, accessed from http://news. bc. co. uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/11/newsid_2520000/2520189. stm as of 24th March 2011 BBC, 2007 – ‘BA's price-fix fine reaches ? 270m’, British Broadcasting Association accessed from http://news. bbc. co. uk/1/hi/business/6925397. stm as of 24th March 2011 British Airways, 2010 – Chief Financial Officer’s Report, 2008/09 Annual Report and Accounts, Table from page 14 accessed from http://www. britishairways. com/cms/global/microsites/ba_reports0809/pdfs/CFO. pdf as of 22nd March 2011Carlton and Perloff, 2003 – Modern Industrial Organization, Chapter 6: Oligopoly, pages 160-192, Pearson Education; 4 edition (1 May 2003) Europa, 2000 – ‘COMMISSION DECISION of 14 July 1999 relating to a proceeding under Article 82 of the EC Treaty (IV/D-2/34. 780 . Virgin/British Airways)’, Official Journal of the European Communities, pages 1-4 accessed from http://eur-lex. europa. eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ. do? uri=OJ:l:2000:030:0001:0024:en:PDF as of 24th March 2011 IACA, 2007 – Press Releases: ‘EU-US Open SkiesDeal – Not So Open for European Airlines’, International Air Carriers Association accessed http://www. iaca. be/index. cfm? 79FD0308-BDBE-2776-0614-E6942D8F1AB5 as of 26th March 2011 Mongabay,2009 – ‘10-year commodity price chart for Crude oil’, Compiled by mongabay. com using figures from World Bank Commodity Price Data, accessed from http://www. mongabay. com/images/commodities/charts/crude_oil. html as of 11th March 2011 OFT, 2006 – Report on Transport, ‘UK airports: Report on the market study and proposed decision to make a market investigation reference’, page 139 accessed from http://www. ft. gov. uk/shared_oft/reports/transport/of t882. pdf as of 23rd March 2011 OFT, 2007 – The Office of Fair Trading, Press releases 2007: ‘British Airways to pay record ? 121. 5m penalty in price fixing investigation’, accessed from http://www. oft. gov. uk/news-and-updates/press/2007/113-07 as of 23rd March 2011 OFT,2011 – The Office of Fair Trading, ‘Making markets work well for consumers’, accessed from http://www. oft. gov. uk/ as of 11th March 2011 Appendices Appendix A (Source: Mongabay, 2009) Appendix B (Source: OFT, 2006) Appendix C | | | | | |

Indian Apparel Market Research Report

Indian Apparel Market Research Report By MD. FAISAL BBA (Studying) Major in International Business University of Dhaka Bangladesh E-mail: faisal. [email  protected] om The Indian apparel industry has a vast existence in the economic life of the country. It plays a critical role in the economic development of the country with its contribution to industrial output, export earnings of the country and the generation of employment. The Indian apparel industry has seen remarkable changes in the past few years and it is also one of the India's largest foreign exchange earners. Embroidery being the traditional art form of the country has contributed hugely for apparel industry. Indian embroidery market stands out as being extraordinary in the international markets. The Indian Market The Indian consumer is evolving and driving retail growth in India and companies in the fashion industry are reacting to this evolution through myriad options. The fashion market in India is witnessing strong growth owing to a young population, an increase in disposable incomes, which is leading to increase in consumption and thus the rapid growth in organized retail. Private consumption growth contributes to more than half of the GDP growth and is growing in double digit figures. Several businesses are reacting to this evolution positively, both through pull and push phenomenon. Apparel today has the largest share of the modern organised retail in India i. e. 20% of the current market of Rs. 56,000 crore and this is expected to grow at a constant rate of 20% over the next 4 years. Bilateral Co-operation in this sector shows great synergies. An Indo Italia Task Force on Fashion Design and life Style products has been created following an agreement between the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Italian Ministry of International Trade. On the Indian side members include FICCI – Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry , NID – National Institure of Design while on the Italian side there is Confindustria, Altagamma, Universita’ Bocconi, ICE. With India being the second fastest growing major economy in the world, fashion industry is pushing itself to keep pace with the retail evolution witnessed in India. Facts and Figures The global textiles and apparel trade estimated at US$ 450 billion and expected to touch US$ 700 billion by 2010 with demand for textiles and apparels expected to grow to 25 per cent from current figures where Asia will contribute 85 per cent. Clothing, textile and fashion accessories form 39 per cent of the Rs 55,000 crore organized retailing in India. The Italian designer Giorgio Armani's company has signed a joint venture with India's most valuable real estate firm, DLF. Giorgio Armani Holding, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Italian company, will take 51 percent in the venture, the maximum allowed for a single-brand foreign retailer in India. Armani will bring 10 million rupees ($250,000) to the venture, which would also act as a wholesaling firm supplying Armani-branded products to other independent retailers. The first Armani stores would be set up in New Delhi. Reliance Brands, a subsidiary of Reliance Retail, has entered into a 49:51 joint venture with Italian fashion house, Sixty Group, to retail its brands in India. DLF has tied up with Armani ,Dolce & Gabbana Raymond, the Gautam Singhania owned ‘house of complete men,’ has joined hands, in a Rs. 50 crore, 50:50 joint venture, with the Italian fashion major Grotto Spa bringing in premium â€Å"GAS† brand apparel in India. Other Italian Brands in India are Gruppo Cadini, Gucci, Ermenegildo Zegna, Corneliani,Canali, Brioni, and Pal Zileri India’s asset base for this sector – Numerous qualified and semi-qualified manpower which is skilled and low on cost of Long drawn tradition of having produced high quality textiles for decades. Apparel Market Consumer spending on apparel in India has grown over the last five years, touching the global benchmark of 5 per cent of the total income During the three years 2004-05 to 2006-07, investments in the textile sector has increased from US$ 2. 94 billion to US$ 7. 85 billion. In 2007, men's apparel industry was mainly dominated by shirts (in value terms) accounting for 36. 5% of total men's segment. India's textiles and apparels industry is estimated to be worth US$49 billion where 39 per cent is accounted by the exports market. Currently India has a 3. -4 per cent share in world export of textiles and 3 per cent in clothing exports. Europe continues to be India's major export market with 22 per cent share in textiles and 43 per cent in apparel; the US is the single largest buyer of Indian textiles and apparel with 19 per cent and 32. 6 per cent share respectively. Readymade garments (RMG) are the largest export segment, accounting for 45 per cent of total textile exports and 8. 2 per cent of India's total exports. Future The demand for ready-made garments in rural India will surge at an annual rate of 16. 50% to reach Rs. 42,918 Crore or US$10. 1 billion by 2010. Men's apparel industry will increase at a CAGR of 14. 86% during the two-year period from 2008 to 2010. Women apparel market (in value terms) is anticipated to grow at an annual averaged growth rate of 17. 79% till 2010. The organized apparel retailing in India is projected to surge at an annual averaged growth rate of 30% from 2008 to reach Rs. 52,289 Crore in 2010. Increasing at a CAGR of 24%, branded apparel industry for men will cross Rs. 25,000 Crore by 2010. n Increasing at an annual averaged growth rate of 25%, branded apparel industry for women is expected to hit Rs. 8,351 Crore by 2010. Readymade garments exports from India are expected to touch US$ 14. 5 billion by 2009-10 with a cumulative annual growth of 18 to 20 per cent, according to Apparel Export Promotion Council. Versace pret-e-porte is another Italian fashion house at the lower end of the fashion pyramid that is in the final stages of tying up with Reliance Brands to bring its products to India. Gas eyes US$49. 82m sales by 2011. The company will invest Rs500m till 2010 on its retail expansion, marketing and brand building in India. Gas may do local production outsourcing for sub-Rs1,000 range. Shoppers' Stop is planning to enter the luxury retail segment with large format retail stores which will house products from many of well-known luxury brands, including Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Zegna, Hugo Boss, YSL, Mont Blanc and Christian Dior. The company plans to invest Rs. 100 crore in this model in the first year itself. The organized lingerie retail market in India is expected to touch Rs 4,000 Crore mark by 2009. IT revenue from the retail segment is forecasted to grow at an annual averaged growth rate of 43. 41% by 2010. The Indian fashion industry is expected to rise at a stupendous pace of 22. 7% through 2012. Government Initiatives 100 per cent FDI allowed through the automatic route. Currently, 100 per cent foreign direct investment is allowed in wholesale trade, but only 51 per cent in single brand outlets. De-reservation of readymade garments, hosiery and knitwear from the SSI sector. Technology Mission on Cotton has been launched to make available quality raw material a t competitive prices. Technology Up gradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) has been launched to facilitate the modernisation and up gradation of the textiles industry. Scheme for Integrated Textile Park (SITP) has been started to provide world class infrastructure facilities for setting up their textile units through the Public Private Partnership model. The Apparel International Mart, in Gurgaon, will provide world class facility to apparel exporters to showcase their products and to serve as a one-stop-shop for reputed international buyers. The Indian Textile Plaza is being built, in Ahmedabad, to encourage exports to overseas markets. 50 textile parks are being established to enhance manufacturing capacity and ncrease the industry's cost competitiveness. The Government plans to set up a technology mission on technical textiles with an aim to attract investment into the sector. The Government has increased the plan allocation for textiles by 66. 27 per cent in 2007-08 over that of 2006-07, making it one of the only two ministries that have seen such a high level of increase in budgetary support. The Indian consumer desires to possess internationa l luxury brands as an inspirational product. Additionally, no Indian retail brand actually qualifies to be categorised as a luxury brand. This readiness for luxury as an organised market, has been recognised throughout the world and international luxury brands are exploring possible avenues and tie-ups to enter the Indian retail market. Indian apparel companies have realised the huge potential of partnering with these global luxury brands wishing to enter India. This helps them not only to extend their portfolio into the luxury, super premium, premium segments, but also makes them probable sourcing partners for these brands in India as well as internationally. Vice versa, luxury brands gain access to well established distribution channels and customer base.

Comparative & International HRM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Comparative & International HRM - Essay Example This deal is the one that really worked out for the BMW in turning around the company fortunes. The company saw the strategic decision of involving workers in the factory as the key in improving the performance of the company. The workers were encouraged to come up with ideas of improving the company performance. This saw the group, who work mainly on roofs for the new version of the iconic car being rewarded for coming up with the best money-saving idea. The workers suggested a change in the design of the Mini that saw BMW saving up to 6M. The BMW Company utilised the Industrial relation approach which involved establishing healthy relationship between the employees and the management. BMW used trade union to strike ground breaking deals that resulted in improved performance on the side of the organisation. It is my sincerely advice to BMW company to use the principle of industrial relation as it prepare to consolidate its production and cost reduction stage this would facilitate smooth implementation of its future plans. Strategic human resource management (SHRM) involves linking the human resource functions with the strategic goals of the organisation. Human resource managers need to maintain good relationships within the organisation so as to improve performance and maintain talented employees. BMW used what is known as Continuous Improvement (CI) strategy to enhance organisational performance. CI emphasise the importance of customer focus, internal customer-supplier relationships, process management and control, empowered work teams and visionary leadership. BMW used all of these strategies in establishing processes for strategic or business planning, organisational and job re-design, cultural change and performance management (Hammond, 2001). BMW is an icon of a company that can use staff-company relations to improve firm production.BMW was determining to give the Mini firm a new face lift. This involved among other things involving the workforce whom the BMW absorbed from the old Mini firm. According to Werner Rothfuss, director of corporate communications at the plant, BMW is committed to the staff engagement in the running of the company. The BMW developed good staff- management relations. This is seen where the company engage the union in the dialogue so as to strike the new deals. Many Companies would shy away from this kind of engagement. However BMW believe that in order to succeed it has to pay whatever the price so as to improve the relationship with its employees. As the report exemplify, "...Union acquiescence was bought by promising a minimum bonus of 130, even if targets are missed, and one of the largest wage rises in the industry." (BMW Report). The organisational skills in communicating these changes the best way possible was mandatory in order to avoid workers unrest or resentment. This seems to be the area of expertise for MBW. The BMW was able to convince the workforce to strike a new working deal with workers union. The BMW hammered a new pay deal that reduced the evening entertainment hours for workers and make them more involved and creative in revamping the company. This way the company was able to cut cost and harness creativity on the part of the employees. BMW believe that 'Employees can make a difference' (BMW Report) Another

Does being in jail rehabilitate or institutionalize nimates Essay

Does being in jail rehabilitate or institutionalize nimates - Essay Example As asserted by Red Redding from the film: â€Å"These walls are funny. First you hate them, then you get used to them, until it gets to you depend on them. Thats institutionalized† (Voegele, n.d., par. 2). The current discourse hereby aims to reflect on the events that transpired in the lives of prisoners in the film, Shawshank Redemption and to respond to the question: Does being in jail rehabilitate or institutionalize inmates? One hereby affirms that the effect of being in jail could either be to rehabilitate or institutionalize inmates, depending on the length of time that these prisoners have been confined in jail, as well as the expected life there still is outside prison walls. The justice system has been observed to be designed in such a way that prisoners who committed a crime and were found to have made major violations of the law would be accorded the chance to be transformed, rehabilitated and reintegrated in society. One’s assertion is that rehabilitation would only be deemed successful when some factors or conditions are present: perceiving an optimistic and productive life after prison and having support systems (housing, health care, and employment). These factors were summed by Voegele (n.d.) as the presence of hope. As such, one of the major characters in the film, Andy Dufresne, remained steadfast in faith and hope that he would someday get out of the prison walls and leave a quiet and peaceful life in a little obscure place in Mexico. Prison, for Andy, would be a means of rehabilitation: a chance to reflect on the life where hard work insitutionalized him. Concurrently, there were prisoners who knew nothing about the outside world as most of their adult lives have been spent in prison. From various studies and discourses, and from observing the lives of prisoners in Shawshank Redemption, there were psychological effects of imprisonent which could be described in the concept of institutionalization. It could therefore be inferred that

APPRASING THE EVIDENCE Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

APPRASING THE EVIDENCE - Assignment Example The study has no clear indication of whether the researchers accurately measured the exposures and outcomes. Hence, it gives us no solid evidence to determine whether the researchers were biased or not biased in their data analysis. The study accounted for all confounding factors and they used the stratified research design to ensure all confounding factors are considered in the data analysis. It is hard to tell if the follow up was complete as the article does not address whether some respondents dropped out of the study. However, the follow up in general was long enough to ensure conclusive results. Results from the study show that tobacco smoking causes lung cancer. To be precise according to the study it decreases the life span of a person up to 10 years. The loss of year’s increases as one smokes for a long time, it is somehow time dependent. I do believe the results are valid and tobacco causes lung cancer. However, the quantification of the number of years it reduces is not appropriately measured as people usually have different immunities and smoking habits thus the effects would be different from one person to the

The Sustainability of Extreme Sports as Businesses in Todays Society Research Paper

The Sustainability of Extreme Sports as Businesses in Todays Society - Research Paper Example For the extreme sports, there are no specific market boundaries and hence the market segment for these sports cannot be measured. It has been assumed that the market segment for extreme sports holds approximately 5 percent of the market for adventure trips (â€Å"Extreme Sports† 34). In the present times, extreme sports have a significant role to play in business and the sportspersons are being utilized for the purpose of marketing of different products. Extreme sports in marketing are more common among the youth. Considering the leisure market in the United States and other countries across the world, the use of extreme sports in businesses has been found to be increasing particularly targeting the youth who are the usual viewers of sports and sports-related programs on television. However although there are regular viewers of the extreme sports and hence products can be well marketed with the use of such sports, yet the sustainability of the extreme sports in businesses cann ot be realized. It has been observed that the viewers of such extreme sports are in most cases fickle minded that make them suspect the conventional methods of marketing and they are also more concerned about their status. All these factors make it difficult for the marketers creating challenges for their successful marketing approaches (Summers, Morgan and Summers 30). Aim and Objectives of the Research: Aim: The aim of the research is to focus on the use of extreme sports in businesses trying to determine the sustainability of the extreme sports in business in the near future. Objectives: Considering the above aim of the study, the following objectives have been decided: To understand the use of extreme sports for the purpose of businesses. To learn about the implications of the use of extreme sports in marketing on the prospective or targeted consumers. To determine the sustainability of the use of extreme sports in businesses in the near future. Literature Review: The concept of extreme sports has become highly significant and popular in the recent times with more and more individuals trying to take part in sports that are highly risky. These include the risky activities undertaken by the body in order to perform sports (Estivalet and Brisson 552). As Heggie and Caine (2) mentioned in their studies, the extreme sports have become a very important part of the lives of the Americans in particular who consider these sports as an option for recreation and athletics. Different sports that are included in the definition of extreme sports are motorcycle racing, rock climbing, and base jumping (Heggie and Caine 2). The popularity of extreme sports has increased in the recent times with new clubs and associations being developed. Television programs, magazines, and pages on the web are also been developed considering the growing attractiveness of extreme sports (Estivalet and Brisson 552). One of the most important reasons owing to which people are more attracted t owards extreme sports is that the participants do not have to follow the strict rules and regulations that are otherwise associated with other sports in general. However, in the present times, commercialization and standardization of extreme sports have also been considered proving it to be inopportune for such participants (Madigan and Delaney 47).  Ã‚  

American Imperialism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

American Imperialism - Essay Example The term imperialism is almost exclusively associated with colonial exploits of major European powers such as Britain, France and Germany in the West; and China and Japan in the East. Although a late joiner of the imperial club, the United States is by far the most dominant in this group. With the entity called the United States of America having emerged only toward the end of the eighteenth century, it was only in the subsequent centuries it meaningfully expressed its imperial goals. The perception of the United States as an imperialist state was first mooted in the early part of the nineteenth century and the outbreak of the Spanish-American war in 1898 confirmed this fact. Indeed, the final years of the 19th century saw the peaking of American imperialist aggression as it occupied Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippine Islands – the latter two eventually becoming American colonies. (Lens & Zinn, 2003) The early indicators of imperialist tendency can be found in the founding d ocuments of the country. Even luminaries such as Thomas Jefferson have articulated an imperialist vision for the United States in no unclear terms. The annexation of Louisiana in the eighteenth century is seen as the first act of this vision. ... Empire expansion was also projected as benign and compassionate, for Christian missionary work was invariably associated with it. Propaganda also had it that the standards of living of subjects of the empire will eventually rise. On the whole, imperialist enterprise was promoted using these vapid and empty slogans and motives. (Lens & Zinn, 2003) Recognizing the duplicity and dubiousness of these claims, intellectuals both within and outside the country started expressing their discontent. The ruthlessness and gruesomeness with which Filipino uprising was crushed evoked shock and anger among some of America's illustrious citizens including Andrew Carnegie and William James. It is in this context that they founded American Anti-Imperialist League in 1899. â€Å"We hold that the policy known as imperialism is hostile to liberty and tends toward militarism, an evil from which it has been our glory to be free. We regret that it has become necessary in the land of Washington and Lincoln to reaffirm that all men, of whatever race or color, are entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We maintain that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. We insist that the subjugation of any people is "criminal aggression" and open disloyalty to the distinctive principles of our Government.† ( Platform of the American Anti-imperialist League, 1913, p.77) The League might have been promoted by well-known leaders of the American cultural landscape, but it had the backing of numerous lesser-known liberals. The identification of American foreign policy as imperialist might seem politically radical for a modern reader, but during the 19th century there was a vibrant Left-Liberal tradition in American political discourse. Trade unions could be

Violent Employees Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Violent Employees - Essay Example manifestation of severe stress, history of violence and criminal records, poor personal relationship, tendency to stay aloof, inconsistent productivity, swift personality change and poor personal hygiene. Identifying violence indicators in an employee is a step distinct from finding a lasting solution to the looming danger. After identifying a potentially violent employee, I would summon him or her to my office to investigate the issue that nags him or to discuss the behaviour manifestation that does not go well with the organisation. I would then clearly communicate anti-violence policy of the organisation to him or her and let him or her know the repercussions of such behaviour. I would make the talk as friendly as possible so as to gauge whether the employee can be helped or if there is need to part ways with him. In doing this, I would call for the opinion of other managers. If the employee promises to change, I would establish crisis management team to monitor and coach the employee, after which he or she would be dismissed if no change is observed after a given

How to Build Teams Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

How to Build Teams - Research Paper Example Employees who have their value acknowledge by the organization and receive respect from their boss go beyond their work jurisdiction willingly to achieve the company’s organization. There is need for companies to have a well built team of staff in the work place. In order to successfully build a team in the work place, there should be consistency and commitment. Team building is a process that calls for a comprehensive strategy which targets at developing and maintaining a work environment of team-oriented employees. When building a team in the work place, one needs to ensure purpose of the team is clearly defined. This is achieved through stating comprehensible realistic goals and making everybody in the team informed on the expectations, organization’s plan and their role in realizing the goals. The team should be made conscious of where they fit in the company through have contribution to the vision and the purpose of team building. Resources available for team build ing are very vital in coming with a team of staff in the work place. The resources should be accessible for use by the team. Furthermore, a proper communication is necessary for ensuring that connection between team members and the manger is two-way. A good team makes members feel excited on what they do and, thus, being in a position to handle challenges and failure. Creation of objectives and goals should be facilitated in a manner that allows all members to share the grounds. It is through this facilitation that talents, interests and ideas are identified from the group members. This way a shared path that influences everyone’s strength and talents is facilitated. According to the article by Allen, Pennisi & Norman on building development, high performance buildings are achieved through high performance teamwork. Given the supply chain and international competition facing the building industry, the industry has to come up with ways of developing high- performance building and a considerable reduction in energy consumption. This was the case with the United States manufacturing industry in 70’s and 80’s. It was necessary for the industry to adopt innovative and improved methods of product development in order to meet the competitive challenges. There is the necessity to make sure that a product meets what companies and customers want. High performance achieved through great products should be regarded as a norm (Allen et al 224). It is of greate value to have a customer focus organizational orientation. This entails having an understanding of customers’ needs so as to incorporate proactively the customers’ desires into the process of product development. Understanding customers’need as over the years evolved with a lot of variations but understanding what the customers want is vital in this field. In order to compete effectively in the building industry, there is the necessity to understand what is needed of a high- performance building. It should be able to tell who the customers of the industry are. Through knowing their customers, players in the building industry will have an understanding of the wide range of what they to experience. Understanding what the customer needs is of great importance as a building of high effectiveness and efficiency to its users. Such buildings are profitable to the owners as well. The building indust

How A Student Can Get an A or an F in Freshman English Essay Example for Free

How A Student Can Get an A or an F in Freshman English Essay Most students know the answer to the question as to how one gets an A or an F in Freshman English class. The reasons are basically the same with how one gets either grade in their other academic subjects. Also, after going through different English classes from grade school to high school, the student should have more or less gathered ideas on how to ace or fail the subject, the criteria almost similar for each grade level of English classes the differences mainly on the difficulty level of the lessons and the complexity of the skills and performance required from the students. This essay will point out several of these factors by which the freshman student can get an A or an F in his first English class in college. These reasons are interrelated but not interdependent with each other. Meaning, the presence of all these factors in one student makes it most probable for him to get an A but the lack of one or some of them do not mean that the student would fail to get an A. An important fact to point out is that A and F occupy the extreme ends of a grading scheme, with A being the best grade and F being the worst that a student can get. It follows therefore that the reasons why a student gets an A in Freshman English are the opposites of the reasons as to why another student gets an F. Like most English subjects, Freshman English entails a lot of reading. This is to develop further the reading and comprehension skills that students have been training for since they started learning the alphabets in kindergarten. Reading is a continuous exercise that is sharpened with practice or gets rusty with the lack of it. Teachers realize this. Some reading assignments in Freshmen English include literary texts, books and articles. Students that read assigned texts diligently and religiously according to when they are supposed to be read—or even do advance and extra reading—get A during evaluation quizzes. Those who are lazy or those who rely on reading summaries when the teacher required the reading of the whole text, more than often get the F. Aside from reading, the subject requires a lot of writing on the part of the student. Freshmen English teachers like to assign paperwork for various reasons. To test whether the student read the required story, novel or essay, the teacher would assign a book report, a reaction or analysis paper of the text. Another reason is to exercise the critical thinking skills of the student. The teacher would assign papers on a variety of topics, both about the subject matter discussed in class and other topics he deems relevant for the student to know and think about. To enhance the creativity of the student, the teacher could require him to write a poem, personal essay or story. Students who comply with these writing assignments and who exert the effort to conduct research when necessary can get an A. The students that simply submit something just for the sake of complying with the requirement, or who do not submit papers at all, get F. Paying attention to the teacher’s lectures and listening to what are being discussed during class hours is another area that differentiates the A from the F student. The textbook does not contain everything that needed to be learned. The role of the teacher is also to supplement the knowledge that can be acquired through the textbook. Usually, the items that appear in quizzes and test are those which the teacher emphasizes during lectures. Also, listening to class lectures is actually a substitute for studying independently. Any student would realize that if he listens carefully during class discussion, he would not need to study as hard anymore since when all the senses are involved in the learning process, like what happens during a class discussion, more learning occurs. The student who gets A know this fact. The F student crams during exams because he prefers to daydream during class hours or be absent altogether. Genetics also play a role in differentiating the A student from the F student. It is unfair but it is a recognized fact that a high IQ can also be inherited. Smart parents usually bear smart kids. The intelligence can even be subject-specific. A father who loves Math could have a son who loves numbers as much as him. A student who loves English may have a Dad who also loves the subject and this passion is simply being passed on to the child—an A student in English. If the student is predisposed because of his genes to be naturally good in communication activities and this talent is accompanied with diligence, he will get an A in freshman English. Getting an A or an F in Freshman English is not always because of factors that pertain to the student. The environment in which the student lives in can also play a part in determining whether he would get the best or worst grade in the subject. Teachers who inspire their students to do their best usually do make them perform their best. A boring English teacher encourages absenteeism and slack among students. Nobody wants to sleep in the classroom but the droning voices of some English teachers just induce sleepiness. Meanwhile, some students might begin the semester hating English, but this could change given the right motivations from the teacher such as interesting discussions, topics that cater to the interest of the student’s age group, and interactive activities that stimulate their creativity and multiple intelligences. A fact is that if many students in a class get an A after the semester, for certain the character of the teacher and his teaching methodologies had something to do with it. Home culture is also a reason why some students can get an A while others get F in Freshman English. A home which is rich in literary texts and reading materials are beneficial to the English student. A young person who grows up with a family who encourages the development of good reading habits among its members would have fewer problems getting an A in English class because he would already have developed one of the major skills required in the subject. More so, if the individual also writes for a hobby. The home training would also be complete if the parents are supportive of their children’s studies especially their interest in the subject. Students who get F usually lack follow-up and attention at home. Nobody tells them to study or encourages them to read. Finally, friends can also have something to do with the grade one gets in a subject. They are actually very influential with regards to whether the student would still have time to study, be interested with matters that pertain to school, and aim for good grades. If aside from the usual teenage activities one’s friends also encourage reading amongst themselves, conducting group studies, helping out in doing class assignments and projects, and getting the best possible grades, the student would have better chances of getting an A in his English class. The factors enumerated above are basic yet important reasons as to how a student can get an A or an F in Freshman English class. Knowing them, applying them in one’s life as a freshman student, or adjusting some things that do not apply to the individual, could be helpful in his getting a better grade when the report card comes out at the end of the semester.

Role of Communication Essay Example for Free

Role of Communication Essay The development of Information Systems has forever changed the way people communicate hence managing multiple levels of communication is a complex enterprise. Todays technology is the cornerstone to maintain links and correspondence with many different Discussions and information through equipment plays a main role in the global communitys growth in areas of human interaction. Communicating through technology is such an integral part of family, national and world communities, everything continues to move forward at a rapid pace. Increasingly, every aspect of the planets effort to communicate effectively and in a timely manner depends on Information Systems. In the last two decades our world has been changed gradually form one condition to another. The revolution of new ideas always comes up to the minds of every person, especially the idea to improve technology which people need to make the living better. As the result, modern technology has been bringing people certain advantages such as ways for fast communication. Nowadays, people can get latest news from any parts of the world very quickly, pay their bills, by using E-mail and Internet. lso, the internet can be seen in aiding the spread of culture, because all of the communication made possible by the internet. Moreover, telephone-local or/and oversea is playing a key role for people to communicate to with each other. Information Systems is the back bone of todays communication. The massive data and increasing volumes of data needs organized storing and fast and effective processing for variety of purposes fro m decision making to risk management, from transaction processing to stat e-the art products. The large-scale businesses are globally distributed across the world which needs stable and reliable infrastructure and network administration and the applications which can run and handle simultaneous, real time and fast processing. The availability of technology has enabled the businesses to offer variety of services which has made Information Technology as part of the businesses today. What seems to be a simple online banking transaction for instance, involves web-based programs which run on a one platform and access the data in another platform like mainframe and tho make there should e network communication and systems which can communicate to each other, available 24 by 7. The more businesses grow the more dependent they become of Information Systems Some make a clear distinction between information systems, ICT, and business processes. Information systems are distinct from information technology in that an information system is typically seen as having an ICT component. Inform ation systems are also different from business processes. Information systems help to control the performance of business processes [3].

Child Protection Policy UK

Child Protection Policy UK Anglo-Saxon society has traditionally entrusted parents with the responsibility of bringing up their children. Parents, under such societal traditions, are required to look after the physical, emotional and mental needs of their children, provide them with a warm and comfortable family atmosphere, educate them to the best of their ability, and ready them for future adult responsibilities.* Birchall The overwhelming majority of people in the UK try to follow these tenets to the best of their abilities. Social changes like the increased incidence of divorces, live-in relationships, and single parenting, whilst significantly changing the social and economic structure of UK society, have not affected basic child rearing responsibilities. Modern day parents remain as committed to their children as their predecessors. Whilst the overwhelming majority of members of British society think of children as precious, both in the individual and in the collective context, some parents exhibit significantly deviant behaviour and subject their children to neglect and various forms of mental and physical abuse. *Arthurs Children are also vulnerable to physical and other forms of abuse outside their domestic environments for a variety of reasons. The social services infrastructure of the UK, which came into being as an integral component of the welfare state after the closure of the Second World War, has always emphasised the need to safeguard and protect children. Policy makers of different governments, both conservative and labour, have consistently made efforts to bring about laws and policies for the safeguarding of children, adolescents and vulnerable young adults. The social work infrastructure of the country also provides high priority to protecting children from different forms of abuse. Brandon A significant number of children in the country, despite the presence of a plethora of protective laws and policies and the existence of a huge, nationwide, protective social service infrastructure, are subjected to various degrees of emotional, mental and physical abuse.CReighton Incidents of child abuse and death continue to regularly be reported in the national media. One such episode, which ended in the tragic death of 8 year old Victoria Climbie in 2000, led to the institution of The Laming Commission and to significant changes in social welfare policy. * The formulation and implementation of the Every Child Matters (ECM) programme, which constitutes the overarching structure for child care in the country, places immense emphasis of the safety and security of children.* The countrys social care policies and social services infrastructure contain specific policies and processes for the identification of children at risk, followed by mandatory need assessment, and the provisioning of adequate security to them through planned interventions. The continuance of physical abuse against children, some episodes of which lead to substantial physical injury and even death, is a cause of intense distress to the people and policy makers of the country. Much of media debate and discussion on the issue assigns the responsibility for such continued violence against children, despite the existence of extensive preventive infrastructure, very squarely, on inadequate managerial leadership and decision making skills at various levels of the social services and social work infrastructure, as well as in other public services like health, education and policing. Learning Lessons Ofsted, Lord Laming Whilst incidents of violence against children have in the past led to inte nse criticism of individual social workers and of the social services system, contemporary nationwide soul searching over child safety is bringing up concerns regarding managerial control, leadership and decision making, across the ambit of the concerned public service organisations. Laming The Serious Cases Review, a national fact finding process that among other things investigates episodes of serious violence against children, has time and again provided details on reasons behind individual child abuse cases, the learning to be taken from such episodes, and the actions needed for the prevention of recurrence of such horrific incidents. U/LL The continuance of such episodes, despite the presence of extensive preventive machinery and the availability of such significant information has created confusion and concern over the ability of public service organisations to control and reduce child abuse and related deaths. Observers and analysts feel that a number of causes have combined to produce, stagnation, inefficiency, and ineffectiveness in the decision making of public sector agencies, and in their ability to work in cooperation and in collaboration with each other. This study takes up the investigation of child abuse in the UK, the findings of the serious case reviews, and the learning obtained from such reviews. This is followed by an exploration and analysis of the factors that limit the role of such learning in the actual decision making processes of various public agencies that are associated with and are responsible for the safety of children in the UK. 2. Commentary Legislation and Public Policy on Child Protection Abuse against children can occur in numerous different circumstances and across social and economic segments. Children are specifically vulnerable in circumstances or environments that concern family violence, bullying, substance misuse, learning inadequacies, mental health problems, and social and economic difficulties; also when children are unplanned, unwanted, premature or disabled. Vulnerable children may again be open to threats from more than one type of neglect or abuse. CPG The occurrence or possibility of significant harm provides the trigger for initiation of child safety and protection measures in the UK. The occurrence of significant harm depends upon a range of issues like the extent of abuse, its impact on the child, and the circumstances in which the abuse took or can take place. Whilst even a single traumatic episode may constitute significant harm, the term is more representative of a cumulative pattern of episodes that adversely affect a child. CPG The Children Act 1989, as well as The Children (Scotland) Act 1995, state that all local authorities must act jointly to safeguard children in need. The Children Act 2004 subsequently introduced a statutory structure for local cooperation for protection of children in England and Wales. All organisations that are responsible for providing services to children, including those that are engaged in education and health care, need to necessarily take steps for safeguarding of children in the discharging of their normal functions. CPG The English, Scottish and Welsh Executives have published detailed guidelines on inter-agency working on protecting children, which are available on their websites. CPG The Social Services is the lead child protection agency. It is statutorily responsible for making enquiries into all issues concerning child protection and is the main contact point for child welfare. The police are also empowered to intervene in all circumstances that could concern the safety of children. Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) and Child Protection Committees (CPCs) are responsible for outlining the ways in which relevant organisations in individual local areas must cooperate to provide safety and security to children. CPG All organisations responsible for providing services to children are required to have clear structures and practices for child protection in place. These include (a) specific lines of accountability for work in child protection, (b) arrangements for suitable checks on new volunteers and staff, (c) procedures for handling of allegations of abuse against volunteers and staff members, (d) suitable programmes for training of staff, (e) a policy for child protection, (f) appropriate procedures for whistle blowing and (g) a culture that encourages the addressing of issues related to safeguarding of children. CPG Health care professionals who have apprehensions about neglect or abuse should adhere to local child protection procedures and should have access to required support and advice. CPG NHS organisations must have a doctor and nurse with requisite expertise in child protection. Private hospitals also need to compulsorily have child protection policies as, well as named professionals who possess expertise in child protection. It is also mandatory for all professionals dealing with children, as well as members of the general public, to bring apprehensions or fears about the vulnerability of any child in their domain of knowledge, (who is or could be under physical threat), to the attention of the local social services department.CPG It thereafter becomes mandatory on the social services to take such reference into account, carry out detailed assessments of the needs of the child under threat and plan and implement appropriate interventions. CPG Serious Case Reviews and their Findings The social service in the UK has been rocked by instances of child abuse, some of which have led to death. Two year old James Bulgar was brutally murdered by two ten year olds, Thompson and Venables, in 1993. JB The incident, which attracted immense publicity and public outrage and led to the imprisonment of the two perpetrators for many years, increased awareness of the dangers faced by children and young adults and the need to bring in policies and procedures for improving their safety. The tragic death of 8 year old Victoria Climbie, in 2000, at the hands of her carers, led to the institution of a public inquiry, the severe indictment of social workers for being negligent towards their duties and responsibilities, and to a number of positive developments in the area of child protection. The publication of the Laming Report, in 2002, led to the formulation of the Every Child Matters programme and the enactment of The Children Act 2004. The death of 17 month old baby P, in 2007, which occurred out of injuries suffered at the hands of his carers, (his mother and her boyfriend), during a period in which he was repeatedly seen by social workers brought home the fact that children continued to be unsafe despite the introduction of legal enactments and policy reforms, and the strengthening of the social services sector. * The neglect, abuse, or death of a child being a matter of immense national concern, UK public policy calls for the undertaking of serious care reviews in circumstances (a) where a child has been seriously injured or harmed, or has died, and (b) abuse is suspected or known to have been a factor in the occurrence of the incident. Chapter 8 of the Government Document Working Together to Safeguard Children (1999) states that a LSCB must necessarily carry out a serious case review in all circumstances where a child dies and neglect or abuse is suspected or known to be a factor. Learning All LSCBs are also enjoined to consider the conduct of a serious case review in the following circumstances. (a) a child sustains a potentially life-threatening injury or serious and permanent impairment to health and development through abuse or neglect, (b) a child has been subject to particularly serious sexual abuse, (c) a childs parent has been murdered and a homicide review is being initiated, (d) a child has been killed by a parent with a mental illness, (e) the case gives rise to concerns about inter-agency working to protect children from harm. (Learningà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦, 2008) The same document defines three specific aims of a serious case review, namely (a) the establishment of whether any lessons about inter-agency working can be learnt from the case, (b) the clear identification of the nature of these lessons, the ways in which such lessons will be acted upon, and the change that can be expected to result from such working, and (c) improvement of inter-agency working and the institution of better safeguards for children. when a child dies and abuse or neglect are known or suspected to be a factor in the death, local agencies should consider immediately whether there are other children at risk of harm who need safeguarding (and) whether there are any lessons to be learned from the tragedy about the ways in which they work together to safeguard children. (Sinclair Bullock, 2002) Serious case reviews, it is stipulated, should be conducted by individuals who are independent of all involved agencies and professionals, and should be submitted within a period of four months of the decision for carrying out the review. LSCBs are obliged to send each completed review for evaluation to Ofsted. The results of the Ofsted evaluation are shared with LSCBs and constitute an integral part of the information used for the yearly performance assessments of local areas. Learning The Ofsted study of the 50 serious case reviews received by the agency from April 2007 to March 2008 provides significant information on the nature of child abuse, the reasons for such abuse, and the working of different agencies who are entrusted with the responsibility of preventing such abuse. *The study reveals that children aged less than one year formed the largest group of the total surveyed population. This segment, which comprised of 21 children, was followed by the 11 to 15 age segment (14 cases), the 1 to 5 age segment (8 cases) and finally the over 16 segment (6 cases). The majority of these children died from the abuse that was inflicted upon them. In the case of children aged less than one year, the commonest cause of injury or death was physical assault by a parent, or the partner of a parent. Amongst the children and young people in the age group 11 to 16, 9 killed themselves, 3 were murdered by other young persons, and 1 died of anorexia. The key issues that arose from the evaluation of 50 serious case reviews concerned drug and alcohol misuse, domestic violence, mental illness, and learning difficulties or disabilities. In the case of drug and alcohol misuse, reviews found that the concerned agencies did not suitably evaluate and access the risks that could come about from such misuse, particularly in the case of very young babies. Domestic violence also featured in a number of serious case reviews, often in conjunction with drug and alcohol misuse. Agencies were again found to be inadequate in understanding, accepting and assessing the effect of domestic violence on young children. In some of these cases the history of domestic violence in the family was known to outsiders and police intervention had occurred in the past. Agencies, particularly the police, did not follow policies and procedures, with identified issues including poor levels of police training and inadequate attention to recording and reporting of domestic violence occurrences. Mental illness came across as an issue of concern in a number of reviews. In many cases the health visitor and the midwife were unaware of the histories of the mental health of the mother, or of the learning difficulties of the father, which otherwise would have influenced their assessments. A number of delays occurred in the assessment and treatment of people in need of assistance from mental health services. A few cases involved issues related both to mental health and to learning disabilities. The serious case reviews repeatedly point to specific inadequacies on the part of agencies in dealing with child abuse problems. The various agencies were found to be limited in their understanding of basic signs, symptoms and factors concerning child protection risks. Agencies tended to respond reactively to a particular situation rather than by perceiving the situation in the context of the history of the case. Agencies, by themselves, did not have complete details of the involved families or records of their concerns. The agency staff accepted, on a number of occasions, standards of care that in the normal course would not be acceptable by most families. Very little direct contact was established with the children in order to find out their thoughts and feelings about their situations. In many cases professionals tended to be uncertain about the importance of child protection issues, more so in complex and chaotic family environments, and placed inordinate trust on the statements of parents. Families on the other hand often expressed hostility to establishment of contact with professionals and engineered numerous strategies to keep them at a distance. Very few assessments contained evaluation of the quality of relationships between children and parents. In many cases multiple assessments were carried out on families, which were followed by the establishment of plans that did not contain any clear expectations of the changes that were needed for the sake of the children, and the likely consequences, if such changes did not occur. Many of the reviews reveal a number of lost opportunities on the part of universal services for suitable intervention and prevention of abuse. Such agencies included schools, health services and other services like housing, Connexions and Surestart. The majority of reviews pointed out that whilst policies and procedures were by and large appropriate and adequate, there was poor practice in the implementation of basic procedures, including in assessment, planning and decision making. With the understanding of the signs, symptoms and risk factors of child protection being inadequate, agency staff continued to be unaware of the possibility in the situations they were handling. Communication, both between and within agencies, was found to be poor; and specifically so with health agencies. Record keeping was essentially poor across agencies and particularly so in health services and schools. All agencies failed in seeing children in person, recording how they were, how they looked and wha t they said or noticed alterations in appearance or behaviour. Management oversight was identified in practically 50% of the evaluations, mostly in connection with social care managers. The absence of the management overview was common in cases concerning chronic neglect. Managers in such cases, instead of trying to see the larger picture, tended to react and make their decisions in response to specific incidents, as and when they arose. One manager decided it was not appropriate to remove four children on the basis of one minor injury and that instead a full assessment should be undertaken, without taking into account the catalogue of previous incidents and concerns, and the fact that the family had already been assessed four times. (Learning, 2008) Individual staff errors, in connection with social care staff, as well as members of police and health agencies were mentioned in a few cases as being instrumental in the lack of prevention of child abuse. Whilst staff capacity and resources were by and large not felt to be a major reason behind the failings, the requirement for additional staff training was mentioned in the majority of serious case reviews. The lack of basic awareness of indicators of abuse in important staff groups like teachers, health visitors, GPs, midwifes and emergency and accident personnel was felt to be a matter of great concern. Poor assessment and planning was a concern in most evaluations. Issues like parenting abilities, drug and alcohol dependence, and mental health problems were not addressed in decisions concerning the need for assessments. Universal services were felt to be inadequate in undertaking risk assessments for purposes of deciding whether specific cases should be referred to social care agencies. Members of universal services did not appear to have competencies in listening to children, in questioning what was presented to them, and in being open to the chances of abuse. With the prevalence of a rule of optimism, it was hard for such people to be curious about what the children were facing. Social care services were found failing in acting in accordance with their procedures, both with regard to assessment and planning. Assessments were not made in a number of cases, without such actions being supported by adequate reasons. Assessments, in other cases, were poorly done, often failing to take account of the wishes, feelings, or situation of the child, or of information available with other agencies. A number of reviews revealed agency neglect. Agencies, in such cases knew the families for considerable periods. The common themes that emerged in areas of neglect concerned (a) the failures of individual agencies to possess complete pictures of families, situations, and records, (b) agency tendencies to respond reactively, (c) resigned acceptance of otherwise unacceptable standards of care (d) failure to make direct contact with children and (d) not taking children seriously, when they try to tell agency representatives about their situations. An important message that arose from one of the reviews related to the issue of family support obscuring the need for child protection. It also was felt that (a) agencies should be more alert to the possibility of unintentional collusion by professionals in the continual abuse of children and that (b) decisive action needed to be taken when evidence of change with regard to circumstances of children was insufficient. The evaluation also takes note of poor record keeping, especially in the case of schools. Schools, in more than 60% of the cases, did not have comprehensive records, either of families of children, or of their attendance or non attendance. The Lord Laming Report on The Protection of Children in England, 2009, also makes a number of negative observations about management skills, leadership, and quality of decision making in the agencies responsible for directly and indirectly safeguarding children. Laming The report specifically calls upon the relevant Cabinet Subcommittee to ensure the adoption of comprehensive and collaborative national strategies for delivery of local strategies by all government departments involved in safety of children. The report calls upon Directors of Children Services, senior service managers, police area commanders and chief executives of PCTs to frequently review referrals in cases concerning the safety of children and ensure a sound approach in terms of multi-agency working, risk assessment, onward referral and decision making. DCSs without direct experience in protecting children are required to appoint senior managers with required skills and experience. The Laming Report further calls for effective leadership at the national, regional and local level in involved public agencies in order to provide the support or expertise required for adequate child protection. It places great emphasis on the role of the Directors of Children Services in protecting children and places the onus of responsibility squarely on their shoulders. The time is long past when the most junior employee should carry the heaviest burden of accountability. The performance and effectiveness of the most senior managers in each of these services should be assessed against the quality of the outcomes for the most vulnerable children and young people. (Laming, 2009) Managers, the report says, need to lead from the front and take personal interest in delivery of frontline services. They need to ensure that the stipulations regarding referral and assessment in working together to safeguard children are being adhered to comprehensively. Managers are also called upon to ensure that communication, information sharing and decision making between the local services and within each local service are capable of keeping children safe, even in times of pressure. They should value and support frontline managers, ensure rigorous management control of decision making and improve and shorten communication lines between senior managers and child protection staff. Management and Decision Making Issues in Public Service Agencies Study and analysis of the material available in serious case reviews reveals a number of issues of concern. At one level the concerns of policy makers, individual experts and monitoring agencies like Ofsted are very obvious. Such concerns have led to the enactment of child protection law and to the introduction of nationwide policies within the overall ambit of the Every Child Matters programme; which work towards ensuring the safety of children through the combined multidisciplinary efforts of the education, health, police and social services. Changes in attitudes towards increasing the effectiveness of working of government agencies have resulted in the introduction of managerialism and much stronger accountability among the executives and staff of these agencies. Structures have been put in place and procedures introduced to ensure better coordination and closer involvement between different agencies in delivery of services in various areas related to child protection. Members of the NHS, individual GPs, managements of schools, and members of the social services have repeatedly been tol d about and are aware of their need to work together, and take proactive steps on their own, without waiting for instructions or approval in any circumstance where the safety of a child has come or can come under threat. The extent of media discussion and public outrage that followed the deaths of James Bulger, Victoria Climbie and Baby P indicates the expectations of the nation from these services, with regard to protection of children and vulnerable young adults. The continuance of brutality and abuse towards children, resulting in injury and death, despite the introduction and implementation of numerous multi-dimensional and holistic measures, whilst being a matter of concern, primarily points to ineffective management and decision making at the level of service delivery in these various organisations. The key learning that emerges from the serious case reviews relates to (a) basic lack of understanding in agencies regarding the signs and symptoms of child abuse, (b) under establishment of meaningful contact with the children at threat, (c) credence to the views expressed by parents, (d) inability to counter the engineered hostility of parents, (e) poor quality assessments, (e) inadequate coordination between critical services like the police, the NHS, and schools with social services, (f) a high degree of management oversight, (g) the tendency of managers to ignore the larger picture and react to specific situations, (h) poor assessment and planning, (i) lack of alertness to the possibility of unintentional collusion by professionals in the continuance of abuse on children and (j) absence of decisive action in the presence of evidence relating to abuse of children. Lord Laming, in his comprehensive report also takes up the issue of management at the agency level very strongly. His comments indicate (a) the need for recruitment and retention of workers engaged in child protection, (b) undue emphasis on targets and processes, (c) bureaucratic, lengthy, and over complicated tick-box methods for assessment, (d) lack of coordination between different agencies responsible for child protection, (e) inadequate training and support for frontline workers in the police, social services and health care, (f) poor staff morale, (g) inadequate and low quality supervision, (h) high workloads and (i) the need for some resource augmentation, both in the police and in the social services. Such circumstances are exceedingly common in poorly managed organisations in the private sector, and are also reflective of many adequately resourced but inefficiently managed public sector organisations. Whilst sustained poor management in private business firms mostly leads to economic losses and organisational closure, similar situations in publicly funded government enterprises or agencies lead to continued inefficiency and poor product and service quality. Such situations in public service organisations entrusted with vitally important responsibilities can have literally tragic consequences; as is seen by the continuance of episodes of child brutality and child deaths. The continuance of such a situation is also absolutely unacceptable. Lord Laming, in a candid aside, remarks that he has often been tempted to tell managers of ineffective agencies to just do it, even whilst realising that such impatience was unlikely to lead to any constructive results. Laming The essence of management, both in the private and public sector lies in the making and in the quality of decisions by organisational managers. Managers in the course of their work are continuously required to assess alternatives and take decisions, on a broad range of issues, which can have both long and short term implications. Strategy, Proctor Extant management literature is awash with different decision making styles, which range from immediate and instinctive reactions to the use of complex statistical models and decision trees. Whilst decision making involves consideration of numerous factors, it is also subject to the influence of different obvious and latent forces. It involves both quantitative and qualitative analysis, even as it is affected by rational (objective) judgement and non-rational (subjective) factors like organisational environment and culture. Numerous subjective issues like the personality of decision makers, relationships of decision makers with other organisational members, peer pressure, expectations of seniors and juniors and personal agendas of decision makers influence decisions. Individuals engaged in social services are additionally bound to act in accordance with clear and strong codes of ethics and against oppression and discrimination. Professionals in other services that are associated with child protection, like schools, health services and the police are also influenced and controlled by their particular codes of conduct, their professional ethics, and their organisational norms. Decision making in such environments, which are likely to be chaotic rather than stable is essentially a complex issue and obviously subject to various degrees of success. Sources on Decision Making Whilst the possibility of decisions being wrong is normal in all human situations, the possibility of extremely unfortunate consequences of wrong decisions in areas of child safety make the institutionalisation of sound, rational and essentially ethical decision making processes in concerned necessary. Peter Drucker identifies eight decision making practices followed by successful executives Ask What needs to be done? Ask What is right for the enterprise? Develop action plans Take responsibility for decisions Take responsibility for communicating Focus on opportunities rather than problems Run productive meetings Think and say we rather than I (Decisionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦, 2010) Drucker Druckers suggestions go to the heart of the decision making process with fundamental questions on the need for the decision, followed by creation of focus on areas of improvement, rather than on problems, the development of collective action, and finally the need for responsibility and communication. Ralph Keeney (1998), states that decision making failures often occur because of decision makers tending to consider too few alternatives in their decision making process. Decision makers, Keeney states, need to assess their problems carefully and decide upon objectives by questioning goals, objectives, aspirations, interests and fears. They also need to carefully assess the consequences of different alternatives before choosing routes of action. Modern day managers are told to devise different alternatives through imagining of different options and use of brainstorming techniques. Limitations in Decision Making Practices of Managers of PSOs Managers in business settings tend to look at issues differently from those engaged in public service organisations. They have

Frantz Fanon and Cultural Nationalism in Ireland :: Essays Papers

Frantz Fanon and Cultural Nationalism in Ireland Only recently has Ireland been included in the extensive study of postcolonial societies. Our geographical closeness to Britain, the fact that we are racially identical, the fact that we speak the same language and have the same value systems make our status as postcolonial problematic. Indeed, some would argue it is impossible to tell the difference between Irish and British. However, to mistake Irish for English to some is a grave insult. In this essay, I would like to look at Ireland’s emerging postcolonial status in relation to Frantz Fanon’s ‘The Wretched of the Earth’. By examining Fanon’s theories on the rise of cultural nationalism in colonised societies, one can see that events taking place in Ireland at the end of the nineteenth century bear all the hallmarks of a colonised people’s anti-colonial struggle through the revival of a culture that attempts to assert difference to the coloniser and the insistence on self-government. The years 1870 to 1890 in Ireland saw the fervent battle of Charles Stewart Parnell and his Home Rule party for home rule in Ireland. This consisted of Ireland having its own parliament to deal with internal affairs while still remaining under the control of Westminster in international affairs. It was not the desire for a full separation from Britain that would come later. However, by 1890, problems in Parnell’s personal life lead to a breakdown in communication with the Prime Minister and to a split in the Home Rule party. According to M E Collins, this left a void in Irish politics and life that was filled with a new cultural awareness and a questioning of Irish identity: ‘the new movements were different. They stressed the importance of Irish identity, Irish race and Irish culture’ (170 M E Collins, Ireland 1868 - 1966). It is at this point that Fanon’s ‘Wretched of the Earth’ becomes relevant to Irish history. In his chapter entitle d ‘On National Consciousness’, Fanon stresses the colonised native fears of being assimilated totally into the culture of the coloniser, of being ‘swamped’ (169 Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth). These were the exact concerns that occupied the minds of the Irish people after the failure of home rule. They began to be anxious about what Collins terms ‘the distinguishing marks of Irishness’: ‘a culture and language that was different to Britain’s’.

Essays on Death and Suicide - Waiting for Death :: Personal Narrative Writing

Personal Narrative- Waiting for Death She suspects she has only ever had one true affair with the knife, and all those since have been meager attempts at regurgitation, petty rivalries borne of intention and tainted by the anticlimax of recreation. She sits daily watching the synthetic roses, virulent with red, fluoresce persistently on the porch. Moth bitten, with broken stems and a hairline crack running the length of the ceramic pot that marks their station on the brick step. She sits observing their activity, disassociates herself from the solemn sermon their blushing heads deliver, ducking in the wind. Waiting for something to happen. She has lost, or perceives she has lost (and looks for death on the horizon because she fears she has lost) the ability to make things occur. How useful youth was in the day to day creation of happenings. Now she has displaced the seasons, and the pleasant expanse of nothingness, a featureless backdrop, assimilates itself to her emotionless countenance, as she welcomes the weather. Her father’s house, in the Polish town. Its healthy walls, its strong bone structure. She found it easily, buried knee-deep in the liquid winter, and enquired of the locals as to whether anyone currently resided there. They regarded her, not more obliging than they were wary, with the heavy, knowing gaze of people carrying the burden of the past – both pervasive and private. Her accent was rusty, the native tongue had long since been liberated – a stray cut loose from its derelict cultural confinement. She spoke in dislocated dialogue; the secure, prosaic language of dinner parties and familial get-togethers. Of pleasantries exchanged between well-wishing strangers. Broken German from an elementary text-book. How she hated the sluggish tongue, the barren vowels that tripped reluctantly from the lips, imprisoned by the teeth. The English language seemed a positive ballad of elegant syllables. She had wished never to hear these sunken verbs again. She had tried to forget it all, but they spoke with a dramatic flourish, demanding that she remember, their tone didactic and intense with purpose. Those primitive villagers, deeply set in their archaic ways, the spit in the palm. Such old gestures seem a blessing on unimaginative bones, bones of gypsy ancestry; wrapped in incense and adorned with elaborate jewelry. She briefly caught the delicate, sickly scent of patchouli and lavender, an odor that seeped from their pores, traveled on the breath and suggested unrelenting hardship and wisdom and infinite strength.

Essay on Everyday Use, Daffodils, and The Glass Menagerie

Lessons From Everyday Use, Daffodils, and The Glass Menagerie Literature plays a major role in civilization. Even societies without a written language have literature. Stories, poems and songs are pasted down orally from one generation to another. This term we have study three forms of literature; short stories, poems, and drama. The study of these three forms has affected me in different ways and I have taken different lessons out of each form. The three literary work witch had the greatest impact on me are "Everyday Use" written by Alice Walker, "Daffodils" written by William Wordsworth, and "The Glass Menagerie" written by Tennessee Williams. Alice Walker's short story "Everyday Use" tells of a mother and her two daughters, Dee, who is polished, poise, educated and stylish, and Maggie who is not bright and scarred from a fire. Dee and Maggie are opposites. Dee has tried to make something of her self but in doing so forgot what it was that she came from. Maggie has lived her life in the same way her mother has lived her life and in the same way her grandmother lived her life. Maggie knows where she came from and does not feel the need to better her self. Dee collects objects from her mother's house to display around her own. Maggie, being use to the idea of Dee getting her way, sits dumb founded while items are gathered by Dee. Dee finally tries to take two quilts handcrafted by her grandmother. The mother tries to convince her to take two different quilts but Dee refuses saying that they were made by machines and not worth as "priceless" as the others.&nbs... ...he horn breaks off, now it is just like the rest of the horses. She starts to feel comfortable with him when he tells her of his engagement to a woman named Betty. This makes her loose her self-confidence. Despite of this a seed is planned with in her that she is just like all the other girls and does not need to be so withdrawn. The lesson in this play is that it is better to face your problems then run away from them. The three works of literature, "Everyday Use" written by Alice Walker, "Daffodils" written by William Wordsworth, and "The Glass Menagerie" written by Tennessee Williams have each showed me something different. Whether reading a short story or poem or watching a play there is always a lesson or idea to be gathered from literature.