The Effects Of Greed In Joseph Conrads Heart Of Darkness

Greed can push both ruthless and innocent people to hurt others. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Europeans wanted to imperialize many countries in Africa for land and resources such as gold and cash crops. They also desired economic, social, and political control along with the success of converting Africans to European politics and religion. Europeans sought to have an economic and political dominance over African Americans. The cruelty that the Africans faced is displayed in Joseph Conrad’s, Heart of Darkness. Raising questions about both racism and imperialism, the novel includes Kurtz, a character with greed for the valuable resource, ivory. Conrad comments on the horrific corruptibility of humanity through the narrator, Charles†¦show more content†¦The Company tries to cover up their malicious deeds by making them sound noble, even when the outcomes result in sickness and death. Their business is supposed to help the natives, but rather, they are using it for the ir own benefits. The accountant also swings over the fact that the whites dislike the natives, and the Europeans would do anything to keep their professions. Thus, Marlow’s aunt and the accountant symbolize the chicanery of imperialism and how the employees of the Company do not out any attention to the fact that they are actually hurting the innocent natives. Kurtz, who has an obsession to power is included in the novella by Conrad to symbolize the greediness for ivory and the immoral values of the Europeans. Initially, Kurtz was out to explore and actually benefit the natives, but that changes when he becomes powerful. Eventually, Kurtz makes it obvious that he is out for one thing, and that is ivory. Unlike the Company, he actually displays his greediness for ivory by threatening his own employees. Kurtz â€Å"[declares] he would shoot [the harlequin] unless [he] gave him the ivory† and then commands him to leave the country (126). This presents how he utilizes force to achieve his goals. Kurtz represents the unconcealed avarice of the Company. Kurtz is also another one of the characters that knows that he is harming others, but still desires to get as much ivory as he can. Ivory â€Å"was whispered, was sighed. You would think they wereShow MoreRelatedHeart of Darkness/Blood Diamond Essay1194 Words   |  5 PagesGreed is the Root of All Evil Greed exists at the centre of evil on not only an individual level, but also that of a communal and global level. Contextually there is a superficial alteration in the stimulus (Ivory vs. diamond) for greed and of global awareness towards the issue, although in the century that separates Joseph Conrad’s exploration of colonial regime in his novella Heart of Darkness and Edward Zwick’s post-colonial film Blood Diamond, the values driving the major characters and factionsRead MoreHeart of Darkness: Cruelty Essay1118 Words   |  5 PagesHeart of Darkness: Cruelty David Yu In Joseph Conrads book Heart of Darkness the Europeans are cut off from civilization, overtaken by greed, exploitation, and material interests from his own kind. Conrad develops themes of personal power, individual responsibility, and social justice. His book has all the trappings of the conventional adventure tale - mystery, exotic setting, escape, suspense, unexpected attack. The book is a record of things seen and done by Conrad while in the BelgianRead MoreCorruption Of Imperialism In Joseph Conrads Heart Of Darkness1473 Words   |  6 Pagessome individuals may maintain their integrity in corrupt situations, and therefore not become corrupt themselves. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad relates to both the idea that an individual can become corrupt in a corrupt environment, and that some individuals can uphold their integrity in a corrupt situation. Both of these reactions can be seen in the main characters of Heart of Darkness, Kurtz and Marlow, in Kurtz’ becoming corrupt due to imperialism in the Congo, while still upholding some integrityRead MoreAnalysis Of Joseph Conrad s Heart Of Darkness963 Words   |  4 Pagesmillion people. Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, can be criticised through many different lenses. Though Natives are a large part of Conrad’s narrative of European atrocities in the Congo, his treatment of Congolese Natives throughout the book show them to be nothing more than props. Conrad skews Natives language, culture and intelligence to fit Europeans schema for Africa and Africans. Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is placed in a colonized Congo. ...despite Heart of Darkness s (Joseph Conrad) obviousRead More Light and Dark of Colonialism and Imperialism in Heart of Darkness1542 Words   |  7 PagesThe Light and Dark of Colonialism Exposed in Heart of Darkness       In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad, challenges a dominant view by exposing the evil nature and the darkness associated with the colonialist ventures. It is expressed by Marlow as robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a great scale, and men going at it blind - as it is very proper for those who tackle a darkness. The European colonialists are portrayed as blind lightbearers, people having a faà §ade of progress and cultureRead More Colonialism and Imperialism in Conrads Heart of Darkness Essay1016 Words   |  5 PagesImperialism Exposed in Conrads Heart of Darkness      Ã‚   Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness is a novel about European imperialism and its far-reaching effects. Conrad relates his personal opinions through the protagonist, Marlow, who learns a great deal about imperialism while on a journey to the African Congo. Although Heart of Darkness seems to be an anti-imperialistic work, this is not entirely true. Conrad condemns the overly idealistic nature of imperialism, but does not attack BritainsRead MoreToday, modern society is experience more and more of a disconnect from the real world as we connect800 Words   |  4 Pagesmodernize, we experience the same sort of falling out with the natural order of things that authors near the turn of the century felt as their culture changed. T.S. Eliot, Joseph Conrad, and D.H. Lawrence are only three such authors to put pen to paper to explore this deracination. Eliot’s The Waste Land, Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, and Lawrence’s â€Å"The Rocking Horse Winner† explore the idea that modern life and society negatively affects those who succumb to its rhythms. In the first section of TheRead MoreThe Importance Of Imperialism In Joseph Conrads Heart Of Darkness1174 Words   |  5 PagesOn the surface, Conrad’s work seems to simply stress, â€Å"Humanity is important; fidelity is the highest virtue† (Moser, 1966, pg 11) but is both more subtle and complex. Even in the title of the book, Heart of Darkness, has significance. Africa’s Victorian era nickname was the ‘dark continent’, which â€Å"referred to the fact that little was known in the West about the interior of the continent† (yourdictionary.com, 2017). Therefore, Congo is the interior or ‘heart’ of Africa. This title also alludes toRead MoreHeart Of Darkness By Joseph Conrad1378 Words   |  6 PagesBecca Woytassek AP English 12 Heart of Darkness Reading Log Author: Joseph Conrad Title: Heart of Darkness Original Publication Date: 1899 Kind of Writing: Heart of Darkness is a colonial novella of an expository narrative. Writer’s Purpose and Intended Audience Joseph Conrad wrote Heart of Darkness because he wanted to expose human temptation to experiment with darkness when one’s own desires overcome one’s morals. By writing from his own experience of exploring the Congo, Conrad draws conclusionsRead More The Changing Personality of Kurtz in Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness887 Words   |  4 PagesHeart of Darkness   - The Changing   Personality of Kurtz      Ã‚   Kurtzs character is fully facet (in Conrads Heart of Darkness), not because of his conventional roll of antagonist, but for his roll in a historical fiction as a character with important roll in society, influenced by those close to him. Kurtz makes some key developments in the way he interacts with others, in large part due to the words and actions of society and Kurtzs acquaintances.    Heart of Darkness is a novel

Ethical Dilemma - 1077 Words

Introduction Patient was a 34 year old female admitted to the hospital for observation as an EMU patient on the Neuro step down unit. Patient reported that she had a tonic clonic seizure before coming to the hospital. During the three days she was in the hospital, she showed no apparent seizure activity. The nurse who was also assigned to this patient said she was pretty sure she was a pseudo seizure patient. When it came to looking at what drugs she could be given, the only drug she was not allergic to was Morphine. When doing assessments on the patient, she would always say that her pain was an 8-9 before pain medication and a 7/10 after pain medication. Every 4 hours the patient would put her call light on and complain of pain.†¦show more content†¦Impact on Future Role as RN The alternative that I chose was to treat the patient every 4 hours when requested, but only giving half the dose ordered. I felt like this was a good alternative because pain is subjective, so if the patient tells us that they are in pain then we should treat the pain. There is no way to measure pain, so I must go by their word. Although there are usually nonverbal signs of pain, a nurse must trust the verbal signs of the patient as opposed to the nonverbal. This is true because all people have a different response to pain, and different cultures have distinct ways of showing pain and suffering. By giving pain medication upon request of the patient, I was showing autonomy towards them. This choice also lowers the patients risk for addiction since I was giving the patient a lower dose. I’m glad that I have experienced this ethical dilemma in my clinical rotation because I feel like this is probably one of the most frequent dilemmas nurses experience. There is a good chance that I will come across many patients in the future who are trying to seek drugs. Even if we assume this, can we really prove that they are? In my experience with this situation, I have learned that even though we believe a patient may not be in pain, we have no way to prove it, since pain is notShow MoreRelatedEthical Dilemmas Of The Workplace1538 Words   |  7 Pages1. Discuss an ethical dilemma that you have had to face in the workplace. Ethical dilemmas often occur when a manager or an employee is faced with two or more conflicting choices. Give as many facts and details as possible in describing your dilemma. The most difficult ethical dilemma I have dealt with was a summer job I had this past summer, while I was working for a bakery in my hometown. This past particular summer really tested what I believe is right and wrong and how to speak up. One of myRead MoreEthical Dilemmas Of The Workplace1291 Words   |  6 PagesEthical Dilemmas in the Workplace As a manager, you are the role model for staff. You set the standards, adhere to guidelines, and exemplify what you expect staff to model. By doing so, you are establishing and sustaining an organizational culture of ethics and integrity, which is the backbone of all successful endeavors. However, even the best structured organizations face ethical dilemmas in the workplace. It is how management recognizes and addresses these occurrences that will either set themRead MoreEthical Dilemma Assignment1766 Words   |  8 PagesCONSENT FORM Thank you for being willing to take part in this interview exploring ethical conflict or turbulence. I would like to transcribe the content of this interview to form a written document to be submitted to Sheffield Hallam University as a piece of assessed piece of coursework. It is important that you only take part in this interview if you want to. As such I would be delighted if you would complete and sign this confidentiality questionnaire prior to the interview taking place. (i)Read MoreCase Analysis : Ethical Dilemma1318 Words   |  6 PagesTitle of Paper: Ethical Dilemma One INTRODUCTION Mrs. Smith, is an 81-year-old widow. She has been widowed for over twenty years. She has been very independent with some assistance from neighbors due to her son living out of the area and unable to assist. Recently, she has had issues with her independence. She has set two accidental fires that caused damages to her apartment, as well as had a recent fall in the bathtub. These issues have gained her son’s attention which has led him to requestRead MoreEthical Dilemma at Workplace Essay1192 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿Introduction – What is an ethical dilemma? Ethics is the term we give to our concern for good behavior.   It is human nature to not only be concerned with our own personal well being, but also that of others and of human society as a whole.   The difference between moral dilemmas and ethical ones, philosophers say, is that in moral issues the choice is between right and wrong.   In ethical ones, the choice is between two rights. Everyday Im faced with decisions of right and wrong, most of whichRead Moret Types of ethical dilemmas Mastery67Questions123Materials Essay2477 Words   |  10 PagesTypes of ethical dilemmas Mastery 67% Questions 1 2 3 Materials on the concept: Typical Moral Dilemmas Confronting Business Communicators Ethics and Law for Management Communication Top of Form 1. As part of an effort to hire younger workers, a multinational organization assures applicants that they will get to visit its offices in other countries and work with the employees there. However, only two out of every nine workers actually get selected for such projects. What moral dilemma best fitsRead MoreThe Ethical Dilemmas of Collecting Data and the Consequential Revision of Commodities, Culture and the Politics of Representations Definitions 1751 Words   |  7 Pagesinformation or data has become assets to companies, being regarded as property to be bought and sold to between companies. However, this has put forward the following primary ethical dilemmas surrounding human rights: the right to informed consent and the right to personal data. In addition to the creation of ethical dilemmas, the collection of human data has brought about a need for a revision of definitions. Commodities are known as a raw material or primary agricultural product that can be boughtRead MoreVices and Virtues: Ethical Dilemmas of a Fading Man Essay1932 Words   |  8 PagesVices Virtues: Ethical Dilemmas of a Fading Man When Sidney Stewart was freed in Manchuria in 1945 after 3 years of imprisonment by the Japanese, the 6’3 American weighed 65 pounds (Goldstein). Stewart was an Army private stationed in Manila in 1942 when they were overpowered by the Japanese. The 21 year-old wasn’t the killing type of soldier. Of course he killed when required, but he wasn’t murderous. He’d been sent to Luzon on the Bataan peninsula after the Japanese invasion and was soonRead MoreNursing Leaders Are Struggling Ethical Dilemmas1263 Words   |  6 Pagesstruggling in ethical dilemmas daily. Ethical dilemma is one of the issue/challenge to the nursing leader. Ethical dilemmas occur when nursing personal values and beliefs conflict with some aspect of nursing care. The struggle is to provide the best nursing care despite of the nurses’ feelings. For example: RN/ nursing leader in residential home has always dilemmas while restraining the patient. sometime patient become so aggr essive that they can harm other people and worker. The dilemma in this situationRead More An Ethical Dilemma Essay1660 Words   |  7 PagesReplacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animal Research, makes a very good point when he says that: Many people, including from within the scientific community, consider that the use of NHPs [nonhuman primates] in research is a matter of particular ethical concern because certain features NHPs share with humans, such as their highly developed nervous systems, cognitive complexity and intense sociality, have implications for the level or nature of suffering they might experience during experiments and

Essay Robots free essay sample

Robots are the largest growing technological devices in the world. They perform many functions ranging from space exploration to entertainment. In the following essay the functions of robots, the various types of robots and the advantages and disadvantages of using robots will be discussed. The reasons for using robots are almost endless for example; robots are ideal for jobs that require repetitive, precise movements. Human workers get bored doing the same thing over and over, which can lead to fatigue, RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury, and costly mistakes. Robots are also ideal for tasks that are dangerous, or where human workers may damage the product. For example, in a factory manufacturing medicines and chemicals that may harm humans and factories that manufacture food that humans may damage by handling. Also used in task. Robots are great machines. It has a lot of advantages. Many benefits of robots seem to be most noticeable in productivity, safety and in saving time and Money. We will write a custom essay sample on Essay Robots or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page   .Robots produces more accurate and high quality work .Robots rarely makes mistakes and are more precise than human workers . They can produce a greater quantity in a short amount of time . They can work at a constant speed with no breaks, days off or holiday time . They can perform applications with more repeatability than humans. .Robots saves workers from performing dangerous tasks They can work in hazardous conditions, such as poor lighting, toxic chemicals, or tight spaces . They are capable of lifting heavy loads without injury or tiring . Robots increase worker safety by preventing accidents since humans are not performing risky jobs SAVINGS .Robots saves time by being able to produce a greater magnitude of products . They also reduce the amount of wasted material used due to their accuracy . Robots saves companies money in the long run with quick return on investment, fewer worker injuries and with using less material. The list of the advantages of robots does not end the re; they have also created jobs for worker. Many people believe the misconception that robots have taken away jobs from workers,but that is not necessarily true. Robots have created new jobs for those who were once on production lines with programming. You need to get people trained to fix them if anything wrong happens . Need a very intelligent crew .They can ruin people’s lives E. g. Take their job away from them . They are very expensive to make You need the right materials to make them that could be very rare . If you make a very amazing robot with amazing quality and it brakes, it might be very hard to fix . They can be very hard to programmed .They can reproduce but it could cost money for the materials . You needs highly trained people to make them .They can’t recharge them   The future of robots is looking bright, with the technology advancing day by day. A new medical robot, called the Da Vinci Surgical Robot, is making its way to hospitals around the world, with its price high as much as 1. million dollars. The stocks of the company that made these robots skyrocketed on the day they announced this robot, showing how many people are actually looking forward to the ever-growing robot technologies. This robot , which has cameras and sockets for the surgeons to put their hands in, allows for precise surgeries and some magnification of the patient. This robot already performed many surgeries in 2007, and the company is looking at about a 55% increase in its use in 2008. â€Å"Green† robots are also being made and used for environmental purposes. The glider, a seagoing robot that uses heat energy has recently crossed the 12,000 ft deep Virgin Islands on its own, making its developers and scientists able to use information such as the underwater life and etc. This battery powered robot gets energy from different water temperatures under water, so the engineers say that â€Å"We are tapping a virtually unlimited energy source for propulsion†. There is also a Dutch robot called the â€Å"TankPitstop† that fills the gas in people’s cars without any help. Samsung, an electronics company, is making a security robot that detects danger and shoots at them. Armies around the globe are thinking of using robots for scouting, fighting, or spying methods, so it is proven that the Robotic industry is growing faster and faster. Robotic surgeries – not like the surgical robots, but for limb replacements – is getting popular too, with people without some body parts buying the corresponding robot, connecting them to his/her body, and using them. These robots use signals from your brains to move, allowing the users to use the robotic limbs like real body parts. Although the robots seem to give benefits to the world by allowing for easy jobs, people also say negative elements about them. For example, the Da Vinci surgical robot, which allows doctors to conduct precise operations, might have malfunctions that could do fatal damage on the patients. The TankPitstop and the pro-environment underwater robot could make people lose jobs by getting rid of jobs such as gas station workers or underwater-exploring divers. The Security robot, that detects and shoots interrupters, maybe harmful in that it might shoot innocent people. With the robotic limbs, some people believe that they might cause electrical shock sin the body that could possibly kill people. Although the problem with the losing jobs may seem very negative, it can be solved. Even though people will be losing jobs because of the robots, they could get new jobs such as engineers that check and fix the robots like TankPitstop. With the diving robots, people can study the robots so that they could utilize them to see what’s happening underwater, since the robot only explores the ocean. The security robots that are being made could be armed with special bullets that don’t harm or damage anybody, instead capturing people. Also with the Da Vinci surgical robot, doctors don’t really have to use them, so they could make some consent forms – like they do for many treatments that could potentially kill the patients – so that people could sign and agree whether or not they would like to use the robots to aid their surgeries. The robotic limbs, that people are worried that they might give electrical shocks, are actually connected to body with electricity – resistant material to prevent those kinds of accidents. Even though many of these robots possess these problems, as they say, there’s an answer to everything. Just like how the robots were made with the people’s imaginations, the robots’ problems can be fixed with the imaginations of both the consumer and the producers. People are protesting on how the government or major corporations shouldn’t invest in robot-tech because these robots will only bring negative impacts to the society because of their flaws, but the irony about this is that as robotic technology advances with further support from major businesses, these flaws will not only get fixed, but removed all together allowing for a more positive future for both robots and humans. Nowadays, we use them in all area. Because they are excellent inventions. Only we need to install the software and programs for robots the the robots can do almost everything. E. g. cleaning, security, carrying, packaging, painting, searching etc. But I will discuss â€Å"Robots can play football† Because I have joined a project about it in Istanbul. The Project names is   and have a big Project about it in 2050. Firstly I want to talk my experience. A person gave training to us during three days for robot’s software. He shared his experience to us and he has company about robots so he knows everything about them that’s why the training was very useful. Last day of Project We had a competition each other. We changed some of the algorithms the robot’s software to change the style of the robot hit the ball. My team was second in the competition and many television channel came in there so this Project was very important for me . Now,I want to talk about big Project and I will give some information’s about Soccer-playing robots Soccer-playing robots gather each year at Robocup, an international event that draws over 100 teams from 35 countries. Robotic players use radio signals to coordinate with their teammates to chase down the ball, pass, and shoot goals. Teams are placed in divisions based on size, ranging from the size of a pizza box. There’s also a division of teams made up entirely of AIBOs, Sony’s robotic dog. By 2050, the organizers of RoboCup want to develop a team of fully autonomous humanoid robots that can beat the human world champion team in soccer. Like human forms of play, robot play is far from pointless. A hard-playing robot is not much different than a hard-working robot. Both involve design challenges and the need to coordinate sensors, artificial muscle, intelligent programming, and the efficient use of power. CONCLUSION The technology involved in robotics is growing every day. In the futures who knows what will come of robots. Eventually, we may never have to work again, and robots may be doing everything for us. Although this does not sound too good, it will be advantageous in the long run. Although robots will be taking our jobs, they will at the same time be opening up new ones. The field of robotics is a very large one, and will be growing for many years to come.

sweet and sour journalism Review Essay Example

sweet and sour journalism Review Paper Essay on sweet and sour journalism Recipe. Take the book Matthew Ganapolskogo sweet and sour journalism and the biggest pair of scissors, which only exist in the economy. Type in the deep breath and carefully expel from the consciousness of all the swear words. Open the book. Read it in great detail and carefully and big scissors mercilessly cut: a) stories unrelated to the narrative theme, like my daughter loves to sit in the big headphones, which listens to the radio; b ) strained humor like my mother-in-law does not know how the car goes down the roof; c) dumb panache for example, my wife likes to relax on lake Como and swim in their home pool, and I told her yesterday gave twenty-five million dollars to the economy. We will write a custom essay sample on sweet and sour journalism Review specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on sweet and sour journalism Review specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on sweet and sour journalism Review specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The remaining five to ten pages, and carefully glue youve done a good deed both journalists comrade, who will read this book after you. You have to get a place useful opus journalism which after your treatment it would be really bad to read for the overall development and budding journalists, and those who are already active furrowing profession In summary says that. this is a very funny book. Do not believe it it prinyanuty the ears humor is good only to artificially induce vomiting In summary also said that this book should learn by heart -. And Larry Kings fees in your pocket. This is not true it is worth to memorize only those who absolutely do not want to be a journalist, and hate these people. Then you will have arguments for hate. As for Larry King, I would say only one thing: if there was a mishap, and he would still read this book, he would have wept, he repented and gathered belongings to the monastery. This entity would have said Larry King, it has nothing to do with journalism. Even in the summary states that this book has to buy every journalist. This is the generally frank and blatant lie. In no case do not buy the maximum download. Even if you have long royalties Larry King, better to just take the amount you want to spend on this book, cut into neat strips and scatter to the wind. It will be more useful And finally:. In the summary says that Matthew Ganapolsky in it, say, journalism wisdom tells his wife and daughter. Here it is true enough. Because in addition to his wife and daughter, who are not able to park, are in love with artists who encounter suspicious motorcyclists, who can only ask the unfortunate lyrical money, which did not wonder what he wrote in his book, and which believe that it is necessary only to make some money on the pool clean, no one in this work is not can gain for himself. And they the wife and daughter do not draw too, because judging by the moments in which Ganapolsky sincerely trying to be funny, his household, even if they are able to read, the skills of these to use in no hurry Summary. : something useful you can find out for yourself, but if you respect yourself, this book simply has no right to change your life .

Pro choice among women essays

Pro choice among women essays An onlookers view of Pro Choice amongst women Many clinics provide abortion services for women with unplanned or uncontrollable pregnancies. Some women find themselves with an unplanned pregnancy rather than an uncontrollable one. Unplanned in fact that a contraceptive failed, or may not have been easily accessible: uncontrolled in the sense of factors being greater than limited contraception. Abortion has been performed in many clinics as a treatment for unfit or unhealthy women, and for women who may have been molested or raped. Abortion shouldnt be used as a form of contraception, nor should womens lives be sacrificed to bear an infant before morally ready to commit. If a woman is raped, and the outcome incurs pregnancy, then abortion is an alternate form of controlling the unwanted pregnancy. Abortion should stand as only the womans choice, never as a decision adverse to Pro-Life activists. Pro-Choice advocates seem to vindicate abortion, accepting that abortion is not considered a form of birth control, but me rely a method of controlling the woman and fetus future. Women are the sole determinate persons in stating if they are capable of withholding a full term pregnancy. As an advocate of womens rights to Pro choice, I am extending my viewpoints to you in this proposition. Many people have their opinions on abortion, usually being one extreme or the other. Advocates or Pro choice often finds themselves swaying their opinions of when abortion is morally ethical dependent upon the controlling factors. Advocates of Pro Life are consistently perusing abortion, stating that it is morally wrong, and unethical in all matters, even if the pregnancy is inadvertent. There are factors remaining in todays society that are very forthcoming and are unanticipated by women in the prevention of pregnancy. If medical doctors abolished the procedure, or if the government made it even mor...

Human and Technical Intelligence in Countering Terrorism

Human and Technical Intelligence in Countering Terrorism Introduction Both human and technological systems continue to become more complicated by the day. In some cases, technology has proven so complex that even experts involved in various fields may not amicably understand their areas of specialisations (Clutterbuck 2013, p. 271).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Human and Technical Intelligence in Countering Terrorism specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Too often, when we tackle this subject, we focus on a broad area of specialisation that involves computational ambience, machinery, the internet, and the wherewithal. However, many other factors continue shape this discourse in ways that transform humanity in its endeavours. How modern technology can be instrumental in counter terrorism continue to dominate debate with opinions split as to whether this might have negative or positive impacts on either side of the divide. Primakov (2004, p. 245) notes that the world currently relies on both human and technical intelligence to counter detect, deter, and thwart acts of terrorism before they strike. However, as much as human and technical intelligence is effective in combating terrorism, terror groups equally benefits from these opportunities to extend their hegemony. This paper seeks to explore the magnitude to which modern human and technical intelligence is instrumental in combating terrorism. Human and technical intelligence Technical or artificial intelligence refers to the brainpower exhibited by machines in dissimulation through action, thinking skills, reasoning, and behavior. As a study in an academic field, artificial intelligence developers’ attempts to equip objects with animate abilities to imitate humans and even execute some of the duties performed by man (Sandin 2003, p. 34). Mechanical engineers seek training in a wide range of technicalities that attempt to offer problem solving to which robot-like objects espouse such domineering intelligence to match human thinking skills (US Department of Mechanical Engineering 2013). It is still subject to debate as to whether these developments will ultimately culminate into a perfect art that can always take a place of the human mind. With increased technology, computational proficiency guarantees mechanical engineers with the rare capacity to design and offer an insight into principles of integration and control especially for machinery equipment. This knowledge seeks to give robotic objects some air of human intellect capable of executing human orders.Advertising Looking for essay on political sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More As Sandin (2003, p. 75) observes, this science delves much in feedback mechanism, signal sensing and processing to efficiently design and integrate human accuracy with automated systems such as robots. For many, robots are merely objects that imitate insects, animals, and human beings. However, in military science they could be effective gadgets for countering terrorism. While much these artificial animate objects capture our imagination, their designers dwell much on developing them to help intelligence authorities in executing some specific activities that could be risky for humans to undertake (Shi 2011, p. 56). Many developers are already contemplating giving these objects enough intelligence to enable them interact reliably with the dynamics that are in common practice. In most cases, these objects have the endowment of doing some of the things deemed as too dangerous, boring, difficult to execute, or just extra ordinary in some way such as fighting terrorism. Technical intelligence is common in most objects found in automotive, manufacturing industry, medical implements, and space exploration gadgets. Over a million different types of object-like robots exist within modern science with greater tendency to work with greater intelligence capable of detecting and fighting terror groups (US Department of Mechanical Engineering 2013). Some robotic objects such as the Mars Exploration Rover, the Caribou, and drones have been used to assist the intelligence personnel in learning about possibilities that are either too dangerous or practically unsafe to explore (US Department of Mechanical Engineering 2013). Fighting terrorism is a high calling that sometimes extend to areas where there is biological attack. Since robot-like gadgets do not breathe, it is easy for such gadgets to explore such regions and launch an attack or take photos. Objects with technical intelligence have features that enable them to perform their duties optimally. These characteristic consists of movement, energy, sensory, and intelligence analogous to that in human beings. For an object to have artificial intelligence, it has to exhibit some animate qualities. Whether propelled by thrust, walking on human-like legs, or rolling on wheels, these objects have been instrumental in aiding human capacity to fight terrorism. For these objects to function, they have in-built human capacities that put them at par with human intelligence.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Human and Technical Intelligence in Countering Terrorism specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Unlike human beings, that have innate body power, an object that displays technical intelligence needs to power itself effectively and perform its functions as desired. A robot for example, must derive its power from electric charges, solar power, or battery (Shi 2011, p. 145). Furthermore, the ways these objects get their energy always depend on their designated function. Unlike human beings, to function in the capacity desired, a robot for instance, needs a fair degree of smartness. In essence, a great deal of software design becomes a necessity in the assembly of robotic objects. Unlike human beings that have natural se nsory nerves, for robots to perform well, they must have the software to help them sense their immediate surroundings and act as programmed (Dick Kandel 2005, p. 56). While giving robotic objects sensory abilities such as chemical sensors (nose), light sensors to emulate the eyes, pressure, or touch sensors to emulate the hands), hearing sensors to emulate ears, and taste sensors (tongue) has the likelihood of giving robots human qualities. It must however, come out clearly that singularity with humanity as to take special parallelism with the human making is still far from reality. Contribution of human and technical intelligence to counter-terrorism operations The increased attention and use of drones, or perhaps aerial vehicles continue to spark debate about their widespread application and effectiveness in fighting terrorism (Stanford/NYU Report 2012). Much of the debate, according to Cavoukian (2012), centres on their state application for surveillance and warfare or at times by the media to grope raw photo footage of a particular event. The application of drones especially in military airstrike and photo surveillance have all been great feats in combating terrorism (Cavoukian 2012). Moreover, anti-terror agencies equally use them for surveillance to enable them detect and deter terrorism. However, the varying applications of drone technology necessitate the need for best practices to ensure the terror groups do not find use them for their advantage. The application of technical intelligence for the public good has to prioritise on several factors including human welfare in assisting the authorities in detecting and combating terrorism. Terrorism continues to evolve with increase in technology. Today, terror groups such as Al-Qaida, ISIS, Al-Shabaab, and Boko Haram continue to device various means of survival to stay relevant. Armed aerial gadgets with technical intelligence make camera technology to be useful in tracing terror networks around the globe (Finn Wright 2012).Advertising Looking for essay on political sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Technical intelligence come with enhance flexibility since these gadgets have are not limited in their ability to go places. This flexibility gives way to a new task for intelligence agencies to fight terrorism without being intercepted by the terror groups (Stanford/NYU Report 2012). As camera technology becomes more pronounced, the emergence of armed aerial gadgets suggest a wide range of concerns, ranging from relief supply, digital imaging, device development, to mobile airborne tracking (Finn Wright 2012). Drones particularly, have been instrumental in play board delivery, and a police crackdown on terror groups or monitoring their activities around the globe. Some drones have special uses with a radioactive monitoring device while others are effective in protecting wildlife or tracing lost games. As concerns public policy and human privileges watch, the contemporary debate on the recent uses of drone culminating in the military strikes on civilians have narrowed down the deba te to ethical and legal issues. As Cavoukian (2012) argues, the legality of using drones to deliver military weapons for air strikes has been an emergent factor that questions its use by ordinary surveillance group such as the fourth estate (Finn Wright 2012). It is no doubt that this issue has given rise to a critical debate giving way to tentative and unprecedented legality tussle. If used in ways that project technology in bad light such as infringing on the rights of citizens, or in attacking the armed civil populations, then drones will be less effective in delivering their potentials. Sophisticated policymaking as well as legal considerations is necessary in preventing the state from making military use of drones to be legitimate (Last 2005, p. 45). In addition, strict and firm measures regulating the commercial uses of drones are a necessity. Furthermore, restricting its use by the civil society will make drones to be an effective approach to embracing camera technology. Man y people, especially the civil society deem drones harmful, especially considering their recent uses in military air strikes, this notion is reversible if there is effective implementation if rules for its use. Moreover, its ability to take secret photos is nothing less than an infringement on the privacy of the citizens. The civil society groups consider the widespread use of drones as watering down the privacy right of citizens, and the authorities must come with strict regulations to curb this phenomenon. Combating terrorism in America Securing the United States’ borders including land, air, and sea from illegal entry by immigrants, and contraband such as weapons and drugs has been the face of America security structure especially in the wake of increased terror threat (Weintrit 2013, p. 5). The United States’ Patriot Act, was officially instituted in 2001 as the most sweeping enactment to counter terrorism following the 9/11 attack (Etzioni 2004, p. 75). At the beh est, the presumption of the act lies on its uniting and strengthening ability to provide among other things, appropriate tools necessary to intercept and thwart terrorism. As an effective homeland security commitment to ensure the safety of the American people, the Patriot Act instituted the use of technical intelligence for surveillance and rapid tracking response including seizures and detention of suspected terrorist agents. In the aftermath of the 9/11 attack, Hoffman (2015, p. 76) notes that President Bush together with the Attorney General John Ashcroft effectively rallied the Congress to increase police and military powers of search, seizures, surveillance to use relevant intelligence to detect, arrest and detain terror suspects. Among the key features of the Patriot Act included the Roving Wiretaps, which allowed the federal agency to use technical gadgets to wiretap any telephone conversations that terror suspects and agents might use to penetrate the security systems. In t he course of all these developments, Etzioni (2004, p. 125) notes that the federal agency became more consistent in the use of internet tracking as a means of fast tracking internet communication. The law enforcement authorities therefore had the capacity to interfere directly in the personal accounts of individuals using the internet without necessarily having to obtain warrants for such impersonations. The Patriot Act also guaranteed the federal authorities the right to order for business records for private and public companies for litigation scrutiny and auditing by the federal authorities. In so doing, federal investigators were able to access information and communications from consumer purchases, bank records, credit cards, libraries as well as schools, and colleges. Moreover, the Act instituted a special Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court with the capacity to issue search warrants at the request of an investigator to launch terrorist investigation on foreign visitation to America (Hoffman 2015, p. 76). In addition, the Aliens Reporting and Detention Act authorises the Federal authorities to obtain personal documentations by foreign persons vising America and those found to be in America illegally risked detention and arrest without warrant. Within the tenets of keeping with the traditions of the Patriotic Act, the federal authorities could seize the property or obstruct such logistics of suspected terrorists. Individuals whose property fall victim of the rule bear the duty of proof that the property in question was not for the purpose of terrorism and the provision also guaranteed no claim. The detention as Etzioni (2004, p. 215) observes laws allowed the federal authorities to detain suspected terrorists and agents for lengthy periods during which interrogation and effective investigation for such persons will take place. The federal authorities became effective in fast tracking the indigenous American citizens from terrorist connections. Patriot Act instituted prohibition against harbouring terrorists as a duty to thwart the emergent terrorist networks in America and other parts of the world. Harbouring individuals who have committed a felony amounting to terror and or are about to commit such acts of terrorism therefore became highly constrainable by the federal authorities. In retrospect, the Patriot Act unleashed a tall order for the various institutions charged with the security of the American populations. In achieving the objectives of the Patriot Act, the American citizens became more involved in ensuring the smooth passage of the Act by showing a commitment to thwart terrorism by any means necessary including technical intelligence. Terror suspects and agents by contrast carry the greatest responsibility for their crimes as provided for by the Patriot Act. Terrorism and counter terrorism When it comes to terrorism and counter terrorism, the intelligence becomes a powerful tool used in spreading information to a wid e and expansive audience. The web particularly acts as both important facets of both human and technical facets of countering terrorism. Intelligence could be useful for security agencies to relay messages effectively in their explicit forms. However, terror groups could as well use it to inspire a powerful revolution through dispensing information, disinformation, or misinformation to their affiliations to mount an insurgence (Johnson 2015, p. 5). Studies hold that when it comes to terrorism and counter terrorism, intelligence becomes a powerful medium to arouse the authorities to the occasion. In most parts of the world, Kahl and Lynch (2013, p. 43) note that security agencies have used both human and technical intelligence as their campaign medium to put terror groups on toes. The trend according to Fluri (2005, p. 261) has been that the security agencies that use both of these forms of intelligence to fight terrorism have received wide acclaim. In recent cases, the intelligence has been effective in denouncing governments seem inclined to support terrorist activities. Through intelligence, the web primarily fuelled revolutions such as those witnessed in the Arab spring. Opponents of these unpopular regimes used intelligence amicably to arouse the masses and call them to a duty of nationhood. However, while the intelligence is such an empowering tool, concerns about cyber-crime are on the rise as fraudsters continue to seek a lifeline by expediting clandestine activities through the web. The web therefore, hosts several things, some of which are beneficial to fighting terrorism while on the other hand aid their activities. Technical intelligence has become so much part of human intelligence, not only in America, but also in other parts of the world especially in the advent of fighting terrorism (Kahl Lynch 2013, p. 45). Because of its rare ability to transform humanity, it is always easy to imply that the intelligence will always form part of the society a nd remain an open medium for human empowerment. Most security systems as Dick and Kandel (2005, p. 245) note will always want it to remain an item to explore the world and bring great opportunities that technology offers. Away with the regulatory policy duties, through the intelligence, security agencies can always have the endowment to access any permissible content they want and this in turn has the capacity to help the security personnel to stay informed. While it is true that some form of technical intelligence might warrant censorship, the onus should be on the security detail to guard their contents jealously. Through this, the security personnel are likely to build a robust network capable of combating terror groupings. With increased terrorist activities taking place in most parts of the world, the society looks upon the security agencies to use any form of intelligence necessary to combat terrorism from all corners of the world. With the growth in technological inventions, information flow especially through the web continues to empower security agencies in their effort to combat terrorism. In the course of these progresses, Johnson (2015, p. 10) notes that the world continues to grow into a global society in combating terrorism. The increased use of technology to thwart terrorism has greatly influenced human resource capacity to make business blossom, while effectively aiding in the effective administration of and coordination of government operations (Kahl Lynch 2013, p. 48). Both human and artificial intelligence continue to be empowering tools that offer greater prospect to security personnel to share information with broader audiences who are almost, always invisible. In the present, humanity devotedly uses the web to get across their ideas to millions of audiences elsewhere in an effort to stay informed and put terror groups on notice. The application of intelligence by the security personnel according to Meara (2003, p. 67) continues to transf orm lives while extending an olive branch to technological advancements for human safety. Through technology, governments with different terrorism concerns interact and by so doing, they use technical intelligence to transform the social and cognitive skills of their personnel in the effort of fighting terrorism (Johnson 2015, p. 12). The foundation of the proposition for the efficacy of human and technical intelligence emanates from the fact that the intelligence is an empowering medium that is ordinary in essence and dear to human empowerment by fact. More than anything, intelligence is an intrinsic embodiment for technological expansion, and for that matter, its supremacy in fighting terrorism is unalterable. Terrorism compromises the security of the world With the security of the world under threat, humanity continues to live in peril and this reflects negatively on the socio-economic and political progress in areas subdued by the terror groups. Esfandiary and Tabatabai (2015, p . 8) suggest an urgent need for mobilisation between the security agencies in different countries and the international players to trace the foothold of terror groupings. Different security agencies across the world understand the enormity of tackling terrorism menace from its very foundations in various parts of the world. Moreover, most security agencies are optimistic that the solution to the threats posed by terrorism must begin with thorough realignments for both the human and technical intelligence to counter the possible threat posed by terror groups. Security agencies according to Kahl and Lynch (2013, p. 50) use both technical and human intelligence to volunteer a rich account of the strategies that these groups employ to survive counter terror attacks. Through intelligence, security agencies are optimistic that the very tricks that the terror groups employ to launch attacks could be useful in smothering them. Security agencies hold that the first step in seeking solutions to terrorism menace is to understand the actions of the groups’ from their very point of view, which essentially is all that intelligence seeks to exploit. Esfandiary and Tabatabai (2015, p. 12) absolve the Muslim world of blame and warn that generalisations might be imprudent approach in the effort to counter terrorism. Intelligence makes it easy to separate terrorists from ordinary civilisations that may be victims of the situation by either religious creed or ethnic orientations. However, Farwell (2014, p. 49) strongly suggest intelligence could be useful in expediting strong action on governments that perpetuate the terrorism activities. Different terror organisations such as Al-Qaeda and ISIS have a strong backing from several Islamic states that give them a lifeline in their operations. Intelligence offers an insight into the survival mechanisms of terror groups from using the Islamic state machineries to media fronts in perpetuating their propaganda and agenda. The med ia particularly, has been a formidable platform in the growth of ISIS and Al-Qaeda. According to Farwell (2014, p. 50), the groups’ public relations infrastructures seem more inclined in building their credibility while seeking to justify their legacy. Farwell (2014, p. 52) argues that while the media has been instrumental in promoting the ideals of these heinous groups, it can as well be effective in negating the gains they have achieved over time. The same sentiments are echoed by Klausen (2015, p. 5) in his article arguing that the Islamic extremist seem to have a well-coordinated IT experts and social media administrators that help in extrapolating the groups vendetta through social media platforms such as Facebook, twitter handle, Skype, and the You tube. While Farwell (2014) gives a detailed account of how social media has propelled the legacy of ISIS particularly, he warns of an impending danger in possible cyber terrorism that ISIS might soon deploy. Klausen (2015, p. 8) notes that to sensitise its following, ISIS uses great intelligence to inspire psychological warfare in propagating religious and political propaganda to recruit prospective members into the fighting squad. Notably, intelligence agencies opine that the first step in defeating terrorism is to extract the Muslim thinking that it has built around it. There is need to tell the world that ISIS is a terror squad that uses religious undertones to justify its crimes. Klausen (2015, p. 12) and Farwell (2014, p. 53) concur that governmental intelligence must be stepped up to track terror groups’ airwaves and destroy their networks in all parts of the world. Religious extremism is the baseline of the terror networks in all parts of the world today. Various intelligence agencies have sought to trace the origin of Jihad that seems to be the core of terrorism. In so doing, they find a rich link between the modern day Islamic religious Jihad and the rise of terror networks as having clo se links with religious extremism. Gerges (2014, p. 339) takes on this perspective and volunteers a glimpse into the historical context of Islamic extremism under the guise of Jihad. Islamic religious aggression is not something new to intelligence agencies across the world; it has its genesis from the Quran Jihad (Gerges 2014, p. 340). The same observation is presented by Hecan (2014), who traces the origin of Al-Qaeda to its rich ties with the ideological conflicts in Middle East and rise of the Cold War. Different intelligence groups give separate evidence of the atrocities already committed by the Al-Qaeda in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia as attributions for the group’s discontent with the current state of affairs in regions in which it operates. Al-Qaeda particularly has always been in existence for many years and it has evolved over time to give rise to other sub terror groups such as ISIS, Boko Haram, and Al-Shabaab. Having gone through an arduous metamorph osis, Gerges (2014, p. 342) opines that dealing with the terrorism is not an event but rather a process that must involve insightful human and technical intelligence. Terror groups have invested much time in seeking harmony with the Muslim faith to justify their Jihadist extremism, hence the need to use greater human and technical intelligence to diffuse such propaganda. Conclusion In today’s technological world, information and communication technology has created room for empowerment. Different groups and individuals use this noble cause in different ways including negative ones such as cyber-crimes and terrorism. Intelligence has been instrumental in fighting terrorism as well as in aiding the operations of terror groups around the world. Security agencies employ both human and technical intelligence to detect, intercept, and thwart terrorism while on the other hand terror groups use this enablement in reaching out to their audiences to carry out terror activities in targe t areas. However, both human and technical intelligence has handled security agencies around the world a powerful weapon in hacking the administration records of terror groups to seek information pertinent to their operations and counter their activities. References Cavoukian, A 2012, Privacy and drones: Unmanned aerial vehicles. ipc.on.ca/images/Resources/pbd-drones.pdf Clutterbuck, R 2013, Terrorism, Drugs Crime in Europe after 1992, Taylor and Francis, Hoboken. Dick, S., Kandel, A 2005, Computational intelligence in software quality assurance, World Scientific, New Jersey. Esfandiary, D., Tabatabai, A 2015, ‘Irans ISIS policy’, International Affairs, vol. 91, no. 1, pp. 1-15. Etzioni, A 2004, How patriotic is the Patriot Act? Freedom versus security in the age of terrorism, Routledge, New York. Farwell, J 2014, ‘The media strategy of ISIS’, Survival, vol. 56, no. 6, pp. 49-55. Finn, R. Wright, D 2012, ‘Unmanned aircraft systems: Surveillance, e thics and privacy in civil applications’, Computer Law Security Review, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 184-194. Fluri, P 2005, The evolution of civil-military relations in South East Europe continuing democratic reform and adapting to the needs of fighting terrorism, Physica-Verlag, a Springer, Heidelberg. Gerges, F 2014, ‘ISIS and the third wave of Jihadism’, Current History, vol. 113, no. 767, pp. 339-343. Hecan, M 2014, Iraq steads against the deployment of foreign ground troops within its territories says Iraqi foreign minister at USAK, http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/99424135/iraq-steads-against-deployment-foreign-ground-troops-within-territories-says-iraqi-foreign-minister-usak Hoffman, B 2015, ‘A first draft of the history of America’s ongoing wars on terrorism’, Studies in Conflict Terrorism, vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 75-83. Johnson, L 2015, ‘A conversation with James R. Clapper, Jr., the director of National Intelligence in the Unit ed States’, Intelligence National Security, vol. 30, no. 1, pp. 1-25. Kahl, C. H., Lynch, M 2013, ‘U.S. Strategy after the Arab uprisings toward progressive engagement’, Washington Quarterly, vol. 36, no. 2, pp. 39-60. Klausen, J 2015, ‘Tweeting the Jihad: Social media networks of western foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq’, Studies in Conflict Terrorism, vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 1-22. Last, M 2005, Fighting Terror in cyberspace: Series in Machine Perception and Artificial Intelligence, World Scientific, New York. Meara, M 2003, History behind the headlines the origins of conflicts worldwide, Gale Group, Detroit. Primakov, E 2004, A world challenged fighting terrorism in the twenty-first century, Nixon Center and Brookings Institution Press, Washington, D.C. Sandin, P 2003, Robot mechanisms, and mechanical devices, McGraw-Hill Companies Inc., New York. Shi, Z 2011, Advanced artificial intelligence, World Scientific, Singapore. Stanford/NYU Report 2012, Living under drones: death, injury, and trauma to civilians from US drone practices in Pakistan, livingunderdrones.org/report/ US Department of Mechanical Engineering 2013, Trends in mechanical engineering careers, http://me.eng.sunysb.edu/index.php?option=com_contentview=articleid=60%3Atrends-in-mechanical-engineering-careers-Itemid=83 Weintrit, A 2013, Marine navigation and safety of sea transportation, CRC Press, Hoboken.

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Medicaids eligibility rules - Essay Example Tracing back to the adopted laws, the Medicaid program first provided medical coverage for low-income families and other categorically related individuals who meet eligibility requirements (Andersen et al., 2013). Candidates enrolling to the program included the blind, aged, disabled and pregnant women. In fact, Medicaid serves as the nation’s primary source of health insurance coverage for low-income populations. By the way, each state have always been administering its own Medicaid program, establishing their own eligibility standards, determining the scope and types of services they cover, and setting the rate of payment. Moreover, benefits vary from state to state (Andersen et al., 2013). Since 2013 due to the expansion of Affordable Care Act, the enrollment to the program has been eligible only for those with low income rate. Thus, states participating in the expanded Medicaid program are required to allow people with income up to 133% of the poverty line to qualify for coverage, including adults without dependent children (Andersen et al., 2013). That is to say the eligibility for the program depends purely on income level. It is quite doubtful whether managing a program this way and whether the amendments introduced to the law are efficient. In essence, there is a dramatic difference in needs that has a single adult who is paid insufficient, pregnant woman or an elderly or disabled person. For example, after retirement elderly people spend either the rest of life or some time in nursing homes, the cost of which is very expensive. Many people pay for these nursing homes with their own money, often depleting their life savings, and spend thousands on it. In this cas e Medicaid should help cut these costs at least. Another case is when an immigrant, who does not have a well-paid job and cannot afford traditional medical insurance, may qualify for Medicaid, due to financial needs. Of course, everybody applying for this

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Conference Report - Essay Example Despite this, it is clear that we require having efficient measures for teacher development to ensure attainable of positive results of well-prepared teachers for the new information age. Teachers in TC help in asynchronous online discussions. This kind of discussion has been perceived as an efficient way for learners to participate in high quality discussion and intrinsic cognitive collaboration. This is because asynchronous online discussion gives learners enough time to reflect on their friend’s findings and contribution and reason about their own contributions before sending them off to their friends. Mediators or teachers also provide cultural, individual, institutional, technical, and linguistic knowledge to students. In addition, they help in technical promotion of professional capital and collegial development across learning institutions. The teacher arranges for learning materials and makes them accessible by compute. In addition, the teacher must motivate and direct each student, through on-going interaction or socialization and a sense of social presence in the classroom will make learners have a desire to learn. While online education permits students from around the globe to engage or participate in online discussion and permits teachers to work from any place in the world with Internet connectivity. This in turn increases the teacher effort per student, which fosters effective learning Telecollaborative learning has incorporated the Virtual mobility and the VMCOLAB project, which helps in facilitating international collaborative learning and experiences in a context of learning and teaching. The emotional and psychological perspective in TC helps in understanding how students perceive other cultures. In turn, a face-to-face meeting is organized by institutions in order to evaluate how far the students have comprehended other cultures. However, it becomes difficult for some students to trust in other students from

The Hunt For Red October Essay Example for Free

The Hunt For Red October Essay A lot of people have seen the movie The Hunt For Red October , but before it was a film it was a great book that readers all over the world enjoyed a lot. While the story is pretty simple, it is still a great adventure tale of the old Cold War. I enjoyed this novel a great deal and enjoyed it so much that I became interested in reading the further adventures of the book’s hero Jack Ryan. The adventure is of the Soviet submarine The Red October. The captain of the submarine, Marko Ramius, has decided to hijack the sub with his crew and defect to the United States with it. Needless to say, the home base at the Soviet Union is unhappy with Ramius’ decision and send out a fleet with the idea of sinking the red October. In order to disguise the defection from the United States, the Soviets claim that their pursuit of the sub is actually a search and rescue mission. In the USA, CIA agent Jack Ryan slowly becomes suspicious of the Soviets true intentions and eventually discovers the real reason the Red October is in trouble. Ultimately, Ryan aids the sub and its crew and commander and helps it defect. The Hunt For Red October is a great novel because it remains believable and does not become like a James Bond novel where the reader is taking in a story that is too fantastic to take serious. Because of this, the book grabs the reader’s attention a lot stronger and becomes more enjoyable to read. Well, for me it was more enjoyable than a more silly spy story. Bottom line: this is a great book.

Reflective Account on Implementation of Change Process

Reflective Account on Implementation of Change Process This reflective account deals with implementation of a change management process at a workshop, where the author was employed for some years a few years ago. The workshop provides a range of electrical, mechanical and overhauling services to different departments of an industrial firm. It has separate departments for activities like electrical and mechanical work, fabrication, transmission and general repair and overhauling. The workshop was set up in the early 1980s and has its own accounting, administration and inventory functions. The conduct of an efficiency audit revealed numerous deficiencies in the working processes of the workshop and the emergent need to implement significant changes for enhancement of productivity and achievement of (a) swifter turnaround time, (b) reduction of labour and (c) cost savings in various areas. External consultants recommended the adoption of a sophisticated ERP system for coordination of various workshop activities and optimisation of its operations. The organisational management accepted these recommendations for the implementation of a modern ERP system and initiated processes for its introduction in the organisation. It was estimated that the adoption of the new system would lead to reduction of workshop strength by 30 employees, significant lowering of inventory levels, elimination of material shortages for workshop operations, and shrinking of turnaround time. The external consultants and the senior management of the company were convinced that the combined effect of these different advantages would result in substantial improvement in workshop productivity and profitability. The workshop manager was informed about the decision by the CEO and two board members and was asked to initiate and implement the change management process. He asked for some time to study the proposal and involved me and two other junior workshop managers in the exercise. We found in the course of our investigation of system features that whilst its introduction could certainly result in improvement of workshop productivity and efficiency, it would be very difficult for the existing workshop employees, many of whom had been with the department for years, to handle the complexities associated with operating the proposed system. It would be necessary to appoint some fresh individuals with expertise in handling such ERP systems and train other workshop employees in the operations and mechanisms of the new system. Concerns were also raised about the organisational implications of terminating 30 employees who had worked sincerely for the workshop for many years. The change management group, headed by the workshop manager and staffed by myself and two other members examined the various implications of introducing and implementing the system and came to the conclusion that it would be necessary to recruit at least 7 fresh employees with requisite knowledge to implement and operate the ERP system. We felt that in such circumstances it would be better to remove 37 departmental employees and induct 7 ERP specialists in order to meet organisational objectives, both in areas of system proficiency and in reduction of employee strength. The workshop manager and the rest of us in the change management team had some theoretical knowledge of Lewins and Kotters change management process. We decided to implement the change management process in specific phases comprising of (a) informing the workshop employees of the proposed change process and its implementation schedule, (b) the implications of the proposed change on the productivity and efficiency of the workshop, (c) the various inputs that would be provided by the company to facilitate the change, and finally (d) the imperative requirement to reduce existing employee strength by 37 people and induct 7 specialist employees (Gary, et al, 1995, p 114). Deliberating on the possible adverse repercussions of the decision to terminate employees, our group leader specifically sought a meeting with the CEO and asked him to accommodate the surplus employees in other areas of the company (Heller, 1998, p 37). The CEO understood our apprehensions and after discussions with the HR department was able to confirm alternative positions for 25 people on similar terms and conditions, but placed at different locations. Handsome severance packages were also worked out for the employees who would have to perforce be released (Heller, 1998, p 37). The first task of the change management team concerned dissemination of information about the proposed change to all workshop employees (Joseph, 2006, p 24). The announcement about the impending change and its implications were made at a general meeting where all employees were asked to be present (Joseph, 2006, p 24). The announcement at this meeting was followed up by detailed meetings with smaller groups where members of the change management team individually informed workshop employees about the need for the change process and the ensuing benefits (Joyce, 2000, p 73). It was decided by us that the existing system would continue for at least 3 months after the implementation of the ERP system (Joyce, 2000, p 73). The training of existing employees in the new system was delegated to external trainers and the change process was formally put into motion (Joyce, 2000, p 73). The proposed change however met with very severe resistance from a section of employees, most of whom had been shortlisted for termination of employment or transfer to other departments (Moss, et al, 1992, p 67). Whilst approximately 20% of the employees chosen for release were reasonably satisfied with the carefully formulated severance package, the other 30 employees became vocal in their opposition to the plan and asked to see the CEO in order to vent their concerns and apprehensions. With employee relations in the workshop being happy for many years, the internal workers union had been disbanded many years ago. The workers however began to feel betrayed and vulnerable and started discussing the idea of forming a new workshop union with national trade union organisations (Moss, et al, 1992, p 67). The CEO and the workshop manager had detailed discussions with the affected workshop employees but were unable to convince them to take up alternative postings, many of which were in distant places and required them to live separately from their families (Moss, et al, 1992, p 68). The breakdown in discussions between the workers and the management led to disruption in production schedules and made it very difficult for us to recruit new employees to operate the new ERP systems. Such difficulties led to significant delays in implementation and to disruption of workshop activity (Joyce, 2000, p 81). The organisational management was however firm in its decision and arranged for subcontractors to compensate for the drop in workshop productivity (Joyce, 2000, p 81). Many of the existing employees also started feeling demoralised and started looking elsewhere for alternative employment (Joyce, 2000, p 81). It finally took the organisation more than a year to complete the implementation of the new ERP system and stabilise workshop production (Joyce, 2000, p 81). Whilst the introduction of the system has resulted in significant improvement in workshop efficiencies, productivity and profitability, I do feel that the change management process could have been handled better (Buono Kerber, 2010, p 4). My theoretical knowledge of change management processes informs me that successful change management needs to be planned very carefully and is dependent upon the effectiveness of communication with the people most likely to be affected by the change process (Buono Kerber, 2010, p 4). I feel that the decision to introduce the system was pushed with too much haste and without allowing the employees to acclimatise to the change proposal (Frame, 2002, p 54). My colleagues in the change management team also agree with me that our communication of the various implications of the proposed change was possibly inadequate and did not instil feelings of the emergent need of bringing about the proposed change (Frame, 2002, p 54). Whilst the senior management of the company was committed to the change management process and extended all possible help, communication failures and hasty action at the operational level precipitated concern and crystallised resistance among employees, which eventually resulted in implementation delays, loss of productivity and incurrence of subcontracting costs (Doherty, 2002, p 89). I personally have learnt significantly from my experience and realise that theoretical knowledge of change management processes, whilst helpful for implementation of change, needs to be supported by strong management skills, clear and careful planning, preparation for contingencies and sound knowledge of employee behaviour for bringing about successful completion of change management initiatives. Situation 2: Reflective Account on Team Work and Leadership I have had the opportunity to participate in a diverse team, comprising of individuals from different ethnic and national backgrounds, which was given the specific tasks of preparing a promotional and marketing campaign for an NGO working in different areas of environmental conservation. The opportunity came about because of my interest in environmental issues and the acceptance of my request to volunteer with a well known international NGO. Teams comprise of groups of two or more individuals who work dynamically, adaptively and interdependently for the achievement of common goals and objectives (Arya, 1997, p 9). Members of such teams are usually provided with specific roles and responsibilities (Arya, 1997, p 9).Our team consisted of 7 members and we were given the task of working together for the creation of a marketing and promotional campaign for reduction of environmental pollution in and around airports in the UK. The significance of team work for achievement of specific outcomes is now widely accepted in modern day organisational behaviour theory (Buller Bell, 1986, p 305). Modern day organisations are increasingly making use of teams for improving organisational performance in increasingly complex and changing business environments (Buller Bell, 1986, p 305). Organisational experts however ironically argue that whilst team work is now widely accepted as an important instrument for enhancement of organisational productivity and efficiency, many organisations that have built their operations around teams have found that the use of such teams very often results in little positive effect on organisational productivity. In some cases their use actually results in loss of productivity (Rees, 2001, p 19). It has often been witnessed that teams with numerous high calibre individuals with demonstrated performance capabilities fail, even as teams of people with far more mediocre abilities often produce excellent results (Banker, et al, 1996, p 868). The modern day business environment is replete with examples of freshly started innovative and committed teams getting the better of large and established corporations with far greater resources (Banker, et al, 1996, p 868). My experience of participation in a diverse team of people in a not for profit NGO environment provided me with the opportunity of understanding and appreciating team work mechanisms. Our team was significantly diverse with regard to gender, nationality, academic training, work experience and personality. The team consisted of six members Larry, Martha, Nora, James, (myself), Peter and Sheila. Larry, the oldest member automatically assumed the role of leader. Organisational theory and literature specifies that diverse teams lead to the availability of a variety of skills and perspectives (Brett, et al, 2006, p 84). These, if utilised appropriately, can result in significantly greater creativity and flexibility in creation of concepts, ideas, options and solutions in comparison with more homogenous groups and thus result in significantly better performance (Brett, et al, 2006, p 84). Whilst teams with diverse members often have access to a wider range of skills, abilities and perspectives, they also face challenges on account of differences in attitudes, cultures, perceptions and languages of team participants (Brett, et al, 2006, p 86). Our team members came from the UK, Latin America, Africa and South East Asia. Their educational backgrounds varied from the performing arts to the liberal arts, sciences and management. Whilst three of the group, including myself had experience of organisational work, the other four were fresh from college. The leadership of the team devolved upon Larry, who was the oldest and most experienced team member (Olmstead, 2002, p 79). This development actually took place, without his actively seeking it, because other team members came to him on their own for advice and suggestion on the functioning of the group (Olmstead, 2002, p 79). Leadership is an extremely significant element of team work processes. Much of the credit for both successes and failures of teams is given to leaders and to their decisions (Olmstead, 2002, p 79). Leaders are required to communicate with clarity on the goals of the teams, provide team members with appropriate and specific roles, build environments of cooperation and collaboration, encourage communication between team members, generate commitment towards achievement of team objectives and create atmospheres of inclusiveness by involving team members in various discussions and asking them for comment, feedback and suggestions (Rees, 2001, p 42). Leaders often ap preciate the roles of team members in order to motivate them to perform better in their tasks (Rees, 2001, p 42). Whilst leadership devolved upon Larry without his asking for it, he certainly did not disregard his responsibilities and worked for the development of an efficient, cooperative and focused team that was committed to its objectives (Ephross Vassil, 2005, p 109). All of us were given specific responsibilities for the development of the marketing and promotional campaign on airport pollution. We were asked to meet on determined dates, provide updates on our progress and asked to contribute by way of suggestions on the work of other team members (Ephross Vassil, 2005, p 109). I was asked to research information on legal aspects of airport pollution, assess the work of other team members, and help them in achieving their objectives (Ephross Vassil, 2005, p 109). Our team activity required members to engage in extensive discussions and generate numerous ideas and concepts for the campaign. Some of these sessions led to disagreements and even quarrels, which resulted in some members refraining from talking to others for some time (Olmstead, 2002, p 92). Nora, who was otherwise very friendly and outgoing, could not stand being opposed and would become excessively argument if she was contradicted by others. Larry would on such occasions take her aside and explain to her the necessity of collaboration and pleasantness between team members for effective team effort (Olmstead, 2002, p 97). We were asked to prepare the campaign in a period of six weeks and were happy to find that the job was completed in time despite arguments and delays. The marketing campaign was presented to the board of the NGO on the predetermined date. Larry deliberately chose Nora to handle the presentation, even as all of us were present to answer questions on our areas of work. We were at the end of the exercise happy to know that we had succeeded in our team objectives despite our diversity and our different social and cultural backgrounds. The results of our team reiterated that teams with diverse members could excel in areas of creativity if they were led with sincerity, provided with transparent environments, and encouraged to communicate and collaborate with each other. Section 3: Reflective Account on Motivation and Reward This reflective narrative concerns my experiences of working with a HR consultancy organisation entrusted with the task of formulating a reward and remuneration programme for textile workers in Bangladesh. The client of the HR consultancy services operates a garment manufacturing factory that is situated on the outskirts of Jessore, a small town in western Bangladesh. The organisation creates garment designs in their London studio and produces the garments in Bangladesh in a subcontracted factory with local Bangladesh labour. The produced garments are subsequently sold to clothing retailers across the UK and in some towns in Germany. The recent stress on sustainability in business operations in the UK has resulted in substantial pressure from UK clothing retailers and consumers for ensuring of sustainable manufacturing practices at the workplaces of outsourced suppliers and manufacturers in developing countries (Marks, 2005, p 7). The organisation, in response to market demand, conducted an internal HR audit and found both working conditions and the remuneration of workers at the factory in Bangladesh to be significantly below acceptable norms. Workers, both male and female, were being paid salaries of approximately GBP 20 per month, which were 15% lesser than the minimum wages specified by the Bangladesh government. The factory operated in two shifts of 10 hours each, even as the maximum legal time of a shift was 8.5 hours. The HR audit also revealed deficiencies in working conditions in areas of sanitation, availability of water, separate washrooms for men and women and crà ¨che facilities for working mothers. The internal audit also revealed that some of the workers appeared to be a bit too young for taking up such strenuous work, even though HR records revealed that all workers were above 18 years in age. My organisation was given the brief of formulating suggestions for improvement of working conditions, rationalisation of remuneration and improvement of motivation of workers at the outsourced production centre in Bangladesh. I was a member of the small team of three that was entrusted with the responsibility for making a primary study on the issue and develop workable solutions that would serve sustainability objectives without placing undue financial pressure on the management of the company. Modern day HR theories are informed by the work and theories advanced by psychologists and behavioural experts like Maslow, Herzberg, Vroom and McGregor. Maslows well known theory of needs states that individuals essentially work to satisfy their needs, which progress from basic physiological needs like food, clothing and shelter to safety and security, love, status and esteem, and finally to self actualisation (Maslow, 1954, p 11). Herzbergs theory of motivation on the other hand states that individuals are influenced in their job choices by two distinct sets of conditions, namely hygiene factors and motivation factors. Hygiene factors represent issues like salary, security, workplace reputation and general working conditions (Herzberg, et al, 1993, p 21). Motivation factors on the other hand consist of issues like potential for learning and growth, scope for enhancement of responsibilities and official recognition for efforts of employees (Herzberg, et al, 1993, p 21). Our team found, whilst analysing the remuneration levels and working conditions at the clients factory in Bangladesh that the workers lived lives of basic subsistence and were just about able to meet their physiological needs with their existing salaries. Most of them lived in low quality slums and did not have the resources to buy liveable houses. The application of Maslows theory of needs in such circumstances led to the conclusion that the workers would be ready to put in significantly greater efforts in order to satisfy their physiological and security needs and work even harder to achieve their status and esteem needs. The application of Herzbergs theory revealed that the workers did not at the time of the study have access either to hygiene or to motivation factors. Their working conditions were poor, their salaries were low, and there was little scope for career progression, reward or recognition. Apart from such circumstances, it was also evident that the owners of the sub-contracted manufacturing facilities at Bangladesh were deliberately contravening governmental rules and regulations with regard to minimum wages, time of work and also possibly utilisation of underage labour. It did appear ironical to all of us that whilst people in the UK were concerned about the application of modern day HR theories and the work of Maslow, Herzberg and McGregor, people in the developing countries continued to work in extremely difficult conditions just to survive and meet the very basic needs of their families and their own selves. It was also very obvious that outsourcing by the client organisation to Bangladesh had been done primarily to exploit the low wages in the region. Any recommendation to improve the wages or the working conditions of the workers was bound to lead to greater costs, reduction of profitability and negation of the basic reasons for shipping the work abroad. Members of our team however understood that growing pressure from environmentally conscious buyers and final consumers was bound to create pressure on firms that shipped work to low wage regions to improve the working conditions of their workers (Latham, 2006, p 47). We thus formulated a detailed report recommending the improvement of wages to 20% higher than minimum wage levels and the construction of a scheme to reward sincere, efficient and productive workers. We recommended the establishment of washrooms, canteen facilities and crà ¨ches and the reduction of daily working hours to 8 hours a day, with overtime payments at established rates in case operations at the facilities had to be conducted for longer hours (Latham, 2006, p 47). We also recommended the establishment of a performance appraisal and management system for locating good performers who could be shortlisted for more responsible positions in future (Latham, 2006, p 47). We explained in detail in our report that the implementation of such measures would lead to significant organisational benefits, both in the market place and at the manufacturing facilities (Armstrong, 2006, p 5). Awareness of sustainable manufacturing practices among buyers and consumers would lead to improvement of reputation and increased demand for products (Armstrong, 2006, p 5). The implementation of the recommended measures at the workplace would also lead to improvement of productivity, reduction of wastage, lesser absenteeism and greater commitment among members of the workforce (Legge, 2004, p 16). Compliance with governmental regulations on the other hand would reduce the liability of prosecution and the levy of significant penalties (Legge, 2004, p 16). We were happy to find that the suggestions in our preliminary report were accepted with openness and appreciation by our clients. The clients called us for a detailed meeting wherein we explained of the likely benefits of adopting more worker-centric policies to organisations that shipped work to low wage regions. We provided the example of Nike and the extensive critical media reports on the company after the publication of exposes on the abysmal working conditions at its factories in South Asia (Dusen, 1998, p 1). The senior management of the company assured us that they would initiate plans to improve working conditions at their facilities in Bangladesh in line with our suggestions. I think of my experience in working on the project as one of the most rewarding and fulfilling episodes of my working career. It showed me how modern day HR theories can be used to good effect in different types of situations and workplaces. It not only gave me the opportunity to practically use my theoretical knowledge on motivation and reward but also gave me the chance to make a difference to the lives of people who work in difficult conditions for survival and subsistence.

Analysis of Superior Manufacturing

Table of Contents Introduction The objective of this report is to provide Mr.. Paul Harvey, president with the detailed reasoning for the decisions recommended and also to figure out which products are losing money. As the company is operating in an oligopoly and has somewhat medium market share, setting our own prices is not an option. The giant Samara announces the prices for the products annually, and the other eight companies in the industry follow the price. Problem The organization underwent management change in early 2004.The company lost $690,000 (Refer to appendix 1) in that year, which resulted in a low morale of the employees. They have lost faith in the management and have low motivation level. So, a decision has to be made regarding the production of three products I. E. 101, 102 and 103. Recently the giant in the industry Samara decided to lower the selling price for the product 101 and a final decision has to be made, if the organization should lower the selling price or not? Key Success Factors Looking at the share of industry sales rate, for product 101 its 12%, for 102 its 8% and for 103 its 10%.The company has to increase its market share to be able to generate positive income. The second most important aspect is costs. As all the products are manufactured in separate factories and they operate below capacity, it's hard to control the costs especially the fixed costs. Even though all the factories are horizontally integrated with shared production process facilities, it doesn't help keeping the costs in check. The employees seem to be disappointed with the new management and have a low morale. They are not exactly motivated to try harder to make a positive impact.Operating in an oligopoly, where prices are controlled by another firm, Superior has no control over the selling prices so, the company should Ochs on keeping costs minimum and increasing their industry sales rate. There is no compensation and reward system to Judge the performance o f employees. Situation Analysis I started off with analyzing income statement for 2004 to get a better understanding of the situation and to figure out which products are generating profit and which ones are responsible for the loss.After reviewing the data from 2004 it was found that only the product 101 is generating income and the other two products 102 and 103 are losing money (Refer to appendix 1 . 1). As I wanted to be ere that the information provided was accurate I took the liberty of following contribution margin income statement. Also I found a couple of additions errors in the 2004 and 2005 income statement. I have highlighted the mistakes in red in appendix 1. 1 and appendix 2.Decision Regarding Dropping Products After categorizing all the costs into fixed and variable costs based on the information provided by the accounting department, I came to find out the fixed costs for factory 101 ,102 and 103 are $1 and respectively (Refer to appendix 1 . 1). The respective facto ries will have to incur these costs even if they continue the production. The contribution margins for factories 101, 102 and 103 are and respectively. So, even if products 102 and 103 are losing money they are still contributing to fixed costs by the same amount as their contribution.This suggests that if the production is discontinued the company would be incurring an extra loss of Thus, I tend to agree with Mr.. Harvey decision of continuing production of product 103 and the other two products. For further details please refer to appendix 1. 1 . Appendix 1. 2 shows that if 113,766 additional units are sold for product 102 and 162,41 5 units of product 103. The company would of have made a profit of $2,999,000. The reason for not meeting the targets could be because of low morale of the employees. If we compare the predicted income statement for 2005 and the actual performance (Refer to appendixes 1. And 2). The Variances of rent, indirect labor and depreciation are $259,000 $213, 000 and $642,000 respectively are all favorable. It's safe to say that these three costs, which are all fixed costs, are the main factors for the improvement in profitability during the period January 1 to June 30, 2005. In a nutshell if fixed costs are controlled the company can do really well (Refer o appendix 1. 3 and appendix 2). Decision Regarding the Price for Product 101 The decision regarding the price of product 101 is based on the income statement of 2005 from January 1st to June 30th (Refer to appendix 3. ). The appendix has both income statement with selling price set as $24. 5 and $22. 5. It has been forecasted that if the price is dropped to $22. 5, the organization would be able to sell 1 million units. On the other hand if the organization decides to continue with the same that they are following at the moment, 750,000 units can be sold for first six months of year 2006. Here I would like to point out that these forecasts are not accurate and there may be a differenc e between what is predicted and the actual sales but for now I think that's an appropriate estimation as any.The forecasted income statements are based on the unit price per 100 lbs from first half of 2005 income statement. It is noted that the income statement with the price $22. 5 gives a higher contribution margin (10,468,490. 86) compared to the one with price $24. 5 (11,979,587. 82). These figures include the 5 percent reduction in the prices of materials and supplies and the discount on selling prices. The income statement shows that a higher operating income can be generated if the selling price set by Samara is followed (Refer to appendix 3. 2). The reason for that is the fixed costs will remain constant within the relevant range.So, I have decided to take the fixed costs from the 2005 Unary I-June 30) income statement. Since with the selling price $22. 5 gives a higher contribution margin, the company will lose less money (- $334,043. 07) to be exact (Refer to appendix 3. 2 ). Also if 31,803 additional units are sold, the company can breakable for product 101 . On the other hand 135,459 additional units would be required to breakable if the current price is kept. Also it doesn't seem a good idea keeping the prices higher than the rest of the seven firms, costumer might not appreciate and it's of utmost important the company maintains its market share if not improve.Conclusion & Recommendation Since it has been established that dropping any of the products doesn't benefit the company in any way, I would like to suggest keeping all the products. The company could do really well if the sales target are met and for that the motivation level of the employees needs to be high. So, my recommendation to motivate employees would be to set up a performance based reward and compensation system, which would keep the employees motivated, especially the sales force to do better.Another thing that can be done is rather than paying the sales force a fixed salary, they should be paid a commission based salary which would give rise to a sense of competition for sales people to do better and based on their sales they could be properly rewarded. For product 101, my analysis suggests that, the price set by Samara should be follow not Just because the organization will save itself from heavy losses but also its essential for the company to maintain its current industry sales share and having a higher price than the other firms could draw the customer away and then the organization would have bigger problems.Fixed costs need to be controlled and monitor strictly. All the factories are operating under capacity which doesn't help the organization in achieving its goals. One way to keep the costs in control in my opinion would be to assign specific tasks to specific factories so that they can operate efficiently rather than dedicating a whole factory to a product line. As the three reduces have somewhat similar manufacturing procedures. Analysis of Superior Manufacturing Table of Contents Introduction The objective of this report is to provide Mr.. Paul Harvey, president with the detailed reasoning for the decisions recommended and also to figure out which products are losing money. As the company is operating in an oligopoly and has somewhat medium market share, setting our own prices is not an option. The giant Samara announces the prices for the products annually, and the other eight companies in the industry follow the price. Problem The organization underwent management change in early 2004.The company lost $690,000 (Refer to appendix 1) in that year, which resulted in a low morale of the employees. They have lost faith in the management and have low motivation level. So, a decision has to be made regarding the production of three products I. E. 101, 102 and 103. Recently the giant in the industry Samara decided to lower the selling price for the product 101 and a final decision has to be made, if the organization should lower the selling price or not? Key Success Factors Looking at the share of industry sales rate, for product 101 its 12%, for 102 its 8% and for 103 its 10%.The company has to increase its market share to be able to generate positive income. The second most important aspect is costs. As all the products are manufactured in separate factories and they operate below capacity, it's hard to control the costs especially the fixed costs. Even though all the factories are horizontally integrated with shared production process facilities, it doesn't help keeping the costs in check. The employees seem to be disappointed with the new management and have a low morale. They are not exactly motivated to try harder to make a positive impact.Operating in an oligopoly, where prices are controlled by another firm, Superior has no control over the selling prices so, the company should Ochs on keeping costs minimum and increasing their industry sales rate. There is no compensation and reward system to Judge the performance o f employees. Situation Analysis I started off with analyzing income statement for 2004 to get a better understanding of the situation and to figure out which products are generating profit and which ones are responsible for the loss.After reviewing the data from 2004 it was found that only the product 101 is generating income and the other two products 102 and 103 are losing money (Refer to appendix 1 . 1). As I wanted to be ere that the information provided was accurate I took the liberty of following contribution margin income statement. Also I found a couple of additions errors in the 2004 and 2005 income statement. I have highlighted the mistakes in red in appendix 1. 1 and appendix 2.Decision Regarding Dropping Products After categorizing all the costs into fixed and variable costs based on the information provided by the accounting department, I came to find out the fixed costs for factory 101 ,102 and 103 are $1 and respectively (Refer to appendix 1 . 1). The respective facto ries will have to incur these costs even if they continue the production. The contribution margins for factories 101, 102 and 103 are and respectively. So, even if products 102 and 103 are losing money they are still contributing to fixed costs by the same amount as their contribution.This suggests that if the production is discontinued the company would be incurring an extra loss of Thus, I tend to agree with Mr.. Harvey decision of continuing production of product 103 and the other two products. For further details please refer to appendix 1. 1 . Appendix 1. 2 shows that if 113,766 additional units are sold for product 102 and 162,41 5 units of product 103. The company would of have made a profit of $2,999,000. The reason for not meeting the targets could be because of low morale of the employees. If we compare the predicted income statement for 2005 and the actual performance (Refer to appendixes 1. And 2). The Variances of rent, indirect labor and depreciation are $259,000 $213, 000 and $642,000 respectively are all favorable. It's safe to say that these three costs, which are all fixed costs, are the main factors for the improvement in profitability during the period January 1 to June 30, 2005. In a nutshell if fixed costs are controlled the company can do really well (Refer o appendix 1. 3 and appendix 2). Decision Regarding the Price for Product 101 The decision regarding the price of product 101 is based on the income statement of 2005 from January 1st to June 30th (Refer to appendix 3. ). The appendix has both income statement with selling price set as $24. 5 and $22. 5. It has been forecasted that if the price is dropped to $22. 5, the organization would be able to sell 1 million units. On the other hand if the organization decides to continue with the same that they are following at the moment, 750,000 units can be sold for first six months of year 2006. Here I would like to point out that these forecasts are not accurate and there may be a differenc e between what is predicted and the actual sales but for now I think that's an appropriate estimation as any.The forecasted income statements are based on the unit price per 100 lbs from first half of 2005 income statement. It is noted that the income statement with the price $22. 5 gives a higher contribution margin (10,468,490. 86) compared to the one with price $24. 5 (11,979,587. 82). These figures include the 5 percent reduction in the prices of materials and supplies and the discount on selling prices. The income statement shows that a higher operating income can be generated if the selling price set by Samara is followed (Refer to appendix 3. 2). The reason for that is the fixed costs will remain constant within the relevant range.So, I have decided to take the fixed costs from the 2005 Unary I-June 30) income statement. Since with the selling price $22. 5 gives a higher contribution margin, the company will lose less money (- $334,043. 07) to be exact (Refer to appendix 3. 2 ). Also if 31,803 additional units are sold, the company can breakable for product 101 . On the other hand 135,459 additional units would be required to breakable if the current price is kept. Also it doesn't seem a good idea keeping the prices higher than the rest of the seven firms, costumer might not appreciate and it's of utmost important the company maintains its market share if not improve.Conclusion & Recommendation Since it has been established that dropping any of the products doesn't benefit the company in any way, I would like to suggest keeping all the products. The company could do really well if the sales target are met and for that the motivation level of the employees needs to be high. So, my recommendation to motivate employees would be to set up a performance based reward and compensation system, which would keep the employees motivated, especially the sales force to do better.Another thing that can be done is rather than paying the sales force a fixed salary, they should be paid a commission based salary which would give rise to a sense of competition for sales people to do better and based on their sales they could be properly rewarded. For product 101, my analysis suggests that, the price set by Samara should be follow not Just because the organization will save itself from heavy losses but also its essential for the company to maintain its current industry sales share and having a higher price than the other firms could draw the customer away and then the organization would have bigger problems.Fixed costs need to be controlled and monitor strictly. All the factories are operating under capacity which doesn't help the organization in achieving its goals. One way to keep the costs in control in my opinion would be to assign specific tasks to specific factories so that they can operate efficiently rather than dedicating a whole factory to a product line. As the three reduces have somewhat similar manufacturing procedures.