The Customer Supply Chain Business Essay

The Customer Supply Chain Business Essay The report consists of a project entitled Pillsbury: Customer Driven Reengineering undertaken as a part of the course curriculum for the subject Business Process Reengineering (BPR). As a part of this project, after reading the case, a discussion took place between all the group members so as to clearly identify the problem definition. As a next step, discussion of the various issues faced by Pillsbury were discusses followed by the evaluation of the efforts undertaken by it. Competitive pressures, technology advances, and demanding consumer preferences were causing all companies in the food industry to reexamine their operations and attempt to eliminate waste and inefficiency throughout the food chain. The Efficient Consumer Response (ECR) effort was a multi-industry project, ECRs goals were to reduce costs and drive inventory levels down throughout the system, while simultaneously enhancing capabilities to meet the needs of diverse consumer market segments. Pillsbury executives were unsure whether their company was prepared for the new ECR environment. So, this report basically includes the entire experience involved in undertaking the planning of BPR at Pillsbury and the various phases it went through during the transition and the challenge faced by it i.e. whether to go for a continuous improvement program having a short term view or a redesign of processes which was more futuristic. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY To understand the practical implementation of BPR classroom concepts To understand the degree of complexity involved in planning BPR implementation To understand the importance of customer driven reengineering approach in order to adopt a pull strategy for the entire supply chain i.e. better matching Pillsburys purchasing, manufacturing, and distribution operations to consumers purchases To understand how to use the available resources in an optimum manner To understand the implications of a continuous improvement program Vs Redesign of processes. To understand the importance and criticality of various performance measures like ABC costing. COMPANY INTRODUCTION Pillsbury  is a brand name used by  Minneapolis-based  General Mills  and  Orrville, Ohio-based  J.M. Smucker Company. Historically, the  Pillsbury Company, also based in Minneapolis, was a rival company to General Mills and was one of the worlds largest producers of  grain  and other foodstuffs until it was bought-out by General Mills in 2001.  Antitrust  law required General Mills to sell off some of the products. General Mills kept the rights to refrigerated and frozen Pillsbury products, while dry  baking  products and frosting are now sold by Smucker under license. Leo Burnett  who created Pillsburys  Doughboy  and  Jolly Green Giant  considers them two of the agencys top five brand icons. ProdPack-Pillsbury-Cakemix-Small.jpg NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS Pillsbury once claimed to have the largest grain  mill  in the world at the  Pillsbury A Mill  overlooking  Saint Anthony Falls  on the  Mississippi River  in Minneapolis. The building had two of the most powerful direct-drive  waterwheels  ever built, each putting out 1200  horsepower  (900  kW). There are now plans to convert it into a loft-style apartment building. The Cunningham Group plans to convert six historic buildings to a mixed-use project varying from 6 to 27 floors in height. The project will include 895 units of housing and 175,000 square feet (16,300  m2) of commercial space, including the Pillsbury A Mill. HISTORY The company originated in 1869 when  Charles A. Pillsbury  bought a share in a Minneapolis flour mill. After the purchase of additional mills and the introduction of enhancements to the milling process, his firm was reorganized in 1872 as C.A. Pillsbury and Company. It was sold in 1889 to an English syndicate, which merged Pillsbury with other mills in their holdings to form Pillsbury-Washburn Flour Mills Company, Ltd., with Charles Pillsbury as managing director. The Pillsbury family regained ownership of the company in the 1920s, and it was incorporated as Pillsbury Flour Mills Company in 1935. In 1972 Pillsbury began purchasing  Burger King fast-food outlets, and it soon came to own the entire chain. Through the  Green Giant Company, acquired in 1979, it began marketing canned and frozen vegetables and frozen prepared foods. It also acquired Hà ¤agen-Dazs, maker of premium ice cream and frozen yogurt, in 1983. Pillsbury was owned by British company Grand Metropolitan, PLC (renamed Diageo PLC) from 1989 to 2001, when  General Mills  acquired most of Pillsburys assets (Burger King remained as a separate division of Diageo until 2002). The Hà ¤agen-Dazs brand was marketed through a joint licensing agreement with  Nestlà ©Ã‚  and General Mills. PRODUCTS The company manufactures a wide variety of consumer food products under the Pillsbury brand, including frozen biscuits and rolls, breakfast foods, cookie dough, cake mixes, and snack foodhttp://s3.amazonaws.com/gmi-digital-library/8b86b131-cccf-4292-b584-d216cf00fdd7.jpgBiscuitsBreads Grands! ® Cinnamon RollsCinnamon RollsBuffalo Chicken Crescent PuffsReady To Bake! ® Partner BrandsStrawberry Marshmallow Pie Biscuits, pies, flour, pizza crust, cookies, crescents, cinnamon rolls and various partner brands like Green Giant and Cascadian Farm. CASE INTRODUCTION Pillsbury entered Customer Driven reengineering initiative expecting to achieve significant levels of cost reduction and efficiency. To its delight, it also discovered a new way to compete. Competitive pressures, technology advances, and demanding consumer preferences were causing all companies in the food industry to reexamine their operations and attempt to eliminate waste and inefficiency throughout the food chain. The Efficient Consumer Response (ECR) effort was a multi-industry project .ECRs goals were to reduce costs and drive inventory levels down throughout the system, while simultaneously enhancing capabilities to meet the needs of diverse consumer market segments. Pillsbury executives were unsure whether their company was prepared for the new ECR environment. The executives perceived that Pillsbury lacked several critical capabilities to win in this new environment. In 1991, Dan Crowley as Controller of Green Giant, had launched an activity-based cost (ABC) initiative to examine the groups high cost structure. The study revealed startling plant-to-plant variations in costs for essentially the same process, large dispersion of actual costs from the companys standard cost per case. In August 1993, Crowley and Slocumb took a BPR proposal to CEO, Paul Walshs, Strategy and Policy Group, which comprised the division presidents of Pillsburys major business units and the top functional department heads. The proposal identified a process which would complement Pillsburys existing strategic plan to achieve top quartile financial performance amongst its strategic peers. The case describes the various efforts undertaken by Pillsbury during this transition and the various phases of the reengineering problem detailing various activities undertaken in every phase. The major challenge faced has been a choice between redesign of processes or continuous improvement because the target set in the earlier stages seemed a bit too achievable in the later stages NEED FOR REENGINEERING Customers perceived Pillsbury as an average company, not the best, not the worst, and without much innovation. John Mann, Senior Vice President and General Sales Manager, and another newcomer to the Pillsbury senior management team, concurred with McWilliams assessment: We were viewed as a laid-back Midwestern company, one that found it difficult to create a sense of urgency.McWilliams felt that Pillsbury had to become a different company if it was to change the perception of customers. Pillsbury executives were unsure whether their company was prepared for the new ECR environment. The executives perceived that Pillsbury lacked several critical capabilities to win in this new environment. First, the company was still organized according to traditional functional lines: purchasing, operations, distribution, finance, and marketing and sales. This organization led to local excellence and optimization of the individual functions but not necessarily to the optimization of the entire value chain. Second, the companys financial measurements and performance measurement system reinforced local optimization. The food market had become fragmented and the majority decisions taken by the consumer were made in the retail environment diluting the effect of the brand image. Thus Pillsbury had another challenge to transform its arms length relationship with the retailers (transaction based) to relationship oriented. DRIVERS FOR BPR AT PILLSBURY Highly competitive environment. Pillsbury lacking the necessary capabilities to compete in such environment. Lack of optimization of the entire value chain. The need to transform the arms length relationship with the retailers. To have an Information system to enable fact based marketing To develop a customer driven supply chain i.e. transition from push to pull strategy of supply chain Eye opening results of activity based costings. The project team prepared the classic ABC whale curve which showed a few product lines producing all the profits, with the remaining SKUs either breaking-even or losing money. Based on the insights from the ABC analysis, Green Giant management closed about a half dozen plants and consolidated operations more efficiently in the remaining plants. Crowley then took on a broader finance role within Pillsbury as Operations Controller and extended the ABC analysis to many of the dough manufacturing plants. Pillsbury now had good insights about the cost drivers for its cost of goods sold. The weak link was developing comparable information for its warehouse, sales, marketing, and promotion expenses. It had no ability to trace these expenses to its customers so that it could produce individual customer PLs. Skepticism that TQM was delivering its promised benefits to the PL bottom line within a reasonable time frame. For example, an internal study compared companies known to have adopted TQM principles with a control sample of non- TQM companies. The study found no discernible difference in financial performance between the two sets of companies. PROCESS MAPPINGS VISION: Crowley and Slocumbs vision of a potential for 15% cost improvement (about $300 million) in a staid and mature food processing company was met with some understandable skepticism and disbelief. Despite that, Walsh and his management team provided to Crowley and Slocumb a modest budget and 90 days to develop a business case to determine whether a $300 million cost reduction was possible. Crowley was appointed to a new position, Vice President for Customer Driven Reengineering, and Slocumb became Vice President for Business Process Reengineering. The business case was to focus on cost and margin improvements in three major divisions: Pillsbury branded products, the Green Giant products, and the frozen pizza businesses. These businesses had $2.5 billion of sales in Fiscal Year 1994. Reengineering: Phase I The Pillsbury team selected a consulting firm to work with them to help build the business case. Three months of analysis led to identifying three core business processes that offered targets for improvement: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Customer Supply Chain à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Brand Management à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ New Product Commercialization The Customer Supply Chain (CSC) was decomposed into three sub-processes: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Total Customer Development à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Fast Flow Demand Replenishment à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Value Based Sourcing and Supply The team then proceeded to identify the opportunities for process improvement within each of the three CSC sub-processes. C:UsersdellDesktop9-c89015168d.jpg C:UsersdellDesktop10-19289f286e.jpg Value Based Sourcing And Supply The third CSC sub-process, Value Based Sourcing and Supply, focused on Pillsburys extremely complex system of vendors and sourcing arrangements for its more than $500 million of raw material purchases. Historically, Pillsbury had reduced its material costs by exerting price pressure on its suppliers. Further gains from such price pressure were considered limited. The project team believed that more flexible and robust ingredient specification would allow them to select more efficient vendors, and that additional gains could be realized by leveraging vendor resources and knowledge. To gain these benefits, however, vendors would have to become partners with Pillsbury in a total cost reduction process. Cost savings from Value Based Sourcing and Supply were estimated at about $40 million (around 8% of purchases), plus savings in working capital reduction of about $14million. Outputs of phase 1: A business plan that promised margin improvements through cost reductions and revenue enhancements of more than $100 million, plus reductions in working capital of about $25 million. Reengineering: Phase II Phase II was launched in January 1994 to determine whether the business case developed in Phase I was feasible and realistic. About 25 Pillsbury employees, supported by the external consultants, spent four months analyzing customer data bases on more than 100 top accounts, conducted in-depth interviews with key customers and suppliers, and mapping and assessing the state of all existing internal business processes in the customer supply chain. The study of internal processes revealed highly complex, time-consuming processes with dozens of handoffs, and multiple recycling of requests for decisions and resource authorizations. The customer interviews revealed that important food retailers, wholesalers, and brokers were moving aggressively forward with plans for category management. Category management promised to give retailers far more effective management capabilities over their store shelf space allocations, SKU rationalization, and demographic marketing plans. The Phase II studies confirmed the vision established at the end of Phase I (see Exhibit 17) that reengineering the customer supply chain could provide upwards of $100 million in benefits. About half would come from working more closely with customers-adopting a more focused customer segmentation strategy, targeted marketing using local demographic information on consumer purchasing behavior, and exploiting store-specific cost and profitability information to promote the most profitable mix of brands and SKUs for both Pillsbury and the local store. The other half would come from better managing Pillsburys entire supply chain-from growers and other key vendors, through manufacturing, transportation and distribution to warehouses and individual stores. It needed to take activity-based costing (ABC) down to retail store level PLs. The old financial model calculated standard costs per case and produced product line PLs. The new model will measure activity-based costs of entire processes and give Pillsbury customer PLs. Service based pricing: shifting its pricing focus so that it can charge more for special services that some of our customers may desire but that others do not want. It can define a base level of service that everyone receives, with an explicit statement of what that includes. Major change in measurement: performance measurements will need to be driven by customers and consumers expectations THE CHALLENGE In June 1994, the Pillsbury team had completed the customer analysis and was ready to move into redesign. Before the meeting to present the findings and recommendations to the Integration Committee, Slocumb expressed some concern about the current set of recommendations. The business case to achieve $100 million in cost savings and margin enhancements was then credible. But the target may be too reachable. People may obtain the $100 million in cost savings from local process improvements, not from the complete redesign of its high-level business processes that were described in Phase I. the target of $100 million had come to be the objective rather than the fundamental redesign of our Customer Supply Chain. If we get $100 million in benefits, thats certainly a worthy goal, but it will not redefine the organization. We have a choice whether to be a company with a $25 stock price, or take the actions that will take us to a $50 stock price., Tom Debrowski, Senior Vice President of Operations and Chairman of the Integration Committee DECISION Pillsbury should be re-designing the organization around customer and consumer values to create a new and sustainable competitive advantage. It should strive to be the best in providing the freshest product at the lowest cost to retailers along with unique consumer insights from its superior information systems. It can achieve the $100 million without redefining the way they do business. But to achieve the $300 million, it will have to become a very different supply organization. It will have to get the supply chain to a high level of competitive fitness by getting cost savings that will make it more efficient than its competitors, and, then generating growth through its value-added consumer insights, getting the right product to the shelf at the right time at low cost to the retailers. The largest barrier for achieving this level of competitive fitness is introducing and managing change. Multi-skilled, multi-functional teams, including finance, need to be working with our customers. SOLUTION To achieve the $300 million improvements, Pillsbury needed to approach the organization with a completely open mind, to think the unthinkable. It will force it to think completely out of the box if they are going to achieve benefits of that magnitude. They need to stop managing individual functional departments, and begin to manage core operating processes. With the old model, the manufacturer, the distributor, and the retailer each attempts to optimize its own operations. The new way, through reengineering, should enable them to optimally source raw materials, convert to finished goods, distribute to trade customers, and sell to consumers in ways that minimize total system cost. By determining who can do each process in the chain most efficiently, it can let that process get done only once, at the most efficient site. That way it can eliminate waste from the system. REENGINEERING EVALUATION The success needs the following. The Analysis, Design and Prototype yielded the pain areas and laid out the broad road maps. But implementation needs the following to be successful Senior management must drive reengineering initiatives with a well-articulated vision that is appropriate for the situation. IT is an undervalued asset that can be tapped through reengineering to transform a company from a make-and-sell-oriented enterprise to a sense-and-respond-oriented enterprise. Successful implementation of reengineering projects requires the involvement and participation of the companys managers and employees. Consultants and outsourcing are important for various aspects of a reengineering project, but they are insufficient without the buy-in from managers and professionals in the organization. Business process can be streamlined or reengineered, but to change the long-term economic picture, a transformation initiative needs to encompass the reevaluation of communication systems and the sharing of intellectual assets. The organization should have a clear target in mind, whether it is to incorporate a continuous improvement philosophy or a complete redesign of processes. AFTER EFFECTS OF REENGINEERING EFFORTS During the last three years, the entire strategic direction of the company has changed. Selling off the flour mills was an epochal event. It was a major cultural shock to many people inside and outside the organization who thought of Pillsbury as a vertically-integrated flour manufacturing company. They have demonstrated that they can become a consumer-based company that is prepared to get out of operations that do not add value. An integration of the entire value chain was the target driven by the customers leading to a pull based strategy. Information systems were to enhance the communication capabilities to incorporate fact based marketing. Major cultural change was seen with the relationship with the customers transforming from merely an arms length relationship Major improvements in expenses and profitability were expected rendering Pillsbury with the capabilities required in such competitive environment. CONCLUSION The problems initially faced by Pillsbury required a complete redesign of the processes and not merely a continuous improvement effort. Thus the decision taken by the management to extend the target to $300 million was a correct decision if a long term view was to be considered. The major changes that were to incorporated as a result of this BPR effort were necessary for Pills burry to have the necessary capabilities to compete in the highly fragmented and competitive market. The reengineering effort was well planned in various phases describing the various considerations of each phase starting with the development of a business case followed by its feasibility analysis. The areas chosen for improvement were Customer Supply Chain Brand Management New Product Commercialization These areas provided great opportunity for integration of the entire value chain and to transform into a pull based value chain with the customer as the major driver. The efforts undertaken have led to great motivation amongst all the stakeholders and they believe that Pillsbury is not a laid back organization anymore. Their customers are enthusiastic about shifting from changing the way they do business together and are willing to endorse new relationships, such as service-based pricing. LEARNINGS The importance of manufacturer-retailer relationship in this highly fragmented market. The difference in continuous improvement efforts and redesign of processes How to approach a BPR problem in a systematic way demarcating the tasks to be done in a particular order in various phases. The importance of techniques like ABC Costing and the utilization of the revelations such techniques make

Americans Take Their Education For Granted :: essays research papers

Americans Take Their Education For Granted   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Americans take their education for granted. Education has become one of the most important aspects of a person's. With seventeen years of formal education, a person can do almost anything he or she wants to do. Yet many in America take this for granted. Some American students today would rather not be in school. They would be much happier at home or going someplace with their friends. Once in school, many students forget why they are there—to get an education. Instead of going to classes, students might cut class or not even show up to school at all. I think our decreasing status as an economic super power can be attributed in part to the effects of this attitude. I believe there are two reasons behind this attitude--the lack of family values and the lack of responsibility taken by some of America's youth. Children often do not understand the value of the education they are receiving. Parents need to drill the importance of an education into their child's head. If children are not made aware of how meaningful school is, chances are they will fail when they are adults. Parents have to instill in their child the discipline and motivation it takes to do well in school. Parents have to teach their children that school always come first. Students need to put school on top of their priority list too. Parents also need to assure that their children understand their own responsibility to get their work done well and handed in on time. But parents can only do so much—ultimately it is the students who have to do the work. Children must learn to accept responsibility for the results of their own actions. Students will sometimes blame the teacher or others if they get bad grades. I have only one response for these students--the teachers aren't the

Genetic Testing and Counseling in Pregnancy Essay

For many women, pregnancy is met with excitement. However, for a few couples, the pregnancy can take a completely different turn when the fetus is determined to be afflicted with Tay-Sachs disease. This is a genetic condition, usually found in Caucasians, and primarily those of Jewish descent, and develops in 25% of cases when both parents carry the recessive gene (National Tay-Sachs and Allied Diseases [NTSAD], n. d. ). Genetic counseling is a relatively new concept in healthcare and â€Å"is the process of helping people understand and adapt to the medical, psychological and familial implications of genetic contributions to disease† (National Society of Genetic Counselors [NSGC], 2005, para. 2). For the men and women facing a pregnancy involving Tay-Sachs, genetic counseling is a viable and important option to consider. However, to ensure quality care and education, genetic counseling needs to involve a team of healthcare professionals from a variety of backgrounds. Interdisciplinary Team Members and Their Roles in Genetic Counseling Appropriate members of a multi-disciplinary team for the Trosacks include a genetic counselor, a nutritionist or dietician, the high-risk OB-GYN physician, a registered nurse specializing in high-risk perinatal care, and a therapist specializing in marriage and family therapy needs. Each member of this team will add a unique perspective to the Trosack’s case. The genetic counselor has graduate-level education and experience in both medical genetics and counseling (NSGC, 2005, para. 1). Using her expertise and skills, she will review the medical history for Mr. nd Mrs. Trosack, and their families, identify other genetic risks that may exist and explain inheritance patterns. She will provide information and resources for further education on genetic disorders, so that they can continue to learn about Tay-Sachs and connect with other families facing the disease. In addition to this expert information, the Trosacks will benefit from a nutritionist or dietician. The nutritionist not only has special training in the area of nutrition, but also in educating patients about their options and making nutritious choices. In general, a nutritionist can â€Å"advise individuals†¦on the nutritional practices that will promote good health, [and] structure and recommend diet plans for whole families†¦including guides to the correct preparation of meals and shopping for the right foods (Princeton Review, n. d. ). He will perform a nutrition assessment, provide education on additional nutritional needs due to pregnancy, and even assist with meal planning to ensure a health pregnancy. He will continue to assess and make recommendations on Mrs. Trosack’s nutritional needs based on lab work throughout the pregnancy. The patient’s overall care is the responsibility of her OB-GYN, who specializes in high-risk pregnancies. A high-risk OB-GYN has a lengthy education, residency and fellowship history to gain knowledge in caring for older patients, patients with specific medical conditions and patients carrying a pregnancy that has been determined to need specialized care. The perinatologist is not only capable of making diagnoses other obstetricians may miss, but can also perform specialized procedures and administer medications across the placenta (â€Å"Perinatologists,† n. d. ). She will assess the medical needs of Mrs.  Trosack and the fetus throughout the pregnancy, monitor fetal growth and development, order diagnostic tests as needed, and provide referrals to other specialists as needed. Working with the physician will be a nurse specializing in prenatal clients. This nurse has chosen to expand on her nursing education, taking additional classes and obtaining certifications specific to perinatal care. He will assess the couple’s understanding of pregnancy and prenatal care at the first visit and make a plan to educate them on each stage of pregnancy and fetal development as well as options available during labor and delivery. Additionally, he will ensure the couple understanding for each test or referral suggested by the physician. Due to the nature of the diagnosis, the couple will also benefit from a marriage and family therapist on their team. The couple has already expressed exasperation over the diagnosis, and volley between denial and acceptance of the diagnosis. Additionally, Mrs. Trosack has already expressed guilt over her workload and its â€Å"affect† on the baby. Mr. Trosack has expressed anger, which can lead to resentment. The strong emotions felt by both parties need to be expressed in a healthy way to preserve their marriage, and a therapist specializing in family matters is an appropriate facilitator. She will meet with the couple together, as well as individually to assess their feelings about the pregnancy, the Tay-Sachs diagnosis and the feelings they have toward each other. The therapy sessions will continue after the birth of their baby, due to the nature of the disease and the stress the baby’s health will add to their lives. Teaching Plan for the Initial Visit  The teaching plan for the Trosacks’ initial visit at the high-risk pregnancy center will include the following:  ·Genetic diagnosis—The Trosacks need to understand the diagnosis of Tay-Sachs: how it is transmitted, the probability of other pregnancies testing positive, and what symptoms their child is likely to develop. This will help them to understand they have done nothing wrong and prepare for the special needs their child will have.  ·Treatment—No treatment exists for the disease itself, but the Trosacks will benefit from learning about the symptoms their child may develop and how those symptoms are treated. They will be informed of ways to keep their child safe and comfortable during the illness.  ·Prognosis as it applies to Tay-Sachs—The prognosis for infantile Tay-Sachs is poor, with most children becoming progressively worse until their death by age 4 or 5. The Trosacks need to be informed of this so that they can make preparations—for themselves and other family members. Because most children develop normally until around six months of age, the Trosacks need to know that an absence of symptoms does not mean an absence of the disease (NTSAD, n. d. ). They need to know that their time with this child will be limited and filled with doctor visits and difficult medical decisions. With this education and advanced notice, they can begin to discuss which treatments they may consider (medications) and those treatments they may not want to consider (feeding tube).  ·Support groups and appropriate referrals—With the Internet, the community of support for families with Tay-Sachs has greatly expanded. The Trosacks will be given information on local support groups as well as the internet communities available to them. They will be directed to the National Tay-Sachs and Allied Disease, March of Dimes and National Organization for Rare Disorders websites to connect with other families who are living with Tay-Sachs. This support will help the Trosacks connect with the only other people who know what they are going through, share their concerns without fear of judgment, and learn from those have gone through it all personally.  ·Pregnancy information—Information on pregnancy is necessary for any pregnant woman, especially during her first pregnancy. Over the length of the pregnancy, the Trosacks will learn about how pregnancy and fetal development progresses during each trimester, what changes Mrs. Trosack can expect—physically and emotionally, and ways in which Mr. Trosack can be of assistance to her. The first visit will specifically cover the development to date and through the end of the first trimester. They will view pictures of the developing fetus and the ways in which Mrs. Trosack’s body is changing to accommodate the pregnancy. Ethical Implications of Having Genetic Information Available While genetic testing is a wonderful addition to the vast array of diagnostics medicine now offers, it can bring about new ethical implications. In reference to autonomy, genetic testing can sometimes reveal information about one’s family that was not known. For example, a Caucasian family may be surprised to find they are carriers for Sickle Cell disease, a disease found primarily in African-Americans and can bring about questions regarding the family history. These discussions may lead to the ethical issue of perceived invasions of privacy for other family members. Another example would be the dilemmas that occur when there is a difference in societal believes and one’s personal beliefs. First, â€Å"persons with a genetic condition may prefer not to learn that their offspring is at risk for the condition, or they may prefer to have offspring with the same condition present in other family members† (Halsey Lea, Williams, & Donahue, 2005, para. 15). Secondly, some people may feel it is unjust to bring a baby with anomalies into the world. The results of genetic testing in these instances may necessitate decisions about continuing pregnancy, selective termination and adoption. A third example of ethical dilemmas in regards to genetic information being available is in relation to beneficence and nonmalificence. For example, clinicians caring for a pregnant patient find the baby she is carrying has spina bifida. The patient states her sister had spina bifida and that she wants to deliver her baby in the community hospital with a midwife. The clinician now must balance her respect for her patient’s wishes with the concern she feels in allowing a baby with special needs to be born in an environment that cannot provide services that may improve the birth’s outcome (Halsey Lea et al. 2005). A fourth ethical issue is that of justice. For, some genetic disorders can be found with testing while others still cannot. For example, â€Å"the ability to identify carrier status for a mutation in the gene for cystic fibrosis is lower among Asian American and African American persons† than it is in Caucasians (Halsey Lea et al. , 2005). Thus, the results of testing performed on an Asian American or African American patient may not be a reliable indicator of their carrier status. Personal Thoughts, Feelings and Advocacy As a woman, this writer cannot begin to imagine the feelings felt by the Trosacks. After years of trying to conceive, they learn that they are finally pregnant only to find out their baby is likely to die by age five from a horrible, progressive disease. If in Mrs. Trosack’s shoes, would this writer be brave enough to continue the pregnancy, knowing the prognosis? I do not know. I am sure, however, that the Trosacks have a difficult road ahead of them. If I were Mrs. Trosack, I would expect to feel a constant state of grief—over the diagnosis and the life my child will not have, the loss of those milestones parents look forward to (first day of school, first dance, etc), the impending months or years of illness. I would hope that I could treasure the better moments I do have with my child—from birth to death, holding her as much as possible, trying to focus on the symptom-free moments, taking as many pictures as I can to record her short life. I question how angry a woman would feel in this situation. Surely, even those women with strong religious beliefs question the â€Å"why† of the diagnosis and circumstance. â€Å"Why, after all this time allow me to conceive if you’re going to give me a child so sick? What is the point of bringing a child into life if they are to suffer throughout? Why us? † Would a woman facing this diagnosis feel as if everyone pities her? While reading the case study, I found myself feeling pity for her, knowing that she would lose her child in such a horrible way after wanting a child so badly. Despite these feelings, the Trosacks’ choice to continue their pregnancy is just that†¦their choice. Many people think that being pro-choice means advocating for abortion. However, it is my belief that being pro-choice means advocating for people to make the best choice for themselves in particular situations. For, only those going through a particular situation know best how well or poorly they can handle a decision and circumstance. Their decision to continue a pregnancy after the diagnosis was made is a brave one and speaks volumes to their character and beliefs. The Trosacks’ case manager will work with each member of the interdisciplinary team to ensure they respect the wishes of the couple. The couple needs to know that they are supported and are being treated without judgment from the team members. She will meet with the team members to ensure they are able to continue treating with couple appropriately. If any of the team members express an inability to refrain from sharing their personal feelings with the couple, she will find suitable replacements. While the team members are entitled to their feelings, they are expected to keep those feelings to themselves when caring for patients. And, when patients are facing emotional and controversial decisions, the separation is even more important. Ethical and Legal Considerations When the Trosacks made the decision to continue the pregnancy after learning their baby has Tay-Sachs, they became bound, legally and ethically, to care for the child after the birth. Ethical considerations include the decision to bring a child into a life of poor health and early death after a progressive decline. Many people in society will judge them for this, and the child will be perceived in certain ways by others. Further, they will be faced with the decision to allow researchers to follow their child in an effort to gain more information about the disease in search for a cure. The child has no autonomy as a minor, and has no right to privacy when her parents are making the decisions. Another ethical question is who owns the genetic information? The genetic information is on the child’s DNA, but the parents are the ones making all the decisions. Legally, there are several areas of concern for the couple. First, they are now bound to provide healthcare to this child, despite the poor prognosis. They must provide food, clothing and shelter, and keep the child safe and comfortable as she declines. The child will eventually develop problems with swallowing, and at that time, will require further interventions to maintain life. Secondly, they are required to provide medical care for the child; and, with the poor prognosis, this is likely to involve many appointments, testing and medications or treatments. Third, they may have problems with insurance coverage, as some insurance policies may consider the child’s diagnosis to be pre-existing, denying coverage for any treatments associated with the disease. Though this is certainly not ethical, it is legal in this country, and may lead to financial problems and difficulty in continuing to obtain quality medical care.

Compare, contrast and evaluate two theories of the distribution of power in modern states. The WritePass Journal

Compare, contrast and evaluate two theories of the distribution of power in modern states. Abstract Compare, contrast and evaluate two theories of the distribution of power in modern states. AbstractIntroduction Ideology in theory and practice.Power DistributionConclusionBibliographyRelated Abstract Power distribution in modern states can come in many forms, from democracies designed to satisfy the entire population to dictatorships where civilians are repressed. The ideologies and theories behind methods of distribution are numerous and vary significantly. This essay will compare the theory of socialist communism to the more totalitarian regime of fascism. Introduction There are many theories relating to power distribution among sovereign states. For the purpose of this investigation we will define a ‘sovereign state’ as a contained geographical area which has a legal supremacy and regarding the governance of its own power. This definition closely matches that given by D.D. Raphael in his work Problems of Political Philosophy (1970) in which he discusses the role of power within a state. Raphael argues that power is the right to act, meaning that distribution of power is shifted depending on what rights are given, or withheld, from the citizens of a state. Although there are several theories of methods used to distribute power this essay will concentrate on only two: the communist theory and theory of fascism. In the past century communism has been particularly prevalent in modern states. Karl Marx, arguably the father of communist theory, defined communism as the â€Å"Abolition of private property† in his Manifesto of the Communist Party (1848), although many other definitions have existed over the years (Heywood, 1992). In cases when communism has been used in practice rather than theory, such as in the Soviet Union, Cuba and China, it appears to be a democracy with a disregard for social class, where power is ideologically shared equally under a centralised administration. Fascism, in theory, is almost the complete opposite of this. It first became prevalent under the rule of Mussolini in Italy, when it was taken to describe the practice of using paramilitary armed squads in order to establish and maintain a rigorous method of control of the population (Heywood, 1992). Fascism refers to the repression of civilians and their rights, centralising power under one particular politic al party, or even one particular person. Fascism is often associated with a dictatorship, such as General Francisco Franco who ruled in Spain from 1939 to 1975 after the Spanish Civil War. It is one of the most modern theories of power distribution to emerge, having only developed as a theory within the twentieth century In order to successfully compare these two methods of power distribution we must highlight common linear factors which will appear in both ideologies. This essay will examine where power is distributed, the origins of the theory, the implementation of such governments, the ideologies behind such regimes and the effects on the rights of state citizens. Ideology in theory and practice. Communism is arguably a visionary ideology. It is an extreme branch of socialism, where equality prevails over individual collectivism and the economic materialistic qualities of capitalism. Socialism is not necessarily defined by state ownership, but by a centralised management of state production and commodity distribution (Held, 1987). The communist theories developed by Marx took this principle and expanded it, concluding that a democratic government would be unable to administer such a system because of the inherent class divisions in society. Communism essentially strips away class values, by valuing personal labour above profit and commodities (McLennan, 1989). This theory is aiming for towards a total equality between individuals in which no one profits at the expense of others, reducing the suffering of the people. The ideology behind fascism contrasts significantly to that of communism. Whereas communism strives to look after the welfare of individuals within the state, fascism historically tends to view the state as one whole. Individuality and personal rights are regarded as commodities which must be sacrificed in order to benefit the larger community (Finer, 1970). This is essentially a branch of totalitarianism, where the happiness of the greater number of people is given precedent over individual happiness. Hitler’s Third Reich was designed to promote the German volksgemeinschaft, or ‘people’s community’, but the individual rights of the citizens were largely ignored. Individuals were seen to be temporary, whereas the community would live on through generations. The difference between these theories of governance is substantial. Communism seeks to implement a system where individuality is promoted and happiness is maintained through forced equality. Fascism cares little for the rights of individuals in order to develop the community as a whole. The different level of care is also reflected in how these methods of power distribution are implemented. The way in which a civilisation comes to accept a certain method of state control and power distribution can say a lot about each theory. Most democratic states rely on elections and natural evolutions of government, whereas dictatorships tend to be forced on unsuspecting civilians. Due to its nature as a people-friendly ideology, communism has often been the result of a revolution. People in political power within a democracy are usually unwilling to implement a socialist society as it reduces their own power and wealth, so an uprising of the people and a seizure of power is the most likely way for a communist party to gain control. In the case of the Bolshevik revolution in the Soviet Union in 1917 an uprising against the Tsar was timed to coincide with the development of the political party, and once power was seized opposition was easily eliminated. Alternatively, fascist governments are often voted into power under false pretences. As in most dictatorships or one-party states the party in question originally appealed to the people and won their confidence, before removing their rights in favour of their own brand of autocracy (Bobbio, 1989). Power Distribution Power distribution takes into account how political representation and personal rights are implemented. As power rests with those who have the ability to influence change within the state then it is possible for power to be in the hands of the people, even in a state where administration is centralised. However, when power itself is centralised then only those in political power have any authority over making changes within policy. Communism may be a centralised democracy, but the intention behind it is that all citizens have an equal share of power. Irrespective of class, people have equal rights and shares of the profits and commodities within the community. The existence of the right to vote, the right to run for public office, the right of free speech and other such civil liberties shows that the people are given the change to determine and change the fate of the state. Fascism, on the other hand, withdraws power from the individual and focuses it in a concentrated area. Opposition is discouraged if not abolished, and the individual people are highly repressed. One supreme political party will administer power as they see fit without democracy or any challenge from alternate thinkers. Communism and fascism in theory take opposing methods of power distribution in order to achieve their objectives. Conclusion In conclusion, the theories of communism and fascism are two extremely different methods of distributing power within modern states. Communism centralises control but spreads power throughout the full state, allowing all citizens to have access to the same rights and privileges. Fascism completely centralises power, removing individual freedom in order to benefit the state as a whole. Both theories have been put into practice in recent years and have even been successful for a time under rigorous implementation, yet both often fail in favour of the more democratic methods of power distribution. Bibliography Birch, A. H. (2007) The Concepts and Theories of Modern Democracy, Third edition Routledge. Bobbio, N. (1989) Democracy and Dictatorship, Polity. Finer, S E. (1983) Comparative Government, Penguin. Held, D. (2006) Models of Democracy 3rd Edition. Polity. Heywood, A. (1992) Political Ideologies: An Introduction, Macmillan. Jessop, B. (1990) State Theory: Putting Capitalist States in their Place, Polity. McLennan, G. (1989) Marxism, Pluralism and Beyond, Polity. Raphael, D.D. (1976) Problems in Political Philosophy, Macmillan.

Hong Kong Wealth Gap Essays

Hong Kong Wealth Gap Essays Hong Kong Wealth Gap Essay Hong Kong Wealth Gap Essay Gini coefficient is one of the indicators of income inequality. Although it may not reflect the whole picture of income inequality, the figure is above 0. 5 implied the problem of income inequality may be existed. In 2006, Hong Kong is in great hazard seeing that our Gini Coefficient has risen from 0. 518 in 1996 to 0. 533. Compared to about 0. 424 to 0. 513 in Canada, Singapore and England, Hong Kong has an extremely high coefficient.However, the HKSAR government claimed that the calculation of Gini coefficient is not suitable in Hong Kong and Donald Tsang, who is the Chief Executive of HKSAR government, even said he was mistrusted to the Gini coefficient so that he did not think the wealth gap of Hong Kong was too wide. Therefore, the government does very little things or set up little policies to solve the wealth gap problem in Hong Kong. The taxes and the prices of goods keep increasing which heavier the onus of poor people.Census and Statistics The most recent census conducted by the government shows the gap between the rich and the poor worsened in the 10-year period up to 2006. The result showed the number of families spending less than 4,000 dollars a month increased from 6. 7 per cent to 9. 2 per cent in that period. The census also found that the real average income of families in Hong Kong fell 7. 8 per cent since 2001. Deflation during period was only 3 per cent. Threatened by wealth gap, a solution is needed.However, to solve the problem efficiently, causes of the problem must be identified. According to the most popular saying, wealth gap started widening since 1940s, the time of the Chinese Civil War. After that, a series of incident has happened, which causes the widening of the wealth gap. In 1940s, when the Chinese civil War broke out, many refugees from mainland China escaped to Hong Kong. On the other hand, a certain amount of Capitalists where afraid of new Communism, and hence went to Hong Kong with their capital and knowledge.As a result, the rich and the poor were separated much more firmly into two classes. And thats the beginning of the problem. In 1970s, Hong Kong turned herself into an international financial center from a manufacturing center. Therefore, labor-intensive industries didnt exist anymore, but has changed into technology and knowledge-based economy. With the essential need of high-level technology, less unskilled labors were needed so lots of people lost their jobs, while the educated ones had great opportunities on work.The wealth gap widened. In 1980s, the Open Door Policy was adopted in China, Kong Kong benefited from it on the development on economy. Nevertheless, a motto, Let part of the people gets rich first, was suggested by Deng Xiaoping. At the time, came to a rise of capitalists, while the others suffered from poverty. The wealth gap once again widened. In 1997, a serious financial storm attacked Hong Kong, the stock market suddenly crashed, lots of people suffered from the sudden incident.The loss of money led to a crisis of negative equity and inflation. Poverty became more serious in Hong Kong while capitalists made use of the chance to gain profits At present, the most important cause to the wealth gap is immigration. Large amount of immigrants from mainland China, especially those who are poor immigrates to Hong Kong. They have low productivity but benefit from the Comprehensive Social Security Allowance. The distance between the poverty and the rich are once again widens.

Athenian Democracy Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Athenian Democracy Paper - Essay Example Hence, the people had no say or no choices regarding the laws made for them and were forced to follow what was laid out for them by the autocratic leadership. However, democracy is a different branch of leadership, which aims to account for the opinions and needs of the people that the laws are being made for and they do not give the leader the right to oppress the people in any way. The leader or so-called government is answerable to the public regarding the laws, policies, and procedures taken. While this form of leadership seems just and fair, it has been in existence for a long time (Tharley, 1996, pp. 32-36). â€Å"Democracy† is a word taken from the Greek language and refers to a system of being â€Å"ruled by the people†. This system originated in Athens, Greece and has been prevalent for approximately 2500 years now. Before this time, people were ruled according to other systems for a period of approximately 4000 years. Hence, democracy has not been perfected ye t as regards to other systems as it is relatively newer than the previous forms of rule (Tharley, 1996, pp. 26-28). However, Athenian democracy had its advantages and disadvantages while it prevailed as a system. Beginning in approximately the 5th century B.C., democracy has been practiced in varying forms and with different levels of thoroughness and understanding. However, it was regarded as one of the best systems till date (Laurex, 2006, pp. 167-168). The Athenians thought that the people should be given free will to express their ideas and this was carried out on a ten-day basis in an Assembly that constituted of all the male adults over the age of eighteen. The system was efficient and fair as all citizens were given equal rights to vote and common people were making laws for themselves. Another advantage was that were no protocols or extravagant arrangements made for elections or prolonged campaigns. Money was not wasted in this manner and ordinary people of the land got toge ther and collectively decided upon laws for the whole land (Jones, 1953, p. 16). This was a reasonably good system and it worked well with the Athenians. The main reason for the continuous success of this system was the morality and righteousness of the citizens. Extremes were absolutely avoided in politics and the very first lawgiver of Athens believed in promoting the â€Å"greater good† which meant that all decisions were taken to benefit society as a whole instead of focusing upon individual goals. This feeling or phenomenon is greatly missing in society today and this notion is not prevalent in today’s politicians who are mainly seeking to promote selfish goals and their own individual benefits. The greater good for the benefit of society is missing and as society may want to play a role in their own governmental activities, they are not given active participation or due say in today’s democracy (Jones, 1953, pp. 13-14). However, looking at the Athenian sys tem from a modern perspective, it can be said that while the system was fair in most regards and encouraged equal participation regardless of status, caste, or any other means of discrimination, it was biased against females. Females were not given due recognition if any at all in the Athenian system of democracy as mainly all the males over the age of eighteen were elected to assemblies and were given the opportunity to vote and make laws for everyone in the land.

Exporting and Growth for Small Business Research Paper - 1

Exporting and Growth for Small Business - Research Paper Example This comes as a result of increased supplies needed for the target market making the cost of production per unit decrease (Burgel & Murray, 2009). Another benefit for smaller companies venturing into the international market is that they have the potential to gain more knowledge. This is a consequence of the experience acquired in the international market making the small company operators to improve in both their domestic and foreign business. Some of the knowledge that may be gained could be on new technologies, new marketing ideas or product quality improvement (Hill, 2011). Lastly, small companies have the advantage of diversifying risks by venturing into the international business. As such, risks such as market changes that could be taking place in the domestic market become evenly distributed, and the company does become fully affected. Small companies that do not engage in either export or import venture have a lower level of sustainability. They can only survive by ensuring that they dominate their domestic market. Also, they can only survive by producing high-quality goods that outstrip similar international products. Notably, such companies can sustain themselves by specializing in market entry practices. Such practices include; increased promotion, price adjustment, product improvement, and the creation of more distribution channels. Notably, increased promotion is done through advertising the product to make more people aware of the product. Price adjustments are the change of prices to the international standardized rate (Burgel & Murray, 2009). The practice will enable the company to woo domestic market at the expense of foreign products. Product improvement occurs when certain products take more time than the expected to move on the market. As such, the company improves the outcomes by improving the qualit y or labeling the products â€Å"new and improved†. The last step for such companies to be sustainable