Physician Assisted Suicide Pros and Cons Essay Sample free essay sample

The inquiry is should incurable patients be able to perpetrate physician assisted self-destruction. and depending on which group you talk to the pros or cons they both have good developed statements as to which is right and which 1 is incorrect. Even though physician assisted self-destruction may assist patients with enfeebling conditions that medical specialty can non pull off. I am against it because self-destruction even for the terminally ailment is incorrect and with the appropriate attention like alleviative intervention it is an unneeded act. The theory that I believe to be the foundation of my beliefs is the deontological and the statement for the holiness of life. It is the simplest moral mentality on self-destruction. The holiness of life holds that it is incorrect because human life is sacred. Though this place is chiefly associated with the church or spiritual kingdom. Ronald Darrkin ( 1993 ) points out that atheists may besides happen entreaty to this claim every bit goo d. We will write a custom essay sample on Physician Assisted Suicide Pros and Cons Essay Sample or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Harmonizing to the â€Å"sanctity of life† the human life is really cherished and valuable and demanding regard from others and fear for oneself. Suicide is so incorrect because it violates our moral responsibility in honouring the value of life. The place of physician assisted self-destruction is a position of the deontological theory and the holiness of life. It would travel against the Hippocratic Oath that a physician takes when they receive their medical grade. This curse was created so that patients would be assured that their doctor is at that place for their best involvement and intend them no injury in any manner. It could even open up the door for noncritical patient self-destruction. One illustration would be patients that want to decease for emotional or psychological grounds. They may seek to convert their physicians to assist stop their life. The American Medical Association has been really vocal and influential on the subject of physician assisted self-destruction and has stated â€Å"that engagement is basically incompatible with a physician’s function as a healer† ( AMA. 1997. p. 290 ) . We need to maintain our values that we grew up with in cheque and retrieve there are things to populate for. We need to protect our morality and that of our physicians every bit good and maintain in head that there are other ways to decease with self-respect. Most faiths groups are against self-destruction and the Bible provinces that â€Å"Thou shall non kill† ( EXODUS 20:13 ) . so they would object to the construct of physician assisted self-destruction. Then there is the household and what they may or may non desire. In a short communicating. The sarcasm of back uping physician –assisted self-destruction: a personal history by Margaet Pabst Battin. In her sentiment it should be the pick of the person. She talks about the liberty statement and the clemency statement. Autonomy is a factor that has already been decided by our society in doing determinations on person stoping their life. The statement for clemency is that â€Å"no one should hold to endure from hurting or any other unbearable agony. where it can non be treated by agencies acceptable to the patient and is non embraced for the other grounds holding to make with values of import to that individual. even if this may intend stoping life† Battin. P. M. ( 2010 ) . As a society we have officially decided this when we let the authorities give the person the right to decline medical intervention. even for life prolonging interventions. With her hubby who had a bike accident November 2008 that paralyzed him had to be put on a vent ilator. Her idea was what if he wanted to decease. could she merely stand at that place while his ventilator was turned off. With her husband’s accident she said things changed and the issue of physician assisted self-destruction had become harder to believe about. It was non merely about terminally sick people any more. but it included her hubby now and she did non believe she could stand at that place and watch him be euthanized by his doctor. â€Å"A individual should be accorded the right to populate his or her life as they see fit ( provided. of class. that this does non significantly harm others ) . and that includes the really terminal of their life. † Battin. P. M. ( 2010 ) . There are a figure of complaints that result in slow agonising deceases such as certain types of malignant neoplastic disease. Doctors have old ages of preparation to hold adequate cognition and experience to cognize when a patient’s yearss are numbered. Just imagine months of purging and coughing losing control of organic structure maps and cramps of hurting. Would it non be more humanist to merely allow them take their ain life and do it the cardinal freedom of each single patient? Nowhere does it province in the fundamental law that the authorities has the right to maintain a individual from perpetrating self-destruction. If a patient or their household agrees with physician assisted suicide the authorities should remain out of it. The useful position of doctor assisted self-destruction would be whatever creates the greatest sum of good for the greatest figure of people is the moral thing to make. Physician aided self-destruction is one of Americas most profound ethical issues of our clip. If moral relativism was directing the quality of life moralss so physician assisted self-destruction would be advocated as a â€Å"light. † It has even been suggested that the lives of some people are non deserving life. and they should be encouraged. for the interest of themselves. household or society. to stop their lives. If person feels that they are traveling to be a load to their household or friend so they need to outline a life will saying what their wants are. They should compose out what they want every bit far as to their basic demands like nutrient. H2O. and pain medicine. They besides should hold a DNR ( do non revive ) papers to transport in their bag or billfold and one for their advocator to transport with them. They need an appointive advocator to be at that place in instance they can non show their demands. After so many deceases in my ain household I decided to do out mine and my husband’s life will. Our kids were non pleased with some of our determinations but I know that they love me adequate to honour our wants. Physician aided self-destruction is non a new issue but has been around for a really long clip and there are many options to physician aided self-destruction. The argument to stop a patient’s life still remains controversial. There are two rules on which all medical Fieldss agree is that physicians have an duty to alleviate their patient’s hurting and agony and to protect the self-respect of their death patient that is in their attention. There are concerns that our society will get down to see aided self-destruction as a legitimate manner of work outing all our hurting and agony. Merely one province in the United States has legalized physician assisted self-destruction. which is Organ and they have to follow certain regulations and makings before they can acquire aid from their doctor. There are many other states that do take part in physician assisted s elf-destruction and some doctors may make this without the patient even cognizing. that is why now citizens in the Netherlands carry a card that says Do Not Euthanize Me. Physician assisted self-destruction is non for everyone. but I think that we should esteem some 1s wants if they decide to stop their life. I am glad that I live in America and do non hold to worry about transporting a card that provinces do non kill me delight. My ma is from a big household and with this size of a household there will be decease. This twelvemonth we have had four deceases and the two that have affected me the most was my mas and a cousin that was about four old ages younger than me. My mom’s was a really emotional for my pa and us four childs and I will explicate it subsequently in this paper. The 1 that has truly made me halt and see my ain age and mortality is my cousin’s decease. Like my ma he fought for his life and in the terminal lost his conflict. He was burned on 80 nowadays of his organic structure when the gas oiler he was welding on blew up. He was medevac’d to Dallas Texas to the burn centre. The physician did non give the household any opportunity of him doing it through the dark and told them to believe about taking him off the life support. My uncle. aunt and his siblings said no to this but his married woman and two kids said yes because he was non reacting to anyone. The household came to a via media and waited boulder clay forenoon to do their determination. By forenoon he was antiphonal and cold keep his pollex up for yes and down for no. so the household left him on the life support. In the yearss to follow he was in a batch of hurting and after several skin bill of exchanges he got pneumonia. so his organic structure started to close down and the physician once more told them that it did non look good. And in the terminal his married woman and two kids decided to take him off of life support after he was unresponsive to any stimulation even though his parent were against the determination to convey some closing to a deceasing adult male. Even though I do non hold with physician assisted self-destruction it does non intend that there is a right or incorrect reply. Last April my female parent lost her conflict to populate and be with us. She fought till her organic structure was so hebdomad that when the physician went to set in a stretch to utilize to make dialyses on her she had a bosom onslaught. The physician put her on a ventilator because my male parent was non at that place. but in the waiting room where they had sent him. It was something he had promised my ma that he would non allow go on. We had a DNR in topographic point at the infirmary in our place town but non in the infirmary in Oklahoma City. It is something that merely fell through the cleft between place and the metropolis. When we eventually got to travel back in the room my pa cried and we had to watch as she laid there and pleaded with her eyes for us to make something. We had to wait for the physician to come in and speak to us before we could hold anything done. He explained that if we took her off the machine she would non last for more than 10 proceedingss but it was our pick to do. My pa set beside my ma and explained what the physician told us and asked her if she understood what he had said and she knotted her caput that she understood that if they took the ventilator off she would halt external respiration. We agreed with her determination and her last words to us were I Love you all. It is a difficult thing to hold to make so even though it is morally incorrect in most eyes and I do non believe anybody has a right to take a life there are merely some instances you can non be the justice and jury on. It may non hold been the moral thing to make but for our household it was the right thing to make for a married woman and female parent that had suffered through three bosom onslaughts and legion other surgeries. She said she was ready to travel place and that is where she is in Heaven. It has been hard on my pa but he is strong if non for his ego so for us childs. My parents would hold been married 50 old ages this month and we spent it with pa. So you can see that even though physician assisted self-destruction may be morally incorrect no 1 knows what they will make until they are faced with that sort of household state of affairs. The Godhead is our lone justice and I hope that he can see that she was ready to come place and that most patient’s in that state of affairs are merely looking for that all-time alleviation from hurting and heartache. I still think that doctor assisted self-destruction is incorrect and I am glad that it is non legal in our province. I think if the doctor has done everything that he can for his patient so he has done his occupation. In my mom’s instance he told us what would go on if he took away the external respiration machine and she did merely ha lt external respiration after about 10 proceedingss. As for my cousin I am glad that it was non my determination to do. I believe that the deontological theory is the 1 to utilize for my ideas about doctor assisted suicide. It states that the holiness of life is really cherished and valuable and demands respect from others and fear for oneself. That self-destruction is so incorrect because it violates our moral responsibility in honouring the value of life. So truly the inquiry should incurable patients be able to perpetrate physician assisted self-destruction. and with all the pros and cons of this argument possibly the determination should be up to the person. We and our Godhead are the lone 1s that know for certain how much each of us as persons can digest. So I say if you of all time find you self-faced with this issue delight take the clip and make a batch of praying before you decide to take some one’s life by aided self-destruction. Is it something you would desire for yourself? Mentions: Association. A. M. ( 1997 ) . AMA Council on Ethical and Judical Affairs. Codeof Medical Ethical motives: Current Opinions with Annotations. Chicago. Battin. M. P. ( 2010 ) . The sarcasm of back uping physician – assisted self-destruction: a personal history. Salt Lake City: Online. Coxon. A. ( 2001 ) . Ethical motives and Medicine. Highland Park: Bioethicss Press. Fieshein. J. ( 1997 ) . US Suprem Court regulations against physician – assisted self-destruction. The Lancet. 40. Mosser. K. ( 2010 ) . Ethical motives and Social Responsibility. Rogate. P. ( 2001 ) . The Virtues of Physician – Assisted Suicide.

Simple or Progressive Perfect Forms

Simple or Progressive Perfect Forms There are two types of perfect tenses; simple perfect tenses (present perfect, past perfect and future perfect) and progressive perfect tenses (present perfect progressive, past perfect progressive and future perfect progressive). The perfect forms are generally used to represent something that has happened up to another point in time. For example: Present Peter has visited Paris twice. (In his life, up until now)Jane has been playing tennis for two hours (until now) Past They had lived in New York for 3 years before they moved to Seattle. (up to the time they moved to Seattle)She had been studying for 4 hours when he arrived. (The four hours directly before he arrived) Future We will have finished the course by this time next year. (up to this time a year from now)I will have been working for 2 hours by the time he arrives tomorrow. (the two hours before he arrives tomorrow) So, what are the differences between the simple and progressive forms of the perfect? Well, first of all, remember to keep in mind the progressive is only used with ACTION verbs (see last weeks feature for examples of non-action or state verbs). Another important difference is that we use the simple perfect forms to express finished QUANTITIES and the progressive perfect forms when we are stressing the continuous duration of a specific action mentioned. Now, lets take a look at the specific differences between the two forms: Present Perfect Progressive Recent activity: to emphasize the recency of a past activity. we often use lately or recently : Shes been working hard recently Emphasis on the duration or length of an activity : Jack has been painting for 4 hours. Recently finished activity with a present result : Ive been working in the garden, thats why my hands are so dirty. No difference in meaning. Often the present perfect progressive and the present perfect can have the same meaning. This is often the case with verbs of living, occupation or vocation) : Ive been living in Leghorn for 3 years. OR Ive lived in Leghorn for 3 years. Present Perfect Indefinite time in the past (experience). Emphasis is on the completed action at an indefinite time in the past. : Susans written 3 books. Emphasis on QUANTITY : Ive read 300 pages of Tom Smiths latest book. Duration from past to present (see #4 of present perfect progressive) : Peter has worked for that company for 5 years. Here is an excellent example of the difference between the two forms when referring to duration of an activity as compared to quantity: Hes been driving for 6 hours. Hes driven 320 miles. Past Perfect Progressive Past perfect progressive is used to express CONTINUOUS activity up to a specific point of time in the past. Example: They had been waiting for 2 hours before their friends finally arrived. Past Perfect Past perfect is used to express FINISHED activity before a specific point of time in the past. Example: He had already eaten when his wife came home. Future  Perfect Progressive Future perfect progressive is used to emphasize the length of time or duration of an event occurring before and up to another event in the future. : By the time they arrive, we will have been waiting for 4 hours! To emphasize the duration of an activity. : John will have been studying for 6 years by the time he finishes his exam. Future Perfect Future perfect is used to refer to an event completed before another future event or time. : By the time Mary finishes this course, she will have taken 26 exams. To emphasize not how long something has taken, but that the action is completed. : By the time he retires, he will have worked for 36 years. Here is a little quiz to check your knowledge: They a) have been working b) have worked in the garage, thats why their clothes are greasy.She a) had met b) had been meeting John before he came to work here.By the time the letter arrives, a) I will have left b) I will have been leaving.When Karen telephoned, they a) had been studying b) had studied for two hours.Im tired. I a) have just finished b) have just been finishing my homework.Peter a) has been reading b) has read 3 books by Hemingway.By the time we finish, we a) will have painted b) will have been painting for 4 hours.I made sure that I a) had learned b) had been learning Italian well before I left for Rome.She a) has known b) has been knowing John for 10 years.They a) have thought of you b) have been thinking of you a lot recently. Answer Key aaaaabbaab

Laugh About Writing

Laugh About Writing Laugh About Writing Laugh About Writing By Sharon Writing doesnt always have to be a serious business. Though its wise to make sure that you write correctly, theres a lot of fun to be had when playing with words. Two emails that landed in my inbox the other day made me chuckle. The first was called Humor for Lexophiles. I wont reproduce the whole thing, but here are a few of my favorites: The butcher backed up into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work. To write with a broken pencil is pointless. A thief fell and broke his leg in wet cement. He became a hardened criminal. The professor discovered that her theory of earthquakes was on shaky ground. A dentist and a manicurist fought tooth and nail. You are stuck with your debt if you cant budge it. Acupuncture: a jab well done. The second source of amusement was an email featuring metaphors from student essays. Here are a few that caught my eye His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free. She grew on him like she was a colony of E. coli, and he was room-temperature Canadian beef. Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever. McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty bag filled with vegetable soup. Even in his last years, Granddad had a mind like a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut. The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work. It was an American tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with power tools. Obviously, Im not the only one who got these emails, so if you want to see more of these gems, look here and here. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the General category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Writing a Reference Letter (With Examples)How to spell "in lieu of"Apostrophe with Plural Possessive Nouns

Crime Theories Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Crime Theories - Essay Example They are involved in doing frauds, money laundering, cheating, stealing and trading private information and so on. According to the theory, people are pressurized to commit crime and moreover, an individual has his own requirements and expected opportunities that are formed on the basis of social structures and in case of unavailability of desired needs and opportunities, an individual is made to commit a crime (Siegel, 2011). Like street crimes, white collar crime can also be considered under strain theory. The people who are socially sound can perceive some blockage in their set goals and requirements related to their financial success and consider this as straining due to which, they can be equally involved in committing crime. In addition, they can also regard the provided opportunities as inadequate due to which, they can be pressurized to commit crime (Taylor, et al., 2005). The strain theory is the most relevant in terms of being a cause of digital crime as the criminals can be socially deprived as well as blessed and can regard the provision of opportunities as lacking. The digital crime involves people from such countries that are poor globally such as African countries as well as from wealthy countries such as USA. Mostly, the criminals of digital crime have ambition of getting richer by selling private and crucial information of one competitor to the other (Taylor, et al., 2005). People who are socially and economically stressed commit digital crime. People can be strained when they fail to accomplish their goals due to which, they are involved in digital crime. They are involved in hacking, selling personal information of their employers, leaking secrets, committing frauds, corporate espionage and so on (Siegel, 2011). Tunnell (2005) gives information about the criminal Dannie Martin who has a poor background and lack of any opportunity to get success and economic stability in life and all he

Quality and Problem Solving (global tourism management) Essay

Quality and Problem Solving (global tourism management) - Essay Example The organization has successfully captured a favorable contract from a tour operator in the United Arab Emirates and will be receiving a significant proportion of guests. The customers are Emirati guests who espouse a culture highly divergent from western orientations. The challenge is to determine how to successfully address the quality issues in such an arrangement. Before venturing into determining what is required in addressing the needs of the Emirati (citizens of United Arab Emirates) guests, the driving philosophy should first be identified. The staff of the Royal Edwardian Hotel should adopt a quality policy that stresses service quality as opposed to value for price paid or maximum profit. The relationship between service quality and business performance has long been established in hospitality (Hakes, 1991; Bowen and Shoemaker, 1998; Pizam and Ellis, 1999). Researchers such as Caruana (2002), Cronin and Taylor (1992) and Teas (1994) have shown that service quality is antecedent to customer satisfaction. Furthermore, customer satisfaction is antecedent to customer loyalty (Bloemer and Kasper, 1995; Caruana, 2002; McDougall and Levesque, 2000). In the hotel industry, service quality is considered as defined and the discerning customer will evaluate quality and develop satisfaction or dissatisfaction in each encounter (Bitner et al., 1990). As hotel experience is made up of individual discrete encounters, it is important to make sure that everything is perfect (Min et al, 2002). The quality management scheme should therefore emphasize gathering and interpreting correctly the traits and characteristics of the customer. It is important to survey the Arab customers to find what they are specifically looking for in a Royal Edwardian Hotel stay. The hotels should determine customer expectations regarding a British hotel experience. According to Clow & Vorhies (1993), the customer forms expectations through a

Would you expect an increase in a minimum wage to help or hurt Essay Example for Free

Would you expect an increase in a minimum wage to help or hurt Essay Increasing the minimum statutory wage has much far-reaching implications . Research indicate that this has a major impact on the business, employment and labor market. Studies done on its impact show that the increase very probably leads to reduction of employment more so for the young and unskilled who typically get engaged in lower income jobs. So if the increase in minimum wage is not beneficial to the general economy, is it helpful to the labor force it ought to benefit? On a positive note or rather short term the increase will mean that the workers will have an increased disposable income therefore they will be in a position to meet their needs more comfortably than they did before the increase. On the other hand the increase is just minimal therefore it adds very little to the income of the workers in general. This method has been found to be an ineffective tool for poverty reduction due to such negative impacts which mainly affect the people it ought to benefit. (Neumark, D and Wascher, W 1992) An increase in minimum wage forces the employers to respond in certain ways, studies indicate that when minimum wages increase the employers often tend to reduce the fringe benefits for the workers and at the same time reduce trainings for the employees. They embark on a cost cutting measures so as to fill the gap created by the funds which go towards the increment. Such a move will affect the worker as he or she will enjoy less benefits. In a matter of fact they might continue taking home the same amount of money or even less due to reduction or withdrawal of benefits. The cost cutting measures may deny a worker a chance to progress in a career when on job training as a benefit is done away with. On the same note to manage the business spending the employer may even end up reducing the hours of work further reducing the wage. (Neumark, D and Wascher, W 1992) An increase in the minimum statutory wage may be a good thing in the short term, but it has a negative impact to the worker since the employers will have to act in a certain way to ensure that they continue to enjoy the same profits margin as they did before. Reference Neumark, D and Wascher, W (1992) Employment effects of minimum and sub minimum wages: Panel Data on State Wage Laws, Industrial and Labor Relations Review, vol 46

Alternatives to Conventional Internal Combustion :: Expository Essays Research Papers

Alternatives to Conventional Internal Combustion Congress created the Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Technologies (EHV) Program in 1992 for reasons of national defense. The specific purpose of the program was to solve the issues of performance, stealth, and fuel efficiency demanded by the military. The EHV program was managed by the Department of Defense and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), as a side note DARPA developed the F-117 Stealth Fighter during the mid to late 1970’s and early 1980’s. DARPA and the Department of Defense created a consortium with 150 companies that were involved in 300 projects with a total investment of 250 million from 1993-1998 with half the funding provided by non-federal partners. They focused and developed on these areas of research â€Å"hybrid electric transmissions, auxiliary power units and motors, advanced battery and charger systems and controllers, flywheels to augment or replace batteries, and advanced materials to reduce vehicle weight (http://scitech. dot.gov/partners/nextsur/avp/avp.html)† The Advanced Vehicles Technologies Program represents the civilian version of the military EHV Program. EHV became AVP in 1999. The AVP budget was 50 million annually from 1999 to 2003. USCar, also began in 1992, it is a program made up by DaimlerChrsyler, Ford and General Motors â€Å"to further strengthen the technology base of the domestic auto industry through cooperative, pre-competitive research (http://www.uscar.org/)† and from this project came a new program called FreedomCar, which is a joint venture with the USCar members and the Department of Energy. The ultimate goal of FreedomCar is to make hydrogen and fuel cell based transportation system. This is the long-term goal, which will take some time to be realized. The project is also looking at advanced internal combustion engines, emissions control for diesel engines, light weight materials, hybrid electric vehicle systems, advanced batteries and alternative fuels (http://www.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/program_areas/freedomcar/index.shtml). The transportation sector obtains 95% of its fuel from petroleum and this sector accounts for 67% of American’s total petroleum use. The United States imports roughly 10 million barrels of oil per day (http://www.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/program_areas/freedomcar/index.shtml). The dependence on imported oil could potentially threaten the energy security of the U.S. Roughly 55 percent of oil we consume is imported and this is expected to go up to 65 percent by 2025.

Violent Video Games Cause Behavior Problems Essay

Video game violence is an increasing problem in today’s society with violence as one of the most popular themes. Games such as â€Å"Grand Theft Auto† and â€Å"Call of Duty† are among the most popular games and have been scientifically proven to have a major effect on teens. Many people try to argue that there is a difference in the effects between behaviors after engaging with video games. Video games have the same effects as other forms of entertainment, but other forms of entertainment do not get attacked like video games because the other forms are much larger and have a much wider audience. Playing violent video games can alter men’s brain function, cause teens to drive recklessly, and can contribute to aggression. Many people disagree that violent video games cause behavior problems. It seems doubtful to some people that such violence and aggression can be caused from watching flickering pixels on a nineteen-inch television screen. In the scale of t ime, television has existed for less than a wink, and if it is indeed undoing what oral and print cultures have so laboriously built, then those traditions may be far briefer than advertised (Smith). Throughout mankind’s history, each new means of expression has been castigated as the cause of evil in the world such as, books, art, and music (Smith). Some people even believe that violence is linked with aggressiveness and stress rather than with video game violence (Smith). Some may even say, â€Å"If society could just put limits on X, society would have fewer problems with Y.† That is not how life works. People who disagree that violent video games cause behavior problems believe that violence exist because people exist, but their logic is simply not enough (Smith). On the contrary, research on the troubling effects of video games is plentiful and persuasive. There is overwhelming evidence that witnessing and engaging in video game violence is predictive of increases in aggressive behavior. In fact, the research on the effects of exposure to video game violence is in keeping with research conducted over the last half century about the effects on people’s be havior of watching television violence (Wendling). As video games come more engaging, society spends ever-increasing amounts of time playing them (Wendling). In the popular video game â€Å"Grand Theft Auto,† people have the power to solicit prostitutes and then kill them to get their money back, drive down the sidewalk of a virtual city mowing down pedestrians, run around attacking  people at random, and all sorts of other demented activities that would be tragic in real life (Wendling). These types of video games make these specific crimes seem okay. A recent study provides parents, physicians, and scientists with data proving that differences in brain function exist in teens that play violent video games, compared with those who do not (Wendling). Dr. Matthews and his colleagues at Indiana University, Indianapolis, randomly assigned the adolescents to play either â€Å"Medal of Honor,† a violent video game, or â€Å"Need for Speed,† an equally exciting but nonviolent video game, for thirty minutes immediatel y before imaging (Wendling). The group that played the nonviolent game showed more activation in the frontal lobes, and the group that played the violent video game demonstrated less activation in the prefrontal lobes (Wendling). There have been numerous studies since the 1970s demonstrating that adolescents exposed to violent media demonstrate aggressive behavior, but because the adolescents in this study were randomized into two similar groups, the findings go more directly to the question of causation than did previous research (Wendling). Playing violent video games can alter men’s brain function, cause teens to drive recklessly, and can contribute to aggression. There have been multiple studies to prove that playing violent video games can alter men’s brain function. In one study, Dr. Matthews and his colleagues demonstrated the short-term effects of violent video games on brain functioning adolescents (Birk). Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) revealed decreased activity in areas of the brain involved in inhibition and attention after thirty minutes of game time (Birk). Dr. Matthews saw that there is a decrease in normal blood flow after a week of playing violent video games (Birk). Violent video games could also lead teens to drive recklessly. Some researchers conducted phone interviews with more than five-thousand teenagers over the course of four years (Correa). Ninety percent of the teenagers they interviewed responded that they were engaged in risky driving habits, including speeding, tai lgating, weaving through traffic, and running red lights (Correa). It is clear that the video game exposure preceded the risky driving because the study began when the participants were playing video games but were too young to drive (Correa). Numerous racing video  games make it look cool to drive recklessly, which can cause a great impact on teens to drive in this manner. Lastly, video games can contribute to aggression. School shootings, such as the infamous event at Columbine High School, have stimulated interested in research on the violence of boys and men (Levart). One focus, the effects of violent video games on aggression, has begun to yield some empirical results (Levart). Today, videogames are highly engaging and interactive, putting players in a first-person perspective where they must make a decision to perform a violent act prior to performing the act (Levart). Effects of long-term exposure of violent video games include personality change and beliefs that aggression is an acceptable way to handle a problem (Levart). This may have so mething to do with the obvious that the objective in most video games is to kill. Video game violence is an increasing problem in today’s society with violence as one of the most popular themes. Playing violent video games alters men’s brain function, could cause teens to drive recklessly, and can contribute to aggression. Many people try to argue that there is a difference in the effects between behaviors after engaging with video games. To some, it seems doubtful that such violence and aggression can be caused from playing video games on a nineteen-inch television screen. There are others who totally disagree with that logic. People do not just watch video games, but they interact with them. Works Cited Wendling, Patrice. â€Å"Violent Video Games After Brain Functioning in Imaging Study.† Clinical Psychiatry News Jan. 2007: 39. Psychology Collection. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. Birk, Susan. â€Å"Playing Violent Video Games Alters Men’s Brain Function: From the Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.† Clinical Psychiatry News Jan. 2012: 16. Psychology Collection. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. Correa Frances. â€Å"Games Inspire Reckless Driving.† Clinical Psychiatry News Oct. 2012: 28. Psychology Collection. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. Levart, Ronald F. and Kimberly D. Thomas. â€Å"Does the Endorsement of Traditional Masculinity Ideology Moderate the Relationship between Exposure to Violent Video Games and Aggression?† Clinical Psychiatry News Oct. 2012: 20.1. Psychology Collection. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. Smith, Mark. â€Å"Video game backlash?† Technology & Learning Nov. 2005: 6. Psychology Collection. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

Ideo: the Organization and Management Innovation in a Design Firm and the Role of Alliances and Collaboration

Introduction Schumpeter (1949) wrote of the individual and collective embodiment of the â€Å"entrepreneurial spirit† – the â€Å"Unternehmergeist†. One company that channels this â€Å"geist† is the Sillicon Valley, California-based design and consultancy firm, IDEO. Founded in 1991, this self-styled innovation and design firm balances process and product innovations grounded in a human-centred design philosophy. Through this approach IDEO elided the pitfalls of the technology push versus demand-led innovation dichotomy to produce products and services that feel just as good as they work. In the latest rankings IDEO was listed at no. 10 on Fast Company's Top 25 Most Innovative Companies (2009) and no. 15 on Fortune's 100 most-favored employers by MBA students (Universum 2009). This paper attempts to analyse the principles and practices at IDEO using two frameworks namely: 1. the organisation and management of innovation and research and development (R&D) and 2. strategic alliances and collaboration. The discussion on organisation and management would be focused primarily on innovation since R&D as a portfolio at IDEO is still emergent. As a consequence also, its alliances and collaboration strategies and activities are described in the context of IDEO as a highly sought-after development partner. Analysis of the responses of senior business managers to what they considered to be the top three challenges of innovation management revealed that creating an innovative culture, attracting and maintaining diverse talents and finding the right balance of the incremental and the radical were uppermost (Tidd and Bessant 2009). Smith (2008) identified nine key factors that impact on an organisation’s ability to manage innovation: management style and leadership, resources, organisational structure, corporate strategy, technology, knowledge management, employees and the innovation process. The Oslo Manual defines †Innovation† as â€Å"the implementation of a new or significantly improved product (good or service), or process, a new marketing method, or a new organisational method in business practices, workplace organisation or external relations. † (OECD 2007). This definition encompasses the common elements of innovation as proposed by arlier authors such as Schumpeter, Freeman, Rothwell and Gardiner, Drucker, Porter, Schumann, Merrifield etc. (Tidd and Bessant 2009; Innovation Zen 2006) Organisation and management of Innovation Since the introduction of ‘creative destruction' Schumpeter (1942), there has been a growing confidence that the basic elements of successful innova tion can be distilled through careful observation, and that they can be adopted and managed by firms to create and sustain competitive advantage. A number of authors (Abernathy and Utterback 1978; Teece 1986; Henderson and Clark 1990; Tushman and Anderson 1990; Christensen 1997 etc. have proposed various bivariate frameworks for assesing possible innovation types (incremental, radical, modular, architectural, product, process, market, organizational, complementary, disruptive etc). See Figure 1. Despite the variety, a basic conclusion however is that this mode of analysis can adequately inform strategic and organizational decisions and that different kinds of innovation require different kinds of organizational environments and managerial skills (Tushman and Anderson 1986). Figure 1: Component and architectural innovation (Henderson and Clark 1990) Source: Tidd and Bessant (2009) Models of the Innovation process and the dynamics of its articulating phases have been proposed by a number of authors (Myers and Marquis 1969; Von Hippel 1976; Tidd et al 2001 etc. ). Tidd and Bessant (2009) detailed a linear model with four phases (search, select, implement and capture). The authors made the distinction that innovation management is essentially about creating conditions within an organization to increase the likelihood of a successful resolution of multiple challenges under high levels of uncertainty (Ibid, p. 70). This view reinforces Tushman's (1977) assertion that organization and management of the process is characterized by different types of decisions, coordination challenges and patterns of communication. It is important to note here that though the innovation process is commonly depicted as a linear unidirectional sequence, in practice, the activities are inherently iterative and often occur in parallel (Rothwell 1992; Weiss 2002; and Brown 2008). Innovation and R at IDEO IDEO's approach to the organization and management of innovation and R&D can be summarized by the phrase: â€Å"design thinking†. Tim Brown (2008), CEO of IDEO, explained that it is centred on meeting people’s needs in a technologically feasible and commercially viable way. Design thinking is an example of the systemic and integrative approach to innovation highlighted in Hughes (1983) and Rothwell (1992). The model attempts to understand the innovation challenge as a dynamic interplay of human, business and technology factors. See Figure 2. Figure 2: Designing thinking at IDEO Source: adapted from Weiss 2002. IDEO's variation of the innovation process (cf. Tidd and Bessant 2009 etc. ) comprises five phases: Understand the market, the users, the technology, the constraints; observe people in reallife situations; visualize new-to-the-world concepts and the potential users; evaluate and refine the prototypes; and implement for commercialization (Kelley 2001). Empathetic research, brainstorming and rapid prototyping are core routines developed in the execution of the IDEO innovation process. Brainstorming is the idea engine of IDEO's culture. It is used to generate multiple and varied ideas about possible solutions to the innovation challenge. A session lasting no more than sixty minutes is conducted under the following rules: defer judgment; build on others' ideas; one conversation at a time; stay on topic; encourage wild ideas; go for quantity; be visual (Kelley 2001). Rapid Prototyping involves early development of a wide range of low-fidelity prototypes from which to learn. Teams evolve and refine ideas, answering multiple detailed questions through rounds of successively higher-fidelity prototypes. This routine permeates the company's design practices in all spheres (Coughlan et al 2007) and is universally codified in two IDEO mantras â€Å"build to learn,† and â€Å"fail forward† (Kelley 2001). The company organizes its R&D portfolio into 19 Focus Areas supported by 13 teams as shown in Table 1. Teamwork is an imperative at IDEO. For each project a number or relevant teams would be assembled from persons within the company, or externally from persons within their ‘talent ecosystem'. The teams meet regularly to exchange information on progress and to make sure each other's activities remain focused and complimentary (Hawthorne 2002). Table 2 summarizes some of the human-centred research work undertaken at IDEO. The popular Method Cards is result of this kind of research and development work at the company. The collection of 51 cards is used to evaluate and select the empathic research methods that best inform specific design initiatives. How and when the methods are best used are explained together with demonstration of how they have been applied to real design projects (www. ideo. com). Table 1: IDEO Focus Areas and Teams Source: Adapted from www. ideo. com Table 2: A sample of research at IDEO Source: Adapted from Venkatraman 2005 The ten personas shown in Table 3 were developed by Tom Kelley for enhancing innovation at IDEO. Consideration of these personas influences the company's policy of recruitment of T-shaped people †with at least one deep area of expertise and a broad reach of other skills and experiences. † (www. ideo. com). â€Å"We've found that adopting one or more of these roles can help teams express a different point of view and create a broader range of innovative solutions† (Kelley 2001, p. 7). Table 3: IDEO's innovation personas Source: Adapted from Kelley 2001 At IDEO the Ways to Grow tool (Figure 3) is a framework used to a) identify the type of growth intended, b) scope the challenge and deploy an appropriate innovation process, and c) assess the effectiveness of the portfolio of innovation efforts. It identifies four possibilities for growth and three basic archetypes of innovation outcomes: Incremental, evolutionary, revolutionary (Jacoby and Rodriguez 2007). Cf. Henderson and Clark 1990 etc. Figure 3: IDEO's Ways to Grow and Innovation Outcomes cf. Figure 1. Source: Jacoby and Rodriguez 2007 The model suggests that an incremental project requires execution-focused process and people while a revolutionary project would require exploration-focused processes and people (Jacoby and Rodriquez 2007). Ways to Grow is employed in this manner by IDEO to track, understand, and assess its in-progress portfolio of innovation projects using measures of innovation effectiveness. The projects can be mapped onto this tool creating a dashboard of initiatives that can be updated and referenced. All these organizational and management approaches mean little without a way of integrating them in a creative and sustainable organizational culture. Culture is difficult to define, but for IDEO it's probably: the not infrequent managers' informal chats with their carefully selected T-shaped employees (Brown 2007); the company-wide Monday morning meetings and Friday afternoons show and tell; the playful open layout of the workspaces decorated with personal eccentricities (Kelley 2001); the formal and informal reward systems where some compensation decisions are based largely on reputation among fellow designers and formal peer reviews (Hargadon and Sutton 1997); or just the personal satisfaction of the team members knowing that they are part of something big and exciting and creative. Strategic Alliances and Collaboration Gulati (1998) defines strategic alliances as voluntary arrangements between firms involving exchange, sharing, or co-development of products, technologies, or services. They can†¦ take a variety of forms, and occurring across vertical and horizontal boundaries. The fundamental imperative for strategic alliances and collaboration as suggested by authors like Teece (1986) is that it is extremely difficult for one company to possess all the requisite skills and competencies to implement all the phases of the innovation process. Among the motives for the formation of alliances and collaborations are reduction of cost, uncertainty, and time of R, response to changing customer and market need, lack of internal resources and knowledge transfer (Kogut 1988, Gulati 1998; Littler 1993 in Tidd and Bessant 2009). IDEO is not a R-intensive firm, its motivations for participation in strategic alliances and collaboration are not necessarily those of an active seeker. However, IDEO has benefited from its role as consultant and a highly ought-after collaborator. â€Å"What's unique about IDEO is that we straddle both sides of the innovation business, as both practitioners and advisers. † (Kelley 2001, p. 4). IDEO's 5000+ employees in more than 20 studios on three continents do work for clients in multiple industries across the globe. The company's website lists an astonishing diversity of products and services created in collaboration with some 300 clients in 28 different industries. Hargadon and Sutton (1997) aggregated qualitative data which indicate that IDEO's employees learn about potentially useful technologies through their extensive work and incorporate that knowledge into the creation of new products and services for industries where there is little or no prior knowledge of these technologies. This movement of technologies between industries is a form of technology transfer and diffusion (Rosenberg 1982; Hughes 1989). The company recognises the potential of its network position (Conway and Steward (1998) and instructs its employees in the Methodology Handbook to â€Å"Look for opportunities to expand network and/or industry knowledge. † (Hargadon and Sutton 1997). These integrative activities according to Hargadon and Sutton are an example of technology brokering. IDEO's brokers in effect act as technology ‘gatekeepers' as described in Allen (1977) and Rothwell (1992). IDEO is uniquely positioned to facilitate R&D-intensive firms in the completion of their innovation process through to commercialization. The company's positioning is validated not only by its rapidly expanding client portfolio but by industry outlook. Ferguson and Taylor (2004) affirmed that many innovation-focused organizations, including those with extensive R programs, are looking outside for assistance, especially in the early stages of searching for promising technologies and developing a vision based on working models. For established firms with strong technology-focused research, the services of design firms, with expertise in user knowledge, is useful in balancing exploration and exploitation of their technical knowledge (Venkatraman 2005). Eastman Chemical, HP, Intel, P and Samsung initially sought IDEO as an exploration alliance partner. P have extended the collaboration to joint product development with product ideas mainly generated by IDEO (Ventkatraman 2005). As IDEO continues to deliver award winning products and services to clients firms along the entire value chain it may soon have to think about if and how it should reposition itself for example mass production and marketing of high quality innovative consumer goods. Issues like these lead to considerations about the possible alternative opportunities available for leveraging a company's resources, position and linkages to create sustainable value. In the light of global challenges such as poverty, health, water, energy, and economic empowerment what is the role of innovation and research and their management and what sort of alliances and collaboration would be needed to deliver adequate responses? What is the future of social entrepreneurship? To deepen understanding of these challenging questions, Paul Bennett, chief creative officer at IDEO, visited Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus of Grameen Bank fame to get an immersive experience of this maturing entrepreneurial spirit. Reflecting on his encounter in the Financial Times Bennett (2009) asserted that sustainability and growth for the organisations of the future demands accepting responsibility for the †bank accounts† of purpose, people and learning. Bennett summarizes his own thinking with a quote from one of his clients: â€Å"The future isn't going to be designed on an Excel spreadsheet. † Whatever new tools emerge for future planning, its not hard to imagine that some of those would emerge from the studios of IDEO.

Managing growth at SportStuff.com

Managing growth at SportStuff.com Brief description of the company and its environment SportStuff.com began its operations in 1996. The mission of the company is to supply parents with sports equipment for their children at a lower cost than its competitors. The parents realized that they were discarding expensive clothes because as their children grew, the clothes became too small for them.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Managing growth at SportStuff.com specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Sanjay Gupta, the founder of SportStuff.com and his team decided to buy these clothes for re-sale. They also started buying surplus products from retailers and manufacturers, and selling them via the internet. They used the SportsStuff.com web site to market and sell these items, which increased their sales, profits, and revenues. Within a year, the sales rose by more than 80%, which increased their profits and revenues (â€Å"Supply chain optimization: managing gr owth at SportStuff.com† 3). In 2000, the management decided to evaluate the performance of the company over the previous years. The rapid increase in demand for the company’s products instrumented the decision made by the management. The management of which Sanjay was a part of saw the need to re-design the supply chain network in order to comply with the increasing demand for the company’s products (â€Å"Supply chain optimization: managing growth at SportStuff.com† 3). This is because the increase in demand also translated to an increase in costs, which would eventually surpass the revenues collected. SportStuff.com therefore required a large storage capacity. This would help it curb the challenges associated with the expected growth in demand for its items. The company needed an optimal model solution to cut down ware-housing and transportation costs and maximize on profits. In order to manage SportStuff.com efficiently, the company had two options. The company could either lease some ware-houses countrywide, or was to expand its ware-house space by leasing more space at the ware-house in St. Louis. The company had to weigh different variables in order to come up with sound managerial decision. These included the regional demands for sports clothes, fixed and variable ware-housing costs, inventory costs, transportation costs, and customer charges in every 4 units among others.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Summarize the problems and your recommendations One of the significant problems facing the company is that the demand for sports clothes is high for the current supply chain network. SportStuff.com does not have enough ware-house space for items demanded by customers across the country. It is recommended that this company should distribute its network across different cities within the country. This will assi st the company avail its products to the customers at the right time, place, quantity, and quality (Geunes and Pardalos 209). Customers will be able to access the products, and hence get satisfied. The SportStuff.com Company will be able to cut on transportation and ware-house costs, maximize on profits, and satisfy the needs of customers profitably. The company will also benefit because it will increase its market growth and market share. This will lead to increased sales, profits, and revenues; and hence gain a competitive advantage over its competitors. The other problem is that the company’s current methods are not efficient in relation to costs. It is recommended that the management of SportStuff.com should adopt and use the non-linear method. This is because the model is the most efficient strategy considering that it provides low costs for the company compared to the other methods. If the SportStuff.com Company adopts this method, it will be able to cut down on the cos ts and maximize on the profits. It will also have no problems in offering the items to customers at affordable prices, and hence the company will continue to gain a competitive edge. Geunes, Joseph, and P M. Pardalos. Supply Chain Optimization. New York: Springer, 2005. Print. Supply chain optimization: managing growth at SportStuff.com. n.d. PDF file. Web.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Managing growth at SportStuff.com specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More

A Culture Of Compliance

A Culture Of Compliance What makes a good compliance culture can be deconstructed into multiple components yet it is instantly recognizable. It is strong and functional yet in no way hinders the development of profitable new business and can adapt to market, technological or regulatory change. A good compliance culture is represented across all levels of the organization ensuring a coherent and integrated approach to compliance throughout the company. The essence of how staff, managers and executives interact and work is towards a common goal and value system based on mutual respect, integrity and ethical behaviour focused on the long term health of the business, not just short term gains. In the wake of the financial crisis, good compliance culture and ethics are commonly touted by regulators and governments alike as key to promoting both trust and confidence within the financial system and regulatory bodies charged with their oversight. Equally without the credible threat of regulatory enforcement, it is questionable whether a good compliance culture would be possible. So what are the key ingredients? The framework for organizations that are serious in embedding a good compliance culture within their business is based on the following: Tone at the top: Corporate strategy partnered with legal, risk and compliance Tolerance statements aligned to policy measures and triggers, including swift remediation and proactive compliance risk management Governance and accountability with supervision, discipline and swift investigatory processes tied to performance management Risk assessment, ongoing monitoring, testing and reporting (internal and external) Ongoing Training, guidance and development aimed at all levels of the organization Robust regulatory and active supervisory regime Tone at the Top The tone at the top sets an organization’s guiding values and ethical behaviour. Executive commitment to invest and empower those in compliance, risk and legal resources creates the appropriate oversight and encourages staff to do the right thing. Legal, risk and compliance staff must be viewed as important and critical partners in the business and not simply as support functions. Their views are sought and followed through with respect to new business, operations, business models and planning, pricing and product development. Legal, compliance and risk staff have visible reporting lines into the Board, where breaches for non-compliance are taken seriously and are met with swift investigatory and disciplinary action and accountability. It then follows that the Executive which should include the Chief Compliance Officer, Chief Risk Officer and Executive Legal Counsel are duly qualified, credible leaders and can take action. A corporate strategy committed to compliance, risk and legal requirements must therefore be more than a statement of mere good intentions and must be continuously reinforced. Judy O’HanrahanIt is where the executive takes decisive leadership and ownership of a corporate strategy strongly aligned to regulatory, legal requirements consumer protection providing a safe and fair environment for staff implementing active deterrents of unethical or unlawful activities and protecting institutional assets from data theft, financial crime, fraud or business disruption promoting ethical behaviours that foster respect, integrity, consistency and concern for the organization’s core values. This should be the experience of every employee, from new starter to those that seek to exit. It should be clear to both new and veteran employees that those who represent the core endorsed compliance values and principles are promoted or hired to leadership roles and/or appropriately rewarded. Creating and maintaining the right tone at the top aligned with a corporate strategy partnered in legal, risk and compliance offers can and will increase client and employee retention, ultimately leading to the establishment of a good reputation. Tolerance statements aligned to policy measures A good compliance framework is not only designed to address events as they arise but also to pre-empt them by taking steps to address potential issues. In organizations that have zero tolerance for actions or lack of action that could lead to breaches in compliance, swift, specific, measureable, realistic and time-bound actions are taken by management to address exposures. Limits and warning levels should be built into processes and procedures with clear escalation policies that are adhered to. Notification of breaches and reporting should be well defined and transparent within an agreed structure characterized by a hierarchy up to the Board. Policies are widely understood and followed by staff who can attest to each by aligning their procedures with them and taking an active role in their review through a governance structure. Governance and Accountability In order to foster a good compliance culture, good governance is established through a robust and credible three lines of defense model. The First line All managers and staff take ownership of a consistent compliance approach supported by far sighted incentive structures, where recognition of staff doing the right thing for consumers and for the business and each other is recognized and rewarded and actively promoted. Each business unit has embedded risk and compliance partners who are knowledgeable about their business processes and are senior and independent enough to influence or change behaviours and reward positive outcomes. Primarily accountable for development of controls in tandem with procedures and policies to prevent, detect and respond to compliance failures, they can also test their effectiveness. Middle management are empowered to turn compliance values into practice and encourage employees to come forward with legal, compliance and ethical questions without fear of retaliation, building trust and increased levels of employee engagement. Judy O’Hanrahan Senior leaders hold themselves and others accountable for complying with the ideals of the agreed norms of what makes a good compliance culture. Bad behaviour such as circumventing policy or procedure must have negative consequences. It is clear to all that positive behaviour is rewarded and new recruits are screened against agreed principles and values. Finally, internal issues or matters must be adjudicated with fairness, transparency and integrity, and whistle-blowers are protected when they make a disclosure. The Second line Legal, risk and compliance departments are asking questions about conduct, ethics and culture and not just providing assurance on regulatory and legal technical questions. Their oversight of the effectiveness and integrity of the compliance value system must be established in every aspect of the business. Embedding compliance within the processes and procedures in business units must extend not only to laws, regulations and business principles but to best practice and proactive risk management. Their message must be consistent with that of the business and must be endorsed by the executive. They are seen as critical partners in protecting the reputation of the organization, involved in operational and strategic decisions, testing and compliance monitoring. Chief Compliance Officers play a strategic role in the organization, cultivate the right stakeholder relationships, are trusted advisors to the business, have access to the board, drive and influence the culture and are viewed as authentic leaders and role models. The Third line Audits are measuring the corporate compliance strategy and success of implementation of a good compliance culture based on agreed tolerance statements. An annual compliance charter, plan, policies, monitoring and reporting should be tested for effectiveness and accuracy and process related testing. Employee surveys on culture conducted internally or externally by third parties are helpful in measuring the cultural pulse of the organization. In essence, a good compliance culture is underpinned by good behaviour which must be linked to goals and an incentivized scheme that rewards respect, dignity at work, integrity and trust. Risk assessment, ongoing monitoring, testing and reporting A compliance risk assessment helps an organization understand its risk exposure, prioritize risks, assign ownership and adequately resource and mitigate risks, starting with those that have the highest potential for violations of laws and regulations. The application of a risk methodology based on impact and likelihood identifies the inherent risk combined with controls, highlights the residual risk. This must be authorized and agreed with business partners together with an appropriate response that is monitored and reported up the hierarchy, presented in a dashboard against defined tolerances. Audit and Compliance plans should be complementary and monitoring reviews carried out by risk, compliance and audit serve as an early warning system to potential compliance issues by taking samples of business unit activities, products or output. Ongoing Training, Guidance and Development Individuals will need additional reinforcement on ethics and compliance programs through innovative training or workshops so that staff can connect to the values through Judy O’Hanrahan information sharing and story-telling. New starters, higher risk staff, management and operational staff should have specific training geared towards their needs. Encouraging staff to enrol on professional compliance courses run by external parties and to become industry leaders by participating in external committees or federations contributes to further reinforcing a positive compliance culture supported by external validation. Robust regulatory and active supervisory regime A sharp supervisory approach by an active regulator supports organisations looking to create a positive compliance culture and provides the assurance to consumers that they will be protected. Bernie Madoff’s victims, for example, would wonder how did regulatory agencies such as the SEC, FINRA, which are charged with monitoring financial institutions, fail in their supervisory duty to uncover the largest Ponzi scheme in history. After all, there were warning signs and tip-offs that were ignored, missed or misunderstood. Examiners had sat in Madoff’s offices for two months in 2005 without a complete understanding of the firm’s activities. Regulators who understand how these organisations operate and are able to unravel what appear to be complex activities promote ethical behaviour and protect consumers. By focusing on matters associated with good corporate governance and operational risk with a credible threat of enforcement wake organisations up to the realities that created the perfect storm that was the financial crisis of 2008. In conclusion, organisations with a good compliance culture create lasting relationships with clients, customers, employees and suppliers. This ultimately leads to a good reputation in the market and a positive brand that in turn will attract long term investors. It is evident from scandals involving high profile companies such as Madoff, Enron or Anglo-Irish Bank that implementing and maintaining a positive compliance and ethical culture ensures organisational survival and contributes to the stability of the financial system, something that regulators recognize and are therefore scrutinizing as part of their supervisory regime. It is a reciprocal relationship between organisations and their regulators. Without the credible threat of regulatory enforcement extending to personal liability of senior management, compliance and ethics may be mere check the box exercises or seen as obstacles to new business. Nonetheless, organisations that encourage mutual respect, dignity at work, integr ity and honesty among staff and management lay the foundation for not just a good and positive compliance culture but a truly sustainable work environment that is recognisable by its outperformance and endurance.

Critique of Articles on Opiates Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Critique of Articles on Opiates - Essay Example NIDA/NIH also states that â€Å"opiates used without a doctor’s prescription or in ways other than how they are prescribed, can be dangerous and addictive.† Additional information has also been provided on how opiates act on the brain and nervous system in giving feelings of pleasure, relaxation and contentment; acting as an automatic response mechanisms and how it acts on the spinal cord to reduce pain. The article also provides information on how persons can become addicted to opiates which acts on brain stems that controls the automatic response mechanism of the body.. Goodnough’s article entitled â€Å"Abuse of Xanax Leads a Clinic to Halt Supply† points to widespread abuse of the opiate Xanax. It looks at preventative measures that have been taken at the Seven Counties and other Health Centers in the United States to prevent the abuse of opiates like Xanax. Goodnough indicates that: â€Å"The experiment will be closely watched in a State that has wre stled with widespread prescription drug abuse for more than a decade†. The article points to serious repercussions since its withdrawal such as the killing of a doctor by a patient demanding a prescription for the drug. Patients who have been taken off the drugs have complained of increased anxiety since the change as the alternative drugs are not as effective. However, doctors have indicated that there are other ways to treat panic and anxiety disorders. In fact Dr. Hedges (qtd in Goodnough 2011) indicates that â€Å"the risk to the community, if we continue to use this medication is very high†. The article also points out that contrary to popular thinking, the misuse and abuse of Xanax knows no class boundary as people from all walks of life use the drug for various reasons. 3. Comparison and Critique Both articles take a different approach in controlling the use of opiates. NIDA/NIH focuses on opiates in general and mentions a gives a few examples while Goodnough dea ls specifically with Xanax. Both use pictures to give the articles prominence but NIDA/NIH article was more prominent than that of Goodnough. The one picture used by Goodnough was over-bearing and does not really serve any useful purpose in terms of assisting readers in understanding the article. A reader has to really take a second or a third look to really connect the picture to the article. NIH/NIDA on the other hand used several pictures to explain how opiates work, the effects they have on certain parts of the body and how people become addicted to these kinds of drugs. The pictures compel the reader to read the article by drawing attention to it and are useful for a better understanding and appreciation of the article. The use of a variety of colors in the text also added meaning to the NIH/NIDA article. While both articles state some disadvantages of taking the drugs pointing to the effects that it can have on persons who abuse it, NIDA/NIH focuses on how it affects certain p arts of the body. Goodnough focuses on what is being done to control the use of a specific Opiate Xanax in order to prevent its abuse. Goodnough also suggests ways in which misuse and abuse can be prevented. The article looks at the transition process in getting patients off the opiate to another the drug. NIH