Development of Dendritic Spines :: Biology Essays Research Papers

Development of Dendritic Spines Neurons have the capability of forming spiny outgrowths on dendrites that are associated with neuroplasticity. Stimulation, especially during post-natal development can lead to activation in the brain, referred to as Long Term Potentiation (LTP), associated with the growth of spines. These dendritic spines, which can number thousands to a single neuron, can have synaptic heads. Greater than 90 percent of synapses in the brain occur on them (1) . Through experimentation it has been found that a spine's glutamate receptors, calcium concentrations, and actin can affect its shape, length, and even presence on a dendrite. In general terms, how do dendritic spines develop and what do they affect in the brain? When a neuron is first formed it does not yet have dendrites, and therefore also does not have dendritic spines. Dendritic filopodia are formed from the dendrites first and then convert into spines after being innervated by synaptic fibers. Spines on different types of neurons attain their peak actin density at different times. Fewer spines are present in adults than children and there is a peak growth time during post-natal development. Adult brains show up to 50% fewer spines than developing brains (2) . Brain disorders, such as strokes, epilepsy, and forms of mental retardation like Fragile X, have been connected to deformations of dendritic spines or the total absence of them on certain neurons. Spines are predominantly found at excitatory synapses where inputs from many areas of the brain arrive. Initially during spine formation N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) is the main growth and development regulator. NMDA is a glutamate receptor found at excitatory synapses in most neurons in the mammalian brain. It contains channels permeable to calcium ions. Ions can accumulate and initiate currents at the head of the spine where the calcium channels are located, separate from the shaft of the dendrite. Weak calcium-induced currents affect individual spines whereas stronger currents can summate to affect multiple spines as well as areas of the dendrite's shaft. LTP is a strengthening of the synaptic connections which occurs when spines are formed. There are several steps to achieve a current in a spine. Magnesium ions block the NMDA receptor sites, but are displaced when a stimulus, such as caffeine, depolarizes the receptor. Calcium ions are then able to pass through and collect within the spine. Once the amount of ions reaches a threshold level the LTP is generated.

A Strong Work Ethic Essay -- Personal Narrative Dad Father Essays

A Strong Work Ethic He was just an average guy. Nothing special to most people, I guess. But to me, my dad exemplified the epitome of a hard-working, loyal employee. He hardly ever called in sick; and if he did, he was really sick. He never dreamed of arriving late, clocking out early, or shirking his duties. He was glad to have a job that provided for his family and spoke proudly of his job with General Motors. I can still recall him going off to work in his freshly-laundered, navy blue uniform. Mom would pack Dad a nutritious lunch and carefully slip it inside his gray, metal lunch box. Then he’d kiss her good-bye and strut proudly out the door. Dad worked all kinds of crazy schedules. Sometimes he worked the late shift, so we would eat together as a family when us kids arrived home from school. Then Dad would go off to work. This schedule was extremely difficult in the summer because Mom would have a tough time keeping us quiet so Dad could sleep. Even on those occasions when my brother and I would have one of our spats and wake Dad out of a sound sleep, he seemed to take it all in stride. It was amazing how quiet we got when we heard the bedroom door creak open. My mom would be frazzled and say, â€Å"Sorry, Honey, I know you need your rest.† Dad would shrug his shoulders and say, â€Å"Don’t worry about it.† Dad never really complained about much. He worked hard to make ends meet so Mom could stay home with me and my brother. Of course, that was pretty much how it was in most households back then. We didn’t have a lot of money, but Mom and Dad always put us kids first. They rarely bought anything for themselves that wasn’t considered a necessity but always made sure we had what we wanted. Dad wa... ...ut we can instill in our children an appreciation for hard work and doing a good job at whatever they do. A little less complaining and more willingness to give a little on both employees’ and employers’ parts would certainly go a long way. Treating each other with respect and appreciation helps to create a meaningful working relationship and fosters loyalty that is so often lacking in today’s workforce. As I look back on my life, I can picture Dad going out the door to work, just like it was yesterday. His flawless example and strong work ethic have influenced my life in so many areas. I have always admired him for putting his family first but am just beginning to realize how his attitudes toward work impacted my own life. His values and work ethic are now being passed on to my own children, and I wouldn’t want it any other way. A Strong Work Ethic Essay -- Personal Narrative Dad Father Essays A Strong Work Ethic He was just an average guy. Nothing special to most people, I guess. But to me, my dad exemplified the epitome of a hard-working, loyal employee. He hardly ever called in sick; and if he did, he was really sick. He never dreamed of arriving late, clocking out early, or shirking his duties. He was glad to have a job that provided for his family and spoke proudly of his job with General Motors. I can still recall him going off to work in his freshly-laundered, navy blue uniform. Mom would pack Dad a nutritious lunch and carefully slip it inside his gray, metal lunch box. Then he’d kiss her good-bye and strut proudly out the door. Dad worked all kinds of crazy schedules. Sometimes he worked the late shift, so we would eat together as a family when us kids arrived home from school. Then Dad would go off to work. This schedule was extremely difficult in the summer because Mom would have a tough time keeping us quiet so Dad could sleep. Even on those occasions when my brother and I would have one of our spats and wake Dad out of a sound sleep, he seemed to take it all in stride. It was amazing how quiet we got when we heard the bedroom door creak open. My mom would be frazzled and say, â€Å"Sorry, Honey, I know you need your rest.† Dad would shrug his shoulders and say, â€Å"Don’t worry about it.† Dad never really complained about much. He worked hard to make ends meet so Mom could stay home with me and my brother. Of course, that was pretty much how it was in most households back then. We didn’t have a lot of money, but Mom and Dad always put us kids first. They rarely bought anything for themselves that wasn’t considered a necessity but always made sure we had what we wanted. Dad wa... ...ut we can instill in our children an appreciation for hard work and doing a good job at whatever they do. A little less complaining and more willingness to give a little on both employees’ and employers’ parts would certainly go a long way. Treating each other with respect and appreciation helps to create a meaningful working relationship and fosters loyalty that is so often lacking in today’s workforce. As I look back on my life, I can picture Dad going out the door to work, just like it was yesterday. His flawless example and strong work ethic have influenced my life in so many areas. I have always admired him for putting his family first but am just beginning to realize how his attitudes toward work impacted my own life. His values and work ethic are now being passed on to my own children, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Hinduism and Buddhism, and Their Respective Elements

Two known eastern religions and philosophies shared the area of India for centuries, which probably lasts up to this date. These two are Buddhism and Hinduism. Since both concept of Buddhism and Hinduism originated from a single source, it would be possible to identify similar concepts between the two, or at least some form of derivative of a concept belonging to one of the two mentioned religions and philosophies. The focus of this paper primarily entails the comparison between the two great religion philosophies of Buddhism and Hinduism. There is bound to be a difference between them, as one of them originated earlier than the other.One cannot simply judge that the latter one is a mere copy of the one that existed before it. In relation to death and the afterlife, there are two concepts which can be identified in both Buddhism and Hinduism: Reincarnation and Samsara, the Wheel of Life wherein rebirth is usually based. For now, it is best if the both Buddhism and Hinduism be discern ed and identified as a separate entity. The Two Eastern Religion Philosophies: Buddhism and Hinduism As mentioned earlier, the two primary religions and philosophies that proliferated in India were Buddhism and Hinduism. Both of which had a significant amount of followers.Buddhism and Its History. Basically, Buddhism is the basic religion to which its disciples and members follow the scriptures and teachings of Buddha. After Buddha's death, its followers—mostly monks—congregated in order to discuss which scriptures and teachings would fit best to the aims of Buddha and the proliferation of Buddhism around India, and in other parts of the world. Emperor Ashoka converted to Buddhism after witnessing a carnage he produced. After being converted, he dedicated his life and a whole lot of structures to Buddhism, and to Buddha—his life and death.He ordered the construction of numerous pillars which contained the scriptures and teachings of Buddha, spreading it through these stone pillars (Boeree 1999). It was Emperor Ashoka who allowed Buddhism to proliferate across India and beyond its borders, sending messengers to promote Buddhism within those areas. Hinduism: a Brief History. It has been mentioned by historians that Hinduism dates back around 5,000 years ago, proving that it is a much older religion than Buddhism. The word was actually derived from the river â€Å"Indus†, from an area of which it originated (Kolanu 2009).The daily practices of the area's inhabitants gradually turned into a religion or concept, upon which it revolves around the peoples' religious, philosophical, and cultural practices native to the Indian sub-continent (Kolanu 2009). It has had many names before Hindu. However, many of its followers would prefer to call it as Hindu, after the name—or at least a close version of it—of the place wherein it originated. It would be later known in history as one of the main religions in India, which is still qu ite true today—Islam is the second main religion during the contemporary period.The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism. The Four Noble Truths is one of the basic doctrines that Buddhist follow. It basically involved the dispossession of material things, which Buddhist do not really need. The First Noble Truth entails the realization that every aspect of existence is unsatisfactory as these are all subjected to birth, decay, disease, and death (Lorentz 2007). The Second Noble Truth is the cause of dukkha. The Third Noble Truth entails the freedom from dukkha, wherein one is required to remove the craving of the senses.The Fourth Noble Truth leads to the end of the dukkha by following the Eigthfold path: Perfect understanding, Perfect Thought, Perfect Speech, Perfect Action, Perfect Livelihood, Perfect Effort, Perfect Mindfulness, and Perfect Concentration (Lorentz 2007). India's Caste System. Hinduism entailed a social hierarchy in which identified their society, based on social ra nkings upon which was born into, or had been reborn into. When the Aryans came to the Dravidian-occupied Indian subcontinent, they implemented a caste system which separated them from the Dravidian.It composes of four major components wherein the bottom was reserved for the Dravidian people. The topmost was known as the Brahmin class, made up of religious officials. The second was the Kshatriya, which was reserved for warriors and rulers. The third was the Vaishya, which was reserved for artisans and other skilled workers like farmers. The last one was the Shudra, wherein they serve the higher castes (Flesher 1997). Intermarriage was disallowed because they believe that it will reduce their rank. One is also required to perform well, and promote goodness in order to maintain the rank or move upward when they are reincarnated.The opposite happens to those who promote evil. It has also been mentioned that some Buddhist from other areas practice the same Caste system implemented by the Aryans. However, they implemented new ideas in order to promote equality among the classes, which is a chief principle of Buddhism. The Life of Buddha: Who was He anyway? Buddha was said to have been born in the body of Siddhartha Gautama, the prince of Kapilavastu which was near the Indian-Nepalese border, during the fifth century B. C. (Delattre 2009).At around this time period, India had a prolific spiritual heritage, with Hinduism at the forefront. It has been described in spiritual scriptures—probably from Hindu sources—that an ascetic will be born and become the greatest spiritual teacher. This ascetic would also realize the ultimate truth (Lorentz 2007). It has also been mentioned in Hindu scriptures that after the prince was born, seven Brahmin priests observed the baby, concluding that the baby will become a great spiritual leader who will leave his royal status behind him; the basic principle of Buddhism.However, his father wished for him to become a Great K ing, giving him the best education which a prince deserved. His curiosity of the world beyond the walls of their palace urged him to sneak out and realize the truth about the world they lived in. After this realization, he vowed to help the people by living life as an ascetic, leaving his royal status behind. While on his spiritual quest, he went under the wings of great teachers, to which he was able to surpass. Realizing that there is still dukkhas to be flushed away, he left his teachers and practiced by himself.He was able to attain his complete spirituality without the practice of extreme asceticism. For the next four or so decades, he ordained new followers and taught them what he had learned from his spiritual quest (Lorentz 2007); he became Buddha. End of the World at the Presence of Seven Suns In Buddha's sermon of the Seven suns, he envisioned that Seven suns would appear on the sky and wreak havoc towards the Earth, through a series of cataclysmic events (Jayaram 2007). T his will occur after many hundreds and thousands of years in the future; as do all â€Å"end-of-days† prophecies.In Buddha's version, the presence of the seven suns will cause the following: first sun would cause severe drought; second sun will evaporate streams and ponds; third sun will evaporate great rivers like the Ganges; fourth sun, after a long lapse, would evaporate the great lakes; After another long lapse, a fifth sun will gradually drain oceans; After yet another long lapse, a sixth sun will scorch the earth and cause volcanic eruptions; After another long interval, the seventh sun will turn the earth into a ball of flame and then explode and disappear. A Slight Taste of Death and the AfterlifeBoth Hinduism and Buddhism believed in reincarnation, as the caste system which they followed required reincarnation to reward or punish people. However in Buddhism, one must attain Nirvana—enlightenment–in order to escape the endless cycle of reincarnation. If the person failed to do so, he or she will be reborn into one of the following six states of life: Heaven (has 37 different levels), Human life (under the caste system), Asura (Demi-Gods), Hungry ghost (taken literally), Animals (those who have killed animals), and Hell (the lowest level) (Tang, Urbandharma.org 2002). References Boeree, C. G. (1999). The History of Buddhism. Retrieved May 19, 2009 from Delattre, M. (2000, November 18). The Illustrated Life of the Buddha. Retrieved May 19, 2009 from Flesher, Paul. (1997, February 8). Social Organization: The Caste System. Retrieved May 19, 2009 from Jayaram, V. (2007). Buddha's Discourse on the End of the World.Retrieved May 19, 2009 from Kolanu, P. (2009). The History of Hinduism. Retrieved May 19, 2009 from Lorentz, M. (2007). Buddhism. Retrieved May 19, 2009 from Tang, T. H. (2002, March 22). Buddhist View on Death and Rebirth. Retrieved May 19, 2009 from

Value Based Theory & Competitive Advantage

To remain competitive in the 21st century there are key pillars that an organization needs in order to be a leader in their industry and will enable it to value the needs for their customers globally. These pillars include an effective management style, diversity management and business ethics. These key pillars with a strong organizational culture will enable an organization to gain a competitive advantage over their competitors. In order to be successful in the 21st century market, an organization must be able to identify and adapt to these pillars.How these pillars are connected to competitive advantage is what this paper is about. Measuring the values for these pillars will allow an organization to work in different cultural environments and come out strong and successful. They will enable a company to gain a competitive advantage in the global market. These pillars will be represented within a 100 year old corporation that has changed in order to adapt to the 21st century market United Parcel Service, UPS. Introduction: Competitive advantage is something that we hear everyone talking about nowadays.From our CEO’S, teachers, managers, community leaders, small business owners, students, and people who are thinking of embarking in the world of entrepreneurship. The first thing we need to define is what exactly competitive advantage is and why is it so important in today’s world, the 21st century. Competitive advantage is â€Å"the ability of one organization to outperform other organizations because it produces desired goods or services more efficiently and effectively than they do† (Jones & George, 2010 p. 22).Knowing the definition of competitive advantage is not sufficient for managers to be able to apply a market based value driven management strategy. The authors intend to give the readers an overview of the key pillars that are necessary to develop and maintain competitive advantage globally within organizations. The key pillars tha t every organization must incorporate are a successful management style, diversity management, business ethics and a strong organizational culture that will facilitate competitiveness in today’s global environment.Gable and Ellig (1993) introduced a new approach for businesses to coordinate the different decisions and the amounts of information managers are faced with everyday. They called the new approach â€Å"Market Based Management†. Gable and Ellig (1993) believed that in order to understand an organization and have it compete at an advantage in today’s market they have to let it act as a free society and apply the market principals. Otherwise they will â€Å"find themselves distant competitors to firm that do† (Gable & Ellig, 1993, p. ). In order to apply the market based principals every organization needs to evaluate the eight facets of value driven management (Pohlman, 1997). Pohlman (1997) basically summarizes the theory by stating what is value d is what will ultimately drive actions. In the transportation and logistics industry the customers are one of the main direct forces from the ever changing and evolving task environment in which managers are faced with day in and day out.The reason that customers are one of the main forces is because it is the customers that end up influencing the decisions, strategies, missions, purpose and values of the corporations in the 21st century. The authors must first define what customers are because customer satisfaction is the main goal of any organization that is in business. â€Å"Customers are the individuals and groups that buy the goods and services an organization produces. † (Jones & George, 2010, p. 186). Customers in the transportation and logistics industry demand delivery of their products in the fastest and most economical way possible without suffering any damage.We will examine UPS in each of the main pillars (management, diversity, ethics, culture and global inter action). Organizations and managers must analyze forces in the general environment on an ongoing basis. Organizational planning and the decision making that goes into planning are constantly affected by all types of forces in the general environment. Political and legal forces are the results of the changes that occur from new laws and regulations that affect the ways organizations structure their business model (Jones & George, 2011).Laws are an extension of ethical conduct and practices such as workplace safety and discrimination such as Title V11 of the 1964 Civil Rights Act which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, sex, color. As well, in 1997 the federal government issued guidelines for accommodating individuals’ rights to religious worship in federal buildings in the â€Å"The White House Guidelines on Religious Exercise and Expression in the Federal Workplace† (Jones & George, 2011).UPS has standardized rules and procedu res that are formalized in their Code of Business Conduct which addresses legal and ethical issues and states the company’s values and management philosophies. Since UPS is a global organization, political forces from the general environment such as deregulation and the decline of trade barriers provides the company with increased business opportunities (Jones & George, 2011). These factors also provide challenges for UPS because they must be ever vigilant while operating globally to be sure that their ethical corporate values are being enforced while conducting business outside of the United States.As a global corporation, â€Å"UPS recognizes that it plays a role in acknowledging basic human rights in accordance with our high standards for the treatment of our people† (UPS, 2004). Organizational Culture Organizational culture is defined as â€Å"the shares set of beliefs, expectations, values, norms and work routines that influence the ways in which individuals, gro ups and teams interact with one another and cooperate to achieve organizational goals. † (Jones & George, 2010, p. 684). UPS creates a corporate culture that fosters an environment of innovation. Innovation is crucial for attaining competitive advantage for companies. Innovation versus imitation motivates companies to launch new products and become pioneers on markets† (Jimenez & Sanz-Valle, 2011). The leadership at UPS understands that to use the imitation model of organizational culture can hold back their employee’s creative growth potential. This can affect the company place in the market since they will always be following the market leaders for an opportunity to bring the next great idea to market.In the Market-Based management this principle is under â€Å"Rules that Promote Prosperity† (Gable & Ellig, 1993). There are direct links between an organizational culture and the employee’s attitude towards changes in employees work environment. â₠¬Å"The change within an organization takes place in response to business and economic events and to the processes of managerial perception, choice, and actions† (Pettigrew, 1985). Corporations must be able to adapt to change in regards to their management style.The ability for corporations to adapt to both their internal and external forces will help them remain competitive in the 21st century (Jones & George, 2010) Research conducted in companies in Malaysia, concluded that â€Å"The change process in each organization is unique in each situation, due to the differences in the nature of the organization, the nature of the business, the work culture and values,†¦and also the behavior and attitude of the employees† (Rashid, Sambasivan, & Rahman, June 2008).The study exams the links between an organization’s ability to change in regard to the changing markets and demands of their industries, and how employees and manager attitudes toward rapid changes in marke tplace can affect the success or failure of change. The researchers in this article show that companies that fail to be fluid in implementing change will have a disadvantage compared with companies that adopt changes more quickly. What should be the concept of organizational culture and climate that UPS is to use to operate in the 21st century? In terms of the basic assumptions, values and beliefs, it is the culture of an organization which dictates the expected employee behavior permits to form a compatible work environment, namely, the organizational climate† (Yahyagil, 2006). Management Behavioral management is defined as â€Å"the study of how managers should personally behave to motivate employees and encourage them to perform at high levels and be committed to achieving organizational goals† (Jones & George, 2010, p. 56).Founded by management scholar Mary Parker Follett, â€Å"†¦ was concerned that management theorists of her time were ignoring â€Å"the hu man side of the organization† (Jones & George, 2010, p. 56). â€Å"She pointed out that management often overlooks the multitude of ways in which employees can contribute to the organization when managers allow them to participate and exercise initiative in their everyday work lives† (Jones & George, 2010, p. 56). â€Å"Follett took a horizontal view of power and authority†¦Ã¢â‚¬  verses the traditional vertical chain of command of her contemporaries (Jones & George, 2010, p. 6). By empowering employees UPS managers can give employees the autonomy to make decisions. In this approach managers serve the organization more efficiently because they can spend their time mentoring and guiding employees, and also gaining insight into worker’s knowledge that assists managers with their primary functions of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. Diversity What does valuing diversity have to do with a corporation’s ability to obtaining a competitive a dvantage over its competitors?In order for an organization to create customer and employee values that maximize value over time, the organization first needs to understand employee diversity management (EDM) and how diversity and management will play a role in obtaining a competitive advantage against the competition. â€Å"Treven and Muley (2007) highlight the impact of EDM on competitive advantage and the innovativeness of employees as an outcome to EDM. In other words, by managing diverse employees effectively and efficiently an organization will gain innovation from employees and in turn the corporation will gain a competitive advantage.The findings within their research â€Å"suggests that the organizations that manage employee diversity effectively may gain competitive advantage† (Treven and Mulej, 2007, p 144)† (Olivares , 2011). The positive short term and long term impact that an organization can obtain by effectively managing their diverse workgroups is †Å"Effective EDM can cause lower costs and improved employee attitudes, recruiting efforts, increased sales, market share and corporate profits, increased group problem solving as well as innovation and creativity† (Treven & Mulej ,2007, p. 50). How can EDM lower organizational cost and improve employee attitudes? Treven and Mulej (2007) state that diverse employee feel less inclined to make decisions and are not as satisfied with their careers. This is based on their psychological commitment to the organization they are currently working in because they are different from their co-workers or peers. Based on this alone we can see how a minority employee can suffer a decrease in innovation if not managed properly.Given that most decisions are made by small groups of people working together, Holman, Knippenberg, Kleef and Dreu (2007) it is necessary for organizations to rely on cross-functional work groups in order for them to achieve and stimulate innovation as well as solve pro blems to make the right decisions. Holman et al. (2007) was able to show that work groups with diversity fault lines are still able to effectively use their informational diversity if they believe in the value of diversity. Having a work group with pro-diversity beliefs will in fact provide the organizations with a competitive advantage.This will resonant in the organizations short and long term plans (Olivares, 2011). They were able to â€Å"find a significant main effect of diversity belief’s indicating that groups with pro-diversity belief’s performed better than did groups with pro-similarity beliefs† (Holman et al. , 2007, p. 1193 ) in terms of performance. This demonstrates that we must evaluate the employee’s values to be sure that we manage diversity effectively and take into account the significance the pro-diversity beliefs have on the outcome of our employees.If you have a diverse work group and ineffective EDM that does not value employees you will not be able to create innovative nor will creativity, and that creates a negative attitude among the employees. The lack of EDM would be a value destroyer, â€Å"the major reasons given for value destroyers in organizations were a bad attitude or very poor system† (Pohlman, 1997, p. 9). What are some steps that can be taken in order to make sure that organizations value diversity and therefore maximize value over time? Jones and George (2010) summarize effective diversity management into three steps.The first step is to â€Å"secure top management commitment† (Jones & George, 2010, p. 164). Without the buy-in of the top leaders of the organization incorporating effective diversity management would be unsuccessful. â€Å"Top managers need to develop the correct ethical values and performance- or business-oriented attitudes that allow them to make appropriate use of their human resource† (Jones & George, 2010, p. 164). The second step is â€Å"strive to inc rease the accuracy of perceptions† (Jones & George, 2010, p. 164).Managers need to be open to different views and different perspectives and encourage the same among the entire workgroup (Jones & George, 2010). It is also important for the mangers to not be judgmental of the person and also be willing to change their views about the person, issue or event that is taking place. The last step is to â€Å"increase diversity awareness† (Jones & George, 2010, p. 164). Most people view other people from their own perspective but the organizations should make sure they have some type of â€Å"diversity awareness programs† (Jones & George, 2010, p. 64) in order for the employees to appreciate diversity. A clear example of one way UPS is increasing diversity awareness is through a program called Urban Internship Program. â€Å"The program has been around since the 60’s. The program takes managers in the upper level and some middle level managers out of their usual habitats for a month and sends them to work in communities where they might serve meals to the homeless, help rid communities of ghetto and drugs, help migrant farm workers build temporary houses and schools, or teach teachers to manage a classroom† (Filipczak, 1992).The mangers are drafted and there is no option of saying â€Å"no† to this program. â€Å"The rationale behind it all is simple. Being aware of an issue is not the same as knowing about it, and knowing about it is not the same as doing something about it† (Filipczak, 1992 p. 43) Olivares (2010). That is an example of a program that can be implemented in order to increase diversity awareness, therefore maximize employee value and in turn maximize customer values over time. Business EthicsEthical practices in organizations unquestionably add value and enable corporations to build a competitive advantage. The theory behind Market-Based Management is that the principles of a free and democratic society where people live work and thrive without unnecessary government restriction apply not only to society but to businesses as well (Gable & Ellig, 1993). In successful companies like UPS, strong corporate values and ethics are the underpinning of an effective business model.Scott Davis, chairman and CEO of UPS states, â€Å"UPS’s strong reputation for ethical behavior has enabled us to attract and retain the best people and loyal customers; it has opened doors for us in new and emerging global markets, and allowed us to transform our business to meet changing customer needs. As we continue to seek ways to open doors in new and emerging global markets, our commitment to integrity will allow us to do so† (UPS, 2004). UPS utilizes market based practices in its business model by empowering employees through extensive training and its policies and procedures.UPS develops employee’s careers and promotes from within by emphasizing that employees must continually seek out positions with greater responsibility (UPS, 2004). In addition, UPS creates vested interest in the company by employees since if offers stock ownership. As a business strategy and value adder over time, UPS believes that if it provides excellent employment opportunities and an excellent work environment for its employees, they will in turn provide excellent quality customer service and value to end users.UPS is viewed as an industry leader in ethical business practices, business ethics and corporate social responsibility. Strong corporate ethics have profoundly affected UPS’s ability to compete and excel in the transportation and logistics industry. Value Management theory states that what is valued drives action (Pohlman, 1997). UPS values its employees, which it treats like its customers. This is demonstrated through its ethical corporate structure. One of the business strategies employed by UPS is that they recruit talent with diversity in mind.According to Armstrong, et al. (2010) diversity and equality management systems seek out employees to fill talent deficits with employees that are more similar to customers and who can better communicate and relate to the needs of the customer base. This type of strategic human resource management is associated with higher business performance and added value over time. UPS does not hire simply to fill quotas but because it is the right thing to do, not only from both an ethical and moral imperative, but also a business driver.Market-based management practices dictate that moral decisions are not at odds with profitability rather doing what is right â€Å"enhances profitability over the long term† (Gable & Ellig, 1993). Corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs have become widely used as strategies for organizations to demonstrate their business ethics. These programs can be costly and it is questionable as to their overall impact on creating competitive advantage for the company. There are three drivers for CSR in most corporations: compliance to prevailing laws to avoid legal problems, ethical convictions and a reduction in waste and increase in profitability.Even though CSR programs can be costly if stakeholders, like the public, feel that they are not being served by the way the organization conducts business sales generally suffer. UPS uses CSR programs such as the previously mentioned Community Internship Program (CIP) where managers spend four weeks with a non-profit agency in rural or urban areas in an effort to improve conditions in those areas, and to gain insight into â€Å"walking a mile in another man’s moccasins†. Market-based management shows that pro-social behavior benefits society as a whole as well as the bottom line of an organization.Trustworthiness is a source for competitive advantage in organizations and its link to wealth creation over time. If the organization’s leaders generate an environment of trust the following occurs; high er employee commitment, better interpersonal relationships between employees and management, a stronger â€Å"social contract† or connection between the employee and the organization and a more positive view of human resource policies and procedures (Caldwell & Hansen, 2010).Consequently, the employee bring â€Å"energy, passion and excitement† to his/her role that affect what the person is willing to contribute to the organization and this becomes an enormous source for competitive advantage and value over time (Caldwell & Hansen, 2010). Market-based management states that â€Å"a culture of genuine humility and honesty must be established in order to achieve organizational learning and profitability (Gable & Ellig, 1993).UPS’s mission statement includes principles that promote honesty and fairness through strong corporate leadership that are driven by honest relationships and ethical decision making. The mission of business in a market based society is profit . The business outcome in a capitalistic society is that both the business and the stakeholder benefit from the system. Because there is a power differential between the organization and the stakeholder there is always a chance for an abuse of power. This is where the importance of ethics comes in.Since the stakeholders (employees, customers, stockholders, the community, etc. ) are directly impacted either beneficially or negatively by the actions of the company, it is crucial that business ethics are in place and operational to reduce harm and maximize business objectives. Robin (2008) states â€Å"that business should treat each stakeholder group as if they were partners in the success of the firm†. In other words, what benefits the stakeholder creates value and benefits the business.This ties into Market-based management because when businesses practice â€Å"adherence to commonly acknowledged business ethics (it) makes us all wealthier by reducing the amount of resources we have to devote to contract negotiation and enforcement† (Gable & Ellig, 1993, p. 21). UPS follows a strict adherence to formalized codes of behavior and procedures to ensure business goal are being met while fair and ethical standard are being practiced. Boesso and Michelon (2010) studied the link between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and financial performance of corporations.The research indicates that CSR must be strategic in order to result in the greatest gain for business and generate value over time. Companies which focus on a few core issues rather than hundreds of more generic issues find better success in competitive advantage and better benefit to society as a whole. Furthermore, the research indicates that increased competitive performance and outcome can also be measured by items other than financial performance. Productivity, innovativeness and human capital are also indicators of competitive advantage and value over time.As well, the researchers point out that part of the economic value of CSR and stakeholder management is that it brings companies and society together because of the value generated for all parties. The underpinning of market-based management is that it recognizes that the market system is designed to enable groups of people to achieve superior results when working together that are exponentially greater than could be achieved if they were working separately. Organizations like UPS have a â€Å"big picture† view of CSR as a value-adder and utilize best practices that benefit the organization and ultimately society as a whole.Ethical management alone does not guarantee success for a company. Ethical corporate values and practices are but one element of an entire set of practices that lead to competitive advantage and success. Empowering employees through market-based management techniques and a strong commitment to employee development is a fundamental value driver. Ethics as a whole in business is crucial for long term value creation and sustainability for the organization. Globalization In the competitive environment of global markets, value driven management and adherence to specific requirements must be considered before entering these markets.A business management strategy, such as Value Driven Management, signifies the comprehensive success of a company over time (Pohlman, 1997). In determining long-term results, organizations must also understand the factors and driving components that are crucial to creating these opportunities in global markets (Sherwin, 2010). Through understanding political, economic, demographic, legal, and socio-cultural factors, companies can enter these markets and compete successfully against other companies (Jones & George, 2011).It is important for the companies to know â€Å"the impact of these external factors is processed and greatly affects a firm’s outputs that are the products and/or services produced and the markets targeted and penetr ated that impact the overall performance of the firm† (Sherwin, 2010, p. 66). It has been presented that for companies to create the greatest opportunity of output of good and services requirements, such as, Customer Relationship Marketing, CRM and New Product Development, NPD will be needed.When organizations move from one environment to another, decisive measures must be implemented in order for the consumer within that culture to accept the goods and services offered by the company (Ivanova & Castellano, 2011). By mean of CRM or Customer Relationship Marketing, is one of the strategies used towards incorporating Value Driven Management. This â€Å"is a philosophy that is based upon leadership perspectives regarding differentiating customers and prospects by current and future value and meeting individualized and customer needs† (Sherwin, 2010, p. 9). An example of Customer Relationship Marketing is when UPS expanded into Canada, its first global market in 1975. At fi rst, when entering this market, UPS was not given the license needed in order to drive it trucks on their highways. To meet the needs of the government and still perform deliveries for it customers, UPS decorated taxis with their company logo to transport and deliver packages in order to accommodate government regulations (United Parcel Service, 2007).To satisfy these needs or regulations of the government, it became the responsibility of top-level management or company values to create strategies and procedures in order to allocate their resources effectively (Sherwin, 2010). UPS still continues to do business in Canada today because it had gained the trust of government officials and existing customers by determining their need through their current and future value by using Customer Relationship Marketing strategies. This would not have been realized if top-level management did not comply with overall country values.It is crucial for companies to determine the owner’s valu e, or the overall company’s value and the importance of emphasizing the benefits that maximizing value over time has on an organization. â€Å"It is not to imply that other values are not equally important, but we must understand when we are working in an organization our job there is to maximize the value for the owners. When all is working well, the values of employees, customers, suppliers, third parties, and owners will be in harmony† (Pohlman, 1997, p. 21). Under these conditions, eginning with top-level management, they must strategize or develop a game plan to utilize every resource, asset, or opportunity within the company; to gain a competitive advantage over competitors within the bounds of the global market they are penetrating. For these reasons it is imperative and recommended for companies to use Customer Relationship Marketing with the values of the company to obtain a competitive advantage over time. In order for companies to succeed in the global marke t, innovating new products and services are necessary to obtain sustainable competitive advantage (de Brentani, et al. 2010). â€Å"Product innovation and the trend to globalization are two important dimensions driving business today, and a firm’s global new product development (NPD) strategy is a primary determinant of performance† (de Brentani, et al. , 2010, p. 143). One prime example of this, is in 2004, when UPS designed and introduced Quantum ViewSM Manage, this would allow for consumer who sent the package to effortlessly monitor the transportation of small parcels within the bound of their supply chains and improve services by using technological applications created by UPS (United Parcel Service, 2007).In creating this application, this allows UPS to further globalize itself by introducing innovative services such as the Quantum ViewSM Manage. In the case of UPS, initiating a new product development strategy is a crucial element towards product innovation if c ompanies are to eliminate any barrier to entry (de Brentani, et al. , 2010). To successfully implement a new product development strategy, ideas will originate from organizational culture and senior management (de Brentani, et al. , 2010).It is the environment within the company that shapes the design and direction of innovative ideas and services that will be used and incorporated into global markets. â€Å"Thus, both the strategy factors as well as certain intangibles characterizing the firm’s behavioral environment (BE) have been found to affect global NPD program outcome† (de Brentani, et al. , 2010, p. 144). Without the role of management and culture within the organization, companies will not be able to produce more economically or create value for its customers in the global market in which they are seeking to penetrate (de Brentani, et al. 2010). Conclusion In conclusion, organizations that incorporate strong and functional organizational culture, an effective management style, diversity, and ethics will sustain a competitive advantage in the 21st century only if they value the needs of their employees, customers, owners, countries, and organizations globally. Organizational culture will identify how a company will operate in the market, how they will behave in day to day operations, and how they will be able to adapt to change.Management styles empowering employees will allow them to take more initiative within their work responsibilities which will lead to increased job satisfaction. The authors recommend fro UPS to continue to have an organizational culture that provides an environment which supports the established goals of the organization. For organizations to stay competitive in the 21st century is becoming more and more essential for them to stay on top of their game Second recommendation is to incorporate an effective management style that encourages employees to have more autonomy.This will allow them to take initiatives in deci sions that need to be made within the organization. . Effectively managing employee diversity and making sure that the customer, employee, owners, organization, and external values are all in tune with each other is the mix that is needed in the 21st century in order for an organization to be competitive in today’s global environment.Third recommendation is to continue to manage diversity effectively and that will enable the group to come up with creative and innovative ideas that will put the organization first in their industry Once the key pillars are defined we need a strong business ethics to refrain from questionable practices and set standards that meet or exceed moral and legal measures. Fourth recommendation, it is important for organizational members to be responsible for maintaining a superior level of ethical behavior.Last but not least is to make sure we are valuing and adapting to the customers needs globally in order to maintain a competitive advantage in the g lobal marketplace even it means to change the organizations strategy overseas. If UPS fails to follow these key pillars that are necessary in the 21st century it can impact their global operations in both the short and long term. Our recommendation to UPS is for them to continue what they are doing and also continue to evaluate the needs of their customers, employees, owners, rganization, and countries in which they operate to remain successful in today’s globally expanding market on a quarterly base.

Cambodian Sex Trade

To the untrained eye, Cambodia is an exotic vacation destination with ancient cities, bold colors, legendary temples and remarkable beauty. What you don’t see is the horrendous crimes that are going on behind closed doors. Inside the world of Cambodian child sex trafficking, each year, by some estimates, hundreds of thousands of girls and boys are bought, sold or kidnapped and then forced to have sex with grown men. MSNBC news) Human trafficking or modern-day slavery is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world; and in my opinion, least discussed and prevented. Specifically the child sex trade is an epidemic not recognized by Americans nearly enough. Unborn children in South Korea are being sold by their pregnant mothers over the internet. What happens to these children after they are sold is unknown. They can be sold to people who are looking to adopt but having a hard time being approved, or more likely circumstances, they end up in a darker place; the human sex trafficking world. The illegal sale of children makes up more than half of all the cases of human trafficking around the world, according to recent estimates. (Al-Jazeera/News Europe) Traditionally it has involved the exploitation of children in poorer nations, like Cambodia, Vietnam and India but there are findings of more and more cases amongst developed countries such as America. There are countless exploited children that are unaccounted for around the world; Argentina’s child-snatching plague, Turkey’s severely high number of missing children, which has increased annually, Sri Lanka’s children being taken from their homes to be â€Å"child soldiers†, South Korean selling of babies, Bangladesh’s child brides who are sold by their families and taken away by their dramatically elder â€Å"husbands† and never heard of again to list a few. Twenty years ago the United Nations adopted the Convention of the Rights of the Child. The CRC or UNCRC, it sets out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of children. As of December 2008, 193 signatories had ratified it, including every member of the UN except the U. S. and Somalia. The treaty restricts the involvement of children in military conflicts and prohibits the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. The UNCRC has been used as a blueprint for child protection legislation around the world. But, as you can see, the treaty's promise to protect children has not always been kept. After watching an Al Jazeera News broadcasting, in an interview with a woman who would know better than anyone about exploited children around the world; Lisa Laumann from Save the Children Charity stated â€Å"Intergovernmental organizations like the United Nations provide the framework around which governments can come together to agree on what good practice is and how governments should behave legally on behalf of their citizens, but it's up to the governments themselves to draft that legislation, develop the systems and institutions that guarantee those rights. (Lisa Laumann, from Save the Children charity, Al Jazeera Interview) Laumann also goes on to state, â€Å"There also has to be an effort made to help communities, families and children themselves, to understand what rights mean for them and how they can support them. † (Lisa Laumann) I feel so strongly more effort needs to be put forth, and that something needs to be done soon about this epidemic that is given a bl ind eye. People need to be educated about what is going on not only in the world, but right here in America. Despite what Americans bialy choose to ignore; it’s going on in Connecticut, and quite possibly New Haven as we speak. When you walk by the missing children ads and see all of those young girls’ (and boys) faces, they may not have run away from home, maybe they were forcefully taken, and being forced into child prostitution. Or, another scenario, maybe they did run away from home, got into a little trouble as a misguided young female, and are in a lifestyle they are having difficulty getting out of. These are instances more common than you would think. Sex-tourism, or travel to engage in sexual intercourse or sexual activity with prostitutes, typically undertaken internationally by tourists from wealthier countries has become a multibillion-dollar industry. But the business is not all about adult prostitution. There are some places you might have never heard about, notorious places, the kind of places a sexual predator would be willing to travel halfway around the world to reach -destinations like a dusty village in Southeast Asia, where the prey is plentiful and easy to stalk. My focus for this paper will be on Cambodia. This country has the highest amount statistically reported of children in the child sex trade, in an interview with Chris Hansen of Dateline NBC, with Mu Soc Hua, Cambodia’s minister of women's affairs, Hua states that there is a staggering number of â€Å"†¦around 30,000 girls in the sex-trade industry, and although Cambodia has a lot of problems, I rank sexual trade, sexual exploitation of our children as top — on the top of my list. I’ve also chosen Cambodia because of a separate interview/documentary I’ve watched where an accredited news channel, Dateline NBC goes undercover with a human rights group to expose the sex trafficking in Cambodia, and they actually follow through with a dramatic operation to rescue the children, and take the measures to have the â€Å"pimps† or men and women that run these brothels arrested along with an American doctor who is purchasing these girls for sex to be pro secuted. I’d like to discuss both aspects of this crime, the seller and the buyer. Many, if not most of the men buying these exploited girls in Cambodia are Americans- thinking that they're involved in nothing more than prostitution, but by any definition it is rape. (Dateline NBC news) Prostitution in Cambodia is illegal, but finding a girlfriend for the night at a nightclub could be as simple as a few words, a few dollars, and a stroll out the door. The producers and investigators of NBC begin their journey inside this dark world, across from what looks like a local cafe, but really a brothel. You see many deceiving brothels that to the untrained eye, appear to be cafes, clubs or gated storefronts along the streets of the rundown village Svay Pak, on the outskirts of the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh. Svay Pak is notorious for child trafficking, and it only takes a few minutes for a pimp to approach the undercover reporters. The pimp turns out to be a fifteen-year-old boy who tells the reporters he's grown up in the village and even introduces his mother – who knows exactly what he's up to and takes a cut of the money he brings in. Po tells the reporters he can get them girls who are even younger than the ones they’ve seen thus far in the trip. And despite all they’ve seen, they’re stunned at just how young he says they are – 8-year-olds. It's hard to believe, and even harder to stomach. The dimension of a fifteen-year-old boy promoting the sales of possibly his sisters or cousins is confusing. He is doing the selling of a girl who is the same age as he, and could be in his school class. Is there a connection between male and female status and does gender play a role, or hold a higher status in relation to trafficking is something I will be looking into further in this paper. ) He brings them through some alleys to a ramshackle house so they can see for themselves. The dirty faces of the girls are seen through the shadows on the documentary, and little-girls-shoes litter the house. The house is guarded by men and women, heavily armed with guns, clearly visible when the producers walk in. In the documentary, all of the natives, children and adults alike know a little English. When they talk about sex, they use simple child-like terms anyone can understand. â€Å"Yum-yum† means oral sex. â€Å"Boom-boom† means intercourse. They meet dozens of children at the various brothels they enter. One girl that really caught my attention throughout the documentary was a girl that said she's nine, accompanied by another who says she's ten. Both say they know how to perform oral sex. And they even tell the reporters how much it will cost: sixty-dollars for two girls. A pimp says,† If two girls aren't enough, how about three? (Dateline NBC news) It is repulsive, and a grim reality the thought of what is done to these innocent, young girls when it isn’t undercover American producers doing the buying. And the sad thing is that there would’ve been no future for these girls if the producers of NBC along with Bob Mosier, the International Justice Mission’s chief investigator hadn’t stepped in. In figuring out as to why these gi rls are being sold or taken from their families in the first place, I’m taking a look at what status the male and female roles hold in a family. For example, in Japan it is preferred by parents to have a son over a daughter because of the one baby law, only allowing one child to a household. This means, it’s more desirable to have a son to carry on the family name and get an education, opposed to a daughter who marries off. In Cambodia, females tend to be talked about as being â€Å"relatively equal† to men, though with little discussion of how this equality is related to the larger picture of hierarchical social organization. Judy Ledgerwood 120) However, gender is only one of a range of factors that influences where a person is ranked in Khmer society. On the one hand daughters are suppose to be protected, on the other, a teenage daughter might bicycle daily to the city to sell vegetables to help support the family; or a young woman might move into the city to work in a garment factory. Orphans and widows must live with little or no male supervision, because there are no surviving family members. This can caus e their neighbors to â€Å"look down on them,† they lose status in society because they have no men to protect them. Women in Cambodia today must undertake all sorts of employment that involve being in office, factory or other situations alone with men. These kinds of circumstances lead to accusations regarding the virtue of individual women and to the general idea that â€Å"women just don't have the value that they used to. † What is of critical importance to Khmer women during the interviews done by Judy Ledgerwood, was their concerns, it was not their particular concern with social status or gender ideals, but hard economic realities and the difficulties that they face trying to feed their families. An explanation of this, as to why these children are being sold into sex is because of the lack of funds and resources their families are facing. In many cases, poverty is to blame for making worse the plight of the most vulnerable. Cambodia is still suffering from a traumatic past. In the 1970s and ’80s, an estimated 2 million Cambodians died because of war, famine and a brutal dictatorship. During the Khmer Rouge period, 1975-1979, people died of starvation and disease as well as from execution. More women than men survived the traumas of this period. Women are better able to survive conditions of severe malnutrition, fewer women were targeted for execution because of connections to the old regime, and fewer women were killed in battles. Many women told Ledgerwood that they survived those years of horror because they had to care for their children (Ebihara and Ledgerwood page 143). During the 1980s and early 90s, men continued to be drained off from society to go to serve as soldiers. This was particularly evident in rural areas where one could enter a village and find no men between the ages of about 15 and 50. Many men were killed or disabled; others might still have been alive but were off with their military units, with resistance factions at the border, or hiding from conscription. This may add to the bigger picture as to why men are exploiting children for money. The poverty plays a large role, all they have to offer are their children, and being disabled, there isn’t much work physically possible. Also, the return of the men reflects the extremely high birth rate during the 1980s and 90s, 2. 5 to 3 percent annually, meaning more children to sell. A child's tragic journey into the sex trade often begins in a family struggling for survival. This is a country where the average income is less than $300 a year. (Hanlen 323) Most children are sold by their own parents. Others are lured by what they think are legitimate job offers like waitressing, but then are forced into prostitution. It’s become clear that Cambodian parents don’t have enough money to feed eight children in a family, so selling two of them could get them a (measly to us) one-hundred U. S. dollars. Or, for example, during the ocumentary broadcasted on NBC, a female pimp by the name Madam Lang tells undercover reporters (with undercover cameras, on tape) that â€Å"her† virgins go for six-hundred-dollars, as if the virgin part is an extra attraction, and for that price she says they can take a girl back to the hotel and keep her there for up to three days. When she brings out the girl, the 15-year-old native looks paralyzed with fear. It is hard to prevent the exploitation of children in this country not only because it takes a caring parent, but because it takes a caring community. The people are governed by money and it’s hard for them to turn it down and put morals before reality. Even the police of the village are in on the illegal activity occurring. In one of the videos, a police officer requests one-hundred-fifty dollars from the NBC producers posing as sex tourists, as a pay-off for insurance that the tourists wouldn’t get arrested by Cambodian officials. One-hundred-fifty dollars is the equivalent of five months pay for a Cambodian Officer. (Hanlen 325) The Cambodian Police have set up a unit to deal with sex trafficking, but have yet to be proactive in dealing with the issue. There are no guarantees in real justice because many of the cops are in the pimps’ pockets. While it's good to prosecute the people who sell children for sex, if you want to solve the problem; you also have to go after the tourists who buy them. But who is going to confront these sex tourists? It’s difficult to say with the corrupt Cambodian legal system. As far as the documentary goes, in the end, at least seven of the suspects seen on tape, including a man who supplied little girls for a sex party, were recently found guilty by a Cambodian judge and sentenced to up to fifteen years in prison. In months following, Madam Lang, the woman who offered virgins for six-hundred-dollars, was also convicted and sentenced to 20 years behind bars. That's believed to be the longest sentence of its kind ever in Cambodia. (NBC) There are a many people fighting for these oppressed girls, but little change has been noted because the education of human trafficking is so sparse. Efforts from people that I would like to note are the International Justice Mission, a Faith-based human rights group specializing in victims of sex trafficking and bonded labor who have been working in Cambodia for the last six years. IJM web, NBC) Also, Acting for Women in Distressing Circumstances (AFESIP), an advocacy group for children and adolescents at risk that runs a group home in Cambodia for victims of sex trafficking. (AFESIP web, NBC) The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), â€Å"Child Protection† section discusses the problem of trafficking in children, and donates money for this cause. (UNIC EF web, NBC) When you see the UNICEF boxes come around in the fall on Halloween, donate whatever change you have because now you know where that change is going and it is making a difference in someone’s life across the world. The Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Civil Rights (LICADHO) is a Cambodian group that advocates for human rights, focusing on women and children in Cambodia, who provide (limited) shelters, with limited funds for battered women and children. (LICADHO web, NBC) Not to forget ECPAT International, an international child advocacy group focusing on the problems of child prostitution, child pornography and trafficking of children for sex, and educating people on these issues. ECPAT International web) And lastly, The Protection Project, the Human rights law research institute at John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Washington, D. C. , who conduct studies around the world in countries with high rates of human trafficking, report their findings, enact laws, educate the people in harm’s way, and people around the world on preventative measures and serve as an advocate. (The Protection Project web, NBC) Although the groups listed above are fighti ng for these girls, the reality is, is that not many get out of their oppressors’ hands. For the girls that do escape the places where they lost so much, and hopefully never to return, the road to recovery is a long one; but their darkest days are behind them. The treatment of Sexually Transmitted Diseases along with the rehabilitation physically, mentally, and emotionally of these girls has just begun. In standard procedure, girls are brought to a safe house for a few days. Then they are placed in group homes: one for the younger girls and one for teens, and in the case of the NBC Documentary, their group homes were run by the charity AFESIP (noted above). The director of AFESIP, Pierre Legros, stated, â€Å"Getting the girls out of the brothels is tough, but keeping them in the group home is even tougher. † He estimated that on average 40 percent of the rescued girls return to a life of prostitution. (AEFSIP) That is disheartening, but all hope cannot be lost, these children need help. It'll take years to overcome the extreme poverty and widespread corruption that cause the child sex trade to flourish, but I see the current wave of prosecutions as a step forward for this country and its people. That's why there is hope and we have to continue to fight. Prosecution is the key word, the message has to be very strong and forget about prosecuting the big fish, prosecuting everybody who is involved in it, I think, will be most effective. If we all as human beings come together internationally and take this up as a global issue, I think there could be a change not only for the children of Cambodia, but missing and exploited children around the world, even in our own country. America has been busy fighting a one-sided war in Iraq since 2001 with nothing to show but casualties on both sides. No â€Å"weapons of mass destruction† were ever found and yet our troops are still there. I think that where our funds and efforts really needed to be are on the frontlines fighting for the children of our future. Works Cited Dateline NBC News â€Å"Children For Sale† Jan 9 2005. NBC News. Al Jazeera/ News Europe â€Å"Child Sex Trade Soars in Cambodia† October 2008. Al Jazeera News. < http://english. aljazeera. net/news/asia-pacific/2008/10/2008102110195471467. html> Cambodia Development Resource Institute (CDRI) 2002 Economy Watch – Domestic Performance, Cambodian Development Review 6(2):14. 2001 Policy Brief, Land Ownership, Sales and Concentration in Cambodia, March. 001 The Garment Industry, Cambodia Development Review 5(3):1-4. 2000 Prospects for the Cambodian Economy, Cambodian Development Review 4(1):8-10. Judy Ledgerwood, Meaghan Ebihara 2002 Hun Sen and the Genocide Trials in Cambodia: International Impacts, Impunity and Justice. IN Cambodia Emerges from the Past. Steve Heder, ed. , DeKalb, IL: Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Northern Il linois University, pp. 106 – 223. Hanlen, Marcus. â€Å"Police Pay of Underdeveloped countries. † Police Information and Statistics of the World (2007): 323-325. Web. 12 Dec 2009. Dateline NBC news â€Å"IJM Operation Frees Families from Slavery† Jan 2005. NBC news.

Systems support for a new baxter manufacturing company plant in Mexico Case Study

Systems support for a new baxter manufacturing company plant in Mexico - Case Study Example The problem with language resulted in the employees working in the American system being incapable of providing support to the system. This would have necessitated the availing of local individuals to provide support to the Mexican plant from there, but since the qualified support staff could not be gotten in Mexico, the alternative was rejected. The second option available to Collins was contracting an Application System Provider (ASP). This provided a better option since the company would not have to invest heavily on computer infrastructure and their support systems. With this approach, the company would have to purchases the application software, but the database support would be provided by the contracted ASP Company (Brown et al., 2012). There were fundamental difficulties in getting providers who could be able to offer this support and when Collins was able to get one, time was running out. Although the provider was capable of providing the system in Spanish, as well as offer customer services in the language, the costs of undertaking this option were relatively high as compared to the other alternatives. While the system could be effective in meeting the specified needs, it was rejected on the basis of the cost of purchasing, maintaining and training employees on its usage. The third and last available option was utilizing a piecemeal solution, which would involve acquisition of software running on the computer within the Mexican plant, and that would be networked through a Local Area Network. This was found as the only viable solution because it was quick and easy to implement, and could easily overcome the language barrier which existed within the company (Davenport, 2013). The solution would provide the essential support to the organizational functions at the beginning before an ERP would be implemented on the entire organization. Collins faced fundamental issues in

Tackling substance misuse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Tackling substance misuse - Essay Example Background One of the more pressing issues in health care intervention is the issuance, administration or prescription of drugs for patients. There has always been a continuing challenge about dispensation, dosage, supervision, as well as effect on patient so that medical practitioners, pharmacists, and their team have to be wary of several considerations prior to any action that relies administration to the patient or his / her immediate carer, or even in controlled setting. Reaction to drug or substance misuse vary leading to ideologically driven approaches in medicalization, treatment, decriminalisation, and even use of the criminal justice for quasi treatment. Other propositions such as harm minimisation and harm reduction were also considered with the understanding that use of substance is inevitable (Bevan, 2009). People with severe mental illness, group of individuals with complex needs and a varied range of problems are usually the concern for ‘dual diagnosis’ an d co-morbidity related to substance misuse or abuse. It was suggested that many problems related to substance misuse are linked to ill-prepared services that deal with these conditions. Bevan (2003) observed that Public Health treatment for substance misuse should understand that those who receive treatment are of chronic and frequently relapsing condition. Perception of treatment should move away from an individualistic approach to an understanding of the many and varied relationships as part of treatment rationale. Focus should also be given on minimising the harm associated with drug use. Prescribing policies for opiate replacement should also be considered instead of abstinence as prescribed doses of methadone have demonstrated positive results. â€Å"The reduction in drug related deaths, as a result of the reduced frequency of accidental overdoses, and the wider population health gains when treatment and interventions are flexibly delivered is further evidence that the health of populations can be improved with public health based strategies for substance misuse,† (Bevan, 2003), P 19). People should not be seen as failures when relapse occur for substance misuse. Various conditions influence substance misuse and these should be taken as a whole and not in part to fully understand the patient as well as provide a more effective and holistic intervention approach. Likewise, Bevan (2009) noted that curing should not be the focus as an over emphasis on moving people on, through and out of treatment usually results in the revolving door phenomena. Substitute prescribing has been offered a possible solution to address issue on substance misuse. Engaging the individual as member of a wider society and members of dynamic social groups with families, friends and acquaintances should be a public health consideration in addressing this issue (Bevan, 2009). Substance Misuse and Problematic Drug Use Problematic drug use and misuse occurs when individuals experi ence a range of unwanted and negative consequences as a result of their drug use (Brown, 2007). Problems may be social, psychological, physical or legal resulting from regular or excessive consumption, intoxication and/or dependence on any substance. The National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse (2002) observed that these individuals often attempts to achieve stability or abstinence but relapse is usually a problem.