Energy drink Essay Example for Free

Energy drink Essay Energy drinks should be regulated due to the fact that they cause health problems and the consumer is not aware because there are minimal, if any, labels. They claim to have some nutritional value in them said to give a â€Å"quick burst of energy. † In today’s market, there are so many different types of energy drinks that teenagers consume like Monster and Red Bull. Within these drinks there are numerous ingredients that may lead to some health risks. It has been requested from the Food and Drug Administration to regulate these energy drinks by enforcing stricter labeling methods of the ingredients and possible side effects (Farley 1). Since consumers do not know what they are consuming monthly, or even daily, they later face health problems like caffeine intoxication, which may lead to an increase in heart rate and blood pressure (Farley 1). Energy drinks are composed of several different ingredients, but the main ones are B-vitamins, guarana, taurine and caffeine. The B vitamin, a ready source of energy, is added to the energy drinks to make up for a dietary deficiency. Guarana comes from the seeds of the guarana plant whose seeds contain high levels of caffeine. Guarana can contain â€Å"three to four times the amount of caffeine as coffee beans† (Sabbah 1). Taurine, an amino acid that the body produces naturally, is responsible for regulating your heart beat, muscle contractions and energy levels. When all of these ingredients are lavished, it causes great harm to the body and consumers need to know this. Few energy drinks include warnings about the possible health risks they might contain like caffeine intoxication. It can raise heart rate and blood pressure while dehydrating the body. When there is an excess of caffeine intake, an individual may notice disrupted sleep, dehydration, kidney damage, and high blood pressure (Sabbah 1). In addition to the overwhelming amount of caffeine in these drinks comes an absurd amount of sugar. An eight -ounce can of an energy drink contains thirteen tablespoons of sugar. Energy drinks are unhealthy because they can create long-term health problems for people when taken in large amounts.. College students are more prone to drinking energy drinks to due fact that they stay up late to study. A survey of 496 college students found that 51% of those surveyed regularly consumed more than one energy drink per month. Most of them said it was a common element consumed every week because of insufficient sleep and the desire to increase energy (Seifert et al. 516). It is highly looked upon energy drinks to help students stay alert and focused in their studies, but they need to know the effects of drinking too many of them. The FDA should require manufacturers to put warning labels on their energy drink cans, list their caffeine content on the cans, and limit the amount of stimulant they contain. The FDA has not done anything but impose limits because energy drinks are not classified as beverages, but are labeled as â€Å"dietary supplements† (Seifert et al.520). Therefore, companies have no restrictions on the amount of ingredients or even which ones they choose to place in their products. Consequently, the public cannot be assured of its safety. In order to emphasize the fact that these drinks are â€Å"healthy† for the consumer, the companies include ingredients such as vitamins, minerals, and herbs. They may not understand what the ingredients do to their body, but seeing the ingredient â€Å"vitamins† automatically makes them feel like it is good for their health. A vital part of energy drink advertising is the slogans they use which must be catchy and memorable. For example, Red Bull’s slogan is â€Å"Red Bull gives you Wings,† and Monsters slogan â€Å"Unleash the beast. † These slogans are obviously directed toward a younger crowd. Those teenagers seeking for acceptance will do anything possible to raise their popularity level, so they drink them constantly. Energy drink companies understand the psychological aspect of advertising, which is why they are becoming so successful. When caffeine is taken in moderation, it is not harmful. Caffeine is comparable to sugar in the sense that it will only cause harm when consumed in large amounts. That is just the problem. Energy drinks do not have a moderate amount of caffeine in them, they have way too much. The fact that young adults do not know moderation, leads them to drinking ten energy drinks just to impress their friends without knowing the consequences. Energy drink companies do not provide the public with enough information of what their products contain and do to the body. They manipulate customers into believing their drinks will help improve their life by saying vitamins and minerals are included. These companies do not tell their buyers about the possible long-term effects these drinks can have on their bodies. Energy drinks have absolutely no health benefits to a person’s body when taken in moderate amounts, but the potential dangers outweigh anything that might possibly be gained. They give a quick burst energy, which is quickly followed by a power lapse. In conclusion, FDA regulation in energy drinks should enforce labels to include ingredients, possible effects towards the consumers’ health, and health risks when too many of them are being consumed. Works Cited Farley, Kate. â€Å"Energy Drinks May Pose a Health Risk. † The Dartmouth; 13 January 2009: p1-2. Access World News. Web. 1 February 2013. Sabbah, Jessica. â€Å"Experts Say Energy Drinks Need Regulation with Increased Consumption. † The Northern Star; 13 April 2009: p1-2. Access World News. Web. 1 February 2013. Seifert, Sara M. , Schaechter, Judith L. , Hershorin, Eugene R. , Lipschultz, Steven E. â€Å"Health Effects of Energy Drinks on Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults. † Pediatrics; March 2011: p511-528, Academic Search Complete. Web. 1 February 2013.

Challenges That Face The Organizational Behaviour Business Essay

Challenges That Face The Organizational Behaviour Business Essay Employee and customer satisfaction are the vital elements of an organisation to survive in the continuous changing world. To function effectively, the organisation must understand the culture and the diversity of the employees. Organisations must adapt to the changes of technology and customer needs, therefore the importance of the work force is a pivotal role facing any organisation today. In the past, behaviour patterns of the employees were not taken much care of, but today it is key structure to obtaining success within and outside the organisation. Every organisation has its own distinct behaviours, characteristics that portray the companys ways of building a positive and productive relationship within the work force. The companys philosophy, values, mission, vision, goals and objectives, communication, capacity to embrace changes, culture and learning sets as its model framework which outlines its function. Every detail of the behavioural aspect in an organisation is incorporat ed in the field of discipline now known as organisational behaviour. Organisational behaviour is a broad study of knowledge about how individuals and groups act in their respective organizations. Organisational behaviour in management can be viewed as the behavioural pattern of people in management; the manner and way people interact within the organisation. Management is to organise, control and achieve the objectives of the owners of the organisations that employ them. The management operates through the manager who exercises great care in administering the resources of the organisation. According to the Management guru Peter Drucker (1909 2005) the basic task of management is marketing and innovation. Directors and managers have the power and responsibility to make decisions to manage an enterprise to the best of their ability. Frenchman Henri Fayol (1841 -1925) considers management to consist of six functions, forecasting, planning, organising, commanding, coordinating, controlling. Business Strategy A key factor in the running of organisations is the business strategy the organisation develops. Business strategy refers to how a business competes successfully in a particular market. It concerns strategic decisions on meeting the need of its customers, the choice of its product, gaining an advantage over its competitors, exploiting or creating new opportunities. A business strategy is typically the direction a business will pursue and the steps it will take to achieve its goal. A successful business strategy will identify what a business wants to accomplish, the strengths it can bring to bear on accomplishing the goals and weaknesses that must be addressed prior to integration and implementation. Business strategy determines the direction of the business in the long run, competition in the market and resources required for it to be able to compete. These are all factors which affect the overall outcome of the business and have to be taken seriously in order to achieve the goal req uired. Case study A typical example of a case study of a business strategy is Vijay Patel a self made millionaire. He is the founder chairman Waymade Healthcare, a drugs company. Although he has achieved considerable wealth already he is not ready to give up: Ive got a long way to go. It isnt about making more wealth. It is about achieving the goals I have set for my business. My ambition is to become a mini Glaxo by 2010. (Glaxco is one of the worlds leading pharmaceutical companies.) Sunday times, 10 September 2000 Innovation and Creativity Another critical element in order to achieve organisational goals and objectives are what new ideas can be integrated to achieve success in an organisation. Many companies introduce new ideas and plans to achieve their targets and goals. This is an important part of future success within any organisation. New technology has become available over the years which have led to newer options available to organisations which seemed distant before. Companies structure the business on these advances in technology, allowing them to have a clear vision of what they would like to achieve in the future. This process of change is known as innovation and creativity. All organisations can innovate but where some will flourish, some will also fail. Introducing innovation and creativity will have positive and negative effects as new developments bring in fresh ideas which change old practises with new ones. The Challenge for all organisations is to keep ahead of changing market conditions, new technologies and human resources issues. Management of these changes are the most important challenges facing any organisation. The management have to be very adaptive and flexible. The management must have open, caring relations with every employee and face to face communication. There is also a systemic approach to business innovation, which includes change in organisation, strategy, technology, process, product and marketing. All of these will be affected by innovation and need to evolve to adapt with changes. Case study BT is unique in having an end-to-end open innovation process. The company scouts the latest innovations and trends in the market worldwide, creates prototypes rapidly in hothouses, uses its own research, and partners with academic institutions to create products and services for its customers. A recent successful innovation that was rapidly down streamed for use by BT Retail was the development of BT FON application for the iPhone and Android smart phones. They enable users to find the nearest Wi-Fi hotspot and roam to it instead of using the expensive data channel provided by their mobile operator. The concept for the application was rapidly developed by BT Innovate and Design researchers and developers to become one of the most downloaded free apps on both the Apple and Android sites. Control To achieve and maintain the quality within the organization is of critical importance which is through control process, which refers to examining the activities whether these are done in a planned and organized way. There are three types of control: market control which deals with the external market mechanic (price competition), bureaucratic control emphasis on organisation authority, admisinistration rules, regulation and policies, whereas clean control is related with behaviours patterns of employees such as norms, values, believes. Control is important to as it provide assurance in the terms of goal fulfilments. Control is considered as the final link in the management process. It tells us successful accomplishment of the organisation goals by examines planning empowering the works and their safety at workplace. The following three step control process involves: 1. Assessment of actual perform 2. Comparing it with a standard 3. Managerial discussions to correct deviations or inadequate standard in order to measure control process following measure are utilized: 1. Personal observed 2. Statistrical reports 3. Oral reports 4. Letter report To ensure control, it is very important to compare actual performance with the pre established standard in order to correct actual performance or revise the standard. Quality Control: Quality control is an important aspect of management which talk about added value to product and services which set them apart from competitors .it is an important part of companys strategy, important at every level of operations process. The goal of quality control is to identify mistakes and correct them as soon as possible. Quality built trust and productivity increases profit for the organisation. Traditional quality control emphases on mistakes rather then preventing them. Wall Shewort (1930) introduced statistical quality control, comprised of acceptance sampling approach and process control. Process control production: It deals with measuring out put and comparing it to pre-establish standards for example: canned soups are retained within certain temperature during processing. it temperature is too high, soup would have burning taste and if temperature is too low then there is a chance of bacteria in the soup. If process control procedure detects a shift beyond an accurate temperature range corrective action can be taken. Acceptance sampling process It tests a small sample and small sample is fine than the whole is also accepted. If sample is bad than the lot is rejected. Quality assurance People are key to quality and works, work hard for zero defects Total quality management It refers to when the workers (quality circles) discuss different methods to improve quality of products and solve production problems. This strategic commitment is known as total quality management, which requires 70% members support decision. Case study: Motivation Motivation refers to goal directed behaviour. It can be describe as direction and persistent of action. Twyla Dell describes motivation as what people actually expect from work they perform. The employee gets rewarded in return of their hard work to improve productivity, quality and services. Employees, who are motivated and dedicated to work, feel satisfied with their work performance. Their higher degree of interest results in better organisational development There are two major categories of motivation content theory and process theory. Content theory discusses the elements which serve as motivation for an individual at work and emphasis upon peoples needs and goals and effort to achieve their goals. Process theories deals with initiation of a particular set of behaviour, its direction and stability, involves expectancy based model, equity theory, goal theory and attribution theory. Major that comes under content aspect are Maslows hierarchy of needs model; Alderfer,s modifield need hierarchy model; Herzbergs two-factor theory; McClellands achievement motivation theory. Maslows theory According to Maslows to achieve self action the basic needs of a person needs to be fulfilled first. The second step is saftly.when the individual feel secure, he and she seeks love and develop esteem. Once these needs are fulfilled, self action is the high need to be fulfilled. Maslows hierarchy of needs model In the context of work motivation, Herzberg Herzberg presents his two-factor theory, which comprised of maintenance factors and Growth factor. Maintenance factor Maintenance factor are related with job, its environment .If an individual is jobless, and he or she would be dissatisfaction. Growth factor Growth factor, on the other hand, related with effort in Terms of improving job performance. Case study Tom Monaghan founder of Dominos pizza emphasises people behaviour at work striving to accomplish the goal and meet the challenges. When their efforts rewarded, the workers gain a sense of belongingness and recognition. He strictly believes in the light of his own experience that his employees got some dreams and are willing to work with an aim to bring their dreams in to reality. With this perception facilitates them to prove his belief right. In terms of career development, Dominos offers employees follow the Monaghans own success path who started out as a delivery person and moving up through the position of store manager. Following this tradition, Dominos employees have taken great opportunity to start their own franchises. Monaghan ran Dominos according to a modification of Alderfers model of work motivation with the belief that people need to be rewarded for their efforts and that most of them, like him, have dreams that can be nurtured and satisfied by material wealth. Whether these dreams coincide with basic existence needs or the need of some people to find self-esteem through possessions is a matter of debate among psychologist. Whether they can be practical managerial creativity. Monoghan also believed that people need a sense of belonging and that they want to cooperate with others in a successful working environment.thus, Dominos emphasizes teamwork. Even working at a somewhat routine and standardized job like pizza delivery, it is possible for a Dominos employee to b part of a group, a family, with the sense of belonging that families engender. In addition, Dominos has a clear system of extrinsic rewards, including the opportunity to advance and become a franchise owner.Thus employees have a clear expectation of what they must do to earn certain rewards. Finally, we might explain Dominos success by the fact that it challenges people to use their creativity. In a business as straightforward as pizza parlors, Dominos has found that innovation and creativity can play an improving the company product, in enhancing their own talents in the pursuit of their own opportunities, and in making the organisation successful Factors responsible for ineffective performance of work organisation and steps to over come As we discussed above factors responsible for effective work organisation. If any one of the above stated factors such as business strategy, innovation and creativity, quality control, does not function properly, the stability of an organisation is disturbed. And these disturbances put the organisational objectives at risk, leading to failure to achieve the desired outcome. According to a survey (2009), the Society of Human Recourse Management emphasised factors important for job satisfaction. These are job security, correlation with immediate supervisor, benefits, constant contact between employee and senior management, chance to show skills and abilities, appraisals, health and safety. Besides, there are other factors in the working organisation responsible for the unsuccessful performance of the workforce to accomplish the outlined goals. These are as follow: Lack of motivation Lack of Information Insufficient recourses Time management These factors and many other are important for successful work organization but in my view lack of motivation is the most important factor which put the whole organisation at risk and refrain it to accomplish the set goals. Lack of motivation Motivation plays a significant role in organising human behaviour at work. Increase in salary, rewards, and benefits, flexible timings, job security, promotions all keep an individual committed to their work. If any of these incentives are withdrawn, interest of the employees decreased and they start looking for some other organization which meets their needs. On the other hand, if the do not join another organisation, and remain in the same organisation, their quality of work decreased. They unable tp perform at their best. The worker might develop some psychological problems as a result of continuous stress. They consider the job as a duty irrespective of the matter that they enjoy it or not. They consider the job is the basic requirement to fulfil the basic need of themselves and their family. Manager plays a vital role regarding workforce motivation and keeping their morale high. Employees motivation is the key factor which effect organisation performance. The manager should know the aptitude of employees because every individual has different personality. The manager is to involve all the staff members in the decision making process and create friendly environment. The organisation must provide the opportunity to its work force to develop their knowledge and skills. They must be involved in different task in order to build confidence in their respective area. The employees must be provided with complete information about how to perform a task in a given time frame. They must be allowed to work independently, be capable of making decision. Their goal directed behaviour indicates task management with higher level of responsibility. Giving confidence to the employees to attend in higher level meetings provide more access to important and desirable meetings and projects. Employee might be added in specific mailing lists, in company briefings keep them aware regarding company matters. They should be provided opportunity to impact department or company goals, priorities, and measurements. Modern nature of work organisation Work Organisation Change Work organisation change refers to change within organisation which effects the internal as well as external environment of the organisation. Organisation change can be initiated by the manager within organisation and it can be due to changes in policy or due to some external forces e.g., clients demand. In order to survive, the organisation must have the potential to accomplished changes. Factor of organisational change 1. Uncertain economic scenario 2. Globalisation 3. Government intervention 4. Lack of natural resources 5. Swift developments in new technology and the information age; 6. Quality assurance and high standards of customer satisfaction 7. Increased flexibility in the structure of work organisations patterns of management 8. The changing composition of staff Change within organisation is related with time factor. Old dated material resources( (machinery, equipment) as well as human resources in terms of lack of modern skill and knowledge and lack of aptitude in the labour force results in change. These problems can be over come by regular repair of the equipment, physical material and update these with advance technology. While on the other hand, human resource management can run training workshops in order to empower their work force with relevant skill and knowledge in their respective area. Change in organization is an indispensible element in todays technologically advanced world. However, organizational change has faced many challenges in order to accept it by the members of the staff and even the organization as a whole. Due to its challenging nature, organisational change has been criticised keeping in view the following factors: 1. If the change does not meet the need of organisation and employees 2. If the organisation ignore needs and expectations of employees 2. If the employees are ignorant or have less information about the change 3. If the member realized there is no need for change When the employees have insufficient information, they resist change which might be a big hurdle to achieve the goals. Every member has his or her own perception and interprets the change by using his/her own particular perspective or frame of mind. For example Habib Bank Ltd. Pakistan (2007) introduced customer relationship officers (CRO) and employed fresh graduate with updated skill and knowledge. This change was unacceptable for senior employees and they took many years to accept this change by changing their perception with the help of continues meetings and organising socials and training workshop combined with the new staff. Similarly, habits of the members serve as a source of security and when change is necessary, it leads to resistance. Effort is required to provide some rewards in order to build new habits. Change is also perceived as loss of freedom and economic implications, insecurity and fear of the unknown. For example introduction to new technology put heavy pressure on members in order to maintain their position in the orgnisation. Another major criticism is when the organisation resists the change as they are comfortable with the structure, environment and rules, already established within organisation. The possible reasons might be organisation culture, maintaining stability, investment in resources past agreements and threats to power. Organisational culture The development of the culture of an organisation is a long term process, and influence the organisation process and behaviour pattern of the staff members. So it is not easy to bring change and accept it promptly. However, ineffective culture is prone to change easily. Maintaining stability Large organisation more often sounds to be stable. Therefore change in organisation structure, rules, division of tasks leads to resistance to accept change. Investment in resources: To bring change, large resources are also required. Therefore the organisation experience difficulties if their resources are already invested in some project. Similarly past contracts of an organisation with some other organisation can cause resistance to accept change. Lastly change might be perceived as a threat by some group in power. As a result of change, there is strong chance that their influence on decision making or resource is minimized. Case study The following case study provides evidence regarding the outcome of organisation change. These outcomes are related with leadership, motivation, culture change

Cultural Protectionism in the European Union Essay -- national film ind

Since the 1980s the European Union (EU) is pursuing a more liberal trade policy in its multilateral trade negotiations. This liberal approach is the result of the change in company preferences in favour of free trade. The change in business preferences also made politicians to support trade liberalisation. (Young, 2007) While the EU is a lead supporter when it comes to traditional trade policy, it is rather reluctant regarding the liberalisation in other trade areas. The European audiovisual industry is a good example to demonstrate the EU’s protectionist approach. Though there are countries, above all the United States, who are in contrary to the EU, great supporters of the full liberalisation of audiovisual industry. The US government seeks for liberalization of audiovisual services within the framework of General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), while other countries, such as the member states of the European Union see the US and the World Trade Organization (WTO) as a threat to their film industry and national culture. In this paper within the European audiovisual sector I will focus on the European film industry. The main question of the paper: why does the EU pursue protectionist policy in case of its audiovisual sector, when in general it is expected to follow liberal trade policy? In order to explain the EU’s behaviour, Alasdair R. Young’s (2007) division of trade policy will be used as theoretical framework. Young differentiates three aspects of trade policy: traditional trade policy, commercial policy, social trade policy. Traditional trade policy includes tariffs and other quantitative measures, occurring at the border in order to discriminate foreign goods. With the rise of export orientation of European manuf... ... WTO members’ commitment in audiovisual services very low. (WTO, 2009) None of the EU member states, nor any other European countries made commitments to liberalize its audiovisual sector, but they all asked for exemption from the MFN principle. On the other side only two countries with considerable economy opted for the liberalisation: US and New Zealand. (Puppis, 2008) What would happen with the film industry in case of the liberalization of audiovisual sector? Why the EU and the member states are so resistant in this matter? Without the MFN exemption, or with more extended liberalization would lead to increase commercialization, even bigger US/ Hollywood share in the European cinemas and televisions. Under the MFN principle the European Union and its member states would not be allowed to set up programs like MEDIA, or quotas for European content. (Puppis, 2008)

Identifying Two Unknown Species of Bacteria Essay -- Escherichia Coli

Identifying Two Unknown Species of Bacteria Materials and Methods Week 1, Day 1 (10 November 2000) The first day an unknown sample was assigned to each group of students. The first test applied was a gram stain to test for gram positive or gram-negative bacteria. The morphology of the two types of bacteria was viewed under the microscope and recorded. Then the sample was put on agar plates using the quadrant streak method for isolation. There were three agar plates; one was incubated at room temperature, the second at 30 degrees Celsius, and the third at 37 degrees Celsius. By placing each plate at a different temperature optimal growth temperature can be predicted for both species of bacteria. Week 1, Day 2 (12 November 2000) After 48 hours of incubation the agar plates were viewed. Individual colonies were tested for successful isolation by gram staining and then viewing the stained bacteria under a microscope. Isolation was successful. One colony of each unknown bacteria was transferred to an agar slant for growth. The agar slants were stored at room temperature over the weekend so that they would not grow too much. Week 2, Day 1 (17 November 2000) After 5 days of growth each slant was tested using the gram staining technique to confirm the complete isolation of the bacteria. Both isolations were completely successful. Then each sample of bacteria was subjected to a series of tests for identification. One bacterium was gram negative. It underwent four different tests. These tests were the EMB test (Eosin Mehylene Blue), the Sulfur Indole Motility (SIM) test, the Urease test, and the Simmon’s Citrate Utilization test. The EMB test checks for a bacteria’s ability to ferment lactose. This test is accomplished by placing the bacteria on Eosin Methylene Blue agar. The agar is selective for gram negative bacteria and those bacteria that can ferment lactose will have colored growth, usually a metallic green sheen. The Sulfur Indole Motility agar tests for three separate characteristics; sulfur reduction, indole production, and motility. The SIM medium is a semisolid medium; this facilitates the motility test. The medium contains sulfur, if the bacterium has the ability to reduce sulfur the medium will turn black. The medium also contains tryptophan. If the bacterium has the enzyme tryptophanase, indole will be ... ...indole, it is motile, there is no urease present and there is no coagulase activity. By deduction and logical reasoning Unknown 10a was determined to be Escherichia coli. Unknown 10b is Staphylococcus epidermidis. According to Bergey’s Manual Staphylococcus bacteria are gram positive spherical cells that occur singly, in pairs or in irregular clusters. Unknown 10b was gram positive, spherical and occurred in clusters. Bergey’s Manual also says the bacteria grow well in high salt concentrations. Unknown 10b grew well on the mannitol salt agar. The optimum growing temperature is 30-37 degrees Celsius (Bergey’s Manual). Unknown 10b grew best at 37 degrees Celsius. The lab manual and past lab results confirmed all other test results. Unknown 10b was only able to use gamma lysis, it was unable to ferment mannitol and had no coagulase activity. When comparing to past labs it is confirmed that Unknown 10b is Staphylococcus epidermidis. Unknown #10 contained two bacteria they are Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus epidermidis. References 1.Holt, John G. et al Bergey’s Manual of Determinative Bacteriology, 1994. 2.Merkel, Brian Microbiology Laboratory, 2000.

Free Euthanasia and Doctor-Assisted Suicide Essay - Assisted Suicide :: Euthanasia Physician Assisted Suicide

Euthanasia The purpose of this essay is to inform readers clearly and coherently enoughof the terms and issues in the euthanasia debate that they can make sense of the euthanasia question. Descriptions are in relatively simple, non-technical language to facilitate learning. The definition of euthanasia is simple: "Easy, painless death." But the concept of euthanasia proposed by adherents of the euthanasia movement is complex and has profound consequences for all. Because the subject involves the discipline of medicine (diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, medical ethics and so on) as well as the discipline of law, the general public will have difficulty understanding it without some knowledge of these matters. We begin with the definition of terms: * Euthanasia: traditionally, an easy, painless death. Now used to mean "mercy killing," "assisted suicide," or "involuntary euthanasia." * Voluntary euthanasia: death administered to one who asks for it. In practice, truly voluntary euthanasia requests may be very rare, since the patient rarely gives informed consent because the alleged consent is influenced by depression, improperly treated pain or other factors that are not controlled but could be controlled. * Involuntary euthanasia: death administered without the recipient's consent, commonly known as "mercy killing," as in the case of children or incompetent adults. * Active, direct or positive euthanasia: direct killing of the patient by administering lethal drugs or other direct means of ending life, or by withholding or withdrawing ordinary means of sustaining life such as food and water, protection from exposure and so on. * Passive, indirect or negative euthanasia: ambiguous. Can be the decision by patient, parent or guardian and physician to withhold or withdraw extraordinary means of sustaining or prolonging life, such as deciding against high-risk surgery for a patient dying of cancer or kidney failure. When the intent is not to cause death but rather to reject extraordinary treatment, this results in the acceptance of death or continued life, whichever occurs, but it is not true euthanasia. The terms "passive," "indirect" or "negative euthanasia" should not be used since they play into the hands of euthanasia advocates by confusing legitimate actions with euthanasia, thereby desensitizing people to the fact that euthanasia is killing. More importantly, passive euthanasia is sometimes defined by others as the withholding of lifesaving treatment with the intention and result of causing the patient's death. This is the equivalent to active, direct euthanasia.

International Management- Hunter Boots Ltd.

â€Å"Designed to be outstanding in any field, from city streets to music festivals and rugged countryside, Hunter footwear is recognized for its performance durability and comfort – achieved through a fusion of tradition and technology† (Hunter Boot Ltd. , 2013) Hunter Boot Ltd. was founded in 1856, styled as the North British Rubber Company, producing not only rubber boots but also tyres, conveyors and flooring. The famous ‘wellies’ or wellington boots rose to fame when they were mass-produced during World War I to supply the army.By the end of the war ‘wellies’ had become popular for use among the general population as well. After changing ownership several times Hunter Rubber Company became a standalone company in 2004, and was bought out of administration as Hunter Boot Ltd. in 2006. Now solely focusing on footwear, the company has since positioned itself firmly and both the UK and USA footwear markets. In 2008 Hunter closed its plant of 9 6 years and relocated its headquarters to Edinburgh (Scotland) and production to China.Striving for more efficiency and effectiveness in the production process Hunter boots are only still visually similar to its original design, whereas they have in fact become virtually identical to the boots produced by its competitors. Nevertheless Hunter has experienced a period of considerable growth and is now distributed internationally in over 30 countries (Hunter Boot Ltd. , 2013). The author feels that is important to make a clear distinction between the years up to 2006, which is the year Hunter Boot Ltd. was placed into admission, and the years 2007 and onwards to where Hunter Boot Ltd. s currently controlled by Searchlight Capital Partners LP (SCP). , which is a private investment firm operating in North America and Europe. First this paper will analyse the rise, and demise, of the company and then will shed some light on its resurgence in popularity and turn-around sales in recent year s (Paton 2011). According to Porter (1991) sustainable competitive advantage in international business is determined by the four factors that form the diamond of national advantage; factor conditions, demand conditions, related and supporting industries and firm strategy, structure and rivalry. The factors are nterdependent and all are essential for achieving (international) success. The application of this framework certainly holds true for Hunter Boot Ltd. ’s (international) success from its founding years to the early 2000’s. Diamond of National Advantage| Hunter Boot Ltd. 1856 – 2006| Relative level of Importance| Factor Conditions| ‘Dumfries’ production plant, skilled labor and sufficient infrastructure. | High Importance| Demand Conditions| Wet weather conditions make suitable footwear a necessity. Army supplier during both WWI and WWII. Loyal customer ranging from the British Royal Family to general population. High Importance| Related & Supp orting Industries| Close working relationships with suppliers and end-users within national boundary. | Medium Importance| Firm Strategy, Structure and Rivalry| Ability to manage vast growth in both production and labor force. Ambitious management strategy. | High Importance| Table 1: Porter’s Diamond of National Advantage applied to Hunter Boot Ltd. 1856-2006 The company’s decline became inevitably clear in the years 2003-2005 when it recorded a pre-tas loss of approximately ? 700,000 with a net debt that had grown to more than ? 2m. These perils can be explained by two of Porter’s factors.Firstly the company’s Factor Conditions, mainly its production plant, changed from major strength to major weakness. The location and facilities that helped bring to company to greatness during the war became hopelessly outdated in later years leading to relatively high costs of trying to continue its Scotland production. Lower production costs abroad, due to surges in gas, electricity and rubber prices in the UK, and the overall British manufacturing decline made Hunter Boot Ltd’s ambitions to remain an independent producer based in Scotland unsustainable (Financial Times 2006).Also blamed in the process was the company’s CEO Mark Sater, which relates to Porter’s factor on firm strategy, structure and rivalry, who chose to pursue a diversification strategy in that under his rule the product range was extended extensively in an effort to boost sales. The company even added a range of branded clothing and partnered with charities and fashion designers. With the previously mentioned financial situation the company was forced to consider external business proposals in an effort to keep the company afloat.Driving the following negotiations were the company’s demand conditions which were clearly articulated by an anonymous insider in the Financial Times (2006) as ‘anyone who hunts or fishes and has a few quid fancies themselves as the next owner. It is so close to the hearts of so many people it is almost owned by the nation. None of the offers gained sufficient support of the board and the company collapsed in the spring of 2006. In several consecutive constructions Hunter Boot Ltd. Generated sales of ? 56m in 2010 and ? 78 in 2011 which is a strong financial improvement and turnaround from its pre-tax losses in 2005.Since early 2012 the company is under control of American-owned private equity group SCP which is pursuing global expansion. This makes Hunter Boot Ltd. one of many luxury brand buy-outs by private equity groups the like of SCP in recent times. SCP has announced that it will try to set up stores selling the Hunter brand exclusively across the globe in the coming years. This is a major change in its international strategy since Hunter products are currently sold exclusively via wholesale retail channels (Paton 2011&2012).Despite the many changes in ownership Hunter product are still clearly trying to hang on its British heritage in a dual effort to maintain its loyal UK customer base and to differentiate itself from its competitors. As an example the company has two different website interfaces, one for UK customers and one for USA customers. Both emphasize the exclusivity and craftsmanship of the product, but the UK website further emphasizes its heritage by portraying the British flag and colors clearly on every opportunity. From a theoretical perspective one could argue that Hunter Boot Ltd. s current (international) business strategy can no longer be sufficiently explained by Porter’s Diamond model, and now bears more resemblance to Barney’s VRIO model which is a resource-based view focused on the firm’s internal capabilities (Barney 1991). The resource-based view argues international success stems from the theory that some firms in one nation generate exports that are valuable (V), unique (R), hard to imitate (I) and supported by orga nizationally sound processes (O) which firms from other nations find beneficial to import.A valuable resource will lead to competitive parity, a valuable and rare resource to temporary competitive advantage, the addition of inimitability will lead to sustained (short-term) competitive advantage and meeting all VRIO-criteria will lead to (long-term) sustainable competitive advantage (Shahriari, M. & Ahmadi, A. , 2010). While companies may have many tangible and intangible resources only few of them are strategic in nature. Most strategic resources are of the created and intangible kind and often knowledge-based, yet they can only be facilitated with the help of tangible resources.This mix is what enables a company to move past competitive convergence and into competitive advantage (Shariari et al. 2010 and Barney 1991). Globalization has affected Hunter’s home-based competitive advantages in that in a global economy there has been a shift from natural assets (land and untraine d labor) to created assets (human capital). Many of these created assets are intangible and firm or ownership specific which mean they are often no longer controlled by specific countries or governments except within the constraints of the (national) law. Multinational firms (MNEs) like Hunter Boot Ltd. re free to move assets from a domestic to a foreign location which is often done when trying to pursue and generate new valuable assets (Dunning, J. H. , 1993). This opportunity is exactly what the company pursued when it moved its production plant to China while maintaining its HQ in Scotland. It is the company’s intangible or created asset of ‘reputation ‘that currently provides it with a long-term sustained competitive advantage over its competitors. Its constant customer focus and technological capabilities are a close second but do not withstand a long-term orientation to a similar extent.This is particularly true for Hunter Boot Ltd. ’s technological c apability since the recent move of its production facilities and cost-cutting strategy has made the company more vulnerable to imitation by competitors. Recently Hunter Boot Ltd. has been enjoying great success and it will have to prove if this is sustainable or not. It will come down to the following question: Is the company’s gaining in internal capabilities and resources enough to make up for the loss of its national advantages?The author states that it is vital for the company to uphold its reputation since this is currently the single sustainable source of competitive advantage and not one that cannot be affected. It might be that the company will lose some of its loyal (mainly UK) customers and gain a large number of mass-market global customers, but it is doubtful this will provide long-term success if the company is not able to differentiate itself sufficiently from its competitors in the near future. Bibliography BARNEY, J. , 1991.Firm resources and sustained competi tive advantage. Journal of management, 17(1), pp. 99-120. DUNNING, J. H. , 1993. Internationalizing Porter's Diamond. MIR: Management International Review, 33 (Extensions of the Porter Diamond Framework), pp. 7-15. FINANCIAL TIMES, 2006, Future far from bright for Britain’s wellies, viewed on 28th of February 2013 ;http://www. ft. com/intl/cms/s/0/628795c2-cbd4-11da-a7bf-0000779e2340. html#axzz2MYTEnuR ; HUNTER BOOT LTD, 2013, viewed on 4th of March 2013 ;http://www. hunter-boot. com/about-us; PATON, E. 2010, Luxury industry movers and shakers, Financial Times, viewed on 1st of March 2013 ;http://www. ft. com/cms/s/0/0f2e5894-1c62-11e2-ba75-00144feabdc0. html; PATON, E. , 2011, Hunter boots to pursue international growth, Financial Times, viewed on 28th of February 2013 ;http://www. ft. com/intl/cms/s/0/4846403a-2800-11e1-a4c4-00144feabdc0. html#axzz2MYTEnuRw; PORTER, M. E. , 1998,  Competitive advantage of nations,  Free press. SHAHRIARI, M. and AHMADI, A. , 2010, A Reso urce-Based Framework of Strategic Marketing Planning to achieve Sustainable Competitive Advantage, pp. 1-13.

Family and Dolls

Hinamatsuri Hinamatsuri ( ) is a girls’ festival in Japan which is on 3 March. At this festival, parents will put a display stage for their daughters that dolls wearing Wafuku and small furniture from the top to the bottom. Although this festival is not an official holiday in Japan, all of the family members will be together to bless girls for growing up happily and healthily to be an adult. It is very fastidious about the location of the dolls in the display stage. Usually, the top is a pair of emperor-Obina ( and empress-Mebina ( ) with a miniature gilded screen placed behind them like am imperial court. The second stage is Sannin Kanjo ( ), Kuwae no Choushi ( ), Sanpou ( ), and Nagae no Choushi ( ). The third stage is a Gonin BayashiI ( ), Kozutsumi ( ), Fue (? ), Utaikata ( ), Ookawa ( ), and Taiko ( ). The fourth stage is two Zuishiin ( ), Udaijin ( ) and Sadaijin ( ), with some food between them. The fifth stage is three servants and Ukon no Tachibana ( and Sakon no Sasu ra ( ). The sixth stage is some little dowry furniture. The seventh stage is car, cage, and sedan chair, etc. There are totally 15 dolls and 7 stages. Adding up with some other decorations, it would be more expensive. However, there has other choice for 1 stage, 3 stages or 5 stages. These dolls can be generation. When daughter get married, mother would give her daughter these dolls as dowry. Usually, people will put this display 1 or 2 weeks before 3 March.