Business Ethics and Studio Habitat Indonesia

STUDIO HABITAT CASE How to help low income houses clients while followed the architecture business ethics in Indonesia Everyone deserves a comfort, save, and beautifully well-designed house to live in. Unfortunately, there hardly ever an architect who is willing to get involved in a low budget house design project whereas in fact, an architect support is extremely needed in one. People need a particular architecture solution for their lack of budget, space, material, and opportunity in building a house. On the other hand, the low budget house should be made with an ideal plan so it wouldn’t cost more than the fund they have. Which hopefully, can be done with a hand from an architect. A good low budget house should be a sturdy one, so that it could have a low maintenance and sustainable construction. It should have fine light and circulation thus it won’t need much electrical energy which also means saving the energy and expense The space should be properly designed in an exact space, thus every space available is properly used and the material and structure are effective and efficiently applied along with the necessity so that the building cost can also be economized. In Indonesia, the issue is crucial due to the need of good quality house supporting a good quality of life. With a well-constructed environment comes well social environment. The problem is the fact that most architects lack of awareness these days towards the need of middle class society for a good architecture. Not to mention the society which doesn’t seem to assume architecture as a fundamental issue. The main problem due to the problems, there is a very different opinion about how should architects deals with this matter. To make an affordable houses designed by an architect, first of all architect should lowering the rates below the standard rates decided by the Indonesian Architects Association. This is not a really ideal solution, because ethically those who want to create a price war in the business could misuse it. In the other hand, if we keep up with the standard fees, it was to high to be reach by the poor. The Affordable Houses Affordable housing and low cost housing are the most talked about issues in the real estate sector these days. However, there is a distinct difference between the two concepts. In the absence of an institutional rental market in Indonesia affordable and low cost housing denotes ownership and not rental housing. Low cost housing generally refers to cost effective housing that relies on ‘low cost technology' that ensures similar quality and durability as compared to more commonly used technologies. In Indonesia, the affordable houses was definite by the government through some of the rules and laws and minimum standard, Indonesian government set some rules about it such as[1]: †¢ It provides a comfort, save, and proper shelter for the user †¢ It provides a proper air circulation, and ventilation for natural light †¢ It provides drainage, clean water, and a proper waste system †¢ It provides access to public facility †¢ It provides electricity More over, there is some standard minimum area of the houses so it would fulfill the criteria to be called as ideal affordable houses (on exhibit 1 & 2)[2] There’s still some unfinished points about this criteria and standards, for examples the government set up the standard height for ceiling in houses should about to be around 3. 2 meters from the floor. In fact, with a great design on the layout and opening for windows and doors, 2. 4 meters from the floor is all needed to had a proper, safe, comfort, and healthy affordable houses. Business ethics for architects in Indonesia Architects is someone creating an architecture[3]. The job is to make a real manifesto from the idea and the needs of a client. In doing their jobs an architect give a focus on some designs factors during the process, some of those are the style of the building, air circulation, natural light, ventilation, concepts, and the basic structure of the building, the materials that should be use, and so on. The working process would be start right after the architect had been chosen by the client, the next xtep is to collect all the neccessary data, surveys, and then the consultation begin. After the architect and the client had reach some agreement of how the design proccess should be done, the client gave the down payment no more than a 30% of total of the architects fee on the current project to get to the preliminary design process. It including the plan, elevation, and 3D image. Another 30% was given after, to start the works drawing, and at last another 30% to complete all the details and full drawing. There is no rules about the supervision during the construction process yet, but some architects takes 10% left as the supervision fee, and some ask for another contracts. According to The Indonesian architects association (known As IAI stands for Ikatan Arsitek Indonesia) the rules for an architect’s fee is classified through their experiences. So the senior the architect are, the more he or she should be paid[4]. There are 2 kind of fee classification according on year’s experiences. The first one is calculated from man/hour, man/month, even man/ year (see exhibit 3). The second is to calculate the fee from the total price of the projects. The basic fee is 6-9% for housing and 3-5% for public space[5]. This fee is the minimum standard to gain a quality control of architects works throughout Indonesia. Studio Habitat Studio Habitat is voluntary organization of students and professionals in the field of architecture that helps design for cost effective houses clients, doing the design process for free. During their works we had a partnership with Habitat for Humanity, an international nonprofit organization that helps families build safe, decent and affordable houses by providing labors and interest-free funding. Studio Habitat was established to answer the need for good design to help home partner (known as partner families as a clients) build their houses under Habitat program. Studio Habitat Indonesia, whose participants are mostly students of architecture helps to design houses for partner families. Students, who are used to designing houses on paper, get a chance to actually build their designs and learn something in the process. Ideally every Habitat for Humanity home partner that chooses to do so will have their house designed by participants of Studio Habitat Indonesia, under supervision of a mentor. The mentors are professional architects who volunteer for Habitat. Studio Habitat plays a more specific role, as architecture students are involved in designing houses, in addition to helping with the actual construction. The student become more adept in dealing with clients and we learn to be more sensitive to the need of the family in regard to their house is one of the benefits they get from joining Studio Habitat Indonesia. Students joining Studio Habitat talk to the homeowner. They survey the site and design the house in-group supervised by a mentor. Then they will give the workshop-draw to the Habitat for Humanity, and design the building budgeting plan. Afterwards the volunteers go to the location as the houses were built, to supervised and checked whether the workers had a problems on the building process. The Issue While Studio Habitat continuing to help the client, some problems occur. Some architects began to protest about the free-consultation concept this organization used. They don’t see any positive thing in a perspective of an architect to do such projects, and they afraid that this free-consultation idea would inspire some bad quality consultant to create some kind war of setting the price between architects. Some of them had bad experiences on meeting clients requested such a low price for the architect fee, and seeing this concept as a thread. This situation is not a new problem, for a long time certificated architects of The Indonesian architects association had struggled to compete the bad quality so called illegal-architects which selling their drawing per sheet on a very low prices. Others gave a free design, in exchange to use them as a contractor in the construction process. This is not just a thread to the architects, but also to the client, and more over it threatened the architecture business in Indonesia. To solve these problems, Indonesian architects association set the rules on the protection of the architecture business and tried to have it signed by the government on 2010. As for Studio Habitat, they create their own rules and criteria for up coming projects. It includes, the criteria of the client such as income, profession, family background, and so on. And for the houses they set the limits on budget, area, and function. And change the way they do the consulting process. The free consultation programs In brief, the idea is to provide a free of charge architecture consultation system for a low budget house design. The program should be held regularly from one to another middle class social area by turns in order to collect the data about related issue. As a result, this consultation might develop to a fund-raise or loan track activity for people with less budget, a coordination of community self-help activity done voluntarily, or low budget house renovation with followed by a fund raising. With a complete data, this program certainly can be a facility to provide source of information and education both for the architect and client as well. The targets of the program are low budget house clients who don’t know how to optimally spend their budget, space and opportunity. By planning a neat design of the house, the money can be spent properly, plus the rest of it could be used for another need. With a frequently updated data system, the information of building material price and execution charge could help to free from the possibility of deception. It can be sure that, with a well design, every cost spent is worthy and not useless. The most important part of the program is to gathering a number of architects who are willing to give voluntary consultation. And then followed up by finding fund supporting parties so that the consultation and design ideas are not only can be seen on the paper but can also be a realized. At last, forming a system among society to support each other, particularly in designing low budget house architecture within their environment which is not only limited to individual house for living but also public accommodations. The purpose of this program is to spread enthusiasm and idea that everyone deserves good architecture. Therefore, hopefully the community consists of society, architect as well as everyone interested, has been formed within a year. With a simple and low cost system, along with the ability to support individual through cooperation system, the program is wished to develop more and become an inspiration for other society and architect communities. Conclusion From a long, man-to-man consultation process, at the client house, to a short but mass consultation done in villages and traditional public space, The Studio Habitat had change their way of helping the low-income clients. Therefore, the target of the program would not be missed and not being misuse by irresponsible people. And starting from 2009, Studio Habitat is focused on designing prototype of an anti-disaster house for the government. The process is 90% done by the architecture student, within under Indonesian architects association considered as an internship programs member, and allowed to do the design process for free under supervision of certificated architects. The process would help to create a standard about what is architects and what can they do for their clients, so if a good design is for everyone their should be a specific ethics and laws on running the business. And to narrowed the gap between the architects and clients, the affordable houses for the low-income clients is the best way to do, while waiting for the government to step up with the legal laws. Exhibition 1 Number of room |Number of people | |1 |2 | |2 |3 | |3 |5 | |4 |7 | |5 |10 | Exhibition 2 |Area of the room |Max. erson/room | |4,64 m2 |0 | |4,64 – 6,5 m2 |0,5 | |6,5 – 8 m2 |1 | |8 – 10 m2 |1,5 | |> 10 m2 |2 | Exhibition 3 ———————– [1] Health ministry of the republic of Indonesia Number 829/ Menkes/ SK/ VII/ 1999 [2] The standard room area for houses by general works and electricity department year 1972 [3] The manual guide year 2007 by The Indonesian architects association [4] www. iai . com

Marijuana Persuasive Essay

Do you believe the negative effects of marijuana are more damaging than alcohol and tobacco? Personally, I really don’t think the effects are any worse, and seeing as though alcohol and tobacco are legal; so should marijuana. Presently, it is illegal to consume, grow, and/or sell any amount of marijuana in the United States of America for any reason; with the exception of fourteen states, which uses it strictly for medicinal purposes. Yes, I said medicinal purpose. Crazy how an herb that is capable of helping to cure you can be illegal while another that kills over 3 million a year can be legal (Charltan, 2004). Marijuana is a hallucinogen that has been around for many years, initially used for recreational purposes. In recent years, doctors have come to realize that it can actually help with diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis (MS), glaucoma, and more (â€Å"Drug Free America Foundation, Inc.†). The active ingredient in marijuana, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, has been proven to prevent the increase of rate â€Å"Alzheimer plaques† in patients (â€Å"Marijuana may help stave off Alzheimer’s†). It has been known to work more efficiently than any other commercial drug presently being marketed, but many people still have qualms about the idea. They believe marijuana is just a drug that has bad side effects, when in reality; tobacco and alcohol have worse effects. In contrast to marijuana; alcohol and tobacco are legal. Although there is an age limit to consume both, 21 and 18 respectively, the use is not prohibited. When it comes down to lasting effects on the body and organ damage; tobacco does way more damage than marijuana. Tobacco causes emphysema, cavities, gum disease, and it is responsible for 9 out of 10 lung cancer deaths (â€Å"Cigarette Smoking, 2009†). People are warned of the negative effects of tobacco on a daily basis, but yet they smoke packs of cigarettes continuously, and you may wonder why this is so. I concluded that the reason why they smoke cigarettes is because they’re legal, point blank. If marijuana was legal I guarantee no one would ever smoke a cigarette again, and as a result, there would be less cases of lung cancer, emphysema, and oral cancer altogether. In the case of what drugs should and should not be legal, this argument is very astonishing. Just how tobacco; such a harmful herb, with barely any health benefits can be legal and available to everyone. The lasting effects are so harsh; I cannot understand how people do not see my point of view. While tobacco causes cancer, marijuana helps cure it. For one to say that legalizing marijuana is a ridiculous idea, it would be like saying using a band-aid on a cut is pointless. It should be legalized and officially recognized as a medicine. All states, not only fourteen, should sign off on this topic. Marijuana is treatment for many diseases and it is what a band-aid is to a cut. Many people need it and are afraid to obtain it because of possible repercussions. That should no longer be an issue in this country. Works Cited. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Annual smoking-attributable mortality, years of potential life lost, and economic costs — United States, 1995–1999. 2002;51(14);300–303. MMWR Morb Mort Wkly Rep. Accessed at www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5114a2.htm on September 17, 2009. Charlton, Ann. (2004). Medicinal use of tobacco in history. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1079499/ Marijuana may help stave off Alzheimer’s. (2006, October 10). Retrieved from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15145917/#storyContinued

Personal Code of Ethics Essay

After spending much time considering this assignment, I feel now that developing a code of ethics is an important thing to do. The basic knowledge of what is right and what is wrong make up our â€Å"internal† code of ethics and the best way to know what those internal guidelines are is to create a written code to follow. This paper will explain why I believe developing a code of ethics is important, highlight the motives behind what I base my daily decisions and ethical behavior, clarify the outcomes and consequences that will take place if the code is not followed, and outline in list form my own personal ethics. I think that ethical behavior is an important quality for people especially those who are leaders. If I plan on being a leader in my career, it is important to know when to take a stand on difficult issues. I can’t lead if I am irresolute or indecisive. I am not saying though, that I shouldn’t be open to new arguments. Many of the most significant discussions (ethical and otherwise) have strong points on both sides, and all choices should be considered carefully. Ethics inspire trust, loyalty, and effective, meaningful relationships. If I am going to make a difference, I must set high ethical examples for others to follow. My personal code of ethics includes not only how I wish to conduct myself on a daily basis, but also as a professional in the field of broadcast journalism. Much of my own code reflects on that of the Society of Professional Journalists (Andy Schotz, 2007). I hope to re-examine this during my future career and perhaps even make necessary changes that will keep it as up to date as possible and relevant to the field at that time. The times and technology are always changing, and respectfully, so should my code as to reflect these inevitable changes. The basis for my own code is somewhat conflicting. I find myself understanding and believing in many concepts and views of ethics. I will try here to explain the reasoning behind my motives and hopefully it will be made clear. First, I believe strongly in utilitarianism ethics (Neher & Sandin, 2007). I think this concept drives many of us in our big decisions, I know I consider what would affect other people when I make a decision, especially if the decision is to be made on behalf of a group. I would never  knowingly undermine, harm, or sabotage anyone in any way, even if it is to stand a great gain for myself. I try to consider what helps the greater good, partly because my background is in organizational leadership and functionality (and is therefore what I am accustomed to), what stands to benefit the group also stands to benefit me as a part of the group. I also, however, agree with the ethical egoism perspective. The ethical egoism perspective, of course, is based upon the view that behavior which advances long-term self interests is ethical (Neher & Sandin, 2007). Ethical egoism, I think, comes off harsh and selfish, but I do not mean it in a cut-throat sense. I know that this view of ethics promotes the pursuit of self interests without regard to its effect on other people, but I think that it tends to imply a negative connotation. I do not wish to take it to an extreme of cruelty or heartlessness. I only mean that my responsibilities are my responsibilities, not anyone else’s, and I need to be the one to take care of them, in order to do that I have to put my task above doing something for someone else. This includes advancing my career, this is not to say I will deliberately undermine or hurt someone, but I will work for my best interests and towards advancing my career, and caring for my (hypothetical, future) family. For example, I will do everything in my power to earn a promotion, more so that I would help a competitor for the same promotion. I think that we can apply Kant’s categorical imperative, and then this concept has the potential to become utilitarianism. If everyone strived to do what was best for them and those they loved, wouldn’t society be better off? I think it would. The application of the code requires good sense and judgment, and its use may depend on certain situations. Individual judgment calls on ethical decisions may be necessary. These decisions will probably depend on several aspects, including but not limited to, the presence or absence of shared values and opinions, political views, and the individuals involved in the situation. As inconceivable as it may seem, my ideal theme of personal ethical behavior then would be a blend of these two themes. When I am faced with a problem that requires a decision based on ethics, I hope to first ask myself a series of questions to help guide my decision. They will consist of, is this  right? Is it fair? Who gets hurt in the end? Would I be comfortable if the details of my decision were reported on the front page of your newspaper? This code of ethics cannot and does not attempt to assure constant behavior or resolve all disputes, it does, however, provide a standard to which I aim and against which my actions can be judged. Nevertheless, there is no judge to determine guilt of breaking a rule in the code, except myself. Consequences of a violation of a rule will include self inflicted punishment. The harshest punishment comes from one’s self, and in this case the penalty will be disappointment, and shame. I would find it particularly hard to live with the knowledge that I knowingly broke a rule in my own code of ethics, because I feel that these are important in my life. The internal punishment that I would put upon myself in the form of guilt heavily outweighs simply doing the right thing in the first place, no matter how tedious or daunting it may be at the time. Owning up to a mistake or intentional rule violation to the harmed individual will also be a penalty. The basic ideas of this code of ethics are personal behavior, continual education, demonstrating a professional attitude and responsibility, decency and treating others equally, respect to me and others maintain self direction and motivation, and truth. The code is not in order of importance as every guideline is equally as important and none are intended to be of better value than any other. I have arranged them into themes. Points 1-6 deal with responsibility and professionalism at work (in any setting), points 7-12 discuss the importance of journalistic ethics, and finally points 13-16 are more personal life applications of this code. Jessica Dirr’s Personal Code of Ethics:1.I will maintain the highest level of professional standards as an employee of my company and conduct myself accordingly at all times. 2.I will respect other people’s time and be punctual and prepared daily. 3.I will accept the duties that I have been assigned and collaborate with others in a spirit of teamwork to complete the tasks at hand. 4.I will always work to develop my own professional skills, continue my education, and to be aware of changes in the field, and modify my own practices accordingly. 5.I will be honest and trustworthy. I believe that honesty is an important part of trust, and trust is essential not only at work, but in personal lives as well. 6.I will display a high moral level and not take part in any behaviors or activities that might reduce my value to the company for which I am employed. 7.I will honor confidentiality whenever necessary or requested, not only in my career, but also in my personal relationships and trusted people (Radio-Television News Directors Association, 2000). 8.I will thoroughly check the facts on any story and verify all sources, and will never present questionable or false information. 9.I will promote equal access and opportunity without regard to race, gender, nationality, ability or other quality. 10.I will strive to approach all assignments with an unbiased attitude and strive to gather evidence fairly and accurately (Andy Schotz, 2007). 11.I will not let sponsorship, political efforts, or advertisers shape or change my news stories. In accordance, I will not allow the benefit of ownership or management influence the content of the news stories. (Radio-Television News Directors Association, 2000)12.I will never plagiarize or take credit for other’s ideas or work. 13.I will strive to not cause harm to anyone. 14.I will admit any and all mistakes and make every effort to correct them quickly. 15.I will make every attempt to listen to and allow people to give me information without interrupting or arguing with them. 16.I will avoid being rude, and demonstrating the appearance of bad taste. I would like to expand on these points. The first few (points 1- 6) deal with a general work ethic that could be applicable in any business or career setting. I strongly believe that my work ethic comes from my upbringing. My father, who is a business owner, instilled this strong value in me at an early age. I learned to respect others’ time and efforts. I saw how a single person could affect how the rest of the day works. I also have seen firsthand the effects that one person’s negligence can have on another’s experiences. I think that this sort of experience with the consequences on â€Å"other side† of the actions makes my work ethic portion of the code more personal. Also, I learned at a very young age how to act professionally and the â€Å"There is a time and place for certain behavior† concept. When I would accompany him on his â€Å"rounds† (by this I mean we would travel from store to store and he would do inspections, and other managerial duties, so I was not allowed to misbehave) I would have to conduct myself with a certain demeanor and respect the employees and my father. I knew that my actions were not necessarily reflective on myself, but more so reflective on him. I felt that if I misbehaved he would lose an authority or respect by his employees. The one time I deviated from this standard I wasn’t reprimanded per se, but I did realize the consequences of my actions, I felt a shift in the status quo, and disappointment in myself more than anything. At the age of seven, I knew the importance of professional conduct and hold firm to that lesson even today. Often, in my undergraduate career, I was assigned group projects, most of which one or two people (usually myself) ended up doing the bulk of the work. I suppose I brought this upon myself to ensure that the project would be completed, also I was untrusting of others to â€Å"do it right† a.k.a. my way. In hindsight this was not the best course of action, as it not only brought more workload on myself, but it hurt the spirit of teamwork in our class, and the other members suffered a loss of the knowledge to be gained  by collaborating on the project. I think that this can be applicable in workplace situations, as often tasks are assigned to teams and collaborating colleagues. This rule is in place to remind me that in order for a project or task to be the best it can be, teamwork is necessary. Also it will help me maintain control over my perfectionism and â€Å"control freak† personality. By allowing me to be open to suggestions I am letting down barriers that I have created that ultimately hinder my personal and professional development more than protect myself. The field of news and communications is constantly and rapidly changing (Bogart, 1968). I hope to never be so closed minded that I am not willing to learn more, new and different techniques and styles. Often, it appears that members in this industry that get left in the past with outdated techniques aren’t of value to the station, and eventually lose their jobs. I don’t want that to happen to me. Therefore, I will always be open minded and eager to learn new technology and techniques for which to better my career. The concept of being honest and trustworthy is relatively simple. I do believe that honesty is an important part of trust, and trust is essential not only at work, but in personal lives as well. In order to maintain that trust, I will not do anything or act in a way that will betray a trust that I have with someone. Also, the idea of displaying a high moral level is reasonably straightforward. I will not take part in any activities that might make me look bad to my company. This includes any and all illegal activities or even something that is unprofessional or not representative of my usual character. I have certain, and very specific boundaries which I will not cross, and those are clear. I do on the other hand recognize that mistakes happen, and sometimes (usually when prompted by high levels of stress or emotion) I act not in accordance with my usual demeanor. In the event that this happens, I will try to prevent this from occurring in a negative manner that may affect another person, and certainly not at work. The following (points 7-12) are related specifically to my career in journalism and news reporting. First, I stated that â€Å"I will honor confidentiality whenever necessary or requested, not only in my career, but also in my personal relationships and trusted people†. Confidentiality is a  sticky topic. Some would argue that it isn’t necessary in the news, especially if an irresponsible reporter fabricates their facts. I have learned that for better, or for worse, confidentiality is an important aspect in news (Radio-Television News Directors Association, 2000). Some interviewers and some sources require it, it allows for an anonymity that might afford them the freedom to say what they intend to or want to without fearing the repercussions of identifying one’s self. However most important to the news field, it is also useful in personal life. Often, people express something to another â€Å"in confidence† which means they trust you to not relay the information to anyone else. This goes back to trust and honesty, and I believe that it is an integral part of ethics. Leading from the confidentiality theme, I will thoroughly check the facts on any story and verify all sources, and will never present questionable or false information. Studies have shown the effects of confidentiality and falsifying sources in the news (Wulfemeyer, 1982), and I find it appalling that a professional journalist would make up a story and claim that she had gave her sources confidentiality. I will never under any circumstances act in that manner. The next three are again pretty clear-cut. I will support equal access and opportunity (without regard to race, gender, nationality, ability or other quality). I do not believe in (or very much understand) the concept of discrimination based on differences. I think to do so is demonstrating of one’s own ignorance and closed mindedness. I then go onto say that I will strive to approach all assignments with an unbiased attitude and attempt to gather evidence fairly and accurately (Andy Schotz, 2007). I understand that a bias comes built into all of us, but in the effort to produce completely factual news stories, I will try to put any natural bias aside. Also, I will never allow any alteration or censorship of material produced for any reason other than common decency or personal judgment. Corporate sponsorship and political motivations and do not drive the news, and should not be a foundation upon which our stories are based (Radio-Television News Directors Association, 2000). Also, I will never plagiarize or take credit for other’s ideas or work. The final section of my personal code of ethics (points 13-16) highlights personal guidelines and standards. First of all, I will strive to not cause harm to anyone. Of course I know that some actions (even if they are done with good intent, which may include any actions that complete assigned tasks or stories) could potentially cause harm accidentally. If this happens, I will try to remedy or relieve the effects as much as I can. In an effort to avoid unintended harm I will be sure to consider any and all potential outcomes my decisions might have an effect on. I will give credit where credit is due when I am assisted with projects. Also, following this, I will admit any and all mistakes and make every effort to correct them quickly. I hope to never be so proud that I am unwilling to admit that I have made a mistake, we are all only human and it is bound to happen from time to time. And finally, I will make every attempt to listen to and allow people to give me information without interrupting or arguing with them, and I will avoid being rude, and demonstrating the appearance of bad taste. This is for my own sake, as I am known sometimes to be stubborn and set in my ways. I need to practice the art of patience and listening without interrupting someone. This one might be hard to do. However, in accordance with being open to other’s opinions I must first be willing to let go of total control and allow others to give their input. I always strive to be polite and courteous in every situation, and in doing so showing respect for the people and situation with which I am involved. I feel this is a great tool in personal life as well as professional. In conclusion, I hope that by setting this code in place, I will better myself and my career. I also hope that it allows me the opportunity to lead by example, and that others will feel so motivated to practice good ethical decisions and practices. I also hope that by outlining these ethics I can be better aware of my own actions and whether or not what I ultimately decide to do is the right decision ethically and personally. I tried to clarify why developing a code of ethics is important, I emphasized the foundation to what I base my daily decisions and behavior, I stated the outcomes and consequences that will take place if the code is not followed, and I explained in detail my own personal ethics. Bibliography: Andy Schotz. (2007). Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics. Retrieved September 22, 2007, from Society of Professional Journalists: http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.aspBogart, L. (1968, December). Changing News Interests and the News Media. The Public Opinion Quarterly , pp. 560-574. Fackler, M., Christians, C. G., & Ferrà ©, J. P. (1993). Good News: Social Ethics and the Press. New York: Oxford University Press. Neher, W. W., & Sandin, P. J. (2007). Communicating Ethically: character, duties, consequences, and relationships. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc. Radio-Television News Directors Association. (2000, September 14). Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct. Retrieved September 23, 2007, from Radio-Television News Directors Association: http://www.rtnda.org/pages/media_items/code-of-ethics-and-professional-conduct48.phpWulfemeyer, T. K. (1982). The Use of Anonymous Sources and Related Ethical Concerns in Journalism: A Comparison of the Effects of the Janet Cooke/†Washington Post† Incident on the Policies and Practices of Large Newspapers and Television Stations. Athens: The Association for Education in Journalism.

Can u pls make up a title for me anything to do with marktering Literature review

Can u pls make up a title for me anything to do with marktering - Literature review Example In the earlier times, shop keepers were able to acquire a fair understanding of consumer behaviour because they sold their products directly to the customers. However, with the increasing growth in the size of firms, opportunities of direct contact with consumers have lowered. Increasingly, managers are investing more to gain an insight on consumer behaviour. As a consequence, business and academic researchers invest more resources in studying consumer energy for the improvement of businesses. One of the oldest models in regards to consumer behaviour is ‘stimulus-behaviour model’. The following model propagates that marketing and other stimuli influence the buyer’s black box, producing certain responses (The Institute for Working Futures, n.d.). The stimuli can be of two kinds. The marketing stimuli or the marketing mix consist of 4 P’s including product, price, place and promotion. Others include economic, technological, political and cultural stimuli. All these stimuli move through the consumers’ black box and help them to make the product choice, brand choice, purchasing timing and purchasing amount. Apart from this simplified model, several other models have been developed by the marketing scholars in the field of ‘consumer behaviour’. The most prominent models have been developed by John A. Howard and Jagdish N Sheth, Francesco M. Nicosia, James F. Engel, Roger D. Blackwell and David T. Kollat. The five stage model of buying process includes steps like recognizing the problems, searching for information, evaluating the alternatives, purchasing decision and post purchase behaviour of the consumers. After purchasing the products, the buyer is expected to feel some level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction regarding the product or service acquired. The number of organisational buying processes can be quite

Business economic Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business economic - Coursework Example 6). Inflation causes a redistribution of income and wealth away from lenders to the benefits of borrowers. Inflation reduces the value of money so lender losses some value of his money once he is paid in the period of inflation. Keynesian economic theory usual relay on spending aggregate demand to define the economic market place of which is often influenced by public and private decisions. Classical economic theory is rooted in the concept of a laissez-faire also known free market, which requires little to know government interventions. Also allows individuals to act according to their self-interest regarding economic issues thus promoting unemployment 8). An externality exists in production of good or service when: the marginal social cost differs from the marginal private cost of production. For example, a chemical industry emits wastage as a by-product into nearby rivers and into the atmosphere. This creates negative externalities, which impose higher social costs on other firms and consumers. 9). In a market economy, the ideal solution to the problem of externalities would be to allow producers to produce the output level where both the marginal private benefits and the marginal. Externalities create divergence between the private and social cost of

Using the key studies from the course, suggest what answers Essay

Using the key studies from the course, suggest what answers psychologists can give to the question Who am I - Essay Example logy, even though had reached great heights as far as the theories are concerned, has failed to create a revolution in the society and has proved quite helpless to transform the human nature. (Gross Richard , 2003,Pg.3). But even then, psychologists have done their best to understand the complex creation called the man and tried their best to answer the question, â€Å"Who am I?†. stagnant or a physical thing. It is a volatile and ever-changing aspect of human being and so the question can be answered in different ways. Following are some of the answers that we can come up with. I am the one who try to study and perceive people, events, relationships, the society and the system that I live in. I try to increase my understanding of everything around me using all the sensory abilities that I have so that I can have a control over my life. That is my motivation of the life, to control it and feel powerful and happy about it(Gross Richard , 2003, Pg.13). I am a product of my culture. The culture that I am born into influences me in every way. My thoughts, my behavior pattern, my beliefs, my religion, the food that I eat and the clothes that I wear are nothing but the influences of the I am the most superior of all the species. No other species can beat me when it comes to the ability of communication. I can interpret symbols and make references out of it. I can understand and communicate the things that are not in the space and time. I can mix different parts of the language and form a sentence that makes a sensible meaning. And my most powerful ability is creativity which makes me the most interesting and intelligent species on the earth ( Gross Richard , 2003, Pg.81). Even

Civil Rights Legislation and the Return of Status Essay

Civil Rights Legislation and the Return of Status - Essay Example These students would become known as the "Little Rock Nine."2 In 1960, students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College staged a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter. Their mistreatment was televised to the nation and prompted reflection. Also in North Carolina, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee was founded at Shaw University to give black students direction in the civil rights movement.3 1963 was an active year on the Civil Rights timeline. Martin Luther King was arrested and jailed. There, he wrote his famous "Letter From the Birmingham Jail," voicing the familiar argument that is was a moral duty to disobey unjust laws. In May, Birmingham officials unleashed fire hoses and police dogs on black protestors, once again televised for the world to see. The Lincoln Memorial was the congregation point of 200,000 who joined the March on Washington, where King spoke his "I Have a Dream" speech. Violence continued in the streets of Birmingham when four young girls were killed in an explosion at the Sixteenth Baptist Church, the location of several civil rights meetings.4 Progress came in the form of the 24th Amendment in 1964, which abolished a poll tax designed to block blacks fro

Writer's Memo for the final draft (letter) Assignment

Writer's Memo for the final draft (letter) - Assignment Example I made these changes because I felt that a letter to an Editor would have to have the necessary shift in perspective from being on the offensive to taking a softer line. This was done out of propriety as well as a desire not to join issue with the other readers. I wanted to get my point across and argue about the editorial without taking on other readers on what may seem to be a futile attempt to join issue with them. The intention here was to comment on the issue at hand and not get carried away in making my case strongly. I did quote on more than one occasion from the editorial. The quotation that I chose was to reflect the gravity of the issue at hand and make some suggestions regarding the same. The idea here was to show the author of the editorial the points where I agreed with her and the points where I felt she should have taken a more assertive stand. Hence, I selectively quoted from the article to reflect these positions of mine. I want to make the point that guns do not have a place in a civilized society and particularly in national parks. Hence, my target audience would be the kind of people who would join the Mothers against drunk driving and similar projects. I was trying to convey my sense of anguish about using guns in public places and particularly in the national parks and hence wanted to convey my desire to make my stand clear. If my letter has to be evaluated fairly, my stand against taking guns to public places must be made clear and that I have strong opinions regarding the same. To the best of my ability, I have made everything clear. I have stated the reasons for writing the letter as well as the position that I took. In this way, I have conveyed the reasons why I wrote that letter as well as what changed from the initial draft and what remained the same. Hence, I hope to be evaluated according to the merits of the letter and

K 12 Public Education Foundations Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 8000 words

K 12 Public Education Foundations - Dissertation Example The mushrooming public school foundations owe their unprecedented growth to several reasons. For instance, it is very difficult for schools to procure funds. In addition, accountability of schools has increased manifold. Furthermore, members of the community are provided with a convenient device to involve themselves with local schools and their enterprises (Woodworth). As such, education foundations are non – profit organizations as per the provisions of section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. These foundations are affiliated with public school corporations, and they facilitate the establishment of tax-deductible funds to generate grants and scholarships (Robbins, 2009). Such foundations are of immense help to teachers and students. Moreover, section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code considers education foundations as tax-exempt organizations. In addition, the laws of the state where the foundation is to be established have to be examined, with regard to tax ex emptions. As such, fundraising activity should not commence till such time as a tax exempt status is not granted to the foundation and its donors (Else, Assisting K-12 Education through the National Center for Public and Private School Foundations, 2003). For instance, the National Center for Public and Private School Foundations at the University of Northern Iowa has objectives that take into account the phenomenal growth of school foundations. These objectives consider the requirements of local public school districts and the private schools (Else, Assisting K-12 Education through the National School Foundations Association, 2011). The principal aims of the National Center for Public and Private School Foundations are; first to correlate people and organizations with private and public schools, and to promote support and awareness, by means of school foundations. Second, to help private and public schools, via the development of school foundations, in the task of creating educatio n funds of greater flexibility, and reducing the gap between the lower and higher income districts (Else, Assisting K-12 Education through the National School Foundations Association, 2011). Third, support school personnel in the US in the design, operation and sustaining of school foundations. Fourth, help local foundations by providing expertise and guidelines in the management and development of school foundations. Some of these are fundraising strategies, procedures, policies, management, organization and legal issues (Else, Assisting K-12 Education through the National School Foundations Association, 2011). Fifth, assist the leadership of the school foundation to develop professionally, especially with regard to working meaningfully with the board and in strategic planning. Sixth, conduct research on and adapt the extant research findings with respect to school foundations and determine the crucial factors that affect their success. Seventh, enhance the fundraising capability o f K – 12 schools so that they can effectively address emerging requirements (Else, Assisting K-12 Education through the National Center for Public and Private School Foundations, 2003).

Listed companies are under increasing pressure from the media and Essay

Listed companies are under increasing pressure from the media and politicians to behave ethically. In recent months, c - Essay Example 7 Conclusion 10 References 11 Introduction In the modern day perspective, a director’s role is considered to be quite significant when concentrating upon the success factors or driving forces which can derive sustainable growth for a company. In the recent past, many occurrences have revealed the lack of ethical concerns, and the discrepancies persisting in the directors’ performances of listed companies owing to which the companies have been witnessing increasing pressure from the community including the media and even the politicians with relation to their ethical commitment and ‘green’ initiatives. It is in this context that Section 172 of the Companies Act 2006 tends to play a major role in directing the roles and the responsibilities of the directors to preserve the success and the interests of the corporate being treated as two separate entities. However, in light of the prevailing occurrences of unethical conducts by directors as against the interest s of the company, it can be argued that certain amendments are required in the provisions mentioned under Section 172 of the Companies Act 2006. This paper aims at arguing on the basis of this particular aspect with reference to few case laws. Ethical responsibilities of A Director Under Section 172 Of The Companies Act 2006 The Companies Act 2006 is one of the major legislations, which governs the companies’ activities within the business periphery of the UK. It is one of the longest legislations, which has been passed in the UK with a large number of sections by its name. The main aim of the law is to modernise along with simplify the prevailing Companies Act in the UK. Moreover, it has been observed that this law is also meant to codify the duties of the directors in the companies. Furthermore, this Act would also grant much improved rights to shareholders of companies and it would also be effective in limiting the managerial burdens carried by the companies operating in t he UK1. One of the crucial impacts of the Companies Act 2006 is on the managers of the UK companies. The duties of the directors of the companies are codified with the emergence of this Act. It has been observed from the Section 172 of the Companies Act that the directors of the companies need to appreciate their duties towards organisations. The directors should work for the best interest of the companies. The directors should have to perform keeping in mind the ethical considerations. In this regard, the director should not accept any kind of benefits from any of the third parties. It would be unethical to the company if they perform activities in that manner. It has been evidently mentioned in the Companies Act that the directors would not be allowed to take any type of benefits from any of the third parties as it may harm organisations. Moreover, it has been viewed from Section 172 of the Act that the directors of organisations must act in a way that would said to be done in a g ood faith and to support the success relating to the company by considering the success of the interests of the members associated with it [Aberdeen Railway Co v Blaikie Brothers]2. Additionally, it is the duty of the directors of organisations to think about the long-term consequences of his/her decisions which are also ethically important. Furthermore, it has also been assumed from Section 172 of the Act that the directors would also have to keep in mind the welfare or interests of the employees of organisations and do

Air Passenger Duty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Air Passenger Duty - Essay Example The price-quantity equilibrium with APD =  £11, is shown by points A and B in Fig: 1. The fare that the consumers pay is given by Pd1 and the amount that the sellers receive is shown by Ps1. The difference between these two prices, given by AB (=  £11), is collected as the duty fee per unit by the government. The equilibrium supply of the short-haul trips is Q1. Now with the hike in APD, demand curve falls further to D2. As again, the vertical distance between D2 and D0 is  £12. The new equilibrium quantity and prices are now given by the points C and D. Fares that the buyers pay is now Pd2 and the sellers receive as much as Ps2. Again the difference between these two prices, i.e. CD (= £12) is taken as the duty fee per unit by the government. The equilibrium quantity of short haul trips now reduces to Q2. Thus the entire effect of this decision can be summarised below: From the society’s point of view the dead weight loss from the taxation also rises. With APD =  £11, it is equal to the area of the triangle ABE, but with the hike of  £1 in APD, the dead weight loss will be equal to the area of the larger triangle CDE. Hence the deadweight loss or the loss in social welfare accumulates with this decision (Mankiw, 2008, p. 164). Thus the buyers’ price will rise exactly by the hike in the rate of tax, i.e.  £1, only if Ed = 0, which means the price elasticity of demand is equal to zero which further means that the demand curve is vertical and perfectly inelastic. In case of perfectly inelastic demand the buyers will not try to look for alternatives even if the price of that commodity rises. They will not try to shift their consumption to elsewhere very easily. Producers will, in such cases, try to take advantage of buyers’ strong inclination towards their product. They will pass the entire burden of increased taxes onto the buyers successfully. Thus if the demand is perfectly inelastic, buyers have to bear the entire burden of

Limiting the Extent of Party Discipline in Canada Essay Example for Free

Limiting the Extent of Party Discipline in Canada Essay Party solidarity and cohesion have always been an integral part of the Westminster Parliamentry system. The leaders of the political parties of the Canadian House of Commons , with the assistance of whips, very strongly discipline their party members to vote on issues as a single entity, especially in plenary sessions (Olson, 2003). Although, some degree of party discipline is essential for any political party to maintain their power as they require the confidence of the majority of the legislative branch of the government, this practice does not really reflect a democracy. This paper argues that implememnting a large extent of party discipline undermines the spirit of democracy as the politicians become more concerned with appeasing their party leaders for their personal benefits, instead of truly representing the desires and demands of the citizens of their respective constituencies. As mentioned previously, it is argued that strict party discipline is necessary to ensure that the current governnig party maintains its power since a vote of non confidence in the House of Commons can ultimately lead to federal re-election, or re-appointment of the prime minister. However, as Kilgour et al. rgue in Crosscurrents: Contemporaty Political Issues (2013: 205), enforcing strict cohesion strategies to ensure party unity leads to members of Parliament to become extreamly passive as they no longer think for themselves, but merely conform to the demands of their party leaders. Their opinions and thoughts are constrsained by a fear of a loss of majority in the House Of Commons. It is very crucial for any political party to value and respect the opinions of its members to assess a situation more closely and obtain diverse opinions. However, strong party discipline stifles the values and opinions of individual members of party. Consequently, this diversity of imagination is replaced by a single unit of party that reflects a single, rigid opinion on most issues. This devalues the sense of liberty and freedom that is cherished by democracy. Often times, it is observed that the members of a party vote in a similar fashion, not just to ensure a majority confidence motion, but also to derive personal gains. If a member of parliament wishes to advance their political career and gain quicker promotions, he or she muct act according to the command of their party leaders (Kam, 2006). Expression of dissent from the MPs can have dire consequences for their career. They can be warned about the lack of financial support, or even be ultimately expelled from the party caucus. Kam (2006) also suggested that the promotion of ministers is greatly manipulated by the prime minister to ensure maximum conformation to the partys position. Sometimes, certain ministers of parliament are deliberately brought into the cabinet as it is too dangerous to leave them as a backbencher (a member of House of Commons) where they can openly challenge and vote against the position of the leader of the political party. This suggests that the deliberate promotion, or demotion, ministers of parliament is not due to their, merits or demerits, but is rather strategically devised to overall benefit the party. In addition, the vote of the members of the House of Commons not only does not represent the opinions of individual ministers, but also it not a representation of a members unyielding and unconditional loyalty to his or her party. Rather, it is a conscious decision to vote according to the wishes of the party leader to maintain the imge of conformity and ensure personal gains and benefits for the members of parliament, which would reward in the form of more opportunities to ascend the political ladder and make personal and professional gains that do not particularly benefit the citizens of the consituency that elected the member of parliament. It is unquestionable that voting in the Canadian House of Common is extremely disciplined and very highly regulated by emloying various methods. The study of the patterns of recorded votes shows that majority of votes show almost no dissent from the party members. Also, rejection of major government motions due to dissent of the members of the House of Commons is extremely rare (Malloy, 2003). Canada operates on a system of majoritarian parliamentary government. Cohesion of political parties is very essential to maintain a majority rule by ensuring that vote of non confidence is not ever issued (Kam, 2001). Due to this constant threat of the possibility of loss of majority and formation of a coalition, political parties are very strongly disciplined by their leaders. A coalition governmet is not necessarily always detremental. It can help to foster more cooperation in different political parties and compel the members of a party to consider the opinions and views that are different from the ideology shared by their party. It also provides an opportunity for a greater debate and consideration before arriving at a common decision. Maintaining strong party discipline just to eliminate the possibility of the formation of a coalitions limits the possibilities for political experimentation and possible positive growth. The change is not just welcomed, but also deliberately resisted using the traditional practice of oppressive party discipline. The members of parliament are elected by, and are required to respresent the citizens of their respective constituencies. The common vision shared by their party and party leader may or may not reflect the wishes of the citizens. The first and foremost duty of an MP is to cater to the needs and the demands of the citizens who democratically elected him or her. The loyalty to ones party should be a secondary priority. However, as observed, most times, this is not the case. This severely debilitates the sole purpose of a democratic government which demands the citizens voice and opinions to be heard above all others. Although some degree of party discipline may be required to control and maintain cohesion within the House of Commons to propose policies and arrive at a firm decision, it does not really encompass democratic ideas. Party discipline compells the members of a party to not pay heed to the needs of the citizens, but to blindly follow the demands made by their party leaders. This practice is also morally questionable as the political success of ministers of parliament is largely based on their loyalty to the partys alues, even if they contradict his/ her personal opinions. Instead of being constantly threatened by the possiblity of losing the confidence of the majority of the House of Commons, fundamental changes need to be made to change the Westmister Parliamentry structure to alter, if not eliminate, this system that makes it almost mandatory for the parties to implement rigid party discipline. Limiting the extent of the party discipline would help to make the Canadian government more democratic by accomodating more diverse ideas and opinions.

Child labor in Egypt

Child labor in Egypt Child labor in Egypt Child labour is work that may harm children or keep them away from education. It is a disaster on edge, a world wide known scene is the working child. You can see them every where especially in developing countries, rural areas. To the degree that you can forget that its a big catastrophe that really concerns our families and communities. Our hope in those children fades into a black ugly future. Child labor is work that harms children or keeps them from attending school. I do believe that Poverty and the lack of education are the most important reasons for child labor, especially in the agrarian sector. Other reports show that the policies of market liberalization contribute greatly to the spread of this phenomenon and the violation of childrens rights to care and protection. More over Consequences of child labor are crystal clear which do affect the psychological state and their health; causes are varied according to the community, needs, traditions and the knowledge raising level. However solutions are always available if we do care to reach them. This essay examines the problem of child labor and its causes and effects, together with the required measures needed in order to prevent the serious issues that could be disastrous and life threatening on Egyptian children. First we have to define the word child; the meaning could be based on different aspects, some can refer to puberty age as a quite end of childhood thus boys of 13 and girls of 10 are supposed to be mature and not children anymore, in my opinion this is the peek of injustice. Other can refer to the education years, so that after secondary education you are more of a man knowing that you completed about 16 years old, much better opinion yet not really satisfying. Others do prefer the medically word reaching, being mature by 21, and that is quite fair but it wont ever be considered as a minimum working age in our country. So the word actually differs from one culture to another, and as a result laws should be imposed on that part which I think that its effective when discussing that problem, the real age of working should be settled under the supervision of lots of medical and psychological doctors to reach the optimum age where we can say that working man is not more a child labor. When thinking about it, there are a lot of complexities and considerations that should be taken wisely and handled carefully to achieve the best results. First we have to know or even passing by the psychology of the child. It is well known that his psychology and his mental state structure are really different from the mature ones, they had their own thinking and their own bright colored captivated world, it should be mingled with joy and happiness, play and developing themselves step by step but in insuring way, to discover their own world through their families, their bodies and souls. An important stage that will surely affect our lives in the future, what if that part of his life is removed, depriving him from his rights, but even adding a lot of responsibilities on his back? They will surely age quickly and die much younger. Few can consider it a benefit that working early in your life would grow the reliability and the responsibility features in the kid of 8 years, Im totally against it, they think that those arent human but more of computers, the more you give, the more you take, its more like feeding a new born baby the usual meals of a grown man. Being a thief, that what someone can call himself when he orders a kid to work, stealing his best part of his life, his childhood, he is aging him so early that the child could come to a certain point and got lost just from tiredness. â€Å"Children are bullied, isolated and shut out of school. They are missing out on education. They are missing out on medicines. Children are missing your love, care and protection.† (Jackie Chan) Children have special needs that should be fulfilled first before going to work like basic needs of food, shelter, emotions, and love and caring. It is believed that the last one is the most important thing to produce a reasonable state and a man later. The fact of choosing has to be considered also, had the child has the right of choosing being a labour or not, most of them had been ordered to work either by their parents or any other member of their family. What can a child aged 6 years offer to a family or even his country? Nothing actually he loads on it. Thus parents should think for the best of their children and stop selfishness and lust for money. Some families may send their own children to what is called an easy work, like a delivery guy or something rather than sending them to hard work like coal mining work and all that work concerning efforts and great deals of concentration. But actually work is a work, whether its easy or hard, physical or mental involved work. All work involves a challenge and still those easy worked labors do called child labors. Parents and the government are fully responsible for the appearance of such devastating scenes in the street and it huge spread. The few pounds that a child earns really would never make such a big difference. Normally children are paid fewer wages than adults, this does not make parents feel proud to see their child working and spending his money on satisfying the basic needs of the home, or greedy aims that had turned family members into monsters that can deprive their child from the colorful and respectful life again, even animals do not let their children hunt food or go on their own. Thus fear do control our children, they can do everything even the impossible just to feel safe no more. Parents also fear their hidden entrusted future, so they use their children as a life grasping tool in order to overcome the worse which is life. They do refer that they care about them the most and at the same time they are driving them to hell, moving them out of schools, creating small rude bullies deprived from any good manners that we really need to plant it in our children those days. Some may sympathies with those parents; one may say that they got nothing but their children to make their living. Maybe the parents were too old ore even disabled, thus there is no way from abusing and seducing their children. Birth control is a huge issue that threatens the futures of all children. This will increase the level of poverty which forces kids to leave education and go to work to support their families There is abject poverty in Egypt, so families use children as breadwinners, (Nevine Osman Dec 4, 2006). There will be lack of job chances with more competition in case of failure to control birth. Starting campaigns to tell people about ways of controlling birth and what are the problems of having lots of children. They will also know how to change their lifestyle and their way of thinking in life which will help them generally in their lives. Traditions play a very important role here, for example land lord, and would prefer to move his child out of school to help him in planting and cropping fields. Not a money need problem, but a tradition that a son should be always be his fathers eyes and soul, he should imitate him, stick at his back, moving out of his personality and wear his fathers, depriving him from his right of choice, being a copy cat of his father, being of no use in the whole community. He would fail to success and he would fail to return to him self once more which could trigger a lot of psychological problems in those children when they grow up. Jealousy could rush out extremely which would be very dangerous on the child, he would turn into a greedy person, who envy his friends if he would still have any, also he will hold a lot of greed towards his family. And it is not his fault, but his parents. In many rural areas where education is not strong enough there to make a difference; because of the lack of schools or it is too expensive to afford, some families may not trust education, they were not educated and thus they introduce to the new world arrogant people that will surely be a load on the whole community. This practice is considered exploitative by manyinternational organizationsand is illegal in many countries. Child labor was exploited to varying extents through most of history, but entered public strife with the arrival ofuniversal education, with changes in working conditions during theindustrial revolution, and with the emergence of the concepts ofworkers andchildrens rights. During theIndustrial Revolution, cant imagine that young children of only four were employed in production factories with horrible, and almost fatal, working conditions.Based on this issue of abusing children, now developed countries turned to be ahuman rightsinfringement, and are outlawed, however some poorer countries may accept or even encourage child labour. Charles Dickensfor example worked at the age of 12 with his poor family in a blackening factory of a certain prison and his suffering really appeared in his writings from Oliver Twist and others. Supple boys were employed by the chimney sweeps; tiny children were entitled to crawl under machinery to retrieve cotton seeds; above it children were ordered to work incoal minesto scramble through low and narrow tunnels which cant be reached by older men. They worked as undertaking boys, crossing sweepers. They do deserve your deepest pity and mine too. A high number of children also worked asprostitutes.Children as young as three were put to business. In coal mines children began work at the age of four and regularly died before the age of 24. Many children worked over than 16 hour days. Some of those poor creatures worked as tourists guides, entitled to bring in business for shops and restaurants and there they may work as well as waiters. They are given a lot of tedious and repetitive jobs like assembling boxes, polishing shoes, pilling up a stores products. However, most child labor occurs in the informal sector, selling many things on the streets, at work in agriculture orhidden away in houses—far from the reach of official labor inspectors and from media scrutiny. (Mubarak, Susan (2002)). And all the work that they did was done in all types of weather; and was also done for minimal pay. As long as there is family poverty there will be child labor. According toUNICEF, there are about 158 million children aged 6 to 14 in child labors worldwide, excluding child domestic labor. TheUnited Nationsand theInternational Labor Organizationconsider child labour exploitative,with the UN stipulating, in article 32 of theConvention on the Rights of the Childthat: States Parties recognize the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the childs education, or to be harmful to the childs health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.(Convention on the Rights of the Child 29thDecember 2009). Also globally there is an estimated count of 250 million children working. Concerns have normally been raised over the buying publics ethical conspiracy in buying products gathered or even produced insome developing countrieswith child labour; on the other side others have raised concerns thatboycottingproducts manufactured using child labour may direct these children to more back-breaking or gruelling professions, such as prostitution or even peculation. Child labor is a pressing issue in Egypt and the world, Egypt is well known of its high quality cotton and its enormous cotton fields, thus most of families in delta do rely on farming. Researches showed that the children employed there work long hours, routinely face beatings at the hands of foremen, and are poorly protected against pesticides and heat. Working eleven hours a day, seven days a week. The children inspect cotton plants for leaf worm eggs and manually remove infected portions of leaves. Actually children were cheaper to hire, more obedient, and had the appropriate height for inspecting cotton plants. Majority of them are between the ages of seven and twelve who earn on average three Egyptian pounds (less than one U.S. dollar) each day. Knowing that Temperatures in Nile Delta cotton fields can reach 40 degrees Celsius. Added to it, Requests for water are granted at the discretion of the foremen. Most of children recounted routine beatings with wooden switches by foreme n whenever a child was perceived to be slowing down or overlooking leaves. They are humiliated, we were alarmed, but where is the action? Children resumed work on cotton fields either immediately after pesticide spraying or after twenty-four to forty-eight hours, a period that falls short of the recommended intervals for reentry after the use of certain pesticides registered for use in Egypt. Article 124 of the Egypt Labor Act No. 91 of 1959 stipulates that no child under 12 years of age may be employed under any circumstances and sets the minimum age at 15 years for some hazardous industries. Labor Law 137 of 1981 states that children between the ages of 12 and 15 are allowed to work 6 hours a day, but not after 7:00 p.m. Decrees No. 12 and 13 issued by the Ministry of Manpower and Vocational Training in 1982 specify various hazardous jobs and industries where the employment of children under 15, in a few cases, and 17, in other cases, are prohibited. (Child Labor in Export Industries) The government is currently considering revisions to its labor code. Where the draft legislation being discussed would raise the minimum age for work to 14 years and would establish a number of conditions and protections for working children between the ages of 14 and 17. In the formal sector, particularly in the state-owned factories where most of export production is concentrated, local trade unions report that Egypts labor laws were well enforced. By contrast, there appears to be little effort by the government to oversee conditions in the informal sector. Small factories and workshops are occasionally subject to labor inspections although working conditions for children, as well as adults, often remain in violation of labor laws.The Ministry of Manpower noted that its 2,000 labor inspectors cited 72,000 violations stemming from 500,000 site visits in 1993.On the other hand, independent studies and interviews indicate that many employers view the inspectors as ineffective, at best. The most recent effort to address child labor in Egypt was the 1994 child labor workshops for government labor inspectors, jointly sponsored by the ILO International Program for the Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC) and the Egyptian Ministry of Manpower and Training. UNICEF also has an active program which conducts and sponsors research on child labor. Interviews with several trade unions, the Egyptian Trade Union Federation and the Arab Labor Organization revealed little activity regarding child labor. The unions are active in the formal sector of the economy where they say child labor does not exist. Egyptian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) focus primarily on research and action to ameliorate the worst aspects of child labor. For example, groups conduct training sessions to teach children a marketable skill in non-hazardous industries, such as sewing. They operate health clinics and literacy programs as well as child care centers for working mothers. Campaigns are underway to raise public awareness of the detrimental effects of child labor. Still other NGOs work to promote government enforcement of existing child labor laws, particularly prohibitions against children working excessive hours, at night, or in hazardous industries. Government should pay monthly salaries to the families who live beyond the poverty lines and others who are incapable to work, to help them bare with their childrens education fees and replace the salary that children used to take. They should know that in case of making their children also work besides the salary the already take, they will not be able to have the monthly salary. Also medical services should be available in cheap prices to cure the effects of labour on children before they go to school to benefit education to the most and also be able to deal with new people from higher or lower levels and how to not get affected by lower ones and get forward to try to be like higher levels. â€Å"When the lives and the rights of children are at stake, there must be no silent witnesses.†- Carol Bellamy. Child labour inspectors should be hired by the government to trace any child labour and report labourers who deserve to be prosecuted like any other criminal. Summing up, child labour is an unacceptable and an inhumanly issue that we should deal with it with much care, it always pushes people to think about the causes of poverty, lack of education, families strictly unbearable lust for wealth; and the consequences from creating a whole uneducated bullies of generations, of no use for our community but it also perpetuates poverty and affects national economies through losses in competitiveness, productivity and potential income. Withdrawing children from child labour, providing them with education and assisting their families with training and employment opportunities contribute directly to creating decent work for adults and put them as Egyptians on the top of the world where it can be considered as an essential step to grab the worlds attention to our efforts in order to be a well developed country, Egypt will no more be a third world country. References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_labor http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Child_labor Bellamy, Carol, (1995-2004) Executive Director of the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) (Child Labor in Export Industries) retrieved from http://www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/sweat/egypt.htm (Convention on the Rights of the Child)Retrieved (29thDecember 2009) from http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htm) (Mubarak, Susan (5/5/2002) The first Global Report on Child Labor (A future without child labour) retrieved (3rdJanuary 2010) from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_labour). Osman, Nevine (Dec 4, 2006) Egyptian children trade childhood for money retrieved from (http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSSP22649220061204)

Analysis Of Tescos Corporate Strategy

Analysis Of Tescos Corporate Strategy In this report I have discussed Tescos corporate strategy. The first section provides background into the company and shows that it currently dominates the UK grocery market. The next section explains the importance of a corporate strategy for long term success in any market place. Tescos is operating a two tier strategy; the first includes expansion into non food products within the UK market and creating strategic alliance with RBS for example, to create Tesco Personal Finance. The next one includes aggressive expansion into overseas grocery markets. The main aim of this report will be to study the corporate strategy regarding expansion into Middle East India. This is followed by a review of Tescos expansion plans explaining why it is necessary for Tescos to expand into overseas markets. Some of the points discussed are that Tescos UK market share in the grocery has reached a saturation point and it faces price wars from budget supermarkets such as Lidl which puts a downward pressure on profit margins. Also, Tesco earns three quarters of its revenue from UK sales and in a competitive environment it and needs to expand into India and the Middle East to increase revenue sources. The next section provides analysis on Tescos corporate strategy. The first part of the analysis is based on Porters Generic Strategy that provide options available to Tesco to sustain a competitive advantage. Cost Leadership strategy is suitable for operations in India as low prices will attract volume sales. However a combination of differentiation and niche strategy is necessary to remain profitable in UAE market due to its smaller population but higher GDP per capita. Porters five forces model is used to assess the competition in the target market with use of generic strategys attributes to defend against these competitive forces. SWOT analysis is carried out to analyze Tescos present corporate strategy showing the external factors that influence the business. Strengths include Tescos high growth in UK and overseas and its commercial standing and known brand. It has access to cheap lending and Economies of scale. Its biggest strength is its consumer oriented approach which caters to needs and demands for local consumers. Weaknesses include potential to enter into price wars with has a detrimental affect on profit margins. Also while it may offer multiple non food product lines it may not be able to compete with specialist retailers. Finally regulatory barriers in India that restrict foreign ownership of retail stores could slow down expansion into the region. The report concludes by evaluating the present corporate strategy for Tescos expansion into overseas grocery markets. The expansion is important to sustain a competitive edge. Tesco needs to ensure that in order for successful expansion it needs to remain flexible and consumer oriented and avoid mistakes made by Walmart in Germany and Brazil and Carrefour in Eastern Europe. Introduction Background Tesco was founded in 1919 by Jack Cohen in East London, It is now a UK-based international grocery and general merchandising retail chain. It is the largest British retailer by both global sales and domestic market share, with profits exceeding  £3 billion. It is currently the second largest retailer in the world based on profit. Originally specialising in food and drink, it has diversified into areas such as clothing, consumer electronics, financial services, telecoms, and home and health products. (http://www.tescoplc.com/plc/about_us/tesco_story/) The aim of this report is to analyse Tescos present corporate strategy with emphasis on what it could do to improve its business. I will provide evidence and reasons on why the companys present strategy has potentially high profitability and the aspects that need to be altered. Even though Tescos primary business of selling groceries is not unique but it is the business model that differentiates it from the rest and maintains its global market share. It has generated high profits through aggressive overseas expansion into US, Eastern Europe and South East Asia. It has maintained a strong customer focused business model, with extensive use of its club card loyalty scheme and utilizing top of the range information systems to maintain a very efficient supply chain. (P. McGoldrick, 2002) Tescos Corporate Strategy Strategic management is a set of managerial decisions and actions that determine the long term performance of a corporation. Many companies can manage short term bursts with high performance but only a few can sustain it over a long period of time.Of the original Forbes 100 companies listed in 1917, only 13 are still in business. (E.D. Beinhocker, 2006) In the last decade, Tesco brought about a lot of strategic changes and has grown to become UKs number one retailer. It is also considered to be one of Europes fastest growing financial company and probably the most successful internet supermarket in the world. (A. Seth G. Randall ,1999) Tescos is operating a two tier expansion strategy. The first part is expansion into non food sector within its home market in the UK. This includes offering home and health, pharmacy, telecommunications and financial services products. It has continued to maintain its market share in its grocery sales via aggressive pricing and targeted marketing while expanding into more risky and high profit areas with good success. Tesco setup a strategic alliance with Royal Bank of Scotland whereby it offers most of RBS banking services in its stores around the UK. It has taken advantage of its widespread network of stores. In 2008 Tesco Personal Finance had posted  £71m half year profits with 5.6m customer accounts. It is aiming to increase that profit including from other services including telecommunications to  £1bn. (J. Bamford and D. Ernst, 2002) http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6257331.stm (The Economist, Supermarket Finance: A Mortgage from Tesco? 2nd Oct 2008) The second part of Tescos strategy is to expand its grocery business into Continental Europe, India, South East Asia and the Middle East Review of Tescos Expansion Plans Tesco has had great success in the UK market where it has gained over 30% of the grocery market share. There are too many hurdles such as restrictions from competition commission and local groups that will not allow Tesco to open many stores in new locations along with planning restriction in the UK. It has however continued to profit from its share in financial services and telecommunications sector. It also gained the first mover advantage when it launched tesco.com. From the figure above, we can deduce that majority of Tescos sales are from its UK operations (100-23.4 = 76.6%). This makes it more important to continue aggressive international expansion as it provides more opportunities for revenue growth. The UK grocery market share has reached a saturation point. With low cost brands such as Lidl and aggressive price war with ASDA in the UK, the profit margin for grocery products have fallen. The strategy is to diversity grocery sales into other countries and make use of the fast growing economy of India and cash heavy consumer of United Arab Emirates. In todays competitive environment Tesco cannot rely on three quarters of its revenues from one country. Of the worlds top 250 retailers, 104 have no international operations at all, according to Deloitte, a consultancy firm. Tesco could be the first one to enter the market in UAE and India to obtain the first mover advantage. (The Economist, Global Retailing:Trouble At Till, 2nd Nov 2006) In this report I will concentrate on Tescos strategy for overseas expansion in the grocery market as I believe it carries more opportunities and has higher growth potential. The primary objective of this report is on Tescos expansion plan in the India the Middle East. Analysis of Tescos Corporate Strategy The reason to carry out external analysis is to identify potential opportunities and threats facing Tesco. External analysis provides information that strategic managers use in planning, decision making and strategy formulation. It helps reduce environmental uncertainty (B.K. Boyd J. Fulk, 1996) Michael Porter has made major contribution to corporate strategy and I will use some models to judge potential of success for Tescos existing corporate strategy. Porters Generic Strategies They outline the three main strategic options available to Tesco to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. They are cost leadership, differentiation and focus/niche strategy. http://tatler.typepad.com/images/strategy.jpg Cost Leadership: The company producing products at the lowest cost can obtain competitive advantage. This strategy is suited to Tescos business operations in India as currently their involvement is restricted to wholesale sector. Foreign firms in India are unable to have 100% ownership at retail statge. Technopak, a Delhi-based retail consultancy, expects Indian retail sales to rise to nearly $430 billion by 2010. Modern retailers share will rise from just 3% now to 16-18%, it says. A low cost/low price business model will yield the highest returns and sales volumes due to size of Indias population. (The Economist, Retailing: Setting up shop in India, 2nd Nov 2006) Differentiation: It involves selling products that have unique attributes preferred by customers and as a result they are willing to pay a higher price. Although Tescos business of selling grocery products is not unique, Its business model differentiates it from rivals. Especially its club card loyalty program that allows Tesco to react to changes in consumer preferences faster and gain advantage by being the first one to address any new demand for products. Niche: Its usually suited to smaller corporations, they can enter particular segment of the market and offer specialist products. Michael Porter argued that in order to be successful in the long run, a firm must choose one of the strategies or they will not benefit. However, contemporary research has shown evidence of firms practicing such a hybrid strategy. Hambrick (1983 cited by Kim et al. 2004, p.25) identified successful organisations that adopt a mixture of low cost and differentiation strategy. A combination of differentiation and niche strategy would be most effective in the UAE market. First of all due to small population of 6m, Cost leadership model would not work as there is little potential for higher sales volumes. UAE is still a developing market and there are not many supermarkets chains with large market share. Also Tesco could offer unique products, such as its healthy living range and finest brand range that would appeal to the expatriates community which makes up 80% of UAEs population. GDP per capita of UAE is over $54,614 and high disposable income due to absence of income tax, this makes i t an ideal market for niche, high end products that carry high profit margin. M. Porter, Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analysing Industries and Competitors http://tatler.typepad.com/images/strategy.jpg (The Economist, Retailing: Setting up shop in India, 2nd Nov 2006) Porters 5 Forces Porter explains that there are five forces inherent in markets that determine the level of competition and profitability for Tesco in UAE and India. The first force is the threat posed by new entrants, Tescos rivals, Wal-Mart and Carrefour are also expanding into overseas markets and this could lead to aggressive pricing to retain market share which may have a detrimental effect on profit margins. Currently Tesco has sufficient purchasing power to experience economies of scale which acts as a barrier to entry for other businesses. Also, it is planning a partnership with Bharti Enterprises in India where by Tesco will control wholesale market and distribution network responsible for supplying products to 5000 stores. (The Economist, Retailing: Setting Up Shop In India, 2nd Nov 2006) The second force is threat of substitutes, Grocery products have highly elastic demand and customers have alternatives if price is set too high. For example, in UAE retail sector, Tesco could establish itself as a premium grocery retailer. Once way to reduce the threat of substitutes is to diversify the business and expand into non food sectors. It could form strategic alliance with local firms to offer services, similar to its partnership with RBS in the UK. The third force is the threats from the bargaining power of buyers, this is strong for all retailers in the grocery market. It could gain significant market share if it offers products to cater for western expatriates as currently there is limited availability of English grocery items. Also, it could reduce threat of substitutes by extending its loyalty program to the UAE. Such as club card scheme, Healthy living club and Tesco Vine club etc. With prices for eating out rising fast, it could offer healthy and finest range ready meals to increase its customer base. Finally the threats from the suppliers bargaining power, its fairly low for Tesco as its usually a major customer for most suppliers and has the power to control its supplier pricing to an extent. Also in terms of rivalry, there is several small supermarkets within the UAE but none of the big ones such as Carrefour and Wal-Mart have yet entered the market. The five forces analysis gives an improved understanding of the degree of competition faced by Tesco. The analysis shows that the grocery industry can be highly competitive, with buyers possessing powerful influence over the large number of substitute brands available to them. From the previous section we can see that generic strategies each have attributes that help to defend against competitive forces. SWOT Analysis SWOT analysis has proven to be the most enduring analytical technique used in strategic management. In a 2007 McKinsey Co global survey of 2700 executives, 82% stated that the most relevant activity for strategy formulation were evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the organisations and identifying top environmental trends affecting business performance over 3-5 years. (J. Choi, D. Lovallo A. Tarasova, McKinsey Quarterly Online, July 2007) Strengths Tesco has published sales gain of 13% for UK markets which is higher than rivals in the UK and 26% revenue growth in international markets. Tesco has a strong brand and excellent commercial standing. It won the retailer of the year 2008 award at World Retail Awards. On basis of its size and credit worthiness, Tesco can experience economies of scale and obtain funding for expansion into India/UAE even during credit crisis. Tescos approach is very flexible, they dont always push the Tesco brand name unless it has an advantage when entering a market, for example in Turkey Tesco maintained the name Kipa as local customers were familiar with it. http://www.worldretailcongress.com/page.cfm/action=Archive/ArchiveID=7/EntryID=1 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4781458.stm (The Economist, Global Retailing: Trouble At Till, 2nd Nov 2006) http://www.worldretailcongress.com/page.cfm/action=Archive/ArchiveID=7/EntryID=1 Weaknesses There are regulatory barriers in obtaining retail trade licences in India. At present a foreign company can only operate as a distributor/wholesaler. However it is still a good opportunity to enter the market as a wholesaler and establish a distribution network. If it enters into a price war with local retailers, the margins will suffer and since UAE population is only 6million, the low margin high volume strategy will not be effective. Tesco is a public company and if it spends too much of its capital on overseas expansion the UK market may suffer in the short term and shareholder may oppose some expansion decisions. Tesco may offer multiple product lines in the same store, but since there are specialist stores for electrical products for example; Tesco may struggle in non food sector. (The Economist, Retailing: Setting up shop in India, 2nd Nov 2006) Opportunities UAE allow foreign investment and ownership which combined with ease of funding provide low barriers to market entry. Tesco has created a very efficient home delivery network in the UK, It could utilise its expertise to create the very first home delivery service for grocery products in the UAE. With wide access to the internet among UAE residents, Tesco could enter the online market for food and non food product. Economic growth in India has maintained at 6-8% per annum Despite the credit crunch UAE has experienced a growth rate of 23%in 2008 with double digit growth in grocery sales. The GDP per capita of a UAE is $54,607 making it an ideal location to offer high margin top end products such as the Tescos finest range. Tesco could follow its business model in the UK to setup strategic alliance with local firms to diversify its products and services on offer. http://uaeinteract.com/docs/UAE_GDP_soars_23_to_Dh934_billion_in_2008_/36962.htm http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2009/02/weodata/index.aspx http://www.arabianbusiness.com/574404-uae-grocery-sales-growth-slumps-in-2009 Threats Rising prices of raw materials and food products may lower profit margins. People tend to vary of new brands. This problem can be overcome since Tesco has a strong internationally recognised brand. In addition Tesco tends to enter the market via partnerships or familiar brand name to avoid alienating the local consumer. Local communities in some parts oppose Tesco and other major retailers from setting up stores as they believe it will destroy their community and small businesses. Lower available income will impact and strategic focus may need to change to lower priced basic products with less focus on higher priced brands suggesting a switch in price architecture. Retailers who set out on foreign adventures need to remember three basic rules. First, dont forget the local touch. Wal-Mart got off to a bad start in Germany by appointing a country manager who did not speak German. In Brazil it failed to notice that people like to shop en famille: the aisles of its shops were too narrow to accommodate the standard family party. Successful foreign adventurers adjust their formats to local needs. BQ, a British do-it-yourself retailer, discovered that Chinese people look down their noses at doing things themselves. It became a buy-it-yourself, and get somebody else to do it for you, retailer. Second, make sure your timing is right. In 1995 Yaohan, an aggressive Japanese retailer, opened one of the worlds biggest department stores in Shanghai. It planned to build 1,000 Chinese shops. But a decade ago Chinese people were too poor to support its vision and in 1997 Yaohan filed for bankruptcy. Third, be selective about what you try. Tesco, which has been pretty successful in foreign markets, is shortly going into America-but with convenience stores only, because it reckons the supermarket business is too crowded. (The Economist, Global Retailing: Trouble At Till, 2nd Nov 2006) Conclusion In this era of globalisation an organisation can no longer trade in its locality and sustain a competitive advantage. Tesco needs to continue its expansion overseas as UK market has reached saturation point in the grocery sector. It needs at least half of its revenues from overseas operations to reduce its over reliance on UK sales. The Porters generic strategy and SWOT analysis shows some promising opportunities in India and UAE which could turn into profitable operations. Some of the potential threats can easily be overcome. The key to success for Tesco in its expansion strategy is flexibility and timing. India has recently allowed some Foreign Direct Investment even though its restricted to ownership of wholesale sector, its a good opportunity as retail sales in India are forecasted to be $430bn by 2010. Unlike Wal-Mart which failed to enter the market in Germany and Brazil due to lack of knowledge of local trends and consumer preferences. Tesco has been successful in entering several overseas markets. This is due to their consumer oriented approach and their study of local demand prior to setting up. Before expanding into the US, researchers, including a small cohort of Tescos top executives, spent two weeks living with 60 American families and studied their grocery purchasing habits. Strategic management is an ongoing process, the key for managers is to remain flexible, open and alert to changing circumstances. Strategies dont always succeed, results may fall short due to internal short coming or predictions about external opportunities and threats were inaccurate. Whatever the reason we change the strategy as needed to take advantage of new information.

The Value of Sex in Romeo and Juliet and Measure for Measure Essay

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Renaissance England often treats female sex and virginity as a commodity. Shakespeare recognizes this belief system in Measure for Measure and Romeo and Juliet. In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet's virginity acts as a commodity. However, it is not her commodity; rather, it belongs to her father. Capulet uses it as a bartering tool. In act three, scene four, he makes a marriage agreement with Paris. He says, "Sir Paris, I will make a desperate tender / Of my child's love. I think she will be ruled / In all respects by me. Nay, more, I doubt it not" (12-14). The first definition in the Oxford English Dictionary defines tender as "to offer or advance (a plea, issue, averment; evidence, etc.) in due and formal terms; spec. to offer (money, etc.) in discharge of debt or liability" (def. 1). The OED cites Littleton's Tenures in 1544 as an example of this definition: "The Lorde maye tender a conuenient mariage wythout deperagyng of such an heir female." Subsequent definitions also define tender as "to make (physically) tender, soft, or weak" (def. 2d). These definitions prove the ecconomic value of Juliet's body. Capulet weakens Juliet physica lly in 3.5 by ordering her to marry Paris or "beg, starve, die in the streets" (192). In many productions, Capulet strikes Juliet, emphasizing her "tender" state. He has full control over Juliet's life and consequently, her body. Her virginity is a bartering tool, something he can sell on a whim to the highest bidder. Within this system of arranged marriages, sex functions as a commodity.    Measure for Measure also speaks to the commodification of sex by highlighting female virginity, those who are and those who aren't. In this play, female virginity functions as a... ...odity, desperately sought after by men. Their commodity places them in a double bind: "To be sexually active is to be suspect, to be a virgin is to be desirable and therefore potentially sexually active and potentially suspect. Either way women lose. Either way they are sexualised" (Macfarlane 78).       Works Cited:    Carlson, Susan. "'Fond Fathers' and Sweet Sisters: Alternative Sexualities in Measure for Measure." Essays in Literature 16:1 (1989): 13-31.    MacFarlane, Linda. "Heads You Win Tails I Lose." Critical Survey 5:1 (1993): 77-82.    Riefer, Marcia. "'Instruments of Some More Mightier Member': The Construction of Female Power in Measure for Measure." Shakespeare Quarterly 35:2 (1984): 157-169.    Shakespeare, William. Measure for Measure. Greenblatt 2021-2090. ---. Romeo and Juliet. Greenblatt 865-941.