A Manager's Ethical Dilemma Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

A Manager's Ethical Dilemma - Essay Example A new commission component was added to the compensation of mechanics. The mechanics after the changes were paid a base salary and could earn more based on commission incentives. This new system instead of helping the company it brought lots of troubles because the workers at the firm began to act in an unethical manner. Ethics can be defined as a system of moral principles that leads to decisions between right and wrong (Dictionary, 2012). In 1992 the California Department of consumer affairs accused Sears of violating the state’s Auto Repair Act. The agency threatened to take away the firm’s license to operate. Soon thereafter other states began to take similar stances against Sears. The managerial changes at Sears created an unhealthy working environment that negatively impacted the actions of the workers. The mechanics at Sears began to act unethically because they saw an opportunity to cheat the system and earn more money based on the incentive plan the company cre ated. The mechanics at the auto centers had been systematically misleading customers and charging them for unnecessary repairs. The investigation made by the California department of consumer affairs concluded that the reason that the irregularities and consumer abuse occurred was based on the new compensation system. The actions of Sears leave a lot to be desired from this business entity. Sears created an undesirable working environment that gave incentives to the workers to cut corners and lower the quality of the service to the customers. The mechanics at the firm were a bit corrupt and they decided that their personal well being was more important than satisfying the auto repair needs of the customers. The mechanics would overcharge the customers in order to increase their overall level of compensation. Sears should have prevented this behavior by providing adequate training and development in ethical manners. The company could have also prevented the unethical actions by estab lishing penalties to the mechanics for customers that are not satisfied. An unethical mechanic would think twice about overcharging a customer if the person knows that doing so might result in an economic penalty. Sears could improve the ethical conduct of its employees by applying deontological ethics to its business operations. Deontological ethics deals with obligation as deriving from reason or as residing primarily in certain specific rules of conduct rather than in the maximization of some good (Thefreedictionary, 2012). In order to implement the use of deontological ethics Sears must develop a new code of ethics for its employees. The code of ethics will establish what is acceptable behavior by the employees and what it unacceptable behavior. The code of ethics will also incorporate rules that the employees must follow in regards to their ethical conduct. The changes made by the Sears following the revelation of the scandal were not adequate due to the fact that the firm incl uded within its new pay structure an incentive component that could be exploited by an unethical employee. The firm claimed it eliminated incentive pay, but following the changes an employee of the firm made a complaint to a senator that the firm was still using incentive pay to its mechanics and that the policies were hurting his ability to provide quality service to the customers without overcharging them. The eight steps of Trevino and Nelson decision making framework can help Sears revolve the problem. The firm

Do People Deserve The Death Penalty Philosophy Essay

Do People Deserve The Death Penalty Philosophy Essay What is capital punishment, and what do people do to deserve such a misfortunate fate? Capital punishment is the death penalty and is performed on criminals who have committed heinous acts of murder, rape, or a combination of the two crimes. When the words death penalty are used, it makes activists from opposite ends of the spectrum yell and scream, trying to make their voices and thoughts heard. Some people would say that using the death penalty deters criminals from performing crimes while others disagree and would say innocent people are killed needlessly with the death penalty. Regardless of the great debate, the death penalty should remain legal and be used sparingly on criminals who can be convicted and proven guilty without a reasonably doubt. The death penalty has always been a very touchy subject because of the moral obligations humanity has to the treatment of others and the obligation to the victims in acts of animosity. The death penalty was legal up until 1972, when the Supreme Court declared the punishment unconstitutional in Furman vs. Georgia (Liptak, 2007). In this particular case, Furman was burglarizing a home when the family members discovered him. In an attempt to flee, Furman tripped, and the gun he was carrying went off and killed a member of the house. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to death (Oyez Project, n.d.). However, the Supreme Court ruled that in cases similar to this one, like Jackson v. Georgia and Branch v. Texas, that the death penalty was a violation of the Eight and Fourteen Amendments which state that cruel and unusual punishment are unconstitutional. Four years later, the Supreme Court reversed the decision with Gregg vs. Georgia. Gregg was charged with armed robbery and murder whe n he robbed two men and gunned them down. Gregg was later found guilty and sentenced to death (FindLaw, n.d). The key difference between Furman vs. Georgia and Gregg vs. Georgia was that Furman fell and accidently killed while Gregg killed two men without mercy so that he could rob them. Because of Greggs actions, the Supreme Court overturned their previous decision, and the death penalty was reinstated. Despite the reinstatement of the death penalty, thirteen states in America do not have the death penalty. These states are Alaska, District of Colombia, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Without the death penalty institutionalized in these states, they have a higher crime rate than the states that do have the death penalty ( Death Penalty Information Center, 1992). According to H. Naci Mocan, an economist at Louisiana State University, there is a deterrent effect on criminals who live in states that have the death penalty. Mr. Mocan, along with several other economists, conducted studies over the past decade and compared the numbers of executions in different areas with homicide rates over time. The conclusion these economists found in roughly a dozen studies is that for each inmate put to death three to eighteen murders are prevented (Liptak, 2007). In addition to preventing murders and crimes, states that have legalized the death penatly do tend to have a lower crime rate than states that do not have the death penatly. Nothing will completely deter someone from comitting a crime, however, according to Johanna M. Shepherd, a law professor at Emory, People do respond to incentives (Liptak, 2007). The evidence of such a powerful statement has been proven through numerous of studies conducted over the past decade. Although the death penalty provides incentives for people not to commit crimes, there are a few that are not capable mentally to understand their wrongs. It has always been a major concern of humanity activists that one day a mentally ill criminal may be sentenced to death. The existence of mentally ill criminals who do not comprehend the reason or the reality of their crimes is one major reason why the death penalty should be used sparingly if it is to remain legal throughout the states. It is all right for a jury to convict a criminal who is sane when there is no reasonable doubt. However, to convict a mentally ill person violates the U.S. constitution with the court case ruling of Ford vs. Wainwright. This ruling left the determination of insanity up to each individual state (Amnesty International USA, 1961). With a mentally ill criminal, there is no justice or satisfaction with the death penalty. Using the death penalty on someone incapable of understanding the extremity of his o r her crimes is like sentencing an innocent man to die. Instead of killing someone who could have no more understanding of the law than a five year old, the judge and jury should have the right to give the person life without parole rather than the death penalty. Although the death penalty was not used in The Leo Frank Case, the principle of convicting an innocent man to die remains the same. The Leo Frank Case began in Atlanta were a thirteen-year-old girl was found raped and strangled in a local pencil factory owned by a Jewish man named Leo Frank. Leo Frank was arrested and participated in a rigged trial were witnesses lied continually on the stand and convinced the jury, judge, and bystanders that Leo Frank was guilty without a reasonable doubt. Leo Frank was sentenced to death and hung in the hometown of Mary Phagan. Four years later, the real murderer of Mary Phagan was convicted and sentenced to death. According to old police files that never came into evidence in Leo Franks court case, a worker of Franks by the name of Jim Conley was proven to be the murderer when he confessed on his deathbed (Dinnerstein, 1966). Leo Frank had been an innocent man convicted to die because of poor judgment. Although the case happened many years ago, th e same poor judgment in our court systems continues today. That is why the death penalty should only be used when there is no reasonable doubt that the criminal is guilty of committing the crime. Life without parole is a much better alternative for an innocent man rather than killing him for a crime he did not commit. Because with the sentence of life without parole, the man could file for appeals and prove his innocence rather than his life being taken away to false witnesses or corrupted judges who have a second agenda. Although the death penalty has saved many innocent lives and given many people peace, the process should always be used as a last resort. The death penalty should be used sparingly because the process deters some, not all, criminals from committing crimes. According to the U.S. constitution, mentally ill criminals cannot be put to death. In addition, innocent people die by the death penalty and are never given a chance to prove their innocence. The death penalty will always be a touchy subject no matter how many years pass. However, although the death penalty saves lives and protects the interests of the citizens of America, the death penalty should be used sparingly and wisely because life without parole is always a better alternative than death.

The History Of The Airship :: essays research papers

The History of The Airship Airships. In the early years of War, these beasts were known for their majestic presence in the sky and were icons of a country's power and prestige. They reigned mostly as reconnaissance and transport utility aircraft but there was something about this "lighter-than-air" ship that made it far more than a mere utility workhorse. In this essay, I will discuss the ever-popular and ever- living king of the sky; the Airship. Airships, or dirigibles, were developed from the free balloon. Three classes of airships are recognized: the non-rigid, commonly called blimp, in which the form of the bag is maintained by pressure of the gas; the semi-rigid airship, in which, to maintain the form, gas pressure acts in conjunction with a longitudinal keel; and the rigid airship, or zeppelin, in which the form is determined by a rigid structure. Technically all three classes may be called dirigible (Latin dirigere, "to direct, to steer") balloons. Equipped with a bag containing a gas such as helium or hydrogen which is elongated or streamlined to enable easy passage through the air, these Airships could reach speeds up to 10mph with a 5hp steam engine propeller. The first successful airship was that of the French engineer and inventor Henri Giffard, who constructed in 1852 a cigar-shaped, non-rigid gas bag 44 m (143 ft) long, driven by a screw propeller rotated by a 2.2-kw (3-hp) steam engine. He flew over Paris at a speed of about 10 km/hr (about 6 mph). Giffard's airship could be steered only in calm or nearly calm weather. The first airship to demonstrate its ability to return to its starting place in a light wind was the La France, developed in 1884 by the French inventors Charles Renard and Arthur Krebs. It was driven by an electrically rotated propeller. The Brazilian aeronaut Alberto Santos-Dumont developed a series of 14 airships in France. In his No. 6, in 1901, he circled the Eiffel Tower. Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, the German inventor, completed his first airship in 1900; this ship had a rigid frame and served as the prototype of many subsequent models. The first zeppelin airship consisted of a row of 17 gas cells individually covered in rubberized cloth; the whole was confined in a cylindrical framework covered with smooth-surfaced cotton cloth. It was about 128 m (about 420 ft) long and 12 m (38 ft) in diameter; the hydrogen-gas capacity totaled 1,129,842 liters (399,000 cu ft). The ship was steered by forward and aft rudders and was driven by two 11-kw (15-hp) Daimler internal- combustion engines, each rotating two propellers.

Cost Theory

Cost Theory in Economics A central economic concept is that getting something requires giving up something else. For example, earning more money may require working more hours, which costs more leisure time. Economists use cost theory to provide a framework for understanding how individuals and firms allocate resources in such a way that keeps costs low and benefits high. 1. Function * Economists view costs as what an individual or firm must give up to get something else. Opening a manufacturing plant to produce goods requires an outlay of money.Once a plant owner spends money to manufacture goods, that money is no longer available for something else. Production facilities, machinery used in the production process and plant workers are all examples of costs. Cost theory offers an approach to understanding the costs of production that allows firms to determine the level of output that reaps the greatest level of profit at the least cost. 2. Features * Cost theory contains various meas ures of costs. These include a firm's fixed costs and variable costs. The former do not vary with the quantity of goods produced.Rent on a facility is an example of a fixed cost. Variable costs change with the quantity produced. If increased production requires more workers, for example, those workers' wages are variable costs. The sum of fixed and variable costs is a firm's total costs. * Additional Measures * Cost theory derives two additional cost measures. Average total cost is the total cost divided by the number of goods produced. Marginal cost is the increase in total cost that results from increasing production by one unit of output.Marginals–including marginal costs and marginal revenue–are key concepts in mainstream economic thought. Falling and Rising Costs * Economists often use graphs, similar to supply-and-demand charts, to illustrate cost theory and firms' decisions about production. An average total cost curve is a U-shaped curve on an economic diagram. This shape illustrates how average total costs decline as output rises and then rise as marginal costs increase. Average total costs decline at first because as production rises, average costs are distributed over a larger number of units of output.Eventually, marginal costs of increasing output rise, which increases average total costs. Maximizing Profits * Economic theory holds that the goal of a firm is to maximize profit, which equals total revenue minus total cost. Determining a level of production that generates the greatest level of profit is an important consideration, one that means paying attention to marginal costs, as well as marginal revenue (the increase in revenue arising from an increase in output). Under cost theory, as long as marginal revenue exceeds marginal cost, increasing production will raise profit.Types of Cost Economics Economists factor costs in many different ways. Though you may read the cost of a soup can at $1 as it’s listed on the grocery sto re shelf, economists view the cost of the soup can in very different ways. For example, an economist asks what you are giving up to buy that can of soup over another item. They measure the firm’s cost of producing that soup can as it relates to their output and factors of production. Thus, the different types of economic costs are varied. 1. Sunk Cost * A sunk cost is an expense that cannot be recouped.Mark Hirschy, author of the book, â€Å"Fundamentals of Managerial Economics,† explains that sunk costs should not factor into a decision when deciding between alternatives. For example, say a person spent $50,000 on a degree in education and earns $60,000 as a teacher. She is later offered a job in marketing that pays her $80,000. Though she may be tempted to factor in her education degree as reason to stay in her current teaching job, her $50,000 degree is regarded as a sunk cost. She already spent this money, and it cannot be recouped.In this case, she should only com pare the respective salaries of the positions. If all else is held equal, she should pursue the marketing job. Opportunity Cost * An opportunity cost is the value of an alternative choice. Though the word â€Å"cost† usually equates to a numerical value, like a dollar figure, this is not always the case. William Baumol and Alan Blinder, authors of the book, â€Å"Economics: Principles and Policy,† state that an opportunity cost calculates intangible things like time, location and job satisfaction.They explain opportunity costs are what you give up to follow one course of action. For example, a college graduate is deciding between a job as a tech consultant in Seattle or an investment broker in New York City. If the grad pursues the investment broker position, the opportunity costs of foregoing the job in Seattle could be a slower pace of life, $10,000 higher salary and lower costs of living like rent and food. * Marginal Cost * A marginal cost is the amount it takes to produce one more item.Under this view of costs, they vary along the production line and in most cases the cost to produce a good reduces over time. Intuitively, this makes sense: the more proficient you become at producing a good, the faster you can do it and less waste is produced. The savings in labor and material as you achieve â€Å"economies of scale† means the cost of production usually decreases. The way economists find the marginal cost is by taking the derivative of the total costs as it relates to the total output. How to Find Marginal Cost in EconomicsDeciding whether to produce more units is often based on marginal cost. The economic concept of marginal cost is the cost associated with producing one additional unit. This information is important to businesses because it allows the company to decide if the additional unit is worth producing from a financial standpoint. When a company produces a small amount of product, the cost of additional units often decrease. However, marginal costs increase when additional units are added once the production level reaches a minimum. This is based on the law of diminishing marginal returns.Instructions 1. * 1 Calculate the change in total variable cost. This is the amount that the costs increased by after additional units are produced. For example, if you'd like to produce more T-shirts and the increase in output would change the costs by $100, then the total variable cost is $100. * 2 Find the change in quantity produced. This represents how many additional units you would like to produce in the given scenario. For example, the change in quantity would be 50 if you'd like to produce 300 T-shirts instead of 250. * 3 Divide the change in total variable costs from Step 1 by the change in quantity from Step 2. This will give you the marginal cost (marginal cost = the change in total variable cost/the change in quantity). For this example, $100 (the change in total variable cost) / 50 (the change in quantity ) = $2 in marginal costs, which is the cost of producing each additional T-shirt. What Is the Relationship Between Production ; Cost? Production costs are linked to the cost of materials and labor.The relationship between production and cost in any manufacturing process varies based on volume produced and whether any part of the manufacturing process is outsourced or performed by subcontractors. Additionally, production and cost ratios vary based on the amount of automation involved in production and the amount of human oversight and involvement required. 1. Factors of Production * The main factors of production are labor, capital and supply costs. Capital is defined as equipment, cash reserves, and physical location or production facility.Labor is defined as the amount of and cost of manpower required to bring a product to market. This includes not only the physical labor and oversight related to product production, but also the associated costs of salaries of positions such as man agers, delivery drivers, warehouse supervisors, marketing directors and even administrative assistance. Supply costs are any fee associated with securing necessary materials for production. Subcontractor or outsourced work is considered a supply cost as well, as the manufacturer is essentially purchasing a product or service for use in the production process.In this example, work such as offsite creation of product packaging or assembly of minor components of a finished product are considered supply costs in the same way the purchase of raw materials are considered supply costs. Volume of Production * Volume of production figures signify the amount of products being produced. Typically, the greater the volume the lower the cost per unit as raw material suppliers often offer discounts on mass or bulk orders. Volume of production is based on a company’s anticipated product needs, past sales records and placed orders. *Volume of Business * The relationship between production and cost is frequently determined by the volume of business a company is doing. An example that illustrates this point is a multinational vitamin supplement company that produces vitamins in bulk compared to a small health food chain that produces its own vitamin line in small quantities. The cost of the product produced by the small company will typically be greater than the cost of the product offered by the bulk manufacturer because the smaller company produces its product in smaller volumes. Price Points The more it costs a company to produce a product, the greater price the company will have to charge consumers. A company’s production costs include the price of materials, the cost of manpower, the production and packaging process, advertising, and distribution. Mass producers may be able to offer more competitive pricing to end users because they have the luxury of working on a thin margin due to the large volume of production. In microeconomics, the long run is the concept ual time period in which there are no fixed factors of production as to changing the output level by changing the capital stock or by entering or leaving an industry.The long run contrasts with the short run, in which some factors are variable and others are fixed, constraining entry or exit from an industry. In macroeconomics, the long run is the period when the general price level, contractual wage rates, and expectations adjust fully to the state of the economy, in contrast to the short run when these variables may not fully adjust. [1] In the long run, firms change production levels in response to (expected) economic profits or losses, and the land, labor, capital goods and entrepreneurship vary to reach associated long-run average cost.In the simplified case of plant capacity as the only fixed factor, a generic firm can make these changes in the long run: * enter an industry in response to (expected) profits * leave an industry in response to losses * increase its plant in resp onse to profits * decrease its plant in response to losses. Long-run average-cost curve with economies of scale to Q2 and diseconomies of scale thereafter. The long run is associated with the long-run average cost (LRAC) curve in microeconomic models along which a firm would minimize its average cost (cost per unit) for each respective long-run quantity of output.Long-run marginal cost (LRMC) is the added cost of providing an additional unit of service or commodity from changing capacity level to reach the lowest cost associated with that extra output. LRMC equalling price is efficient as to resource allocation in the long run. The concept of long-run cost is also used in determining whether the long-run expected to induce the firm to remain in the industry or shut down production there. In long-run equilibrium of an industry in which perfect competition prevails, the LRMC = Long run average LRAC at the minimum LRAC and associated output.The shape of the long-run marginal and averag e costs curves is determined by economies of scale. The long run is a planning and implementation stage. [2][3] Here a firm may decide that it needs to produce on a larger scale by building a new plant or adding a production line. The firm may decide that new technology should be incorporated into its production process. The firm thus considers all its long-run production options and selects the optimal combination of inputs and technology for its long-run urposes. [4] The optimal combination of inputs is the least-cost combination of inputs for desired level of output when all inputs are variable. [3] Once the decisions are made and implemented and production begins, the firm is operating in the short run with fixed and variable inputs. [3][5] Short run All production in real time occurs in the short run. The short run is the conceptual time period in which at least one factor of production is fixed in amount and others are variable in amount.Costs that are fixed, say from existing plant size, have no impact on a firm's short-run decisions, since only variable costs and revenues affect short-run profits. Such fixed costs raise the associated short-run average cost of an output long-run average cost if the amount of the fixed factor is better suited for a different output level. In the short run, a firm can raise output by increasing the amount of the variable factor(s), say labor through overtime. A generic firm already producing in an industry can make three changes in the short run as a response to reach a posited equilibrium: * increase production decrease production * shut down. In the short run, a profit-maximizing firm will: * increase production if marginal cost is less than marginal revenue (added revenue per additional unit of output); * decrease production if marginal cost is greater than marginal revenue; * continue producing if average variable cost is less than price per unit, even if average total cost is greater than price; * shut down if avera ge variable cost is greater than price at each level of output. Transition from short run to long runThe transition from the short run to the long run may be done by considering some short-run equilibrium that is also a long-run equilibrium as to supply and demand, then comparing that state against a new short-run and long-run equilibrium state from a change that disturbs equilibrium, say in the sales-tax rate, tracing out the short-run adjustment first, then the long-run adjustment. Each is an example of comparative statics. Alfred Marshall (1890) pioneered in comparative-static period analysis. [6] He istinguished between the temporary or market period (with output fixed), the short period, and the long period. â€Å"Classic† contemporary graphical and formal treatments include those of Jacob Viner (1931),[7] John Hicks (1939),[8] and Paul Samuelson (1947). [9] The law of diminishing marginal returns The law of diminishing marginal returns to a variable factor applies to th e short run. [10] It posits an effect of decreased added or marginal product of from variable factors, which increases the supply price of added output. [11] The law is related to a positive slope of the short-run marginal-cost curve. 12] Macroeconomic usages The usage of ‘long run' and ‘short run' in macroeconomics differs somewhat from the above microeconomic usage. J. M. Keynes (1936) emphasized fundamental factors of a market economy that might result in prolonged periods away from full-employment. [13] In later macro usage, the long run is the period in which the price level for the economy is completely flexible as to shifts in aggregate demand and aggregate supply. In addition there is full mobility of labor and capital between sectors of the economy and full capital mobility between nations.In the short run none of these conditions need fully hold. The price is sticky or fixed as to changes in aggregate demand or supply, capital is not fully mobile between sector s, and capital is not fully mobile to interest rate differences among countries & fixed exchange rates. [14] A famous critique of neglecting short-run analysis was by John Maynard Keynes, who wrote that â€Å"In the long run, we are all dead,† referring to the long-run proposition of the quantity theory of, for example, a doubling of the money supply doubling the price level. 15] Marginal  Analysis Thinking at the  Margin From Mike Moffatt, former About. com Guide From an economist's perspective, making choices involves making decisions ‘at the margin' – that is, making decisions based on small changes in resources: * How should I spend the next hour? * How should I spend the next dollar? On the surface, this seems like a strange way of considering the choices made by people and firms. It is rare that someone would consciously ask themselves – ‘How will I spend dollar number 24,387? ‘, ‘How will I spend dollar number 24,388? . Treatin g the problem in this matter does have some distinct advantages: * Doing so leads to the optimal decisions being made, subject to preferences, resources and informational constraints. * It makes the problem less messy from an analytic point of view, as we are not trying to analyze a million decisions at once. * While this does not exactly mimic conscious decision making processes, it does provide results similar to the decisions people actually make. That is, people may not think using this method, but the decisions they make are as if they do.Marginal Analysis – An Example Consider the decision on how many hours to work, as given by the following chart: Hour – Hourly Wage – Value of Time Hour 1 – $10 – $2 Hour 2 – $10 – $2 Hour 3 – $10 – $3 Hour 4 – $10 – $3 Hour 5 – $10 – $4 Hour 6 – $10 – $5 Hour 7 – $10 – $6 Hour 8 – $10 – $8 Hour 9 – $15 â €“ $9 Hour 10 – $15 – $12 Hour 11 – $15 – $18 Hour 12 – $15 – $20 The hourly wage represents what I earn for working an extra hour – it is the marginal gain or the marginal benefit. The value of time is essentially an opportunity cost – it is how much I value having that hour off.In this example it represents a marginal cost – what it costs me by working an additional hour. The increase in marginal costs is a common phenomenon; I do not mind working a few hours since there are 24 hours in a day. I still have plenty of time to do other things. However, as I start to work more hours it reduces the number of hours I have for other activities. I have to start giving up more and more valuable opportunities to work those extra hours. It is clear that I should work the first hour, as I gain $10 in marginal benefits and lose only $2 in marginal costs, for a net gain of $8.By the same logic I should work the second and third hours as well. I will want to work until which time the marginal cost exceeds the marginal benefit. I will want to work the 10th hour as I receive a net benefit of #3 (marginal benefit of $15, marginal cost of $12). However, I will not want to work the 11th hour, as the marginal cost ($18) exceeds the marginal benefit ($15) by three dollars. Thus marginal analysis suggests that rational maximizing behavior is to work for 10 hours. Next Lesson: Market Distortions: Altering the Supply and Demand Equilibrium.Marginal Analysis * Marginal Revenue – Glossary – Dictionary Definition of Marginal Revenue * Marginal Significance Value – Glossary – Dictionary Definition of Marginal Si†¦ * Marginal Revenue and Marginal Cost Practice Question Related Articles * Running a Private Practice – Working with Animals * Work Stress – Long Work Hours Are Not the Culprit * Open for Business: Scheduling Your Week – Being a Personal Trainer * Three Union Work Rules That Increase the Cost of Operating Transit * Hold On to Your Sanity – Start Your Own Business AN INTRODUCTION TOCOST BENEFIT ANALYSIS| * Background * Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) estimates and totals up the equivalent money value of the benefits and costs to the community of projects to establish whether they are worthwhile. These projects may be dams and highways or can be training programs and health care systems. * The idea of this economic accounting originated with Jules Dupuit, a French engineer whose 1848 article is still worth reading. The British economist, Alfred Marshall, formulated some of the formal concepts that are at the foundation of CBA.But the practical development of CBA came as a result of the impetus provided by the Federal Navigation Act of 1936. This act required that the U. S. Corps of Engineers carry out projects for the improvement of the waterway system when the total benefits of a project to whomsoever they accrue exceed the costs of t hat project. Thus, the Corps of Engineers had created systematic methods for measuring such benefits and costs. The engineers of the Corps did this without much, if any, assistance from the economics profession.It wasn't until about twenty years later in the 1950's that economists tried to provide a rigorous, consistent set of methods for measuring benefits and costs and deciding whether a project is worthwhile. Some technical issues of CBA have not been wholly resolved even now but the fundamental presented in the following are well established. * Principles of Cost Benefit Analysis * One of the problems of CBA is that the computation of many components of benefits and costs is intuitively obvious but that there are others for which intuition fails to suggest methods of measurement. Therefore some basic principles are needed as a guide. There Must Be a Common Unit of Measurement * In order to reach a conclusion as to the desirability of a project all aspects of the project, positiv e and negative, must be expressed in terms of a common unit; i. e. , there must be a â€Å"bottom line. † The most convenient common unit is money. This means that all benefits and costs of a project should be measured in terms of their equivalent money value. A program may provide benefits which are not directly expressed in terms of dollars but there is some amount of money the recipients of the benefits would consider just as good as the project's benefits.For example, a project may provide for the elderly in an area a free monthly visit to a doctor. The value of that benefit to an elderly recipient is the minimum amount of money that that recipient would take instead of the medical care. This could be less than the market value of the medical care provided. It is assumed that more esoteric benefits such as from preserving open space or historic sites have a finite equivalent money value to the public. * Not only do the benefits and costs of a project have to be expressed in terms of equivalent money value, but they have to be expressed in terms of dollars of a particular time.This is not just due to the differences in the value of dollars at different times because of inflation. A dollar available five years from now is not as good as a dollar available now. This is because a dollar available now can be invested and earn interest for five years and would be worth more than a dollar in five years. If the interest rate is r then a dollar invested for t years will grow to be (1+r)t. Therefore the amount of money that would have to be deposited now so that it would grow to be one dollar t years in the future is (1+r)-t.This called the discounted value or present value of a dollar available t years in the future. * When the dollar value of benefits at some time in the future is multiplied by the discounted value of one dollar at that time in the future the result is discounted present value of that benefit of the project. The same thing applies to costs. The net benefit of the projects is just the sum of the present value of the benefits less the present value of the costs. * The choice of the appropriate interest rate to use for the discounting is a separate issue that will be treated later in this paper. CBA Valuations Should Represent Consumers or Producers Valuations As Revealed by Their Actual Behavior * The valuation of benefits and costs should reflect preferences revealed by choices which have been made. For example, improvements in transportation frequently involve saving time. The question is how to measure the money value of that time saved. The value should not be merely what transportation planners think time should be worth or even what people say their time is worth. The value of time should be that which the public reveals their time is worth through choices involving tradeoffs between time and money.If people have a choice of parking close to their destination for a fee of 50 cents or parking farther away and spend ing 5 minutes more walking and they always choose to spend the money and save the time and effort then they have revealed that their time is more valuable to them than 10 cents per minute. If they were indifferent between the two choices they would have revealed that the value of their time to them was exactly 10 cents per minute. * The most challenging part of CBA is finding past choices which reveal the tradeoffs and equivalencies in preferences.For example, the valuation of the benefit of cleaner air could be established by finding how much less people paid for housing in more polluted areas which otherwise was identical in characteristics and location to housing in less polluted areas. Generally the value of cleaner air to people as revealed by the hard market choices seems to be less than their rhetorical valuation of clean air. * Benefits Are Usually Measured by Market Choices * When consumers make purchases at market prices they reveal that the things they buy are at least as beneficial to them as the money they relinquish.Consumers will increase their consumption of any commodity up to the point where the benefit of an additional unit (marginal benefit) is equal to the marginal cost to them of that unit, the market price. Therefore for any consumer buying some of a commodity, the marginal benefit is equal to the market price. The marginal benefit will decline with the amount consumed just as the market price has to decline to get consumers to consume a greater quantity of the commodity. The relationship between the market price and the quantity consumed is called the demand schedule.Thus the demand schedule provides the information about marginal benefit that is needed to place a money value on an increase in consumption. * Gross Benefits of an Increase in Consumption is an Area Under the Demand Curve * The increase in benefits resulting from an increase in consumption is the sum of the marginal benefit times each incremental increase in consumption. A s the incremental increases considered are taken as smaller and smaller the sum goes to the area under the marginal benefit curve. But the marginal benefit curve is the same as the demand curve so the increase in benefits is the area under the demand curve.As shown in Figure 1 the area is over the range from the lower limit of consumption before the increase to consumption after the increase. * Figure 1 * When the increase in consumption is small compared to the total consumption the gross benefit is adequately approximated, as is shown in a welfare analysis, by the market value of the increased consumption; i. e. , market price times the increase in consumption. * Some Measurements of Benefits Require the Valuation of Human Life * It is sometimes necessary in CBA to evaluate the benefit of saving human lives.There is considerable antipathy in the general public to the idea of placing a dollar value on human life. Economists recognize that it is impossible to fund every project whic h promises to save a human life and that some rational basis is needed to select which projects are approved and which are turned down. The controversy is defused when it is recognized that the benefit of such projects is in reducing the risk of death. There are many cases in which people voluntarily accept increased risks in return for higher pay, such as in the oil fields or mining, or for time savings in higher speed in automobile travel.These choices can be used to estimate the personal cost people place on increased risk and thus the value to them of reduced risk. This computation is equivalent to placing an economic value on the expected number of lives saved. * The Analysis of a Project Should Involve a With Versus Without Comparison * The impact of a project is the difference between what the situation in the study area would be with and without the project. This that when a project is being evaluated the analysis must estimate not only what the situation would be with the p roject but also what it would be without the project.For example, in determining the impact of a fixed guideway rapid transit system such as the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) in the San Francisco Bay Area the number of rides that would have been taken on an expansion of the bus system should be deducted from the rides provided by BART and likewise the additional costs of such an expanded bus system would be deducted from the costs of BART. In other words, the alternative to the project must be explicitly specified and considered in the evaluation of the project. Note that the with-and-without comparison is not the same as a before-and-after comparison. Another example shows the importance of considering the impacts of a project and a with-and-without comparison. Suppose an irrigation project proposes to increase cotton production in Arizona. If the United States Department of Agriculture limits the cotton production in the U. S. by a system of quotas then expanded cotton production in Arizona might be offset by a reduction in the cotton production quota for Mississippi. Thus the impact of the project on cotton production in the U. S. might be zero rather than being the amount of cotton produced by the project. * Cost Benefit Analysis Involves a Particular Study Area The impacts of a project are defined for a particular study area, be it a city, region, state, nation or the world. In the above example concerning cotton the impact of the project might be zero for the nation but still be a positive amount for Arizona. * The nature of the study area is usually specified by the organization sponsoring the analysis. Many effects of a project may â€Å"net out† over one study area but not over a smaller one. The specification of the study area may be arbitrary but it may significantly affect the conclusions of the analysis. * Double Counting of Benefits or Costs Must be Avoided Sometimes an impact of a project can be measured in two or more ways. For example, when an improved highway reduces travel time and the risk of injury the value of property in areas served by the highway will be enhanced. The increase in property values due to the project is a very good way, at least in principle, to measure the benefits of a project. But if the increased property values are included then it is unnecessary to include the value of the time and lives saved by the improvement in the highway. The property value went up because of the benefits of the time saving and the reduced risks.To include both the increase in property values and the time saving and risk reduction would involve double counting. * Decision Criteria for Projects * If the discounted present value of the benefits exceeds the discounted present value of the costs then the project is worthwhile. This is equivalent to the condition that the net benefit must be positive. Another equivalent condition is that the ratio of the present value of the benefits to the present value of the costs m ust be greater than one. * If there are more than one mutually exclusive project that have positive net present value then there has to be further analysis.From the set of mutually exclusive projects the one that should be selected is the one with the highest net present value. * If the funds required for carrying out all of the projects with positive net present value are less than the funds available this means the discount rate used in computing the present values is too low and does not reflect the true cost of capital. The present values must be recomputed using a higher discount rate. It may take some trial and error to find a discount rate such that the funds required for the projects with a positive net present value is no more than the funds available.Sometimes as an alternative to this procedure people try to select the best projects on the basis of some measure of goodness such as the internal rate of return or the benefit/cost ratio. This is not valid for several reasons . * The magnitude of the ratio of benefits to costs is to a degree arbitrary because some costs such as operating costs may be deducted from benefits and thus not be included in the cost figure. This is called netting out of operating costs. This netting out may be done for some projects and not for others.This manipulation of the benefits and costs will not affect the net benefits but it may change the benefit/cost ratio. However it will not raise the benefit cost ratio which is less than one to above one. For more on this topic see Benefit/ cost Ratio Magnitude. * An Example * To illustrate how CBA might be applied to a project, let us consider a highway improvement such as the extension of Highway 101 into San Jose. The local four-lane highway which carried the freeway and commuter traffic into San Jose did not have a median divider and its inordinate number of fatal head-on collisions led to the name â€Å"Blood Alley. The improvement of the highway would lead to more capacity which produces time saving and lowers the risk. But inevitably there will be more traffic than was carried by the old highway. * The following is a highly abbreviated analysis using hypothetical data. TRIP DATA| No Extension, â€Å"Blood Alley† Only| 101 Extension and â€Å"Blood Alley†| Rush Hours|   |   | Passenger Trips (per hour)| 3,000| 4,000| Trip Time (minutes)| 50| 30| Value of Time ($/minute)| $0. 10| $0. 10| Nonrush Hours|   |   | Passenger Trips (per hour)| 500| 555. 55| Trip Time (minutes)| 35| 25| Value of Time ($/minute)| $0. 08| $0. 08| Traffic Fatalities per year)| 12| 6| * The data indicates that for rush-hour trips the time cost of a trip is $5 without the project and $3 with it. It is assumed that the operating cost for a vehicle is unaffected by the project and is $4. * The project lowers the cost of a trip and the public responds by increasing the number of trips taken. There is an increase in consumer surplus both for the trips which would have been taken without the project and for the trips which are stimulated by the project. * For trips which would have been taken anyway the benefit of the project equals the value of the time saved times the number of trips.For the rush-hour trip the project saves $2 and for the nonrush-hour trip it saves $0. 80. For the trips generated by the project the benefit is equal to one half of the value of the time saved times the increase in the number of trips. * The benefits per hour are: TYPE| Trips Which Would Be Taken Anyway| Trips Generated By the Project| Total| Rush Hour| 6,000. 00| 1,000. 00| 7,000. 00| Nonrush Hour| 400. 00| 22. 22| 422. 22| * To convert the benefits to an annual basis one multiplies the hourly benefits of each type of trip times the number of hours per year for that type of trip.There are 260 week days per year and at six rush hours per weekday there are 1560 rush hours per year. This leaves 7200 nonrush hours per year. With these figures the annual benefits are: TYPE| Trips Which Would Be Taken Anyway| Trips Generated By the Project| Total| Rush Hour| $9,360,000| $1,560,000| $10,020,000| Nonrush Hour| $2,880,000| $160,000| $3,040,000| Total| $12,240,000| $1,720,000| $13,960,000| * The value of the reduced fatalities may be computed in terms of the equivalent economic value people place upon their lives when making choices concerning risk and money.If the labor market has wages for occupations of different risks such that people accept an increase in the risk of death of 1/1,000 per year in return for an increase in income of $400 per year then a project that reduces the risk of death in a year by 1/1000 gives a benefit to each person affected by it of $400 per year. The implicit valuation of a life in this case is $400,000. Thus benefit of the reduced risk project is the expected number of lives saved times the implicit value of a life. For the highway project this is 6x$400,000= $2,400,000 annually. * The annual benefits of the proje ct are thus:TYPE OF BENEFIT| VALUE OF BENEFITS PER YEAR| Time Saving| $13,960,000| Reduced Risk| $2,400,000| * Let us assume that this level of benefits continues at a constant rate over a thirty-year lifetime of the project. * The cost of the highway consists of the costs for its right-of-way, its construction and its maintenance. The cost of the right-of-way is the cost of the land and any structures upon it which must be purchased before the construction of the highway can begin. For purposes of this example the cost of right-of-way is taken to be $100 million and it must be paid before any construction can begin.At least part of the right-of- way cost for a highway can be recovered at the end of the lifetime of the highway if it is not rebuilt. For the example it is assumed that all of the right-of-way cost is recoverable at the end of the thirty-year lifetime of the project. The construction cost is $200 million spread evenly over a four-year period. Maintenance cost is $1 mill ion per year once the highway is completed. * The schedule of benefits and costs for the project are as follows: TIME (year)| BENEFITS ($millions)| RIGHT-OF -WAY ($millions)| CONSTRUCTION COSTS $millions)| MAINTENANCE ($millions)| 0| 0| 100| 0| 0| 1-4| 0| 0| 50| 0| 5-29| 16. 36| 0| 0| 1| 30| 16. 36| -100| 0| 1| * The benefits and costs are in constant value dollars; i. e. , there was no price increase included in the analysis. Therefore the discount rate used must be the real interest rate. If the interest rate on long term bonds is 8 percent and the rate of inflation is 6 percent then the real rate of interest is 2 percent. Present value of the streams of benefits and costs discounted at a 2 percent back to time zero are as follows:   | PRESENT VALUE $ millions)| Benefits| 304. 11| Costs|   | Right-of-Way| 44. 79| Construction| 190. 39| Maintenance| 18. 59| Total Costs| 253. 77| |   | | Net Benefits| 50. 35| | *independent rounding| * The positive net present value of $50. 35 million and benefit/cost ratio of 1. 2 indicate that the project is worthwhile if the cost of capital is 2 percent. When a discount rate of 3 percent is the benefit/cost ratio is slightly under 1. 0. This means that the internal rate of return is just under 3 percent. When the cost of capital is 3 percent the project is not worthwhile. It should be noted that the market value of the right-of-way understates the opportunity cost of having the land devoted to the highway. The land has a value of $100 million because of its income after property taxes. The economy is paying more for its alternate use but some of the payment is diverted for taxes. The discounted presented value of the payments for the alternate use might be more like $150 million instead of $100 million. Another way of making this point is that one of the costs of the highway is that the local governments lose the property tax on the land used. * Summary By reducing the positive and negative impacts of a project to the ir equivalent money value Cost-Benefit Analysis determines whether on balance the project is worthwhile. The equivalent money value are based upon information derived from consumer and producer market choices; i. e. , the demand and supply schedules for the goods and services affected by the project. Care must be taken to properly allow for such things as inflation. When all this has been considered a worthwhile project is one for which the discounted value of the benefits exceeds the discounted value of the costs; i. . , the net benefits are positive. This is equivalent to the benefit/cost ratio being greater than one and the internal rate of return being greater than the cost of capital. * History of Cost-Benefit Analysis * CBA has its origins in the water development projects of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps of Engineers had its origins in the French engineers hired by George Washington in the American Revolution. For years the only school of engineering in the Uni ted States was the Military Academy at West Point, New York. In 1879, Congress created the Mississippi River Commission to â€Å"prevent destructive floods. † The Commission included civilians but the president had to be an Army engineer and the Corps of Engineers always had veto power over any decision by the Commission. * In 1936 Congress passed the Flood Control Act which contained the wording, â€Å"the Federal Government should improve or participate in the improvement of navigable waters or their tributaries, including watersheds thereof, for flood-control purposes if the benefits to whomsoever they may accrue are in excess of the estimated costs. The phrase if the benefits to whomsoever they may accrue are in excess of the estimated costs established cost-benefit analysis. Initially the Corps of Engineers developed ad hoc methods for estimating benefits and costs. It wasn't until the 1950s that academic economists discovered that the Corps had developed a system for t he economic analysis of public investments. Economists have influenced and improved the Corps' methods since then and cost-benefit analysis has been adapted to most areas of public decision-making.

The Hovey And Beard Company Case

Most workplaces today are becoming increasingly diverse as people of different genders, races, cultures, ethnic origins, and lifestyles find themselves working together. As a result, the workplace is becoming increasingly multicultural. Some organizations are just now encountering the effects of a diverse workforce, while others are trying to overcome the challenges created by diversity. However, no matter where an organization is in this development, the challenge is to ensure that its workforce's diversity is a source of strength, not one of conflict.Effectively managing this diversity, then, is a critical component of success for today's employer. This is the reason many employers are offered or offer cultural diversity training and conflict management training. Diversity is a business reaction to the fast cultural and sociological events and changes. Differences in personal work style, skills or talents, education, and geographical location are examples of other diversity dimensi ons that make a difference in how we work together as a corporate team. When managed effectively, these differences broaden organizational capability.Management and Diversity Understanding Diversity In order for management to make diversity work, managers must first understand the definition of diversity. Most simply explained, diversity encompasses all of the ways in which individuals are both similar and different. According to Lee Gardenswartz, â€Å"Diversity involves variations in factors we control as well as those over which we have no choice. These factors give us areas of commonality through which we can connect with others and aspects of difference from which we can learn† (p.24).These same factors also represent areas of trouble where conflict may develop. Today, cultural diversity is a business reality. The ability to build bridges between people from different countries, with different ethnic backgrounds, is as important as any other business function. Working in a culturally and ethically diverse organization does not mean eliminating differences in styles and approach, but celebrating those differences and revealing the much strength that diversity brings to an organization.â€Å"Today diversity refers to far more than skin color and gender, it is a broad term used to refer to all kinds of differences, these differences include religious affiliation, age, disability status, military experience, sexual orientation, economic class, educational level, and lifestyle in addition to gender, race, ethnicity, and nationality, (as cited in Bateman & Snell, 2007, p. 398). There is a multitude of ways in which humans are both alike and different. Some of these differences have an impressive effect on our opportunities and experiences, while others have relatively little impact at all.Diversity can be seen as â€Å"four concentric circles,† at the center of which is personality (Gardenswartz 24). Personality is a distinctive aspect that gives each person his or her own particular style. This core aspect pierces all other layers. Beyond the central core of personality are the six internal dimensions of diversity. These are aspects over which people have little or no control. They include gender, age, sexual orientation, ethnicity, physical ability, and race. In addition to internal dimensions, external influences such as social factors and life experiences also have an impact on how people are treated at work.Some examples of these external influences include: where an individual grew up or lives now, whether they are married or have children, how their religious affiliation guides them and the amount and type of education they have. Finally, the fourth layer encompasses organizational influences related to factors such as seniority, the kind of work an individual does, their level within the company, and their work location. All of these layers together form one's own diversity filter.The human resource approach focuses on the relationship between people and the organization, and recognizes that cultural diversity includes every employee. It must be understood that people are the most important resource in an organization. The challenge is to successfully apply skills, insight, energy, and commitment to make an organization better. Another challenge that must be met by many organizations is to design ways for employees to expand their individual comfort zones. Once diversity is accepted as an organizational value, new assumptions about its positive benefits surface.As cultural awareness builds and the culture changes, conflict is viewed as part of the change process. Diversity Related Attitudes. An employee attitude of acceptance of culturally different people is taught to individuals from the time that they are children. For the most part attitudes are learned from other people. Though it is hard to accept that the attitude a group has was invented, one person generally creates this attitude. An individual's attitude tends to be the same as his or her relatives, co-workers, and friends. Attitudes are also learned from people who have high or low prestige.Then once these attitudes have been learned, they are reinforced. The problem is, figuring out how to change an individual's attitude. Management must learn how to change employee attitudes against great resistance. Employees will resist any kind of change if the plans for the changes are not clear. People want to know exactly what is going to happen. Each employee will see different meanings in the proposed changes; they see what they want to see. This means that women and minorities will be seeing job opportunities while white males see reverse discrimination.In order to implement change management needs to learn to recognize the different types of resistance that may occur within the organization and know how to handle the situation. Organizational Barriers to Diversity There are numerous concerns that establish strong b arriers to moving forward with diversity. The cost to implement the necessary changes to be made is one major cause of resistance. Management must be convinced that though the short-term costs may be high, the long-term benefits are worth it. There is a fear of hiring unskilled, uneducated employees.The question to be answered here is whether the investment is too big, will the employees stay and will they be able to do the job? Organizations have been pulled toward affirmative action as a way to make the work force equal, but the perception still exists that any affirmative action candidate is someone chosen merely to fill a position. This person is not hired because she may happen to be the best candidate for the job. Management needs to also be aware of reverse discrimination, because one person's gain can be perceived to be another person's loss.Finally many people do not see the need for diversity. They do not view diversity as a top priority issue and that is why it is managem ent's job to embrace this issue and help employees understand it. If management wants to create a more open and responsive organization, all of these barriers need to be identified, acknowledged, dealt with, and overcome. Embracing Diversity. Embracing diversity is about creating a new organizational framework. Management understands that the way to do this is by creating an inclusive environment at work.Inclusivity implies complete openness, an environment that greets any person who can do the job, regardless of race, age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, or physical ability. In order for organizations to achieve a more open culture they need to welcome and accept employees for their different lifestyles. Every segment of the population needs to be represented in the executive suite. Each group attending a meeting should have ample time to speak and express their views. Groups need to be diversified and discourage slander.Interaction between cultures is a source of knowledge, growth, and progress. Many organizations find that the biggest benefit from a diverse work force is problem solving. When cultures meet, there is increased creativity and all around better results. An organization's ability to make corrections and change directions will determine if they will survive. An inclusive environment accepts people as they are. That doe’s not mean feedback is not given, it merely means that each person is accepted for who he or she is and is valued for the talent they bring to the task at hand.Employees rarely produce their best work when they have to fit into someone else's mold. This will also minimize resistance and maximize commitment. Helping Employees Adjust to Change Commitment to becoming an organization that embraces diversity requires going from a monoculture to a multicultural organization. Expect the changes to be unsettling, the organization is in a transition of what it is and what it is trying to become. Management needs to help employees understand why these changes are as important to not only the company as a whole but also to them as employees.It is also important to set measurable criteria so employees can recognize when a change has been successful. Employees want to know that something better awaits them and it is management's job to show them that by supporting these changes everybody will benefit. Training is necessary for all individuals in an organization especially in the area of how to deal with intercultural conflict. There are changes visible today that were not there several years ago and the same goes for the future of every organization. Teaching New Employees the Ropes New employees will go through five stages when first entering into a new organization.The first stage is rejection and resistance. People instinctively protect themselves against what is new and different. Managers must learn to understand and accept initial rejection and resistance and refrain from pushing employees b eyond their fears. Stage two involves isolation or withdrawal. People have more similarities than differences; therefore, it is important for management to structure opportunities that will bring people together. In the third stage individuals are beginning to assimilate and adjust to the norms of the organization.It is sometimes hard for new employees to recognize what to adapt to. This is the time for management to create a buddy system or a crash course on how things work in this organization. It is in the fourth stage of coexistence that new employees find ways to exist within the dominant culture of the organization without sacrificing themselves. It is important for the company to find a way of portraying the message that it is okay to be different. The fifth and final stage of this process is integration. The new employee is no longer the odd person out, but a regular member of the team.Here is where management needs to continue to emphasize a need for respect of differences, both organizationally and individually (Gardenswartz 287-288). Celebrating Diversity Managing diversity is an organizational process by which human resources are identified, allocated, and expanded in ways that make them more efficient. Successful diversity initiatives allow an organization to improve its productivity. Another basic objective is to create self-renewing, self-correcting systems of employees who learn to organize themselves in various ways according to the nature of their tasks and their cultural perspectives.In order to be very effective, a diversity initiative must be planned organization wide, and coordinated from the top through planned activities and interventions. It must be understood that working with culturally different people, is not always easy. Nor is it always understood and appreciated by employees. There will be failures. But, managing diversity is good human relations and it is good business. During this time of transition it is important for manager s and supervisors, as well as their subordinates, to remember that progress has been made. Making Diversity WorkDiversity is about acknowledging one's own reactions to differentness and the discomfort it causes. Dealing with diversity is about taking a look at why holidays, practices, values, or languages different from the norm trigger feelings of threat that build walls between people. People who accept themselves are less threatened by those who are different. Every change has both positives and negatives attached to it. If employees do not get beyond their fears, they will not get beyond the resistance to change, and diversity efforts will continue to be spoiled.All people have patterns of behavior that have become involuntary and routine over the years. Confronting diversity shakes up these habits because many old behaviors no longer work in the new organizational environment. People need to go beyond ethnocentrism and recognize and accept individuals for their differences. It is important to emphasize the similarities we share in order to create a pleasant work environment. Managers need to remember that values should be demonstrated through actions, not words. It is very easy to say you value diversity but it is another thing to put your words into action (Gardenswartz 520).After all, diversity includes everyone. What do we have to do to create and foster a workplace climate where everyone feels welcomed, valued, and respected? This is a central question in the diversity research I have held. The response centers on becoming more aware that each individual's behavior towards others contributes to the climate or atmosphere. The most common reason offered for why more attention is not paid to these issues is that â€Å"we're too busy. † To implement a successful diversity program, however, these three practices–welcoming, valuing, and respecting–must receive regular and deliberate attention.Welcoming we usually think of welcoming as s omething that happens when an individual first joins an organization. People need to feel welcomed regularly throughout their employment. Almost everyone wants to be recognized by others and to know that their presence is important to the organization. Co-workers feel connected when their presence is acknowledged on a regular basis. It is easy to speak only with certain people, those we consider our friends or those with whom we work most closely. Speaking to those we pass in the hall or as we pass by their desk can help others feel welcome.It is easy to assume that once we've been here awhile, we no longer need to greet each other regularly. In these busy times, how often do leaders in the organization walk through the library speaking to staff? We need to avoid coming to others only to resolve problems, or to request or pass on information. Employees need to know that people in leadership positions are aware of the work of each unit, recognize that people are working hard, and car e about the employees' well-being. Activities where staffs meet and talk outside of their own units is another way to encourage interaction and sharing.Usually such activities are held only once or twice per year; employees often interact only within their immediate department or division most other times. Focusing on how to make others feel welcome can help to address other issues, such as classism (support staff interacting separately from librarians) or cliques (certain people only talking to certain others). Ignoring barriers that create divisions will not enhance efforts to foster a workplace supportive of a diverse staff. Valuing how do co-workers demonstrate that a colleague's contributions are valued?It requires an awareness and knowledge of the roles and responsibilities of others. We must seek examples of work being implemented or services being used. We must take time let individuals or units know that we have noticed and are appreciative of their work. Valuing requires u s to take an interest in others: their activities, work, and progress. We need to act on what we learn by engaging others about their work. We must listen and respond when colleagues share their progress; this includes offer encouragement when we see colleagues experiencing challenges in their efforts.Valuing is demonstrating to others that their presence and contributions are noticed, make a difference, and matter in the organization. Rewards or recognition must have meaning to those to whom it is given. A certificate may be less effective than sharing a break with someone to discuss their work and their contributions; a salary increase may have more impact if someone in a leadership role shares how much the contributions have helped the organization accomplish its goals. Respecting In the context of diversity, respecting is finding ways to demonstrate our regard for the quality of work and the contributions of others.Asking co-worker questions about their work, or offering observa tions about what is most impressive in their project is a good way to show clearly that we respect another's skills and talents. Showing an interest in another's projects, being aware of their personal work goals, or just knowing that a co-worker attended a seminar, all provide opportunities for dialogue and exchange. Supervisors often expect employees to come to their offices or to make appointments to talk about their work; many employees will avoid such meetings because they do not wish to give the appearance of a problem.What employees often are seeking is acknowledgment that their supervisor is aware of their work, and cares enough to ask how things are developing. This means senior administrators may need to talk directly to staff, otherwise they will not know that leadership has noticed or cares. Some administrators send messages through supervisors, when a direct note, phone call, or email would have a much more positive effect on self-esteem and a sense of personal accompli shment.While these three factors–welcoming, valuing, and respecting–must be applied to the entire staff, they are especially important if the organization plans to successfully retain minorities in the workplace. It is challenging to be the only one, or one of few in a minority group. Those in the majority group must make a conscientious effort, on a regular basis, to ensure that minorities are aware and truly believe that their presence and contribution as an employee matters. Workplace diversity is a multi-faceted concept that continues to evolve as more industries move toward a global marketplace.Most people hold the belief that every human being is of equal worth, entitled to the same privileges and opportunities, without regard to race, gender, disability or age. This fundamental belief has led to changes in management practices primarily relating to the recruitment, training and retention of employees who reflect the changing face of the American workforce. In or der to understand the necessities and benefits of managing workplace diversification, the concept must be fully explored. What is diversity? Can it really be managed?In the broadest sense, the management of diversity is a business's reaction to rapid cultural and sociological changes. Internally, diversity management means providing a climate where all employees feel that they are valued by and contributing to an organization. Externally, it means that organizations are flexible and astute about changes occurring in world markets. The hard truth, however, is that inequalities exist for employees within organizations due to stereotyping and preconceived ideas about a person based on race, gender, religious or cultural origins, age, physical ormental limitations, and more. Racism, sexism, homophobia, etc. cannot be managed away. It is precisely these beliefs and perceptions that necessitate managing diversity at all. Managing diversity is not affirmative action. Affirmative action and the language of equal opportunity came as a political response to the social outcry over the racial and social injustices that limited equal access to the workplace. One of the problems with affirmative action is that it began to be perceived as a public relations scheme more concerned about quotas than about individuals.Managing diversity strives to ensure that when an individual is hired, they should be able to trust that they have been chosen because of their unique qualifications, not because of gender or ethnicity. We have moved from a use of words like fairness, inequality, and injustice toward terms such as ethnic diversity, political correctness, and cultural consciousness. Have we changed our perceptions of the problems of workplace inequality or just the way we describe it? Diversity consciousness cannot be simply mandated into a system, integrated into a corporate culture, or prompted by financial incentives.It is reflective of an attitude that organizations and their st affs must adopt that allows them to change their basic concepts about workers and converts â€Å"them† into â€Å"us†. In addition, Multiculturalism is the Work Place In this millennium, diversity in society has increased rapidly; however it is the belief of many people that some aspects of the work place are still struggling when asked to look into this issue. On the other hand, there are many organizations beginning to accept and value the importance of diversity.I believe both employers and employees should reflect on diversity of cultural prospective, age, gender, ethnic background, and levels of education. Every company should focus on diversity development due to an increasing minority and immigrant population that is positioning itself to assume the roles of the traditional workforce. As the demographic shift accelerates, race relations will continue to grow in importance. Bearing in mind, the inclusion of a more ethnically diverse staff requires a new workforce philosophy.It is my belief that every organization should be held accountable for not focusing on a diversified labor force and not taking advantage of the strength that come as a result of a diversified labor force. In order to obtain effective results one should understand what diversity is, and how it affects the mechanic of an organization. Once this is established, the next step would be to learn how to manage diversity in the workplace and what kind of environment managers would have to create in their company to educate employees about cultural diversity.Diversity in the work place is perhaps the most important issue we need to address because ignoring it can have lasting effects on the success of businesses. Research suggests, the key to successfully building a diverse, high-quality workforce for tomorrow begins with a strong leadership commitment and knowledge of where industries stand today. Ensuring strong commitment to a diversity program is essential. This includes the critical components of top-level leadership support and the commitment of necessary resources to make new initiatives a reality.A successful diversity program needs a close continuing partnership between human resources and Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO). Companies should focus on communication strategies and diversity training for managers, supervisors, and employees. Companies should provide training to all staff and mangers about practical ways to make a diverse workforce for the entire company. This may include such subjects as the value of understanding differences and cross-cultural communication.They might also provide cultural awareness, the ability to initiate and manage cultural change within the organization to impact organizational effectiveness. Companies could also sponsor special observances to help educate the general workforce about the contributions of diverse work groups and/or help eliminate some of the stereotypes that serve as impediments to full employmen t value. This will allow groups to value cultural diversity and other differences; fostering an environment in which people that is culturally diverse can work together in achieving organizational goals.Other perspectives showed Therefore, the organization can benefit itself by understanding what cultural diversity is, why it matters, and how to effectively manage your businesses diversity. I strongly believe that diversity works. I speak in those terms as I experience the beauty of diversity daily. Diversity is the new culture of today's society. Not only do you get to work to achieve company goals, but you also gain knowledge about other cultures. You begin to understand, value, and respect what is different about yourself from others.Cultural diversity should matter to everyone personally and professionally. Companies should focus on both sides. Society should be able to understand that the impact that diversity has on a company and the global market is highly important. Society should learn what is in it for them as an employee as well as for the company as a whole. Diversity is beneficial in always and simply makes sense. For our businesses and communities do not survive, but thrive on the differences in cultures. Our communities are rich with resources. When segments are respected and utilized, it benefits us all.

Richard Spikes essays

Richard Spikes essays Richard Spikes though little is written about his personal life, education, or childhood what is know is that he invented many thing that would be welcomed by many major companies. The first invention credited to him was the railroad semaphore invented in 1906. But his more famous invention was the beer keg tap that was purchased by Milwaukee brewing company. His creation of the automatic gear shift would revolutionize the automobile industry. The automatic gear shirt is an arrangement of gears, brakes, clutches, a fluid drive, and governing devices that automatically changes the speed ratio between the engine and the wheels of an automobile. Since its introduction in 1939, the fully automatic transmission has become optional or standard equipment on most passenger cars. When the transmission is in the drive position, the driver has only to depress the accelerator pedal, and as the car gathers speed the transmission will shift automatically through its entire forward range of ge ars from low to high (ratios of the speeds of drive shaft and engine shaft) until the two shafts are directly connected through the oil in the fluid drive, which may be either a two-element fluid coupling or a three-element torque converter. When the car loses speed the transmission automatically shifts back from high to low gear. He sold this invention for 100,00.00 dollars, which was a large amount of money in the 1930s. His many contributions include the automatic car washer, beer keg tap, and the automatic shoe since chair. Richard Spikes last invention was the automatic safety brake. By the time he started creating the brake he was starting to go blind. By the time of its completion her was deemed legally blind. The device would soon be used in almost every school bus in the nation. Though is recognition has been slow in coming it is evident that the impact that he has on this nation is lasting. Richard spikes died in 1962 ...

Free Essays on Christian Values In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

Christian Values in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Symbolism is used throughout literature to give deeper meaning to a variety of literary works. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight symbolism is seen through the actions of Sir Gawain against the trials he faces. The poem is first set during Christmas time at Camelot, showing that they were Christian for they were celebrating Christmas. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight shows the struggle between a good Christian man against the temptations of this world. Symbolically, one can see Sir Gawain holding true to Christian values: first, by standing up for what he believes in; second, by staying true to a future mate; and thirdly by repenting from sins due to a broken promise. In the opening scene Sir Gawain faces his first trial when the Green Knight proposes his â€Å"Christmas game.† The room falls silent for â€Å"If he astonished them at first, stiller were then/ All that household in hall, the high and low;† (lines 301-302). The Green Knight begins to mock the court; and then boldly, King Arthur accepts his challenge. Sir Gawain realizes that this should not be the king’s responsibility for there are others present worthy of the challenge including him. Symbolically, this scene can be seen as a Christian standing up for what he believes in. Gawain says, â€Å"I am the weakest, well I know, and of wit feeblest;/ And the loss of my life would be least of any; (354-355). Here, Gawain humbles himself before his lord, just as a Christian should in prayer to God. Sir Gawain stands up for he believes that his uncle should not take on the Green Knight while so many others, as mentioned earlier, are able. Gawain is successful by not only standing for what he believes in but also in defeating the Green Knight. The Green Knight plays the role of the tempter in this scene. He first tempts the court, but is defeated. Sir Gawain overcomes his first trial. The year passes and Sir Gawain ... Free Essays on Christian Values In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight Free Essays on Christian Values In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight Christian Values in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Symbolism is used throughout literature to give deeper meaning to a variety of literary works. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight symbolism is seen through the actions of Sir Gawain against the trials he faces. The poem is first set during Christmas time at Camelot, showing that they were Christian for they were celebrating Christmas. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight shows the struggle between a good Christian man against the temptations of this world. Symbolically, one can see Sir Gawain holding true to Christian values: first, by standing up for what he believes in; second, by staying true to a future mate; and thirdly by repenting from sins due to a broken promise. In the opening scene Sir Gawain faces his first trial when the Green Knight proposes his â€Å"Christmas game.† The room falls silent for â€Å"If he astonished them at first, stiller were then/ All that household in hall, the high and low;† (lines 301-302). The Green Knight begins to mock the court; and then boldly, King Arthur accepts his challenge. Sir Gawain realizes that this should not be the king’s responsibility for there are others present worthy of the challenge including him. Symbolically, this scene can be seen as a Christian standing up for what he believes in. Gawain says, â€Å"I am the weakest, well I know, and of wit feeblest;/ And the loss of my life would be least of any; (354-355). Here, Gawain humbles himself before his lord, just as a Christian should in prayer to God. Sir Gawain stands up for he believes that his uncle should not take on the Green Knight while so many others, as mentioned earlier, are able. Gawain is successful by not only standing for what he believes in but also in defeating the Green Knight. The Green Knight plays the role of the tempter in this scene. He first tempts the court, but is defeated. Sir Gawain overcomes his first trial. The year passes and Sir Gawain ...

En - French Preposition

En - French Preposition The French preposition en is nearly always used directly in front of a noun with no article, or after certain verbs. Uses of en Before a Noun En can mean any of the following: Location il est en prison - he is in jailjhabite en banlieue - I live in the suburbs Time  (en vs dans) en aoà »t - in Augusten trois jours - in three daysen semaine - during the week To do something like or as Je te parle en ami - Im speaking to you as a friendIl agit en enfant - Hes acting like a kid Means voyager en train - to travel by trainrentrer en taxi - to return by taxi Condition or appearance à ªtre en bonne santà © - to be in good healthà ªtre en guerre - to be at warà ªtre en pyjama - to be in pajamas Transformation traduire en franà §ais - to translate into Frenchse dà ©guiser en... - to disguise oneself as...transformer une salle en bureau - to change a room into an office Material un pull en laine - wool sweaterune maison en brique - brick house Verbs with en The French preposition  en  is required after certain verbs when they are followed by a noun. agir  en  Ã‚  Ã‚  to act  like / asavoir  confiance  en  Ã‚  Ã‚  to trustcasser  en  (morceaux,  trois)  Ã‚  Ã‚  to break in(to) (pieces, two)se  changer  en  Ã‚  Ã‚  to change intoconvertir  (quelque  chose) en  Ã‚  Ã‚  to convert (something) intocouper en  (deux, cinq)  Ã‚  Ã‚  to cut in (two, five pieces)croire  en  Ã‚  Ã‚  to believe inse  dà ©guiser  en  Ã‚  Ã‚  to disguise oneself asà ©crire en  (franà §ais, ligne)  Ã‚  Ã‚  to write (in French,  on line)mesurer en  (mà ¨tres)  Ã‚  Ã‚  to measure in (meters)se  mettre  en colà ¨re  Ã‚  Ã‚  to get madse  mettre  en route  Ã‚  Ã‚  to set outpartir  en  (guerre)  Ã‚  Ã‚  to leave for (war)partir  en  (voiture)  Ã‚  Ã‚  to leave by/in (car)traduire en  (franà §ais)  Ã‚  Ã‚  to translate into (French)transformer  qqch  en  (qqch)  Ã‚  Ã‚  to change s.t. into (s.t.)se  vendre  en  (bouteilles)  Ã‚  Ã‚  to be sold in (bottles)voyag er en  (train, taxi)  Ã‚  Ã‚  to travel by (train, taxi)

Key elements from the philosophies of Hegel and Husserl Essay

Key elements from the philosophies of Hegel and Husserl - Essay Example According to existentialism, existence comes before the essence of life. Hegel was also of the same opinion albeit he put forth certain conditions or situations when human beings have this kind of free will. According to his ‘Philosophy of Right’, human beings are free to act or decide for themselves only if they are part of any particular system or area concerning the free will. According to Hegel, freedom should not be linked with arbitrariness (doing whatever one pleases). Hegel believes that, â€Å"We are free only when we overcome ‘particularity’ and act ‘universally’ or ‘objectively’, according to the concept of the will† (Wood, 2003). Usually people misinterpret the meaning of freedom; they feel that freedom means nonexistence of hurdles in doing anything of one’s choice. But when we view it with practicality, the situation is somewhat different. on the contrary, Hegel feels that human beings cannot be said to b e free â€Å"unless social institutions provide considerable scope and protection for arbitrary freedom† (Woods, 2003). Another element of Hegel’s philosophy relates to the civil society. Hegel says that human beings are free to decide what work they choose for their livelihood but they cannot completely deny the fact that their actions will not affect the society. It should be a give and take system where individuals contribute towards the society and in turn the society looks after the broader interests of all human beings. Any work that we do indirectly helps the society as a whole; â€Å"As members of this society, individuals have the duty to support themselves through labor which benefits the whole, while civil society as a whole owes each individual the opportunity to labor in a way which provides a secure, respected and self-fulfilling mode of life† (Woods, 2003). Philosophy of Phenomenology Edmund Husserl was the founded the ‘Philosophy of Phenome nology’. He was a mathematician and all his anticipations and explanations were based on mathematic calculations or to be more precise, the inferential system. The motive of Husserl’s Theory of Phenomenology, â€Å"is to study the units of consciousness that the respective speaker presents himself as having – that he gives voice to – in expressing the proposition in question (for instance, while writing a mathematical textbook or giving a lecture)† (Beyer, 2011). Husserl relates the actions of human beings to their perceptions. According to him, it is quite possible that while performing any action, a person is hallucinating. Means that he/she may think he/she is being watched while doing the act. Also, â€Å"from a first-person point of view, one cannot, of course, decide whether in a case of what one takes to be, say, an act of perception one is currently performing, there actually is an object that one is perceptually confronted with† (Be yer, 2011). In Tel Asiado’s words Husserl’s philosophy claims that ‘consciousness is ‘directedness towards an object.’ The mental state and the object of the state exist together in consciousness without implying that there is any ‘material’ object answering to the call† (Asiado, 2009). Husserl’s apprehensions are more towards the doubts on the ‘information about self’ rather than the ‘information about things’. Husserl’s philosophy can be summarized to be â€Å"as both an early direct reference theorist (headword:

12 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

12 - Essay Example One example from history is the interaction between Europeans and American Indians in the colonial period in 1492 when 1-7 million American Indians lived in North America and European hunters migrated from northeast Asia into Alaska. They interacted with the native people through trade and agriculture. The Spanish and French are said to have developed good harmonious relations with the native people. The Spanish worked towards converting them into Catholicism after 1600. The English interaction with the American Indians was rather complex which involved mostly warfare and alliances. Another good example of cultural interaction is the development of understanding between Western and non-Western cultures over time. Non-Western cultures have adopted Western modernization without abandoning their own cultures, religious values and practices. Global trade has helped enhance this understanding. Both cultures have made efforts to start active communication across them and the pioneers of th is understanding are the philosophers of both the cultures who took extraordinary interest in the other culture to spread

The Success of Dell's Business Innovation Model Essay

The Success of Dell's Business Innovation Model - Essay Example The company had later adopted its name from its owner. What began as a humble beginning was not confined to its small size. Over years Dell had transformed its business from a small company to one of the largest multinational companies in the whole world. It took Dell less than 30 years to transform itself under the competent leadership of Mr. Dell. The first step towards this beginning commenced when it was first decided that the company would go public. Initially 34.2 million dollars were raised from the initial public offering made by the company. The success of the company can be analyzed in retrospect. Product innovation has been one of the chief reasons by which the company has been an important reason for the success of the company. This could be understood better if one analyzes the range products that are being offered by the company. The business expanded from its initial offering of computer hardware to include a wide variety of products ranging from personal computers and storage devices to camera and printers. Dell now involves a considerable portion of IT services. Selling products produced by third party has been one of the common practices adopted by companies and Dell is no exception. The primary aim of an organization is to create value for its customers and deliver it to them at most affordable price. Business innovation is just the process by which an organization achieves this goal in the most successful manner. The idea behind any innovation is to create a unique business which enhances its value immensely and make it popular among the customers. It is believed that revamping of the business by incorporating innovative practices in it raises the value proposition of the business and propels it ahead of its competitors (Rajala, Westerlund and MÃ ¶ller, 2012). Research work of Osterwalder had identified nine different dimensions of business innovation; namely core capabilities, partner network, value configuration,

Judaism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Judaism - Essay Example These beliefs basically constitute a significant part of â€Å"The Thirteen Principles of Faith† which is the heart of the Torah according to Maimonides, the Jewish philosopher and rabbi who compiled and referred to it as â€Å"Shloshah Asar Ikkarim† in Hebrew (Maimonides). Talmud, being the central text of Judaism or the most essential collection of the Jewish oral tradition, necessitates for its rabbinic substance to be put in translation from written principles and thought into actual behavior by each Jew. Through â€Å"The Thirteen Principles of Faith†, the Jews acknowledge the existence of one Creator who, in perfect unity or singularity, is considered the ‘primary cause’ of all that exists. Moreover, God is absolute, non-corporeal, and eternal by nature so that it is an imperative principle for the Jews to worship this same God alone and cast off the rest which are false gods. While the prophet Moses is regarded by the Jews as highly crucial in conveying the chief prophecy and the â€Å"Ten Commandments† of God, the revelation at Mt. Sinai is taken as a profoundly valuable occurrence in which Hashem (God) revealed in front of 600,000 Jews at the foot of the mountain that He chose these people to comprise His nation. By â€Å"The Thirteen Principles of Faith†, the Torah is further believed to possess divine origin and immutability. The omniscience and providence of God as well as the divine reward and retribution are altogether inclusive of the core principles of Judaism which similarly hold in great account the Jewish faith upon the coming of the ‘Messiah’ and the resurrection of the dead. On the other hand, the dispersal of the Jewish people from their ancestral homeland which is widely known as the ‘Diaspora’ began the time when a population of Jews were exiled from Israel by their Babylonian conquerors in the 6th

An Innovative premium brand in WestQue Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

An Innovative premium brand in WestQue - Essay Example This includes an overview of diverse categories of retail businesses in WestQue, purchasing behaviour of the people of Southampton who are frequent visitors of shopping centre, demand of retail products etc. Analysis of these areas will help to assess the need of a new business in this retail park and also viability of the new business will be discussed on the basis of market analysis of WestQue. Swot analysis of the new business will also be developed to analyse the internal factors of this business like strengths and weaknesses of the business with respect two main external factors like opportunities and threats. The new business also needs effective market campaign to make awareness of their products and services and even the presence of this business in the shopping centre. So, effective market campaign will also be recommended based on the market analysis. Overview of market profile for West Quay Shopping Centre Since the inauguration day, shoppers entered through the doors on 2 8th September, 2008, accessibility and availability of all common needs of visitors has been the main focus at WestQuay in Southampton. In only one decade, it has established itself as one of the largest and leading destination of best shopping experience of the consumers. This retail park has received more than 120 million visitors since the opening day. WestQue has huge retail space of 800000 square feet which consists of two departmental stores and around 100 shops including top most retail brands like Marks & Spencer, Joan Lewis, Schuh, Zara, Holister Co, Waterstones, Apple and many more popular domestic as well as international brands. This shopping centre is situated in centre of Southampton city. It has entrance on the high street named Above Bar Street on Portland terrace. Apart from accessibility of so many popular retail brands, another attractive feature of this retail park is its multi storey car parking. Another attractive feature of this retail hub is its use of geothe rmal energy which is application of high technology. The owners of this leading retail hub is Hammerson Plc, a 100 FTSE company which has been developing and managing retail destination or shopping centres for more than fifty years in Europe. WestQuay commits to welcome visitors cum consumers through divers accessibility and availability of retail goods. The root cause of growing attraction of the potential consumers towards this shopping centre is the capital and physical investment from major retail brands from domestic and international market. Quality of shopping experience has been increasing due to the comprehensive training program for the staffs. This retail hub has rewarded with clutch of awards for better shopping experience of the satisfied customers. WestQue runs through 70 directly employed staffs which include a large team for high security and better customer assistance. The objective of these training programs is to ensure quality advice, support and assistance for t he visitors during trading hours. A comprehensive shop mobility scheme is the main focus of facility and services at WestQue. This shop mobility scheme is operated through a unit located in the centre of this shopping mall. Electronic way findings systems for visually impaired people and induction loops throughout public mall areas and 32 open lifts around the building are the main features