Fadiamn book, The spirit Catches You and You Fall Down Essay

Fadiamn book, The spirit Catches You and You Fall Down - Essay Example Their different approaches and beliefs to Lia Lee’s condition, the miscommunication between the parents and the doctors, partly because of the language barrier, and her parents’ refusal to administer the medication leads to worsening of the condition that leaves Lia Lee brain dead. Since the Hmong culture believed that illness was practically a matter of spirituality and sacrifices, they did not take their daughter to the hospital for diagnosis. It was only after several seizures that they decided to take her to the hospital. The American doctors diagnosed Lia with epilepsy and gave her medication to manage the condition. The parents reluctantly agree to administer the medication but over the next four years, the anticonvulsants do not take effect as the doctors keep changing her prescriptions. This causes Lia Lees parents to doubt the effectiveness of the medication and consequently refuse to administer the drugs to Lia. This decision makes the American doctors take ac tion against Lia’s parents and place Lia in foster care where she could be given the drugs and hopefully get better. However a few months after returning home, Lai has a massive seizure that leaves her brain dead. With death imminent, the doctors allow her to be taken home by her parents, who were still hopeful that they would be able to unite Lia’s soul with her body and hence were organizing a pig sacrifice that was part of the Hmong’s rituals for uniting souls to their bodies. There is an evident cultural dissonance in regards to the Hmong’s view of sicknesses as tied to their culture and the American medical culture. The Hmong tie sicknesses to spirituality and believe that sicknesses are a result of an individual’s soul leaving its body and keep wondering after being possessed by spirits. In order to unite the wondering spirit with its body, the spirit has to be appeased by offering pig

Sustainable Management Futures. Free Markets and Governments Essay

Sustainable Management Futures. Free Markets and Governments - Essay Example Some scholars go to the extent that the government shouldn’t even engage in public spending on health, education and other necessities. ( Reisman, J., 1998) With such a non-egalitarian orientation, the government’s role in a free market system is confined to the role of a spectator while the market ensures that the efficient businessmen are rewarded with profits. -THE SOCIAL COSTS OF THE INVISIBLE HAND Classical economists such as Adam Smith claim that a free market is bound to create growth, that the invisible hand in an unregulated market fosters growth of efficient market mechanisms. Even after almost three centuries having passed by after the evolution of this notion, the free market is still deemed as an ideal model, but its promised benefits to society are now being viewed as rather utopian in nature. The dynamics of an unregulated free market are seen as quite reminiscent of Social Darwinism. The market favors the efficient few who own the means of production. ( Stiglitz, J., 2011) The free market functions in such a way that formation of separate classes is inevitable. Much attention has been paid to the rise of the industrial bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The former owning the means of production and making profits, while the former providing labor and earning wages. While the free market is said to have provided opportunities for both, the sheer magnitude of the unequal share of rewards has raised skepticism to the social benefits of a free market. -FREE MARKETS IN THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD The recent global economic crisis is said to have been the result of unregulated free markets. The role of governments is now being brought into perspective again, as the government is the very entity that is assisting in stabilizing the markets with massive bailout packages. The enormous growth rates exhibited during the pre-recession period were phenomenal, but a retrospective analysis suggests that they were unsustainable. The major fuel for recent economic growth has been the availability of capital. Lenient credit policies have paved way for expanding markets but not much attention has been paid to the costs of such confidence based growth. The common man, encouraged by growth-driven corporations has increased consumption, with the assumption that incomes will rise simultaneously. This spiral might exist for a limited time, but when it stops, the market eventually collapses. Unregulated economic growth has led to the resurfacing of a plethora of subprime lending and major Ponzi schemes. (Stiglitz, J.,2011 ) Economic growth does in fact lead to improving social indicators. Ever since capitalism has become the popular form of economic governance around the world, per capita inflation-adjusted income has risen from $5,400 in 1980 to $8,500 in 2005. (Shleifer, A., 2009) While educational and health figures have improved, the north-south orientation of this growth has been noticed as well. While social indicators have improved i n some areas and strata of the population, other portions remain unaffected. For instance, the top 1% of the income earners in United States have 24% share in the overall incomes generated. (Timothy, N. 2010) -THE NEED OF A MEDIATOR- THE GOVERNMENT: The concept of a welfare state arises from the notion that the

The Concept Of Work Life Balance

The Concept Of Work Life Balance Abstract The concept of work-life balance has now become centre of attention for almost all companies, political institutions, research institutions, families, individuals and trade unions at both national and international level. Work life balance is an important topic in human resource management that means to combine work and life in a way, that both are achievable. Work life balance is generally related to role overload, time management, time pressure, job satisfaction, job stress, organizational commitment, life satisfaction, turnover, welfare, social security, working time, flexibility, family, fertility, (un)employment, migration, consumption, demographic changes, leisure time and so on. In this paper, work means paid work i.e. a person earns money by providing his/her services to the organization. Both work family balance and work life balance is same thing. Moreover, work life conflict and work family conflict are used interchangeably. We will discuss some relevant definitions, its i mportance in organization and in life of individual, antecedents and consequences of work life conflict, factors which help in creating work life balance, advantages of work life balance, cost of implementing its policies, some findings from literature, our recommendations and implications and in the end conclusion. From our literature we try to find some quantitative data about condition of work life balance in different countries but we were not able to get it. This paper is done mostly on qualitative data we get from different and renowned journal articles written by different prominent authors. Introduction Theres no such thing as work-life balance. There are work-life choices, and you make them, and they have consequences, stated by Jack Welsh, former General Electrics CEO and all-round business guru (Khallash Kruse, 2012, p. 682). The two most important domains of an individuals life are work and family and their interface has become centre of attention in the past two decades for researchers in the field of human resource management world-wide. The changing social structures arising out of dual career couples, single parent families, globalization, changes in the demands and patterns of work, an increasing number of parents with children care responsibilities, increasing number of women workforce and ageing parents all have contributed to escalating research in the area of work life balance. There is a need to integrate and balance family and career requirements otherwise work life balance is in jeopardy as a person is unable to perform his roles due to tiredness from work or family responsibilities hamper concentration at work (McCarthy et al., 2010; Valk Srinivasan, 2011). Work life conflict is opposite of work life balance, that can be either related to strain-based or time-based conflicts between work and life. There are two conflicting areas: (1) how work impacts on family life i.e. work-to-family conflict and (2) how family life impacts on work i.e. family-to-work conflict. But the net impact is same and that is Work life imbalance or conflict. Work-life balance is not primarily a womens issue as the principles equally apply to men (Pichler, 2008; Crompton Lyonette, 2006). This concept highly aims to encourage employees to adopt flexible working arrangements that can help them to achieve balance between their professional and private life. History of Work-Life Balance In 1986, the term Work-Life Balance was first identified, but its usage in everyday language was still sporadic for a certain number of years. Although, interestingly work-life programs existed in early years such as 1930, but people did not recognize them. Before the Second World War, the W.K. Kellogg Company created some flexible work hour shifts for their employees who replaced the traditional daily working hours, and the new shift resulted in increased employee efficiency and morale. In 1977, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, for the first time in his influential book, Work and Family in the United States: A Critical Review and Agenda for Research and Policy, raised the issue of Work-Life Balance and brought it to the forefront of organizations and research. This concept forces organizations to follow work-family friendly environment. Therefore, in the 1980s and 1990s, some organizations began to offer work-life programs who aimed to promote balance work-life. The first waves of these progra ms were mainly to support women with children (Brough et al., 2008). Now-a-days, many work-life programs have been introduced which are less gender specific and identify other obligations as well as those of family. Definitions of Work-Life Balance Now-a-days, the concept of Work-Life Balance is not new; because of its importance it has been discussed extensively. It has been conceptualized as an individuals orientation across various life roles and inter roles phenomenon. Different scholars have given different views on how they perceive the concept of WLB. Some of the important definitions are: (1) Kofodimos has defined it as a satisfying, healthy and productive life that includes work, play and love, that integrates a range of life activities with attention to self and to personal and spiritual development, and that expresses a persons unique wishes, interests, and values (Valk Srinivasan, 2011, p. 40). (2) Kirchmeyer has viewed Work-Life Balance as achieving satisfying experiences in all life domains, and to do so require personal resources such as energy, time, and commitment to be well distributed across domains (Greenhaus et al., 2003, p. 512). (3) Clark views work life balance as satisfaction and good functioning at wo rk and at home with a minimum of role conflict (Greenhaus et al., 2003, p. 512). (4) Work life balance is the term used to describe the organizational initiatives aimed at enhancing employee experience of work and non-work domains (Darcy et al., 2012, p. 112). (5) Work life balance is experienced when demands from the domain of work are compatible with demands from other domains, e.g. family (Pichler, 2008, p. 3). These definitions share number of common elements for example; all highlights the balance between work and non-work domains and equality of inputs and outcomes. On the other hand, work life conflict is a form of inter role conflict in which the demands of work and family roles are incompatible in some respect so that participation in one role is more difficult because of participation in the other role (Voydanoff, 2004, p. 399). In short, work life conflict is conflict between work and family responsibilities. Significance of Work-Life Balance Literature has shown that concept of Work-Life Balance is worth for discussion as it aims to create a balanced work-life. Work life balance is becoming an important issue as people deals with shrinking workplace and time pressure. Many studies have highlighted that work-life initiatives offer a win-win situation to both employees and employers and affect business progress and performance in many ways as improving work life balance practices increase productivity, employee well-being, reduces costs, lead to improve retention and recruitment and better motivation and morale for employees (Maxwell, 2005). Various theories have revealed that work life balance policies try to minimize stress and add to a healthier and safer work environment. Work life balance has been associated with greater employee commitment, job satisfaction and organizational citizenship behavior and its policies are beneficial for individuals, their families, physical health, mental health, relationships, creativity , organizations, and society (Brough et al., 2008 Grzywacz Carlson, 2007). Employees expect their employers to recognize that in addition to job they also have a life that includes their family, friends and social gathering. Studies have shown that a workforce that is out of balance faces stress and dissatisfaction which reduces family and work engagement. Work life balance issues are one of the main reasons which forces workers to quit their jobs. Therefore, work life balance is an important and increasingly hot topic because its about improving peoples quality of life and aims to widen access to career opportunities and paid employment. Firm size is also the next best predictor of the presence of work life balance policies; because its size affects the extent and type of work life balance policies a firm can offer. Large companies are more likely to offer longer and paid parental leave and flexible working hours (Beauregard Henry, 2009; Kucharova, 2009). In short, firms have re cognized that creating a balanced work and family life of employees is the only solution of all problems. Now, senior management has become more proactive about their employees health and they are introducing and implementing work life strategies. Measurement There is no as such one measurement tool for work life balance in literature. But most widely used tool is questionnaire and surveys. Most companies do questionnaires and survey to their employees to find out how balanced is their work and life is. One such questionnaire is discussed here. Employee has to select one option and each option is assigned different point. Options were based on a 5-point rating scale that ranged from never to always. Questions are: I have come home from work too tired to do the chores which need to be done? It has been difficult for me to fulfill my family responsibility because of the amount of time I spend on my job? I have arrived at work too tired to function well because of the household work I had done? I have found it difficult to concentrate at work because of my family responsibilities? Keep worrying about work problems when you are not working? Feel too tired after work to enjoy the things you would like to do at home? Find that your job prevents you from giving the time you want to your partner or family? Find that your partner or family gets fed up with the pressure of your job? If employee faces these problems quite often it means he/she is facing work life conflict (Pichler, 2008). Higher scores indicate imbalance rather than balance of work and life. (Other surveys and questionnaires are mentioned in appendix). Antecedents Which Cause Imbalance Work-Life In many researches both men and women has reported that they face difficulties in keeping a balance between family and work life, therefore, their lives suffer because of this imbalance. One of the main reasons for this difficulty is lack of support and help from their better half or spouse. In addition to this, work life (im)balance highly depends upon on job role, project-based job and nature of industry. For example, project-based work with unpredictable work pressure and requirement to deliver project consistently with predetermined time, often requires extensive travel disturb family relations. Additional working hours and working outside normal hours at expense of home and family time with high work intensity and pressure may result in bad health, stress, anxiety, fatigue and adverse/unpleasant psycho-physiological consequences that can have dreadful affect on quality of family and work life. Some researches has indicated that despite of an overall decline in weekly working hou rs across Europe over the last decade, the increased stress level, insecurities and competition at work-place are considered to be additional factors which are relevant in creating disruption of balance in life (Valk Srinivasan, 2011; Pichler, 2008). Literature has also highlighted that fact that highest level of stress occurs when job demands are high whereas work life balance practices and policies are low. There are also some barriers which restrict organizations to implement work life balance policies that are job requirements, commitment and loyalty, cultural values, and change (Chiang et al., 2010). According to Voydanoff (2004), work demands expected to be highly associated with work-to-family conflicts which are of two types i.e. time based and strain based. Long paid working hours restrict an individuals time that can be spent with friends and family. This lack of time may create difficulties for employees in maintaining family relationship and performing family orientated task or duties. Sometimes, strain-based demands (job insecurity or concern over losing a job) threaten the economic well-being that is necessary to quality of life and stability. The stress related with job insecurity decreases interpersonal availability and restricts effective participation in family life. Sometimes, family responsibilities also restricts person to perform his/her work duties effectively but researches have been more focused on work to family conflict rather than family to work conflict. Consequences Conflict between family and work has real and worth discussing consequences which extensively affects quality of life and career success for both women and men. Stressfulness, lower productivity, low employee morale, decreased job satisfaction, absenteeism and sickness are some common consequences which are caused by work life conflict. The consequences for women may comprise serious career choices and constraints, limited career advancement opportunity and success in their work role and need to choose between an active satisfying career or marriage and children. Most of the men face tradeoff between career and personal values when they tries to find out ways to make dual career families work that often requires them to hold family roles that are far different and open. Other serious consequences of imbalance work-life are alcohol-drug abuse, negative physical and mental health effects, poorer outcomes for dependants and other household members, a lesser work contribution, a diminuti on of social citizenship and community participation, depression, financial and marital problems, distrust, tardiness, cheating and violence in workplace, task avoidance, embezzlement, organizational sabotage, compulsive eating disorder and burnout (Voydanoff, 2004; Pocock, 2005). Because of these serious consequences organization faces with the prospect of losing talented men and women who because of imbalance between work and life become unable to cope with dual family and work demands. That is why; organizations reconsider personnel policies and expectations. Factors Which Help in Creating Work Life Balance The role of social/family support and supervisor/co-worker support has consistently emerged in literature as an important factor that influences work family balance in a positive manner. Social support includes support from an employees parents, siblings, spouse or partner, children, friends and extended family. Of particular importance is support from the spouse who contributes in a variety of areas including moral, domestic and childcare support, earnings and personal financial management, home and family responsibilities, career management and interpersonal support. Family support also includes the exchange of support among relatives. The personal social support can be further conceptualized as emotional and instrumental support, thus suggesting that it positively influences the individuals functioning at work. The role of workplace support, i.e., the support received from supervisors and co-workers is another critical element of work family balance. Organizational and supervisor understanding of family duties are positively related to satisfaction with the balance between work and family life. Workplace support via an organizational approach involves the implementation of family friendly policies, which are associated with integrating work and family responsibilities and achieving a healthy work and family balance. Organizations offer a wide range of work family benefits and programs to their employees (these are discussed in appendix). Through research it is found that flexible work arrangements allow individuals to maintain a balanced life. There is also importance of supportive supervisors, peers and colleagues in managing their work family balance. Literature recognizes that all of the above mentioned variables have a greater impact on women. An emerging category appeared to achieve work life balance that is self-management or reinvention: reconsidering not only the kind of work one wants to do but also the kind of person one wants to be and the sacrifi ces one is prepared to make to grow into that new self (Valk Srinivasan, 2011; Wayne et al., 2007; Voydanoff, 2004). Communication about work life programs to employees and providing proper resources and rewards to them also contribute towards work life balance. Advantages of Balanced Work and Life Researchers are now focusing on how family and work can benefit each other and this concept is known as work life facilitation. This facilitation may take place when gain from one domain can be transferred to and improving the functioning in the other domain. Work life balance can serve as a guide for organizations to address family work balance issues by redesigning the HR practices and policies for facilitating family work balance. This will help further help in enabling workers to be more committed to the organization, perform better work, and contribute to growth of economy and positive impact for society as whole (Valk Srinivasan, 2011). Work-Life programs promotes improve productivity and employee commitment, lower rate of turnover, thus result in fewer employee relation challenges and reduced likelihood of unethical business practices. Moreover, implementation of work life balance policies can result in less loss of knowledge workers to competitors, reduced staff turnover, lo wer training and recruitment costs, reduced absenteeism, improved quality of workers, reduction in work stress, reduced use of sick leave, high self-esteem, confidence and loyalty, better performance and high morale and satisfaction. Some vital benefits that employer gains from work life balance includes employees feel valuable and work harder, maximized available labor, more loyal and motivated workforce, less stressful workplace, high employee involvement, organizational effectiveness and positive employee attitude and behavior (Beauregard Henry, 2009). Work life promotes happiness and better relations among employees and employers. Costs of Implementing Work Life Balance Policies The cost of implementing work life balance policies is another vital issue which organizations take into account. These costs include direct cost e.g. parental leave payments, childcare subsidies, cost of extra space associated with increased facilities like breastfeeding rooms or childcare facilities, providing equipment to telecommuters and indirect costs such as temporarily filing absentees post and reduction in productivity from temporary disruptions (Darcy et al., 2012; Brough et al., 2008). It has also highlighted that managers role plays a critical role in policy development and implementation. Poor managers/supervisors skills and behaviors in work life balance practice can lead to increase costs (Maxwell, 2005). According to Roberts (2008) a reduction in worked hours is perhaps the most obvious route for employees to improve their work life balance despite the connected costs in terms of income, career and status. Managerial Implications/Recommendations Based on feedback from family and co-worker a person can evaluate whether he/she fulfilling both family and work responsibilities (Grzywacz Carlson, 2007). Work life balance support and practices promotes a mean by which workers may alter their work hours and condition in a way which can reduce stress. When employees enjoy high degree of freedom and flexibility, sense of job control will increase, thus alleviating job stress (Chiang et al., 2010). Work life balance practices can have positive impact on employees and competition at firm level. These are some suggestions to promote work-life policies and program: (1) Use questionnaires to find out what workers feel about work life balance. (2) Review HR strategy and see if they support companys mission. (3) Develop work-life reward programs by using non-cash incentives associated with business objective. (4) Align HR strategy (e.g. employer of choice) with work-life initiatives (McCarthy et al., 2010). Work-life initiatives also creat e positive employer branding, promote organizational citizenship; endorse being an employer of choice and support diversity programs. To start work-life programs, managers should consider these key areas: employee retention, absenteeism, employee time save, increase productivity and motivation and decrease stress related illness and health care costs. However, the entire work-life programs cannot be told firmly by only quantitative measurements. HR professionals must consider four significant questions: (1) do supervisors and managers aware of the impact work life balance and its policies has on their employees, (2) does a firm culture and environment truly support work-life benefits, (3) does the companys management philosophy sincerely promotes work-life benefits, (4) are workers aware of and do they recognize companys work-life policies and programs. If a company is already in practice of offering work-life benefits, then the next step for it would be to re-communicate and repack age them so employees can see how such benefits may find them ways to reduce or manage work-family conflict. Moreover, creating a HR strategy that clearly comply with companys mission will exhibit that how committed the company is to its employees needs. Organizations may need to adopt more modified work life balance programs, initiatives and have the courage to go beyond from a one size fits all approach (Darcy et al., 2012; McCarthy et al., 2010). In other words, Companies may need to re-think work life balance more specifically and need to pay more attention on it. Work life balance programs are not reduced hours, flexible delivery, but it is about assisting people to match their behavior to their values (Reiter, 2007). According to Grawitch et al., (2010) its not about balance, its about resource allocation (in appendix, it is discussed in more detail). Companies should tailor its HR and work life balance policies according to the need of the employees and should implement it ef fectively to get desired results. Discussion Findings From the literature we found that younger employees and employees in professional and managerial positions account higher levels of work life conflict. Singles are generally more balanced than people whose partner is in paid work. Long working hours, high levels of job insecurity, a lack of power in deciding when to start or finish work and demanding jobs result in higher imbalance in work and life. Women with children also report high level of work life conflict (Pichler, 2008). But it was revealed by Emslie Hunt (2009) that there is no clear relationship between work life balance and gender. It is definitely clear that women is considered to do the home related work, on other hand men is also supposed to fulfill family responsibilities. There is also no clear relationship between work life conflict and age of employees children, but there is some evidence about those employees whose children are below three faces more work life imbalance. A one size fits all approach used for the development of work life balance programs is costly and ineffective to meet the needs of different type of employees. Job involvement was negatively related to work life balance whereas, perceived managerial support was positively related to work life balance (Darcy et al., 2012). It was found by Kucharova (2009) that there is no clear relationship between work life balance and economic condition of the different countries. It was found that sometimes flexible working and working from home increase work life conflict and part time work and job sharing also sometimes increase work pressure. There was no clear relationship found between flexible working arrangements and working conditions such as pay, promotion opportunities and employee commitment (Russell et al., 2009; Moore, 2006). Through study of Reiter (2007) it was clear that organizational development field is struggling with the apparent lack of success of work life balance programs in many organizations and this is caused by lack of investment by companies and government in work life balance initiatives. Furthermore, to gain real value from investment in work life balance, organizations need to recognize it as a complex issue and apply much more holistic solutions than has usually been the case. Conclusion In conclusion, we like to say that people who combine all aspects of their life in a balanced manner should therefore be the most satisfied and happiest one. In short, work life balance is part of the general well-being. The higher work-life imbalance, the lower are life satisfaction, happiness, subjective health and emotional well-being. Work life balance programs have the potential to extensively reduce absenteeism, improve employee morale and keep hold of organizational knowledge, particularly during hard economic times. In such a marketplace where there is increasing globalization and companies aspire to reduce costs, it depends upon human resource expert to comprehend the serious issues of work life balance and become of winner work life programs. It will cost some money, but in the long run, the company will benefit from this. If properly introduced and implemented then work life balance programs can be win-win situation for employee, family and organization. Flexible working a rrangements are important but it should be catered according to employees needs, resources, time and demands to get more improved results. Work life balance is associated with quality of life and is not only a moral issue it is productivity and economic issue, a workplace issue and a social issue, and needs to be addressed as such. We can also measure by using some other questions and that are, how successful do you feel in balancing your paid work and family life? Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the balance between your job or main activity and family and home life? I am satisfied with the balance I have achieved between my work and life? I am able to balance the demands of my work and the demands of my family? I experience a high level of work-family balance? I am satisfied with the balance I have achieved between my work life and my family life? How successful do you feel in balancing your paid work and family life? Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the balance between your job or main activity and family and home life? Responses were based on a 5-point rating scale that ranged from strongly disagree to strongly agree. (Allen Kiburz, 2011; Kucharova, 2009; Reiter, 2007). Factors Which Help in Creating Work Life Balance Organizations offer a wide range of work family benefits and programs to their employees such as job sharing, staggered hours, compressed working hours, telecommuting, job protected parental leave, part-time return to work options, shift swapping, flextime, resource and referral services, unpaid family leave, dependent care assistance, shorter standard work weeks, improvement in job conditions, breaks from work, work for home, on-site childcare, support groups for working parents, sports facilities, day-care facilities, laundry facilities, and canteen facilities (Valk Srinivasan, 2011; Wayne et al., 2007; Voydanoff, 2004). Its not about Balance, Its about Resource Allocation Literature has re-conceptualizes the frame work of WLB. Previous researches have given more emphasized on the ways in which work and non-work life affect each other, but now new studies has introduced the concept of Personal Resource Allocation (PRA) framework which considers that all life demands forces an individual to make choices about where, when, how to allocate personal resources across the life domains. This Framework has four main central components which include personal resources, demands, resources allocation strategies and the individual outcomes. It suggests that effective work-life balance is an effective personal resource allocation across all life pursuits. It allows researchers to move beyond the old assumption of WLB, in which work life is considered bad and family life considered as good, to person-environment interactions that brings positive individual outcomes. According to PRA framework, individuals bring their personal resources to their daily lives, and beca use they come across repeated demands (anything that competes for personal resources) on their resources so, these demand forces them to make choices where to allocate these resources. Once the resources are allocated, then individuals are left with fewer resources to meet additional demands (Figure1, in appendix shows the PRA framework). Therefore, positive outcomes can only be achieved if (a) perceives that they have necessary resources to respond to their demands of life, (b) when they believe that they have adequate control to allocate their resource according their preferences, (c) when they feel satisfied with the way they have managed their resources (Grawitch et al., 2010). This Framework has presented the rethinking concept of WLB interface by de-emphasizing the negative role that work plays in life and emphasizing a resource allocation strategy. This theory incorporates person-environment interactions that bring positive outcomes, instead of, simply those that decrease or increase outcomes.

Building the Panama Canal Essay -- essays research papers

Since the start of Teddy Roosevelt's presidency, he wanted to imperialize the United States. He believed that building a canal in Latin America would be a good way to imperialize. It would connect the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans and would be much quicker and more efficient than having to go around the bottom tip of South America in the Tierra del Fuego. Roosevelt was determined to build this canal and would keep pushing for it until he got his way. He faced many obstacles, but his determination enabled him to overcome them. With much help, he would build one of the most important canals in the western hemisphere. Building a canal to connect the seas together wasn?t originally Roosevelt?s idea. The idea had been around since Spanish colonial times, but the United States took interest in the subject too as they expanded westward. In 1846 a treaty was signed granting the United States transit rights across the Isthmus of Panama, as long as they guaranteed neutrality in Panama and Columbia. In 1848, Great Britain and the United States had great interest in building the Nicaragua Canal, a route other than across the Isthmus of Panama. The Clayton-Buwler Treaty of 1850, in which Great Britain and the United States promised that any canal in Central America would be politically neutral, ended the rivalry between the two countries. Credit of the idea for building a canal can be given to Cornelius Vanderbilt. H realized he could make quite a profit from the canal. The United States found it imperative that they had control over a canal in Latin America, but did not know whether to build one in Nicara gua or Panama. Later, in 1878, a French company under Ferdinand de Lesseps, who was an ambitious man who built the Suez Canal, was grant... ...more of an imperialistic nation, which was Roosevelt?s goal all along. In 1977, the United States signed a treaty with Panama stating that the U.S. would end its control beginning in the year 2000, and Panama would resume the operation and defense of the Panama Canal. Therefore, presently, the Panama Canal is neutral, but is still very important due to the U.S. We still have a say on what happens to and goes on around the canal, and if something were to happen to stop the flow of the ships through the canal, the United States would be allowed to step in and take care of the problem. Over the last ten years, nearly $100 million have been spent on repairing and widening the canal. Through all the thinking, planning, hard labor, and toiling put into the Panama Canal, the canal became arguably the most important canal ever and one of the greatest engineering feats ever.

Food and Safety Bulletin Essay

Public service bulletin, it has been reported to the city department of health on how the communicate is experiencing numerous of food-borne illnesses. However, the food-borne illnesses have raised some serious for the health department and in dealing with this illnesses the community needs to be educated on public food safety. Recognizing several common concerns connected to food purchase, storage, and presentation, explains several illnesses or crises the safety problem may affect to avoid the illnesses or crises and recommendation for where person who reads may search for more information. Include criteria that readers must use to determine creditable sources of information, explain why it is important for readers to use criteria when searching for information on nutrition (Wardlaw, Smith, 2009). Identify Common Safety Issues However, food poisoning can produce critical illness, but individuals can protect themselves and their family. In other word germs such as E.coli, salmonella, and listeria usually cause food poisoning. However, these pathogens usually relates with meat and fowl products, although the pathogens are capable of making their way into fresh produce through disaster or accidents while they are harvested, within the resource where they are managed or in local grocery store. Meanwhile, cheese may be contaminated with pathogens, but cheese and produce also has been subject as a food recall. * When shopping for groceries please consider recent recall items. Some stories may come through the news to reach community, so pay close attention to those stories, and remember them while making out a grocery list. Please be mindful that recall food take place on a regular basis however, recalls frequently affects a minor portion of food in certain area. * Before purchasing food inspect it as well as ma king sure meat, poultry, produce and cheese has its proper color and no detectable signs of grime. Pay attention to cheese and vegetables when attempting to eat raw however, cooking is simply a good way to go to be sure pathogens have been destroy. * One must store their poultry, meat, and cheese in the refrigerator or freezer as soon as they arrive home. However, the refrigerator must maintain a temperature less than 40 degrees and the freezer, however, has to maintain a temperatures of less than 32 degrees. Some produce items are not requiring being in the refrigerator but it is when the grocery store kept these specific food item at a cooler temperature. However, please keep in mind people should clean their vegetables thoroughly before cooking. Although it is not required to wash meat or poultry products prior to cooking, but always keep in mind to clean vegetables and wash their skins with a scrub brush prior to eating. * In addition, to this be sure to cook carefully as well as being mindful of cross-contamination threats each time a meal is prepared. Be sure to use d ifferent cutting boards and knives when cutting up meat and vegetables. Another important fact makes sure different cooking utensils are used for uncooked and cooked foods, mainly meats. Make certain everything he or she prepare to cook research a safe inside temperature that changes bases on the certain food item a person is cooking. Describe Illnesses or Problems Safety However, restoring the loss of fluid and electrolytes as well as maintaining the fluid intake are worthy. When cooking meat, poultry, and eggs please cook these products well-done. Cross contamination with food is not healthy way to cook which, means avoid cross-contaminating foods by means of washing hands, cooking tools, cutting boards after these utensils has been used for raw meat as well as poultry and prior to the of another food. Be sure to wash all produce. In other word, wash all fresh fruits and vegetables in running tap water to eliminate noticeable and unnoticeable grimes and dirt. At a room temperature bacteria can grow very fast, refrigerate food leftover if not eaten within four hours. Credible Source of Nutritional Information However, there is resource that community rely on such as MyPyramid.gov, WeightWatcher.com and MayoClinic.com however, these sites or very helpful for you and your family. It shows the portions amount one must content on their plate as well as their intake. This information would help the community understands the safety issues when grocery shopping and cooking different type of foods. References Michaelson, A. (2011, May ). How to Identtify Some Common Safety Issues Related to Food Purchase, Storage and Preparation. Retrieved February 5, 2012, from eHow.

Business Law Essay

On Monday, A proposed to B to buy B’s car for $12,000 by post. It is primary to distinguish between an invitation to treat and an offer, as an offer once accepted creates a legally binding contract in which does not apply to the alleged acceptance of an invitation to treat. Therefore, the issue is whether the proposal from A is an offer or an invitation to treat. An offer is defined in Preston Corpn Sdn Bhd v Edward Leong [1982] as an  intimation of willingness by an offeror to enter into a legally binding contract. Its terms either expressly or impliedly must indicate that it is to be become binding on the offeror as soon as it has been accepted by the offeree. The crucial factor that determines whether something amounts to an offer is the intention to be bound, which is usually shown by the wording. Conversely, an invitation to treat is a proposal to negotiate or an attempt to receive proposals. The person extending the invitation is merely indicating that he/she is willing to enter into negotiations but is not bound to accept any offers made. Nonetheless, in the English of Smith v Hughes [1871], the court emphasized that the important thing is not a party’s real intentions but how a reasonable person would view the situation. This is due mainly to common sense as each party would not wish to breach his side of the contract if it would make him/her blameworthy to damages. The details of A’s letter are omitted, thus making it the more difficult to assess the express and implied terms of the proposal, which would come in handy to determine whether or not there is an intention to be bound. Although buyers may have the inclination to negotiate on the terms, rarely will there be one who will do so after initiating a proposal. Once taken the initiative and had gone through the hassle to write out a letter and have it sent, this shows an expression of willingness to buy therefore it is plausible that there is an intention to be bound. But of course this would be my personal presumptions as a reasonable person. Wrapping up, in my opinion, this proposal from A is suggested to be an offer instead of an invitation to treat and once there is an acceptance from B, a mere agreement will be formed. Some prerequisites are mandatory to make an offer valid, thus leads on to the following case. The letter of offer from A was misplaced by the postman and picked up by B’s neighbor, C who passes B the letter on Friday. Logically; an offer must be acknowledged by the offeree to be valid. The concern here is whether the  offer from A was communicated and validated. As stated in Barnes. et al. (2006, p.166) â€Å"The act of communicating the offer indicates that the offeror is willing to be bound by its terms. On the other hand, a non-communicated offer may be evidence that the offeror has not yet decides to enter into a binding agreement.† The general rule of acceptance is that performance of the requested act does not amount to an acceptance unless the party performing the act did so with knowledge of the existence of an offer. If otherwise, a party could find himself bound to the terms of a contract of which he was entirely unaware. However, there is a case for making an exception in the case of a unilateral contract, at least when performance of the act cannot subject the performing party to any disadvantage. Gibbons v Proctor [1891] is an English Contract Law case that deals with an offer, via advertisement, and whether or not a person who does not know of the offer can accept the offer if they complete the terms of the offer. The case has also been cited as authority for the proposition that acceptance in ignorance of an offer is effective: that a person who gives information for which a reward has been offered can claim it even though at the time of giving it he had no knowledge of the offer of reward. Nevertheless, this offer from A is a sort of bilateral contract, in which A is promising to pay B $12,000 for another promise from B for his car. As the letter of offer from A was in the hands on C and it did not reached B as intended; therefore there is no actual communication and the offer is scarcely considered valid. Common sense tells us that if B had not received the offer from A, there is no way B would learn of A’s offer and let alone to reply to it. An offer made through the post will not be effective until it is received and read by the offeree. In conclusion, my thesis is that the offer from A was neither communicated nor valid till Friday when B received the letter from C. On Tuesday, B proposed to sell his car for $11,000 to A by post and the post reached A on the following day. In the event where B proposed the offer upon acknowledgement of the offer made by A, it would be regarded as a counter offer, which in turn would be a distinction to acceptance. But this will not apply in this case as B’s proposal was made before the awareness of A’s offer. As a result, this proposal here will be subjected to whether or not the proposed is an offer and a legitimated one. In the previous issue, the buyer, A is making a proposal to the prospective seller, B and more often than not it would be an offer. When the roles are reversed, the proposal could be either an offer or an invitation to treat, hence, the need to highlight the differences. As presented in page 2, the explanation of an offer is unambiguous. However, for further illustration on invitation of treat, in Partridge v Crittenden, the defendant was charged with an offence of offering wild birds for sale with the aid of advertisement contrary to the Protection of Birds Act 1954. He was found not guilty since he had not offered the birds for sale; the advertisement was simply an invitation to treat. Adding on, in Fisher v. Bell [1961], the defendant was charged with the offence of offering for sale a flick knife contrary to section 1[1] of the Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act 1959. He had displayed the knife in his shop window with a price ticket behind it. It was held that the defendant had not committed the offence as, in displaying the knife in his shop window; he had not offered it for sale. These two examples of invitation to treat opposed to the common, non legal, understanding of the term ‘offer’. Goods in shop windows or on display and goods advertised are usually invitation to treat which invites people to make offers and where the seller may choose to or not to sell. Chances are that B’s proposal to A is an offer because if otherwise, he would not had taken the trouble to pen it down and have it sent. As previous case, this is merely my assumptions as a reasonable person. The letter intended for A from B was clearly communicated as it reached A the  following day, Wednesday. In conclusion, my perspective is that the proposal made by B is an offer and a valid one as the offer was acknowledged by the offeree, A. A fax of acceptance was sent by A to B in regards of the $11,000 offer for B’s car. However, was never printed out due to paper failure in B’s fax machine. This is evidently an acceptance as it mirrors the offer from B. When an acceptance is effective can be critically important as in most occurrences, the offeror has discretion to revoke the offer at any time before acceptance. The general rule is that an acceptance has no effect until it is communicated to the offeror. In Powell v Lee [1908], the defendants who were the managers of a school had decided to appoint the plaintiff headmaster. One of the managers told the plaintiff of the decision without authorization. Subsequently however, the defendants reversed their decision and appointed a third party in which the plaintiff was suing for breach of contract. The plaintiff’s action failed as for there to be a concluded contract, it was essential that there should be a communication made by the body of the persons to the selected candidate. By using the facsimile machine to send acceptance, it is an effective means of direct communication and no contracts will be created unless it is received by the offeror. In other words, the acceptance is not complete when the message is transmitted but only when it is received. However, in this case, A must have reasonably believed that his acceptance was communicated but this is not so because of the fault of B, then B may be estopped from saying that he did not receive the acceptance. This is clearly the fault of B as fax is a technologically advanced method of communication and B will generally know at once that the fax has not been communicated. The balance of faults weighs more heavily on B, hence the postal rule can be applied in which the acceptance was effective once A made the fax and an agreement between A and B will surface. However, in the event where A’s fax had been printed but not acknowledged by B for three days. Postal rule will not apply in this circumstance as not only is it an instantaneous form of communication but, under the traditional contract principles, if the offer or circumstances do not indicate otherwise, the means the offeror used to converse the offer is the impliedly authorized means for accepting. In other words, unless B had specifically request for other form of communication, it is reasonable for B to assume that A would send his acceptance by post and would not be waiting by the fax machine. In this circumstance, the acceptance is only complete when B acknowledges it three days later. However, the case of Tenax Steamship Co Ltd v Owners of the Motor vessel ‘Brimnes’ [1974] contradicts the statement above as it appears that it is not necessary for the offeror to have read the message. If this is applied, the acceptance will be completed on the day itself when A had faxed it instead of three days when B reads it. Personally, as a reasonable person, I would not agree on the latter as it is extremely unjust for B. There are numerous methods of communication, the instantaneous kinds, e.g. via telephone, e-mail as well as the non-instantaneous kinds. No one would be able to predict the form of communication adopted by the other party so B could not possibly be hanging around the room where the fax machine was situated in, waiting for A’s reply. Thus, if B is ignorant of the acceptance, the acceptance would not be of use. On Friday, B posted his acceptance to sell his car for the offer made by A on Monday. The letter was not received by A for two weeks. When an acceptance is to be made through the postal system, the postal rule does apply in which will results in an agreement on Friday regardless of  whether A receives it or not. This peculiar rule developed by the English Law has been first enunciated in the case of Adams v Lindsell [1818], where an acceptance is completed as soon as posted. â€Å"In Adams v Lindsell [1818], the defendant wrote to the plaintiff offering to sell him wool and asked him to reply by post. The plaintiff replied on the 5th but the letter reached the defendant on the 9th. Meanwhile on the 8th, not hearing anything from the plaintiff, the defendant sold the wool to a third party. The plaintiff sued the defendant and the court held that the acceptance was effective when the letter was posted and so there was a contract and the defendant was in breach of it.† Cited from Chandran (p.24) Saying as much, this contract will not be valid as there was previously an agreement made between A and B when A faxed his acceptance. The contract between A and B is where A will pay $11,000 for B’s car and B would have to let go for $11,000 as stated in page 4. No doubt it would be hard on B if he could be bound even without knowing his offer had been accepted. Nonetheless, as mentioned it was his own slip-up that results in the unknown bound. Since the contract for $11,000 is valid, there would be no existence of subject matter of contract which is B’s car in the $12,000 contract and there is no way B will be able to sell the same car twice without breaching the contract. REFERENCE LIST Barnes, J.D., et al. _Law for Business_, 9th Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin Bond, H.J., et al. _Business Law_, 2nd Edition. Great Britain: Blackstone Press Limited London Chandran, R. Introduction to Business Law in Singapore, 2nd Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin Frey, M.A., et al. _Introduction to the Law of Contracts_, 4th Edition. United States: Thomson Delmar Learning New York Kelly, D., et al. _The Cavendish Q & A Series: Business Law_, 1995. Great Britain: Cavendish Publishing Limited London Keenan, D_. Advanced Business Law_, 10th Edition. Great Britain: Pitman Publishing London Lawson, R., et al. _Business Law for Business and Marketing Students_, 3rd Edition. Great Britain: Butterworth-Heinemann Low, K.Y., et al. Business & The Law, 1997. Singapore: Pitman Publishing Asia Pacific Major, W.T. _Law of Contract_, 9th Edition. Great Britain: Pitman Publishing London McKendrick, E. _Contract Law: Text, Cases, and Materials_, 2nd Edition. United States: Oxford University Press Inc Read, P.A. _Contract Law Casebook_, 7th Edition. Great Britain: HLT Publications London Soe, M. Principles of Singapore Law: including Business Law, 4th Edition. Singapore: The Institute of Banking & Finance Tabalujan, B.S. _Singapore Business Law_, 4th Edition. Singapore: BusinessLawAsia Terry, P. _Mastering Business Law_, 2nd Edition. Great Britain: Macmillan Press Ltd Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire and London Assignment Cover Sheet