Thursday, October 31, 2019

Price of Healthcare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Price of Healthcare - Essay Example In 2005, the average person spent close to $6,000. Medical bills were of little concern to families in the 1950’s but the medical technology seems archaic by today’s standards. Half a century ago, a person’s lifespan was approximately 68 where today, it is a decade longer. Those in their 40’s today can reasonably expect to see their 80th birthday. Most, presumably, would prefer to spend more money to live longer which is what has happened. From this perspective, healthcare could be considered a good return on an investment. The benefits and costs of healthcare are not unrelated yet many do not understand why they have to pay more than they did equivalent to the 1950’s or even to 1999. People generally consider healthcare costs to be a commodity in the same way they think of electricity or gasoline where price has little bearing on the quality of the product. The medical system of the U.S. does experience waste from sources such as bureaucratic expenses generated from insurance companies and unproven procedures that are expensive and are yet to be proven effective. The main reasons for the increasing medical cost increases, however, are visible and obvious. They can be readily observed in hospitals and in people’s home medicine cabinets as well. CAT Scan and MRI machines, specialized neonatal apparatus and defibrillators in addition to numerous other high-tech hospital gadgets such as artificial hearts are very expensive. Prescription prices have also risen which adds to the total costs related to healthcare (Leonhardt, 2006). The price of prescriptions are not determined by production costs or by monies allocated to researching new drugs. Competition, projected volume of sales as opposed to actual sales and estimates of revenue produced by the product are among other factors drive drug prices.

Monday, October 28, 2019

US History-Westward Expansion Wars & Indians Essay Example for Free

US History-Westward Expansion Wars Indians Essay This paper concentrates upon the historical expansion of the USA over the territory of Native Americans, this process as a series of wars was hard and challenging for both sides. At the beginning of the 19th century, when United States were growing really quickly, expanding the territories to the South, there appeared impediment on their way, namely the territories which used to be the native lands of the Cherokee, Greek, Choctaw, Seminole tribes. For white Americans these people were not defending their own lands, they were causing obstacles for the progressive growth, whereas they needed these lands so much for growing cotton, thus were doing everything possible to make the Federal government to submit the territories of Indians. The main reason of these wars is believed to be the colonial interest of the US. Generally historians describe these events using the term Indian Wars conflicts between the USA and Native Americans or Indians. This term also includes the colonial wars, before the United States were created. During the period starting from the mentioned colonial wars till the American frontier of 1890 Indians had to go thought the process of assimilation, dissimilation and were made to relocate to special places, which were later called Indian reservations. â€Å"One scholar has noted that the more than 40 Indians wars from 1775 till 1890 reportedly claimed the lives of some 45. 000 Indians and 19. 000 of whites†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (J. Tebbel, K. Jennison, 11). Generally talking about Native Indians, we have to underline that actually these were not all the same people, there were some formal unites, that took part in the wars, the main decisions about wars and peace were also taken locally, and there were certain leaders of the alliances. One of the examples can be the Iroquois Confederation. Most scholars nowadays state that it would be too simple and not deep enough to consider these wars as just racial wars between Indian people and American people, the fact was that Indians didn’t struggle only with white people, they also fought with Indians as well. The result of the wars was however rather of single meaning, namely the conquest of the United States of Native Americans. The years from 1622 to 1774 are called colonial era for America. This period of time includes the wars between Native Americans and the USA before the Declaration of independence was issued. Colonial powers in North America had to subdue the resistance of the native people, trying to overcome their hostility. The following 70 years were the wars against the United States that were newly formed. The year 1763 is known for the Pontiac’s Rebellion in the territory of Northwest. The main conflict at that moment with Native Americans was the consequence of not giving up of the tribes from Northwest of the settlement in the Ohio valley. The first couple of attempts of white people was not successful enough to defeat the tribes, but in 1794, during the battle of Fallen Timbers General Anthony Wayne was victorious. In 1830 president Andrew Jackson remade the Indian Removal Act into law. The act itself was not s straight order for relocating Native Americans, but it was pushing them to exchange their lands in the eastern part for those in the west. One of the historians Robert V. Remini stated that the deeds of the president could be explained by his intention to keep national security as the main reason, because at that time Great Britain and Spain started to use the Native Americans for the war with the United States. After the year 1815 the US was pushing the Indians to reservations by Mississippi river, and the result of the mentioned policy was the fact that by 1860 most of the tribes had to relocate. Usually that was not done peacefully; there were fights and strong resistance. For example in order to move the Seminole it was necessary to win several wars for the white Americans. â€Å"The most notable Seminole War involved the celebrated Osceola. Similarly the refusal of the Sac and Fox to be removed led to the Black Hawk War in 1832† (J. Tebbel, K. Jennison, 25). During the years 1823 – 1890 the western part of the Mississippi was the territory of hard resistance from Indian tribes against white settlers, the strongest were the Sioux of the Northern Plains and the Apache of the Southwest. In 1864 the battle called the Sand Greek Massacre took place, as the result around 150 persons were killed or injured. â€Å"The Indians at Sand Greek had been assured, by the US government that they would be safe in the territory they were occupying, but anti-Indian sentiments by white settlers were running high. Later congressional investigations resulted in short-lived U. S. public outcry against the slaughter of the native Americans† (Y. Bill, 137). Later on there was a number of another war conflicts, but as soon as in the year 1887 the Dawes Act was issued the new epoch stared, practically the resistance of the Native Americans was finally broken and the U. S. government succeeded in removing them to reservations. Overall, the epoch of the Indian wars is a huge bloody spot in the history of the USA. One the one hand, being guided by the best aim of progress and development the white Americans did their best in order to remove Indians from their native lands, although the cost for it were thousands of people’s lives. It is not necessary to mention that the interests of Native Americans were not much taken into consideration, and their resistance is practically well founded. Sources: 1. M.Norton. A People A Nation Volume One: to 1877, Seventh Edition, 2004 2. Portrait of America: From the European Discovery of America to the End of Reconstruction by Stephen B. Oates, 2000 3. Taylor, Alan. American Colonies: The Settling of North America (The Penguin History of the United States , Volume I) (History of the USA ), 1999 4. Y. Bill. Indian Wars: The campaign for the American West. Yardley, PA: Westholme, 2005 5. M. Schmitt, D. Brown. Fighting Indians of the West, 1966 6. J. Tebbel, K. Jennison. The American Indian Wars, 1990.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

The Basic Informational Macromolecules Biology Essay

The Basic Informational Macromolecules Biology Essay Nucleic acids are the basic informational macromolecules that contributes to the most essential characteristic properties of living system, reproduction and genetic conttrols. Lower and higher molecular weight of nucleic acids are utilized in metabolic and catalytic reactions respectively. DNA(deoxyribonucleic acid) and RNA(ribonucleic acid) are nucleic acid of polymers composed of nitrogenous base either a double ring of purines and single ring of pyrimidine which is further connected to the phosphorylated sugar to make up the nucleotides.The sugar attached with base without phosphate group is called nucleoside.The DNA molecule has sugar 2-deoxyribose and RNA molecule has ribose and every backbone of DNA or RNA chain are linked by covalent phosphodiester bond between 5and 3carbons of two sugars either from 5>3 or 3>5 directions. Phosphate groups are attached at the end of the sugar at 5-carbon and at the 3end ,the hydroxyl group is added.Most probably all natural DNA or RNA polymer extend in a direction of 5to 3end direction.The structures that join the nulceotides together in DNA and RNA are called phosphodiester bonds due the presence of phosphoric acid linkage between the two sugars(fig.1) Fig.1 RNA nucleotides linked by phosphodiester bonds between 3-OH and 5-C. (RNA structure,n.d) Structures of DNA DNA(deoxyrinucleic acid)is the linear of nucleic acids which is composed of four different building blocks of nucleotides and is lack of one oxygen atom at carbon2(fig.2) and as a result it is named as deoxyribose sugar. Fig.2 Structure of DNA. (DNA Structure,n.d) DNA is commonly found in nucleous and scientist called Erwin Chargaff found that DNA has four nucleotide bases namely pyrimidine(cytosine and thymine)and purine(adenine and guanine) (fig.3) Purines: a)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Adenine A  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Guanine G   Pyrimidines: b)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Thymine T  Cytosine C   Fig.3.Structure of DNA bases. (DNA and RNA Structures,n.d) The total amount of pyrimidine nucleotide bases thymine+cytosine is always equal to the total amount of purine nucleotide bases adenine+guanine.The amount of thymine is always equal to the amount of adenine(A=T)and the amount of cytosine is always equal to the amount of guanine(G ºC).But the amount of adenine +thymine is not necessarily equal to the amount of guanine+cytosine. ( Gupta ,P.K., 2000) The Double Helix Structure By the study of x-ray diffration, Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkens suggested that DNA has a helical structure with a diameter of 20A and 34A distance in the helix(fig.4a). DNA consists of two helix which the two chains are coiled around the same axis to form a right-handed helix and they can be separated from one another only by uncoiling. The backbone of altertnating deoxyribose and phosphate groups are placed outside the helix facing the surrounding water(hydrophilic) whereas the bases are inside the helix(hydrophobic) and are set in a plane at right angle to the long axis.The right-handed DNA forms are called B-DNA having 3.4A distance between the two base pairs and it has 10 base pairs in each turn. DNA can also exist as left-handed and since left-handed DNA follow a zig-zag way,it is called as Z-DNA.The main difference between Z-DNA and B-DNA is that in Z-DNA,one complete helix has 12 base pairs per turn whereas B-DNA has only 10 base pairs per turn. (Gupta,P.K., 2000) Fig.4)a) Structure of double helix, b) DNA structure showing parallel and anti-parallel, c) double helix showing minor and major grooves. (DNA Structures,n.d) In double helix,the two strands of DNA runs opposite in direction ie,5> 3and 3> 5 which means the two strands should be parallel or anti-parallel to make the stabilized structure and hold the two polynucleotides together.There is an interaction of base-pair between the adenine on one strand and a thymine on the other(A=T) and similarly between cytosine and guanine (G ºC (fig.4b) with hydrogen bond two and three rrespectively.These pairing of this two strands creates minor and major grooves on the surfaces of double helix(fig.4c) . In DNA double helix,one strand act as parent strand and the other new strand as template which synthesize complementary daughter strands(fig.5).The double helix is hold together by H-bonding between complementary base pairs and base stacking interaction. (Voet,D. Et al Fig.5 DNA replication. Each strand of a parental DNA acts as a template for the synthesis of a complementary daughter strand. (Voet,D. et al,2006) Structure of RNA RNA(ribonucleic acid) is the second type of nucleic acid found in throuhtout the cell. In case of RNA , it has a sugar and an -OH group at 2 carbon atom(fig.6). Fig.6 Structure of ribose. (RNA Structure,n.d) Similarly, RNA has also four nucleotide bases as purine and pyrimidine(fig.7) except the thymine is replaced by uracil in pyrimidine. Purines:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Adenine A  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Guanine G   Pyrimidines:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Uracil U  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Cytosine C   Fig.7 Structures of RNA bases. (RNA and DNA Structures,n.d) Though RNA is single -stranded structure ,when RNA fold back on itself ,by chance or occasional base pairing and hydrogen bonding ,it forms some of a paired helical structure (fig.8) which results in three dimensional structure and they are copmplex and unique. They form intra-strand base pairs from self complementary region along the chain. Fig.8 Base pairing within a single strand of RNA showing a possible folded structure. (RNA Structure,n.d) The information from RNA determines the protein synthesis through the series of translation which involves three types of RNA molecules to perform different functions: 1)Messenger RNA(mRNA)Structure Messenger RNA(mRNA) is a linear sequence of amino acid in polypeptide chain and has longer chain than the reading frame that has to be translated.To begin and end translation , specific start and stop codons are required. Mostly mRNAs has start (initiator) codons AUG that can be served as methionine codon at 5carbon.. Occasionally GUG and CUG can alsobe used as initiator codon in some of the bacterial and eukaryotic mRNA respectively. GUG codes for valine and CUG for leucine to initiate a protein chain. The stop codon are UAA, UGA and UAG and do not code for any amino acid. The stop codon indicates that translation is to be terminated and the ribosome has to be released polypeptide product. The sequence of start and stop codon are called a reading frame. Codon having overlapping information, mRNA can be translated to different reading frames and formed different polypeptides(fig.9). Each genetic code specifies different amino acids and rarely unusual coding occurs. ( Lodish, etal , 1986) Frame 1 5à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â€š ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â€š ¬ GCU UGU UUA CGA AUU A à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â€š ¬ mRNA à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â€š ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â€š ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â€š ¬ Ala Cys Leu Arg Ile à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â€š ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â€š ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â€š ¬ polypeptide 1 Frame 2 5à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â€š ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â€š ¬ G CUU GUU UAC GAA UUA à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â€š ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â€š ¬ mRNA à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â€š ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â€š ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â€š ¬ Leu Val Tyr Glu Leu à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â€š ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â€š ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â€š ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â€š ¬ polypeptide 2 Figure 9; Multiple reading frames in an mRNA sequence ( Lodish , etal , 1986) 2)Transfer RNA(tRNA) Structure Transfer RNA(tRNA) is an adaptor molecule that serve as a bridge between mRNA and the amino acids leading to the Polypeptide chain.tRNA exists in primary,secondary and tertiary structure. A tRNA molecule is chemically linked to amino acids through a bond forming an aminoacyl-tRNA. The general structure of tRNA is represented by Cloverleaf model(fig.10). The anticodon at the bottom is complementary to the mRNA codon with the pairing of base to it. Due to the presence of mRNA codon and tRNA anticodon, base-pairing is in anti-parallel directions.Amino acids are attached to the acceptor stem at the 3 terminus having sequence CCA and protrudes beyond the 5 end. The dihydrouracil loop(D loop)contained always uracil base and TCG loop has invariant sequence of bases.Variable loop has variation in both nucleotides composition and in length. (Lodish,et al,1986) Fig.10. Structure of tRNA. (RNA-Ribonucleic acid,n.d) 3)Ribosome RNA(rRNA) Sructures Ribosome RNA(rRNA) carries ribosome particles and consists of one small and one large subunit ribosome and protein. The rRNA is the largest structure among the RNAs. Each of the subunits composed of one to three rRNA s types and as many as protein components. Comparing to prokaryotes, eukaryotic cells are larger and more particles whereas the eukaryotes has 40s and 60s with 80s for complete ribosome. Functions of DNA †¢ DNA serve as a storage materials for genetic information in all living cells. †¢ Due to the double helical structure,DNA provides more stability storing more genetic information since the double bond required more force to break up the structures . †¢ DNA is building block of the protein synthesis which takes by the process of Central Dogma relationship.Genetic information from the DNA is transcribed to mRNA carrying the genetic codon and later translated to the polypeptide chain. †¢ DNA provides for long term storage of genetic information due to the presence of deoxyribose sugar at 2carbon,thus preventing the formation of cyclic phosphate ester since hydrogen cannot hydrolysis the phosphodiester bond, whereas 2hydroxyl group in RNA act as a nucleophile attacking the phosphodiester bond and results in less efficiency of storing information. (Lodish, ea al,1986) †¢ DNA act as template or semiconservative.During the replication of double helix,DNA double strsnded DNA that consists of one old (template) strand and one new daughter strand. two ddaughter duced pronew daughter strand.This two new DNA molecules is identical to the parents molecule and this type of conservation of old template strand is called semiconservative. †¢ The major and minor grooves formed during the coiling or wounding of duoble strands provides the reading of protein binding DNA.s ( Lodish, etal, 1986) Function of mRNAs: †¢ mRNA carries genetic information which is transcribed from DNA in a linear sequence of amino acid to a peptide chain. †¢ mRNA carries three codons for a specific amino acids.AUG act as start codon for a specified amino acids at 5 and UAA, UAG and UGA as stop codon or termination of translation. Function of tRNA: †¢ The main function of aminoacyl-tRNA is to recognise the specific codon for the activation of correct amino acids. †¢ tRNA make sure that the amino acid are placed in correct sequence to the growing peptide chain during the interaction of codon with the specific anticodon. †¢ Helps in Abinding the growing peptide chain to the ribosome during translation process. ( Conn, E.E.,1987) Function of rRNA: †¢ rRNA could serve as template RNA . †¢ rRNA with ribosome particles provides shapes and structure during protein synthesis. It also helps in speeding or catalysing the chemical reaction by enzyme called ribozymes. The main difference between the DNA and RNA structures are that DNA has deoxyribose sugar and lack one oxygen at carbon 2,wheraes in RNA has ribose sugar and one -OH group attached at carbon 2. DNA is double stranded in nature ,providing more stability than single stranded RNA. Again one big difference is that the presence of thymine in DNA and uracil in RNA srtucture. The main difference in the function of DNA and RNA is that the DNA functions mainly for the storage of genetic informations and the RNA as transcription and translation of genetic informations. Since the DNA is double helix that wound around the plane of the helix hiding the base -paired inside the helix that prevents from contacting with water(hydrophobic) this base pairing interaction provides more stability to the nucleic acids storing more genetic information.In both DNA and RNA base pairing between G ºC provides more stronger and stable bond than the A=T since it requires more force to break up the three H-bonding of G ºC than the A=T. In DNA , thymine is present and instead of thymine uracil is replaced in RNA .Since thymine contain methyl group , this base act as a protection and moreover methyl is strongly neutral. It is methylated group and methylation newly suppresses the migration of DNA segments. These all reasons provides that DNA is strongly stable than RNA nucleic acid. Again methylation can help in identifying the parental (template) strands from newly synthesized strands in DNA strands. Each of the 3end of the sugar are used to initiate the genetic exchange and this point act as primer for DNA replication. The attachment of more ribosome on mRNA provides high sedimentation rate than the unattached ribosomes which means the polyribosome or polysome complexes are actively synthesizing protein than single ribosomes. (Strickberger,M.W.,1976)

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Blackened Soul :: essays research papers

America is said to be the land of opportunity, the land of freedom. Much of that freedom is used for expression, which most of it comes from writing. Many great writers have been a part of our history, sharing their creative thoughts, ideas, and opinions with everyone. Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allen Poe are two writers who come to mind. In his stories, such as â€Å"The Minister’s Black Veil† and â€Å"Young Goodman Brown,† Hawthorne shows how he believes that man is always living in denial of their true condition, and that pride keeps them separated from everyone, including God. Poe, on the other hand, expresses his ideas of mankind in a slightly different way. In two of his pieces, â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart† and â€Å"The Black Cat,† Poe explains in a dark manner how humans have a conscience with two sides, the â€Å"life instinct† and the â€Å"death instinct.† Seeking to do violence is what the so-called â€Å"death instinctà ¢â‚¬  does, and Poe was the first to ever believe this. Both authors have attempted to describe the darker side of human nature. Many questions arise when reading Poe and Hawthorne’s pieces, most of which can only be answered through analysis. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s story â€Å"The Minister’s Black Veil† is a great example of humankind’s struggle with evil. This story revolves around pride, which is an inherent evil of humans, as Hawthorne believed. The black veil worn by Reverend Hooper represents the evil of humans, which essentially separates people from everyone, including God. Hooper decides to teach the people this very fact by wearing a black veil over his face. To show the people that they are prideful and sinful becomes a trickier task than he believed. The people responded in a frightened manner, such as Goodman Gray who, on page 104, cried, â€Å"Our parson has gone mad!† This clearly shows that Gray, along with the other people, missed Hooper’s point in wearing the black veil. But the congregation wasn’t alone in their misinterpretations, and soon Hooper realizes that he needs to be taught himself, so he believes that he must wear the veil for the rest of his life . He realizes his mistake when, on page 107, it says, â€Å" At that instant, catching a glimpse of his figure in the looking glass, the black veil involved his own spirit in the horror with which it overwhelmed all others.† He finally realizes he is just like the rest when he noticed his reflection with the veil covering his face. Blackened Soul :: essays research papers America is said to be the land of opportunity, the land of freedom. Much of that freedom is used for expression, which most of it comes from writing. Many great writers have been a part of our history, sharing their creative thoughts, ideas, and opinions with everyone. Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allen Poe are two writers who come to mind. In his stories, such as â€Å"The Minister’s Black Veil† and â€Å"Young Goodman Brown,† Hawthorne shows how he believes that man is always living in denial of their true condition, and that pride keeps them separated from everyone, including God. Poe, on the other hand, expresses his ideas of mankind in a slightly different way. In two of his pieces, â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart† and â€Å"The Black Cat,† Poe explains in a dark manner how humans have a conscience with two sides, the â€Å"life instinct† and the â€Å"death instinct.† Seeking to do violence is what the so-called â€Å"death instinctà ¢â‚¬  does, and Poe was the first to ever believe this. Both authors have attempted to describe the darker side of human nature. Many questions arise when reading Poe and Hawthorne’s pieces, most of which can only be answered through analysis. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s story â€Å"The Minister’s Black Veil† is a great example of humankind’s struggle with evil. This story revolves around pride, which is an inherent evil of humans, as Hawthorne believed. The black veil worn by Reverend Hooper represents the evil of humans, which essentially separates people from everyone, including God. Hooper decides to teach the people this very fact by wearing a black veil over his face. To show the people that they are prideful and sinful becomes a trickier task than he believed. The people responded in a frightened manner, such as Goodman Gray who, on page 104, cried, â€Å"Our parson has gone mad!† This clearly shows that Gray, along with the other people, missed Hooper’s point in wearing the black veil. But the congregation wasn’t alone in their misinterpretations, and soon Hooper realizes that he needs to be taught himself, so he believes that he must wear the veil for the rest of his life . He realizes his mistake when, on page 107, it says, â€Å" At that instant, catching a glimpse of his figure in the looking glass, the black veil involved his own spirit in the horror with which it overwhelmed all others.† He finally realizes he is just like the rest when he noticed his reflection with the veil covering his face.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

International Business Essay

1. Summarize the globalization debate. What are the major interest groups in the world economy? How are they affected by different elements of globalization? 2. Who benefits and who loses from a shift in jobs to low-wage economies? Consider this question from the perspective of consumers, labour, technological change, firms, nation-states. Are the net benefits likely to be positive? 3. Identify and evaluate the sources of conflict between pressures on companies to operate globally and the desire of governments to regulate companies and activities within their borders. 4. Account for the existence of counter trade in the world economy and explore the view that its influence will continue as a solution to the problem developing countries face when attempting to export to western markets? 5. Analyze the likely impact on domestic markets of import restrictions via tariffs and quotas respectively. Discuss the dynamic side effects that can arise from import protection. 6. In the light of the strategic significance of price discrimination between cross-border markets to firms, evaluate the merits of anti-dumping measures. 7. Outline the static and dynamic effects of a customs union and explain why regional integration blocs composed of small economies are unlikely to be economically beneficial. 8. Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of the joint venture over licensing as a foreign market entry mode. Describe scenarios when licensing might be the preferable one of the two entry modes. 9. International franchising is often regarded as a low-risk foreign market entry strategy. Does this view fully reflect the attraction of international franchising as a market entry mode? 10. Under what circumstances would a BOT system make sense as an international marketing strategy?

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

buy custom Statutory Interpretation essay

buy custom Statutory Interpretation essay 1.0 Introduction According to the Harris Clay, the Law Professor at the University of Minnesota, statute is defined as officially documented enactments of a parliament or any other supreme legislative authority that comprehensively govern a country, a city or a state. Unlike the case law, the statutes declare a policy, prohibit or command something within the area of its jurisprudence. These legislations -referred to as black letter law- guarantee the rule of law in various countries. As such, statutes are widely regarded as the sole authority and the primary sources of constitutional law hence remain fundamental component within the judiciary and systems of justice (Cruz, 2009). Statutes are the most important tool of governance without which a democratic country cannot function to the optimum. Furthermore, they not only provide an elaborate legal framework necessary for the routine administration of a country but also lay down elaborate constitutional guidelines for making important decision that a ffect the country as a whole. 2.0 The Significance of Statutory Interpretation Statutory interpretation as explained by Andrew Mitchell in his book, Rules and Approaches to Statutory Interpretation, refers to a process by which judges applies and interpret the provision of an Act of Parliament when a case comes before them (2009, p. 53). For the purposes of their proper implementations, legitimized enforcements and further applications, the statutes must be accurately interpreted by competent legal experts within the Supreme Courts. Nevertheless, getting the exact meaning of the various contents of the statutes has posed a lot of challenge due to the following reasons. a) The statutes are usually complex due to the use of technical and legal language that could not be readily understood by the ordinary mass. In cases where more than one draftsman are involved in putting legislative statutes into the documentary records for the purposes of future reference, there would be high chances of incoherence under the same section. These forms of inconsistencies could only be identified and further clarified by legal experts. b) In most cases, the statutes are drafted in the present context thus fail to forecast and anticipate the future situations that are brought about by unforeseen changes, new cultures and technological advancements. As such, the statutes significantly fail to offer comprehensive provisions to all situations that would arise in the future. The judges need to interpret the statutes in bid to address existing gaps in law that were not originally covered by the statutes. c) The statutes are popularly known to contain numerous indeterminate terms and words that bears various meaning. This phenomenon renders the statutes vague and ambiguous and its intent cannot be clearly established. Therefore, different parties will tend to successfully manipulate the meanings of such statutes in their favor while advancing their arguments in the court of law. d) There are higher chances that some parts of the newly enacted statutes can also contradict the existing statutes either partially or entirely on any given matter that overlaps into more than one statute. 3.0 The Rule and Approaches to Statutory Interpretation There are a number of rules and approaches that judges of the Supreme Court use as a standardized guideline in interpreting how a given statute could be applied in a related court case. These sets of systematic rules and comprehensive approaches ensure that the intents of the statutes are accurately accrued without any constitutional lapse. The judicial systems place a lot emphasis in this process because it is the only sure constitutional avenue through which the indiscriminative rule of law could be realized. This section discusses the Literal, Golden nd Mischief rules of the statutory interpretation as well the major approaches to statutory interpretation. The main approaches of statutory interpretation revolve around the traditions of the civil and common law (canons of construction). Grammatical/ literal interpretation of statutes is the commonest. The Supreme Court will be tasked with the responsibility of ascertaining the meaning of a particular statutory provision. This usually requires deciphering the meaning of the key terms. The civil and common law judges will usually have a duty to apply a particular legislative enactment strictly, if the meaning of the statute appears to be clearly defined. If only one construction is possible, the next question is whether the court is bound by the words as formulated, or whether there is some basis for changing the literal meaning. As Cruz and Malleson (1999) would put it, The perimeter of the field of jurisprudence in traditional jurisprudence is characterized by the plain meaning rule on the one hand, and reasoning by analogy on the other. The legislative history approach seeks to ascertain legislative intention by embarking on research into the legislative history of the statute, which is often referred to by the French term tarvaux preparatoire. This category of the statutory approach is pursued very much more in civil law countries than the common law jurisdictions. Most notably, the common law statutes are not, strictly, supposed to the construed in accordance with their particular legislative history. Thirdly, the teleological approach is the last approach to statutory approach that seeks to interpret the legislative text within the context of the contemporary conditions. It presupposes the need to extend the application of a legislative provision beyond the scope of prior legislative intent and to adapt it to rapidly changing social and economic conditions. Teleological approach is regarded as the only legitimate form of statutory interpretation. However, this approach of statutory interpretation has a number of challenges in its use. It cannot be used to reach conclusion directly as in the case of logical or grammatical interpretation hence it can only be used where there are numerous possible interpretations on a particular statute. 3.1 LITERAL RULE This is the most common approach of interpreting a statute. It gained much popularity in the first quarter of the 19th century. The literal rule operates on the principle of interpreting statutes based on the contemporary literal plain meaning of the words used therein. The plain ordinary word meaning rule has proven very useful in cases where the intent of the Parliament in the process of making the enactments could not be easily determined due to consistencies between the newly legislated Act and the existing enactments within same area of legal domain. If the words are precise and pointing, then the judges can accrue the meaning of the statute from the ordinary meanings of the words. The interpreting judges assume that the intent of the law makers is directly pegged on the wordings of the statute (Dorsey, 2009). The literal rule of interpreting statutes is liable to a lot of absurdity on the mere basis that the meanings of the complex statutes are restricted to mere words which are the most imperfect and unreliable symbols of relaying intent of the Parliament or any other legislative authority over a period of time. It is most notable that 40% of the legislations interpreted under this category of approach are highly erroneous, misleading and inconsistent with other related legislations. In his observation, Tobias Dorsey maintains that Literal rule could not be independently used to help unearth the hidden rightful meaning of legislation but in combination with other approaches. Consider the 1836 scenario of R v Harris to illustrate the greatest limitations of the Literal Rule. The legislation categorically stated that it was only an offense to cut, wound or stab anny person. If Harris bit the complainant on the ear lobe then he would be acquitted because he neither used any instrument such as knife nor did any of the acts mentioned in the act (wound, cut, or stab) but his teeth to bite. Does this mean the acquitted is not guilty of the offense? Dorsey laments that the plain meaning rule is highly subjective and gives judges room for laziness. The technique prohibits justice within the judicial systems. 3.2 THE GOLDEN RULE This is a hybrid of the Literal Rule and the contextual parameters of the legislation. The Golden Rule operates on the principle that the proper meaning of any legislation can only construed from its ordinary plain words on condition that there is no absurdity, and inconsistency or repugnance with the rest of the Act. However, in the event of any absurdity, the Golden Rule demands that the grammatical and literary meaning of the words could be subjected to a constructive modification so as to eradicate the imminent inconsistency. In general, the Golden Rule functions in two phases. The literal rule is first applied and should there be any absurdity, the Supreme Court will opt for a different approach with the sole intentions of avoiding the absurdity or ambiguity. Such available mechanism would include modification of the grammatical words to bring out the rightful intent of the legislative authority. In the long run, the statute is accurately interpreted not only literal meaning of the words used but also on the legislative context under which the enactment was made. The combination of the two approaches (literal rule and the context rule) in the golden rule made it less erratic in interpreting statutes compared to the unilateral literal rule. Under the Golden Rule, the judges of the Supreme Court make much reference to the common law (canons of construction) in their attempts to interpret various statutes. Before the actual meaning the enactment is reached, the judges will review the historical context upon which the legislative authority passed the bill into a statute. The Golden Rule remains a perfect model of the legislative history approach. 3.3 THE MISCHIEF RULE The Mischief Rule is also referred to as the Mischief Policy. In the course of interpreting the statute, the Supreme Court will first of all brings into sharp focus the nature of the common law that existed before the statute was legislated, any serious lapse (loopholes and shortcomings) of the common law that hindered it from offering justice, and finally the legislative mechanism that the parliament attempted to provide in bid to offer a lasting solution to the mischief (loopholes and shortcomings of the preliminary enactments). The Mischief Policy will compel the presiding judges of the Supreme Court to do a thorough background information search into a particular legislation before its eventual interpretation. After the court has established the mischief, taken as the main weaknesses, of the previous common law(s) that prompted the legislative authority to come up with the existing legislations, it could now interpret the legislations with due precision and accuracy. So far, the mischief rule is the only outstanding approach that could accurately interpret the legislation with very minimal error. 4.0 Conclusion In conclusion, interpretation of the statutes is very important function of the Supreme Court. It ensures that various enactments written down in technical terms are accurately simplifies or interpreted for effective enforcement. The main approaches of statutory interpretation revolve around the traditions of the civil and common law. The popular approaches employed in the interpretation of various controversial enactments include Grammatical/ literal, the legislative history; teleological approaches. These highlighted approaches are guided by the literal rule, the golden rule, and the mischief in their quest to interpret legislative statutes. Buy custom Statutory Interpretation essay

Monday, October 21, 2019

Organizational Fad or Fantasy Example

Organizational Fad or Fantasy Example Organizational Fad or Fantasy – Assignment Example ï » ¿ In your opinion, are teams an effective way for organizations to manage work and get the most out of their employees? Teams are critical in influencing organization performance in two ways; teams can help an organization to achieve incredible results or a team that does work may cause disruption of failure to the organization goals. In this sense, a team would enable an organization to achieve a given goals when its constitution reflects on the perspective of the organization. Conversely, team management has similar features to those observed in an organization. In essence, teams are effective ways that an organization can use to manage its employees. The process of constituting a working team should evaluate the employees who intend to work under the banner of a given team (Ashkanasy, et.al. (2000). This process does not only influence the ability of the team to perform, but also manageability of the team. In most cases, the composition of a team considers the following the skills of the team and the task which the team should perform. Critics have observed that organizations, which have embraced the teamwork attitudes, do not only achieve a given task, but enables their employees to advance their visibility in the organization (Hayes, 2002). When management anticipates delegating some of its duties, the best way to introduce the above is through creation of teams. While delegation enables the management to offer opportunity to leaders and some employees to release their leadership abilities, delegation is effective when working in teams. Teams enable management to influence the behavior of its employees. Large organizations usually develop structures in which various departments work towards meeting a given target. In this sense, the organization delegates the duty to the team leaders. Working within these teams enables the firm to monitor the activities or the behavior of its employees. Conversely, some critics have observed that teams may not deliver the objective of the firm when they do not have specific mission to accomplish. In some cases, some employees may resist the formation of teams. Ideally, many firms develop teams and abandon them after accomplishing a given task. However, some critics have noted that teams tend to be successful when the management and the team coordinate their activities (Lipton, 2002). The management should monitor the activities of the team as well as the motivating it. This enables the team to build the team spirit that is essential in accomplishing the objectives of the firm. Employees tend to demonstrate a sense of belonging. This attribute is critical because it influences individual ability or reaction towards a given action. It is arguable that teams enable employees to work as a group as well as sourcing information from the management. Since teams comprises of a given number, identifying the problems or challenges facing a team is quite easy (Harvard Business School Press, 2010). This enables the employees to express their views in relation to the task they perform. In conclusion, teams may enable an organization to achieve incredible result when its composition considers the tasks and the ability of the employees composing the team. References Ashkanasy, M. N. et.al. (2000). Handbook of Organizational Culture and Climate. London: SAGE. Harvard Business School Press. (2010). Managing Teams. Pennsylvania: Harvard Business Press. Hayes, N. (2002). Managing Teams: A Strategy for Success. New York: Cengage Learning EMEA. Lipton, M. (2002). Guiding Growth: How Vision Keeps Companies on Course. Pennsylvania: Harvard Business Press.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Animal Abuse Facts and Information

Animal Abuse Facts and Information Within the animal protection movement, the term animal abuse is used to describe any use or treatment of animals that seems unnecessarily cruel, regardless of whether the act is against the law. The term animal cruelty is sometimes used interchangeably with animal abuse, but animal cruelty is also a legal term that describes acts of animal abuse that are against the law. The state laws that protect animals from abuse are referred to as animal cruelty statutes. Abuse Standards for Farm Animals The term animal abuse can also describe violent or neglectful actions against pets or wildlife. In cases of wildlife or pets, these animals are more likely to be protected or are better protected than farmed animals under the law. If cats, dogs or wild animals were treated the same as cows, pigs, and chickens in factory farms, the people involved would likely be convicted of animal cruelty. Animal advocates consider factory farming practices like debeaking, the use of veal crates or tail docking to be animal abuse, but these practices are legal almost everywhere. While many people would call these practices cruel, they do not constitute animal cruelty under the law in most jurisdictions but fit the term animal abuse in many peoples minds. Animal rights activists oppose not only animal abuse and animal cruelty, but any use of animals. For animal rights activists, the issue is not about abuse or cruelty; its about domination and oppression, no matter how well the animals are treated, no matter how big the cages are, and no matter how much anesthesia they are given before painful procedures. Laws Against Animal Cruelty The legal definition of animal cruelty  varies from state to state, as do the penalties and punishments. Most states have exemptions for wildlife, animals in laboratories, and common agricultural practices, such as debeaking or castration. Some states exempt rodeos, zoos, circuses and pest control. Others may have separate laws banning practices like cockfighting, dogfighting, or horse slaughter. If someone is found guilty of animal cruelty, most states provide for the seizure of the animals and reimbursement for expenses for the animals care. Some allow counseling or community service as part of the sentencing, and about half have felony penalties. Federal Tracking of Animal Cruelty Although there are no federal statutes against animal abuse or animal cruelty, the FBI tracks and collects information about acts of animal cruelty from participating law enforcement agencies across the country. These can include neglect, torture, organized abuse and even sexual abuse of animals. The FBI used to include acts of animal cruelty into an all other offenses category, which did not give much insight into the nature and frequency of such acts.   The FBIs motivation for tracking acts of animal cruelty stems from the belief that many who practice such behavior may also be abusing children or other people. Many high-profile serial killers began their violent acts by harming or killing animals, according to law enforcement.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Marijuana should not be legalized Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Marijuana should not be legalized - Essay Example It has been reported that the increasing number of children are experimenting with the recreational drugs such as Marijuana. Further, studies on the arrested criminal serving their sentences in different jails suggested that they were involved in using drugs like Marijuana at least once in a week before they were arrested. (DuPont, 2010). These statistics suggest that the society as a whole can actually bear a lot of cost for the unrestricted and unrestrained used of drugs like Marijuana and therefore should not be legalized. This argumentative essay will present a case for not legalizing the Marijuana and will present different reasons along with practical examples as to how the legalization of Marijuana can actually be detrimental to the society and the individuals. Marijuana should not be legalized Probably one of the biggest arguments against the legalization of the marijuana is based upon the principles of morality. The use of the drugs in general is considered as immoral in any given society due to the overall impact of the same on the society. ... Religion therefore in this sense suggests that the use of drugs generally should not be allowed because it will diminish the humanistic characteristics of the individuals. Historically the use of drugs such as Marijuana remained banned due to the adverse social impacts of their use on the individuals. Since the use of the Marijuana often result into the intoxication therefore can seriously cause the personal injury. It is also important to note that the marijuana is considered as the stepping stone drug which can lead to the use of other drugs such as cocaine and other more severe drugs. This is because of the fact that the Marijuana is often considered as easy to obtain and use and the relative effects of the drug can often lead to the so called experimentation with other hard and soft drugs. Such tendencies therefore can further led to the excessive use of other drugs and therefore the overall cost of rehabilitation of all those engaged into the use of harder drugs can be high. (Me sserli, 2010) It is also important that the Marijuana is considered as a socially addictive drug therefore and has really capability to induce abuse. Such capacity of the drug therefore can further led to the domestic as well as the social disturbance giving the fact that the drug is of addictive nature. This is also because of the fact that due to overall nature of Marijuana people who actually use this drug become what is called potheads and Marijuana start to dominate most parts of their lives. Such domination therefore creates further social alienation as well as the marginalization of the drug addicts. The use of Marijuana is therefore not only

Friday, October 18, 2019

Ideological analysis of two different magazines Essay

Ideological analysis of two different magazines - Essay Example The magazine was founded in 1977. Acquired by Werner Media in 1986, it currently has a circulation of 1.7 million, and a web site that has approximately 2 million unique hits a month. Upon first glance of U.S. Weekly, the reader is bombarded with images of fashion, stereotypical beauty, and often current scandals in the entertainment world. Glamorous ideals promoting the everyday lives of the wealthy, and advertisements centered on makeup, lingerie, acne medication, and ads for television shows that are marketed to woman as well, make up the majority of the sponsors. On the cover of issue 629 March 5, 2007, there were three main pictures on the front cover. One was of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie walking their newly born and adopted children in dual strollers through the streets; below this was a picture of a very glamorous and happy looking newly coupled Kate Moss and Owen Wilson, both with bright blond hair, shiny white teeth and blues eyes. Next to these two small photos, was a hu ge leading photograph of Britney Spears with a partly shaved head and a lead title statement saying, Help Me. This cover page gives perfect insight into the magazines ideology, in that it shows what ideals the editors promote as well as what goes against their values. By U.S. Weekly degrading Britney Spears for shaving her head, as apposed to putting it in a positive light, or doing any genuine investigative/informative journalism on her motives, the magazine takes a definite stance. Using Spear’s image in this way is a combination of exploitative scandal, and the magazines way of taking a finite stance against her fashion decision, but it takes it even further. The fact that she cuts her hair is not treated as just a fashion mistake, but as a sign that she needs psychological analyses. Her personal and family life is put in question and she is virtually crucified by the magazine for simply cutting her hair. Of course, the hair she cut was the key

Media Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Media Ethics - Essay Example Ultimately, I will conclude that the primary reason many media organizations may find themselves â€Å"aiding† terrorist is not out of the inevitability of an incidental connection, but a money-oriented strategy. Unlike other commentators, Held does not try to invoke the role of news media as a fourth branch or government, but takes the position that everyone in a moral society is obliged to promote the reduction of political violence. This position, in her opinion is partially relevant for those working in the media since it plays a key role in shaping public opinion, which is ultimately the objective of those that engage in political violence. She bases her argument on the claim that the media cannot be relied on to play its moral role in the war against terror since it is predominantly driven by profit motives. Even from a laypersons perspective, the media assist common sense in decreasing incidences of political violence. However, this is not as obvious to members of the fourth estate who tend to present news in the most dramatic and emotive way possible so as to exploit public outrage or fear for increased rating and create a sense of dependency. Given current reporting trends, it is cl ear that the infamous adage, â€Å"tell the people what they want hear† is alive. For example, they will rarely provide objective coverage of the arguments for and against the views by political dissidents unless they happen to be iconic figures such as Dalai Lama. She suggest that the press should air the view of everyone involved in an incidence since many acts of terror are committed by people who feel they are ignored and want to force society to acknowledge their existence and grievances. Her proposal on this matter is on point since in many cases, would be perpetrators of political violence will not get attention from the media unless they do something drastic. Held preeminently talks about the profit motive, which she cites rightly as

Consent Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Consent - Essay Example In this sense it is meant that the review should be constructed in such a manner that the researcher/researchers can either use it as a stand-alone published material that can assist other researchers with similar topical considerations in their own research or the researcher/researchers can use the review exclusively as an assisting part of their own research on the topic. This brings out the importance of literature review that is possibly more important a part of the initial research strategy than any other part of such initial research. Choice of Topic - The first consideration that a researcher or group of researchers must take into account is the choice of topic. For this, they may first scrutinize the subject they are studying and thresh out a topical part that has scope for research the researchers themselves feel they are competent enough to carry out. It is notable that this is the very initial step to beginning an earnest literature review (Reed, Undated). The choice of a suitable topic may constitute the following steps - Brainstorming - This is process with which the researcher scans the subject he/she is studying currently to pinpoint a topic within that subject he/she may want to research upon. Within this process the subject is broken down into its topical components and basic keywords are derived from these. For example, as in this case, where the subject is taken to be 'information within the healthcare system', some of the topical interests that may get unearthed are as follows: Acquisition of such information; Storage of such information; Retrieval of such information; Ethics regarding retrieval; etc. Next, books, journal articles and other resources that have been recommended for these topics within the main study subject are next scrutinized and studied to ensure which of these topics may be the most suitable for research. Some of the criteria with which this is judged may be as follows: if there is any scope for further research within any of these topics; and whether such research can be easily carried out with the resources and facilities that are presently available with the researchers. In this manner a topic is settled upon on which the researchers decide they want to do research. The topic has scope for further research and the research type is suitable for being conducted by the researchers, who consider themselves capable of it. The topic settled upon in this case is 'Ethical issues regarding retrieval of healthcare information available from storage'. Consultation with the Instructor/Professor - Another adjacent step to brainstorming to settle upon the research topic is consultation with the instructor ort professor in charge of the discipline the researchers are incumbent upon. Often, these able persons are capable of making valuable suggestions that allow the research to proceed smoothly and efficiently. Researching Background Information - After a topic suitable for conducting research upon has been selected, the next logical step is to find background information on it from resources like

Thursday, October 17, 2019

The Slum Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Slum - Essay Example That experience was horrible and embarrassing for any lady and these types of experiences were common for slum dwellers. The experiences of the slum dwellers will shock the readers and make them feel shame. They will a world apart, a beleaguered service sector, work force that surrounds new economy, which remains feeling bad about the unmet needs and desires. The health of those people should be taken care by some others like social service organizations or by the governments as they don't have enough money to spend lavishly on quality health services. Most of the medical facilities which are available with five star facilities and costly were just a dream for the people living in slums. The way the doctors, nurses and midwives deal with patients resemble class politics. Though some of nurses and midwives were part of the slums they treat their co dwellers as second grade citizens. The difference that has been shown and being shown was a result of the discrimination shown by the peop le who employ them. The homes of the people in the slums are not comfortable, forget about spaciousness. The myriad physical activities between the adults during night will not have any privacy and there is very much chance of exposed to children. This makes both adults and children psychologically depressed. This depression results in pessimism in many people and determination in only a few of people. So majority of the slum dwellers do not enjoy or achieve much in their life. If one or two achieve their stories will be an example to study. This shows that success is not common in slums as it was in other areas. The main reason for this is not only the psychological depression caused due to living in uncomfortable houses but also the economical inability to join their children in the schools that offer quality education. The schools which accommodate slum children do not have qualified teachers or a play ground for the children to play. The class rooms can be considered as prison type and the children will feel quarantined rather than getting a learning experience. All the twenty four hours in the day will make the children to feel discomfort in one or the other way. The lack of satisfaction in them makes them vulnerable for various temptations of wrong doings. Majority of the children grow as youngsters to be attracted towards the illegal activities or towards the low wage jobs. This makes them again living in slums. Only the candidates who are meritorious congenitally will thrive in the education and get scholarships or lift in the society. The income of those people will hardly meet with the expenses of the comforts. When they go out they look for the facility which will give less expenditure. They do not bother about the comforts or in one sense they invite discomfort for the sake of saving money. They prefer to stay in the car or a bus for the night instead of taking a room in the hotel when they are outdoors. This is due to their financial inability to meet the expenses of both boarding and lodging when they go out. If one is met the other must be sacrificed. Generally they choose for meeting the boarding expenses and just adjust with the lodging facilities. The people in urban slums live in a type of settlement environment. This makes them insecure as they are supposed to evict at any time. The housing is not durable and precarious. As more number of people live in

Voidable Agreements and Unconscionable Contracts Assignment

Voidable Agreements and Unconscionable Contracts - Assignment Example The following summary of a case in a court of law shows a voidable agreement containing an unconscionable contract. The case in subject involves a minor who purchased a used car from an adult at one hundred and forty dollars. He, the buyer, attempted to return the car after noticing that the main bearing system had malfunctions. As a result, the buyer informed the seller on the issue, and asserted that repairing the entire bearing system would cost approximately half the purchasing price. Therefore, the minor left the car with the seller and mailed a written notification expressing his dissatisfaction; hence terminating their contract.As a counter action, the adult seller sued the minor buyer for breaching their agreement. After appraising all essential components of the case, the court passed a ruling in favor of the seller on the basis that the contract was not voidable. The premise provided was that the buyer’s aunt and grandmother not only gave him the money for purchase o f the car, but also accompanied him to the venue of transaction. In this first ruling, the seller benefited as a result of misinterpretation of the law on voidable contract.The buyer appealed after losing in the first trial. The court of appeal analyzed the provided evidence and determined the case as a voidable contract. The appellate chamber maintained that the transaction surrounding the contract was between a minor and an adult

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Consent Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Consent - Essay Example In this sense it is meant that the review should be constructed in such a manner that the researcher/researchers can either use it as a stand-alone published material that can assist other researchers with similar topical considerations in their own research or the researcher/researchers can use the review exclusively as an assisting part of their own research on the topic. This brings out the importance of literature review that is possibly more important a part of the initial research strategy than any other part of such initial research. Choice of Topic - The first consideration that a researcher or group of researchers must take into account is the choice of topic. For this, they may first scrutinize the subject they are studying and thresh out a topical part that has scope for research the researchers themselves feel they are competent enough to carry out. It is notable that this is the very initial step to beginning an earnest literature review (Reed, Undated). The choice of a suitable topic may constitute the following steps - Brainstorming - This is process with which the researcher scans the subject he/she is studying currently to pinpoint a topic within that subject he/she may want to research upon. Within this process the subject is broken down into its topical components and basic keywords are derived from these. For example, as in this case, where the subject is taken to be 'information within the healthcare system', some of the topical interests that may get unearthed are as follows: Acquisition of such information; Storage of such information; Retrieval of such information; Ethics regarding retrieval; etc. Next, books, journal articles and other resources that have been recommended for these topics within the main study subject are next scrutinized and studied to ensure which of these topics may be the most suitable for research. Some of the criteria with which this is judged may be as follows: if there is any scope for further research within any of these topics; and whether such research can be easily carried out with the resources and facilities that are presently available with the researchers. In this manner a topic is settled upon on which the researchers decide they want to do research. The topic has scope for further research and the research type is suitable for being conducted by the researchers, who consider themselves capable of it. The topic settled upon in this case is 'Ethical issues regarding retrieval of healthcare information available from storage'. Consultation with the Instructor/Professor - Another adjacent step to brainstorming to settle upon the research topic is consultation with the instructor ort professor in charge of the discipline the researchers are incumbent upon. Often, these able persons are capable of making valuable suggestions that allow the research to proceed smoothly and efficiently. Researching Background Information - After a topic suitable for conducting research upon has been selected, the next logical step is to find background information on it from resources like

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Voidable Agreements and Unconscionable Contracts Assignment

Voidable Agreements and Unconscionable Contracts - Assignment Example The following summary of a case in a court of law shows a voidable agreement containing an unconscionable contract. The case in subject involves a minor who purchased a used car from an adult at one hundred and forty dollars. He, the buyer, attempted to return the car after noticing that the main bearing system had malfunctions. As a result, the buyer informed the seller on the issue, and asserted that repairing the entire bearing system would cost approximately half the purchasing price. Therefore, the minor left the car with the seller and mailed a written notification expressing his dissatisfaction; hence terminating their contract.As a counter action, the adult seller sued the minor buyer for breaching their agreement. After appraising all essential components of the case, the court passed a ruling in favor of the seller on the basis that the contract was not voidable. The premise provided was that the buyer’s aunt and grandmother not only gave him the money for purchase o f the car, but also accompanied him to the venue of transaction. In this first ruling, the seller benefited as a result of misinterpretation of the law on voidable contract.The buyer appealed after losing in the first trial. The court of appeal analyzed the provided evidence and determined the case as a voidable contract. The appellate chamber maintained that the transaction surrounding the contract was between a minor and an adult

Assess the advantages of job specialisation Essay Example for Free

Assess the advantages of job specialisation Essay 1. Terminology Job Definition Job definitions in practice are usually only applied to low level manual and clerical jobs, at more senior levels there are usually greater degrees of own job making. There is a school of thought that suggests newly appointed staff ought to know exactly what their duties are in detail. The suggestion is that this higher degree of definition (or specification) helps to motivate employees by letting them know exactly what is expected of them. Others schools of thought are that, far from being motivating a high level of job definition acts to control peoples behaviour and sets minimum performance standards. Job Specialisation Job specialisation is typically a feature of bureaucratic organisations where there is an implied clear-cut division of labour and a high level of specialisation; this is especially relevant to both knowledge jobs and jobs of a manual or clerical nature. After general training some workers e.g. doctors may become gynaecologists, assembly line workers may specialise in fitting car tyres whilst others fit doors, therefore they become a specialist. The design of the organisation relates to what types of jobs should be created and how narrow and specialised they should be. Advantages of job specialisation would be: * Job holders can develop enormous skill in performing a narrowly defined and specified task * Job specialisation typically means that less work time is lost in switching from one job to another * Specialised equipment to increase productivity can be more easily developed in highly specified jobs * Training people for specialised jobs is relatively easy Disadvantages of job specialisation would be: * Boredom is a problem. Workers often get little satisfaction from the job and feel no pride in carrying out trivial tasks * Workers with highly specialised jobs often have high levels of absenteeism and job dissatisfaction and may quit more readily or develop antagonistic relationships with their superiors Once jobs have been designed, organisations must then group the jobs into logical units. At upper levels of an organisation, the groups may be called divisions, product groups or units. At middle and lower levels, they are usually called departments. Departmentalisation is the basis on which jobs are grouped together within an organisation. Another form of grouping is by product. This is a popular structural form in large organisations having a wide range of products or services. In the National Health Service, for example, the key groups of employees medical, nursing, paramedical and hotel services are dispersed according to the service they provide, e.g. maternity, orthopaedic, surgical, psychiatric etc. The advantage of a product organisation is that it facilitates co-ordination and integration, speeds up decision making and eases assessment of units performance. Disadvantages of this type of organisation are that there is some duplication of effort in the various functional areas and managers tend to focus narrowly on their product responsibilities rather than the overall organisation. Hierarchical Structure Hierarchy refers to the number of levels to be found in an organisation. In a company that has a flat organisation structure there are relatively few levels between the lowest and highest levels of authority. A hierarchy is the pattern of reporting relationships between individuals in positions throughout an organisation. The hierarchy has two purposes; to specify which positions are responsible for which areas of operation and to specify the authority of different positions relative to one another. Authority is the power created and granted by the organisation. Organisations must decide how authority is to be distributed among various positions, levels and departments. The process of distributing authority between managers and subordinates is known as delegation. Delegation is a three step process between a manager and one or more subordinates. 1) Assigning responsibility 2) Granting authority 3) Creating accountability Many managers are reluctant to delegate because they dont know how to do so or they feel threatened by a subordinate who performs well. Organisations need to help managers decide how much responsibility to delegate and to overcome the threat of being overshadowed. Decisions about how to distribute authority throughout an organisation result in decentralisation or centralisation. Decentralisation is the systematic delegation and responsibility to middle and lower levels of an organisation. Centralisation is the systematic retention of power and responsibility at higher levels of an organisation. Decentralisation and centralisation are the opposite ends of a continuum. Most firms are relatively more decentralised or relatively more centralised. Centralisation generally allows top managers to exercise control over the organisation, however, it also slows decision making and constrains innovation. Decentralisation distributes control more evenly throughout the organisation. It also tends to speed decision making and make the organisation more flexible and responsive. However, decentralisation allows more opportunities for errors in decision making. The decision to decentralise or centralise is influenced by the organisations environment, size and economic performance. Span of Control Delegation is essentially a power-sharing process in which individual managers transfer part of their legitimate authority to subordinates / team leaders, but without passing on their own ultimate responsibility for the completion of the overall task which has been entrusted to them by their own superiors. The reasons for delegation are mainly practical, but some are idealistic. Practical reasons include: * Senior managers can be relieved of less important, or less immediate, responsibilities in order to concentrate on more important duties * Delegation enables decisions to be taken nearer to the point of impact, and without the delays caused by frequent reference upwards * Delegation gives managers the opportunity to experience decision making and the consequences of their decisions * Delegation encourages managers to learn how to cope with responsibility * Delegation enables organisations to meet changing conditions more flexibly, especially at the boundaries of their system Idealistic reasons for delegation include: * Delegation is a good thing for individual growth, and contributes to staff morale * Delegation is the sine qua non of empowerment (Peter, 1988) * Delegation helps to enrich individuals jobs and humanises work. Most organisations find the need to delegate forced on them by circumstances, especially the pressures on managers to concentrate on environmental issues rather than on internal problems. However, the best practice is to be found in organisations that use delegation positively as an important employee motivator as well as a means of facilitating effective decision-making throughout the organisation. One of the major questions which has to be faced when considering the practical aspects of delegation is how many subordinates, or team members, can be managed effectively by any one manager or supervisor. This is the classical management issue of the so-called span of control, i.e. the number of employees reporting directly to one person. The term span of control refers to the number of subordinates that an individual manages or controls and for whose work that person is responsible. In tall hierarchical organisations an individual employee may have a wide span of control. In contrast in a teamwork structure the span of control may be narrow or may not exist at all. Within an organisation, the span of control bears an inverse relationship to the number of layers of hierarchy, i.e. if the span of control is narrow a large number of levels of hierarchy are needed. In practice spans can vary between one and forty or more subordinates directly supervised, although the most likely range is between three and twenty. Smaller spans tend to be found among managerial, professional and technical groups. Here factors such as cost, the complexity of the work and the need to deal adequately with the problems of people, who may themselves be managers of others, require a closer involvement by superiors in the total operation of their units. Towards the bottom end of the organisational hierarchy, where employees who have no subordinates themselves are carrying out routine tasks, it is practicable to have much larger spans. The whole question of spans of control is linked to top managements views about the number of levels they should have in their organisation. If a flat organisation is preferred, then larger spans are an inevitable consequence, especially for middle managers. If a tall structure is preferred, then spans can be smaller. Any final decision has to be a compromise between these opposing consequences. Other important influences on the size of the spans in an organisation or unit include: * The levels of ability of management i.e. are they capable of producing results with spans of a certain number. * The level of knowledge and experience of the subordinates concerned, e.g. well-trained and experienced staff require less supervision than those without training and experience * The complexity of the work of the unit and the degree of change to which it is subject, i.e. the more complex and more fast changing the work, the more necessary it is to install narrow spans of control * The costliness of possible mistakes by individuals in the unit * The degree of hazard or danger associated with the work, e.g. work on oil rigs or in biochemical laboratories requires special attention to safety procedures In a tall organisational structure many levels separate the lowest positions from the highest one. Hierarchical structures are taken to the extreme in organisations like the army. There are lots of different ranks or grades of workers, with different responsibilities, pay and status. Such organisations are meant to be more inflexible and bureaucratic. 2. Informal and Formal Organisational Structures Organisational structure can be viewed from many perspectives, but I find viewing it from a decision making perspective most useful. Structure exists to perform two essential functions within an organisation: a) Control Ensuring that decision makers at all levels use the managerial or hierarchical constraint as one of the criteria in making their decisions, and b) Coordination Ensuring that decision makers at all levels use lateral or peer constraints as criteria in their decision making The informal organisation structure usually consists of staff and workers who report directly to a small number of managers. This permits a strong influence on morale, motivation and how satisfied staff are with their jobs. This can assist in giving a fast response to customers and following up market opportunities quickly but can lead to confusion of responsibilities and confuse decision making. Organisational growth could lead to increased tension due to overlapping of job roles which would lead to the organisation adopting a formal organisational structure. The informal organisation is: * Flexible and loosely structured * Relationships may be left undefined * Membership is spontaneous and with varying degrees of involvement. The informal organisation can serve a number of important functions: * It provides satisfaction of members social needs, and a sense of personal identity and belonging * It provides for additional channels of communication; for example, through the grapevine information of importance to particular members is communicated quickly * It provides a means of motivation, for example, through status, social interaction, variety in routine or tedious jobs, and informal methods of work. * It provides a feeling of stability and security, and through informal norms of behaviour can exercise a form of control over members * It provides a means of highlighting deficiencies or weaknesses in the formal organisation, for example, areas of duties or responsibilities not covered in job descriptions or outdated systems and procedures. The informal organisation may also be used when formal methods would take too long, or not be appropriate, to deal with an unusual or unforeseen situation The informal organisation, therefore, has an important influence on the morale, motivation, job satisfaction and performance of staff. It can provide members with greater opportunity to use their initiative and creativity in both personal and organisational development. The informal organisation is the networks of relationships that employees form across functions and divisions to accomplish tasks fast. Control is also an integral part of the process of management and a key element for any organisation, playing an important role in the relationship between managers and their subordinates. Control is not only a function of the formal organisation and hierarchical structure of authority, it is also a feature of organisational behaviour and a function of interpersonal influence. The whole purpose of managerial control is the improvement in performance at both the individual and organisational level. Control involves the planning and organisation of work functions, and guiding and regulating the activities of staff. A social organisation is an ordered arrangement of individual human interactions. Control processes help circumscribe typical behaviours and keep them conformant to the rational plan of the organisation. Organisations require a certain amount of conformity as well as the integration of diverse activities. It is the function of control to bring about conformance to organisational requirement and achievement of the ultimate purposes of the organisation. At the organisational level, management need to exercise control over the behaviour and actions of staff in order to ensure a satisfactory level of performance. Managerial control systems are a means of checking progress to determine whether the objectives of the organisation are being achieved. Control provides a check on the execution of work and on the success or failure of the operations of organisations. There are two main types of control which can be used within the organisation and whichever one of these two styles is chosen plays an important factor in the relationship between the manager and his/her subordinates. Firstly, there is Behavioural Control which is based upon the direct personal supervision of the employees. This form of control appears more useful to the needs of individual managers in their attempts to control subordinates in one department or section. There is also Output Control which is based on the measurement of outputs and the results achieved. This form of control serves the needs of the organisation as a whole and is used largely because of the demand for simple measurement of organisational performance. There are five essential elements for a management control system to be truly successful. These factors include the planning of what is desired, establishing standards of performance, monitoring actual performance, comparing actual achievement against the planned target and also rectifying the taking of corrective action. Control is viewed as an essential feature of formal organisation and a hierarchical structure of authority. An alternative view of control is more in keeping with the human relations approach, control is seen as a feature of interpersonal influence and takes place within a network of interaction and communication. While the need for some form of control is constant, the extent and manner of control is variable. In the formal organisational structure there will be patterns of communication and procedures for decision making. Some organisations will have tall structures with lots of layers of command. Other organisations can be relatively flat. The formal structure is usually the first structure adopted after the simple informal organisational structure. It represents a significant shift from centralisation (one person in charge) to decentralisation. Management is divided into tasks of getting the work (sales marketing), carrying out the work (operations), getting the staff (personnel) and recording transactions and arranging finance (finance). This can lead to tension and inter-rivalry between functions, overlap, duplication of effort and difficulties in co-ordination can also occur. Formal structures are often based on specific tasks and it is how these tasks are allocated and the authority which they carry are explained by the organisational structure. The formal organisation is based on official links and connections whereas the informal organisation is based on loose ad hoc connections. It is much easier to set out an organisation chart for formal structure than for informal ones, which may not be obvious and may change although some informal structures are deeply embedded in working practice. The formal organisation is: * Deliberately planned and created * Concerned with the co-ordination of activities * Hierarchically structured with stated objectives, the specification of tasks, and defined relationships of authority and responsibility. Within the formal organisation an informal organisation will always be present. I would define an organisations structure as the architecture both visible and invisible which connects and weaves together all aspects of the organisations activities so that it functions in a dynamic way. One simple approach is to consider how an organisations structure is described when represented in the form of a diagram which is most often shown as an organisation chart. Below is an example of formal organisation chart for 3. Organisational Structure of Scottish Enterprise Borders a) Scottish Enterprise operates a formal organisational structure subdivided into regional structures for each Local Enterprise company. This structure is due to the organisation being relatively large, geographically dispersed, and delivering a wide range of goods/services. This is in common with all 12 local enterprise companies and allows us to work in close proximity to our customers and partners, by locating staff throughout lowland Scotland. The regional structuring was adopted following a process the Scottish Enterprise Network went through 2 years ago called Business Transformation. This entailed a radical overhaul of the way Scottish Enterprise conducted its business. As part of Business Transformation the organisational structure of the entire Scottish Enterprise Network was reviewed and as a result a flatter less bureaucratic structure developed. The original structure hindered the decision making process and there was a lack of co-ordination. The network needed to modernise its working practices to ensure that it was giving tax payers value for money. b) It was considered that adopting this type of structure would improve decision making, fix accountability for performance and increase the coordination of functions. This structure allows the network to evaluate and monitor its activities, it also allows a degree of flexibility. The main downside of this strategy is that it does foster rivalry among the divisions. This is why our organisational values became an integral part of how we do business. Rivalry between local enterprise companies and departments is a cultural and historical issue that will probably always exist. In Network terms, our business units are the 12 LECs and the directorates in Atlantic Quay. Every business unit owns a balanced scorecard to help them manage the performance of their own business unit. The reference point for this is the Network balanced scorecard agreed with the Corporate Management Team. Strategy maps articulate the key objectives that describe both what the organisation wants to achieve and how it is going to achieve it, and demonstrates the critical cause and effect relationships between these objectives (i.e. linkages between desired outcomes and what we must have in place internally to deliver them). Strategy maps are now considered to be the single most important and useful element of designing a balanced scorecard. 4. Organisational Chart a) The organisational structure of a business is most easily summarised in an organisational chart. The chart shows at any given moment in time how work is divided and the grouping together of activities, the levels of authority and formal organisational relationships. Organisation charts describe in diagrammatic form the structure of an organisation. It is the skeleton upon which every other activity depends, more importantly, it is the framework which explains the communication pattern, process and the linking mechanisms between the roles. It illustrates to everyone who communicates with whom, how the control system works, who is in control, who has authority and above all, who is responsible. It explains how the organisation is co-ordinated and how individual departments relate. The division of labour and the relationship of one position to another is reflected in an organisational chart which can act as a guide to explain how the work of different people in the organisation is co-ordinated and integrated. Once specified and defined, the jobs and the authority and responsibility relations between them are represented on an organisational chart. Some charts are very sketchy and give only a minimal amount of information whilst others give varying amounts of additional details, such as an indication of the broad nature of duties and responsibilities of the various units. Others include names of post holders and even photographs, and some give the salary grading for individual positions. Using such a chart would allow employees to become familiar with the organisation, making them feel a part of the company, allowing them to know whos who and whats going on. Organisational charts are useful in explaining the outline structure of the company. They may be used as a basis for the analysis and review of structure, for training and management succession, and for formulating changes. The chart indicates several important details about the organisation: * Lines of communication * Delegation of authority * Accountability * Span of Control * The way in which the work of the organisation is grouped Organisational charts have several weaknesses as a means of explaining organisational structure. Most importantly, they may not be consistent with reality. They may not be current. They may imply a formality that does not exist in practice. Often, they are drawn from a top down perspective. The organisation may look quite different from the bottom than from the top. They often imply that a pyramid structure is the best or only way to organise a business. A circular organisational approach or team approach may in fact be better in some cases. The organisation chart may fail to come to come to grips with the power and authority of a popular and charismatic person relatively low in the organisation or a person who has a substantial financial investment in the business without being a formal part of the management team. Hierarchy refers to the number of levels found in an organisation. In a company that has a flat organisation structure there are relatively few levels between the lowest and highest levels of authority. The basic distinction made between tall hierarchical organisations, and flatter teamwork structured organisations is that a tall organisation will have several layers of command. In contrast team structures will be based on cells of team members working together, often belonging to several project teams which form and reform as projects start and finish. The line relationship authority flows vertically down through the structure, for example, from the chief executive to director, director to team. There is a direct relationship between superior and subordinate, with each subordinate responsible to only one person. Line relationships are associated with functional or departmental divisions of work and organisational control. Directors have authority and responsibility for all matters and activities within their own directorate. Lateral Relationships exist between team members. The organisation is not concerned with responsibilities or authority but rather with providing an avenue for communication and co-ordination between widely different aspects of work. The lateral relationships that exist may be categorised into: Colleague Relations: These are the relationship that exists between people working in the same directorate and who are members of the same team. Collateral Relations: These are the relationships that are necessary for the interchange of ideas and opinions between people at the same level but in different teams within the organisation. 5. Organisational Structure Matrix Structure Matrix structures are organisational forms which have evolved as a result of co-ordination problems in highly complex industries such as software development, where functional and product types of structure have not been able to meet organisational demands for a variety of key activities and relationships arising from the required work processes. A matrix structure usually combines a functional form of structure with a project-based structure. For example, in a two year project to produce a modified version of a standard software programme, one project manager will co-ordinate, and be held accountable for, the work to be undertaken by the project team, and he will be the person who deals on a regular basis with the client. However, in addition to reporting to his own senior line manager on progress with the project as a whole, he will also report on specialist matters, such as design issues, to one or more functional managers, depending on the complexity of the project. The functional managers provide technical expertise and organisational stability. The project manager provides the driving force and the day-to-day control required to steer the project through during its relatively temporary lifetime. The main feature of a matrix structure is that it combines lateral with vertical lines of communication and authority. This has the important advantage of combining the relative stability and efficiency of a hierarchical structure with the flexibility and informality of an organic form of structure. A matrix form focuses on the requirements of the project group, which is in direct contact with the client. It helps to clarify who is responsible for the success of the project. It encourages functional managers to understand their contributory role of the purely functional form, i.e. individual empire building by the functional heads. Three conditions are necessary for the matrix: * Economy of scale in the use of internal resources * Environmental pressure for two or more critical factors such as product (need to complete a specific projectfor example development of the Lower Churchill Falls for electricity) and function (specialized work activity skills needed from within the functional structure necessary for completing this project) * Environment is both complex and uncertain Key Matrix Roles The matrix relies on three key roles: Top leader This individual must keep a balance between the two authority structures. The leader attempts to achieve a balanced matrix structure. Oftentimes either a functional matrix (primary boss functional leader) or product matrix (primary boss functional leader). Matrix bosses Individuals who have management responsibility within the functional and divisional structure need to work collaboratively and establish a priori arrangements for decision making and dispute resolution. Two-boss employee These individuals are the employees who perform the essential work and they report to two bosses requiring them to be able to deal with conflicting demands. Strengths and Weaknesses * Achieves coordination necessary to meet dual demands from divisional-product and functional requirements, but dual authority can be frustrating and confusing to employees. * Provides flexible use of human resources across divisions-products, but participants need excellent interpersonal skills for work to proceed smoothly and successfully * Suited to environment in which frequent changes occur, but consensus seeking and meetings are time-consuming * Provides an opportunity for employees to acquire in-depth skill development for both functional and division-product skill development. * Suited best in medium-sized organizations with several products or projects However, like all organisational form, matrix structures do have their disadvantages. The most important are: * The potential conflicts that can arise concerning the allocation of resources and the division of authority as between project groups and functional specialists * The relative dilution of functional management responsibilities throughout the organisation * The possibility of divided loyalties on the part of members of project teams in relation to their own manager and their functional superiors Despite these disadvantages, the matrix form probably offers the best answer to date to the issue of handling the tension between the need to differentiate and the need to integrate the complex activities of modern organisations. Hybrid Structure Hybrid structures occur when an organisation adopts a structure, which combines two structures from either functional, product or customer principles as a basis for its design. Most organisations eventually use multiple forms of structure within a single overall structure. Once work groups have been departmentalised, the organisation needs to develop a network of reporting relationships. A hierarchy is the pattern of reporting relationships between individuals in positions throughout an organisation. The hierarchy has two purposes; to specify which positions are responsible for which areas of operation and to specify the authority of different positions relative to one another. Authority is the power created and granted by the organisation. Organisations must decide how authority is to be distributed among various positions, levels and departments. The process of distributing authority between managers and subordinates is known as delegation. Delegation is a three step process between a manager and one or more subordinates. 1) Assigning responsibility 2) Granting authority 3) Creating accountability Many managers are reluctant to delegate because they dont know how to do so or they feel threatened by a subordinate who performs well. Organisations need to help managers decide how much responsibility to delegate and to overcome the threat of being overshadowed. Decisions about how to distribute authority throughout an organisation result in decentralisation or centralisation. Delegation is essentially a power-sharing process in which individual managers transfer part of their legitimate authority to subordinates/team leaders, but without passing on their own ultimate responsibility for the completion of the overall task which has been entrusted to them by their own superiors. Strengths and Weaknesses * The hybrid is a balance between a pure divisional or product structure and a pure functional structure and combines the advantages of each. * Weaknesses include high administrative costs and potential conflict over goal focus and resource allocations for functional and divisional departments. The reasons for delegation are mainly practical, but some are idealistic. Practical reasons include: * Senior managers can be relieved of less important, or less immediate, responsibilities in order to concentrate on more important duties * Delegation enables decisions to be taken nearer to the point of impact, and without the delays caused by frequent reference upwards * Delegation gives managers the opportunity to experience decision making and the consequences of their decisions * Delegation encourages managers to learn how to cope with responsibility * Delegation enables organisations to meet changing conditions more flexibly, especially at the boundaries of their system Idealistic reasons for delegation include: * Delegation is a good thing for individual growth, and contributes to staff morale * Delegation is the sine qua non of empowerment (Peter, 1988) * Delegation helps to enrich individuals jobs and humanises work. Most organisations find the need to delegate forced on them by circumstances, especially the pressures on managers to concentrate on environmental issues rather than on internal problems. Overall, organisations have to adapt and grow whilst responding to environment and technology changes by developing more complex structures that are composites of the basic types. Both Hybrid and Matrix structures are composites of the basic type of organisation structure. The reasons why organisations divide into different structures is varied. Typically, structures develop out of functional lines (production, sales etc); geography (like Coca Cola); or by business. The reason will be about capitalising on some structural efficiencies or economies of scale to produce competitive advantage. The benefits are that the smaller (hopefully more logical) units will be more manageable, efficient and profitable. Perhaps being closer to their market and more adaptable. Possibly maximising on internal communications and transfer of knowledge. The consequences are (hopefully) that the benefits are realised. However, the best practice is to be found in organisations that use delegation positively as an important employee motivator as well as a means of facilitating effective decision-making throughout the organisation.