The Patricia Dunn Case and Ethics and HP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Patricia Dunn Case and Ethics and HP - Essay Example HP, the world leader in computer hardware technology, printers is also at forefront in propagating ethical business practices. The Business Ethics of HP are succinctly summed up in the following words of its Chairman Michael Hurd. â€Å"Winning in the market is not important; it is how you get those results. Ethics and compliance is fundamental part of a company’s work culture. Ethical leadership is about each individual’s leadership and actions with others. Just as we have responsibility to our customers, we have a responsibility to ourselves. The standards provide clarity and guidance on how HP expects all employees to operate on a daily basis. (Hurd).† The employees are encouraged to develop a sense of fairness, justice and to adopt right course on the basis of deontological principle—a result is good only as long as it has been attained through good action. â€Å"The word deontology derives from the Greek words for duty (deon) and science (or study) of (logos). (stanford.edu, 2007).† Michael Hurd sums up the Deontological ethics as the core of business principles and values of HP in the following words, â€Å"While working for the best interests of HP, you have a duty to be ethical and lawful in your dealings with customers, channel partners, and competitors, as well as with your HP colleagues.† The Article 2.1 of Standard Business Code (SBC) outlines the deontological ideal in the HP’s working.

Organization structure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Organization structure - Essay Example It has positioned itself as a leader in new product developments and promotions. It has increased their presence in the fast-growing Internet market and direct response television while expanding their international reach. With these core capabilities, it has gained a worldwide reputation for elegance, luxury and superior quality. Even amidst a severe recession and key customers going out of business, the company has proven itself as a durable organization that can weather tough challenges. The worldwide recession declined the consumer spending that affected the sales of the company. With strong leaderships of the company’s Executive Chairman, William Lauder, as well as the President and CEO, Fabrizio Freda, it has responded to the demands of their external environment. It has created business strategies of multi-national expansion, multi-channel distribution and multi-brand leadership in order to support the company’s growth and sustainability. Recently, the company has announced a new organizational structure and leadership team in order to further quickly respond to a fast changing market economy and position itself as an effective organization in implementing and achieving its corporate strategies and financial goals. Figure 1 illustrates the new structure of the organization. The Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors have people in the leadership team reporting to him such as the President and Chief Executive Officer, Executive Vice Presidents of General Counsel, Global Human Resource and Global Communications, Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President for Corporate Administration. The structure of the organization under the CEO is designed as a hybrid structure of products, geographical and functional departmentalization. The CEO has an executive leadership team directly reporting to him. The product departments are divided into four clusters brands that are organized according to channel and consumer segmentation.

Concern Related to Embryonic Stem Cell Technology Research Paper

Concern Related to Embryonic Stem Cell Technology - Research Paper Example Introduction Embryonic stem cell technology is developing rapidly at present because of the huge developments in genetic engineering. Many of the genetic diseases and other chronic diseases can be treated effectively with the help of embryonic cells. Starr et al (2010) pointed out that â€Å"Stem cells are self-renewing in nature† (Starr et al., p.449). In other words, patients who are suffering from cell damages or malfunctioning of cells can be treated with the help of stem cells. Stem cells are usually classified into two broad categories; embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells. Even though adult stem cell related technologies are developing fewer controversies, embryonic stem cell related technologies are generating huge controversies. As the name indicates, embryonic stem cells are collected from embryos. It forms soon after fertilization whereas adult stem cells form during adulthood. It is evident that embryos which undergo stem cell collection may not survive. The l ogic of saving the life of a person by destroying the life of an embryo is often questioned by religious leaders and sociologists. In their opinion, there is no point in saving a life at the expense of another life. On the other hand supporters of embryonic stem cell technology are of the view that human life is more important than an embryo’s life. ... Embryonic stem cells have the ability to replicate indefinitely and it can help the formation of all adult cell types. It should be noted that adult stem cells do not possess such abilities. Under such circumstances, embryonic stem cells are extremely useful in the treatment of many of the genetic diseases and other chronic diseases which cause cell destruction. Starr et al pointed out that â€Å"embryonic stem cells could be used to provide new nerve cells† (Starr et al., p.449). Many of the adult population are currently suffering from nerve problems such as Parkinson disease, Alzheimer’s, epilepsy, dimenisia Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS etc. All these diseases are extremely difficult to treat with ordinary medicines. No medicines are capable of regenerating cells. Stem cells are useful and perhaps the only option in the treatment of above diseases. For example, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS is a disease which affects nerve cells in brain and spinal co rd. ALS prevents people from free moving because of the inability of muscles in receiving instructions from brain as a result of the damaged nerve cells. â€Å"Even though genetic defects were reported in some cases, the exact reasons for ALS are still unknown in majority of the cases†(Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). Neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimers' is caused by problems in cortical neurons whereas in dementia, Lewy bodies, or frontotemporal lobar degeneration is causing the disease. Parkinson disease is caused by dopaminergic neurons whereas upper and lower motor neurons cause amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) (Inou, p.2560). Choia et al (2010) mentioned that â€Å"As a rare and fatal

The War in Vietnam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The War in Vietnam - Essay Example Chemical weapons such as Agent Orange were used against the Vietnamese. The images from this gruesome war were relayed into the sitting room of Americans by the television and newspapers drawing public condemnation and spurring public protest. It is the cost of the war, in terms of both financial resources committed and the massive loss of human life that finally turned the tide and made a majority of Americans eventually turn against the war. President Eisenhower justified U.S involvement in Vietnam with what he called the domino effect. He argued that if Vietnam fell to communism, many states would follow. United States was interested in stopping the spread of communism in Indochina and the South East Asia. Many citizens were not worried by what was described as a simple war whose victory was guaranteed. However, when the President Johnson sent ground troops, there was a lack of a clear policy or determinable goal which would define success. America was just interested in maintaini ng the status quo. On the other hand, they faced communists opponent who was well coordinated and which able to appeal to the support of the people. Ho Chi Minh the leader of the Vietnamese communist was a master of blending communism with nationalism, which won him the support of the people. ... The bone of contention of the protestors was discrimination and poverty. Yet the same government that was supposed to fight poverty was channeling the essential resources to fighting a war. As Dr Martin Luther King rightly put it â€Å"†¦and I knew that America would never invest the necessary funds or energies in rehabilitation of its poor so long as adventures like Vietnam continued to draw men and skills and money like some demonic, destructive suction tube. So I was increasingly compelled to see the war as an enemy of the poor and to attack it as such† (Martin Luther King, Jr., "Beyond Vietnam†). Consequently, that is why civil right movement joined the opponents of the war. They saw that the government had misplaced its priorities, spending on its military instead of the people. As reported, by 1967, civil rights leader Martin Luther King had become the country's most prominent opponent of the Vietnam War, and a staunch critic of overall U.S. foreign policy, wh ich he deemed militaristic. In his "Beyond Vietnam" speech delivered at New York's Riverside Church on April 4, 1967 -- a year to the day before he was murdered -- King called the United States "the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today"(Martin Luther King on Vietnam). In the meantime, another class of Americans got tired of the war due to the causalities inflicted on the American troops. When President Johnson sent troops to Vietnam, Americans were assured a quick victory. However, over the course of the war was losing more and more soldiers with the promised victory nowhere in sight. The public had not anticipated this. According to lecture notes, â€Å"the war was getting more massive than America

Concern Related to Embryonic Stem Cell Technology Research Paper

Concern Related to Embryonic Stem Cell Technology - Research Paper Example Introduction Embryonic stem cell technology is developing rapidly at present because of the huge developments in genetic engineering. Many of the genetic diseases and other chronic diseases can be treated effectively with the help of embryonic cells. Starr et al (2010) pointed out that â€Å"Stem cells are self-renewing in nature† (Starr et al., p.449). In other words, patients who are suffering from cell damages or malfunctioning of cells can be treated with the help of stem cells. Stem cells are usually classified into two broad categories; embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells. Even though adult stem cell related technologies are developing fewer controversies, embryonic stem cell related technologies are generating huge controversies. As the name indicates, embryonic stem cells are collected from embryos. It forms soon after fertilization whereas adult stem cells form during adulthood. It is evident that embryos which undergo stem cell collection may not survive. The l ogic of saving the life of a person by destroying the life of an embryo is often questioned by religious leaders and sociologists. In their opinion, there is no point in saving a life at the expense of another life. On the other hand supporters of embryonic stem cell technology are of the view that human life is more important than an embryo’s life. ... Embryonic stem cells have the ability to replicate indefinitely and it can help the formation of all adult cell types. It should be noted that adult stem cells do not possess such abilities. Under such circumstances, embryonic stem cells are extremely useful in the treatment of many of the genetic diseases and other chronic diseases which cause cell destruction. Starr et al pointed out that â€Å"embryonic stem cells could be used to provide new nerve cells† (Starr et al., p.449). Many of the adult population are currently suffering from nerve problems such as Parkinson disease, Alzheimer’s, epilepsy, dimenisia Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS etc. All these diseases are extremely difficult to treat with ordinary medicines. No medicines are capable of regenerating cells. Stem cells are useful and perhaps the only option in the treatment of above diseases. For example, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS is a disease which affects nerve cells in brain and spinal co rd. ALS prevents people from free moving because of the inability of muscles in receiving instructions from brain as a result of the damaged nerve cells. â€Å"Even though genetic defects were reported in some cases, the exact reasons for ALS are still unknown in majority of the cases†(Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). Neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimers' is caused by problems in cortical neurons whereas in dementia, Lewy bodies, or frontotemporal lobar degeneration is causing the disease. Parkinson disease is caused by dopaminergic neurons whereas upper and lower motor neurons cause amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) (Inou, p.2560). Choia et al (2010) mentioned that â€Å"As a rare and fatal

Strategy and Competitive Advantages of Aldi Group Essay

Strategy and Competitive Advantages of Aldi Group - Essay Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that by maintaining a healthy work culture the company is in an advantageous position to grab a large share of the market and expand its business. It is noted that the organizational culture is constructed socially and it is influenced by the environment change. It also depends on the leadership strategies adopted by the team leaders of the organization which influences the team members to perform well in teams and have a cooperative attitude. Good performance of the organization has a positive impact on the society and the company gains reputation in the international markets. A well-designed strategy involves the mission and vision of the organization and the way the employees can be motivated to contribute to the organization’s reputation. By applying the cost-cutting strategy the company earns a profit that it can utilize in future business activities. The company aims at developing a new business program in order to invite supplie rs as well as provide benefits to the employees. The business model followed by Aldi was based on efficiency as well as simplicity. The product strategy followed by the managers of Aldi depended on carrying a limited variety of the relevant products that are in high demand in the market. The change management theory involves the building blocks within the company in order to achieve the future goals. The managers of Aldi Inc. plans to carry out the change within the company so that it can compete with the modern world. The company follows the Kotter’s eight-step change management theory that involves various steps to undertake a change within the organization. The first step involves the process of identifying requirement of change within the company. The next steps deal with planning for the change by forming a team. The third step involves that Aldi Inc sets a vision for undertaking the change. The fourth step involves that the employees of Aldi understand the vision and ac cept it. The fifth step involves that managers Aldi plans the strategies in such a way so as to remove the obstacles in the path of undertaking the change. The sixth step involves that the employees and the managers of Aldi plan for a short-term win. The seventh step of the theory involves that the company hires employees to undertake the change and plan for the process to be followed to undertake the change. The ultimate step involves that managers of Aldi Inc. ensure leadership development within the organization for the success of the organization and to achieve its goal.

How Has Social Networking Affected Society Media Essay

How Has Social Networking Affected Society Media Essay The internet has revolutionized the way in which people communicate. The proliferation of this medium of communication and data transfer has made it difficult to believe that only a few decades back, people had to wait for days and sometimes weeks for a letter to reach them. Today communication is a very quick process and it is the internet that has made it possible. The latest byproduct of the internet is what is called social networking. There are numerous websites like Orkut, Facebook and MySpace that are used by individuals to find their friends and stay in contact with them. It is impossible to ignore the impact that social networking has had on human society. This paper will study the different ways by which social networking sites have influenced society. The positive and negative effects of this cyber phenomenon will also be delved upon. The popularity of the internet among the masses was made possible mainly due to email. People could send emails to any part of the world and could receive emails instantaneously. Subsequently there were websites that integrated audio and visual elements to make internet browsing a user friendly experience. Today, handheld devices utilize the internet for various purposes. This means that the internet and related applications can be made available to any person who knows how to use a compatible handheld device. For many people the internet has become an absolute necessity that they cannot do without in their daily lives. Even though in the beginning internet services were utilized by commercial establishments to further their business interests, technologically inclined entrepreneurs brought together Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP), photo sharing, instant messaging, ecommerce, multiplayer gaming and so on and created websites that were aimed at bringing people together (Ishak, n.d ). This initiative led to the growth of the social networking revolution. People found out that they could use the internet to connect with other people. It was also possible to rekindle old relationships and stay in touch with long lost relatives or those who were living in other countries. Social networking sites today are the most highly valued internet companies. This is because almost anyone who uses the internet is a member on at least one of these sites. Some may also have memberships in various social networking sites like Orkut, Facebook and MySpace. This widespread adoption of social networking sites has definitely impacted the way human beings socialize. There are hundreds of social networking sites today that connect people across the world. Some target people who have common interests and some do not have any such criteria and are open to all (Ishak, n.d). Online social networks focus on building and reflecting social relationships among people who share interests and/or activities (Ishak, n.d). Social networks enable a person to have a profile where he/she is able to include information about him/her and also include friends. Personal experiences are shared by way of messages, photos, videos and other media. A few of the most popular social networking sites that have millions of members are Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Orkut etc. Socializing on the internet was not pioneered by these websites. Email and messengers like ICQ have always enabled people to do so nearly a decade ago. But these websites have made it possible to include a large number of people in groups and stay in touch with them effortlessly (Ishak, n.d). The social web and mobile technologies have accelerated the rate at which relationships develop, information is shared and influence takes hold (Benioff, 2012). Social technology is used to shape the events of the world. Websites like Facebook have given a new way to communicate and reach out with the help of groups and friends. Portable devices like tablets and smartphones have applications that help people access their friends regardless of their location. The impact of social media has been seen in peoples movements like the Arab Spring and the Occupy movement. People who are connected to each other with these means have managed to rally crowds and gather an audience that helped them in toppling political regimes (Benioff, 2012). Social networking has made it easier for people to meet other people. Not all people are outgoing enough to take the initiative and meet others. Conventional opportunities to make friends were during social gatherings when people had an opportunity to meet other people. Since some people are introverts they find it difficult to muster enough courage to meet someone and strike up a conversation. Social networking ensures that everybody has a level playing field. Even people who do not have an impressive personality per se can have hundreds of friends on their profile and also interacts with each other on a daily basis. Not all friends on a social networking profile need to be close friends. Some may be brief acquaintances but in due course of time a relationship could be developed (Parrack, 2012). People often spend a very long time on social networking sites. This is because of the sharing of experiences that takes place between people. People on a friends list tend to listen and respond to messages and even dispel any concerns that are voiced by other friends. Since modern lifestyle does not give people enough time to communicate, communication systems need to be extremely fast. Social networks are very fast and it is possible to send a message and get a reply to that within a matter of seconds. There is also a sense of equality despite the locations that people may be in and hence social networking sites have made the world a much smaller place. It is also possible for people with similar interests to interact. By sharing likes, dislikes, interests, hobbies etc, people tend to move closer to each other despite the physical distance between them (Parrack, 2012). Every individual will feel the need to maintain certain weak ties. These could be with people whom one meets during the course of the day. Asking for a phone number may not be possible due to the nature of the relationship. Potential benefits of keeping in touch with certain people might be for arranging play dates or discussing a hobby. These are interactions that do not require a very close relationship. Social networking is a very useful tool for such people. Interaction will be possible during that particular time and also in the future when it is necessary. Bonding with friends and family is different from associating oneself with the weak ties. Social networking sites allow individuals to manage a wider network of weak ties and thus increase bridging social capital (Ellison, Lampe, Steinfield, 2009). When a persons social network is improved it will help them to increase the information that is available to them and also to improve the opportunities that they have. In a study that was conducted among undergraduates it was found that merely using the internet did not increase the social capital. Only intensive use of websites like Facebook led to higher levels of social capital. Before the advent of these sites people used communication strategies like newsletters and gossip to discuss about their past and present acquaintances. Social networking sites have enabled status messages and regular updates that enable people to engage in lightweight social surveillance. It is true that most of the status messages are about seemingly trivial matters. A friend may have got a new dog, an old colleague may have changed his job and knowing about these may not make any change in ones life but it is the awareness of ones social network that provides a continuous link to the acquaintances (Elli son, Lampe, Steinfield, 2009). Social networking sites can assist in coordinating and mobilizing social action (Ellison, Lampe, Steinfield, 2009). There are several organizations that have managed to mobilize the society and influenced it. Political figures, organizations and advocacy groups can find supporters very easily with the help of such websites. For any network to have value it needs support from as many numbers of people as possible. Focused networking sites like for instance MyChurch.com unites Christian churches and the website Care2.com unites environmental activists. There is also a social networking site that unites activists called Change.org. This site has been used in the past to organize protests and boycotts in an efficient manner. This has only been made possible due to the number of members who follow such websites and the messages that are posted regularly (Ellison, Lampe, Steinfield, 2009). Social networking has also had several adverse effects on the society. According to Sherry Turkle, a clinical psychologist, a social network not only changes what an individual does but also changes the person that he/she is. People tend to befriend people on Facebook but tend to keep people in their lives at a distance. Today it is possible for a person to tweet a message to a thousand followers at the same time but the same person fails to pick up a telephone which is a much more efficient mode of communication and talk to someone. According to Turkle, the relationships that are forged in this way offer the illusion of companionship without the demands of friendship (Strachan, 2012). In other words we are only getting used to a way of being alone together (Strachan, 2012). Social networking sites have also had an impact on the communication styles that are adopted by people. Writing has become more concise due to micro blogging sites like Twitter. Several abbreviations like LOL for laughing out loud, BRB for be right back, ROTLR for rolling on the floor laughing are being used. This is not considered to be a very good trend by people because it corrupts the English language. Apart from abbreviations words are also shortened as the necessity may be. Before becomes b4, to becomes 2and so on. The main problem with this is that it is the younger generation that is using this kind of communication before even becoming proficient with the language. Even if it is assumed that this is only a trend that will pass then those who use this kind of language will face problems when they grow up are expected to use formal English language (Sherman, 2010). While it is true that social networking sites enable us to organize our real world relationships it also adversely affects a persons ability to socialize. People nowadays are obsessed about composing a perfect tweet or a good Facebook status update that they forget to enjoy the important events in their lives. For instance in a survey that was conducted about this subject it was revealed that 24% of the respondents missed out on enjoying special moments because they were busy trying to document the occasion for their friends on social networking sites (Laird, 2012). People who are not mature about their real world relationships tend to vent out their relationship woes on social networking sites. This could have a disastrous consequence on their relationship itself (Kaiser, 2012). Americans in particular have become less participant-oriented. They prefer to remain only as audience members. In the past there used to be a propensity to join sports teams, and civic groups. Today people tend to live an isolated life. Such an existence will only lead to lesser empathy and fewer social skills. People are so used to dealing with people online that they cannot bring themselves to talk with their neighbors. It is the real life social networks that are being destroyed by virtual social networks. In the United States, suburban streets have started to look deserted. People no longer gather to communicate or just have a good time. Children are addicted to their computer screens and video games. Neighbors who might be burning up the social media pages inside their homes barely know each other outside (Robinson, 2011). According to a recent study, social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are supposedly more addictive than cigarettes or alcohol. This addiction is due to the fact that checking updates on these sites is neither expensive nor does it have any adverse effects on ones health. Desires for media may be comparatively harder to resist because of their high availability and also because it feels like it does not cost much to engage in these activities, even though one wants to resist (Epstein, 2012). However there is a psychological explanation to this addiction. Receiving or answering a notification results in a hit of Dopamine which is a chemical neurotransmitter that is associated with reward responses in the human brain. Dopamine is also released while consuming drugs or indulging in sexual activity. This is why social networking can be addictive (Franceschi-Bicchierai, 2012). In an online poll that was conducted among a thousand teenagers, it was revealed that four out of five experienced negative side effects when they were not allowed to access their social networking accounts. Sites like Twitter and Facebook made them have negative feelings like depression, insecurity, panic and dependence (Dungan, 2012). Yet another problem that is seen on social networking site is bullying. The internet seems to give people a sense of anonymity that brings out the mean streak in them. According to a research study by the Pew Research Center, where 800 teenagers were surveyed, it was seen that incidents of mean and cruel behavior transcended all ages and backgrounds on social networks. (Kang, 2011). Bullying in schools and colleges is common but the ease of communication on the internet makes it possible for peers to join forces and gang up on an individual. Of those who had seen such cruelty online 21% joined in the harassment. Out of ten girls aged twelve to thirteen, three admitted to having experienced unkind treatment. Teenagers assumed a different personality online that was markedly different from that of their real personality. Some of them approached their online friends with more bravado than they had in real life conversations. Facebook is a website that requires its members to use real names to prevent anonymous bullying. But it has not stopped bullying altogether. The online peer groups become meaner when the child is of a younger age (Kang, 2011). Social networking encourages people to be more public about their lives. Intimate details of a persons personal life may be available to other people in the form of posts, status updates, photos and videos. These will stay in the public domain even after the accounts are deleted by the user. It is also possible that someone might have downloaded them to their computers. These can then be altered to malign the reputation of a person. For instance a picture of a person doing shots at a party may look absolutely fine to their friends. But when a prospective employer is doing a background check, the very same photo may land the person in trouble (Jung, 2012). This loss of privacy is a very serious issue that can affect people in a society. Social networking is a very influential mode of communication. Social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace make it possible for member to communicate with ease with their friends and family. It has become easier to enter into relationships with such websites. Hand held devices like tablets and smartphones have applications that enable users to log in to the social network from their devices and stay in touch with their friends. However social networking also has its adverse effects on the society. People have started to get addicted to networking sites. This addiction to updating ones status on a networking site has made people incapable to engage in real life interactions with people. People are also developing a different identity online that makes then indulge in bullying. Social networking therefore has profound influences on human society that are both beneficial as well as detrimental.