Business Simulation Game The WritePass Journal

Business Simulation Game Introduction Business Simulation Game decided to institute measures to consolidate these gains and improve on the various ventures and services. The uptake of the outsourcing service line was quite impressive with a total of 134 miniature facilities in 120 farms by the end of the second quarter of 2012. In monitoring the results of the new strategic direction, management constantly monitored performance and took deliberate actions to boost competitiveness, adding value to performance indices. Remaining with the initial strategic direction The strategic direction taken was not radically different from the initial strategic direction and received little resistance overall as it, in many ways, matched initial objectives. This choice of strategy intended to build up on the successes of earlier decisions, tapping into inherent potential and enhancing the sustainability of the company’s operations into the future. There was need in light of goings on in the competitive global business environment and the bioremediation and organic waste management industry. The strategic shift enabled the realization of company’s exponential growth in size and earnings and the diversification into longer-term competitiveness in outsourced services and international presence. The final results These decisions targeted at achieving strategic and financial objectives enabled the company to deliver consistently impressive bottom line results pitted against rivals in the bioremediation and organic waste management industry.   These strategic decisions, as part of the long-term corporate direction, also enhanced shareholder value and enabled the company to adapt to competitive conditions in the rapidly growing and changing industry. Despite the take-off failure of the toxic water and soil remediation service, the other components of the strategic shift were hugely successful. My performance in developing and implementing this strategic shift was quite impressive given the smooth transition and acceptance by the team, as well as the success this strategic shift brought for the overall company and industry. I avoided resistance by developing strategy proposals in line with the initial strategic direction and avoided radically different paths. The engagement of several teams of management in the implementation of the various tasks was also beneficial in acquiring acceptance and enhancing overall efficiency. Underlying strategic principles The success of a crafted and executed strategy is its consistent delivery of good bottom-line results pitted against rival company strategies. They enable the charting of a long-term corporate direction towards realization of strategic and financial objectives (Amabile, et al., 1996). Key learning points about strategy A key lesson learnt is that there is no singular miraculous combination of decisions that management discover to realise their objectives and goals in the competitive business environment. Decisions require widespread consensus and must be consistent and compatible to ensure success (Cornelissen and Clarke, 2010). The strength of interplay of strategies when better than those of the competition ensures that the venture achieves success pitted against its rivals in the competitive environment. These results are to a large extent dependent on the analysis, planning and decision-making process of management and the capacity to follow through them (Cornelissen and Clarke, 2010). The development of best strategies is heavily dependent upon knowledge and grasp of the system and the business environment, as well as creativity and initiative. Conclusion To achieve sustainable growth and the enhancement of its performance ratios, Eco-resource sought to strengthen the success of its initial strategic direction, as well as chart out a new direction aligned to the former. In this new direction, the company was successful in maintaining process costs through the streamlining of operations, and increasing product sales and revenues through enhanced marketing and differentiation programmes. The company successfully diversified its operations to include specialized outsourced services achieving projected outcomes. Into the New Year, there is need to consolidate these ventures and strategies, aligning the various components and enhancing growth in international markets, with ventures into the remaining regions. Despite surging popularity and entry of more players, continued growth in demand fortified by effective marketing, and output of new technologies and ways to employ them will enable the success and sustenance of the venture in the long term. References Amabile, T., R., Conti, H., Coon, J., Lazenby, and M., Herron, 1996. â€Å"Assessing the work environment for creativity.† In: The Academy of Management Journal, 39(5), 1154-1184. Cornelissen, J., J., Clarke, 2010. â€Å"Imagining and Rationalizing Opportunities: Inductive Reasoning, and the Creation and Justification of New Ventures.† In: Academy of Management Review, 35(4): 539-557. Kimbrell, A., (ed.), 2002. Fatal Harvest: The Tragedy of Industrial Agriculture. Washington DC: Island Press. S. Government Bureau of Statistics: Fertilizer Manufacturing NAICS Code – 325314; Chemical Manufacturing NAICS Code – 325; Chemical Consulting NAICS Code – 541690.

I Pity the Full!

I Pity the Full! I Pity the Full! I Pity the Full! By Maeve Maddox Something strange has happened to the useful expression foolproof. Many writers are writing full proof to mean safe against misinterpretation, misuse, or failure: How to make a contract full-proof CREATING A FULL PROOF MARKETING CAMPAIGN Reduce Stretch Marks From Pregnancy Try These Full-proof Remedies Steps to a Full Proof Insect Free House 10 Full Proof Methods On How To Make Easy Income Online! The expression foolproof originated in 1902 as an Americanism meaning safe against the incompetence of a fool. It combines the words fool and proof. fool: a person lacking in judgment or prudence; a person who acts stupidly or recklessly proof: The evidence or argument that compels the mind to accept an assertion as true. Foolproof follows the pattern of such words as fireproof and waterproof and means that something has been tested and proved to withstand certain damaging agents. The growing use of the expression full proof in the sense of foolproof may stem from a reluctance to cause offense to the fool demographic. Yet the definition in Merriam-Webster Unabridged skillfully manages to define foolproof without the slightest mention of the wisdom-challenged portion of the population:    ï ¿ ¼ foolproof 1 : so simple, plain, or strong as not to be liable to be misunderstood, damaged, or misused 2 : guaranteed to operate without breakdown or failure under any conditions There probably are contexts in which the expression full proof can be justified. For example, one might demand full proof of identity. Although it seems to me that proof would suffice. The expression to make full proof occurs in the King James translation of the Bible: †¨But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. 2 Timothy 4:5 The expression and discussions of its meaning are to be found on many evangelical sites: What constitutes â€Å"full proof† in Paul’s advice to Timothy? I think make full proof of means to fulfill the ministry that God gives you to do. If you just cant bear to use an expression that you fear may suggest youre calling someone a fool, here are a few words you could substitute in certain contexts: infallible dependable reliable trustworthy certain sure guaranteed Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:70 Idioms with HeartHomonyms, Homophones, Homographs and HeteronymsHow Do You Fare?

Criminal justice careers Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Criminal justice careers - Research Paper Example Besides, this link outlines various stages both in terms of education and experience that one must go through to attain the position of being a judge. These stages to land on such a career include; attending an undergraduate school, earning a degree in law, becoming a lawyer, obtaining judgeship, and completing a state-administered training on judgeship. The above article from the database of federal judges outlines the basic procedure that one must fulfill in order to become a federal judge. According to this article, federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States of America and subsequently confirmed by the Senate. Multiple steps to this process include; nomination of a candidate to the judicial seat by the president, a questionnaire is filled by the candidate and reviewed by the judiciary committee of the Senate, a hearing is constituted to interview the candidate, the committee votes either to return or approve the candidate (Cecil 2006). American Judicature Society; which composes of nonpartisan group of judges, citizens, and lawyers with the main mission of working towards better judicial selection, effectiveness, and ethics within the criminal justice. This association publishes articles on an annual basis on ethics within the judicial system. American Civil Liberties Union; which is an interest group comprising majorly of members of the civil society and other interested legal experts with the main mission of utilizing all possible means to preserve the rights of human beings, particularly before the criminal justice system. Publications of this association are periodic reports on unfairness cases within the judicial system. American Society of Criminology; which has the main mission of scholarly study of crime incidences. This association is primarily composed of college professors. It provides publications on crime

Management accounting - financial reporting Essay

Management accounting - financial reporting - Essay Example Recent literature suggests that the environment that supports management accounting practices have changed considerably with advances in information technology, mounting competition among companies, globalization of businesses, economic recession, new management strategies and the shift of focus to customer services and improve quality. To support such changes, companies have altered their management accounting practices to adapt to the ever changing environment. There is sufficient research done by the authors discussed in this work, to support such a statement. The authors have also identified the factors that led the companies to implement such changes in their respective subject groups.To remain competitive in such a globally advanced environment, developing countries have introduced new cost and management accounting systems such as activity-based costing (ABC), activity-based management (ABM), target costing, product life cycle costing, quality cost management, customer account ing and the balanced score card (BSC) approach to performance measures. The difference in the systems used by the developed and developing nations can be attributed to the difference in cultural values between them. The systems in practice in the developed nations need not suit the developing nations as the environments surrounding the two are significantly diverse.A study of the South African firms by Waweru et al (2004) revealed that on average 63 percent of the management accounting changes were implemented in the last decade... The study reveals that Australian companies are early adopters while Indian companies are late adopters. The final study discussed by Damant (2003) in this work deals with a specific aspect of financial accounting, the income statement. The author of the study supports the view that a proposed change is needed to the traditional profit and loss account to promote better understanding and transparency in reporting. Although it is evident from the study that financial accounting requires a standardized format across companies and industries to enable comparisons and benchmarking, the author is of the opinion that implementing the new matrix would clear away many past and present difficulties in financial reporting. Theoretical insights by the authors According to Waweru et al (2004), all organizations are subject to their external environment and are dependant on them for their inputs and their output. "A company has to maintain a consistent relationship with the environment for its success." The changes in the external environment cause a rippling effect that causes alterations in the management accounting principles adopted by a company. The authors concur with the statement and conducts further research to identify the factors that induce and hinder the companies to alter their management accounting principles. Studies have proved that the political, social, economic and cultural aspects that surround a company influence its management accounting practices. Bearing in mind the diverse conditions under which companies operate, developing countries are cautioned against adopting principles practiced by the developed countries. Joshi (2001) also supports previous studies conducted concerning management accounting

Analyzing Marketing Opportunities

Analyzing Marketing Opportunities Marketing has often been defined in terms of satisfying customers needs and wants critics however maintain that marketing goes beyond that and creates needs and wants that did not exist before. According to these critics, marketers encourage consumers to spend more money than they should on goods and services they really do not need. Marketing was defined by the American Marketing association Board of Directors as Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. (Approved October 2007) http://www.marketingpower.com/aboutama/pages/definitionofmarketing.aspx Marketing is the process whereby society, to supply its consumption needs, evolves distributive systems composed of participants, who, interacting under constraints technical (economic) and ethical (social) create the transactions or flows which resolve market separations and result in exchange and consumption. Bartles2 What Is Marketing? How 10 Experts Define It Marketing Process The marketing process consists of analyzing marketing opportunities, developing marketing strategies, planning marketing programs, and managing the marketing effort. (Kotler)3 http://nraomtr.blogspot.ie/2011/12/marketing-strategy-marketing-process.html Analyzing Marketing Opportunities Market analysis involves market research about a product or service being offered it involves using primary and secondary data, looking at the economic situation of the country and the legal aspects political aspects, the legislation the competitors new entrants into the market and their market position. This data will be analysed using different statistical tools this will be used in identifying short, medium and long term on various marketing activities. This data provide useful information which enables the organisation to plans its marketing strategy. For example Tesco a grocery store will look at what Asda, Lidl Aldi and also what the likes of Sainsbury, marks and spencer are doing and their market share. Its in view as this that Tesco will determine what its marketing strategy will be. Developing Marketing Strategies Based on the Marketing research conducted Tesco will be able to determine what marketing strategy it will adopt for the next quarter on each of its product range and determine what market segment it will concentrate on. it might decide to contrate on fruit and vegetables or it might decide to concentrate of clothing differentiation decision is made to arrive at a product that will lead to the optimal profit. For example Tesco might decide to be a loss leader on a particular product while maximising profit in other areas Usually at Tesco price of some items are reduced but customers will come in because of this package but will end up buying other not discounted. Marketing Programs Marketing strategy leads to marketing mix, examples are budget allocation for a particular department, products etc Marketing Mix is the combination of four elements, called the 4Ps (Product, Price, Promotion and Place), that every company has the option of adding, subtracting, or modifying in order to create a desired marketing strategy. (Philip Kotler)4 Larry Steven Londre Marketing, IMC, Advertising, Promotion, Media and More. 2012 Edition There are large number of marketing tools. McCarthy5 provided a categorization for them in terms of four Ps of marketing: Product, price, place and promotion. Under each P, there are number of tools. Depending on the organisational choice it is possible to have some on a short term medium term or long term new products are usually on a long term basis In other to carry out budgeting for different marketing tools, sales functions this functions will relate to how sales will be affected be any incremental amount, This is known as sensitivity analysis. Product related marketing tools are in the form of quality,branding design,packaging, etc. While price related to commissions, discounts and middlemen commission to discount pricing like buy one and pay for I/2 price for the second. Place related are like on line sales Tesco in retail park, Tesco in large shopping centres and the Tesco express which can be in filling stations or in a neighborhood Promotion relates to Tesco club card owners who get personal sales promotions or instore promotions and TV and radio jingles or adverts, online and social media campaigns. Market Orientation was defined by McNamara (1972 p.51) as a philosophy of business management based upon a Company wide acceptance of the need for a customer orientation. Profit orientation and recognition of the important role of communicating the needs of the market to all corporate departments .5 Journal of marketing april 1990 Ajay Kohl and Barnard J Jaworski Market Orientation: the construct, research proposition and managerial implications The main points highlighted here are customer focus and profitability. The chances of new products failing is very much reduced and it provide the opportunity to cut its loss if indications are it may not be profitable the a stop can be put to it before the product is launched Where market Orientation approach is used there chance that consumer needs are being met with appropriate products or services are higher and inevitably the life product of such products or service will be prolonged and hence more profit. . Constant feedback from consumers This is an unending process through this constant market research this will enable the firm to make changes to the product as its see fits hence making higher profits and matching those of their competitors.. The disadvantages of marketing Orientation are It may be difficult to target campaigns at a large Market Constant market research it is very expensive thereby reducing profit* Where there is a specialised markets it will be difficult to fulfill the needs of the sub market(consumers) A good example of this is the graphic plotters used for architects similar plotters may not be ideal for factories with specialised technical construction or tool making. Product differentiation may at time be difficult especially for the likes of retail supermarket where they do not produce the products but for the company branding it is often difficult to differentiate a product and stand out from competition consumer wants often change due to income and consumption patterns for example someone who lost his/her job will change quickly from buying from Tesco to the likes of Lidl and Aldi. it may be hard to keep up with need of such people. Marketing environment is mainly made of two variables the micro and the macro factors these factors are mainly internal environment- micro and external environment macro The micro environment are variables that can be controlled or by management. E Jerome McCarthy 6 said the variables that the company can control in order to reach its target market are the four Ps. Price, products, promotion and place. A Communication-Based Marketing Model for Managing Relationships Tom Duncan and Sandra E. Moriarty Journal of Marketing Vol. 62, No. 2 (Apr., 1998), pp. 1-13 Macro are those outside the control of the organisation.they are proximate macro-environment The supplier environment The distributive environment The wider macro-environment Demography proximate macro-environment This involves the external forces for example, in the legal, cultural, economic and technological sub-environments. This are the people or firms with organisation immediate external environment. Of they are marketing firms, are suppliers, competitors and distributors (intermediaries). The supplier environment These are businesses that provide the firm with material and distribute to their retails in includes logistic companies and retailers the like of Tesco The distributive environment Emphasis is placed on intermediaries such as wholesalers, factors, agents and distributors so that final consumer get products The competitive environment The threat of competition cannot be over emphasised the orgainsation must be alert to the potential threat of other companies selling the same product. Ie Pepsi and Coke companies marketing similar and substitute product whether they are of domestic or foreign origin. The wider macro-environment Changes in the wider macro-environment may not be as close to the companys day-to-day operations, but they are equally important this falls into four The main factors making up these wider macro-environmental forces fall into four groups. Political and legal factors Economic factors Social and cultural factors Technological factors Demography In places like Iran, Tunisia, Syria and the middle east in general which were predominantly dominated by Pepsi, the advent of war has change the demography of the area. This is out of the control of Pepsi and It will have to readjust its marketing strategy and marketing Mix for this region. Market segmentation is defined as The process of defining and subdividing a large homogeneous market into clearly identifiable segments having similar needs, wants, or demand characteristics. Its objective is to design a marketing mix that precisely matches the expectations of customers in the targeted segment. 7 Read more: http://www.businessdictionary.com http://www.coriolisresearch.com/pdfs/coriolis_tesco_study_in_excellence.pdf Fig 1 http://www.coriolisresearch.com/pdfs/coriolis_tesco_study_in_excellence.pdf Fig2 http://www.coriolisresearch.com/pdfs/coriolis_tesco_study_in_excellence.pdf (source) Gig 3 http://www.coriolisresearch.com/pdfs/coriolis_tesco_study_in_excellence.pdf Tesco provided six market segments to target the different consumers Need from the up class to the lower class income . The segments are self narrative with this concept Tesco was able to continuously increase its market share. Buyers behaviour often change depending on products , the consumers spending power, consumers needs and how urgent he need the product. The customer identifies a need :This often occurs from advertisement from TV, Radio, Bill board social media or words of mouth Looking for information At this stage the customer wants more information about the products and needs to see the product and discuss more with the sale representative Checking out alternative products and suppliers The consumer at this stage will look for a better buy either in terms of quality, pricing and will compare the product or service with those of other providers, Purchase decision . time at this stage the buyer is ready to buy and the sales personnel need to close the sale by giving the buyer an incentive to buy. It could be after sales service it could be a voucher. Using the product Cognitive dissonance a fear that the buyer may have made a wrong decision comes to play here especially when it is an expensive here simple how to use and after sales suffice or a form of warranty. There are four main factors that affect a buyer behaviour namely:-Social, Culture, psychological and personal.. Social: Groups membership, reference, aspirational opinion leaders or buzz marketing and family members. Culture: A persons wants or behaviour group with share values and ones social class. Personal; Age and life cycle, occupation personality and self concept Psychological: Motivation perception and beliefs and attitudes . Market positioning is the manipulation of a brand or family of brands to create a positive perception in the eyes of the public. If a product is well positioned, it will have strong sales, and it may become the go-to brand for people who need that particular product. Poor positioning, on the other hand, can lead to bad sales and a dubious reputation. A number of things are involved in market positioning, with entire firms specializing in this activity and working with clients to position their products effectively. 9 http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_examples_of_market_positioning With the current economic situation Tesco has gone to the cheap end of the market competing the likes of Lldl and Aldi. So the focus will be on main stream with competitive price

Reducing Uncertainty in Communications Essay

This paper aims to present basic discussion of Charles Berger’s Uncertainty Theory. The Uncertainty Reduction Theory basically states that strangers, in order to communicate with each other to accomplish a purpose, strive to reduce the uncertainty that they feel with each other. It begins with the motivation for the study of the theory. Afterwards, a brief discussion of the theory and presentation of some of its axioms follow. Then, a clear example shall be given to illustrate to the readers a clear application of this theory. Finally, major implications of the theory as far as communications is concerned shall be formulated. Introduction â€Å"As we know, there are known knowns. There are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns. That is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns, the ones we don’t know we don’t know. † — Donald Rumsfeld Imagine yourself in the following scenarios. On the first day of class, a gorgeous girl sits beside you and greets you. This made your heart beats very fast. Boy, you are in love at first sight! Is there a chance or not? That’s the question. Imagine that you are an insurance salesperson. You usually sell well beyond the weekly quota but not quite this week. You need to need to close five more insurance policies. Then, you see a group of church-goers and plan to approach them. As you are about to say hi, they started to glance at you with negative looks. You become tongue-tied and do not know what to do. Imagine that you are given an errand by your law office. You are tasked to meet with the secretary of Bill Gates in order to formulate ways of winning in the new anti-trust case against Microsoft? This is the first time that you will meet a proxy of a very powerful individual. What will you do to eliminate the butterflies in your stomach? The above situations involve uncertainty, and how we manage uncertainty determines how we are going to be successful in our transactions. In many communication settings like the above, we could use the Uncertainty Reduction Theory to understand them and make inferences on the best course of action. It states that as people begin to interact, they strive to reduce the level uncertainty that they feel towards each other. The theory features seven axioms and twenty-one theorems derived from these axioms (Berger and Calabrese 1975). This paper will explore this theory in detail, discuss specific ways of applying it, and identify its major implications. Uncertainty Reduction Theory As mentioned above, strangers try to reduce the uncertainty between them. The uncertainty involved here are of two types: cognitive and behavioral. For cognitive uncertainty, strangers try to reduce the gap in their knowledge of how the other person thinks, particularly in the realm of beliefs and attitudes. For behavioral uncertainty, strangers try to predict how the other person will act based on how he or she perceives the other at present (Garlough nd). The theory assumes the following: †¢ People experience uncertainty in interpersonal settings †¢ Uncertainty generates cognitive stress. †¢ When strangers first meet their primary concern is to reduce uncertainty or increase predictability. †¢ Interpersonal communication occurs through stages. †¢ Interpersonal communication is the primary means of uncertainty reduction. †¢ The quality and nature of information people share changes through time. †¢ Can predict this type of behavior in a law-like fashion (Garlough nd) The above assumptions form the basis of the axioms and theorems of the Uncertainty Reduction Theory. For the purposes of this paper, only three key axioms shall be discussed: †¢ Axiom 1: As the amount of verbal communication between strangers increases, the levels of uncertainty decrease. As the uncertainty is further decreased, the amount of verbal communication increases †¢ Axiom 3: High levels of uncertainty cause increases in information-seeking behavior. When uncertainty levels decline, information-seeking behavior decreases. †¢ Axiom 6: Similarities between people reduce uncertainty. Dissimilarities create uncertainty. (Garlough nd) In other words, uncertainty and verbal communication is inversely proportional. Expect that two strangers talking as if they were old friends have already reduced their uncertainty levels significantly. This is Axiom 1. Axiom 3 is similar with Axiom 1. Information-seeking behavior is inversely proportional to the level of uncertainty felt. This is self-evident and appeals to intuition and common sense. Axiom 6 appears to be debatable. While it may or may not be the case that similarity or something held in common by strangers will facilitate communication, strangers meeting for the first time should look for more ways that they are the same rather than different. Case in point: A study by Goodboy and Myers indicates that students feel better if they could communicate well with an instructor and vice versa. And as such, they recommend that both students and instructors find ways to reduce the uncertainty that they feel towards each other. In particular, the instructor should be consistent in class and grading policies. This way, students could better perform in class. Application Beginning speech communication students must have heard that people do fear death the most. They fear public speaking (Rolls 1998)! Now, this forces us to question. Is there any way that the Uncertainty Reduction Theory could help reduce if not eliminate stage fright? Yes, there is. Stage fright may not be totally eliminated. As a matter of fact, a sufficient amount of it may be necessary for optimal speech performance. But it is the responsibility of the public speaker to manage speech anxiety in order to perform well and not be defeated by those butterflies in the stomach. It should be noted that the length, duration, and intensity of stage fright varies. This depends on the type and difficulty of a speech act (Witt and Behnke 2006). Here’s where the Uncertainty Reduction Theory will come. The level of uncertainty that a public speaker will feel on the podium will depend on how well (or how less) he or she knows his audience. If the speaker at an earlier point refused to follow the basic rule of doing your audience, he or she would find it hard to utter words that make sense. In return, the audience may feel uncertain if the speaker really knows what he or she is saying. Thus, credible information from the speaker is directly proportional to a good response from the audience and inversely proportional to a sense of cynicism. On the part of the speaker, a sense of knowing that your audience is receptive is directly proportional to the confidence that he or she can muster. Therefore, Axiom 1 holds as far as public speaking is concerned. For Axiom 3, a confident speaker without or with little uncertainty, would not care if the audience likes him or not. He will proceed with his talk as smoothly as he can. In contrast, even if he or she tries not to, a very uncertain speaker will notice every real or imagined little signs of disapproval. In a similar way, Axiom 34 holds for public speaking. Similarities, to paraphrase Axiom 6, facilitate communication. By having things in common, a speaker can empathize well with the audience and their needs; this makes him feel certain that he or she can with their heart. On the part of the audience, they obviously would prefer a speaker that could identify with them. But if nothing in common is immediately identifiable, Axiom 6 can guarantee a would-be speaker that he or she can gain rapport by finding or inventing something in common with the audience. Implications The Uncertainty Reduction Theory is a good framework for communication. This is especially true for shy persons. The way I see it, if it can be shown that good communication can only occur if some conditions are adequately fulfilled, i. e. the axioms and theorems of the Uncertainty Reduction Theory, then anyone experienced or not can learn how to communicate with other people more effectively. As shown in the previous section, the Uncertainty Reduction Theory can be used to analyze communication phenomena such as public speaking and stage fright. Therefore, if a particular problem could be accounted for, then a solution could be put in place. It follows that problems in public speaking could be lessened if public speakers in training would study communication theories such as the Uncertainty Reduction Theory. In more concrete terms, a communicator must be on top of the situation. He or she must take serious steps in reducing the feeling of uncertainty that the speaker and the audience feel toward each other. To accomplish this, a â€Å"spontaneous† or â€Å"extemporaneous† speech must be patterned to a well-formed formula of a speech that will surely reduce such uncertainty. Research in this aspect is an open field. Finally, by stating the Uncertainty Reduction Theory, in terms of axioms and theorems as in the language game of Mathematics, the authors of this theory have effectively placed communication as an almost exact science. Currently, communication is part of the social sciences but by improving its rigors and system of thought, it can compete side by side with science. This is a significant contribution of the Uncertainty Reduction Theory. Conclusion By understanding and applying the Uncertainty Reduction Theory, significant improvements in the quality of communication among individuals can be expected. Therefore, this theory must be taught to every student who will tread the halls of any respectable university. References Berger, C. R. , Calabrese, R. J. (1975). Some explorations in initial interaction and beyond:toward a developmental theory of interpersonal communication [Abstract]. Human Communication Research, Vol. 1(1): 99-112. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. EJ123999) Retrieved November 17, 2008, from ERIC. Garlough, Christine. (nd). Uncertainty Reduction Theory [PowerPoint Presentation of Lecture]. Retrieved November 17, 2008, from http://www. commarts. wisc. edu/Fac/Garlough/Lectures/UncertaintyReductionTheory. ppt. Goodboy, Alan K. , Myers, Scott A. (2007). Student Communication Satisfaction, Similarity, and Liking as a Function of Attributional Confidence. Ohio Communication Journal, 45, 1-12. Retrieved November 17, 2008, from EBSCOhost Research Databases (Communication & Mass Media Complete). Rolls, Judith A. (1998). Facing the Fears Associated with Professional Speaking. Business Communication Quarterly, 61(2), 103-106. Retrieved November 17, 2008, from EBSCOhost Research Databases (Communication & Mass Media Complete). Witt, Paul L. , Behnke, Ralph. (2006). Anticipatory Speech Anxiety as a Function of Public Speaking Assignment Type. Communication Education, 55(2), 167-177. Retrieved November 17, 2008, from EBSCOhost Research Databases (Communication & Mass Media Complete).

Business Ethics and Values - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2419 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Ethics Essay Type Narrative essay Did you like this example? BUSINESS ETHICS AND VALUES The decision makers in the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Something Rotten in Hondoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  are George the Plant Manager and Bill Georgeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s boss. The primary stakeholders are George, Georgeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s family (Mary his wife and two children) , EPA (Environmental Potential Agency), the Mexican government, the town of Hondo, all who are affected by the plants pollution and the environment. George had moved from E1 Pasco with his family four years ago, Texas to Hondo assuming the role of the manager at Ardnak Plastic Inc. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Business Ethics and Values" essay for you Create order This is a plant which manufactures plastic parts for small equipment and has several workers from town of Hondo. George has a very good relationship with his boss Bill. For the past few months George has been getting call from his boss Bill due to the emission of smokestack from the plant is constantly above the Environmental Protection Agency guidelines and if the problem is not solved soon there will be fines to be levied. George has admitted that this has been continues problem, but this can be solved by replacing a new smokestack scrubbers, which corporate headquarters has denied. Bill also commented, other plants were in worse shape than this and they are passing the Environmental Protection Agency standards. So George was out of ideas. As George continued to contemplate this dilemma he begun making phone calls to other Ardnak plants and found that they schedule the mass of their production at night so that when the Environmental Protection Agency take their emission readings du ring the day, they can maintain within the standards. A month later George, still thinking deeply on what to do, during that time he received another phone call from Bill expressing his discontement. Bill reminded George that industrial jobs were hard to find, and if he could not find out a solution to the problem then Ardnak will move the company 15miles south of Hondo to Mexico, where there will be no Environmental Protection Agency. This relocation will result in layoff and continue to pollute the air. George is faced with an ethical issue. Should schedule production at night defend the environment and Protection Agency could read or go to the company and Mexico territory where there is no circle Protection Agency will be forced to hire Mexico. If George and seem great for the production of the night, when the state Environmental Protection Agency does not read, Plastic Ardnak the Inc. will be able to maintain the Hondo hundred workers will lose their jobs. This of course will al ways resolve the concern of the other pollutants drug being pumped into the air and everyday biases. By applying Kantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s theory, Utilitarian ethical theory, Kohlbergà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Level of Moral Development theory and by using other ethical theories we are able to consider several ethical and socially responsible alternatives to Georgeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s decision making process. Ethics and social responsibility is the backbone of American business, when a business or an Individual has good or bad ethical standards they must uphold their social responsibilities and conduct themselves in a professional ant ethical manner. Always going through a morally correct decision is so hard even though it is the right thing to do. People and businesses have obligations to do what is right and not to hurt other people. Ethics involves peopleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s perceptions about what à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“shouldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  be. Most people are ethical because of what they b elieve to be right. Ethics and social responsibility are growing importance in todayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s economic world. In the long run they will make or break a company. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“If we run a clean and honest business not only puts the individual ahead in life; it will also move the organization forward with a clean principles. Stakeholders will be aware that they are being treated fairly and return to the company that provides good, ethical services. Utilitarian ethical theory believe that they should make decisions that result in the greatest total utility, that is achieved greatest benefit for all those who affected by the decisions. This decision make relies on a systematic comparison of the cost and benefits to all affected parties. Using such a cost benefit analysis, a utilitarian decision maker calculates the utility of the consequences of all possible alternatives and selects the one that results in the greatest benefits. Accordingly Georgeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s decis ion to schedule the bulk of production at night, so that when Environmental Protection Agency takes the reading of the emission it will be low, then George would not be fine and hundreds of people would not lose their jobs. And even George wonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t lose his job. As getting jobs in the outside industry is very hard due to the high competition for the job vacancy. This decision will satisfy his wife Mary too. But this decision is not an affective decision because the bad thing is the constant emission of this air will pollute the air in the environment, which can cause problems such as smog, acid rain, the green-house effect which is the main cause for the global warming and holes in the ozone layer. All this problems have serious implications for our health and wellbeing, and to the entire people surrounded us. This decision would ensure the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people. The problem is this decision good or bad. If George should undergo with this decision he has to sacrifice and leave out all his moral principles and beliefs. Kantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s theory of ethics is a deontological ethical theory first proposed by German philosopher Immanuel Kant. The theory, developed as a result of Enlightenment rationalism, is based on the view that the only intrinsically good thing is a good will; therefore an action can only be good if its maxim, the principle behind it, is duty to the moral law. This theory suggest that, if a person feels it is ethical to lie then that person should feel it is ethical for everyone to lie under the same circumstances in order to protect themselves from punishment. Therefore, if the case is George ethical Environmental Protection Agency under an ethical one must believe in all the same to avoid the Environmental Protection Agency reading in order to save jobs of the Hondo population and his job. Then according to the Kantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s theory of ethic his decision would be considere d ethical. Because this decision was taken in the circumstance in order to save his own job and to save the population of the Hondo city. Even though it is correct according to the Kantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s theory, this decision is harming the environment by polluting the air. Moral development people make moral decision based on the consequences of his or her actions in regards to punishment or reward. With respect to the reactions to a moral problem, the person goes through six development stages. The six steps are divided into three main types: pre-conventional, conventional and post-conventional. At the pre-conventional stage, the individual learns to behave according to acceptable social norms because they are told to do so by authority figures such as parents and teachers. In the second stage on conventional individuals behave in a manner that will obtain authorization of the company. The post-conventional stage is reached when the morals of an individual have developed to th e level where there is a real concern for the welfare of others and when there is concern about what is right and fair. If George refuses to schedule the production at night to avoid the Environmental Protection Agency in order to save his job and the Hondo populationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s job, then the consequences of his actions would result in punishment which would be hundreds lost jobs, fines and he would have been forced to relocate, along with the company or he should shift or find out another job. Any decision of this will cause the environmental problem by polluting the air. Its employees, customers, shareholders, communities and environment in all business. When it comes to their social responsibilities it is important and necessary to consider ethics. Ethics and social responsibility go hand in hand. Leaving out those two given solutions of shifting the production schedule to night and relocating the plant to Mexican city, George can go through other alternative solutions in my point of view. If George really wants to go with his moral principles and be an ethical person; he can just simply leave the company, leaving behind the burden and ethical problem of the company. Though George feels no guilt or concern as the matter is not in his hands. The outcome of it would not be sufficient in long-term as he would be forced to look for other areas of job to maintain stream of income. And he will face a huge problem in seeking a job, as his boss Bill has reminded him that there were very few jobs out in the industry. Or else George can go with another alternative solution of, he can whistle blow to regulating agencies about the immoral policies regarding environmental standards. This would be the ideal right thing to do as the wrong acts are being exposed. The result of this action would be surely George will be terminated by the company. And this will be a black mark in the history of Georgeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s life. In order to save his environment, Geor ge will be terminated which is ethically very wrong. The last option George is leftover with is, he can move beyond Bill, and talk to the next high position person in the company and get a solution for the problem he is facing out. There is possibility he/she may sympathize to Georgeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s case could overrule Billà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s shady proposals. If we think a practical solution for the problem faced by George, George cannot take any decisions thinking ethically or with his moral principles. If George is really very concern about saving the environment from polluting, it is something that cannot be happen. Even if he leaves this job and seek for a new job or else he whistle blow regulating agencies about the immoral policies regarding environmental standards the Ardnak Company will just terminate him. As soon George leave the job or else if George is been terminated, the Ardnak Plastic Inc will immediately recruit an employee for the post hold by George, and someh ow make the new recruited employee to schedule the massive production at night and emit the smoke. Somehow the company will be saved from the fines and taxes Eliminated by Environmental Protection Agency. George will be affected by any of his decision and he will not be able to save his Environment and act along with his principles. So rather than George complaining to higher persons in the company or the regulating agencies, he can act according to the practical condition. Ardnak Plastic Inc Companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s main objective will be saving their company from this massive fine by any available solution soon as possible. Therefore George can shift the schedule of the production to night, so that during the day when the Environmental Protection Agency too their reading it will be within standards and get rid of those fines and save the company. If George accepts with this he can save his job and thousands of Hondo peopleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s job as well. Stakeholders George and his family Bill EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) Mexican Government Workers of Ardnak Plastic Inc Community of Hondo Key facts George, the plant manager of Ardnak Plastic Inc. is emitting contaminants consistently above EPA. The boss is not ready to invest new scrubbers, therefore the options given for George; correct the problem or face the fines given by the EPA. The other plants have adviced George to release heavy emissions at night when EPA inspector are not there, So George can meet the guidelines. Bill, Georgeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s superior has proposed relocating the plant 15miles south to Mexico, where government regulations on air quality are almost no-existence. George is at a crossroad new, faces with many ethical and social dilemmas. The issues The EPA is fining Ardnak for violating emissions regulations. To avoid the fines, Ardnak is considering moving the plant to Mexico or operating at night so the EPA would not be aware of the emissions. If the plant moves the city of Hondo would lose a major amount of employees. If the plant operates at night the environment would still be harmed and polluted. Measuring actions Continue to monitor the EPA emission levels for the next couple of months after purchasing the scrubbers and compare them to the previous months. Continue to measure profit margin as well. Impact on Image If the public would find out about the negative emission levels society would lose trust in the company. If the public become aware of Ardnakà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s effort to become more environmentally friendly society will want to support the company. Plan for future Continue to monitor EPA emission levels to make sure they never reach a dangerous level. Keep equipment update and in working order so the EPA emission levels never reach a dangerous point. Alternatives George to simply leave the company, leaving behind the burden and ethical problems of the company. Though George feels no guilt or concern as the matter is not in his hands. The outcome of it would not be sufficient in the long-term as he would be forced to look for other areas of job to maintain a stream of income. George can whistle blow to regulating agencies about the immoral policies regarding environmental standards. This would be the ideal right thing to do as the wrong acts are being exposed. The result of this action would be termination of George by the company. George can move beyond Bill, and talk to the next high position person in the company. Ethical issues Release heavy-duty emissions at night. Although it helps to pass the reading level of the Environmental Protection Agency, the consequence of this release are the contamination of the air in the environment will increase, which will cause harm to the community and the environment. The relocation of the plant managed by George. Even though this decision would get rid of the Environmental Protection Agency problem, thousands of workers in Hondo will lose their jobs. This will affect the economy of Hondo. References Books O.C Ferrell John Paul Fraedich Linda Ferrell Ethical Decision Making and cases (6th edition) John R.Boatright Ethics and the Conduct of Business (5th edition) Websites https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kantian_ethics