Tradition Hinders Our Progress

Tradition is the enemy of progress Weather it's religious traditions preventing the study of the dead for better understanding of the living to the churches traditions stopping the progress into the realization that the Earth is not the center of the universe or to take something recent Umbilical cord debates over weather to use them for life saving stem cell research. Tradition is the common enemy among Progress into the future people want the results of science we live our lives due to science but often many of our general populous does not agree with the means we use to get the radical discoveries of science. I can see how traditions can hinder progress:if you subscribe to past ideals it can deter from advancement. If we are going to look back at what Mary and John did in the past to solve a problem every time, then how are we going to move forward? What am saying is that look back once or twice get the formula then learn and apply that knowledge, improve on it then build but we keep going back and back and back and back!! It is in fact the enemy for progress. I think that traditions do prevent progess. The best example of this can be seen rulal areas where knowledge is just passed over from one generation to another and children are not allowed to study more they are just used as a labour. Another example is of early marriage of girls who are married at an age of 10 or 11 which ruin their lives. in the end i would like to conclude that these tradions r blocking our way to new things.

Identifying Sustainability Plan Effect Essay

The issue of terrorism is not the only one over which the countries are focusing on; in fact, there is another hot burning issue of ‘Global Warming’ that is causing the depletion of ozone layer, melting ice, raising sea levels, and so the temperature too. In this paper, I would be acting as a consultant who is hired by Princeton University, and would be draw attention to the alarming causes of greenhouse gas and devise a sustainability plan that can overcome those issues. Global warming is fundamentally caused by excessive emission of greenhouse gases that are the chemical compounds present in the atmosphere of Earth. These gases damage the ozone layer and allow the sunlight to easily penetrate into the atmosphere and as result sunstrokes, skin cancer, and other diseases happen too. Here, in the United States, these emissions come from the ignition of fossil fuels that are used for energy purposes, since the economic growth is highly dependent upon energy sector (eia, 2008). Greenhouse gases include Carbon dioxide, methane gas, nitrous oxide, and fluorocarbons, transmit infrared radiations into the atmosphere that raise the temperature due to the breaking of ozone layer, hence causing many other issues (Cohen & Hopwood, n. d). Sustainability Plan Considering the ongoing issue of global warming, it is the responsibility of the educational and as well as other institutions to increase the awareness among the people regarding it, and formulate certain strategies that aim on restraining such issues. Now let’s discuss the effects of a sustainability plan that would have over several organizational aspects of Princeton University. Vision Princeton University should design its vision that not only focuses on the production of quality students with outstanding knowledge and grades, but also on teaching the students about the sustainable development in the future for a greener tomorrow for future generations. Mission The mission of this university should be the commencement of new degree programs and courses related to Sustainable Development and Entrepreneurial Management that focuses on initiating ‘Green’ businesses. Organization If the sustainability plan is to be implemented in Princeton University then there would be a prominent change in the whole organization, ranging from the advancement in its technologies, processes, procedures, organizational design, policies, etc. The university would have to set up new infrastructure and technologies for the purpose of assisting students to come and learn from it, use them for research purposes, and adopt newer and greener ways of living life. As far as the enabling of technology and processes is concerned, the university would have to invest a great amount of money in bringing on new technologies, machineries, equipments, infrastructure, and most importantly, the intellectual capital that would be present in experts, scientists, and experienced professors. In other words, the resources for the students should be provided with which they can learn the practical application of what they learn in books, because without application they would be wasting what they studied. Moreover, processes would be shaped in a way where the emphasis would be laid on the practicality of the concept and not just the theories itself. This would have to deal with some sort of change in the organizational design in which the policies, preferences, faculty, teaching criteria, and curriculum would be modified. People Attracting and maintaining talented students, faculty, and other staff members should be the first priority of the university, since it’s all about the students who learn and progress and the faculty who teach them. Faculty members who may include scientists, cosmologists, or environmentalists, should be provided with sufficient resources to conduct research and development. They might be sent abroad for participating in conferences, workshops, and seminars from where they can train themselves accordingly, which later would result fruitful for the students who would get up-to-date knowledge about the current happenings, issues, developments, and solutions for them. Teaching the students would not suffice; in fact, they should be encouraged to indulge in the practicality of the studies. University should arrange certain contests and business plan competitions where the students would be asked to participate and come up with the most feasible business that is sustainable and green. Moreover, the students of IT may engage in developing certain products, equipments, and technologies that might be used at a later stage for greener tomorrow, for instance, electric cars and solar energy chargers. Just as every employee needs rewards for keeping him motivated and directed; students are no exception (Robbins & Judge, 2007). Based on their achievements in the competitions, they must be encouraged by offering them scholarships, money prizes, and medals. Conclusion Therefore, it is the responsibility of universities to make their students aware of the changing environmental conditions and offer them, opportunities and resources to explore and ascertain newer ways of living and doing business for having a better and greener tomorrow.

Les Miserables Movie Review

For my AP World History Movie Review, I chose to watch Les Miserables; a movie based on the inspirational novel by Victor Hugo. I selected this movie because i had a summer assignment on it for ADV English and also because i thought it would be a good idea to watch the movie before reading the book and compare the two afterwards. Watching this and reading the book has helped me in starting out this school year more prepared with my schoolwork. Just like the book, the movie was set in the early 1800's of Paris amid the aftermath of the French Revolution.Along with the novel, the movie sort of elaborates upon the history of France, architecture of Paris, and a little bit of the politics. The French Revolution was a time of great turmoil in French History. It began in 1789 and ended in 1799. During the French Revolution, the previous absolute monarchy and the entire social three estate system was overthrown. The Third Estate was tired of being treated how they were. They wanted more res pect and an actual say in the government. They were given a tithe for their crops, which caused them starvation and malnutrition.They had the most trouble paying for bread, while others feasted away. Finally, they began violent revolts. The architecture of France in the late 1700s through the early 1900s was shown throughout the movie, the clothing people wore and the way buildings looked back then. The time period of France in the movie was Neo-classicism. Architecture was often flip-flops from one extreme to the other, so after the frivolous and light-filled Rococo style (like in most parts of the movie), buildings were pared to classical symmetry. As the reign of Louis XVI began, Paris entered a period of Neo-classicism.The severe style was inspired by Roman and Greek architectural theories. The style also reflects a desire for plain, unadorned materials, combined with extremely logical floor plans and design. Even after Louis XVI was beheaded, his style of Neo-classicism continu ed without change. This was partly because the Revolution was chaotic, giving architects little opportunity to invent a new style. The main major theme of the movie was some Christian themes of redemption, forgiveness, and sacrifice; all together, Grace. There were instances of grace all throughout the movie, as well as in the book.Jean Valjean was the main character that portrayed grace in many instances such as forgiving a former guard, Javert, for continuously trying to arrest him and ruin his life. Valjean spared his life during the revolution and released him from the revolting third estate. Even after his life was spared, Javert arrested Valjean once more but soon after let him go and committed suicide. The acts of grace throughout the movie affected me emotionally and gave me some inspiration to treat others the way I'd want to be treated. I think that today's society could use more grace.It'd make the world such a peaceful place to live if grace were portrayed more. Since gr ace is so called â€Å"a God given gift†, it should be used more to make the world a better place and make the people who live in it much more kind. Also, this movie moved me emotionally and mentally, putting people in poverty into my mind. I felt bad for how the poor were treated back then, never having any money or enough food, some women having to turn to prostitution or selling their hair just to get by. Overall, â€Å"Les Miserables† was a very good movie and i hope to go see the newest version coming out in December.

Nursing and Principles of Protecting Patient Safety Case Study

Nursing and Principles of Protecting Patient Safety - Case Study Example First, the nurses would electronically sign off on IV bags, for instance, so that they would be available when they were needed, even though they had to be junked sometimes when the situation for their need ceased to be operative, or the doctors changed their minds. There was no procedure in place also to make sure that nurses remembered what they signed for electronically, as they did this at the end of the shift or during their breaks. The redundant electronic and manual entries were procedural elements that led to lapses due to human errors that are understandable given the situation. No, the nurses are not negligent. The procedure is flawed (Brindley, 2010; WHO, 2002; AMA, 2013; Jones, n.d.) It is not below the standard of care to delay the documentation for the documentation, given that this has to take a lower priority in a list of priorities that include spending time with more critical patient-related tasks, such as administering the medications, doing the rounds, and assisting the doctors with patient-related needs. This is an error in a procedure that the nurses were made to go into, and which led to understandable lapses (Brindley, 2010; WHO, 2002; AMA, 2013; Jones, n.d.). The primary consideration is the intent. Do the nurses have an intent to cheat procedures in order to gain personally and to compromise patient safety and outcomes? Is the intent criminal, or are the mistakes and lapses understandable consequences of nurses making mistakes due to flaws in procedures themselves? Are the nurses working in earnest, rather than intentionally cheating in order to gain access to narcotics for their own use? (Brindley, 2010; WHO, 2002; AMA, 2013; Jones, n.d.) The charges the hospital may level against the nurse would be an intentional breach of procedure in order to procure narcotics and cheat the hospital, and criminal intent to compromise patient safety by compromising supplies of vital  narcotics, among many other potential cases.  

Film summary title never let me go Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Film summary title never let me go - Movie Review Example One of their teachers, Miss Lucy tells the pupils of the way that they are, that they live so that they could become organ donors at one point. Tommy and Cathy become great friends but Ruth spoils the relationship by attempting to snatch Tommy from Cathy, she is successful for a while. The three friends shift to some cottages in a farm where they encounter other young adults that came from schools that resembled theirs. At some point, they find a person whom they perceive to be a clone for Ruth making the three friends to arrange for a trip to go and see her. Unfortunately there is little semblance, an aspect that rages Ruth a lot. Hearing that there was a possibility for ‘deferral’, Tommy gets to the gallery of Hilsham to check on whether the artwork would predict true love. However, he never sent any artwork hence a deferral cannot be established between him and Ruth. A split in the relationship occurs where Cathy sets herself from the rest to take the role of supporting organ donors. Also immediately, the relationship between the Tommy and Ruth ends. Ten years later, Cathy meets a frail Ruth who organizes for a meeting of the three friends to seek for forgiveness. She donates her last organ and dies. Consequently, Tommy and Cathy become friends aga in but the play culminates when he is donating his last organ as Kathy is looking onto him on the other side of the glass window. The film is a science fiction that presents incidences that have been at the center of research. Organ donation is an aspect that of presented in the film, here focusing on growing individuals specifically for organ donation. Jealousy in relationships is real especially where there is an act of desperation. Ruth was worried that she may be unable to find a friend just like Cathy because of the limited interactions. Tommy was the only man around them, so she opted to compete with her. Another issue is the aspect of superstition;

Marketing Management Class Disscussion wk9 Essay

Marketing Management Class Disscussion wk9 - Essay Example Geographic segmentation, demographic segmentation, psychographic segmentation, and behavioral segmentation are all forms of market segmentation that enable companies to focus on the desires and needs of potential buyers. In addition, it is easy for a business to identify and understand its competitors and their strategy (Gale and Swire, 2006). LearnFree.edu would be a free e-learning website that seeks to provide free outstanding education to all visitors globally. The value of the website is unknown, as it will take nearly a year for its completion. For that reason, perceived-value pricing is the appropriate pricing strategy for the website/product. The value of the service depends on the price consumers are willing to pay and not on its production costs (Gale and Swire, 2006). Perceived-value pricing is effective in marketing of the website because its price is set in accordance to the perceived value of prospective buyers. Pricing strategy is a necessary constituent of market segmentation. It is a essential for any business because it helps determine market share and profitability of a business. A new business may need to set a lower price than that in the market, to penetrate the market. Even so, it should not be too low to result in losses for the

Abstract Artworks Analysis Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Abstract Artworks Analysis - Term Paper Example The essay "Abstract Artworks Analysis" aims to compare two abstract paintings. In the following sections, the researcher shall analyze two works of modern art - in particular abstract art. The first piece of art work that we will discuss is an abstract art work in acrylic. The work is a visual representation of a shabby neighborhood with houses and electric poles lining the street. The street is shown to be half lit by sunlight and the other half overcast by the noon shadows of a bigger property and some small dwellings. The colors used are muted pink, magenta, greys, olive green, white, beige and brown. The overall look is melancholy and that of emptiness. The second piece of art is another abstraction done in acrylic too of much vibrant colors. The general colors that stand out are bright canary yellow, orange, rust, royal blue, sky blue, saffron yellow, red, purple, and white overtones etc. The work is represented by geometrical shapes such as circle, square, triangle, ellipse, rh ombus and semi-circles etc. At first glance, the shapes look like abstract placement but upon close observation one sees that the artist has cleverly integrated the shape of a female head with earring. There are other figures too - a man or child perhaps tending to a sick person in bed. The atmosphere seems to be that of illness and sadness. The two abstract pieces of work demonstrate that modern art can both be abstract and in-depth if one look closely at them regardless of their approach or medium.

Current Issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Current Issues - Essay Example Now training and development is one of the main pillars of human resource management. There is a high level of involvement of computers in almost every field of life, so the employees need to excel the computer skills. Every organization is focusing on the vital importance of these job-training programs and thus tries to arrange the regular sessions of experts. These experts come, meet the employees, and give tips to them. These job trainings create innovation in the routine duties of the employees. The expert managers appreciate creative and innovative ideas from the employees. The training programs can be multidisciplinary and thus aimed at the long-term benefit of the organization (McKay 2). The associated benefits with these job-training programs are beneficial for the organization. Job training programs actually aim to polish the skills and expertise of the employees and managers of any organization. Now almost every organization is focusing on this perspective. The impact of training programs is very much effective. The employees and managers become more productive and thus improve the output of the organization. In this way, the organization is more profitable. These skilled labor or the expert individuals are beneficial factors for the economic development. They can play their role in the regional and economic development by the use of their expertise. A successful job training is always future oriented and thus can be linked t the economic development of the organization. By arranging such job trainings, an organization can achieve efficiency and effectiveness, build more production capacity in the employees, and motivate the employees to work faster. With the help of these future oriented job-training programs, an organization can prepare itself for the upcoming changes and challenges in the competitive market. The expertises of the employees are actually the real strength or the competitive advantage of the firm. An author is of the viewpoint

Wind Shield Survey Community Assessment of a community in Queens , NY Term Paper - 2

Wind Shield Survey Community Assessment of a community in Queens , NY - Term Paper Example The involvement of consumers of health care is encouraged in the development of community activities that contribute to the promotion of education and maintenance of good health (Rooney, Ryan, Bloniarz & Kane, 2005). In order to achieve these activities, a comprehensive health programs are required that pay a special attention to social and ecological influences and specific population that is at a risk. As a community client, nurses should focus on environmental features such as physical, cultural, psychosocial and political features that ensure good health of the population. As a matter of fact, Rooney et al, (2005) adds that community client is not restricted to provision of health care to a particular age or diagnostic group but the health nurse is practicing their profession to all people without any biases. A healthy community is one that makes wise use of its resources and is prepared to meet the dangers and threats that may arise as a result of factors encountered when dealing with health problems. This has been the mandate and the aim of the community client over a quite a long time to ensure a mutual relationship between the community and the location (Rooney, Ryan, Bloniarz & Kane, 2005). As Glanz et al (2008) put it that in assessing the performance of Wind Shield survey in New York, a close examination of the original survey data on beneficiary is needed. According to our expectations, the general satisfaction with the WindShield survey intervention should be high. However, the evidence was found that the endeavor of the WindShield survey to redress the balance between the rich and the poor communities was fairly satisfactory (Kressel, De Leon, Palij & Rubin, 2008). There was a neglect of the isolated communities possibly due to cost reasons and that the accessibility of the WindShield Survey to beneficiary

Constructivism and international relations Essay

Constructivism and international relations - Essay Example Thus the debate between liberals and realists forms an axis of contention regarding international relations. Constructivists reject the idea by neorealism that states have a one-sided focus on material advantage. Wendt for example argues the most significant character of international relations is based on social term and not material items . Furthermore, social reality is subjective to international affairs. The social and political world cannot define international relations as a physical institution outside human cognizance. The main focus is, therefore, the extent of anarchy and power in relation to interaction and learning. Wendt (1992) focuses his argument more on rejecting the neorealist position to which constructivism results to anarchy which is mainly geared to self-help of states . In these aspects, state identities and interests come from the relationship subsisting between international and domestic societies. Constructivists argue that state interests are not defined by egoistic terms. This situation is effective because egoistic interests do not form a significant aspect of individuality and are based on individual representation relationships. The relative stabilities in these individual relationships act as if they were authorized by an institution. A lot of convergent factors expose states towards egoism, which in most cases do not preclude collective interests. Constructivism is interested in converging domestic values from a transnational scale through the establishment of democratic institutions.

Private and corporate information Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Private and corporate information - Essay Example Moreover, there are hackers who victimize other people for their own benefit of breaking into computer systems to destroy or steal information in the form of cyber-terrorism. Lastly, there is the spyware, adware, and Trojans, usually installed with other programs without the users consent. They monitor an individual’s behavior on the internet, display targeted advertisements, and even download other malicious software onto a computer. It is the every responsibility of individuals to protect their own information. I play my role in ensuring information security through keeping it safe in backup devices. I secure the information from the system by the use of safe browsing practices. This occurs through an evaluation of the browser’s security settings before making any online transactions. In addition, I am keen when using email attachments, using safely the instant messaging and chat rooms. To improve information security I will install antivirus and antispyware software program and make sure they are up to date for the protection against any attacks. Furthermore, I will disable non-essential software’s from the computer as they increase the opportunities for attack. In conclusion, I will ensure the use of strong passwords to prevent unauthorized access to

Existing Good or Service Business Proposal Essay Example for Free

Existing Good or Service Business Proposal Essay The Thomas Money Service, Inc. is a consumer finance company that has been granting loans and financing since 1940. Within the first five years the company expanded its business when it began â€Å"issuing business loans, business acquisition financing, and commercial real estate loans† (University of Phoenix, 2011, p. 1). By 1946 the company expanded to include equipment financing by creating a subsidiary named Future Growth Inc. (FGI). Due to increased demand in forestry and construction equipment in 1951 FGI purchased a manufacturing company so that the company was able to offer financing as well as their own brand of construction equipment. Over the past 67 years, FGI has held a monopoly on financing and manufacturing construction equipment and has seen only increased profits year after year. FGI has also never had to lay off any of its employees. â€Å"This track record has allowed their stock to grow from $5.00 to $85.60 with stock splits from 1975 to 1998. FGI has never issued bonds, and the present stock value is $35† (University of Phoenix, 2011, p. 1). Unfortunately, with the current economic downturns, natural disasters, and a decline in new-home sales, profits for FGI began to decline by 30% from the previous year. Due to the decline in production, the company was forced to layoff a third of their employees. Even with the current drop in new-home sales, there is still the opportunity for demand to increase as the economy becomes healthy again. Below the author will discuss how to increase revenue. Increase revenue FGI has many opportunities to increase revenue. Increasing revenue is not only dependent on the sales price of the product but also on what the companies expenses include. The company will need to re-evaluate the way it spends money and determine how to reduce outgoing costs. The first step FGI should take is to review its vendor list and communicate with the vendor to  determine the best way to reduce costs while saving the vendor money as well. FGI could request that all parts and supplies be purchased in bulk to cut down on freight charges as well as reach out to other businesses in the area to purchase supplies from the same vendor together. They would share the cost of freight, which would reduce the expense for both companies. Advertising is another expense that FGI needs to focus on. Currently FGI has cut back on its advertising efforts and has decided to only advertise during sporting events. This might not be a productive advertising strategy. It would be more lucrative to advertise in several venues such as direct mail, newspapers, and telephone books. This strategy will get the company name and services to a broader area of customers. Another expense is employee hours, schedules, and benefits that could use an overhaul. Currently FGI was forced to layoff a third of its workforce. The company needs to determine the best way to keep its employees while still saving money for the company. Department heads will need to review and re-evaluate employee schedules and hours to ensure that they are using the employee hours effectively. By re-scheduling and reducing employee hours, FGI will be able to save even more revenue. Benefits are also an expense that is offered by the company, but the company is not required to offer them to its employees. FGI should review and determine if it can continue to offer all of the benefits it currently does. If necessary, FGI could reduce 401k matching, reduce or stop employee bonuses and parties, and finally re-negotiate with insurance companies to find a more cost effective insurance package for the employees. Finally, the most effective way to ensure an increase in revenue is to cut t he sales price of the equipment. The chart below shows that the lower the price, the higher the demand. If FGI were to decrease its prices they would increase sales. Communicating with vendors, upping advertising, re-structuring employee hours and benefits, and cutting prices are all successful ways to increase revenue. Another aspect of increasing revenue that FGI needs to  consider is the spending power of its customers. The economy of the United States is currently on the down turn again, heading back into a recession. The credit market conditions are not very strong; the current unemployment rate is unchanged at 9.1% according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The fact that the unemployment rate has had no change means that the economy has not changed. There are no new jobs, which affect the construction industry. People cannot afford to build homes and they cannot apply for loans because their credit history is not strong enough. There is a silver lining for construction companies and equipment companies such as FGI. In 2009, the government created the 2009 Stimulus Package, which included â€Å"$131 billion allocated for construction-related spending† (The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2011, para 1). This stimulus allows for construction companies to bid for upcoming transportation construction jobs. Construction companies will need to upgrade their equipment to newer more efficient equipment that can handle the new workload and conditions. FGI will need to take advantage of the influx in construction equipment purchases by advertising and offering discounts and rebates to all new and current customers. Maximize Profit The concept of marginal cost and marginal revenue is used to determine how much it will cost to produce one more piece of equipment. â€Å"Companies typically look to reach a production equilibrium where marginal cost and marginal revenue are equal. At this point, the company will maximize its profit† (Vitez, 2003-2011). If an imbalance were to occur on either marginal costs or marginal revenue there will be inefficiencies with production. There is a possibility that it could cost the company more to produce the extra piece of equipment than it would profit from. According to Huter â€Å"The quantity that maximizes profit is where marginal profit shifts from positive to negative† (1999-2011). To determine the profit-maximizing quantity it is necessary to know the price, variable costs, marginal revenue, and quantity ordered. Looking at the chart above it is clear that the company is making money off of the maximum of 12 orders. If the order demand were to go from 12 to 13, there is the possibility that it would cost the company more to produce that many than they are able to charge for all 13. With that in mind, the  profit-maximizing quantity would be 13. Suggested Mix of Pricing and Non-Pricing Strategies FGI is no longer the only equipment manufacturing company for customers to choose from. In order for FGI to stay competitive, the company must include a mix of pricing and non-pricing strategies. Non-pricing strategies would include advertising the company as well as any discounts, financing, and warranties the company has to offer. Pricing strategies could include low-interest financing, longer payment terms, warranties, and product bundling. Product bundling could simply state that if a customer not only orders the equipment through FGI but also finances the purchase than they will receive a discount on the total price. According to the Wall Street Journal, â€Å"the Labor Departments snapshot of the August jobs landscape, cuts in the public sector entirely offset the private sectors gain of 17,000 positions. Figures from earlier months were lowered, due largely to deeper cuts by government. The unemployment rate remained at 9.1% but is likely to move higher in coming months amid the lackluster pace of job creation†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Reddy, 2011, para 4). Due to the possible economic downturn, FGI must consider a radical change in policy to stay competitive and on top of the market for construction manufacturing equipment. This radical change would be to offer customers the opportunity to rent or lease the construction equipment instead of purchasing it out right. Leasing construction equipment will allow construction companies to save money and will allow FGI to earn income and stand out among its competition. Create or Increase Barriers to Entry It can be difficult to create or increase barriers to entry when there is already competition in place. A few things that FGI could do to increase barriers to entry is to offer customers something that is totally different from the competition. Making the customers want to only purchase from FGI. Those differences would include the ability of the customer to rent the construction equipment for the duration of their contract and increase customer service. Increasing customer service would include offering the customers more options to contact FGI. FGI will need to utilize technology  such as the Internet, Websites, email communication, and QR codes, which allows customers to access company information and discounts. Increase Product Differentiation Product differentiation includes pricing and non-pricing strategies as well as increasing barriers to entry. FGI will need to make their construction equipment stand out from its competitors. In order to stand out, FGI will need to make changes to how it advertises its product, increase offers customers who purchase the equipment, and make the customers experience with FGI unique. Customers want to be excited about spending money, FGI should make their shopping experience exciting and rewarding. Customers who are happy about their purchases will spread the word to other potential customers who will then decide to purchase from FGI over other construction equipment companies. Other Ways to Minimize Costs A few ways to minimize costs for the product includes reducing the amount of employees, which FGI recently did. One way to minimize costs is for FGI to lease their manufacturing centers and financial offices instead of purchasing the buildings. Leasing will reduce costs to FGI because the owner of the buildings will need to pay for the upkeep and maintenance of the building and grounds. Reducing spending on supplies and manufacturing equipment is another way to minimize costs. The issue with reducing spending on supplies and is that the supplies could potentially be inferior products which would then make the products that FGI sells inferior. FGI will need to determine if the quality of their product is worth risking so that the company can reduce the cost of producing the equipment. International Trade International trade is beneficial to both the United States and foreign countries because it is the exchange of goods between both countries. â€Å"Trading globally gives consumers and countries the opportunity to be exposed to goods and services not available in their own countries† (Heakal, 2003, para 4). International trade can affect and is affected by each nations political issues. A current example is the Greek economic bail out. The Greek economy is currently in need of another debt bailout to hopefully  turn its economy around. The affect that the European bailout of Greece could have on the United States is that Europe will have less money to spend on American goods, which will then cause trade to decrease. â€Å"If a full default occurred, other troubled countries, notably Spain and Portugal, could also follow suit, leading to a wave of defaults that would severely affect the European zone and could send shockwaves all the way to Wall Street† (Katrandjian, 2011, para 13). As the Global Economy stands now, international trade has not been affected significantly. There is the possibility of international trade being affected if the European economy doesn’t stabilize. With that in mind FGI must consider how the international economy will affect the overhaul of FGI’s current marketing structure. FGI will need to make its products more lucrative for foreign companies to purchase. FGI would need to create a special package offer to foreign companies that includes special incentives such as discounts, extended warranties, and shorter lead times. Conclusion FGI has been a successful company since 1940. With the recent economic hardships and additional competition, FGI has determined that they need to re-evaluate their current marketing and product strategies. To increase profit and market value, FGI will need to revamp their spending, marketing, employee hours and benefits, and reduce the cost of their product. Another aspect of business that FGI needs to focus on is the marginal costs and marginal revenue to maximize profits so that they are not producing too much product that will end up costing them more than it is sold for. FGI has the opportunity to re-strategies their pricing and incentives to draw in more customers as well as increase blocking more companies from entering the construction equipment manufacturing industry. With the current credit markets being at an all time low, FGI will need to adjust their production and extended forecast to meet the potential decrease in sales. The 2009 Stimulus Package offers hope to FGI that sales will increase due to the government projected construction improvements on all Freeways and Highways throughout the country. Reference: Katrandjian, O., (2011) Greek Debt Bailout Could Affect the U.S. Economy. Retrieved September 5, 2011 from http://abcnews.go.com/Business/greek-debt-bailout-affect-us-economy/story?id=13879426 Heakal, R., (2003) What is International Trade? Retrieved September 5, 2011 from http://www.investopedia.com/articles/03/112503.asp#ixzz1X6dCaTuv Huter, S., (1999-2011) How to Calculate the Profit Maximizing Quantity. Retrieved August 20, 2011 from http://www.ehow.com/how_6713701_calculate-profit_maximizing-quantity.html Reddy, S., (2011) Job Growth Grinds to a Halt. Retrieved September 4, 2011 from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904583204576546220157206548.html The McGraw-Hill Companies (2011) Construction Stimulus Special Section. Retrieved September 4, 2011 from http://construction.com/stimulus/market_sectors/ University of Phoenix, (2011). Thomas Money Service Inc. Scenario [Computer Software]. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, Simulation, ECO561 website. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2011) Employment Situation Summary. Retrieved September 4 , 2011 from http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm Vitez, O., (2003-2011) What Is the Relationship Between Marginal Cost and Marginal Revenue? Retrieved August 21, 2011 from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-relationship-between-marginal-cost-and-marginal-revenue.htm

The World Phone Hacking Scandal Media Essay

The World Phone Hacking Scandal Media Essay The phone hacking scandal and the subsequent public inquiries exposed how journalists from News of the World (NoW) had been employing illegal reporting techniques to gather information for news with no regards to journalism ethics. The implications of the scandal and the inquiries on public relations and media relations is more on the ethical part. Similar to the media industry, ethical behavior is also important in the public relations profession that includes media relations. Public relations can be explained as the ethical and strategic management of communications and relationships to build and develop coalitions and policy, identify and manage issues and to create and direct messages to achieve sound outcomes within a responsible framework with media relations being more specific. Media relations is a part of public relations that deals mostly with the relationships of an organization with the media. Media relations also determine how the organization gets its messages across to the target audience. Media relations what message the organization wants to send, who to send it to, where to send it and when to send it and if possible without paying directly for it through advertising. In most countries, public relations practiotioners are members of professional public relations institutes and/or associations such as the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) of the United Kingdom, the Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA), the Institute of Public Relations Malaysia (IPRM) and the International Public Relations Association (IPRA). These institues and/or associations all have established a set of code of ethics which not only provide an ethical framework for the activities of the profession but is also central in maintaining the professional standards in the public relations profession. Membership of these institutes are given after the applicants pass the assestment tests and members of these public relations institutes are required to follow the set of code of ethics. Members who have breached the code of ethics can be reported to the institues and they will be investigated and pinalized. In the wake of the NoW phone hacking scandal, there are concerns in the United Kingdom (UK) about ethics and privacy arising especially from the flow of information between the government and the press. According to the report from Elizabeth Filkins inquiry, the main concern being improper disclosure of information to the media. The government and the media interacts with each other on many levels. These unregulated interactions causes information to flow outside of the government causing problems. Improper disclosure can be broken down into a few kinds. They are improper disclosure for personal advantage, improper disclosure for trading and improper disclosure cause of bribery or financial rewards. Improper disclosure for personal advantage is where civil servants deliberately leak information for various kinds of improper personal benefits such as a sense of power and control, professional advantage during employment with the government or to gain future employment elsewere by providing exclusive information. According to a statement by Kit Malthouse who is a British assembly member, there is an odd kind of fascination with knowing its them that put the information on the newspapers, this knowledge gives them a sense of power. Trading is another kind of improper disclosure of information where inappropriate information is given to the media in order to dilute or prevent the publication of other information which might be damaging to some civil servants or those with senior positions in the government. Although there are proper and ethical negotiations with the media to prevent the publishing of information which might obstruct an ongoing investigation, cause harm to members of the public or civil servants or to ensure accuracy in reporting but these negotiations often have to include unethical placing of materials or offering of exclusive information to the media in return to bury the harmful information. Quoting Nick Davies, a freelance journalist, you get the Press Officer who says, well, if I give Reporter A a particular story exclusively, then next week Reporter A will do me a favour. These kinds of behaviours conflict between what the public needs and what the Press Officer wants causing information t hat are not supposed to be known to the media to be leaked out. Bribery and financial rewards is the most common and prevalent cause of information leak. From her questioning, Filkin found out that NoW journalists have been paying civil servants especially the Metropolitan Police Service for information. The demand for exclusive government information is high especially information on police work. Police information is a commodity that is very valuable to journalists and much of it is of interest and enjoyment of the public. This demand coupled with no proper guidelines in place in regards to what is acceptable in dealing with the media leads to the unstoppable and untracable leakage of information to the media. Disaffected staffs is also another cause for improper information disclosure. Staffs that are disaffected or in dispute with the organization can become a source of improper and damaging disclosures to the media. Quoting from Filkins report, a Thomas Lund-Lack has leaked a highly confidential Counter Terrorism report to the Sunday Times. Lund-Lack has served with the British police force ethically for 34 years before being given a role in the Special Branch as a member of police staff. When integorated Lund-Lack cited that the reasons leaking the information as being annoyed by his workplace, and becoming more and more angry about the ineffectiveness of the Counter Terrorism Command. He felt that what he has done was legally wrong but was morally justified in bringing his concerns into the publics attention. Another main concern of the flow of information between the government and the press lies in the relationships the government have with the press. It is known that the government has not given equal access to all parts of the media for a number of years and that relationships between press members have been developed selectively. Journalists develop close relationships with senior government members because if you are nice to them chances are you are going to get more stories than youre not. This often leads to private news briefings during drinking sessions in clubs. This has lead to a culture where media contacts are close aquaintaces and their hospitality is a norm. It is also not uncommon for civil servants to have friends or family members working with the media. There friends and family members that when they acquired some exculsive information, they pass the information on to the media. With regards to the concerns expressed in the UK about the flow of information between the government and the press in the light of the ongoing News Limited controversy, practice and ethics of media relations are being questioned due to the similar nature of the public relations industry with the media industry. As a part of public relations, media relations is also bound to the code of ethics of the public relations profession. There is a set of common ethical practice that is generally adopted and followed by media relations practitioners in dealing with information. Before using any information, media relations practitioners must first make sure that whether the information acquired is confidential. If the information is not confidential then the practitioner can proceed with the information. If confidential information is given on the record then the practitioner is also allowed to used the information. However if the confidential information is obtained off the records, the practitioner is discouraged from using the information based on the ethical obligations of the public relations profession. Media relations practitioners are required to exercise caution when talking and/or writing about a person or an organization. This is not only to maintain the accuracy of the subject but also to avoid inadvertently defaming someone or an organization. Practitioners are also required to not dissiminate false and misleading information and/or claims. Media relations pratitioners must obtain permission for any materials that they use to acknowledge the owners of the materials and to avoid copyright infringement. Practitioners are also required to get permission to use personal information and/or images in public. Practitioners must also immediately correct any errors that occur in the course of carrying out their duty such as media using the material you provided wrongly. Ethics is a standard of conduct that indicate how one should behave based on moral duties and virtues. Who determines these ethical obigations? Ethical obligations are determined not only by a persons own values but it is also influenced by the organization a person is working with and the client the person is dealing with. Each organization has its own set of ethics that it enforces and every client has a different ethics expectation. When faced with ethical problems, the practitioner is encouraged to discuss with the employer and/or the client to reach an agreeable ethics standpoint. Ethical obligations are also determined by the industry a person is working in such as the code of ethics of the public relations industry. The code of ethics is to safeguard the credibility and legitimacy of the profession. Another factor that influences ethical obligations is the society. An ethical media relations practitioner should alwaysput the public interests before his/her owns or the clients. Besides code of conducts, public relations and media relations practitioners also acknowledge the existence of a set of universal values and embracing them in carrying out their duties to uphold the standards of practice and professional conduct on the part of public relations practitioners. The set universal values are: honesty, integrity, fidelity, fairness, transparency, accountability, confidentiality, and accuracy and most if not all of them can be found in the code of ethics of the many public relations institutions. The ethics pyramid is a structural approach to checking ethics by Tilley. It is used to examine the ethicality of behaviours and actions. It is divided into four stages: ethical baseline, ethical intent, ethical means and ethical end. Media relations practitioners are encouraged to usethis pyramid to examinie ethics. The the first stage at the bottom part of the pyramid is the ethical baseline. This stage is where the media relations practitioner carries out research on the ethics and expectations of the stakeholders. The second stage is the ethical intent stage where the practitioner plans and choose ethical principles for virtues, rules and outcomes. This is also the stage where the practitioner create measurable objectives and discuss and agree the shared ethical objectives with the client. The third stage, ethical means is assessing the tactical objectives and choosing ethical tactics to employ and deciding the means to use to communicate with others. The final stage, the ethical ends is where the practitioner assess strategic ethics objectives for evaluation and check and report ethics outcomes.

An Overview Of Learning Three Theoretical Perspectives Education Essay

An Overview Of Learning Three Theoretical Perspectives Education Essay There are myriad perspectives on the learning process, understanding the mechanisms of and our understanding of learning as theory and the practical application of methodology has evolved considerably over time. Each theory contributes to our understanding of how learners integrate information and experiences from their environment. This has implications for individual growth and also for institutional policy and practice. In this paper I will review three theoretical perspectives on learning, namely the Constructivist/Cognitivist perspective, the Phenomenographic perspective, and the Socio-cultural perspective, I will describe the salient features and characteristics of each theory, and compare the similarities and differences across perspectives. This will include a discussion of how learners access information, make sense of that information, and act on it in deliberate and purposeful ways as a means of engaging with the world. From there I will investigate what these learning theories emphasize or give relevance to the concepts of context, meaning, and experience. The various perspectives each have something to say about the relationship between context, meaning, and experience as they relate to learning, however the importance of these core concepts differs in how each theory conceptualizes learning, and the importance of the role of context, meaning, and experience. Finally , I will conclude with examples that bring these perspectives to life in my everyday experience, and I will bind these theories together within a cohesive understanding of learning and education as it relates to the interrelationship of the concepts of intrinsic motivation, variation, and transfer. Three theoretical perspectives on learning There are numerous theories of learning, each emphasizing a particular feature of the learning experience. Various theories of learning also describe learning in different ways depending on the viewpoint of the observer. Each theory emphasizes ideas related to context, meaning, and experience in different ways as they relate to learning, both from the perspective of the learner and from the instructor/teacher/coach/mentor. Constructivist/Cognitivist Perspective Objectivity is the delusion that observations could be made without an observer (von Foerster, 1995, pg. 5) The Constructivist theoretical orientation holds that knowledge is acquired experientially, is mediated by our prior understanding, and is based on the belief that we learn by doing rather than observing, and that knowledge is built upon previous learning. The essential core of constructivism is that learners actively construct their own knowledge and meaning from their experiences (Doolittle, pg 1) Piaget was primarily concerned with cognitive constructions that occurred as a result of interactions with Constructivism emerged from early studies of learning, behaviour, and psychoanalysis, and the behavioural viewpoints of Watson, along with Kohler and Koffkas Gestalt psychology. (Tools pg. 7) Constructivism as theoretical understanding exists along a continuum from weak to strong forms constructivism This is an adaptive process whereby behaviours evolve to meet the changing demands of the environment, and cognition serves to makes sense of subjective experience. (Doolittle, 1999, 1) Constructivism emerged from schools of behaviourism and objectivism, which held that there was a knowable objective reality that existed independent of the individual. Constructivism takes the view that meaningful personal experience is the basis of knowledge and learning. Individuals construct meaning within a context of personal experience that is rooted in language, culture, and the social experiences of each individual. There can be no objectively verifiable truth or knowledge within constructivism, as each individual brings a unique perspective grounded in their own previous knowing. Much of this knowledge is tacit and resides in the implicit memory of the learner, but it exerts its influence and acts as a filter through which the individual sees new information and relates it to their understanding of the world. Knowledge and thus learning is constructed within the mind of the individual. Constructivism rejects the notion of an objective and knowable reality independent of the observer, and holds that knowledge of the world is constructed through the active cognitizing on the part of individuals. Constructivism rejects the notion of an oberver-independent world in favour of knowledge reflecting the subjective realities of the observer. (Glaserfeld, 1989, p. 3) Knowledge is not a representation of reality, but instead a collection of conceptual structures that turn out to be adapted or, as I would way, viable within the knowing subjects range of experience. (Glaserfeld, 1989, p. 4) Within Cognitive constructivism (explanation of scheme theory, accomodation, assimilation). Cognitive constructivism adheres to models of knowledge construction that consider the role of memory, cognitive constructs, and schemas without considering fully the subjective nature of knowledge as resident within the mind of the subject. Knowledge in this sense implies an internal representation that accurately reflects an observer-independent external reality. (Doolittle, 1999, 2) Radical constructivism differs from cognitive constructivism by advancing the idea that learning is an adaptive process, and that it is observer-dependent and resides in a fluid and dynamic cognition that considers the subjective experience of knowledge construction. Radical constructivism, like social constructivism, also accepts social interactions as informing knowledge construction. Social constructivism takes the view that social interactions contribute to knowing, and views the social and cultural context as anchoring knowledge to a specific time and place. (doolittle pg 4) These various perspectives exist on a continuum, however the most fundamental understandings are shared. We all hold memories of previous experiences; those collected memories and experiences, both tacit and explicit, become the lens through which we view our current unfolding reality. Emerging evidence within the realm of neuroscience and interpersonal neurobiology may predict further homogenization of constructivist philosophy and understanding. Interpersonal neurobiology views the brain as a social organ built through experience. This insight shifts Cognitive Constructivism further along the continuum in the direction of radical and social constructivism by lending supporting evidence to the two remaining epistemological tenets, namely that cognition organizes and makes sense of ones experience, and that knowing has roots in both biological/neurological construction, and social, cultural, and language-based interactions. (Doolittle, 1999) Learning is transactional, with experience influencing cognitive construction and the pliable cognitive constructions influencing our experience in a duality of experience and subjective reality. As Carr states, the growing body of evidence makes clear that the memory inside our heads is the product of an extraordinarily complex natural process that is, at every instant, exquisitely tuned to the unique environment in which each of us lives and the unique patterns of experiences that each of us goes through. (Carr, 2010, p. ) Carr recounts some of the current research on memory and experience, and expands on the idea that our brain structure continuously changes with experience; brain plasticity, the growing and pruning of synaptic connections over time, changes our very memories and our recollections of experience based on new experiences. (Carr, 2010, p. 190) Researcher Kobi Rosenblum further describes how memory, which in a sense is our recalled experience, can be a pliable and moving target. As he explains, ..the human brain continues to process information long after it is received, and the quality of memories depends on how the information is processed. (Carr, 2010, p. 191) Meaning within Cognitivist/Constructivist Perspective Meaning as significance for each perspective, but it is integral to an understanding of constructivism. Meaning is central to the intentionality of learners; relevance and meaning enhance a learners ability to relate with their world. It also relates to concepts of motivation as it relates to a learners sense of agency and engagement with their experience, ad it highlights the importance of culture and language as social mediators of learning The importance of these memory mechanisms to the development of cognitive psychology is that, once understood, they make it very clear that a persons ability to remember items is improved if the items are meaningfully related to each other or to the persons existing knowledge. The key word here is meaningful.Wynn pg.4 What is meaningful to people is determined by what they can remember of what they have already learned. Wynn pg 4 Opportunities for learning within a constructivist framework occur most readily when what is being learned has relevance or high emotional valence for the learner; in other words when information or experiences are meaningful. In order for learning to be meaningful it should be relatable to previous knowledge and experience. This building-block model of knowledge and experience is entirely consistent with a learner as meaning-maker. The implications for teaching and educational pedagogy are that tasks that have meaning and relevance tend to be of greater intrinsic interest to learners. Research on the experience of learning speaks to the importance of meaning as it relates to knowledge construction, and speaks of the importance of autonomy, agency, choice, and collaboration in driving our instrinsic motivational desires to engage in meaningful tasks, remember and recall information, self-organize, and be curious. A learning context rich in meaning is crucial. Context within Cognitivist/Constructivist Perspectives Learning occurs most successfully at the intersection of a learners previous knowledge of the world and the experience of socially mediated interactions with others, and is influenced by all accumulated social and cultural experiences. (Bodrova Leong, 2007, p. 9) The context for learning resides within the experience and imagination of the learner, and is rooted in prior experience and is mediated by teachers/facilitators and the ecological setting or context. Within this learning context, Feuerstein describes the role of mediation. The mediator creates in a person an approach, a form of reference, a desire to understand phenomena, a need to find order in them, to understand the order that is revealed, and to create it for oneself. (Feuerstein, Feuerstein, Falik, 2010, p. 37) Mediators can take many forms, but they share in common an ability to potentiate a learners ability to benefit from learning experiences. In the absence of a mediator, even in cases where individuals acquire knowledge, they may not understand its significance. (Feuerstein et al., 2010, p. 37) Experience within Cognitivist/Constructivist Perspectives As learners construct their own experiential reality within a social and cultural context, the dyadic interactions that unfold imply a degree of collaboration and engagement with learning that is intrinsically motivated by a meaningful context within which learning occurs/unfolds. Collaborative learning is by its nature socially constructed learning, where the interest of learners is central, meaningful, and contextual. Decontextualized learning by contrast lacks a sense of connection to the experience of learning. Prior experiences of learning are diminished when there is no meaningful context, and authentic experiential learning suffers. When choice around structure and content is collaboratively negotiated, learners are granted a level of autonomy around how and what they learn, and experiences that are meaningful place learning within a context more suitable to the learning style, goals, and priorities of the learner. Kohn emphasizes these conditions of collaboration, content, and choice, as creating the conditions necessary for authentic and intrinsically motivated learning to emerge. (Kohn, ) Phenomenograpy/Variation Theory There is no learning without discernment. And there is no discernment without variation. (Marton, Trigwell, 2000) The theory of phenomenography is connected with the study of human experience, particularly as it relates to educational research. Phenomenography examines thinking and learning within the context of educational research, and seeks understanding of the different ways in which people experience, interpret, understand, perceive, or conceptualize a phenomenon, or certain aspect of reality. (Orgill, ) Marton defines phenomenography as a qualitative research methodology, within the interpretivist paradigm, that investigates the qualitatively different ways in which people experience something or think about something (Marton, 1986). One of the key epistemological tenets related to Phenomenographic theory relates to concepts of variation, discernment, and transfer. Marton postulates that in order for learning to occur, there must necessarily be a pattern of variation present to experience, and this pattern must be experienced. (Marton, variation, pg.1). In order for learning to occur, learners must experience a wide range of variation in experience, with sameness or similarity contributing little to our understanding of experience. Variation and difference create a broader context for understanding experience, and also expand our repertoire when encountering novel situations or circumstances. This transfer of learning is integral to variation theory and a key underpinning of phenomenography. Experiencing difference or variation may be likened to experiences of cognitive dissonance within constructivist models of learning, where an individual experiences dissonance and a perturbation and must adjust their conception of this new information within their existing paradigm. How we categorize, makes sense of, or identify with that difference relates to our discernment skills. Discernment allows a subject to see or sense an experience against the background of his or her previous experiences of something more or less different. ( Marton, pg.386). In essence, as subjects experience greater variation they become more attuned to increasingly subtle differences between the physical, cultural, symbolic, or sensual world that they inhabit. (Marton, pg 386) Every phenomenon that is experienced only in contrast to alternate experiences of the same phenomenon (marton, pg 387) The implications for pedagogy center on the manipulation of the objects of variation in order for learners to experience variation, become adept at discerning, and transfer learning across situations. Excellence in teaching has very much to do with what aspects of the object of learning are subjected to variation, and what aspects of the object are subject to variation simultaneously. (Marton, pg. 391) Subjects learn to manage novelty as a result of having experienced novelty through variation. (Marton, pg. 394). Transfer is concerned with how what is learned in one situation affects or influences what the learner is capable of doing in another situation. (Marton, pg. 499) Meaning within Phenomenographic/Variation Theory Perspective Context within Phenomenographic/Variation Theory Perspective A concept that illuminates ideas of context within the phenomenographic perspective relates to concepts of situated learning. Situated in this instance refers to what surrounds the learning event; that is, to the socially constructed life-world in which a particular instance of learning occurs. (Sameness in transfer, pg. 511) Sameness and difference in learning and experience are acknowledged, however the extent to which we can make use of something we have learned in one situation to handle another situation is a ma Conclusion Learning is not simply acquiring new information and storing it on top of the information we already have. It involves meeting something unexpected (what might describe as a perturbation), something that cannot be easily explained by those theories or understandings we have already developed. To resolve that conflict we have to change what we previously believed (kohn, pg 187) This explanation is the tie that binds constructivism, variation, theory and scheme theory to social learning, along with ideas of motivation and personal agency.

Anti-Depressants and Teen Suicide Essay -- Teenage Suicide Essays

Abstract Two percent of preteens and five percent of adolescents suffer from depression (www.about-teen-depression.com 2014). There are specific signs and symptoms associated with depression, which are helpful in detection of the illness. There are various ways to treat depression, such as medication, group therapy, and/or herbal supplements. There are pros and cons with each treatment, but the worst coincides with the medication –suicide. Much research has been conducted, which will be discussed in the paper that has shown a link to antidepressants and suicide. However, there is also evidence that the suicide rate could be decreased with proper diagnosis and early, supervised treatment for depression, especially when dealing with children and adolescents. Introduction Depression is the newest epidemic sweeping across the world, affecting adults, teenagers, and even children. In fact, surveys have indicated that one in every five teenagers suffer from clinical depression (NMHA 2004). The illness can be found anywhere and appears to make the news each and every day. Depression is a condition that has no preference in its victims, meaning that it will strike people of all ages, races, and backgrounds. However, research has indicated that the onset of depression is now occurring earlier in life compared to past decades (Klerman and Weissman 1989). Knowing this, depression is a condition that needs to be cured immediately. There are many signs and symptoms commonly associated with depression, although most do vary with each individual. Most symptoms include frequent sadness, feelings of hopelessness, decreased activity, persistent boredom and low energy, social isolation, low self esteem, extreme sensitivity, frequents complaints of illness, poor concentration, and thoughts or expression of suicide (www.focusas.com). In order to be diagnosed as suffering from depression, patients must have 2 or more of the above symptoms for at least two weeks that cause severe distress or interfere with daily life (Zoloft 2001). The specific causes of depression are not known. It is suggested that depression is actually a result of a combination of certain factors, such as biological and psychosocial factors (Kendler 1995, www.surgeongeneral.gov 2004). Most likely, depression is the result of a chemical imbalance of neurotransmitters in the brain (NYU 2004). Thes... ...ent of pharmacotherapies for clinical depression in children and adolescents. Drug Safety. Jan; 20 (1):59-75. Shaffer D, Craft L. 1999. Methods of Adolescent Suicide Prevention. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 60: 70-74. Simon H and Stern T. 2003 – Review. Harvard Medical School. Strober M, Schmidt-Lackner S, Freeman R et al. 1995. Recovery and relapse in adolescents with bipolar affective illness: a five-year naturalistic, prospective follow-up. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 34(6):724-731. Sullivan, P., Neale, M. C. & Kendler, K. S. 2000. Genetic epidemiology of major depression: review and meta-analysis. American Journal of Psychiatry. 157: 1552-1562. Vanderkooy JD, Kennedy SH, Bagby RM. 2002. Antidepressant side effects in depression patients treated in a naturalistic setting. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. 47: 174-180. Wagner KD, Ambrosini P, Rynn M, et al. 2003. Efficacy of sertraline in the treatment of children and adolescents with major depressive disorder. JAMA. 290: 1033-1041. Whittington CJ et al. 2004. Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors in childhood depression. Lancel. 363: 1341-1345. Zoloft. 2004. . [accessed 21 September 2004].

Shakespeares Othello - Troubled Iago Essay -- Othello essays

Troubled Iago        Ã‚   Unquestionably the most perfidious character within the cast of Shakespeare’s Othello is the cunning Iago. He spends his life, it would seem, taking revenge on the general and destroying nearly everyone around himself. Helen Gardner in â€Å"Othello: A Tragedy of Beauty and Fortune† elaborates on Iago’s exact function and place in the play: . . . Iago ruins Othello by insinuating into his mind the question, ‘How do you know?’ The tragic experience with which this play is concerned is loss of faith, and Iago is the instrument to bring Othello to this crisis of his being. His task is made possible by his being an old and trusted companion, while husband and wife are virtually strangers, bound only by passion and faith; and by the fact that great joy bewilders, leaving the heart apt to doubt the reality of its joy. The strange and extraordinary, the heroic, what is beyond nature, can be made to seem the unnatural, what is against nature. This is one of Iago’s tricks. (143) Iago’s very language reveals the level at which his evil mind works. Francis Ferguson in â€Å"Two Worldviews Echo Each Other† describes the types of base, loathsome imagery used by the antagonist Iago when he â€Å"slips his mask aside† while awakening Brabantio: Iago is letting loose the wicked passion inside him, as he does from time to time throughout the play, when he slips his mask aside. At such moments he always resorts to this imagery of money-bags, treachery, and animal lust and violence. So he expresses his own faithless, envious spirit, and, by the same token, his vision of the populous city of Venice – Iago’s â€Å"world,† as it has been called. . . .(132) Iago is the â€Å"perfect† bad guy in the sense that his type is just what ... ...is. â€Å"Two Worldviews Echo Each Other.† Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from Shakespeare: The Pattern in His Carpet. N.p.: n.p., 1970. Gardner, Helen. â€Å"Othello: A Tragedy of Beauty and Fortune.† Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from â€Å"The Noble Moor.† British Academy Lectures, no. 9, 1955. Shakespeare, William. Othello. In The Electric Shakespeare. Princeton University. 1996. http://www.eiu.edu/~multilit/studyabroad/othello/othello_all.html No line nos. Wright, Louis B. and Virginia A. LaMar. â€Å"The Engaging Qualities of Othello.† Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from Introduction to The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice by William Shakespeare. N. p.: Simon and Schuster, Inc., 1957.

Controlling Case study Essay

Abstract This paper studies management control design of supplier relationships in manufacturing, a supply chain phase currently under-explored. Compared to supplier relations during procurement and R&D, which research found to be governed by a combination of formal and informal controls, supplier relations in manufacturing are more formal, so that they could be governed by more formal and less informal controls. To refine the management control system and influencing contingencies, we propose a theoretical framework specifically adapted for the manufacturing stage. This framework is investigated by an in depth case study of the supplier management control of a Volvo Cars production facility. We identify three types of suppliers visualizing the associations in the framework and illustrating the framework’s explicative power in (automotive) manufacturing. Furthermore, the case contradicts that supplier relations in the manufacturing phase are governed by little informal control, because the automaker highly values the role of trust building and social pressure. Most notably, a structured supplier team functions as a clan and establishes informal control among participating suppliers, which strengthens the automaker’s control on dyadic supplier relations. Keywords: Management control; Supplier relationships; Manufacturing; Contingency theory; Case research; Automotive 2 1. Introduction In the current economic environment, characterised by globalisation and enhanced levels of competition, companies require an effective supply chain with inter-organizational relationships (IORs) to strive for sustainable competitive advantage. Not surprisingly, studies show that IORs have a high potential impact on organization performance (e. g. Anderson & Dekker, 2005). Literature, however, also argues that many IORs do not provide the expected benefits and are often terminated because of managing difficulties (Ireland, Hitt & Vaidynanath, 2002). Academics often propose that lack of coordination and opportunistic behaviour of partners are the two main reasons for the relatively high relationship failure rate (e. g. Dekker, 2004). Hence, management control systems (MCSs) are argued to play a critical role in preventing such failure, by establishing governance mechanisms to control the relationship (Ireland et al. , 2002). The fundamental goal of MCSs is to influence decision making in attaining strategic objectives (Nixon & Burns, 2005). In an inter-organizational setting, this implies creating bilateral incentives to pursue mutual goals. Already in the mid-nineties, scholars started calling for more attention for this topic (e.g. Hopwood, 1996; Otley, 1994), and have not stopped since (e. g. van der Meer-Kooistra & Vosselman, 2006). Consequently, inter-organisational MCSs have been studied from several angles, including outsourcing (e. g. Anderson, Glenn & Sedatole, 2000), inter-organizational cost management (e. g. Cooper & Slagmulder, 2004), partnerships (e. g. Seal, Berry, Cullen, Dunlop & Ahmed, 1999), strategic alliances (e. g. Dekker 2004), networks (e. g. Kajuter & Kulmala, 2005) and joint ventures (e.g. Kamminga & van der MeerKooistra, 2007). Yet, the main emphasis was put on relational collaboration during the first stages of the supply chain, namely procurement, which involves the make-or-buy decision, partner selection and contract design, and R&D. Although this historical focus is certainly justified, management control in a later phase of the supply chain, namely manufacturing, remains relatively under-explored (Cooper & Slagmulder, 2004; Langfield-Smith & Smith, 2003). However, purchased products and services for manufacturing account for more than 60% of the average company’s total costs (Degraeve & Roodhooft, 2001) and are subject to continuous improvement with suppliers, also requiring adequate management control. Therefore, this study illustrates how manufacturers design the MCS of supplier relations in the manufacturing phase of the supply chain, which we refer to as â€Å"manufacturer-supplier relationships† (MSRs). In other words, we abstract from 3  procurement and R&D influences. 1 Nevertheless, management control research on previous supply chain stages, offers a first theoretical insight into how a MCS for MSRs could look like. In particular, prior empirical research on IORs such as R&D collaboration (Cooper & Slagmulder, 2004), strategic alliances (Dekker 2004) and joint ventures (Kamminga & van der Meer-Kooistra, 2007) found MCSs that combine both formal controls, like outcome controls, and more informal controls, such as trust building. Also the execution of service outsourcing projects, like industrial maintenance (van der Meer-Kooistra & Vosselman, 2000), IT (Langfield-Smith & Smith, 2003) and accounting (Nicholson, Jones & Espenlaub, 2006) is governed by a combined MCS. So if we assume these findings to hold for other IOR types (external validity) and neglect potential characteristic differences, MSRs could be expected to be governed by a combination of formal and informal control as well. Yet, by taking into account differences between MSRs and other types of IORs, the MCS design could be different. In that respect, we argue that manufacturing is more formal than procurement and R&D. Indications for that argument and its consequences for management control can be found in the management control framework of Das & Teng (2001). Based on the variables in their framework2, task programmability and outcome measurability, it should be clear that for manufacturing both variable levels are high, or at least higher than in the case of procurement and R&D. Consequently, the framework indicates that formal controls are suited mechanisms to govern MSRs. This argument is strengthened by the type of knowledge usage in MSRs, for which organization literature provides a clear distinction between knowledge exploration and knowledge exploitation. On the one hand, it is argued that the first supply chain phases, think of procurement and R&D, aim at knowledge exploration, while the later stages, like manufacturing, primarily 1 Obviously, procurement and R&D do impact the manufacturing phase. Yet, as our aim is refining supplier MCS design in the  manufacturing phase, we deliberately exclude these influences. In terms of research methodology, this abstraction is put into operation by studying a MSR between a manufacturer facility and supplier facility only dealing with manufacturing, while procurement and R&D are handled by their respective mother companies (cf part three of this paper â€Å"research methodology†). 2 Although this framework was originally developed by Ouchi (1979) for use in MCS design within organizations, Das & Teng (2001) further adapted it for use in IORs. Task programmability refers to the degree to which managers understand the transformation process in which appropriate behaviour is to take place. Outcome measurability refers to the ability to measure outcome precisely and objectively. When outcome measurability is high/low and task programmability is low/high, formal outcome/behaviour control should be set up to govern the relation. When both dimensions are low, informal control is preferable, but when both measures are high, both outcome and behaviour control are suited control mechanisms (Das & Teng, 2001). 4  aim at knowledge exploitation. On the other hand, research shows that the exploration of knowledge is best governed by informal controls, while knowledge exploitation is most adequately controlled by formal controls (Bijlsma-Frankema & Costa, 2005). Thus, based on the characteristics of high task programmability, high outcome measurability and knowledge exploitation goals, MSRs could be expected to be governed by primarily formal controls with little informal controls. In other words, the literature offers different management control designs for MSRs regarding the informal control level. Therefore, this study investigates how the MCS of MSRs is designed and how important informal controls are in that design, in particular in IORs between an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and suppliers of outsourced manufacturing activities in the trend-setting automotive industry (cf Womack, Jones & Roos, 1990). An automobile is a complex product manufactured with thousands of components. Consequently, also this industry increasingly outsourced non-core activities and started relying on suppliers to create lower costs. To that end, a variety of supply chain management practices has been implemented, such as lean supply and continuous improvement. Yet, these induce the need for appropriate management control structures and bi-directional communication to organize and manage the relation (Carr & Ng, 1995; Scannell, Vickery & Droge, 2000). In that respect, one particular automaker, namely Toyota, is known for partnering with suppliers, transferring its expertise to help suppliers and installing softer forms of control including trust. To govern the search for continuous improvement in manufacturing, Toyota established the â€Å"Toyota Group† by means of a supplier association, an operations management consulting division and voluntary small group learning teams (Dyer & Nobeoka, 2000). However, practitioner literature (e. g. Automotive News/Automotive News Europe) describes several other automakers governing this search by heavily formalized supplier relations. Contrary to cooperation during procurement and R&D, manufacturing is argued to become much more demanding towards suppliers. Automakers increasingly transfer manufacturing risk and supply responsibility to first-tier suppliers, which results in suppliers delivering to very tight just-in-time and in-sequence schedules (Alford, Sackett & Nelder, 2000). As a result, OEMs install formal controls and supplier improvement techniques, which alert suppliers to the importance of ameliorating supply performance at lower costs. Hence, also automotive practice shows evidence of high and low levels of informal control. Therefore, this study specifically investigates how the MCS of automotive MSRs is designed. Yet, besides illustrating MCS design, this paper contributes to explaining MCS design of automotive 5 MSRs. To our knowledge, little inter-organizational management control research specifically investigated contingency theory’s explicative power in manufacturing. Naturally, several papers study influences on MCS design in production environments, like the impact of manufacturing flexibility (Abernethy & Lillis, 1995), customization and related interdependence (Bouwens & Abernethy, 2000), profit centre strategy (Lillis, 2002), production strategy, production technology and organization (van Veen-Dirks, 2006). However, these studies investigate characteristics explaining MCS design in one organisation, while our study focuses on inter-organizational relations. To that end, we propose a refined theoretical contingency framework based on recent inter-organizational management control theory, but specifically adapted for the manufacturing stage. This framework proposes several contingencies determining the level of risk, which is governed by different levels of management control techniques. In order to illustrate the validity of the framework in practice and answer how and why automakers design their MCS, we perform an in depth case study of the relations between a facility (VCG) of the international OEM Volvo Cars and a selection of its first-tier supplier facilities. The case study provides considerable evidence of three supplier types, namely batch, low value-added just-in-sequence and high value-added just-in-sequence suppliers, visualizing the associations in the framework between contingencies, risks and management controls. These controls include both formal and informal techniques, of which trust building and social pressure are highly valued. Most notably, VCG’s structured supplier team functions as a clan and establishes informal control among participating suppliers, which strengthens control on the OEM’s dyadic supplier relations. As our framework draws on case findings from other less formal IORs, it seems that our case findings offer more evidence of their external validity. That way, the findings contradict that informal controls play a minor role in automotive MSRs. In particular, VCG’s MCS, combining both formal and informal controls, is argued to be designed specifically to improve supply performance. The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. In the second part, we develop the theoretical contingency framework. The third part describes the case research methodology. The fourth part is the actual case study, which presents VCG, describes three supplier types by means of contingency levels and clarifies how VCG designed the MCS governing them. In the fifth part, we discuss our findings by comparing VCG’s management control with previous findings and elaborating on the significance of VCG’s supplier team. We conclude the paper with a summary of the main findings and some avenues for further research. 6 2. Theoretical framework In this part, we develop a theoretical contingency framework for MCS design of MSRs, which can be found in figure I. > Contingency theory originated with the aim of explaining the structure of organizations by particular circumstances. Later, management accounting researchers adopted and further developed the theory in order to explain the shape of MCSs in organizations (e. g. Chenhall, 2003; Luft & Shields, 2003). Therefore, contingency theory suits this study, regarding MCS design of MSRs and its explicative variables. The central concept of the framework is the level of risk a certain MSR runs. Inter-organizational management control theory proposes two types of risk, which result from five different situational antecedents, characterizing the MSR. Although we clarify both risk types separately, we stress the integrative interpretation of all contingencies jointly determining both levels of risk. Subsequently, this risk is governed by different management control instruments, either with a large or a small role for informal control. 3 2. 1. Performance risk The first risk type is performance risk, defined as the probability of not achieving the MSR objectives, despite satisfactory cooperation (Das & Teng, 2001). This type of risk is also referred to as â€Å"coordination requirements† (Dekker, 2004; Gulati & Singh, 1998) or â€Å"the mastery of events† (Tomkins, 2001). As the MSR objective concerns manufacturing as many products of the order book as possible, on time, with good quality at the lowest possible cost, performance risk is the risk of a supply chain interruption disturbing the realisation of this goal. Three contingencies related to technology increase this risk, namely complexity, task uncertainty and task interdependence (Chenhall, 2003). Yet as complexity and task uncertainty are highly related (Chenhall, 2003), the framework does not include complexity separately (cf Dekker, 2004). 3 According to van Veen-Dirks (2006), all situational characteristics and MCS characteristics are determined jointly instead of sequentially. Also Kamminga & van der Meer-Kooistra (2007) propose that the influence of contingencies is not determined by each antecedent as such, but by their interaction. In addition, they suggest studying control as an integrative concept, in which all control dimensions are incorporated. Consequently, we do not propose one-on-one associations between one specific contingency, one specific type of risk and one specific type of control, suggested to suit that risk type. Instead, our model simultaneously studies the associations between situational contingencies, risks and management control techniques, as put forward by the three boxes of figure I. The boxes of contingencies and risks are put together to stress their interdependence and joint impact on management control. 7 Task uncertainty relates to variability in transformation tasks and the available knowledge of methods for performing those tasks (Chenhall, 2003). This situational characteristic determines the measurability difficulty of output and activities (Kamminga & van der Meer-Kooistra, 2007; van der MeerKooistra & Vosselman, 2000), which increases with increasing levels of complexity of both the delivered product and its operational processes (Woodward, 1965). The first complexity is related to the added value of the product and gradually increases depending on whether the supplier delivers a standard component or an important customized module (Cooper & Slagmulder, 2004). The second complexity regards the added value of the production process and reflects the complexity of the supplier’s manufacturing processes needed to effectively produce and deliver products as required. Task interdependence refers to the degree to which subactivities of the value creation process have been split up and made dependent on each other (Dekker, 2004). In MSRs, this interdependence is sequential (Thompson, 1967)4, because the relation involves transferring the supplier’s output to the manufacturer’s input process. The level of sequential interdependence is impacted by the dependence level of the manufacturer’s operational performance on the supply quality (timeliness and product quality). Moreover, the interdependence level of a specific MSR is influenced by the production flexibility required from both parties and the manufacturer’s lack of precise knowledge to perform activities previously done in-house. 2. 2. Relational risk The second type of risk is relational risk, implying the probability of not having satisfactory cooperation because of opportunistic behaviour of the supplier, exemplified in shirking, cheating, distorting information and appropriating resources (Das and Teng, 2001). This type of risk is also referred to as â€Å"appropriation concerns† (Dekker, 2004; Gulati & Singh, 1998) or â€Å"the generation of trust† (Tomkins, 2001). Transaction cost economics (TCE) theory5 proposes three contingencies that influence relational risk and subsequently determine appropriate control: asset specificity, environmental uncertainty and transaction frequency (Williamson, 1979). Yet, as the manufacturer possesses no specific assets related to a certain supplier, at 4 Thompson (1967) identifies three levels of task interdependence from low to high, which influence the level of inter-organisational coordination and communication: pooled, sequential and reciprocal interdependence. 5 TCE argues that parties are only boundedly rational and behave opportunistically. Therefore, the total cost of outsourcing is the sum of both the supplied component costs and the transaction costs, including costs for negotiation, drawing up contracts, coordination, control and risk of opportunistic behaviour (van der Meer-Kooistra & Vosselman, 2000). 8 least not in the manufacturing phase of the supply chain, there is no lock-in to supplier opportunistic behaviour. 6 Hence, unlike uncertainty and transaction frequency, asset specificity does not influence supplier opportunistic behaviour in MSRs and is not included in our theoretical framework. Consistent with being a central contingency research concept, environmental uncertainty also forms a powerful characteristic of MSRs (Chenhall, 2003). In particular, this contingency relates to general market uncertainties and uncertainty about unknown future contingencies (Kamminga & van der Meer-Kooistra, 2007; Langfield-Smith & Smith, 2003; van der Meer-Kooistra & Vosselman, 2000). Because manufacturer and supplier interact under these uncertainties, both parties face changes over time, which require detailed contracts (Dekker, 2004). However, incomplete contract theory argues that there exist limitations in drawing up complete contracts, because all future contingencies can not be foreseen, are too expensive to foresee or are too expensive or impossible to contract upon (Gietzmann, 1996). Consequently, the combination of uncertainty and incomplete contracts leads to potential opportunistic behaviour of the supplier. According to TCE, more frequent interactions lower the possibility of opportunistic behaviour (Williamson, 1979). So, to preserve a positive relation between contingencies and relational risk, we could utilize infrequency as contingency variable (e. g. Anderson & Dekker, 2005). Yet, as we study MSRs with no connection to commercial negotiations determining the contract term, we include the antecedent relational stability aim. This contingency relates to the manufacturer’s aim of continued future interactions with the supplier and serves to build bilateral commitment (Cooper & Slagmulder, 2004). We argue that MSRs, in which relational stability is considered necessary and thus aspired by the manufacturer, are subject to higher relational risk. For example, if supplier switching costs are high due to high interdependence, high commitment from the manufacturer could incite the supplier to accept lower quality or delivery performance. Besides including a transaction environment characteristic and a transaction characteristic, we also incorporate a transaction party characteristic (Langfield-Smith & Smith, 2003; van der Meer-Kooistra & Vosselman, 2000). In particular, we include supplier knowledge importance, which encompasses the degree of importance for the manufacturer to know the supplier and to be able to assess characteristics, such as management competence, trustworthiness and willingness to share proprietary knowledge. Usually, this kind of assessment is done by means of first-hand or second-hand experience. Hence, we argue that when the 6 Obviously, suppliers do have specific assets in place, rendering them vulnerable to opportunistic behaviour from the part of the manufacturer. However, this study and the developed theoretical framework only focus on supplier opportunistic behaviour. 9 importance of supplier knowledge rises, the risk for insufficient or erroneous assessment and subsequent supplier opportunistic behaviour increases. 2. 3. Management control system Although MCSs have been conceptualised and categorised in various ways, the current management control literature has reached a consensus on two types of management controls, namely formal and informal control instruments (Langfield-Smith & Smith, 2003). Obviously, studying the usage of informal controls compared to formal controls requires both control types to be included in the theoretical framework. Formal controls are explicitly set up to coordinate the MSR and include outcome controls and behaviour controls. Outcome control involves the measurement and evaluation of the outcomes of operations against pre-defined outcomes or targets, by using several performance measurement techniques (Ouchi, 1979; Dekker, 2004). The most important outcome metrics for MSRs are percentage of defects, quality of delivered goods and on time delivery of goods (Gunasekaran, Patel & McGaughey, 2004). Behavioural control concerns the specification and actual surveillance of behaviour, by means of rules and standard procedures (Ouchi, 1979). Additionally, behaviour control includes evaluating compliance with pre-specified planning, procedures, rules and regulations (Dekker, 2004). Informal controls (also called social controls) are not explicitly designed, but are grown out of shared norms and values, shaped by frequent interaction, meetings and management attitude (Ouchi, 1979; Merchant, 1998). Especially trust building7 has emerged as a very important informal control instrument in inter-organizational MCSs (e. g.Dekker, 2004). While formal controls reduce the risk by altering the incentives for underperformance and opportunistic behaviour, trust mitigates risk by minimizing the fear of underperformance and opportunistic behaviour to occur (Das and Teng 2001). Therefore, we include three types of inter-organizational trust building, namely building contractual trust, competence trust and goodwill trust (Sako, 1992). 8 Contractual trust results from previous contractual relations or grows during the MSR 7 Rousseau, Sitkin, Burt & Camerer (1998, p. 394). Define trust as â€Å"a psychological state comprising the intention to accept  vulnerability, based upon positive expectations of the intentions or behaviour of another†. According to them â€Å"trust is not a behaviour (cooperation), or a choice (e. g. taking a risk), but an underlying psychological condition that can cause or result from such actions† (Rousseau et al. , 1998, p. 395; italics added). As such, trust in itself can not be a control instrument in the MCS of MSRs. Instead, the control techniques are the actions the manufacturer performs to create and build trust in the supplier. 8 Contractual trust is based on the expectation that the supplier will keep promises and comply with agreements made, whether these10 (Sako, 1992). Competence trust is increased by previous good performance, i. e. good quality and delivery results. Moreover, competence trust results from buying activities from reputable suppliers or transferring competences to the supplier. Additionally, product and/or process certification and process standardisation enhance competence trust (Sako, 1992). To develop goodwill trust, Sako (1992) identifies shared values and norms as necessary, but insufficient, as transaction parties also need to show the willingness to be indebted to each other. Gulati (1995) stresses creating and growing an inter-organizational bond of friendship to trigger goodwill trust (Gulati, 1995). Other possible goodwill trust initiators are interactive goal setting, trustworthiness reputation and a long term relationship (Dekker, 2004). Next to these specific trust building mechanisms, the literature also proposes an important overall trust building technique, namely close interaction, based on mutual interests and established by means of joint decision making and joint problem solving via a joint relationship board and/or joint task groups (Das & Teng, 2001; Dekker, 2004). 9 Besides trust building, MSRs can be governed by another type of informal control, which Ouchi (1979) refers to as clan control. Based on shared norms, values and a common inter-organizational goal, supplier behaviour in the interest of the MSR will be reinforced, because suppliers are motivated to achieve the goal (Das & Teng, 2001). This incentive results from inter-organisational social pressure (Spekle, 2001) exerted by the manufacturer, which we believe is social control in its literal meaning. Because of high interdependence between manufacturer and supplier, below standard results of the supplier directly impact the manufacturer’s performance. Consequently, supplier management is unpleasantly confronted with manufacturer management and faces personal humiliation because of the error. Additionally, supplier management runs the risk of their reputation and personal relationship with interacting manufacturer management getting injured. Also Dyer & Singh (1998) mention reputation and personal relations as social control mechanisms, besides norms and trust. By acting as negatively valued social sanctions (Bijlsma- are contractually stipulated or not. Competence trust concerns the expectation that the supplier possesses the necessary technical and managerial competences to deliver the order as agreed. Goodwill trust regards the expectation that the supplier shares an open commitment, with the willingness to perform activities beneficial to the MSR, but possibly neither in the supplier’s interest nor required by the contract (Sako, 1992). 9 Other potential overall trust building techniques in a MSR are communication via regular inter-organizational meetings (Chalos & O’Connor, 2004; Das & Teng, 2001), information sharing of problem areas (Chalos & O’Connor, 2004), supplier development activities (Carr & Ng, 1995), networking (Das & Teng, 2001), training (Chalos & O’Connor, 2004) and the extent to which the employees of both parties understand the factors ensuring the collaboration’s future success (Chalos & O’Connor, 2004). 11 Frankema & Costa, 2005), these social consequences create incentives for satisfactory supplier performance and render supplier opportunism hard to sustain (Spekle, 2001). If we assume operational snags to be day-today business in MSRs, this social pressure creates an informal means to mitigate risk in MSRs. 3. Research methodology 3. 1. Case study research The empirical part of this paper is based on an in depth case study, which is an investigation of a real life phenomenon, relying on multiple sources of evidence and benefiting from prior development of theoretical propositions (Yin, 1994). This research method suits our research that concerns refining existing interorganizational management control theory for the relatively under-explored manufacturing phase of the supply chain. 10 According to Keating (1995), such theory refinement needs a clear theoretical starting point, supplemented with openness to the discovery of unexpected findings. To balance these theory attachment and detachment requirements, we developed a theoretical framework to guide the data collection, but at the same time used data collection techniques allowing sufficient openness. Furthermore, several interorganizational management control case studies (e. g. Cooper & Slagmulder, 2004; Dekker, 2004; Kamminga & van der Meer-Kooistra, 2007; Nicholson et al. , 2006) strengthen the argument that cases allow investigating in detail the structure and influencing variables of IORs (Sartorius & Kirsten, 2005). These studies show that theory refinement of MCS design can be adequately investigated by means of qualitative research. The social meaning of inter-organizational MCSs, especially regarding the use and interpretation of informal controls, and the subsequent behaviour of companies and employees is very complex. So if we only skim the surface, we will never discover how different parties interpret certain IORs and whether the MCS is designed accordingly. This argument not only justifies the choice for a case study, but also forms the reason 10 Our research corresponds to investigating a complex phenomenon within its real life context of which empirical evidence is rather limited, and answering how and why questions about this phenomenon, for which case study research is most suited (Eisenhardt, 1989; Yin, 1994). Furthermore, Keating (1995) argues that case studies suit three goals and that our theory refinement goal represents the middle ground between theory discovery (describing novel phenomena) and theory refutation (disconfirming well specified theories by bringing in negative evidence). More specifically, our case research is of the theory illustration type, documenting â€Å"previously unappreciated aspects of management accounting practice† and identifying â€Å"aspects of the illustrated theory that require reformulation or more rigorous specification† (Keating, 1995, p.71). Indeed, the goal of this study is to illustrate how manufacturers design supplier MCSs, to what extent this design differs from designs in other IORs and how the design can be explained by means of a specifically adapted theoretical framework. 12 why more of this research is requested (e. g. Langfield-Smith & Smith, 2003; Dekker, 2004; van der MeerKooistra & Vosselman, 2006). 3. 2. Unit of analysis In most inter-organizational studies, the unit of analysis is one dyadic relation between two independent parties (van der Meer-Kooistra & Vosselman, 2006). Since there exist different dyadic MSRs within one manufacturer and we study MCS’s dependence on relationship contingencies, our unit of analysis consists of specific MSRs. Dyer & Singh (1998) explicitly propose the â€Å"relational view†, focusing on the buyer-supplier dyad, as opposed to the â€Å"industry structure view† and â€Å"resource based view†, when analyzing cooperative strategy and sources of inter-organizational competitive advantage. In order to answer the proposed research questions concerning MSR MCS design, we analyzed all relations after the manufacturer had decided to outsource the manufacturing activities. In other words, we addressed neither the make-or-buy decision nor related commercial negotiations, but collected data from the start of production onwards. Furthermore, we only gathered data on standard MCSs for MSRs with good operational performance. 3. 3. Case company selection The selection of the case company and its suppliers was influenced by two selection concerns: theoretical sampling (Eisenhardt, 1989), and open and flexible access to.