The Working Girls

Women are entering the labor market in greater numbers and are staying in it longer and for a larger proportion of their work lives (Looking 1996). When asked what they want, women respond in survey after survey† â€Å"pay equity,† â€Å"better wages,† or â€Å"more money† (Looking 1996). In other words, women believe they are not being paid what they are worth (Looking 1996). This is a common response up-and down the income spectrum, â€Å"women from the executive suite to the factory floor, from the office to the washroom,† all feel that they are underpaid (Looking 1996). During the 1970's, women earned 59 percent of what men earned, and today they generally earn approximately 72 percent of what men earn (Looking 1996). However, although women's earnings have risen, about 3/5 of the narrowing of the gap is due to the fall in men's real earnings (Looking 1996). Moreover, the wage gap grows as women and men age, the gap is relatively small for young women and men, but thereafter men's wages increase sharply while women's do not (Looking 1996). In fact, the average woman in her working prime, in her early forties, makes only about the same as a man in his late twenties (Looking 1996). About fifteen years ago, it all seemed possible, to â€Å"bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan, split the second shift with some sensitive New Age man,† however slowly the upbeat work-life rhythm has changed for professional women (Wallis 2004). Although many countries have given women the right to maternity leave and, sometimes, generous subsidies for child care, and some have even initiated a 35-hour workweek, however, the norm for most executives is still 50 hours a week for women (Wallis 2004). According to Catalyst, a U. S. esearch and consulting group, the average number for executives in the U. S. is roughly 70 hours a week (Wallis 2004). And for dual-career couples with children, the combined work hours have grown from 81 hours a week in 1977 to 91 hours per week in 2002, according to the Families and Work Institute (Wallis 2004). The U. S. Census data reveal an increase in stay-at-home moms who hold graduate or professional degrees, these are the very women who seemed destined to blast through the glass ceiling, yet 22 percent of them are home with their children (Wallis 2004). A study by Catalyst found that one in three women with M. B. A. s are not working full-time, compared to one in twenty of their male peers (Wallis 2004). Sylvia Ann Hewlett, economist and author at Columbia University in New York City, who sees a brain drain throughout the top 10 percent of America's labor force, says â€Å"What we have discovered in looking at this group over the last five years is that many women who have any kind of choice are opting out† (Wallis 2004). According to a new study released in March 2006 by Accenture, a global management consulting company, women executives around the world still face an uphill battle in workplace equality, despite significant gains during the past ten years (Most 2006). The study, entitled â€Å"The Anatomy of the Glass Ceiling: Barriers to Women's Professional Advancement,† is based on a survey of 1,200 male and female executives in eight countries (Most 2006). The respondents were asked to score factors they believed influenced their career success across three dimension: individual (career planning, competence, assertiveness, etc. , company (supportive supervisors, transparent promotion processes, etc. ), and society (equal rights, government support of parental leave, etc. ) (Most 2006). The differences between male and female respondents' answers were sued to calculate the current â€Å"thickness† of the glass ceiling, a term used to describe an unacknowledged barrier that prevents women and other minorities from achieving positions of power or responsibility in their professions (Most 2006). According to the study, 30 percent of women executives and 43 percent of male executives believe that women have the same opportunities as men do in the workplace, thus supporting the existence of a glass ceiling (Most 2006). Although there has been some progress in shattering the glass ceiling over the past twenty years, organizations and societies need to understand how important it is to capitalize and build upon the skills of women (Most 2006). In the Bem Sex Role Inventory, researcher Pamela Butler focused questions on real problems women face in changing stereotypical perceptions (Merrick 2000). According to Butler, there is intense pressure for professional women to conform to stereotypical roles such as â€Å"cheerfulness,† â€Å"tenderness,† and even â€Å"gullibility† (Merrick 2000). As women move into management in increasing numbers, it has become more apparent that these stereotypical beliefs ten to limit their advancement (Merrick 2000). The ‘Catch 22' is that when women try strategies of gender-reversal and adopt the so-called male characteristics, they often find that they face another set of problems, that of alienation and hostility, because as Butler points out, becoming one of the boys is harder than it looks (Merrick 2000). According to Butler, it takes cooperation from peers on the job to make strategies work, because research shows that attitudes held by those around a woman, even herself, hinder working relationships between women and men, and these attitudes ultimately are realized in losses of productivity and of real dollars to organizations (Merrick 2000). The purpose of Butler's research was to explore the ethics of perpetuating gender stereotypes in management, and to investigate how the woman manager operates under the system with feminine traits that are perpetuated by socialization and, vice versa, as well as how she operates under the system when she adopts masculine traits that break gender roles (Merrick 2000). The choices of leadership styles pose ethical dilemmas for women, because to get along, the new-age woman manager often finds that she has to act one way on the outside while being driven by a very much different psyche on the inside (Merrick 2000). Moreover, she may discover that in the same way, her male colleagues act toward her one way on the outside yet feel very much differently about her on the job (Merrick 2000). The new-age woman manager also might find herself playing a cruel double game in which she is utilized to show the organization has non-discriminatory hiring practices, â€Å"and at the same time she find she has to handle covert hostility from her colleagues in the workplace, who feel they have been forced to work with her to avoid trouble with the powers that be† (Merrick 2000). Data collected by L. K. Brown reveals that 5 percent of the total worldwide managers in 1947 were women, while only 6 percent of all managers in 1978 were women (Merrick 2000). In the United States, the figures were 14 percent in 1947, compared to 22 percent thirty years later (Merrick 2000). However, most of the managerial positions held by women are in the fields of health administration, building supervision and restaurant management, meaning there are more women managers in fields that have traditionally been perceived women's work (Merrick 2000). A survey carried out by Fortune, found that only ten of 6,400 people who worked at managerial positions in 1,300 of the nation's largest companies were women (Merrick 2000). Moreover, according to Brown, only 3 percent of women managers in the United States earn more than $25,000 annually (Merrick 2000). Brown concludes that larger companies are not promoting women on a large scale, and that women seeking top management posts may prefer smaller companies instead of large male-dominated companies (Merrick 2000). According to a Canadian survey, 55 percent believe that it is easier for men to advance in the workplace than women, and 42 percent of female executives who were surveyed believe that gender-based discrimination will never completely disappear from the workplace (Pollara 2000).

The Relationship Between Managed Care And Prevention

In the fast and extensive changes that come with the evolving health-care systems in the United States, Managed Care organizations are viewed as the new actors in disease prevention and management. There are several reasons why Managed Care organizations should and are involved in disease prevention and management. First, managed care organizations have become the primary source of health care both for beneficiaries of publicly and employer-funded health programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.Statistics show that Managed Care enrollment has jumped from 6 million people in 1976 to 51 million in 1994 (Bektas, 2000). Since Managed Care plans are basically set up as health care insurance policies, this rapid increase that is prevalent even in the present means a greater risk of financial loss due to members getting sick with all kinds of disease. It thus becomes an imperative for Managed Care organizations to provide programs for disease prevention and management in order to minimize pot ential loss. Second, Managed Care plans have historically included prevention.This is embedded in the system’s performance measure as such organizations maintain and develop systems that aim to improve service quality. Thus, a god number of Managed Care organizations use internal performance-measurement and quality-improvement systems like Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) for system oversight and enhancement. Since the primary goal of Managed Care organizations is the health welfare of its clients, it falls incumbent upon them to provide measures for disease management and prevention (Bektas, 2000).Previous preventive measures that Managed Care organizations were involved with include vaccinations, cancer and cholesterol screening, mammography, retina exams for diabetics and prenatal care. Third, since Managed Care organizations are basically representatives of organized care systems, they should take due responsibility for the populations they service. They are accountab le to plan purchasers and individual consumers as well as to federal and state regulatory agencies for outcomes desired of all stakeholders which includes disease prevention.The following are the current measures that Managed Care organizations provide for disease prevention and management. Diseases and Health Care Information Drives Information drives aim to use public awareness to prevent possible undesirable outcomes from occurring. This activity involves tie-ups with business and government institutions where the drives could be launched. Some information drives are launched in public schools while others are held in business districts or company buildings.For its part, The Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound (GHCPS), a Managed Care organization with 486,000 members in Washington and Idaho continues to have information drives on the dangers of smoking, depression detection and management, stress management, and bicycle safety tips for children (Gordon, 2003). Such moves have led to an 8% decrease in smoking prevalence from 1985 to 1994, a 44% increase in the use of proper bicycle safety gear among children from 1987 to 1992 which is cited as the main reason for the 67% decrease in bicycle-related injuries in the same period (Gordon, 2003).Disease Screening Disease screening involves offering free services for routine examinations for common diseases. GHCPS has been involved with launching breast cancer screening programs in the past 12 years and continues to be involved at the present. The programs have yielded a 32% decrease in late-stage breast cancer. This is primarily because the program was able to detect breast cancer in early stages. This led to a 27% increase in survivability of breast cancer patients (Gordon, 2003).United Health plan in Los Angeles is also funding a similar program, they have also included lung and skin cancer screening as well as cholesterol and sugar level monitoring. United Health has reported positive results regarding the se disease screening programs. They determine several cases of abnormal cholesterol and sugar levels on a daily basis which help clients avoid further health risks. Immunization Programs Immunization programs require the procurement, delivery, and administration of necessary vaccines in order to prevent common diseases.These often necessitate tie-ups with pharmaceutical companies and local government. The GHPCS, United Health, and several other Managed Care organizations continually launch immunization programs for childhood and adult vaccinations. The vaccines are for diseases like chicken pox, influenza, hepatitis, typhoid, mumps and measles. Similarly, the National Immunization Program has formed tie ups with several Managed Care organizations to improve preschool children’s vaccination status. The dynamics of this alliance have individual organizations working with public health agencies in conducting CQI initiatives in immunization areas.The main objective is to increase vaccination rates in children up to 24 months of age. The program involves data collection and patient database management, parent education and incentives, and partnerships with both public and private entities for community outreach and immunization education. Implementation of the program over a 5-year period resulted to the standardization of vaccination records, various information seminars for medical staffs and children’s parents, and a vaccination completion rate that increased to 73% from 55% since the start of the program (Gordon, 2003).Satisfied with the program’s initial success, the National Immunization Program continues its partnership with Managed Care organizations at the present. Breastfeeding Seminars and Pre-natal care Previous studies have shown that breastfeeding significantly increases infant’s immune system and body resistance. This is why United Health also implements a breastfeeding awareness and seminar program that seeks to make wome n who have just given birth or are currently pregnant aware of the advantages of breastfeeding their babies up to two years of age.These seminars also discuss and disprove common misconceptions about breastfeeding and include illustrations on proper breastfeeding in order to minimize discomforts and maximize milk output. These programs have helped increase the prevalence of breastfeeding from only 7% in 1988 to 30% in 1990. Currently, breastfeeding programs have collectively encouraged 65% of American pregnant women to breastfeed for at least 6 months after giving birth (Gordon, 2003). Public Service ClinicsPublic service clinics are situated in key locations within the coverage area of designated Managed Care organizations. Their primary task is to service the immediate community’s basic health care needs. Their objectives include preventing disease outbreaks, providing a venue for other programs such as screening and immunization drives, and administering immediate remedies regardless of health care insurance status. Of the 100,000 people under United Health’s public service clinics, only 65% are Medicaid or Medicare beneficiaries (Gordon, 2003).Conclusion Managed Care organizations have genuine, industry based concern regarding the immediate and long-term disease prevention and management status of the areas that they operate in. This has led them to venturing into a variety of action plans that include information drives, screening and immunization programs, health awareness seminars and public service clinics. These projects show that managed Care organizations are standing up to their responsibility of not merely insuring but also ensuring the health of the American society. References: Gordon, K. (2003). Corporate Responsibility in Managed Care Providers. Howard & Sons: New Jersey. Bektas, Y. (2000). An Analysis of Trends in American Health Care since World War II. Prentice Hall.

Reflections of the Communist Manifesto and the Social Movement Essay

For many, these ideals include national and social institutions, which make up the essence of their government allowing its citizens to identify with the status quo and maintain balance in their society. The question is not which institutions should be valued for most would agree that a proper balance of these make up any government; the main question lies in which institutions a society should value in order to achieve their goal, thus separating the school of thought pertaining to conservative and liberal thinkers. The simple and straightforward institution of a hierarchy comes into play when discussing the ideas of such thinkers. Maintaining a proper government is a delicate and complicated skill only acquired by the educated, rational men set out to implement it. Said skills â€Å"require a deep knowledge of human nature†¦ and of the things which facilitate or obstruct the various ends which are to be pursued by the mechanism of civil institutions† and is the civic duty of only certain members of society. If the government belonged to the State and was the sole property belonging to every individual within that State, there would never be a balance, for not every man is entitled nor has the necessary knowledge to carry out the needs of the State. In other words, not every man in society may acquire these skills in the same way considering some men will be naturally better and faster than others. Specializations do and must exist in society, some belonging to politicians and persons of State, others to farmers and shopkeepers, and others to scholars and true professionals. It is irrational to assume that one would resort to a professor of metaphysics with regards to food or medicine as opposed to a farmer or a physician1. Karl Marx rightfully entertained the idea, however, that the bourgeoisie eliminated industries and institutions (and will continue to do so), laid out by history hundreds of years before, and in doing so created an unstable and fragile ground for the birth of new institutions which would inevitably meet their doom under the control of the ever changing bourgeoisie revolution. In this respect, we should commend Marx, for his insight in the matter justifies the idea that the bourgeoisie revolution was performed rashly and ignorantly with complete disregard for the citizens (other than those pertaining to their own group) that would be affected. All the â€Å"fixed, fast-frozen relations, with their train of ancient and venerable prejudices and opinions are swept away, all new-formed ones become antiquated before they can ossify† and therefore will never maintain what is necessary to carry out a proper, balanced government. These barbaric groups of individuals only take into account their personal gain; they always seek and will seek the best way to take advantage of their political power. We must acknowledge that, as opposed to the godless society that socialism proposes under what seems like an imaginative state of mind, the bourgeoisie still maintain the stratification system that any society would be lost without. However, this system means very little without the hard-earned and well established institutions which lasted centuries, pleased millions and most importantly survived the test of time when even the greatest of men could not. With said institutions displaced, there are none to replace them for â€Å"no simple disposition or direction of power can be suitable either to man’s nature, or to the quality of his affairs† which makes the bourgeoisie unprepared and simply unfit to compose a brand new government to fill the hole left in current society. Marx justly shames the bourgeois State for not only eradicating long standing institutions. And I venture further in shaming them, for â€Å"our institutions can never be embodied†¦ so as to create in us love, veneration, admiration, or attachment†¦. [And] that sort of reason which banishes the ffections is incapable of filling their place†3. To think that a group of selfish, barbaric, rash individuals can enhance a government that was built on devotion and respect is a false assumption of all that is reasonable. Granted, Karl Marx would do away with all forms of stratification, but he still recognizes one of the greatest faults in th e current regime: the bourgeoisie â€Å"has reduced the family relation to a mere money relation†. It has converted our most sacred institution into a power- and production-gaining scheme where arrogance is encouraged and love for our country blatantly dejected. Marx firmly believed that the entirety of the working class was to unite and create a communal system in which every man is entitled the fruits of other men’s labor and vice-versa. This view includes the idea that all property is communal and that man has no country, meaning all major aspects of current economy should belong to the State. Hard working men fulfill their duty for all of society to benefit and no one particular man would be deemed to work better, faster, or for a higher wage than another man, in any form (through wages, property or social status). Simple measures must be implemented in order to win the battle of democracy which include, among others, the removal of all private property and the appropriation of all rents of land to the State, the â€Å"abolition of all rights of inheritance† and the centralization of the State, where all assets pertaining to individuals are to turnover to the government. Thus, property is the least of concerns for the citizen, allowing him to concentrate on providing for the State and continuing the honorable day’s work with shoulders free of the burden of property. Once this is achieved, the opportunity for one class to gain influence or to oppress another, is abolished and with it the concept of political power and class distinction. Such is the view of the communist thinker: a delusional and imagined society where all that is needed for its success is the simple division of all property and the encouragement of camaraderie between all working men. But a decent, well educated thinker would easily disprove this idiotic belief. Property is one of the best traditional institutions. It allows for diversity in classes where by nature, no one can or should be equal. One cannot deny that a man’s natural rights â€Å"exist in total independence† of government and therefore there is no need for its interference in the most sacred of rights: private property. This distinction, granted from birth is, in the views of a sane mind, â€Å"neither unnatural, nor unjust, nor impolitic†7. In simpler words, the right to private property provides, for the stabilization of the State as a whole, security for those entitled to family wealth. The family, one of the strongest and most important traditional institutions in present-day society, depends on â€Å"the power of perpetuating property [for it is]†¦ one of the most valuable and interesting circumstances belonging to it, and that which tends the most to the perpetuation of society itself†7. Without the appropriation of property to the rightful group, the institution composed of family and its values is dissolved. Any paradigm advocating the abolition of property and the removal of family values cannot act as the basis for a successful government. There must be a deprivation of the power to subdue the labor of others through the unequal distribution of products, they say, but â€Å"let [the] large proprietors be†¦the ballast in the vessel of the commonwealth† to allow for balance in society so men can understand the value of their work and the importance of their family. Revolutionaries of any breed, the bourgeois or the socialists, must learn that stomping their feet in protest will merely cause them pain against the cold, stone ground. That is to say, only a well educated, pious, well mannered people should and must control a government to guide and protect the ignorant minds of its subjects for â€Å"even in the mass and body as well as in the individuals, the inclinations of men should frequently be thwarted, their will controlled, and their passions brought into subjection†9. We simply cannot allow a group of uneducated, irrational men to control a government meant for an elite, highly educated and well mannered society. For this very reason, not only is the bourgeoisie unfit to rule society but also the socialist party must be prevented from assuming any sort of political influence on the State. The current state of affairs is an utter disgrace where inferior, mechanical and unlearned men have the fate their peers in their hands. If Marx’s socialists were to have their way, society will meet its doom much faster and under more shame than if any other form of barbaric, rashly driven group were in its place. The pride and essence of any government or institution relies on a well established, patient and fitting group of individuals for â€Å"it is [this] substance and mass of the body which constitutes its character, and must finally determine its direction†10. Marx’s socialists are merely workers, petty wage-laborers that rely on a week’s work for a day’s subsistence; the very same people that cloud the streets in filth, spread disease and would barely be able to make out the headline of a newspaper. To even slightly entertain the idea that such a group is equal or shares the same sensibilities and needs that accompany a respectable and cultured man throughout his day, is preposterous. And to venture further into saying that the work of every man, regardless of merit or education or natural social status, shall be uniformly divided amongst every participant and no one man shall acquire more or less than the man next to him, is an even more appalling idea than the latter. To substitute an ignorant bourgeois regime, â€Å"we shall have an association, in which the free development of each is the condition for free development of all† and where the stratification of class shall be abolished. Is this really the rational conclusion men have come to? Have we no faith or hope for the progress and rightful place of the well respected man in society? That in order for our world to succeed, we must work for the benefit of godless men who have no filial or patriotic attachment to any substance of value and who regard proper morals as a form of subjection? This so called proletariat class of unskilled or semiskilled workers will shortly meet its demise for even throughout the leadership of the great royal family, one could easily identify the greed and avarice in the eyes of the lower class and surely a concentrated group of these people with a shameless lack of education and culture will stray into the hands of said petty feelings once more if only given the opportunity. We cannot entrust and put forth our most sacred ideals and morals in the hands of those who know not what they are or what to do with them. Simply put, â€Å"by having a right to every thing, they [will] want every thing† and thus we can expect they will take from those who respectfully and naturally obtained their fortune, both material and otherwise. The irrational concept of socialism and the so called solution to the bourgeois problem is clearly and undoubtedly the offspring of uneducated and cold hearted thought. We cannot expect for such decisions to comply with the proper and just ideas behind a successful government and we certainly cannot accept those who wish to implement it under the pretence that we are all equal and should strive for a communal society. Class stratification maintains the balance and social order of the strongest of governments and institutions and should never be compromised to fulfill the greedy wants and arrogant needs of the uneducated, unfit and socially incompetent lower class. We must keep in mind that these people have no regard for our values, morals, property, attachments, or ideals. They want to take our land and our possessions, in the process destroying the essence of each of our families and the great institutions which they represent, and divide it equally amongst those of lower rank in order to claim, dominate and revoke the traditions which so peacefully maintained social order throughout history. These godless, soulless beings merely want to abolish all that our ancestors spent centuries to build and replace it with the irrational concept of socialism which will inevitably collapse and leave no trace or strand of hope for those of us remaining faithful to the suitable and just form of social standards. Burke would agree that the bourgeoisie destroys long standing institutions. â€Å"All fixed, fast-frozen relations, with their train of ancient and venerable prejudices and opinions are swept away, all new-formed ones become antiquated before they can ossify† (manifesto pg 6) And yet disagree with Marx’s theory on how to solve this The question is what kind of institutions we ought to value, and it is in this field that conservative thinkers stake out positions that separate them from liberals and libertarians alike.

Ethics Handbook Essay

We chose you as an employee of Company X because we see you as a valuable person who can contribute to the same priority. As a team member of Company X, are goals are clear. Through public respect, responsiveness, and accountability as our core values, we are able to remain leaders in the industry. The success of our company is dependent on you, our stakeholders, and our customers. We take great pride in our reputation in the industry and continually monitor ourselves for ways we can improve business for our clients, stakeholders, policymakers, and the general public, both local and national. Our reliability is measured through our commitment to delivering service with integrity and through honorable conduct. Because we are at the forefront of public service, we are judged on our choices and decisions. Our reputation is based on the public’s view of our commitment to ethical business practices and our respect for society. As an organization we aim to maintain active engagement in ethical behavior that promotes social responsibility in everyday practices. This is where you come in as an employee. We encourage all employees to actively participate in community outreach and events that foster both your own growth and the growth of social values. Company X will reward this activity if accompanied with ethical decision making by increasing promotion opportunities and/or allowing this experience to be counted in your job description. If you are interested in this opportunity, see Human Resources for a list of approved community outreach opportunities. Company X Values It is the policy of Company X to embrace ethical behavior through clear communication of the laws, rules and expectations that are defined in this code of ethics. In addition, Company X values accountability for good ethical choices and socially respected behavior. We rely on every member to evaluate their own behavior and conduct respectable business through solid every day decision making. Ethics are not fixed, and subject to interpretation through each and every interaction between everyone involved. Because value s and ethical decision making can be challenging, Company X wants to take some of the pressure off the complexities of making difficult ethical decisions. Therefore, this manual provides directives used to evaluate and interpret best practices in the business environment. In addition, these policies and all regulations including administrative actions, apply to all staff  members, contractors, and volunteers and are strictly enforced (see section Member Misconduct).The manual also contains fixed principles, mandatory training, resources for questionable situations, ethics mentor, anonymous hotline, and resources for situations that may be questionable. A signed copy of this manual will be placed in all member’s personnel file and will be used as reference for future use. Please be sure you understand these policies and procedures before you sign the document. We begin by outlining and defining the standards of social and ethical conduct. In addition to standards of behavior, training is outlined. Training is mandated to all staff employed by Company X. Additional training and resources are offered throughout the year in respon se to the changing needs of the industry and social issues and will be announced semi-annually. Principles of Behavior and Conduct No member, contractor or person acting as a representative shall: Discriminate against clients, coworkers, stakeholders, Accept monetary compensation, services in trade or benefit from any interaction directly or indirectly related to the services provided by company x if the value is determined to be at or above $30. Engage in, use or create an appearance of using official capacity to influence clients stakeholders, or other members for personal or professional gain. Knowingly make statements or take action that is untruthful or can be reasonably determined to be untruthful. Engage either directly or indirectly in political campaigns, nor engage in political conversation with anyone while acting in capacity of Company X business. Retaliate against any member who comes forward with claims of ethical violations. Retaliation is mandatory termination of employment without further warning (see section Member Misconduct). All members contractors, or persons acting as a representative shall: Report all incidents of violations to the Ethics Office. Interact and promote personal integrity, honesty, fairness and confidence in compliance with all laws, rules, policies and regulations both internally and externally. Maintain confidentiality in all interactions. Written, verbal, email, phone. Avoid inappropriate associations with clients or client representatives. Engage, actively encourage and support community involvement through support and reassurance in wrap-around service delivery. Utilize efficient use of resources in such a way that minimizes the impact to the environment (energy and materials). Report suspected, potential, or clear violation of ethical misconduct. All members in the chain of command are held to the same standards. Contractors, and any individual acting in a capacity to officially represent Company X are also required to carry out all actions with an intent to promote public trust, integrity, and confidence. From team members to corporate leaders, we expect the same set of principles through a set model of best practices. Best practices is recognized by asking yourself is this decision going to cause harm to someone, is this situation going to violate law or company policy, is my action going to violate stakeholder values, or compromise my position within my job role? Best practices will help us all to remove some of the risks we might face in everyday decision making by communicating set values, social responsibility and ethical standards for all members. Because best practices is subjective, training and resources will be available to provide leadership and mentoring. We encourage open discussion when personal values and ethi cs might cause conflict or confusion. As a condition of continued employment, mandatory ethics training is provided and monitored (see monitoring ethics section below). Ethics Training Leadership teams attend annual ethics training. Training includes skills to monitor and mentor lower staff. As a result, members can be confident that management is able to provide guidance and support for most ethical decisions. In order to communicate Company X’s policies, values, and changing trends in legal and social ethical issues formal training is required. Company X models this by providing training. As a result, all staff are required to complete the following formal training: In the first month of employment, all staff will go through instructor led training targeted toward individual and group acknowledgement of legal situations, ethical dilemmas, social responsibility and reporting requirements. This interactive training will present scenarios in which employees will make decisions whether ethical violations may or may not have occurred. Independent trainers with local management will evaluate answers and offer answers to difficult scenarios. All staff will take a yearly instructor led course on the history of civil rights and one follow up interactive on line course which presents current social, business and ethical issues in industry. General managers will receive value based ethics training  tailored from annual risk assessment data. The goal is for managers to set modeled behavior and create positive influence. Company X sponsors an annual Industry Standards Town Hall meeting. We value transparency and company input from all of us and our intentions are to provide all of us the opportunity to go over changing social issues, our previous year’s successes and failures, and what can we do to support the values of Company X, our clients, and community partners. Our company will be closed on this day while each of us enjoy a paid day to come and participate in this interactive get together. Member Misconduct Company X recognizes ethical conduct is not always easy to define. We value fairness and strive to provide impartial judgment based on facts and data. All reports of violations are reviewed and judged by an independent review board who will at determination of reported violations, determine consequences and refer cases for criminal prosecution if necessary. Consequences for violation of ethical misconduct will be strictly enforced. Company X has zero tolerance for unethical behavior. Informal and formal offenses will be forwarded to the Ethics Committee for record keeping purposes. Informal counsel for misconduct not related to any act of gross misconduct. This is the preferred method for first time offenses. Formal counsel is written report placed in member file for duration of one year. Two written reports within one year that are found to be validated through investigation will result either in unpaid suspension or immediate termination. Unpaid suspension. Gross negligence results in immediate termination and will be referred for criminal prosecution. Monitoring Auditing and Reporting Video monitoring in central locations where customer interactions will be supervised by an independent contractor. This is to protect you as an employee, protect customer interactions, and protect the interest of Company X. All computer and resource use by all employees is subject to monitoring and will be strictly enforced. IT managers have unlimited access to company owned property. Due to the potential time sensitive situations that may arise, no notice will be given prior to IT management accessing company computers. Team members personnel files will be maintained and include reported violations. These files will be analyzed for trends that can be traced back to departments, leaders, hiring practices, or substandard training. The Ethics Office, and Human Resources do not require your written consent for  release of information related to ethical violations. Semi-annual audits will be conducted on all departments within Company X by the Ethics A udit committee: Anonymous hotline reports will be compiled and reported to the Ethics Audit committee. Plan for Evaluating and Improving the Ethics Program After Implementation. The final results of all data compiled by the Ethics Office will be submitted to Corporate Leadership Committee who will analyze the results in order to evaluate potential changes to Company X’s ethical inventory. Data will also be collected from hotline calls, imposed ethical violations, and employee suggestions. This data will be measured against all complaints, judgments, and lawsuits both within Company X and the industry and be used to revise program standards. Data will also be analyzed and evaluated for ethical issues that need to be integrated in to future training and resources for staff. All staff will complete annual on line â€Å"How Are We Doing?† surveys. Focus groups tailored to each department’s group dynamic will analyze the data and make formal recommendations to the Ethics Office Staff, community and stakeholder input will be collected and analyzed for social and ethical value. The Ethics Office will compile the results from all departments and present the evidence to CEOs and senior management. Middle management and supervisors will be included in the final findings. Training will be adjusted and targeted to cultural, legal, and ethical risk factors. Positive yearly ethical performance evaluations, focus group opportunities, and promotional opportunities will be tied to annual employee review. Help and Resources Here at Company X we recognize that some ethical situations may be complex or blurred. Additionally, we recognize that the difficult decision to come forward with information against coworkers may prevent reporting incidents that need investigation. Furthermore, ethical decisions are often confusing and require complex decision making. We are here to help. Furthermore, if you have questions about your own decisions, questions about an incident, or just want to ask questions, we want to support you. For this reason, we provide an anonymous phone line that allows members to report violations, present questions and trouble shoot challenging scenarios. Ethics Office 360-555-1212 staffed by trained ethics officer. Anonymous hotline 360-555-4242 State Office of Ethics 1-999-555-2323 Federal Office of Ethics  1-777-555-7878 We provide annual reports of imposed ethics violations and the penalties imposed. Here is the link to www.companyx/ethics/reports.com I have read and understand the policies and ethical standards set for Company X. I am aware a signed copy of this policy will be placed in my team member personnel file.

Car is dangerous Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Car is dangerous - Essay Example Most of these cases occur once children are left alone in a hot car. Is happens sometimes when the attendant forgets that there were children in the car or when children get into cars without the knowledge of any adult. Within a few minutes the children can be in danger (Heat danger in cars: not just a summer problem, 2012). In some instances, parents do not like taking their children in and out of that cumbersome car seat. This is when they argue that they are making a quick belief stop. However, the stakes are very high. According to Christopher McStay, MD who is an emergency room doctor, it is never okay to leave children or pets in a car even when the windows are left down. He says that he has witnessed his share of casualties in the emergency room. According to him, a car is a greenhouse and the temperatures can become very hot in a very short time (Heat danger in cars: not just a summer problem, 2012). According to scientists, on a day that is only 72 degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature in a car may rise by 30 or to 40 degrees within an hour, and more than 70 percent of this increase happens within the first 30 minutes (Grundstein, Dowd & Meentemeyer, 2012). They say that there may be heat stroke which may happen once the body temperature exceeds 104 degrees Fahrenheit. That results to the irresistible temperature of the brain causing dizziness, confusion, agitation, seizure, sluggishness and loss of consciousness or even death (Grundstein, Dowd & Meentemeyer, 2012). The National Highway traffic Safety Administration advises that when one happens to see a child left alone in hot car, the person should call 911 right away. And incase the child is in distress because of heat, they should be removed from the car as fast as possible (Musso, 2014). According to doctors, it is unfortunate that some child carriers make it difficult to know if there is a child in the seat because

Affirmative action Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Affirmative action - Assignment Example Despite this argument, affirmative action has been met by many different views. This paper essay gives an insight on the works written by Pojman and Dworkin on their perception of Affirmative Action. Pojman focused on the moral issue surrounding Affirmative action after the Supreme Court ruled some forms of reverse discrimination constitution (478). He both supports and rejects Affirmative action as he claims that it does carry some moral weight. Pojman examines seven arguments regarding Affirmative Action; first four negative and the next three positive while attempting to explain why Affirmative Action fails. Pojman scorns the compensation argument terming it a distorted notion of compensation (478). He argues that the United States government was not directly involved in slavery and much of the harm done on blacks was as an outcome of private discrimination. Pojman argues that setting quotas in skilled positions and preferential treatments in higher learning institution for Blacks is not the solution since there is no clarity on whether all blacks were harmed in the same way, unjustly harmed, or harmed more than poor whites (478). United States existence in the 17thand 18th century was deeply characterized with slavery and oppression of Blacks, Native Americans and other minority groups (Pojman 479). These groups of people had their land taken from them, provided unpaid labour, were subject to brutal punishments and were denied most of their fundamental rights was stated in the constitution. Pojman claims that the government was not directly involved, but the government gave this private sector the right of ownership over these people and did nothing when their constitutional rights were violated (480). Affirmative action merely offers a way to compensate the descendants for the offences done to their ancestors by neutralizing the competitive disadvantage that Africans Americans continue to suffer

Critically evaulate the view that international organisations and Essay

Critically evaulate the view that international organisations and global governance systems are undemocratic - Essay Example Indeed, it is very much possible to see that global institutions such as International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and World Trade Organisation (WTO) do play an active role in the governance, political and economic organisation of many countries from around the world. Importantly, the issue of deficit of democracy primarily arises from the fact that while the nation states are at least theoretically accountable to the national civil society, the international institutions are accountable to none. All the nation states do not wield equal power in many of the transnational institutions. Moreover, if we look at the internal structure and power balance within, most of the international institutions are tilting towards the rich countries of the Global South. Global Institutions, Global Governance and Lack of Global Democracy The making of accelerated globalisation was characterised by the shift of governance from the national to the global. The nation state is being increasingly chall enged by the forces of globalisation. At present, the democracy is solely expressed through national governments and their institutions. In other words, the national parliament is the only abode of democracy. However, the rise of international organisations has led to their growing clutch on the national economies, politics and policies. It is followed the rise of unaccountable forces of neoliberal capitalism which effectively surpass any idea of national and popular sovereignty. It has led to a kind of global elite consolidation as there exists no world parliament. Still, the absence of world parliament does not automatically translated as the absence of global sovereignty. Global sovereignty certainly exists as the consolidated and concentrated power of global market forces and their institutions. It is primarily because of this lack of democracy within, the meetings of international finance and trade institutions attract huge resistance from activists and political groups from ar ound the world. The voting rights in a major institution such international monetary fund is based on proportional vote wherein ‘one country, one vote’ principle is not followed. On the contrary, countries get their voting rights based on their economic share in the institution. The United States in particular and the West in general are also able to exert disproportional influence in the decision making bodes of IMF and World Bank. One of the major problems with international governance organisations is that they do not directly draw their legitimacy form any popular sources. In other words, the legitimacy of the global institutions is solely depended upon their ability to intervene and act decisively in certain situations and places. Although, there is a lot of talk on the emergence of a global civil society which could effectively counter the lack of democracy in global governance institutions, nothing yet has materialised. Conversely, the so-called global civil soci ety itself is predominantly dominated by many Non Governmental Organisations which are accountable not to the people but to the funding agencies. In the question of transparency too, the status of global transnational organisations is not very different from the global finance or political institutions. Here, the very lack of representation of the voice of the developing