The Legal and Ethical Environment of Business Essay - 1

The Legal and Ethical Environment of Business - Essay Example As the oil industry is directly related to the political setting, it is expected that the takeover of the United States and the Coalition forces since 2003 as well as the new constitution in place will create new opportunities for foreign investors. The Iraqi Constitution of 2005 clearly stipulates the provision of business prospects for international oil companies (IOCs). The global policy forum recognizes this: "In the new setting, with Washington running the show, "friendly" companies expect to gain most of the lucrative oil deals that will be worth hundreds of billions of dollars in profits in the coming decades. The new Iraqi constitution of 2005, greatly influenced by US advisors, contains language that guarantees a major role for foreign companies" (Oil in Iraq 2006). DWI can take advantage of this by pursuing oil exploration in Iraq. This new venture is expected to raise its oil production as well as it revenue and profit. DWI will be able to produce high-grade crude that is extraordinarily cheap to manufacture. In Iraq, discovery and development cost is only $0.5/B and $0.5-$1.0/B, respectively. As the constitution of the new Iraq government is still under establishment, there are no concrete laws which govern the oil industry.

The Loss of a Loved One Essay Example for Free

The Loss of a Loved One Essay The loss of a loved one will leave you feeling empty inside as if the world will never be the same again and nothing will ever be able to heal your pain. The truth is that time heal all wounds and the world keeps going on as if nothing ever happened.When my gran passed away the last thing I really wanted to hear from anyone was that it would get better at time continued, but they were right. Life is too short and you should live everyday as if it was your last because you never know when it could end. June 3rd 2010. Was possibly the worst day of my life. I had found out my gran had died. I felt like my whole world had come crashing down. My gran and I were extremely close. I told her absolutely everything, knowing that she was only ever a phonecall away. After I received the call, I cried a bit. I sat in a daze for a while, thinking about my gran, trying to come to terms with what I had just heard but also trying to stay strong for my little brother who didn’t really know what was going on. Other family members dealt with it in different ways: tears, humour, eating, cooking, cleaning. Some wanted to talk about her. Some wanted to talk about anything else. Some wanted to talk about nothing at all. I had learned that the best thing you can do is take a deep breath and realize that everyone around you is dealing with the same thing you are, in their own way. You just need to be there when others want to talk and back off when they don’t. Also letting go of the bad memor ies is vital. When people pass away, there is a window of opportunity there to let lots of little,petty things go and let the bad memories take a back seat, at least for a little while and just remember the good things, so that you can remember them for the good things and not the bad which helps with the grieving process. And through this ordeal I learnt that people grieve in different ways. I remember waking up on the day of the funeral and feeling slightly odd, not in a bad way because I was sad, but I was happy. Some people may say that I was being selfish for feeling happy but the truth is, I didnt care. I felt as if my gran was in a better place now and watching over my family and I. When the funeral came around, we sat in the church hall listening to everyone’s memories about her and tears came flooding back. But it was amazing to hear that she had changed so many peoples lives and even though she was gone, she would always be in everyones heart forever. As her coffin moved slowly into the blast furnace the hall fell silent, I could hear small weeps from every direction. I managed to choke back my tears. I wanted to stay strong. To show my family that I was coping with my grans sudden death. A few days after the funeral I started feeling depressed, knowing that when I went to visit my granda my gran wouldnt be there. I remember visiting my granda one day after school and sitting in silence, the house was so quiet that you could here a pin drop. When my gran was alive there was never a moments silence, she was always so cheerful no matter how bad her day had been. My granda had asked me if I could get his inhaler from his bedside cabinet in his bedroom. I hesitated before walking into the bedroom, the bedroom which my gran had slept in. The room was as cold as ice, the bed looked as if it hadnt been slept in for a good few days. I threw myself onto their bed and saw a picture of my gran and I on her cabinet and burst into tears. I just missed her so much. I felt as if someone had ripped my heart out, but I know I wasnt the only person feeling like this.I constantly felt like this for weeks like my life wasnt worth living anymore. I just missed her so much, I was always down and rarely ever happy. One day everything got worse, Khloe my cousin had told me that she had actually considered suicide, my 17 year old cousin was thinking about taking her own life because she missed my gran so much. I had tried to talk to my cousin and persuade her to think otherwise and she agreed. I didnt know if she was being genuinely serious or she was just agreeing with me to shut me up. There was something that made me think she was lying. I started getting worried about her, phoning and texting her everyday and night to make sure she was feeling okay. It got to a point where I couldnt handle it anymore I felt as if I had to tell someone, anyone I just had to get it off my chest. I decided that I had to tell my dad. My dad was shocked when I told him what Khloe was considering to do. My dad and I decided to talk to her, luckily we did eventually manage to talk her out of it. My dad had told her that our gran would not have wanted her to be silly and take your her life she would have wanted her to live life to the fullest and enjoy each day as it comes and now when my cousin looks back she realizes just how silly she was to even think of such a thing. From my grans death, our family have grew closer. The family members that I might have only seen at family occasions, I now see them once or twice a month. I personally feel as if I have grown stronger as an individual by this experience.

Our Town Analysis :: essays research papers

Our Town Analysis   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In fact my town does not resemble the setting displayed in this play although I am sure the setting of our ancestors’ towns were much like this one. Back then everybody knew each other and they did not have to lock their doors and they had a strong fear of death and judgement which was indirectly implanted in their religion.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This play was interesting because the representation of death portrayed as being so sudden. When death hit Emily, she suddenly realized how she had wasted her life on earth because they were repeating the same actions everyday of their. She became sad and also regretful that she could not tell her husband George to get on with his life and end this incessant mourning.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The setting is very important because the play is set in a small simple town and it demonstrates the precise actions of people of that time. The setting is special because it is vague therefore it lets your mind imagine the precise details of the scene. This is interesting because you see the scene the way you want it so the author does not need to go into dull descriptions which are not too pleasing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The atmosphere is very obvious in this play because it is one of the most prominent factors in the play itself. In the first act the dominant mood is happiness because everybody is pursuing their normal activities and gossiping and the first act is used to introduce the characters for us to know their attitudes. In the second act the action is sped up and there is a special event which is marriage involves George and Emily. Emily shows a great deal of hesitation and the attendants at the ceremony are discussing the couple and how they were when they were young. In the third act the mood is sorrow and sadness caused by the death of Emily and her reaction at the overview of her own life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The relationship between George and Emily is very evident throughout the whole play. In the first act they shared a boy/girl relationship and were good neighbors.

Ethical Health Care Issues Essay

When working with patients and their families, the health care professionals occasionally will face unpopular and difficult decisions that relates to medical treatments which questions moral issues such as religious beliefs and even professional guidelines of ethical or not. Health care ethics is used as a parameter for staff to exemplify the standards of the proper ethics and provide the imaginary ethics road map to success when speaking to patients and families about choices based on beliefs, values, health, and possibly in the end death. When dealing with moral issues in this manner it becomes even more complex. An example of a conflict of interest with a health care employee can exists when an employee is influenced, whether consciously or unconsciously, by some form of financial or personal gain. This proves their self-interest and lack of morals when it comes to the good of the company. With a profit-driven organization the normal motive for the presence of an ethical struggle is generally linked to some practice of individual economic contemplations. A statement made by the American College of Physicians showed that â€Å"physicians meet industry representatives at the office and at professional meetings, collaborate in community-based research, and develop or invest in health-related industries. In all of these spheres, partnered activities often offer important opportunities to advance medical knowledge and patient care, but they also create an opportunity for the introduction of bias† (Mitnick, 2010). Some professionals are granted privileges that include things like the influence to set scholastic and principled standards. This ability permits the preservation of their competence and creates a trustworthy and ethical employee. Now this employee is beneficial to the patients and the society. Dealing with the territory of patient precaution there are hazards to proficiency and in many situations there are the possibilities for a conflict of interest. Sometimes doctors have relationships with outside companies and when this happens these relationships have the chance to create a conflict of interest when a physician decides to accept some kind of gifts, act as a speaker on behalf of an outside company or if they have some kind of interest financially in a product that will be used inside the hospital. A conflict of interest may arise when a doctor has the chance to be paid for their services. These conflicts will arise when dealing with any kind of payment system while each payment system will have a different concern. Avoiding conflicts of interest The prime targets for conflicts of interest are doctors and nurses. They have the opportunity to receive some form of promotion from pharmaceutical companies and companies that make the medical devices. This is the reason why the health care industry has made some efforts to regulate things. This includes the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America who restructured the standards of behavior for collaborations with the health care specialists in 2009 and the Council of Medical Specialty Societies volunteered a code of ethics on their own in 2010 trying to limit the influence of profit organizations. Even with taking these measures it has been found that many physicians have no problems with accepting free samples of drugs from drug companies through an issue of Archives of Surgery from the June 2010 issue. Also reported was a variety of doctors may find it appropriate to receive free meals. Noncompliance Noncompliance in simple terms is rejecting the actions to a rule of necessity. â€Å"In medicine, the term noncompliance is commonly used in regard to a patient who does not take a prescribed medication or follow a prescribed course of treatment. A person who demonstrates noncompliance is said to be noncompliant† (medicinenet, 2011). In this action we can look at the example here, â€Å"As many as half of ‘failures’ of treatment to bring elevated blood pressure down to normal levels may be due to unrecognized lapses in taking antihypertensive drugs as prescribed, according to a new study by a team of researchers from the University of Lausannne, Switzerland.† (Stephenson, 2001). It states in the reading that autonomy is the freedom we have to decide what we want to do. Whether a consent form as been signed or not the patient must be aware that they have the ability to withdraw from what is going on. With beneficence it is simply a person taking an action for the benefit for another person. Beneficent actions are taken for people to help prevent a person from a harmful situation or it can improve a situation for other people. Simply put non-maleficence means to do no harm. With this one it requires doctors to refrain from providing ineffective care or acting with malice. It is not very helpful sometimes because many of the treatments carry some form of risk, it needs to be checked to see if the reward outweighs the risks. Justice in health care is usually defined as a form of fairness. It implies that a fair distribution of services will be provided to society. Conclusion The ethical issues that an individual health care worker has to face will depend on what specialized area the health care professional is staffed. An example would consist of a hospital faced with a patient requesting euthanasia while at the same time a health insurance agent is giving insurance to a patient under the same circumstances and not receiving a clear assessment of the patient’s needs. The author of Ethical Issues in Epidemiologic Research and Public Health practice Steven Coughlin states that all who practice in the field of medicine will experience a level of ethical reasoning during their day to day routine. Whether it’s an non-compliant client or a conflict of interest, both have the opportunity to harm a patient’s health care. Employers try to assure they are able to provide some form of ethical teaching with policies in place for review. Training the training is a program some adopt to ensure the widespread of the information. By training the management responsible for monitoring the work of these employees it consolidates the exepctations of the organization. This level of training allows the trainer to explain the type of ethical issues a health care worker may encounter, why the issue is there and how to deal with the issue. If an employee or the supervisor does not follow these guidelines the penalty can be fierce,. Punishment for the employee could result in suspension, fines or up to and including termination of their position. References Americas. (2009-2010). Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America Healthcare &, 1-76. HEALTH CARE MANAGEMENT Conference Paper Abstracts. (2010). Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings, 1-38. doi:10.5465/AMBPP.2010.54503723 medicinenet. (2011, april 27). Definition of noncompliance. Retrieved from http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=10159 Mitnick, S., Leffler, C., & Hood, V. (2010). Family caregivers, patients and physicians: ethical guidance to optimize relationships. Journal Of General Internal Medicine, 25(3), 255-260. Stephenson, J. (2001). Human biological materials in research: ethical issues and the role of stewardship in minimizing research risks. Advances in Nursing Science, 24(2), 32-46.

Is 533 Homework 4

IS 533 HOMEWORK 4 BY AHMET CAN AYKUT (1835917) 1. What is meant by a symptom versus a problem? Relate these ideas to the case. (5 points) In the Intelligence Phase of the Decision Making Process, the decision maker, Elena, attempts to determine whether a problem exists, identify its symptoms, determine its magnitude and explicitly define it. What is described as a problem may only be a symptom, or measure, of a problem. In the case, MMS sales are off by 10 percent, which is the main problem.In the intelligence phase, the CEO calls the Board of Directors to search through the procedures in order to state and classify the problem. She consults Directors to reach the main reason for the problem or to find the real problem which the off-sales are symptoms of it. 2. Why is problem ownership so important? (5 points) A problem exists in an organization only if someone or some group takes on the responsibility of attacking it and if the organization has the ability to solve it.The assignment of authority to solve the problem is called problem ownership. When problem ownership is not established, except for professional employees, there will be an uncertainty of who is responsible to solve the problem and role diffusions/shifting, tendency to avoid form responsibility may occur easily. Problem ownership ensures accountability. 3. Even though the problem was not identified at the end of the intelligence phase, what was? (5 points) Effects were identified and problem ownership was established. Effects of the problem: . Rentals did not increase while the total market did. (CMO) 2. Sales are dropping fastest on primary markets. (CFO) 3. Advertising expenditures are up. GMC Spiders should be a hot seller but they are off by 50 percent. All the new cars came on in on schedule and inventory is OK from CLAUDIA. (CEO) 4. Half of the GMC Spiders are rented although some local agencies set the prices 15 percent less. Rentals are down 8 percent nationally on the other classes of ca rs. (COO) Problem Ownerships: COO assumes the ownership of the problem.CIO will look at the underlying structures and parameters of the forecasting models (for weird economic trends or events); CMO will look into the advertising for external events, trends or reports on the cars that could affect the rentals 4. How was the design phase performed in this case? (10 points) Search and Scanning Procedures: 1. The problem statement has not been clearly stated. So the next step is the investigation of symptoms. 2. A collaboration group is formed with analysts from different departments: Operations and Marketing.Data Collection: 3. Databases of Operational and Economic Data were checked by data mining tools; relationships and assumptions in the forecasting models and RMS were verified; artificial neural networks, clustering analysis algorithms and statistical regression models were also benefited. It was noticed that the neural networks outperformed the regression-based systems a bit. 4. A n information system and marketing group was set up to look into how they could improve the regression-based models with neural networks. 5.An e-meeting was held to decide on what they were going to do next and sharing information. Problem Identification: 6. After the meeting OLAP (Online Analytical Processing) software was used to â€Å"slice† multidimensional data. The group noticed a slight inverse relationship with sales and advertising and the followings: a. There is a problem in the distribution. Over half of the cars are in the wrong places. b. GMC Spider was entered to the system as a four-seat compact with two doors. System automatically decides this car ideal for a small family or a single business person.This decision rent well rent in Midwest in the secondary markets but badly in the convention areas where there are men and women who like to rent sporty cars. Problem Statement /Search for Alternatives/Create Models: 7. After further analysis and investigation the real problems and alternatives were stated: a. Data Accuracy Problem–? Profile of the spider should be changed to a sports car from a compact car. b. Inventory Imbalance Problem-? 15 percent of the fleet should be moved to secondary markets. All the Spiders should be moved from secondary to primary markets.Some of minivans and full-size cars should be moved to secondary markets. Secondary market demand should be pushed by adjusting advertisement. c. Advertising Imbalance-? Customer locations should be identified well to determine what to advertise where. d. †Try before you buy† campaign should be campaign should be established in the secondary markets. e. In secondary markets people want full size cars. Company advertising features Spider but not the other types of cars. (Advertise backfire problem)-? Substitutes for the Spider should be discounted. f.Florida theme park demand: Florida theme parks are advertising in Europe because the euro is economically stronger than the dollar. -? Advertising in Europe, either with the theme parks or separately, should be increased. 5. The choice phase seemed like a combination of design, choice, and implementation. Is this a problem? (10 points) Both it is a problem and not. It is not a problem because in intelligence, design and choice steps there are feedback points which are Validation of the model, revision of criteria for choice, evaluation of risk and rating the alternatives; verification, testing of proposed solution.It is a problem because the intricate structure of phases may lengthen the choice phase and cause missing the business opportunities. Organizational responses to solution implementations may be slower so that verification and testing of the solution, the sensitivity analysis and plan for implementation may take some time so that phases may become intricate. Also sub optimization and satisficing are potential threats for decision making. 6. The implementation phase seemed to involve el ements of all the phases. Is this a problem? (10 points)It is not a problem because in case of failure all the remaining 3 phases should be revised until the solution is succeeded. Indeed it is hard to implement a solution successfully at the first trial. Making a decision, carrying out a project requires a plan-do-check cycle to get the best. It is a problem because the intricate structure of phases may lengthen the implementation phase and cause missing the business opportunities and not adapting the business environment. 7. How were new problems or opportunities handled as they arose? 10 points) New problems (Data inaccuracy, Inventory Imbalance, Advertising Imbalance) and new opportunities (Discounting substitutes Florida Theme Park Demand and â€Å"Try Before You Buy† Campaign) were handled by identification, problem ownership and implementation. 8. Why do you suppose some alternatives were either modified or postponed? (10 points) First of all, alternatives should be pr ioritized to decide what to first and which one is more/less important than the others; there is a sequential relation between the alternatives whether the 3rd alternative cannot be achieved before completing the 2nd.In the Decision Making Process in each phase there may be updates and changes that may affect the alternatives until the solution is succeeded. All alternatives cannot be applied simultaneously. 9. How can computerized DSS support the management at each stage of the Simon's Decision Making Model? In which phase is the major contribution of made? Why? (15 points) Decision Support Systems may comprise one or more of the systems mentioned below, which are beneficial in decision making phases. Let’s consider each phase separately: Intelligence Phase:Web tools and sources are useful for environmental scanning. Web browsers provide OLAP, data mining and data warehouses. Data warehouses continuously monitors internal and external information, looking early signs of prob lems and opportunities through an enterprise information portal (i. e. dashboard). Also web mining, Expert Systems, Management Information Systems, Artificial Neural Networks, Genetic Algorithms and other Automatic Decision Making systems also support this phase by identifying relationships among activities and other factors.Geographical Information Systems can be utilized so that the decision maker can determine opportunities and problems in a spatial sense. CRM systems can identify classes of customers to approach with specific products and services. Knowledge Management Systems can be used to identify similar past situations and how they were handled. Group Support Systems can be used to share information and brain storming. Business Activity Monitoring, Business Process Management and Product Life Cycle Management can also provide decision makers the capability of monitoring the current status of operations.Expert Systems can render advice regarding the nature of the problem, it s classification, seriousness and the like. They can advise on the suitability of a solution approach and the likelihood of successfully solving the problem. OLAP tools are excellent tools for routine and ad-hoc reporting. Design Phase: This phase involves generating alternative courses of action, setting criteria for choices and their relative importance and forecasting the future consequences of using various alternatives. OLAP and data mining software are useful in identifying relationships that can be used in models.CRM, Revenue Management, Enterprise Resource Planning and Supply Chain Management Systems can provide models that can test assumptions and scenarios. GSS and cognitive mapping tools can help identifying important issues and options. Risk analysis can also be carried out in this phase. Choice Phase: DSS can support this phase through what if and goal seeking analyses. Different scenarios can be tested for the selected option to reinforce the final decision. KMS can he lp identify similar past experiences.CRM, ERP and SCM systems are used to test the impacts of decisions in establishing their value. ES can be used to assess the desirability of certain solutions and recommend an appropriate solution. GSS can support to lead to consensus in a group decision. Implementation Phase: DSS can be used in implementation activities like decision communication, explanation and justification. BAM, BPM, PLM, KMS, CRM, SCM, ERP and EIS are useful in tracking how well an implementation is working. GSS is useful for team collaboration for implementation effectiveness.ES’ can be used as an advisory system regarding implementation problems. Also they can provide training that may smooth the course of implementation. A CRM Systems can identify classes of customers to get rid of unprofitable customers so that implementation can be focused on profitable customers. Also they report and update internal records, based on the impacts of the implementation so that n ew problems and opportunities can be identified and one or more of the Decision Making Phases can be revisited. In Intelligence phase the major contribution is made. 10.What is the contribution of using Simon's model for rational decision making for the analysis of this case? (20 points) Decision Making is a process that the Decision Maker should know what, why, when, where, how and with whom to start and how to proceed. Defining, categorizing and modeling the steps of decision making and systematically working on them is crucial. Since humans have a limited capacity for rational thinking, we tend to construct and analyze a simplified model of a decision making process. Simon’s model serves as a principal blue print, a basic guide.According to the problem complexity the decision maker can elaborate on the model and improve the phases according to the problem complexity and solution requirements. For example in the design phase normative, descriptive and nonmathematical descri ptive models, scenarios can be benefitted specifically. Simon’s model reminds us that such models may/should be used primarily in the design phase. For example HP developers consider three phases in developing a model (See 2. 1 Opening Vignette: Decision Modeling at HP using Spreadsheets): Problem Framing, Actual Design and Development of the Tools and Handoff.Each of these phases has sub phases like Problem Framing has â€Å"Will analytics solve the problem? †, †Can an existing solution be leveraged? † and â€Å"Is a tool needed? †; Design and Development of the Tools has â€Å"Develop a prototype as quickly as possible†, †Build Inside, not black boxes †, etc. HP is a major manufacturer of computers, printers and industrial products. They formed this model to solve their repeating business problems. Simon’s model can also be adapted to HP’s decision modeling processes but their model is much specific and ready-to-use because of their need for agility.