The Need to Introduce Flexible Benefit Plans for Employees

The employees of today†s workforce are divers. With such a workforce at hand, an employer must have a flexible benefit plan to match the composition of its employees. Flexible benefit plans are a written plan under which employees of a company are allowed to choose two or more benefits consisting of cash and qualified benefits (Everett & Miller, 1994). Some benefits offered under a flexible benefit plan are health care, dental, reimbursement accounts, life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment coverage, long-term disability, vacation, retirement savings, spouse accidental death and dismemberment coverage, and dependent care (Kleiner & Sparks, 1994). A young couple can be assured that their jobs not only meet the daily needs of their growing family, but that their children are covered for very little cost in their own employer-provided hospitalization and health care insurance. A worker employed by the same organization, approaching retirement, can choose benefits that will maximize his/her retirement income as much as possible. With his/her own children grown-up, he/she needs to attend only to his/her own needs. Also known as â€Å"cafeteria plans,† the organization offering a choice of applicable benefits to their employees ensures that the benefits for which they pay are the most useful for each of their employees. Costs are rising in almost every area of benefit provision and administration. The organization is able to secure more favorable rates for those benefits used, if the organization is not required to provide the same service to each employee (Webster, 1996). Employee benefit plans have had a long history, and can be traced back to 1794, when the first profit-sharing plan was created by Albert Gallatin in his glassworks in Pennsylvania (Kleiner & Sparks, 1994). Another notable benefit plan includes those made by the American Express Company in 1875 with the first private pension plan, and the first group annuity contract issued in 1921 by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (Kleiner & Sparks, 1994). These early benefit plans were only the beginning of the benefit packages. As it turns out, the Social Security Act of 1935 gave employees across the country a legal framework that supported the development of many forms of employee benefits. Very few employers provide full family health care coverage at no cost to the employee in today†s world, but everyone can save when they provide that coverage only to those who need it. Even though the employee almost always shares the cost now, the employer still provides the major portion of the cost of health care insurance. In today†s increasingly competitive business climate, everyone is forced to operate as efficiently as possible. The advantage to the organization and employees of having a flexible benefit plan is clear. Businesses are not required to pay for services its employees will never seek. For instance, pediatric care was provided across the board in one organization, a significant numbers of the company†s leadership were well past the point of needing that type of coverage for their family (Webster, 1996). Flexible benefit plans can be a very important tool for recruiting new employees and retaining current employees. Also, the costs of administering such plans may be offset to a large extent by the payroll tax savings generated when employees convert previously taxable compensation and income into a nontaxable fringe benefit tax (Everett & Miller, 1994). Flexible benefit plans also provide the employee with the advantage of being able to ensure that benefits chosen are those that best meets their needs. The primary advantage of flexible benefit plans is that the employer and employee receive certain tax advantages. This depends on the types of programs the employee chooses. In some cases, the employee may choose cash rather than any benefits at all, but that option is dependent on company policy. For instance, many companies offer pay in lieu of off the job vacation time, but other companies insist that employees take their accrued vacation time. Another advantage of flexible benefit plans is the ability of the organization to shift some of the cost of benefits to the employees who use them, while simultaneously offering tax advantages in other areas such as 401K plans. Any benefit that is not paid in cash, but is treated as such, is taxable to the employee, but the employee tax liability decreases the employer†s. Any benefit that does not satisfy the nondiscrimination clause of the Internal Revenue code is taxable (Webster, 1996). Other benefits are nontaxable either to the employee or to the employer. To be nontaxable, the benefit must be a qualified benefit under Section 125. Such qualified benefits include accident or health plans, disability benefits, accidental death and dismemberment benefits, the first $50,000 of group term life insurance, a group dependent care assistance plan, and a group legal services plan (Webster, 1996). A disadvantage of flexible benefit plans is that employees are often overwhelmed by the numerous choices a plan may have to offer. In many cases, companies are contracting accountants, financial planners, investment counselors and other consultants to help employees wade through the vast array of options (Jurek, 1995). Such consultant use increases the employers† costs of providing the flexible benefits plans, but employers believe the guidance is needed. As for the IRS, it only requires organizations make flexible benefit plans available to all employees, not explain the intricacies of all options. Employers† that provide flexible benefit plans show the desire to in increase employees† loyalty to the company. In an increasingly tight labor market and faced with the necessity of operating as efficiently as possible, in order to remain competitive, employers view the flexible benefit plan as a tool to enhance employee morale. Flexible benefit plans are also used to improve employer-employee relationships, reduce overall costs of providing benefits, and reduce the incidence of employee turnover (Leonard, 1994). Replacing an employee can cost more than the annual salary of that employee, so it is to the employer†s advantage to retain as stable a workforce as possible (Leonard, 1994). From both the employer and the employee point of view, flexible benefit plans make sound financial sense (Kleiner & Sparks, 1994). These plans provide a way for employers to control and budget benefit cost. At the same time, it is also a way for employees to enhance their benefits while paying expenses with pre-taxed dollars.

Nvq Level 2 229

| Sampled By IV| | Initials| | | Dated| | | Questioning Record | Issue No:| 1| | | Issue Date: | 01/02/11| | | Page | 1| of| 2| | | Approved By:| N Parr| | | Ref| I12-1| Candidate Name:| Niccola Taylor| Date of Activity | | Award Title / Level | Level 2| Evidence Ref No: | | Targeted Unit(s) | 4222-229| | | Questioning to support standards: | YES| | Unit | *Learning Outcome and Criteria | Questions to be asked | 229| 1. 2| Where are the pressure sites on the body? | | 1. | What factors might put the skin at risk of breakdown? | | 1. 4| How can incorrect moving and handling techniques cause damage to the skin? | | 1. 5 | What interventions can reduce the risk of skin breakdown and pressure sores? | | 1. 6 | What changes to an individual’s skin condition must be reported? | Responses to Questions Asked | | Unit/Learning Outcome and Criteria| 1. 2 Pressure sites usually occur on bony areas of the body, such as the tailbone, back, buttocks, backOf the head, elbows, heels, hips, an d shoulders. 1. If they have been sitting/lying down in the same position for too long and haven’t had pressure relief, having dry skin and poor diet can also put the skin at risk of breakdown. 1. 4 Incorrect moving and handling techniques can course skin to tear or bruise. 1. 5 Make sure there not in the same position for too, long make sure they have regular pressure relief , when there sitting/lying down make sure it’s on pressure cushion or matters. 1. 6 Dry, cracked, redness, bruising or any colour change. | | | Name| Initials| Signature| Date | Candidate: | | | | | Assessor: | | | | | Witness:| | | | | Nvq Level 2 229 | Sampled By IV| | Initials| | | Dated| | | Questioning Record | Issue No:| 1| | | Issue Date: | 01/02/11| | | Page | 1| of| 2| | | Approved By:| N Parr| | | Ref| I12-1| Candidate Name:| Niccola Taylor| Date of Activity | | Award Title / Level | Level 2| Evidence Ref No: | | Targeted Unit(s) | 4222-229| | | Questioning to support standards: | YES| | Unit | *Learning Outcome and Criteria | Questions to be asked | 229| 1. 2| Where are the pressure sites on the body? | | 1. | What factors might put the skin at risk of breakdown? | | 1. 4| How can incorrect moving and handling techniques cause damage to the skin? | | 1. 5 | What interventions can reduce the risk of skin breakdown and pressure sores? | | 1. 6 | What changes to an individual’s skin condition must be reported? | Responses to Questions Asked | | Unit/Learning Outcome and Criteria| 1. 2 Pressure sites usually occur on bony areas of the body, such as the tailbone, back, buttocks, backOf the head, elbows, heels, hips, an d shoulders. 1. If they have been sitting/lying down in the same position for too long and haven’t had pressure relief, having dry skin and poor diet can also put the skin at risk of breakdown. 1. 4 Incorrect moving and handling techniques can course skin to tear or bruise. 1. 5 Make sure there not in the same position for too, long make sure they have regular pressure relief , when there sitting/lying down make sure it’s on pressure cushion or matters. 1. 6 Dry, cracked, redness, bruising or any colour change. | | | Name| Initials| Signature| Date | Candidate: | | | | | Assessor: | | | | | Witness:| | | | |

Enviromental Issues

These are a few of many environmental issues that are faced in the Coastal Plains, the Western Cordillera, and the Arctic today. The Coastal Plains has many issues that need to be addressed. The Coastal Plains is a flat, low-lying area of land which is beside the sea coast.It stretches smoke along the Ignited States and Mexico. It varies in climate depending on the region. For example in the north, it is defined by snowy and cold winters although in the summer it is hot and humid. In the southern part of the coastal plains it is sub-tropical, which means the winters are usually mild and warm. One of the many environmental issues in the Coastal Plains is urban sprawl (overpopulation). The Texas plains has expanded in population by 1 19% from 1970-90. The consequences of this are a large amount of carbon oxide being emitted into the atmosphere caused by cars and factories.This also contributes to the climate change in the planet and global warming. Along with this, sea levels are risin g and tropical storms/hurricanes are becoming more apparent. A solution to this issue is less usage of cars. If we could use fewer cars and start using more public transportation such as bikes and buses, we could put less carbon dioxide into the environment. We can't fix the overpopulation issue but at least bringing awareness could possibly make a difference. Overall, the Coastal Plains is a beautiful area that needs to have these issues fixed or bringing more awareness to the public.The Western Cordillera is a region in North America with environmental issues that can affect us greatly in the future. The Western Cordillera goes along the west coast of North America. It contains numerous mountains that haven't been worn down by erosion. The climate is usually mild but mostly it is very wet. The issues the Western Cordillera is climate change and clear cutting. Climate change affects this region by impacting future water resources. The jack of snow caused by climate change could mak e water more scarce in the future.Clear cutting is also a severe issue. Clear cutting is when you cut down an entire forest until nothing is left. Consequently, salmon bearing streams are also affected too. The solutions the water issue is less uses of personal transportation. By using fewer cars we can reduce the amount of greenhouse gases and which equals slower effects of global warming. The clear cutting issue can be fixed by regulating what trees can be cut. Cutting the old trees instead of the new growth could help the environment.However, the economy situation would make these possible solutions a challenge to follow. The Arctic could negatively change the Earth if we don't fix the severe issues that are happening at this moment. The Arctic region is a combination of lowlands and mountains. The climate is very severe since because it is not close to the equator. Summers are very short and winter dominates most months. Iron socially, the arctic is a desert because of the littl e amount of precipitation. The Arctic has been very vulnerable to effects of global warming.The Arctic temperatures were raised more than twice than usual over the past century. This can lead to higher sea levels which could possibly be a disaster. Another thing that can happen is the extinction of Arctic animals. With less ice in the region, polar bears have a harder time finding food to eat and then they unfortunately die of starvation. The solution to this issue isn't really possible. Again, using less fossil fuel could possibly help. Possibly bringing awareness about the issue could bring public pressure to the government to do something.However, until that would happen, we can only see the effects climate change has on this region In conclusion, the Coastal Plains, the Western Cordillera, and the Arctic have serious environmental issues that can permanently change the world. The one thing that all of these regions have in common is that they are all effected by climate change/g lobal warming. We can't necessarily stop it but we can do our part to help these regions by not overly using personal transportation and emitting a lot of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Overall, these regions can negatively affect us unless we do something to change it.

The first voyage of columbus Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The first voyage of columbus - Term Paper Example Christopher Columbus officially started his first voyage on 3rd August, 1492 with his three ships. Alongside the journey Columbus faced many challenges including bad weather that caused lack of winds to help steer the ships and also lack of supplies to maintain the ship thus could not get on the island of canary. It was on the 8th of September, when Columbus noticed that the pointer on the compass was not pointing north, but rather half of it was pointing to the Northwest, and the variation was greater as they continued with the journey. Columbus did not mention that to his crew as he knew it could cause anxiety and yet they were not sure of their final destination. This kept on for some days, but was later discovered by his pilots something that caused mixed reactions of anxiety and panic. Most of the men in ship panicked to an extent of threatening to move back to Spain. Columbus had to reason faster as to why the pointer was not pointing at the north and explained to the crew not to worry as it was due to failure in weather conditions, and as he was a well known astronomer reduced the anxiety. It took him sometimes up to early mid September to make clear sight of the Hierro Island as the wind flow remained low. First landing It was on 12th of October, when Columbus saw his first land which was earlier sighted by a sailor on Pinta ship but, Columbus dismissed him that he was the first to see the land letting him retain the prize he had made a promise to give to whoever saw it first. The island was named San Salvador, by Columbus but presently referred to as Bahamas. In Bahamas, the residents were friendly, calm and kind. At the time the island was discovered, the local residents were: the Bahamas, Galibi who was on the windward parts of the island and the kalian on the leeward part of the island (Herring 121). Columbia also did a study on the cultural and social living standards of the residents on the island. The residents of Bahamas were mostly described by Columbia as, friendly, naive, harmless and willing to learn new ideas. At this point, Columbia had the urge of finding gold as he had discovered most of the residents wearing some of them in their noses and this made him extent his stay. Second landing After landing in Bahamas on12th of October, Columbus discovered five more islands there thereafter he left for Cuba on 28th of October. He made a landing at Bariay which was at the eastern part of the island. At this point, Columbia thought that he reached China and so he decided to send two of his two men to find out if it was true, and these were Luis de Torres and Rodrigo. The two men did not succeed in what they had been sent to but instead travelled to a small village called Taino, from which they acquired a habit of tobacco smoking as they had observed the people there doing so. The two men who were sent came back after four days. It was during this time that Columbia made a discovery of the existence tobacco plant and the wild growth of cotton everywhere. It was on the 21st of November that Pinta ship travelled to the east towards the inaqua and Turk island hence being apart from the other ships (Herring 91). Pinzon was the one sailing Pinta, and he made the decision to go separate as he had the idea that he

Policy Responses during the Great Recession Assignment

Policy Responses during the Great Recession - Assignment Example It is apparent that the increase in the prices of houses was the major problematic condition of the housing market. This was because the financial institutions wanted to raise funds that would enable them to remain in operation after the economic recession period (USC Price, n.p). The major policy initiatives that were implemented by HUD during the Great Recession era included increase home ownership by supporting various programs such as Fannie and Freddie, State HFA, Emergency Homeowners Loan Program and First-time homebuyer Tax Credit among others (USC Price, n.p). The purposes of supporting such initiatives were to offer financial assistance to the citizens to enable them either buy homes or settle debts. The effects were to maintain the circulation of money to avoid inflation and shortage of funds that would affect the economy. This also helped companies to continue to offer their services to homeowners and other stakeholders since they had the money to pay their suppliers (USC Price, n.p). One of the policy initiatives that were implemented during the Great Recession was the introduction of the HARP and HAMP. For instance, HAMP was designed to assist the homeowners who were suffering from extreme payment burdens. Alternatively, HARP helped in offering relief for homeowners to earn extra disposal income (USC Price, n.p). This took place through reduction of the interest rates to allow the homeowners save some cash for other purposes. One of the problematic conditions was that it only helped a few households, instead of tackling the universal problem across the country. Another problem was that the government was not running it and relied on lenders in which uninterested parties rejected it. The major interest groups were the homeowners, lenders and private sector operators (USC Price, n.p). The project did not achieve the expected results because the lenders rejected it since it took long to materialize. Another ineffectiveness is

International Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

International Marketing - Essay Example Unilever is a leading organization which has some 400 consumer product brands under its sleeves. The product brands include food, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products. The company touches the lives of its consumers in a number of different ways. Unilever has a range of products starting from global brands like Lipton, Dove, Omo, Knorr to some trustworthy local brands like Suave and Blue Band. The organization employs around 163,000 people in 100 countries across the globe. With a turnover of â‚ ¬ 39.8 billion, Unilever products are sold in more than 170 countries with its 264 manufacturing sites spread worldwide (Hoovers, 2010). According the company site, it helps â€Å"people feel good, look good and get more out of life, meeting their everyday needs for nutrition, hygiene and personal care with brands and services that are good for them and good for others† (Unilever, 2010). Nestle Nestle is a leading global name in the food and beverage divisions. The company offers product ranges starting from instant infant food, coffee and chocolate to bottled water and promotes the same in more than 130 countries across the globe. Nestle is one of the leading companies in the total sales amount. In Coffee, the company has some top-notch brand names. The company has left its mark with leading brands like Maggi, Nestea, Nescafe, Friskies and Nestle. The company is among the leading packaged water producers and is a significant player in the pet food industry. Apart from all these, the organization holds significant amount of shares in Alcon Inc and cosmetic giant L’Oreal. Starting its journey back in the year 1866, the company is continually stepping forward to achieve a sustainable growth in the coming future (Nestle, nod.). Competitive Advantage Unilever On any given day, around two billion people use the products of Unilever. From feeding the family to keeping the household clean and fresh, the products have become significant parts of daily life. Research and Development can be seemed to be the gateway to constantly enhancement of the brands to deliver more intense and rewarding product experiences. Consumer research has played a significant role in the success story of this organization. Unilever makes continual efforts to introduce new and enhanced products to meet the changing requirements of its large consumer base. The company invests around â‚ ¬ 1 billion annually to meet the cutting edge research and development requirements. The company has five research

Essay about the arguments made by Charles Krauthammer

About the arguments made by Charles Krauthammer - Essay Example Eventually, whether or not the student agree with Krauthammer’s argument will be explained. With regards to the issue on ‘torture’, Charles Krauthammer argues that utilitarianism behind torturing a person highly depends on the situation. For instance, torturing a person for no reason at all can be considered as something that is wrong or immoral. However, given that the situation is to choose between torturing a terrorist person who intentionally implanted a bomb with the purpose of killing thousands of people, Krauthammer argued that torturing the terrorist is the best thing to do in order to save the lives of the majority who are innocent individuals. For this reason, he concludes that â€Å"torture is not always impermissible† (Shelly). Upon evaluating and equally judging the overall welfare of the people who are directly involved or affected with the action of whether or not to legally accept the act of torturing a terrorist person who has implanted a bomb, I agree with Krauthammer’s argument on the issue of torture in the sense that it would be best to torture one person who has a negative intention to hurt thousands of people by implanting a bomb than to let go of the bad person in exchange of losing thousands of life. Upon weighing pleasure and pain of allowing the implanted bomb to explode and kill thousands of people with the pleasure and pain of torturing the terrorist who implanted the bomb, the amount of pain will be so much greater than the pain that will result out of torturing the terrorist man who implanted the bomb. When we talk about utility, we are actually referring to an act which could result to ‘greatest happiness’. Based on the greatest happiness principle, it is right to do action that will promote happiness as a consequence of the act and wrong if the action could cause unhappiness (The University of Adelaide Library). Happiness means people should enjoy the benefit of having

Research proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Research Proposal Example In addition, this means that it has to involve the teachers in such a manner that the teachers are able to engage in the science practices in a much more detailed level. As a background to this, knowledge and skill in scientific inquiry has been a fundamental reform movement in science education according to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Various documents, such as the 2012 National Research Council publication on Framework for K-12 Science Education identifies the various major scientific concepts and principles that a student is expected to grasp by the end of high school. Consequently, this forms the basis upon which the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) is structured. Therefore, the NGSS seeks to better engage students in the learning process consequently facilitating their more active exploration of the core scientific ideas and theories. Proper scientific understanding highlights the level of impact that the education system has had on an individual. These include essential knowledge and skills such as the possession of the ability to formulate scientific hypotheses, produce explanations, design and conduct experiments, gather and analyze data, and the general ability to communicate and reflect about the findings. Enabling all this calls for the teachers involved to have specific skills particularly geared towards the successful teaching of science to generate scientific knowledge. This forms the basis for the NRC framework that idealizes the development of a scientific-based approach among teachers to emphasize the practice of skills in addition to just acquiring them. This calls for teachers to engage in scientific enquiry practices such as asking questions, developing and using models, planning and carrying out investigations, analyzing and interpreting data, using mathematics and computational thinking, constructing explanations, engaging in argument from evidence, and obtaining, evaluating, and

Therapeutic Recreation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Therapeutic Recreation - Essay Example Suffering, it is thought, is reducible through objective solutions to health problems. The author believed naively that one day, every known problem to medicine would be addressed by an objective fix—which is a belief now breaking up in all areas of medical treatment. Unfortunately, the commitment to an objective, universal set of fixes is a false medical model for how things work in reality. Instead, the author believes human consciousness to be a tool of vast complexity to remember, contemplate, process, and think, which precludes a simplistic model of medicine. In contrast to the idea of suffering as an objective phenomenon with objective causes, the author points to extreme cases of hypochondriasis, in which a person’s suffering is entirely self-caused, and those who live with extreme levels of suffering, but overcome it to live joyfully. Given this wide range of how people deal with suffering, the author concludes that suffering transcends traditional medicine. Acc ordingly, â€Å"suffering is a spiritual experience, intensely personal, and full of paradox and mystery† (O’Keefe, 2008). At the other end of this spectrum is the idea of leisure, which is taken to be the opposite of suffering. In leisure, one finds joy with one’s activities, which is also a deeply personal and subjective issue. For both leisure and suffering, the author believes that â€Å"therapeutic recreation has a wonderful gift† appealing both to the suffering and the joyful in the whole human being. It is objectionable, according to the author, that therapeutic recreation is treated by some as a distraction from the apparent seriousness of a patient’s situation. A patient’s experience in a medical ward is full of objective news—good and bad—that ignores the suffering and leisure of the individual patient. An apparent implication of therapeutic recreation’s â€Å"diversion† from objectivity is the thought t hat therapeutic recreation does not know or care about the seriousness of a patient’s situation. This, in turn, leads to an attempt by some in the field to bring therapeutic recreation on par in objectivity to the medical field that specializes in problem-solving diagnoses. At this point, one can see the author take issue with the language being used in therapeutic recreation—language that is depersonalizing people and making it more difficult to understand suffering (and joy) at a humanistic level. The author predicts that patients will demand that the language being used is more accessible and humanistic: an idea that supports the theory saying therapeutic recreation should carve out a place for itself as a humanistic practice that acknowledges the spiritualistic aspects of human life. Suffering, after all, represents a very spiritual experience, given that it is represented as such in so many world religions as redemptive and necessary for meaning. Suffering, whethe r it is embodied in homelessness, oppression, poverty, starvation, or violence, affords an opportunity for experiencing emptiness (O’Keefe, 2008). From redemption and emptiness, human beings have the chance to experience the highest form of joy, which comes from giving oneself to a saving power (which, the author notes, is not necessarily religious â€Å"but certainly spiritual†). In addition, this suffering can be communal. Following the September 11th terrorist attacks, entire groups of people felt shared emotions. Some of these shared emotions were put at ease through

Organizational Governance Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Organizational Governance Analysis - Essay Example At departmental levels, decisions are mandatory and all departments need to make decisions which are oriented to the vision, mission and general objectives of the organization. The governance of an organization bears on organizational culture which may be construed to refer to attitudes, values and beliefs which are shared by the people constituting a particular organization. Alternatively, organizational culture may be seen to refer to both the norms, principles and standards that guide individual behavior in an organization thereby controlling the way individuals and groups of people within the organization interact with one another and with other stakeholders that are found out of the active running of the organization (Hill and Jones, 2001). The governing body not only gives direction to organization through decision making but also initiate a permanent organizational culture (Huse, 2009). This paper seeks to highlight the general concept of organizational governance paying empha sis to the good and bad organizational governance practices. This is achieved through an analysis of an organization thereby giving its strengths and weaknesses as far as governance is concerned. Organizational governance may be defined as the processes, Policies, and structures which an organization puts to use so as to not only gain direct control of the organizational activities but also realize organizational objectives and also protect the interest of the entire shareholder population and the society as a whole. The processes, Policies, and structures distinct of organizational governance enhance the handling of the interests of the shareholders and society in such a way that is based on the most appropriate moral and ethical standards. Another way of terming the words in the foregoing paragraph is that the function of organizational governance is basically the leadership function in an organization which offers direction within an organization manages risk and controls all the organizational activities. Based on this submission, the organizational governance can then be termed as a function which enables the organization to: Comply with societal legal and regulatory rules Comply with the accepted business norms, ethics and meet the general societal social expectations of the organization. Benefit the society at the same time enhancing the interests of the stakeholders Report completely and honestly to not only its owners but also its regulators, stakeholders, and the general public in a bid to ensure responsibility for its conduct, decisions and performance Successful organizational governance requires that there exists synergy among its basic functions of its governing body. The governing body of an organization is made up of the board of governors, the management, the internal auditors and the external auditors. If synergy among these four organs of organizational governance exists, then the result is a well performing and efficient organization. The board of governor's responsibility is that it sets a governing and managing tone at the top. Being the focal point of all management activities in the organization it ensures ultimate accountability at every level of the organization and oversees all the organizational activities without necessarily managing them directly (Pointer & Orlikoff, 2002). The management is divided into two;

Ethical Behavior Essay Example for Free

Ethical Behavior Essay In this paper, I am going to discuss the importance of ethical behavior and its significance in persuasion. I will also define two ethical theories and finally, I will explore the impact that ethical practices have on persuasion. Persuasion is extremely important in ethical behavior. It is what mothers use to teach their children to make the right decisions. It can also be used by drug users to convince the insecure teen to try a drug for the first time, in order to fit in with the crowd. Persuasion can be life saving or deadly. Such is the case of Phoebe Prince, a young fifteen year old teen who committed suicide in January of this year. According to an article in the New York Times, she had transferred to an American school from Ireland and was eager to make friends. She attracted the attention of a football star at the high school, who apparently had recently broken off a relationship with another girl. It was this girl who persuaded her friends to join in belittling Phoebe any chance they could. The taunts grew more and more violent and abusive, until they turned in to physical threats. After three months of being bullied every day, Phoebe decided to give her accusers exactly what they wanted. She escaped the only way she knew how; by hanging herself in the apartment stairwell when she came home from school. This power of persuasion is not unlike Adolf Hitler’s hatred against the Jewish people. The more people they were able to persuade into joining in the tirade of accusations and unethical behavior, the stronger the momentum became, until death was imminent. Fortunately, people are beginning to recognize the seriousness of bullying. The Swedish Work Environment Authority Act suggests that, â€Å"Preventative interventions should include whole community awareness campaigns about the nature of bullying and its dangers. Efforts should also be made to enhance the emotional and organizational environments in school and work settings by promoting sensitivity, mutual respect and tolerance to diversity while prohibiting bullying† (Srabstein and Leventhal, 2010). Persuasion is the key to preventing this behavior for future generations. Although there are several if not many ethical theories, Utilitarian ethics is one that is used often. This theory is based upon the reasoning that â€Å"the right act is the act that produces the greatest benefits for everyone† (Waller, 2005). It is this reasoning that persuasion comes into play. Utilitarianism strives to â€Å"maximize pleasure and minimize suffering for everyone† (Waller, 2005). With the basis that the right act will produce the greatest benefit, persuasion can be used to guide a person into committing the right act. For example, many people agree that shoplifting is wrong, because the effects from stealing from another cause more suffering than pleasure for all involved. Persuasion can be used to try and reason with the potential shoplifter so they change their mind and decide not to steal. However, persuasion can also be used to coerce the shoplifter into taking the item, using peer pressure to entice. Either way, utilitarian ethics involve choices or choices involve persuasion. Another theory of ethics that can be impacted by persuasion is the theory of rights. These rights are put into place by the society in which someone lives. In the United States, we have our Constitutional Rights, which lists what our forefathers deemed to be used to guide its citizens in their quest for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. There is also the ethics of human rights, such as enforcing the death penalty. In Europe after World War II’s death and destruction, the Council of Europe was created as a way to protect human rights. This included abolishing the death penalty. What began as ten countries quickly grew to include 47 nations. When Ukraine joined the Council of Europe (CE) in 1995 (Bae, 2008), an immediate moratorium on executions was expected to be compliant with the other nations. Ukraine ignored the moratorium and it was during this time that executions actually increased (Bae, 2008). The Council of Europe was able to persuade Ukraine to abolish the death penalty using the threat that they could not continue to let Ukraine be a member of the CE if they did not comply. However, the people of Ukraine, as well as other countries in the CE, were in favor of the death penalty. Their citizens were trying to persuade Ukraine to continue the executions. Ultimately, even though Ukraine was in favor of the death penalty, under the persuasion of the CE, they ultimately chose to abolish this law in order to maintain their continued membership. It is easy to see how ethics and persuasion ultimately coexist with each other and how they can be used in both, ethical and unethical situations. For every right or reason a person believes in, there was the initial persuasion that led them to those beliefs.

United States Declaration of Independence Essay Example for Free

United States Declaration of Independence Essay John Locke is among the most influential political philosophers of the modern period. One can easily see his tremendous influence on democracies throughout the world, especially the United States, today. Locke was born during 1632 in Somerset, England. He was the son of a Puritan lawyer who fought with the Parliamentarians against the King in the English Civil War. At the age of 14, Locke attended Westminster School; and later went on to study at Oxford University. At the age of 43, Locke had traveled to France, where he would stay for four years to study Descartes and other great minds of the age. Locke then moved to Holland in 1683 amongst political unrest in England, which made living there dangerous for him. There he joined other English political exiles in a plot to overthrow King James II, which succeeded, resulting in the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and the flee of the King. By this time in the late 1680s-mid 1690s, Locke’s most influential philosophical works were published. From these works, Locke has been considered the Father of Classical Liberalism. Classic liberalism advocates civil liberties and political freedom with representative government. During the time of Locke, most people believed that fundamental rights came from government. People thought that they only had rights based upon what government chose to give them. John Locke’s most famous political work, The Second Treatise of Government, argued the opposite though. Some of the main themes outlined in the book include the State of Nature, Property, and Representative Government. Lock describes the State of Nature as: To properly understand political power and trace its origins, we must consider the state that all people are in naturally. That is a state of perfect freedom of acting and disposing of their own possessions and persons as they think fit within the bounds of the law of nature. People in this state do not have to ask permission to act or depend on the will of others to arrange matters on their behalf. The natural state is also one of equality in which all power and jurisdiction is reciprocal and no one has more than another. It is evident that all human beings – as creatures belonging to the same species and rank and born indiscriminately with all the same natural advantages and faculties – are equal amongst themselves. They have no relationship of subordination or subjection unless God (the lord and master of them all) had clearly set one person above another and conferred on him an undoubted right to dominion and sovereignty. The State of Nature both explains and declares that all people are born/created equally by God. One can see this statement’s influence with the use of it in the Declaration of Independence: â€Å"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator†¦Ã¢â‚¬  According to Locke, every person has three natural rights: Life, Liberty, and Estate. Locke declares, â€Å"Reason, which is that Law, teaches all Mankind, who would but consult it, that being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his Life, Health, Liberty, or Possessions. † This means that everyone has the right to live once they are created, to do anything they want to so long as it doesn’t conflict with the first right to Life, and to own anything they create or gain through trade or gift so long as it doesn’t conflict with the first two rights. One may also continuously see this influenced in the Declaration of Independence: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. † Locke also believed that people, not rulers, were sovereign. Locke wrote, â€Å"Government can never have a Power to take to themselves the whole or any part of the Subjects Property, without their own consent. For this would be in effect to leave them no Property at all. † Lock’s use of the term, â€Å"Property,† refers to everyone’s natural rights to Life, Liberty, and Estate. He believed that people chose to live under government, forming a social contract, in order to protect their natural rights, that otherwise may be in constant danger living in a State of Nature. If a government, or ruler, violated this commitment, the people living under it would have a right to revolt and overthrow the ruling subject. One can easily see how this pertains to not just the United States, but to the rest of the world. One can reference the American Revolution against Britain; and one can reference the recent revolutions in the Middle East, such as Egypt. In Locke’s â€Å"A Letter Concerning Toleration,† he advocates the toleration and respect for others’ religions. He argues that there must be a separation of church and state because government’s sole purpose is to protect individual rights, nothing else. Locke writes: â€Å"Now that the whole jurisdiction of the magistrate reaches only to these civil concernments, and that all civil power, right and dominion, is bounded and confined to the only care of promoting these things; and that it neither can nor ought in any manner to be extended to the salvation of souls, these following considerations seem unto me abundantly to demonstrate†¦ because the care of souls is not committed to the civil magistrate, any more than to other men. It is not committed unto him, I say, by God; because it appears not that God has ever given any such authority to one man over another as to compel anyone to his religion. Nor can any such power be vested in the magistrate by the consent of the people, because no man can so far abandon the care of his own salvation as blindly to leave to the choice of any other†¦ the care of souls cannot belong to the civil magistrate, because his power consists only in outward force; but true and saving religion consists in the inward persuasion of the mind, without which nothing can be acceptable to God. † Locke’s vision of separation of church and state can be seen all throughout the world. One can specifically see it in the United States, incorporated into the Constitution. Though this is not a complete list of John Locke’s many influences over modern democratic governments, one can see from the few examples provided above just how important a figure he is. Specifically to the United States, his influence can be seen through his ideas of individual rights, sovereignty of the people, and the separation of church and state. According to Thomas Jefferson, one of the founding father’s of the United States, â€Å"Locke is among the most important people to ever live. †

South korea was very underdeveloped

South korea was very underdeveloped Introduction In the beginning of the twentieth century, South Korea was very underdeveloped. It was a country consisting of minimal economic activity to compete in the Global markets. South Korea was still integrated with North Korea as one state under the Rulership of Japan. Agriculture played a big role in the economic progress of Korea under the communist system. It was only a matter of time before Korea would be divided into the north and south After WW2 and the Korean War. But the South would prove to be much more prosperous than the North, through opening up its markets, its affiliations with The United States of America and turning into a Democratic state. Its economic transformation pushed South Korea become a competitive country in the Global market within three decades towards the end of the twentieth century. The following essay will take a brief look at Koreas economic progress in the first half of the twentieth century, and then focus on how South Korea started to progress economical ly after WW2. It will also look at what political and economical reforms took place in order to ensure economic Liberty of South Korea. 1st Half Of 20th Century Korea Loses Independence In 1910, Korea lost its independence to Japan, Korea became a province of the Japanese state. Initially Korea had been ruled by the Yi state, Korea was known to consist of Raw materials which could be beneficial to other countries economic wealth. Other western countries such as France, US and the USSR had attempted to overthrow the Yi state even before the twentieth century, but Korea fought and resisted western domination. Japan on the other hand had surrendered to the USA and had become an Industrialized economy, it needed raw materials in order to expand its economy. This was going to happen at the expense of Korea. The Japanese had backing of the USA, and could easily occupy Korea by 1905 after signing a treaty with the USA called the Taft-Katsura Agreement, stating that the USA will acknowledge the Japanese occupation of Korea. The Japanese finally got Korea to sign the treaty of annexation with it in 1910. The Yi state had proven to be weak in terms of resistance to external forces, as it had now lost independence, it had also lost its power to influence its Korean people to fight of colonialism. Japan could now have access to raw materials and foodstuffs, Korea would now have to become a highly productive Agricultural state for the benefit of Japans economic growth. This would hinder with the growth of the Korean economy, limiting it to a more rural, underdeveloped economy until the mid twentieth century, after the Korean war and WW2. The Japanese took over most of the fertile land through their own landlords, and would increase their exports of foods to Japan, this signaled the beginning of exploitation of the Korean people through cheap agricultural and rural labour. South Korea experienced a high industrial growth, but the Capital and profits were all focused towards Japans growth. Japan invested high capital towards industries in Korea. Even though there was high exploitation of Korea, there had been attempts by the Korean people to protest against Japanese rule, in 1919 people protested against Japanese rule but were unsuccessful as 6000 people lost their lives to Japanese Forces. There was always a Government- General appointed by the Japanese government to keep control of Korea. He could lead in a dictatorial way and all Koreans who did not abide by his law could be arrested by the police, he had total control of the Korean affairs. From 1910 onwards, the Government- General implemented a survey where useful agricultural land could be determined, if land was found to be useful to the economy of Japan, the general took control of it. Many of the Korean citizens lost their land as a result. By 1930, the Government-general owned 40 percent of the total agricultural and forest lands of Korea, most of the land would be sold by the Japanese government to Japanese development companies, land could also be sold for a cheap price to Japanese individuals looking to start farming in Korea. The land policies implemented by the Director general increased poverty in Korea for the farm population which formed the majority of the Korean population. This explains why Korea experienced so much poverty and why many of its citizens turned out to be peasants, the Generals land policies took many of the Korean citizens and farmers land in the wealthy areas of Korea. The Japanese did not determine their land policies with the interest s of Korean people at heart, at the same time a lot of Korean peasants suffered as most of the money they made from harvesting on the rented land paid for the rent. Korea was known to be a major exporter of rice when it came to agriculture, most of its rice was exported to Japan at the expense of Korean cheap labour, the land allocation system seemed to be prospering. From 1912 to 1936, over half of the total rice production was being exported to Japan, this was possible because the Koreans were forced to lessen their rice consumptions. In the Mining sector, the Government-General also implemented a Mineral assessment with some major Japanese Corporations in an attempt to extract mineral resources from Korea. Korea had great resources such as gold, silver, led, iron and coal. These resources worked highly to the advantage of Japan as they could exploit them during WW1 for military armaments production, the Military armaments could be sold by the Japanese to the Allies. This proves that the Korean Mineral and Land occupation was of high importance for a country like Japan, and they were going to exploited it for as long as they could, as long as Japan kept growing and developed a strong competitive economy for itself. But this was just one of two major economic factors Japan were interested in, the manufacturing sector also became an interest in which the Japanese were focused on. They would achieve through intense industrial development and cheap labour, since many of the farmers had lost their agricultural land. Korea started to experience mass industrialization through Japan, this could be seen as the beginning of Manufacturing on a large scale for Korea. The government-General encouraged many Japanese businesses looking for cheap production to invest their Capital in Korea. He achieved this through the new policies of manufacturing, which opened doors to Japanese investors to bring in their Capital at very low costs. The Japanese had control of almost 90 percent of all manufacturing Capital in Korea, this also applied to the mining industry, The Japanese companies had almost 95 percent of the coal mining industry of Japan. These percentages were achieved by 1945. The Industrialization of Korea pushed many peasants into becoming wage workers, by 1944 600 000 Koreans were working in factories and another 350 000 working in mines. The situation for Korean workers in the factories was so bad that the wages they got paid by 1935 were 50 percent less than in 1927. Peace and comfort did not happen and the Korean people suffered a lot from discrimination and exploitation during the period 1910 to 1945. The Japanese used a military dictator ruling style and got rid of any opposition from the local people. The people of Korea had no backup and could not express their feelings or voice their opinions as to how they wanted Korea to be run, or how their lives could be transformed from impoverished to better standards of living. This probably happened because Political and social groups were banned. The Japanese, in 1930, formed a basic structure, in the decade that followed national industrial planning was implemented through the political economy. This meant that planning could be extended to Japan in order to give major industries in Japan a chance to bring in their corporations into Japan through direct investment. State policies were formed by the Japanese, in order to regulate and control the market from the use of foreign technology. This was achieved through a licensing system which would control market entry. The new state policies also introduced big banks and large companies owned by the Japanese, towards the end of the 1930s there were four major industries responsible for the occupation of the majority of the Korean population. These companies were Mitsui, Mitsubishi, Sumitomo and Yasuda, they dominated the Japanese economy more than any other industries. These industries belonged and originated in Japan, but because Korea and Japan were so close to each other Geographically, and Japan had direct control of Korea, it meant Japan could easily expand their economic activities into Korea and integrate them into the Japanese markets. This the Japanese managed to achieve through investments in railroad, ports, communications and massive industrialization in Korea. Because the growth of the Korean economy was pushed by the colonial state and the economic activities were undertaken by a few major Japanese corporations, the Japaneses industrialization of Korea did very little to give the Korean businessmen some sort of power or leaderships in some of the industries or politics. In terms of politics, Koreas economy might have been occupied by the Japanese, but from the time Korea was declared a colonized state, there were underground movements which planned to help Korea regain its dignity and independence. These groups consisted of former Korean politicians who were in exile and had affiliations with the Soviet Union, USA and China. The group affiliated with the USA was run by a man called Syngman Rhee, he fled to the USA with the hopes of making friends with politicians from the state and gaining their support for Koreas independence. Another group which was in China, was one led by Pak Hon-Yong which was a communist movement. Finally there was the group ruled by Kim II Sung, this group was a anti-Japanese Guerilla communist group Kim would later become the long standing ruler of North Korea. There was little influence or success in their attempts to gain the independence of Korea by these groups. But one group which proved to have greater influence later, would be the group run by Kim Koo, right after the split with Rhee due to disputes and disagreements. This group was the anti- Japanese Guerilla, it formed close links with the Japanese Nationalists. Koo became president of the organization in 1931, with the support of the of one of its branches which were in Hawai and USA. Rhee who was in the US at the time had tried several times to influence the US group but failed. By 1940, the Provisional Korean exile government, based in China which was set on fighting for Korean independence, it managed to influence the Chinese government and was given the chance to form a general staff for strategic planning against Japanese colonialism. This would lead to the famous Pacific Korean war, where the Chinese and Koreans would fight side to side against Japan in Manchuria and China. Korea would invade Manchuria and declare war on Japan, which would take two and a half years before the Koreans could finally win with the support of the US and USSR During the duration of the war, Rhee became president of the provisional Government, in which nine Korean organizations supported by 10 000 Koreans backed the government. They set up a meeting in Washington and formed allies with the USA in order to determine how they would help the US defence on strategies of attack on Japan. What Rhee was mainly concerned about was the future of Korea after the war, how would it be run and under what economic policies would it be run? In 1942, during the talks of the future of Korea with the Allies, Rhees conditions were not met and the meeting was unsuccessful. In 1943 at the Cairo conference, Churchill, Roosevelt and Chiang Kai-shek resolved the issue stating that Korea would be declared an independent and free state. The war continued and as it progressed a trust agreement was signed by the USA and the USSR, stating that they would help Korea get back on its feet economically and politically. The USSR declared war on Japan in 1945, while the USA who had declared war on Japan earlier had now occupied the South of Korea by sending their troops to the South of Korea. The USSR would now send its troops to the North of Korea as the treaty of Cairo stated. This signaled the birth of what would become two separate worlds in Korea, the Division between North and South. The South would prosper tremendously due to its Global economic policies and affiliations and friendships with the allied powers that supported capitalism. The north on the other hand, would suffer due to their strict policies of Nationalization, independence and the support of a communist system as a way towards economic transformation. New Era, Korea Gains Back Independence By December 1945, a provisional government was set up by a joint group of allies; USA, United Kingdom and Chine. But the provisional government have to always consult with the allied powers who would have the task of being in charge of Korea for a period of five years. But right-wing parties of Korea were against the five year deal, as they did not want Russia making any decisions, as they believed it had ulterior motives towards Korea. Therefore they organized the anti-trusteeship organization. In the meantime, a more democratic committee was set up in the Southern part of Korea, it had Rhee as its permanent chairman. The USA established an assembly where elections would take place, but half of the assembly could be appointed and the other half could be voted for. Right wing groups of Korea saw it as the development of a Southern independent Korea and started to set up a separate state. Soon several elections took place, with those favouring democracy being in opposition with those who believed in Communism. The Battle between USA/ South and USSR/north would ensue within Korea. By 1948, the Dispute was resolved, where the United Nations Temporary Commission in Seoul gave the Koreans a chance to vote in the South, as the Soviets refused them occupation in the North of Korea. South Korea became declared as an independent state by 1948, but it was called the republic of Korea instead. The USA then withdrew its troops from the South in order to avoid further conflict and to prove that it was not intending on occupying South Korea. The new government under the rulership of Rhee had become an ally of America, and the best years of South Korea were to come. But in the beginning of the Souths rulership, it had lost its supply of hydro-power, and coal from the North. At the same time its population was increasing at a high rate, south Korea experienced a major shortage of food and housing, unemployment became rife in the state. After the USA and USSR withdrew their troops, the North declared war on the South through its communist leader Kim II Sung, but the USA sent troops in defence of South Korea. The war continued for several with Chinese, UN, Japan, Soviet Union and the USA involved. By 1953 the war ended and South Korea like North Korea were to reconstruct its state economically. In 1961, Park Chung Hee became the new leader of the South Korea and he intended to strengthen South Koreas relations with the USA and mainly other states which were capitalist states. A lot of attention would be put on the economic growth of South Korea. First Five-Year Plan By 1962, South Korea Introduced its first five-year plan in order to recover economically. South Korea approached Japan as a second major capital investor after the US in 1963 and Japan finally signed the agreement in 1965. Through these economic moves, South Korea would begin to prosper in terms of economic growth. The Korean economy was destroyed by the war. After the Korean War reconstruction was given support by huge amounts of foreign Capital from, in the North from Communist countries such as Russia, China and East Germany and in the South mainly from the United States and serious government economic development programs. The greatest industrial improvements were made during the 1960s. North Korea made progress in industrial growth while South Korea concentrated on feeding its people. When Park came into power there were certain obstacles he was faced with in reconstructing South Korea, his initial five-year plan started off at a very slow place for developing the economy, as he was to focused on social policy first before moving towards economic policies. From Parks economic policy changes in 1964, South Korea would now start to go through three different Democratic rulerships, each with their own plans of action towards economic transformation. Parks government, of 1963-1973 focused on a sort of limited democracy that wanted to restrict democracy to a certain extent. Park wanted to follow Japans idea of a military leadership, which had initially created a lot economic progress in Japan. Second Five-Year Plan In 1964 with the attempt at the five-year plan for the second time, Park now shifted his economic plans more to industrial growth instead of a focus on food self-sufficiency. The goals of the plan was to increase energy production, grain production and create a demand for exports. Korea had started to have a growth rate of 8.5 percent in GDP and the growth of the industry sector had been the major contributing factor to the sudden growth of the South Korea economy. Even though South Korea started to develop, it was mostly due to Americas contribution towards its economy. From the 1960s, Korea benefited from great relations with the United States. The relationship between the USA and South Korea was created because American policy-makers, saw South Korea as an important platform to confront the Soviet Union during the Cold war. American interests in South Korea allowed it to enjoy economic benefits in terms of aid, trade, capital, and technology from the U.S. It is said that South Kor ea could not have survived its economic prosperity if it wasnt for Americas assistance in the 1950s and Korean access to its export markets since the mid-1960s. America though, was not happy with Parks economic reforms in the first half of the 1960s because he had focused on agriculture in his early rulership. The United States had threatened to withdraw its financial aid to South Korea, because it was not gaining well enough due to Parks economic transformations in the early 1960s. America also had its own economic problems and couldnt handle having to back up a slow growing economy which did not follow a clear system of liberalized market and limited democracy. But the USA wasnt going to withdraw its aid that easily because, it feared that with South Koreas deficit spending due to its economic strategies, South Korea would experience a foreign debt crisis and its economy would collapse. Not prepared to let this happen, the US government started to put pressure on South Korea to start focusing on industrialization instead of agriculture and social policy. This the American government believed had to be implemented as South Korea could increase its exports and therefore lessen its foreign debt. America then put pressure on South Korea to strengthen its ties with Japan, because Japan could now become an investor in the South Korean labor raw material market. Therefore Japan would be able to provide aid and a market for exports in South Korea which could be very beneficial to the growth of its economy. The United States then began to issue more funds into the South Korean economy, US finance in South Korea paid for over 70 percent of imports, this gave the USA power to control the South Korean Government as the US expenditure on South Koreans obviously came with major conditions. As the result by 1964, the South Korean Government went into serious deals with the USA, an d the conditions meant that South Korea would follow USA orders. Over the next years after 1964 the Koreans would follow the US orders by stabilizing prices, creating more trade relations with other western countries, raising interest rates, devaluing the currency, taking down import barriers and increasing export incentives. This direction followed by South Korea would later be very beneficial to the countrys economic wealth, as it would influence rapid economic growth in space of just 30 years. Third Five-Year Plan The third five-year plan was to be introduced by Park from 1972-1976, this was and important era as South Korea aimed at job creation, and mainly the need to focus on rural development and creation of rural labour and revitalization. A very important factor by which Park did not adhere to during this time was the American conditions, which stated to him that he had to loosen the economy for open trade and rather focus on gaining economic wealth for the country. Instead, Park took his own measures would prove very successful before the fourth five-year plan. The government partly took control of over banks and controlled investment. During this period, the government imposed price controls, this they wanted to implement for a short period aimed controlling certain inequalities in industries where high profits were being made by foreign investors. These price controls were aimed at reducing inflation, but they were not imposed on all industries but a select major ones, which contributed highly to the economic wealth and the ones which were monopolistic in their markets. There were other areas in the economy were restructuring and mergers took place, where the government intervened during the rapid industrialization period which was to follow. The reason Park introduced this policy of government intervention was because by 1972, South Koreas economy had produced a high amount of industrial wealth, of which most of it lay in the hands of a select few owners and political leaders. This created an imbalance in the economic equilibrium of South Korea. At the same time, South Korea needed to solve its debts. Fourth Five-Year Plan The next step to be followed by Park would be very economic orientated, the Fourth Five-year plan. This plan was implemented from 1977-1981 more or less, it was regarded as the big push era of South Korea. Park now focused on heavy industrial policy by shifting towards electronics, machinery and shipbuilding to name a few. With this policy, Park wanted very minimal foreign borrowing of capital as his aim was to decrease the amount of debt South Korea was faced with. This five year plan would turn out to be a sort of disaster, caused by the oil crisis. Therefore the targets of this plan wouldnt be achieved to their full potential. At this point the South Korean Chemical industry boosted economic growth and was the major industry which contained the most foreign investment. South Korea had collaborated with Dow Chemicals from the USA, which was South Koreas largest business partner in industry sector, the problem now, was that Dow Chemicals was charged by the South Korean government for fixing its prices through its South Korean partner, this was aimed at creating profits which Dow chemicals used to transfer to its other plants out of South Korea. This led to the South Korean partner objecting to this plan, and the Government being in support of the South Korean partner intervened. Dow then decided to pull out of the joint business venture. This became a major knock to the states economic stability. South Korea during this period had also built a major Shipyard, probably one of the worlds largest, the problem although was that, in building the shipyard, South Korea had to export most of its expertise, machinery, engines and tools from Japan. This created an imbalance of payments for South Korea and increased her debts highly. Another major threat to the countrys growth was the oil boom of the Middle East, South Korea striked a deal with the Middle East to start a huge construction programme in the Middle East region. South Korea then sent an estimated 293 000 male workers to the Middle East region between 1977-1979 for construction. This number was equal to over half of the South Korean manufacturing labour force. It became a problem because wages went higher in the manufacturing sector of South Korea but production became slower because of the shortage of workers in the industries. While this happened, a lot of smaller companies were not making real profits, at the same time the state was spending highly on Industries for growth. Only the major foreign companies were profiting highly, causing the economy of South Korea to become unstable and unbalanced. This meant that industries could not meet the targets of the South Korean export sector, at the same time the lighter smaller manufacturing companies competition internationally. South Korea had become a country which imported a lot, which disadvantaged the economy during the rapid industrialization era. Technology and Capital goods had to be imported, causing South Korea to put itself in a position of overspending and having to borrow foreign Capital in order to increase growth. By 1979 it was clear that government growth could no longer benefit the economy, Park had devised a plan to solve the debt problem by lessening imports and increasing exports in the smaller manufacturing industries which proved to be the major hub of the economy when they were combined. This caused further inflation, pushing the country into a recession GNP fell by 6.5 percent in 1980. This was the first year of very poor growth since the Korean War, by the end of 1980 South Koreas debt increased at a very rapid rate from around $20 million to about $40 million in1983. Park died in 1979, while he was a dictatorial leader, but to many South Koreans it was seen as new era that would open doors to a more Democratic state, being able to improve the economic conditions of South Korea. Unfortunately it was not the case, another military dictatorship occurred, this time by Chu Doo Hwan, this led to major strikes in the labour force which wanted better working conditions and better wages. The workers had been promised by their labour unions that after Parks fall, things would turn out for the better and the workers would be able to get better working conditions and wages. And an end to military dictatorships would occur, which was seen as having a negative effect on the economy and lives of the working class. Strikes continued for the whole of 1980. Years Of Prosperity Through Exploitation By August 1980 Chun retired from military and announced that he would become a candidate for national presidency position. Chun came into power after the internal election and formed the Democratic Justice Party. But this was just a front, he immediately after coming into power exercised his military dictatorships in order to stop protests. Brutal force and arrests were made on protestors and a new law which destroyed worker unions was implemented. This was done by Chun, so worker exploitation could occur, but this would be to the much benefit of the South Korean economy. In doing this, wages would be at minimal but production would increase. By creating forced labour conditions were wages fell and productivity increased, became part of Chuns plan to improve the economy. The results were tremendously high, putting South Korea in the competitive Global arena as one of the leading export markets through its short term strategy of exploitative labour in the industries. By 1983 the econo my was ready for expansion. The US supported this direction and became a major technological contributor towards South Korea, with Japan also being a major financial contributor. Conclusion In less than twenty years after the Korean war tore apart the South Korean economy, economic stability became the major all South Korean leaders focused on. South Korea turned out from one of the worlds poorest nations to one of the richest in a short space of time. This it achieved through trial and error, and a open market, liberalized economy towards the rest of the world for investment and exploitation of its labour force. It became an Industrial hub of the world towards the end of the twentieth century. The rapid industrialization, as many would argue wouldnt have happened if the USA and Japan had not given financial support and guidance towards its economy. And most importantly, the rapid economic growth took place at the expense of the South Korean Peoples labour and hard work. Bibliography: M.S. Alam, Governments and Market Economic Development Strategies: Lessons from Korea, Taiwan and Japan (New York,1989) A . Amsden, Asias Next Giant: South Korea and Late Industrialization (New York, 1989). B. Cumings, The Origins and Development of the North Eastern Political Economy, International Organisation 38, 1 (1984), pp.1-40. H. Landsberg, The Rush to Development: Economic Change and Political Struggle in South Korea (New York, 1993) D.S. Lewis, Korea: Enduring Division? (United Kingdom, 1988) W.D. Reeve, The Republic of Korea: A political and Economic Study (London, 1963) J.B. Rosser, M.V. Rosser, Comparative Economics in a Transforming World Economy(USA, 2004) M. Tcha, C.S Suh, The Korean Economy at the Crossroads (London, 2003) M.H Landsberg, The Rush To Development: economic Change and Political Struggle in South Korea p98-103 J.B Rosser M.V Rosser, Comparative Economics In a Transforming World Economy p 546-547 M.H Landsberg, The Rush To Development: economic Change and Political Struggle in South Korea p104-105 W.D Reeve, The Republic of Korea: A Political and Economic Study p 19-20 M.H Landsberg, The Rush To Development: economic Change and Political Struggle in South Korea p 106-107 M.H Landsberg, The Rush To Development: economic Change and Political Struggle in South Korea p.109 D. Lewis, Korea:enduring division? P. 7 W.D Reeve, The Republic of Korea: A Political and Economic Study p22-23 W.D Reeve, The Republic of Korea: A Political and Economic Study p.23 W.D Reeve, The Republic of Korea: A Political and Economic Study p. 24 D. Lewis, Korea:enduring division? P. 31-33 M.S Alam, Governments and Markets in economic Development Strategies: lessons from Korea, Taiwan and Japan p.24-25 B.Cummings, The Origins and Development of the North east Asian Political Economy. International Organization p.34-36 M.S Alam, Governments and Markets in economic Development Strategies: lessons from Korea, Taiwan and Japan p. 29-30 J.B Rosser M.V Rosser, Comparative Economics In a Transforming World Economyp.558-561 M. Tcha C.S Suh, The Korean Economy at the Crossroads p.3-4 A. Amsden, Asias next Giant: South Korea and late Industrialization p. M.H Landsberg, The Rush To Development: economic Change and Political Struggle in South Korea p.214-222

Much Ado About Nothing Essay: Illusions in Much Ado About Nothing

Social Illusions in Much Ado About Nothing In Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare presents us with a romp through the realms of truth and illusion. The play is full of characters plotting and deceiving, for both noble and repugnant reasons. It is a study in the importance and necessity of illusion in our everyday lives, and shows how deeply ingrained deception is in our social behaviors. Everybody is involved in some kind of illusion, from the masked celebration to the unveiling of Hero's "cousin." Two of the major conspiracies in the play are the Claudio/Hero plotline and the Benedick/Beatrice story. Both of these situations contrast the multiplicitous nature of illusion. Claudio and Hero do not operate in the realm of illusion. Their intentions and emotions are easily visible, so much so that they come off as transparent. Their utter lack of ability to engage in social illusion makes them unbelievable: Claudi... ...e's dead, that things are finally resolved. By showing the deep tangles of illusion that exist in normal social relationships, Shakespeare reminds us of our dependence upon fabrication. He shows us that we both desire to be and have a deep need to deceive ourselves and others. It's why we watch plays and read literature. But Shakespeare also shows us the precarious balance of illusion in our lives and the ease with which we can lose our grip on reality and fiction. Much Ado About Nothing Essay: Illusions in Much Ado About Nothing Social Illusions in Much Ado About Nothing In Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare presents us with a romp through the realms of truth and illusion. The play is full of characters plotting and deceiving, for both noble and repugnant reasons. It is a study in the importance and necessity of illusion in our everyday lives, and shows how deeply ingrained deception is in our social behaviors. Everybody is involved in some kind of illusion, from the masked celebration to the unveiling of Hero's "cousin." Two of the major conspiracies in the play are the Claudio/Hero plotline and the Benedick/Beatrice story. Both of these situations contrast the multiplicitous nature of illusion. Claudio and Hero do not operate in the realm of illusion. Their intentions and emotions are easily visible, so much so that they come off as transparent. Their utter lack of ability to engage in social illusion makes them unbelievable: Claudi... ...e's dead, that things are finally resolved. By showing the deep tangles of illusion that exist in normal social relationships, Shakespeare reminds us of our dependence upon fabrication. He shows us that we both desire to be and have a deep need to deceive ourselves and others. It's why we watch plays and read literature. But Shakespeare also shows us the precarious balance of illusion in our lives and the ease with which we can lose our grip on reality and fiction.

Essay example --

The role of courts and constitutional judicial review in constitutional structures. To understand any social value or goal is important to get the pulse of a certain society but standing alone tell us nothing about law and public policy outcomes, so the central question resides on institutional choice. The answer of how can a society know the outcome of a certain policy resides on the institution chosen to best carry out the protection of that policy. The strengths and weakness of one institution versus another vary from one set of circumstances to another and will let us measure the efficiency of that particular institution. Any constitutional framework is exposed to its own society’s goals and values evolution, but seeking to revise existing constitutions or establish new ones, as well as creating new legislation, one will always be exposed to the scrutiny of its people. That scrutiny is most of the times, in democratic regimes, established by a regime of judicial review. This practice, where courts are called upon to review a legislative act in order to determine its compliance with the constitutional framework, stems from the balance aimed by the separation of powers, granting the courts the monopoly of this review for reasons of independence and transparency. In order to understand the allocation of resources in this particular institution we have to understand the link between any society goals and values and that adjudicative process chosen, having done so, we should be able to understand the factors that make a social or law and public policy issue more or less attractive for judicial revie w with a comparative institution analysis comprehensive approach. The system of constitutional judicial review is the most common ins... ...nk will always be exposed to the several factors exposed and one’s ability to manage them is decisive to any major player in the institution at stake. In the constitutional framework the same constants and variables influence the link between policy and outcome but with some striking factors being more decisive: higher threshold access cost, limited scale, and judicial independence. To effectively revise or draft new constitutions or implement new legislation regarding fundamental rights one has to always consider all this factors, only doing so it is possible to generate harmony within a society, or else there will always be a big gap between various sectors of that society. Only by recognizing the heterogeneity of a certain society one can manage the variables that compose it and be effective on addressing fundamental values or rights. Antà ³nio Pinto de Mesquita

Nowadays :: Business and Management Studies

Nowadays Nowadays, analysing competition is crucial for managers in order to understand the environment in which the business evolves, its competitors (their goals, plans etc) as well as implement strategies and position their companies. They can use a wide variety of techniques, each having its strengths and weaknesses. According to Prescott and Grant (1988), to select the appropriate techniques, managers have to know the different techniques available, how they are related to each other, the focus and scope of the area and the constraints limiting the extent of analysis. To analyse competition efficiently, they have to combine some of the different techniques available as they all have a specific aim. However, there are limitations that managers have to take into consideration in order to provide a clear and effective work. This essay outlines and evaluates the main weaknesses when understanding the business environment. They vary by nature. They can come from the interpretation of the managers and from the models themselves. However, they are in relation to each other, one flaw leading to another one. When analysing competition, the starting point is to precisely define the industry the firm belongs to and its boundaries. Managers may focus on the market of their company, narrowing their definition of the industry. They then forget or less consider other segments that can change quickly and have impact on the whole industry. According to Zahra and Chaples( 1993) â€Å"an effective definition of industry boundaries requires consideration of four interrelated issues: domain (where does the industry begin and end), customer group (sector to be served and their specific needs), customer functions (customer need and specific patterns) and critical technology (production, marketing and administrative system)†. Each point enables to define the competition more and more precisely. In addition to these issues, managers have to take time into consideration. Reviewing their business’ definition, the shape of the industry and the market over the time is crucial as industries change. Prahalad (1995) states that â€Å"many industries are undergoing massive transformation. Deregulation, global excess capacity, global competition, mergers and acquisitions, changing customer expectations, technological discontinuities [†¦] are changing industries, creating new industries and opening up new and large growth markets for existing businesses.† For instance, chemical companies enter the pharmaceutical industry by making alliances with young biotechnology companies, not considered as a threat by the pharmaceutical companies. This change in the industry led the pharmaceutical companies to redefine the industry and its boundaries as well as their strategy. Managers need to be vigilant in identifying its competitors. A poor identification leads to a wrong positioning and a possible long time response to the different actions coming from those undetected rivals. This identification is dependent on the managers’ perceptions and how

Has technology shaped our society? Essay

When we look back to the mid 1930s, we’ll see that the US was facing a very difficult time. After the gigantic losses on the New York Stock Markets, the economy was on its way to an all time low. The unemployment rates were astronomically high, leading to even worse conditions. ‘But why did this happen?’, we may wonder. Well, there is a very simple answer to that question. Just before the economical downfall, many people worked on the land, in the agraric sectors. But technology had, as it always has, a cheaper answer to the quest for lower costs. Many people were replaced by machines, making the land-owner able to provide the same amount of products with fewer workers on the land. This lead to the gigantically high unemployment rates, which on its turn lead to an extremely high amount of overproduction (after all, people with no jobs could hardly spend much money on primary and secondary needs, let alone tertiary needs). This had a great impact on society back then. Because of the great poverty, people had to change their lives. And so many people did, leading to a different kind of society, with different kinds of relations. However, not only then, but also nowadays technology has its impact on society. At present many countries in the world face a hard economic time. With large gaps in the consumers confidence in the United States and Europe the short-term prospect does not look very colorful. This, evidently, changes the way society works. Especially when one considers that we currently live in a consumer society, and when consumers lack faith, so does society. But how did we come to live in a consumers society? Let’s look back a while. After World War II, there began to evolve a large need for machines that make life easier. Cars, airplanes, household-machines (such as vacuum cleaners, ovens, microwaves), televisions, you name it and it was produced. It began to become a hype, to always have better material possesions than the people in society around you. Having the maniest, newest material possesions stated that you were wealthy. And wealthyness made people respect you. And even today, when we look at cars, cellular phones and computers we still want the  best to make an impression on the people around us. If this advancement in technology hadn’t been here society would simply have looked completely different. We would not have tried to squeeze out every cent of our incomes to pay for a vacation trip that is better and longer than last years. We would not massively have ran to our banks for even larger loanes, for which we ‘only’ have to pay 11% interest, in order to buy that all-important house on Martha’s Vineyard. If we would not have been so hungry for wealth there wouldn’t be so many poor people existent as today. In the US alone, over 17 per cent of the population lives life below the poverty line. And why? Because they didn’t realize that when they lost their jobs they wouldn’t be able to pay for their huge debts they had from their loanes. By the way, would it be a coinsidence that the US contributes the most to the technology sector, and also has the largest consumers society in the world? Surely, we realize these facts, but still we remain in the same pattern, seeking life happiness in material possesions. This pattern is all caused by the technology sector, making people want more than they can have. It has shaped our society into a consumers society.

How Did Malene’s Arthritis Attacks Impact Her Social Life Essay

Rheumatoid arthritis, shall we say, is a crippling ailment, both literally and figuratively. It is a common ailment and yet there are only few individuals who are willing to admit that they have Rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis is also an ailment that can heavily affect the social life of the person who suffers Rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis can also be understandably make the lives of the individuals affected difficult since they can’t be shall we say not fully functional and thus it has certain effects their productivity. But this vicious ailment could be more difficult for people in their prime since there is a common notion that this ailment is for old people only (allaboutarthritis. com). Those individuals in their prime that are affected by Rheumatoid arthritis in many ways could not do certain things that are expected of them because of the ailment. This essay will try to examine and present the impact of the ailment called rheumatoid arthritis on the life, especially on the social life of the fictional character Malene from the novel â€Å"The Exception† by the Danish Writer Christian Jungersen. Her story is somewhat a common case in real life as there are many individuals who suffer from a medical condition that adversely affects the normalcy of their lives. To start off, Rheumatoid arthritis is an ailment that causes the patient constant pain due to inflammation of the joint areas. It is an autoimmune disease meaning the body itself is attacking its own body tissues with its own immune system by mistake. Rheumatoid arthritis is an ailment that is considered a chronic ailment. That just means that rheumatoid arthritis can unfortunately last a lifetime for a patient. Medical practitioners say that the causes of Rheumatoid arthritis are still unknown. The known symptoms for Rheumatoid arthritis can range from joint and swelling of affected the body parts, muscle pains and stiffness, poor appetite, high levels of fatigue, fever among many others. (Medlineplus. gov) Rheumatoid arthritis could have a large impact on the social life of the individual affected just like the case of the character of Malene in the novel â€Å"The Exception† by the Danish Writer Christian Jungersen. The effect of her rheumatoid arthritis is amplified by the fact that she has a lively personality and has a reputation of having an active social and love life. Here is an excerpt from the novel that suggests Malene is quite the social person â€Å"Malene, who has always been brilliant at voices†¦improvising Chris’s words. From time to time she entertains everyone with parodies†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Jungersen 20). Actually. That previous line implies to us that Malene is quite the entertainer, that she is the kind of person who is comfortable of being around other people. It can also be concluded that she is used to that scenario and now her rheumatoid arthritis is affecting her confidence to mingle with other people. In a scene wherein Malene was in a social gathering, she calls on to her best friend Iben to tell her in secret that she has to leave the social gathering because of her rheumatoid arthritis attack â€Å"‘Look, I really came over to tell you that I’d better leave. My feet †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Jungersen 12) She didn’t even finished the sentence because she was quite actually shy about her condition, even to a close friend who she could tell anything. She is still young and it is a common notion that it is unusual for young people to suffer rheumatoid arthritis â€Å"Three years have [just] passed since Malene received her degree† (Jungersen 6). That excerpt from the novel implies to us that Malene is relatively a fresh college graduate. That just means that her age can be approximated from the age of twenty to thirty years of age. Malene may have felt so down because maybe she feels that there are still more to do for people within her age of range. And not that she has the crippling disease of rheumatoid arthritis, her morale could had been dragged down and he confidence to take part in social activities is greatly affected. According to the National Institutes of Health, people suffering rheumatoid arthritis find it difficult to mingle and interact with other people. They say that people that have rheumatoid arthritis are very prone to having low confidence in their self and their ability to socialize. People that have rheumatoid arthritis may feel that they can’t keep up with other people that don’t suffer the ailment, that is why they just stay in a low-profile (National Institutes of Health). That would pose a problem for Malene since she is seemingly always having an above-the-radar profile. She is described in the novel as having a lively personality and attractive physical features as conveyed by Iben’s jealousy to Malene’s physical beauty â€Å"Iben†¦felt envious of her friend, who always met such exciting men through her work,and was good-looking enough to attract many of them† (Jungersen 16). Rheumatoid arthritis would have a big effect on Malene’s confidence since she was described in the novel as rather vain â€Å"Malene comes back, trailing a faint scent of perfume and wearing a flimsy, chocolate-coloured dress†¦ Malene wants to finish her make-up (Jungersen 6-7)†. Her slight vanity would further dramatize her situation of a young woman having rheumatoid arthritis because as we know vain people, they detest having imperfections, even the thought of it. Rheumatoid arthritis could be considered an imperfection because it can cause swellings in affected body parts. These swellings on affected body parts can be considered a quite unattractive feature. Malene is not used to being unattractive, she may have always been a beautiful woman and always attractive to men as explicitly implied by the lines â€Å"Malene, always so sure of being attractive to men, is making a big fuss over nothing† (Jungersen 16). It is just understandable for a young woman, who was always convinced to be always attractive to men, to be questioning her own beauty now that she has an ailment that can deform her beautiful physical features. She may have felt really down when she first heard the news that she was diagnosed to have rheumatoid arthritis in such a young age. That just meant to her that even at her young age, she will be suffering an ailment that only old people should be suffering from. It is not improbable that she may have thought that would look as an old woman and that people in her range of age won’t be comfortable hanging alongside her because she looks more mature. Perhaps the most relevant and dramatic scene that displays Malene’s struggle with rheumatoid arthritis is when she had to change her normal shoes for a pair of shoe especially made for people who suffer rheumatoid arthritis â€Å"In the hall, Malene quickly changes to another pair of her expensive orthopaedic shoes, which she has to wear because of her arthritis. † (Jungersen 8) We should note that she had to change her shoes in a quick manner. The probable reason for her quickly changing shoes is that she is somewhat ashamed to show other people her special condition. In that scene, Malene and Iben were at the hall where there would be other people. Maybe Malene got a little comfortable to change her shoes in the hall because she was with her best friend that could cover for her as she was changing. What is dramatic in that scene was the fact that she was always convinced that she was a beautiful woman. Through that fact we can make an assumption that she was used to wearing fashionable and fancy â€Å"normal† shoes. And now that she has rheumatoid arthritis, she is forced by the crippling pain of the ailment to wear unfashionable-doctor-prescribed shoes. It is just sad to imagine that she may have once wore expensive fancy shoes that were tailored by the likes of Prada, and now she is being forced to wear a more expensive shoe tailored by a doctor specialized in treating joints, not in making women look elegant. As we know it, shoes are probably one of the shortest way to a woman’s heart. And now Malene’s maybe sad because she can’t wear beautiful â€Å"normal† shoes that she was once used to wear. Consequently, setting aside the effects on the social life, rheumatoid arthritis can also have adverse effects on the individual’s love life. This portion of the paragraph is included because love life and relationships can be also considered as a form of the social life. It seems that individuals with rheumatoid arthritis find it difficult to be comfortable approaching other people. They also find it difficult to talk about their condition openly to people, even if they have close relationships. They find it difficult to communicate openly to others because they are having the fear of being judged or rejected. Some even come to the point of being frustrated when they are trying to explain their condition because others without rheumatoid arthritis find it difficult to relate to the patient. (National Institutes of Health) That was the same case for Malene as rheumatoid arthritis had ruined her already fragile relationship with his boyfriend. Malene and her boyfriend were already having fights about the shaky status of their relationship. Malene’s boyfriend was complaining about the lack of time that Malene gives him and their relationship. Malene’s boyfriend had accused her of having so much time worrying other things besides him and their relationship. These things would include her work and unfortunately her condition of having rheumatoid arthritis. In that sense, her ailment was one of the main factors that had caused her a happy relationship with her boyfriend. As if it wasn’t enough that she had worried that her boyfriend won’t like her because her body parts maybe deformed by rheumatoid arthritis. The ailment, rheumatoid arthritis had paved the way for her worst nightmare of being left by her boyfriend. But then again, that just means that her boyfriend doesn’t love her as much or as purely. It would be really quite ironic when eventually they get married and be taking their vows, especially when her boyfriend will say the â€Å"through sickness and in health†¦Ã¢â‚¬  part. He couldn’t even give her girlfriend enough understanding that she has a condition and the kind of work that requires much understanding. Moreover, although it was not explicitly mentioned in the novel, Malene’s sexual relationship/s could have been affected by her condition. Since, rheumatoid arthritis can cause body pains and stiffness, her ability to perform sexually could be put in question. It is just an assumption that this could have been a factor to the weakening of Malene and her boyfriend’s relationship. Almost all the main characters in the story were given their share of respective complications by the author. Iben. Malene’s best friend, had to deal with her horrible past of being abducted by terrorist on Africa, Camilla, the office secretary, also had to deal with his past because her former lover was a terrorist, Anne-Lise had to deal with both her past and present as she was constantly bullied by everyone around her. In the case of Malene, her complication is that she has rheumatoid arthritis. As if the complications were not bad enough, the he complication Marlene and the other characters has to face is also seemingly being affected by their gender as they are working on a male dominated environment. Moreover, it is also seems that the complications that Marlene and the other characters have to face seems to be interfering their work, sort of preventing them not to function well in their work. The previous paragraph was included because work can also be considered a social function. More common than not, people are obliged to sort of mingle and interact with other people, like co-workers, bosses, clients, etc, in their respective workplace. It is a common notion in workplaces that workers should mingle and interact with other workers to form a kind of cohesiveness within the workplace place with the assumption that they would function better together as a team. Another assumption is that that certain cohesiveness among the workers requires camaraderie and trust. In the case of Malene, it seems that that certain trust is being damaged because she constantly keeps a secret from her fellow workers, her rheumatoid Rheumatoid arthritis. As stated earlier in this essay, Malene, just like others who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis, find it hard to openly talk about their condition with other people. That is the very reason why she is only comfortable to discuss her situation with her best friend, Iben. It was very admirable of Malene’s best friend Iben to be always there to help her in times of need, or in the case of Malene, times of many needs. Malene’s dependence to her best friend Iben was displayed in pages eighteen to nineteen â€Å"Iben felt like Malene’s squire, always ready to help and support her. Only Iben was allowed to know when Malene wasn’t capable of twisting the lids off jars, of buttoning her shirts, or of unlocking doors by herself. † (Jungersen 18-19). As we can see from that excerpt, Malene was already dependent to her best friend Iben because Malene could no longer perform even the most basic of functions. It is important to take into consideration that these basic functions would include functions from Malene’s work. With that taken into consideration, we can now conclude that rheumatoid arthritis did not only affected and deteriorated her joints and body tissues, but also Malene’s performance at work. And as stated earlier in this paragraph, if her performance at the workplace is being affected, it is just logical that her social life is also being affected by rheumatoid arthritis. Malene’s work was greatly affected because she had to miss several days of work due to rheumatic arthritis â€Å"The diagnosis was a sudden onset of rheumatoid Rheumatoid arthritis and Malene had been kept in hospital for several days† (Jungersen 18). It is not only her work life that was affected by her condition, her social life had also suffered much because of rheumatoid arthritis. Her work and her boyfriend was basically the bulk of Malene’s social life. If she was bedridden for several days in the hospital, that just means several days of only talking to doctors and nurses, that wouldn’t qualify as a social activity at all since she had no choice but to be bedridden and answer the questions of the people from the hospital. The effects to Malene’s social life of rheumatoid arthritis were also surfaced in the most poignant parts of the novel. In the novel â€Å"The Exception† the story revolved around the death threat that the office of Manlene had recived. She may have felt great fear because she knows in herself that she would have a hard time defending herself since rheumatoid arthritis had already weakened her. She may have felt helpless and unable to defend herself. All in all, the ailment rheumatoid arthritis had completely ruined Malene’s social life. The condition had a great effect on her confidence especially because her job was to help people. She may have questioned her ability to help others if she can’t even help herself as she was dependent to Iben to help her in even the most basic of functions. Rheumatoid arthritis had brutally shattered the poor Malene’s relatively small-scaled social life that was mostly consisted of her work and her boyfriend. She had missed several social gatherings, work, dates with her boyfriend, appointments, and other social functions on repeated occasions throughout the novel because of her condition. It was like the ailment rheumatoid arthritis did not only affected and deteriorated her joints and body tissues, but also Malene’s performance at work, relationship with her boyfriend and best friend, reputation as a lively and beautiful lady, basically all of her social life was turned upside down. To end, Malene’s condition is suffered by many people around us. Her story, or rather her tragedy tells us that people that have rheumatoid arthritis requires understanding from people who are fortunate enough to not have suffered the pains of the ailment. Her story tells us that we shouldn’t be like her selfish boyfriend who is devoid of empathy. What we should be is like Iben who is selflessly helpful to these people. Works Cited Jungersen, Christian. The Exception. Orion Publishing Group. 2006 allaboutarthritis. com. Rheumatoid Arthritis. 24 March 2008 http://www. allaboutarthritis. com/AllAboutRheumatoidarthritis/layoutTemplates/html/en/contentdisplay/document/condition/Rheumatoid arthritis/generalArticle/dating_Rheumatoid arthritis_xml. htm Medlineplus. gov. Effects of Arthritis on the Dating Life. 24 March 2008 http://www. medicinenet. edu/rheumatoid_arthritis/page2. htm#2whatcausera arthritis. org . Arthritis and Young Teens. 24 March 2008 http://www. arthritis. org/juvenile- arthritis. php British Society for Rheumatology. Effects of Rheumatoid Arthritis on the Social Life. 24 March 2008 http://rheumatology. oxfordjournals. org/cgi/content/abstract/15/3/156 UW Medicine. edu. Frequently Asked Questions About Arthritis. 24 March 2008 http://www. orthop. washington. edu/uw/livingwith/tabID__3376/ItemID__94/PageID__11 8/Articles/Default. aspx