Canada: 1920’s and 1930’s

How Canadian Men Stayed Clean During the â€Å"Dirty† Thirties The twenties were a time of flappers, bobs, and jazz with nothing but buying exorbitant goods in between. However, these careless times were short- lived and the â€Å"dirty† thirties began a few years later. Society was affected on a large economic scale which in turn put a strain on the familial bonds of those trying to survive the drastic transition between these two decades as men went to drastic lengths to support their families, as seen in the film Cinderella Man.Canadian citizens of the 1920s lived in a hazy dream where money was as easily gained as it was spent. Canadians were facing a time of prosperity, where wages were high and unemployment was low. Such prosperity created a sense of monetary and economic security within Canada and the more Canadians earned, the more they wanted to gain. Canadians were willing to make risky decisions and so, many saw excitement and a quick- rise to wealth in the s tock markets. Companies would sell stocks, or shares, in their business to investors. In return, investors were entitled to a share of any profits a company earned.In order to increase profit, many began to buy on margin. To elaborate, they would purchase a stock with a small down payment and borrow the rest based on the value of the stock as collateral from banks. Most citizens thought that the prosperity of the twenties would last far into the future and would allow for a luxurious and care- free life where no one would have to pay attention to possible future issues. In contrast, the 1930s saw the end of prosperity as depression quickly set in. On October 29, 1929, better known as Black Tuesday, the stock market had reached its peak.Those with many shares and an excess of cash began to sell their stocks. Thus, the â€Å"cattle heard† effect began and those at the bottom of the stock market pyramid began to follow the precedent and quickly sold their stocks all at once. In a single day, the value of stocks on the world’s major market stock exchanges dropped by 50%. Almost every Canadian citizen lost their investments as well as their previous profits as banks began to repossess everyone’s belongings as compensation for the numerous loans almost everyone had taken in order to invest in the stocks.It was during the thirties that Canadians began to realize that perhaps a plan for future problems would be extremely helpful- of course citizens had to suffer quite a bit before these realizations were made. As a result of the drastic shift in wealth, citizens of the thirties became increasingly desperate and were willing to do do laborious and tedious work for a mere $0. 20 at most in contrast to the relaxing and languid investments that brought quick wealth in the twenties. During 1933, Canada’s unemployment rate was nearly 30%- not including farmers and fishermen.Meaning, if a man was able to find a job he was extremely lucky and was v ery unlikely to be given the same chance the next day. Thus, very few had the good fortune to turn down any form of work as physically draining as it was. To illustrate, in Cinderella Man, James Braddock pushes himself beyond physical weaknesses to work at a dock where work is laborious and almost unbearable. He is willing to suffer the pain of a broken hand and gain a limited amount of pay simply because the docks were his only method of obtaining decent pay- after his loss of a boxing license.For most Canadians, there was only one method of obtaining money and it was often tiresome, tedious, and grueling but, it was the only way to bring in some form of support for their families. Beyond the physical labour, Canadian men of the thirties were forced to conquer their pride and accept charitable donations and relief aid from the government in order to support their families. In the movie, Cinderella Man, James Braddock is forced to accept relief in his desperate attempt to keep his f amily together though he admitted it was a shameful act for any man during the Depression.Barry Broadfoot, a relief worker, described the appearance of these men, â€Å"†¦ as though they were signing away their manhood, their right to be a husband and sit at the head of the table and carve the roast. † In admitting to needing the government’s support, men felt that they had let down their families and had become unfit as head of the family as society expected a man to be able to work and provide full support to his family during the 1900s. Many men, in the hopes of finding some way to support their families, left their homes and travelled West in search of work. Many â€Å"rode the rails† nto British Columbia and found only more charities. As a result, the government set up relief camps to rid the province’s streets of the desperate men in search of unattainable work. Over 200 000 men lived in these camps during 1933 and faced a life similar to that of prison. The only benefit was that at lest a few cents were made each day- a small but necessary sum of money in the face of the Depression. However, Canadian men soon protested the terrible conditions in the relief camps. The chaotic riots and protests directed towards Canada’s government, such as the Regina riot and On-to-Ottawa Trek, led R.B. Bennett to create the â€Å"New Deal† which established minimum wages and unemployment insurance among other policies which resulted in a small victory for future Canadians who would face Depression as the business cycle continued its circulation. In conclusion, the lives of Canadians differed drastically as the carefree times of the twenties abruptly ended- plummeting Canada into a Depression within a matter of days. The men of the time had been terribly effected and the carefree dream of the twenties had left Canadians bitter and cautious after the reality of the thirties touched them.

Hot and Cold Essay

Since time immemorial, Indians have been bombarded with snacks-to-go by street vendors; fastfood is neither a modern phenomenon, nor a western innovation. But as increasing numbers of international players enter the domestic market, there are bitter lessons to learn about what local consumers will and will not welcome. just-food.com’s Debasish Ganguly reports from India on the evolving sector and the challenges facing new entrants into the fastfood market. Fastfood is not an alien concept to Indians; roadside shops have offered snacks-to-go since time immemorial and the country has a long tradition of indigenous fastfood served by a variety of street vendors. Whether the southern ‘Dosas’ or the ‘Phulkas’ in the north, the ‘Vada’, ‘Samosas’ or ‘Bhelpuri’, this inexpensive cuisine is still going strong, and street selling is a low-cost method of food distribution. However, since the arrival of established fastfood chains such as McDonald’s, marketing savvy and dollar power have given fastfood a very western orientation. The weekend stampedes outside any McDonalds restaurant are standing testimony to this fact. But the burger behemoths still have a long way to go. Local fastfood is not easily undermined by these interlopers, since methods of mass production have not been perfected and, in any case, they would have to compete with low cost ‘artisan’ production. On the other hand, the reality is that established local fastfood chains, like Nirulas, Wimpys or Haldiram, are sensing competition by the growing popularity of McDonald’s and other international chains. Though Nirulas does not admit to any drop in sales overtly, industry sources reveal that they have lost 18% of their original market share. So far, the fastfood chains have gained their popularity among the major metropolitan cities of India and some smaller cities, such as Pune or Baroda. Before the arrival of these fastfood chains, Nirulas was the market leaderin Delhi. In fact, Nirulas taught Delhi-dwellers what pizzas and burgers were all about. Nirulas was commanding a monopoly until western chains arrived in India.

Huckleberry & Finn

Is or isn’t Huck Finn racist? Does reading Huck Finn help or harm race relations? I believe Huck Finn isn’t racist but shows some race relations. Throughout the entire novel Huck repeatedly says the word,† nigger† but intentionally we cannot blame Huck, because that’s the way Huck was raised. In chapter 8 on page 41, Huck and Jim seem to grow a bond, a bond that society wouldn’t accept, when Huck later finds out that Jim ran away and were wondering in the woods they seem to develop a close friendship. Huck could have told someone that Jim ran away but instead Huck accepted Jim and took part in an adventure along with Jim. In chapter 15, Huck and Jim talked about how close they are to a free state. Later in the novel we realize that Jim talks to Huck in a way that blacks aren’t supposed to, but Jim doesn’t see Huck like other white men and women, Jim looks at Huck like a friend. In chapter 16 on page 88, Huck starts to show some hesitation towards setting Jim free, Huck knows that setting a black person free wasn’t the right thing to do. In chapter 40, Huck and Tom found a way to help Jim escaped from being enslaved. This is a clear indication that Huck shows no form of racism towards Jim or anyone else, but the reason why he say the things he say and acts the way he act is just simply how Huck was raised. Huckleberry & Finn Is or isn’t Huck Finn racist? Does reading Huck Finn help or harm race relations? I believe Huck Finn isn’t racist but shows some race relations. Throughout the entire novel Huck repeatedly says the word,† nigger† but intentionally we cannot blame Huck, because that’s the way Huck was raised. In chapter 8 on page 41, Huck and Jim seem to grow a bond, a bond that society wouldn’t accept, when Huck later finds out that Jim ran away and were wondering in the woods they seem to develop a close friendship. Huck could have told someone that Jim ran away but instead Huck accepted Jim and took part in an adventure along with Jim. In chapter 15, Huck and Jim talked about how close they are to a free state. Later in the novel we realize that Jim talks to Huck in a way that blacks aren’t supposed to, but Jim doesn’t see Huck like other white men and women, Jim looks at Huck like a friend. In chapter 16 on page 88, Huck starts to show some hesitation towards setting Jim free, Huck knows that setting a black person free wasn’t the right thing to do. In chapter 40, Huck and Tom found a way to help Jim escaped from being enslaved. This is a clear indication that Huck shows no form of racism towards Jim or anyone else, but the reason why he say the things he say and acts the way he act is just simply how Huck was raised.

Comparative economic systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Comparative economic systems - Essay Example With industrialization came the need for a skilled and diverse workforce where traditional work arrangements were no longer feasible. During the Cold War period the world was divided into two main camps with the West (USA, W. Europe) embracing a free market economic system and the East (USSR, China) embracing a command economic system. In a free market economic system a nation’s economic activities are the result of individual decisions by buyers and sellers reflected in the price of products and services in the marketplace. People have the freedom to develop their talents and abilities and take up work or enter professions according to individual choice. They can also produce and supply goods and services as private businesses freely within legal and contractual obligations. The free market economic system of the West adumbrating free enterprise has been (and continues to be) referred to as capitalism. Up until the end of the Cold War, capitalism was a term of opprobrium to the East where communism ( a term of opprobrium to the West) was the term used for a command economy where all economic activity of the nation was controlled centrally by the government (mediated by the Communist Party). No private individuals were allowed to own and operate the means of production of goods and services. Public ownership, except in very small scale, local economic activity, was the norm. As everyone knows, USA exemplifies the paradigmatic capitalist state while Soviet Russia and China used to exemplify communism. Things have changed for Russia and China since the 1980s (although the latter still holds onto the communist label) and what these changes are, how they have been adopted and the progress achieved are the concern of this paper. A third kind of economic system called socialism is adopted by some countries with most of the major industries,

Lease assingment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Lease assingment - Essay Example The first item that appears uncomfortable is leasing the bedroom apartment because I am not allowed to use any other part of the premise. Flexibility should be enhanced to all tenants by the proprietor in terms of using other sections of the premises (Jacobus 282). Another problem in the lease is that the contract runs for a year. As a tenant, I have no flexibility in terms of terminating the contract before the stipulated period. Moreover, the property manager, who is Joe Daworker, is responsible for handling issues concerning use of premises. A problem may arise making me want to talk directly to the owner of the premises. As a tenant, I feel that 1,455 US dollars is a lot of money to be paid to the proprietor within a single day because security deposit is to be paid during the signing of lease contract. The security deposit should be paid in installments because there is no guarantee that I will damage any part of the premises as a tenant. Another problem arises from possession o f the premises as outlined in lease contract. Since I will be entitled to possess the premises on the first day of signing the contract, I feel that the proprietor should also be responsible in ensuring the well-being of all tenants. This should involve carrying out maintenance and repairs of the one bedroom apartment during my stay in the premises. ... According to premise usage, the proprietor restricts any form of retail, professional and commercial activities within the apartment. In the event of carrying out any commercial activities, consent must be obtained from the proprietor by following. This item contrasts with possession rights because I should be allowed to carry out any legal activities within the apartment as a tenant. The proprietor requires tenants to get liability insurance before engaging in any professional or commercial activities. In the event of failing to abide by that item on the leasing agreement, the tenant is evicted from the premise with immediate effect because he or she is said to have breached the leasing contract. I find this item tedious and costly since the process of obtaining insurance liability is quite demanding and expensive (Jacobus 283). In terms of evicting the premise, I feel that every tenant should be given adequate time to find another apartment before being forced to vacate the premise s. The contract restricts any extra person apart from the tenant to stay in the apartment. I find this clause unrealistic because relatives and friends who may want to spend a couple of nights in the apartment. This item on the contract needs to be adjusted where tenants should be allowed to stay with their friends and relatives within the apartment. In spite of the contract allowing tenants to have guests for a limited time of fourteen consecutive days, the impression created to tenants is that their freedom is restricted. Privacy of tenants is compromised when the agreement restricts the sharing of bedrooms within the apartment. As mentioned earlier,

Indoor Management Rules Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Indoor Management Rules - Essay Example In the UK, most commercial transactions are carried out under the statutory exception, which is the doctrine of agency. The agency of doctrine rule is based on the theory that if an agent signs a contract within his jurisdiction as by the principal, then all obligations and rights as acquired by the agent are passed on to the principal whereupon the latter can litigate and or be prosecuted upon, by on the terms as set within the contract. However, certain reservations within this doctrine brought the Turquand rule into existence, which helped in defining contractual alliances with third parties. The significance of Turquand rule was that this provision gave the third party a right to assume (while signing cheques) that the company directors with whom the contract is signed, has been rightfully appointed and they have the right to en-cash the cheque (matters of internal management). Turquand rule thus stated that a third party signing a contract with a company could view only the exte rnal position of the latter without going into issues of indoor management. However, on close analysis it reveals that the rule does not provide any mechanism or route for the third party to bypass ‘privity of contract rule’ and prosecute the company. ... the derivations that the Turquand rule does not add anything to concept of agency.   In cases of an internal obligation (in a situation where a ‘stranger’ or the third party is aware of the firm’s indoor management) where a given operation is permitted by a special declaration, the Turquand rule consequently becomes inapplicable. Currently the Companies Act 2006 (section 40)4 has now replaced Turquand rule in English law, where the general aim is to restrict the third party from being negatively affected owing to restrictions on authority as set within a company’s constitution. A closer look at section 40 reveals that the ?eld still remains complicated (the section being inadequately worded leaving scope for misinterpretation). The basic flaw is the wording, where it is seen that in section 40  (1) it is unclear as whether the third person or P is ‘a person dealing with a company’? It is evident that this individual is a ‘person,†™ but it remains unclear whether he is ‘dealing with a company.’ There is delineation to this effect in section 40 (2), where it states that a person clearly ‘deals with’ a firm when he is part of any transaction or any other activity,  where the firm ‘is a party’. Again the wording here is unclear, as the term ‘party’ is liable to be construed as a situation where the firm has signed a legal deal with the person. Here the primary difficulty is from the perspective of the person or individual (with whom the firm signs the deal). Unless the person can present as evidence that this section or another one  is applicable that can remove the corollary of ‘constructive notice doctrine,’ it will be impossible with facts at hand to prove that the firm is a ‘party’ and hence can be prosecuted. Thus, the basic

Apple Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Apple Company - Essay Example These include emails, banners, the company site, and social sites such as face book. The online advertisement is an effective way because it enables the Apple Company to reach may people. Additionally, online advertisements have no geographical restrictions that businesses may encounter when using other mediums (Durkin & McGowan, 2001). The company also prefers this mode of advertisements because it is target oriented. In the internet, one can find may websites that serve particular groups of people. The websites serve individuals in particular age groups and occupations. Apple advertises its products on its website, technology sites and social sites. This has given it the chance to reach the consumers who are particularly interested in procuring its goods (Durkin & McGowan, 2001). Furthermore, the use of the internet as an advertisement media has reduced the firm’s expenses. This because compared to other mediums, this mode is cost effective. When advertising through the inte rnet, Apple only pays when its potential consumers visit its websites. Additionally, the media is very informative since consumers can get all the important information about the products. The other forms of advertisements only give brief information about the products because they are expensive. ... Researches show that people spend approximately five to six hours watching TV. Since many households have televisions, the Apple adverts can reach many individuals. In addition, the media uses sound, pictures and words, which capture the consumers emotionally especially through the soundtracks. In additional, the company can reach its target population through TVs like online adverts. It can reach certain audiences when watching their favorite programs (Business Editors/High, 2001). Newspapers Apple markets its products through newspapers and magazines. In America, almost all homes can access newspapers daily. In the new papers, there are sections targeted for all people. For instance, there, are sports, news, and classifieds sections. In order to reach certain groups of people, the apple company markets its products in specific newspaper sections. Therefore, the company has also increased its sales through the newspaper ads (Durkin & McGowan, 2001). Magazine The publishers produce m agazines for young and the older persons in the society. Apple also uses magazines to market their goods. Magazines are also effective advertisement modes because the company reaches people of all ages. Additionally, magazines give the company more power when creating layouts to market its goods. Moreover, they have longer shelf life because people always keep their favorite magazines and they can read them many times. Therefore, they can read the adverts many times and influence their friends (Yuan, 2006). How essential marketing is in our life Enhancing product awareness Marketing is a vital aspect in businesses since it contributes to the high performance of organizations. The business products and distributions largely depend on marketing. Marketing enhances the public

Dementia as an extremely debilitating disease Essay

Dementia as an extremely debilitating disease - Essay Example This research will also show the importance of the nurse as an advocate for those who have mental disabilities such as dementia. Of course there will be thorough discussion on what the best interventions are in the acute care setting to try and maintain a decent quality of life for the patient as well. The conclusion shows that dementia is a severely crippling disease, both physically and mentally, and therefore often the best nursing approach is a holistic one with an interpersonal methodology intertwined. Although there is no cure for dementia, appropriate management of care by the nurse can make a great deal of difference in these patients' lives. Dementia is actually the gradual destruction of several areas of the brain that affect the cognitive processes. This of course causes maladaptive behavior changes and the nurse sometimes has a more difficult time managing the patient care when these symptomatic occurrences begin to take place (Antonangeli 1995, pg. 167). Typically dementia is viewed as a collection of negative symptoms, but positive symptoms are present as well. During the early stages of the illness when the patient is only mildly impaired it is very common for individuals to avoid active participation in life. Patients tend to withdraw from social engagements, lack initiative, and overall behave in an indifferent and apathetic manner. It is the nurse's role to attempt to manage their care in a way that will keep them from adapting to this type of behavior. In the acute care setting a certain quality of life is attempted to be maintained for as long as possible. This might be through medications prescribed, psychol ogical counseling services, or other methods of intervention that are geared towards each individual patients needs because not every dementia patient requires the same form of treatment in the initial stages nor as the disease progresses (Aylward et al 1997, pg. 155). As the illness progresses and the cognitive deficits increase patients may become more anxious and agitated. Patients with preexisting psychological problems are prone to experiencing hallucinations and delusions. In particular these patients exhibit paranoid delusions, for instance accusing the elderly spouse of being unfaithful. Misperceptions, such as the inability to distinguish real people from television images, are also common at this stage (Bauer & Shea 1986, pg. 144). Aggression, in particular verbal hostility tends to increase as accurate perception declines. It is perceived that these agitated and aggressive behaviors may represent issues where the patient is making an adaptive effort to try and communicate their needs. They are also attempting to express why they are behaving the way they are but they simply become frustrated and

Shortage of Nurses in Ashford General Hospital Essay

Shortage of Nurses in Ashford General Hospital - Essay Example Moreover, Ashford Hospital together with the other affected hospitals can work together with the universities and colleges so that the student under training can help the existing nurses in the hospitals. Besides, in satisfying the shortage of the nurses, these hospitals should properly reward their nurses so as to act as motivation for the students who are willing to join the profession. It is also the duty of the human resource manager maintain age diversity in the hospitals, for instance, staff should be made of people of different ages so that when a certain group is retiring then there is new blood in the system (Nottingham, et al, 2012). Moreover, proper leadership should also be implemented so as to take care of the welfare of the nurses. In this light, cultural diversity is important because patients can feel that they are well represented. Lastly proper record keeping in the hospital is another fundamental idea that can help curb the shortage of the nurses. Record keeping en hances transparency in work, and resource management will be liable responsible for all the activities that are taking place in the hospitals.IntroductionSeveral Hospitals are victims of nurses’ shortage until the issue has become a national concern in the United States of America. The shortage does affect not only the patients, but also the administration, physicians, nurses and many other stakeholders in the system. In this paper, I have dealt with various factors that lead to the shortage of nurses in different hospitals.

The issues surrounding Abortion Essay Example for Free

The issues surrounding Abortion Essay Explain how a follower of natural law might approach the issues surrounding Abortion. Natural Law, as outlined and enforced by Thomas Aquinas, says that every living thing has a purpose, and that every solution to a dilemma and every action can be solved by reasoning, which will gain you ultimate happiness. This Is linked with Aristotles idea that everyone has a specific purpose, and the Primary Precepts can help you to achieve your purpose. This is key knowledge to help with the understanding of Natural Law followers views about abortion. Human reasoning in any dilemma or problematic situation should be applied to the Primary Precepts of Natural Law. The two main precepts that are concerned in Natural Law with abortion are The Preservation of Life and Reproduction. Generally, conforming to Natural Law, the right action to take would be one that conforms to all the precepts, however with abortion it is not quite as simple. The first Precept to consider when thinking about abortion from a Natural Law followers state of mind would be Reproduction. The precept of Reproduction states that it is always right to encourage reproduction, and most nearly always wrong to prevent reproduction. Applying this to abortion would result in a follower of Natural Law believing that abortion is wrong. This is because the act of aborting a foetus, or baby, is preventing the act of reproduction, and therefore going against one of Aquinas Primary Precepts; Preservation of Life. Natural Law does not consider the people involved or most of the consequences, but more on the act of abortion itself. Reproduction as known is a Primary Precept of Natural Law, and because the act of abortion stops procreation then it is frowned upon by Natural Law followers. The act of abortion can also disturb the precept of Preservation of Life. This precept states that it is always right to help save or maintain a life, and always wrong to try and intentionally. However this is only if one believes that life begins at conception. Abortion involves taking the life of a foetus that you believe to be a human life, which in turn act against the precept of the Preservation of Life, as you not preserving life, but taking one away. However, there are a few exceptions. Aquinas Doctrine of Double effect applies these exceptions. Aquinas saw the precepts as absolutely true for every single being, and that using our reasoning can bring us to the right solution in every situation. However there are times when in order to conform to one precept, we must decide to act against another. For example; there is a pregnant woman, however for medical reasons carrying on with the pregnancy would end in her death. She has two choices, one; have the baby and end her own life or two; have an abortion and save her own life. The first solution would go against the precept of the Preservation of Life, where the second would go against both the Preservation of Life and Reproduction. In this case it is okay for a person to come to a suitable solution through reasoning, as whatever happens there will be bad consequences. However, this is only acceptable if the bad consequence is but an unwanted side effect of the action with good intent. All in all, abortion acts against two of the Primary Precepts of Natural Law, which clearly makes it a bad action. Even though there are a few exceptions, these are only in the worst of situations, and on the whole, abortion is entirely wrong according to Natural Law. A foetus is not a person Discuss. There are many different opinions and arguments as to when a Foetus becomes a person, and these all play different but key roles into solving many huge arguments. To hope to solve this argument is absurd, however the different viewpoints can be stated and analysed to find the strongest. One way in which to argue whether or not a Foetus is a person is to apply it to the criteria of Personhood. These criteria are suggested by Mary Anne Warren, and are Sentience, Emotionality, Reason, Ability to Communicate, Self-awareness and Moral agency. Conforming to these criteria would mean the a Foetus cannot be classed as a person, as it does not fit into any of these criteria. However, later on in the development of a Foetus it begins to fit into some of the criteria, such as Sentience. Could this mean that a foetus slowly becomes a person? Mary Anne Warren suggests that a Foetus is a potential person, but says that it does not have a right to life, which really does not solve any arguments as to whether or not a Foetus is a person. It is also argued that a potential life, as proposed by Mary Anne Warren, does not have any rights or privileges. This would also mean that a Foetus does not have access to human rights, and the right to life. So that begs the question, if something does not have access to human rights, is it a person?

Hazard Identification in a Combined Cycle Power Plant

Hazard Identification in a Combined Cycle Power Plant Fire and Explosion Hazard Identification in a Combined Cycle Power Plant ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION Fire and Explosion are the most prevalent accidents at chemical and process industries which can cause serious damage to properties and loss of productions. Fire and explosion hazards are considered as the first and second major hazards in chemical industries [1]. Besides that, release of toxic materials are prevalent accidents in process industries too. Among these three, fire is the most common but explosion is more significant in terms of its damage potential, often leading to fatalities and damage to property [2]. Also, fire can cause human fatalities, serious injuries, financial losses due to damage of equipment and disruption of productive activity, loss of employment and sometimes irreparable damage to the environment and also other costs such as insurance premiums would increase. Hence, identification of danger factors and the ways of controlling fire and explosion accidents in such these industries are very important [3]. In this paper, the hazard of fire and explosion accid ents at processing sections of a combined cycle power plant using one of the well-known hazard index which is called Dow fire and explosion index, has been estimated. The under studying power plant is comprised process unites and facilities such as gas units, vapor units and hydrocarbon storage site. Natural gas and Gasoline are the main chemical materials that are used and stored in these facilities which consume in Turbine units as fuel to produce electrical energy. The Dow Fire and Explosion Index (hereafter called the DOW Index) is a common hazard index [4]. Hazard indices using the numerical values to classify the various sections of process industries in the terms of fire and explosion and identify process areas with a high risk and estimate the losses due to fire and explosion. However quantify risks in different sectors of the industry make it easy to interpret the results [5-7]. The Dow index has been used in many researches across the world. Among those are the studies of Gupta et al. (1997), Roy et al. (2003), Bernatik and Libisova (2004), and Suardin et al. (2007) [8-12]. These researches showed that this index has been used for different purposes such as rating and classifying the danger, determining the economic impacts, and designing safe processing industries too. Suardin et al. concluded that by applying the (FEI) index, it is possible to design safer and more economical reactor and distillation system [13]. This index has been also used in a number of studies in Iran, especially in the chemical industries. The research of Atrkar Roshan et al. (2013), Jafari et al. (2012) and also Ahmadi et al. (2008 2012) are some examples [13-16]. In this study, the fire and explosion hazards of some process units at a combined cycle power plant using Dow index has been estimated. MATERIALS AND METHODS Process Unit Selection The fire and explosion risk analysis system is a step-by-step objective evaluation of the realistic fire, explosion and reactivity potential of process equipment and its contents. The quantitative measurements used in the analysis are based on historic loss data, the energy potential of the material under study and the extent to which loss prevention practices are currently applied [5]. Dow index was developed by the Dow Chemical Company in the 1960s as a tool for plant engineers to give relative value to the risk of individual process unit losses due to fires and explosions and to communicate these risk to management in terms easily understood, i.e., potential of financial losses due to lost production and damage to plant facilities [17]. In fact, Dow index rates the potential occurrence of fire and explosion hazards in a process unit and estimates the costs in money due to fire and explosion accidents in chemical and/or process units. The latest version of Dow fire and explosion in dex guideline published in 1994 was applied to calculate the fire and explosion index at Turbine processes and Gasoline storage site. The general procedure of Dow index calculation is shown in Figure.1 Figure.1: Dow Index Procedure (Dow’s Guideline, 1994) Process Unit Hazards Factor The Dow FEI is calculated from equation (1): Equation (1): FEI = MF Ãâ€" F1 Ãâ€" F2 = MF Ãâ€" F3 Where MF (Material Factor) is a measure of the potential energy released from the fire or explosion produced by combustion or chemical reactions. It is determined by considering the flammability and reactivity of the materials that are exist at process unit and has a range of 1 ±40 [4, 5]. F1 (General process hazard factor) is a measure of reaction and process unit characteristics such as exothermic or endothermic reactions, handling or transfer of chemical materials, outdoor or indoor units, access condition in emergency situations, drainage and spill control at process unit. F2 (Special process hazard) is a measure of chemical material and operations specifications such as toxicity, amount of flammable materials in process or storage unit, use and distance to fired equipment, dust explosion, extreme pressure or sub-atmospheric pressure, equipment’s corrosion and erosion, leakage-joints and packing, rotating equipment and etc. Each item is represented in terms of â€Å"pen alties† and â€Å"credit factors† [14]. F3 (Process unit hazard factor) is derived from the multiplying the F1 and F2 values. According to the value of the calculated index, the fire and explosion hazard of a pertinent process unit is rated as light, moderate, intermediate, heavy or severe which are shown in Table.1 [5]. Table 1: Degree of Hazard for FEI (Dow’s Guideline, 1994) Degree of Hazard for FEI FEI Range Degree of Hazard 1-60 Light 61-96 Moderate 97-127 Intermediate 128-158 Heavy 159-up Severe After the calculation of Dow index, FEI will be able to determine the radius and area of exposure to fire and explosion incidents using equations (2) and (3): Equation (2): Radius of Exposure = 0.84 Ãâ€" Dow FEI Equation (3): Area of Exposure Where, R is the radius of exposure [5]. Loss Control Credit Factors The preventive and protective measures that have been incorporated in the process design to reduce the fire and explosion hazard are taken into account in the form of Loss Control Credit Factors (LCCF). There are three categories of loss control features including; C1 (process control) which is derived from the multiplying by factors such as emergency power, cooling, explosion control, emergency shutdown, computer control, inert gas, operation instructions and procedures, reactive chemical review and other process hazard analysis. C2 (material isolation) is comprised from remote control valves, dump / blowdown, drainage and interlock items and C3 (fire protection) which accounts for leak detection (alarm and shutdown), fireproofing for structural steel, fire water supply, special systems, sprinkler systems, water curtains, foam, portable fire extinguishers / fire monitors and cable fire protection (instrumentation and electrical cables) [5, 17, 18]. Loss control credit factor is calc ulated using equation (4): Equation (4): LCCF: C1Ãâ€"C2Ãâ€"C3 Loss Control features should be selected for the contribution they will actually make to reducing or controlling the unit hazards being evaluated [5]. As well as the Damage Factor is determined from the Process Unit Hazards Factor (F3) and the Material Factor (MF) and referring to Figure 2. Damage Factor represents the overall effect of fire and blast damage resulting from a release of fuel or reactive energy from a Process Unit [5]. MPPD and BI Calculations The replacement value of the equipment within the exposed area in combination with damage factor can be used to derive the Base maximum probable property damage (Base MPPD) [4]. The actual maximum probable property damage (Actual MPPD) is then calculated by multiplying the Base MPPD by loss credit control factor which is shown in equation (5). The Actual MPPD is used to predict the maximum number of days which is the time required to rebuild the plant to its original capacity, the Maximum probable days outage (MPDO). The MPDO is used to estimate the financial loss due to the lost production: the Business interruption (BI) [18]. BI is the lost profit to the company due to an incident and is calculated by the equation (6): Equation (5): Actual MPPD = Base MPPD Ãâ€" loss control credit factor Equation (6): BI ($US) = Ãâ€" VPM Ãâ€" 0.7 Where VPM is the value of production per month. Figure 2: Damage Factor Determination (Dow’s Guideline, 1994) RESULTS The results of Dow index calculations for under studying units are illustrated in Table 2. For all under studying units, radius of exposure, area of exposure, value of area of exposure, damage factor, Base maximum probable property damage (MPPD), loss control credit factor, Actual MPPD, Days outage and BI loss in terms of US dollar has been calculated which are shown in Table 2. Turbine Unit (Methane) Methane as fuel in Turbine unit with the material factor of 21 had a highest material factor among chemical materials that were presented in process units and subsequently based on the result of Dow index value of 321, it can be indicated that Turbine unit with Methane as fuel, had the highest degree of fire and explosion risk (as mentioned in Table 3 which is considered severe). For Turbine unit with Methane fuel, radius exposure and area of exposure were calculated which are 82.2 m and 21227 m2, respectively. Also for this unit, value of area of exposure was estimated 13.8 US million dollars and damage factor is gained 0.83. After that, Base MPPD by multiplying the value of area of exposure and damage factor is derived which is 11.45 US million dollars. Loss control credit factor is estimated 0.36 which by multiplying it into Base MPPD, Actual MMPD is derived 4.12 US million dollars. Maximum probable days outage for this unit is estimated 50 days and finally the loss due to unit pa uses (BI) is calculated 3.03 US million dollars. Turbine Unit (Gasoline) After that, when Turbine unit uses gasoline as fuel has the second risk ranking with Dow index value of 236 and Gasoline Storage Site Gasoline storage site with Dow index value of 56.8 was the least which is ranked as light fire and explosion risk. Table 2: Results of Dow Fire and Explosion Index Calculation Process Unit Turbine Unit Turbine Unit Storage Vessels Major Material Methane[1] Gasoline Gasoline Material Factor 21 16 16 FEI Index 321 236 56.8 Exposure Radius (m) 82.2 60.42 14.5 Area of Exposure (m2) 21227 11468 660 Value of Area of Exposure ($MM) 13.8 7.45 13.58 Damage Factor 0.83 0.68 0.42 Base MPPD ($MM) 11.45 5.07 5.70 Loss Control Credit Factors 0.36 0.36 0.65 Actual MPPD ($MM) 4.12 1.82 3.70 Days Outage (MPDO) 50 30 25 BI Loss ($MM) 3.03 1.82 8.26 Table 3: The Fire and Explosion Index Ranking at Under Studying Units Process Unit FEI Index Degree of Hazard for FEI Light Moderate Intermediate Heavy Severe Turbine Unit (Methane) 321 Turbine Unit (Gasoline) 236 Storage Vessels 56.8   Discussion According to the results of this study, Turbine unit with Methane fuel has the highest degree of fire and explosion risk. Therefore appropriate control and protective measures should be establish to reduce the fire and explosion risks in this unit. In the other hand, according to the gotten results, Turbine units have the sever ranking of fire and explosion risk and in spite of gasoline storage site is considered as lowest risk of fire and explosion, this unit constrains most losses in money due to business interruption. The reason of this matter is related to the great amount of gasoline fuel which is deposited in 4 vessels and it is about 17 million liters. Conclusion In the present study, the Dow FEI in process units of a combined cycle power plant were calculated. Based on the results, Turbine unit that uses Methane as fuel with Dow index value of 321 has the highest degree of fire and explosion risk. Another Turbine unit with gasoline fuel is ranked second with Dow index value of 236 and severe fire and explosion risk and finally, gasoline storage unit is recognized the least unit in consideration of fire and explosion risk. The findings of this study can be used to estimate the loss due to fire and explosion and also can be used as insurance premium. References 1.Ahmadi, S., J. Adl, and M. Ghalehnovi, Relative ranking of fire and explosion in a petrochemical industry by fire and explosion index. THE JOURNAL OF QAZVIN UNIVERSITY OF MEDICAL SCIENCES, 2011. 2.Khan, F.I. and S. Abbasi, Major accidents in process industries and an analysis of causes and consequences. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, 1999. 12: p. 361-378. 3.Mahoney, D.G., Large property damage losses in the hydrocarbon-chemical industries: A thirty-year review. 1997: M M Protection Consultants. 4.Khan, F., T. Husain, and S. Abbasi, Safety Weighted Hazard Index (SWeHI): A New, User-friendly Tool for Swift yet Comprehensive Hazard Identification and Safety Evaluation in Chemical Process Industrie. Process Safety and Environmental Protection, 2001. 79(2): p. 65-80. 5.Chemicals, D., Dow’s fire explosion index hazard classification guide. AIChE Technical Manual, 1994. 6.Etowa, C., et al., Quantification of inherent safety aspects of the Dow indices. Journal of Loss Prevention in the process Industries, 2002. 15(6): p. 477-487. 7.Khan, F.I., R. Sadiq, and P.R. Amyotte, Evaluation of available indices for inherently safer design options. Process Safety Progress, 2003. 22(2): p. 83-97. 8.Gupta, J.P., Application of DOWs fire and explosion index hazard classification guide to process plants in the developing countries. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, 1997. 10(1): p. 7-15. 9.Roy, P.K., A. Bhatt, and C. Rajagopal, Quantitative risk assessment for accidental release of titanium tetrachloride in a titanium sponge production plant. Journal of hazardous materials, 2003. 102(2): p. 167-186. 10.Bernatik, A. and M. Libisova, Loss prevention in heavy industry: risk assessment of large gasholders. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, 2004. 17(4): p. 271-278. 11.Suardin, J., M. Sam Mannan, and M. El-Halwagi, The integration of Dows fire and explosion index (FEI) into process design and optimization to achieve inherently safer design. Journal of loss prevention in the process industries, 2007. 20(1): p. 79-90. 12.Suardin, J., The Integration of Dow’s Fire and Explosion Index into Process Design and Optimization to Achieve an Inherently Safer Design. 2005, Texas AM University. 13.Roshan, S.A. and M.J. Gharedagh, Economic Consequence Analysis of Fire and Explosion in Petrochemical Feed and Product Pipelines Network. 2013. 14.Jafari, M.J., M. Zarei, and M. Movahhedi, The Credit of Fire and Explosion Index for Risk Assessment of Iso-Max Unit in an Oil Refinery. International Journal of Occupational Hygiene, 2012. 4(1): p. 10-16. 15.Ahmadi, S., et al., Determination of fire and explosion loss in a chemical industry by fire and explosion index. The Journal of Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, 2012. 15(4): p. 68-76. 16.Ahmadi, S., J. Adl, and S. Varmazyar, Risk Quantitative Determination of Fire and Explosion in a Process Unit By Dow’s Fire and Explosion Index. Iran Occupational Health Journal, 2008. 5(1): p. 39-46. 17.Jensen, N. and S.B. Jà ¸rgensen, Taking credit for loss control measures in the plant with the likely loss fire and explosion index (LL-FEI). Process Safety and Environmental Protection, 2007. 85(1): p. 51-58. 18.Sinnott, R., Coulson Richardsons chemical engineering. 1996: Butterworth-Heinemann. [1] Methane is the major component by more than 96 % Concentration of Natural Gas which is consumed as fuel at Turbine Unit in hot seasons of year, alternatively. Hence the MF of natural gas was determined from Methane which has the highest MF value.

Factors influencing TESCOs decision to invest in Malaysia

Factors influencing TESCOs decision to invest in Malaysia For any company to enter into the international market for the first time, a proper research and analysis regarding the challenges and current marketing conditions prevailing in the targeted country must be undertaken. The project has been undertaken to analyse, understand and highlight the major challenges that TESCO can face while entering into Malaysia for the first time. The report focuses on the Political and Legal, Economical, Socio cultural Technological and environmental challenges that may create a difficulties for TESCO to start its business in Malaysia. Introduction to TESCO Tesco PLC is a UK based supermarket chain. It is the largest British retailer, both by global sales and domestic market share, and the fourth largest retailer in the world behind Wal-Mart of the USA, Carrefour of France, and The Home Depot of the USA. Tesco has a long term strategy for growth, based on four key parts: growth in the Core UK business, expand by growing internationally, be as strong in non-food as in food and to follow customers into new retailing services. Environmental Analysis of Malaysia Political Legal Environment Rising Political instability Data In recent months, The political ruling party Barisan Nasional is facing the problem of fall in its strength in ruling the country. The opposition Party Pakatan Rakyat power influence on the Malaysians is increasing which has resulted into possibilities of undertaking of elections in the coming months. Analysis It is predicted that the opposition party may emerge as victorious which lead to increased political uncertainty lower economic growth for 1-2 years. Sales may slow down in the initial years which may be due to increased political uncertainty and disturbance on spending of public during the handover process. The handover process is generally a time consuming lengthy process. it may result into impaired business for the company. lower economic growth in the beginning years may affect the purchasing power of consumers. The company may have to reduce its cost to overcome lower sales in initial years. TESCO may have to reduce its cost on marketing and advertising . The consumers may prefer price and value over quality brand. Political war between the two parties may also result in the outcome of riots which may also result into physical damage of Tescos Property and buildings. Challenge Slow economic growth at the time of change in government which may lead to slow business in the beginning of setting its business in Malaysia. The consumers may prefer price over quality. TESCO may need to have strong control over its expenses. Riots may cause physical damage to TESCOs property if the Political war emerges. Restrictions on Press Advertising Data The Malaysian Government has a very tight control on media like TV, radio, newspapers, outdoor advertising etc for broadcasting of commercials and advertisements. The advertising code code of ethics are to be followed by all the companies business in Malaysia. Analysis The government has kept ban on advertisement of products like alcohol, pork, products with unacceptable images etc. Also, advertisement related to exposure of body parts anti social content like foul language, uncompetitive practices, religious comparisons etc are strictly prohibited. The advertisement must be shot in Malaysia with Malaysian models in the advertisements. No international models from other countries are allowed. Also, the musicals of the ad must be done in Malaysia. Advertisements related to food drink products must highlight the importance necessity of balanced diet to the viewers. Powerful emphasis on the speciality lifestyle of the country of origin of an imported product is not allowed in the advertisements. Challenges TESCO will have to change its marketing and advertising strategy in Malaysia. The government control on advertising media may disallow advertisement commercials of many products of TESCO UK. The company may also have to undergo the process of repackaging re labeling on their products. TESCO will have to create new ideas to advertise its product which could be expensive and time consuming. Focus on many cultural groups Data Malay, Chinese Indian community are the 3 major cultural groups in Malaysia. Chinese Indian community are the minority communities in the country. The recent attacks against the Christian church has created political instability social unrest among the people. Analysis The wealth gap between less richer Malays very rich Chinese and Indian ethinic group in Malaysia has always been a point of concern in Malaysian politics. There has been many issues regarding this issue in the past which created a tension in the Malaysian political environment. But currently, the government is taking efficient measures to reduce the tension between the cultural groups. Christianity is also a minority religion in Malaysia on which government has to keep its attention. However, in the beginning of 2010, there were a series of attacks against Christian church because of some high court decisions. All these factors may lead to political instability in the near future. Political instability may result into the change in government. Christianity is the major religion in UK. Malaysians may tend to emotionally link the products of TESCO with Christianity as TESCO is a UK based company. This may initially led to the unacceptance of the products by Malaysians due current social unrest which may affect the sales and brand image of TESCO in Malaysian market. This may also affect the marketing and advertising strategy of TESCO. The company may have to frequently and carefully advertise its product to the consumers to change their perception about the link between Christianity and the Companys product offering. This may result into heavy expenditures resulting into the rise in cost of the company. Challenges Recent attack on churches may create the perception of link between UK TESCO products and Christianity religion which may affect the sales of TESCO. TESCO will need to advertise more frequently to change the consumers perception about the Christian religion and the local products it sells to Malaysians. Impact of terrorism Data Analysis Rising tension between Malay, Chinese Indian cultural groups in Malaysia in last few years have created a threat of internal terrorism in Malaysia. The war between the ethnic Chinese terrorists Malaysian government came to end after 42 years. However, in the beginning of 2010, there were a series of attacks against Christian church because the court said that the Christians can refer GOD as ALLAH. Challenge Sales may become difficult due to religious unrest. TESCO many have to opt for an option of Public relations on a regular basis which may increase the expenses of the company. Economical Environment Low Purchasing Power Data The GDP per capita income of Malaysia and UK for 2008 was $14,215 $35,468 respectively. Malaysia can be classified as the country of people having upper middle income level whereas UK population can be classified under high income level. Analysis The purchasing power of UK is more the purchasing power of Malaysia. It clearly reflects that the disposable income of Malaysia is comparative low to that of Uk. The per capita income disposable income of Britishers is very high thereby increasing their purchasing power. Due to high purchasing power, normally people in UK prefer brands and are brand loyal are willing to spend extra on the products. The per capita income of Malaysians is comparatively very low to that compared with Britishers. Lesser income signifies that the disposable income will be lower thereby reducing purchasing power. This will directly result in the emergence of price sensitive market condition in Malaysia where brand loyalty could be given less priority by Malaysians. Lower per capita income of Malaysians will result into low purchasing power making Malaysia a price sensitive market where buyers may be ready to buy any product with less or no brand importance. So the company sales might get affected due to this. TESCO may have to change its products, lower the quality lower the price so that the products can be produced cost effectively consumers can afford to buy. TESCO may have to start its own manufacturing unit along with its own new supply chain management and search for local suppliers in Malaysia who can provide products of good quality at a lower price. This may help in producing products at lower cost which the Malaysians can intend to buy. TESCO will have to search the place to set up their business to get proximity to the market which may help in lowering the distribution cost of its product. Challenges Lower consumer income will affect sales of the company. Uk products have high quality with high price. The company may have to rechange its quality of the products as per the price. TESCO will have to start its new supply chain management distribution system to make the local products for cost efficiency. TESCO will need to find their place of setting business where Distribution cost is very low. The company will have to look for local supply chain who can meet all above requirements. Foreign Currency Fluctuation Risk Data The foreign exchange of 1GBP to 1Malaysian Ringett in recent months has fallen from 5.8RM to 4.7RM. The interest rate of Malaysia UK in the beginning of the year 2010 were 2.25% 0.5% respectively. Analysis The key factor for fluctuations in currency exchange rates is the interest rate in different countries. Malaysia offers significantly higher interest rates than UK. Then investors will want to put money into Malaysia, thus increasing demand for the currency. The increase in currency demand may result into lowering value of Pound thus creating Foreign currency fluctuation risk.Exchange Rates are very important for any country as they determine the level of imports and exports. Challenge Importing products may become a costly option due to fluctuation in currency risk. The company may have to look for local suppliers and also may have to start new supply chain management to reduce the cost. Unemployment Level Data The recent Global financial crisis is still having a major impact on employment level in all the countries of the world. The unemployment rate in UK has reached to 8% in march 2010. The unemployment rate has increased from 3.2% in 2007 and has reached to 3.7% in march 2010. Analysis Increase in unemployment of Skilled, Semiskilled Labourers has been a major concern for Malaysian government in last few years. The Malaysian Government may put some employment restrictions on all the Multinational companies in Malaysia to hire the local Malaysians for employment. The restrictions may include more hiring of Malaysians in comparison to foreign employees irrelevant of their level of skills. Even though the higher unemployment in their home country, TESCO may undergo the pressure of hiring more Malaysians in comparison of foreign employees and provide training to them to meet the required skills for employment which may increase the overall expenses of the company. Also, employing foreign workers in Malaysia will be an expensive cost incurring idea thus increasing the operational cost of the firm affecting the product pricing. Challenge Employing foreign talent may not be possible to run the business. Providing training for Local staff would be expensive and time consuming process. Creating new supply chain management Data Low purchasing power of Malaysians, high foreign currency fluctuation and price sensitive market in the country are becoming major factors for the companies to reduce their prices of the product. Analysis Low Purchasing power of Malaysians in comparison with those of UK will create a price sensitiveness in the country where people may prefer Price over quality. Foreign currency fluctuation between Malaysian Ringett and UK Pound has been unstable in recent times. In importing goods, TESCO may end up in paying more than their usual price thus increasing the overall cost of the product. TESCO will have to reduce the price to meet the market price with its competitors product. The company will have to look for new supply chain management along with new suppliers who can provide the required quality at lesser price to meet the comsumers expectation. Setting up the new supply chain along with new local suppliers will be a big challenge as TESCO is an International Company. Challenges Importing goods from UK will be expensive for TESCO. Tesco may have to compromise on the quality of the product in case of price sensitive market. TESCO will have to set up new supply chain management along with new local suppliers to meet both the price and quality requirement of the consumers. Socio Cultural Environment Labeling Packaging Requirements Data Analysis The Malaysian government is very strict about the labeling language used on the products sold in the country. The language on all the products saleable, whether local or imported, must be written in Bahasa Malaysia or English. And in case of imported goods, the language used in either case may also include translation in any other languages. Since the Government rules regulations is very strict in Malaysia, TESCO would have to Change its labeling repack the products with descriptions in both English bahasa Malaysia Language. Also, the company will have to give more information on the product about its HALAL Certification, ingredients, Date marking, Nutrition Labeling etc. The company will have to change its packaging strategy for its products due to hot humid climatic conditions prevailing in Malaysia This will increase the cost of packaging labeling of all the products to be sold. So to gain economies of scale, TESCO may have to increase its sales volume to cover up the cost of change in labeling packaging. Challenge Relabeling and repackaging the products due to language barrier will be costly and time consuming. TESCO may have to keep on advertising its product on a regular basis to overcome the language barrier. Halal certification Data Analysis The concept of Halal on food non food category of product consumption is a vital issue in any muslim country. Islam is the official religion followed in Malaysia. The religion of Islam demands that the product to be consumed must be HALAL. In Malaysia, The Muslim consumers look for the HALAL certification on the products which is issue by Malaysias Department Of Islamic Development (JAKIM). In recent years, the Muslim consumers in Malaysia are faced with broad selection of products services which are either locally named or are international products certified as HALAL. The Competition is intense in the Malaysian market where local retailers have an upper hand for the sale of products by projecting their products as Islamic brands with the help of creative packaging labeling on their products. TESCO will have to certify HALAL certification on all it products will have to show the logo on each HALAL certified product. This will result into rising of its operating cost. Also, The HALAL certificate is valid for only 1year. So, the company may have to incur these cost every year. Challenge Certification of Halal on all products is costly and time consuming. The validity of certification is very less which results into occurrence of repetitive expenses every year. Advertising, packaging and labeling strategy would change which may increase the cost of the firm. Intense competition from local retailers will be a challenge. Technological Environmental Factors Accessibility Updation of Information Data and Analysis The percentage of urban population to total population in the year 2008 was 70.4%. Most of the hypermarkets are located in the urban areas. Rural consumers may have little access to either buy the product online or going to the nearest hypermarket in their area. So, setting the business in urban market will be a challenge to TESCO to meet capture the market share the requirements of both rural urban population. In recent years, in Malaysia, Online purchasing has become an easy, time, cost energy saving way to buy the products. This method is more followed by the urban consumers to book an order. So, TESCO will have to keep a regular update on timely basis about the availability of its products on its online purchasing website for its consumers. Challenge Target market may get narrow down due to low internet access in rural areas. Starting a business in rural area may increase the transportation cost to the urban consumers. Regular update on timely basis about the availability of its products on its online purchasing website for its consumers will be a challenge. Impact of global warming, deforestation environmental factors Data Analysis Water air pollution, impact of global warming has affected the health of the people in Malaysia. Deforestation due to regional development is also another factor affecting the country. The Malaysian government is now becoming very strict for control over these environmental problems. Any business, whether local or multinational business, has to comply with all the set of rules and regulations related to the environmental issues laid by the Malaysian government. Government may also disallow the companies in setting up of warehouses in the certain selected parts of the country. TESCO, being an multinational brand, will have to follow the strict prescribed rules laid by the Malaysian Government and may have to submit regular reports to the government regularly regarding the working of the company. Challenge Setting up of warehouses near TESCOs hypermart can be a big challenge. Transportation cost may get increased due to problem in selecting area for warehouses. Restriction on certain products can affect the business of TESCO.

Failure of te Two-Party System Essay -- essays research papers

A valuable factor within any democracy is the presence of political parties. As dictated by Webster, a party is meant as "a group, which unites to promote or maintain a policy, a cause, or other purposes, as a political group." This definition can be easily simplified as individuals with a common cause. This is just the case with American political parties. They are ordinary groups of individuals with a common cause in hopes to gain political power. Within the United States, two political parties make up the majority, the Republicans and Democrats. Unlike many other democratic nations around the world, America is unique with their generalized lack of parties. However, there is a growing trend within America that implies the two-party system, which has been the leader in American politics, has started to become weak. When the United States initially formed as a nation, there were few differentiations between the people. Those with voting privileges were mostly white Anglo-Saxons. The greatest differences seemed to be developing around the issue of slavery creating a North versus South political atmosphere. Siding with the intelligence of the era, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, the federalist and anti federalist parties developed around opposing ideas regarding a written Bill of Rights. This form of elitism running the government was not unreasonable in a time when communication to the outskirts and rural areas of the nation wa...

Creating Tension and Presenting the Themes in A View from the Bridge Es

Creating Tension and Presenting the Themes in A View from the Bridge Miller uses the climax of act 1 to create tension for the audience through the acting and the situation the characters are in, and to present the key themes of the play to the audience. Firstly, he uses dramatic irony to give the audience an insight into how the story is going to end, which creates frustration and tension for them, as although they can see how the story is developing, the characters can’t, this ties in with the theme of a Greek tragedy where there is a predestined conclusion. He uses the fact that in the 1950’s and especially in dockside and urban households, masculinity and being the ‘man of the house’ was a huge part of family life. He combines this with Eddies desire to control and obsession with authority, to put the audience on a knife-edge, as to when one of the characters will lose control and lash out. Miller also expands on the situation of relationships in the play, both within the family, and outside. This ties in with Eddie’s apparently incestuous feelings for Catherine, and this creates suspense and tension throughout the audience, as they don’t know what is going to happen about it. Stage Directions, play a large part of ‘A View From The Bridge’, as they give it the final touches which create tension for both the characters and the audience, they help show what a character is feeling, which allows the audience to empathize with the character, making it all the more believable and therefore creating more tension as they want to know what will happen. Alfieri’s monologue is also a main contributing factor to the tension, which slowly builds throughout the entire scene. The audience share Alfieri’s perspectiv... ...the play, just over there to send money home, but now it seems like he is taking an active part, and defending Rodolfo against Eddies slanderous onslaught. In conclusion, I feel that Arthur Miller creates tension in the climax to Act 1 in â€Å"A View From The Bridge,† in many different ways. These include the exploration and presentation of many of the key themes that Miller has sewn throughout the play, comprising mainly of: masculinity, incest, Greek tragedy, jealousy, pride and obsession. He uses surprise, and a ‘factor of the unknown’ to keep the audience in suspense as to when Eddie will lose control, but never in doubt to the fact that he will. All in all Miller uses a variety of techniques and themes to create tension for the audience and keep them in suspense for the whole play, and successfully draws on this to build huge climaxes at many points.

Age of Innocence Themes Essay

A diatribe on the vicious yet serene society of her childhood, Edith Wharton’s Age of Innocence proffers an attack against the boa constrictor ways of late 1800s New York City0. May’s ability to keep things as they are 1, Newland’s desire to escape2, and Ellen’s escape3 exhibit three different effects of this patronizing society and three different interpretations of the role of action in their society, a theme that can also be seen within Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Greene’s The Power and the Glory4. Wharton’s Age of Innocence is set in what is known as â€Å"the gilded age,† an era where everything is shiny and gold on the outside but wrought with flaws and problems on the inside. For example, the top authority on taste and values, Larry Lefferts, has multiple affairs. â€Å"I say, old chap: do you mind just letting it be understood that I’m dining with you at the club tomorrow night? Thanks so much, you old brick! (Age of Innocence, page 277)† Lefferts is the prime model of how hypocritical this society is. Everyone knows that he has numerous affairs and yet they still look to him for rulings on taste and morals. His character also allows this society’s obsession with remaining pleasant and not saying anything about anything to be understood because no one talks about his affairs openly, they remain silently known by all. The hypocrisy of New York is also seen in the people’s feelings toward the Beauforts. The Beauforts are known as common but are accepted in high society solely because they have a ballroom in their home and host a grand party once a year. Age of Innocence also characterizes a society that Wharton refers to as tribal, prehistoric, and unwavering multiple times. New York is so firm in its ancient, in-stone ways that an insane hierarchy of power has emerged, where the completely unsocial van der Luyden family reigns. They are looked to for the final decision on all things simply because they have always been looked to for the final decision on all things. The society depicted is also rigidly strict regarding schedules and planning and is also obsessed with minute details- no one likes surprises here. May’s parents are consumed with trivial affairs; for instance, May’s father gets physically ill when things do not go as planned and May’s mother demands that days be planned at least 24 hours in advance. They both showcase how uncertainty and any amount of action causes such distress within New York. Newland and Ellen are expected to not act on their desires in order to keep any unpleasantness away from society. All in all, this society is a net that allows no one to change or do anything. None can escape the grip of this tight-knit society. Having no ambition to leave such a pleasant place, May Welland is the picturesque woman: attractive, well-dressed, polite, family oriented, and innocent. She is considered to be the character that embodies the effects and values of New York society. Avoiding conflict and offensiveness at all costs, clever May has learned to indirectly direct Newland into doing what she knows he must. While she never openly addresses Newland and Ellen’s love, the reader recognizes that she is smarter than Newland, the primary narrator of the novel, makes her out to be and we see that she covertly requires Newland to make a choice between her. â€Å"Mother said once, when she asked you to, you’d given up the thing you most wanted,† said Dallas to his father. At length he said in a low voice: â€Å"She never asked me.† (Age of Innocence, page 288). On her death bed, May told Dallas that he and the other children would have a good life with their father because he made the right choice by staying with her instead of running away with Ellen. Newland says that she never asked him because she never directly did, she never directly said or asked anything because that was how society had made her. She was able to manipulate Newland into being exactly as she wants him to be while remaining perfect and innocent. Archer realizes that May is a product of society’s will, rules, and demands, becoming a clone of her mother and therefore trying to turn him into her father. May appears to be a shallow character but deeper analysis unearths that there is more to her than meets the eye. She seems to be content with society’s workings while it is evident that Newland Archer is trapped in a society he no longer wants to be a part of. Throughout the novel, Archer tries to break free but continually realizes that he is scared to break away from the only way he knows how to live. He longs to live like Ellen, an unorthodox and free spirit, but finds himself ensnared by society’s mold for him. â€Å"His whole future seemed suddenly to be unrolled before him; and passing down its endless emptiness he saw the dwindling figure of a man to whom nothing was ever to happen. (Age of Innocence, page 185)† Through Archer, Wharton exemplifies her hatred for the society she grew up in and her personal longing to leave such a dull world filled with â€Å"people who dreaded scandal more than disease†¦ (Age of Innocence, page 272).† Archer was never able to have a full relationship with Ellen because the world would end, time would stop, and Mr. Welland would surely die. Archer is a terrific example of the effects the trap of Society can have. He yearns to leave and live alongside Ellen but is never able to because of the deep roots Society has planted within him. Archer never escapes the confines of New York but Ellen, having left New York with her aunt when she was young, does not have the same roots implanted in her and is able to successfully leave to reside in Paris after her return to America. Newland longs to be like her and not be tied down by rules and expectations. Ellen also is a slight foil to May, representing a new, modern woman driven primarily by her own desires and not those of the family. She is eccentric, dresses controversially, and disregards the strenuous demands of Society as much as possible. Succumbing to the dictates of Society, she did not pursue her affair with Newland; however, instead of being afraid of rebelling against Society, as Newland was, she did not want to hurt her family because they had been so kind to her after her return from her disastrous marriage to the Count. Ellen is a kind and caring woman that also pioneers the forward movement of New York whose results are seen in the generation of Archer’s children- Dallas, Mary, and Bill. Dallas calls his dad prehistoric, showing that society is transforming with this coming age. A strong spirit, Ellen Olenska is not afraid to do as she pleases, not as Society pleases. The theme of action and its role within Age of Innocence can also be seen within Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Greene’s The Power and the Glory. Newland Archer and Hamlet are both conflicted on how they should act. Hamlet is plagued with the obsession of being certain before acting. Constantly struggling with the idea of revenge, Hamlet never reaches a sound decision on how to avenge his father’s death and instead killing Claudius out of rage after his mother’s death. While Hamlet is known as exceedingly thoughtful and contemplative, the only times he acts are swift and unplanned, as seen with the killing of Polonius and also his uncle. Archer also tries to figure out how to act but never knows how to move forward with his relationship with Ellen because of the thick barriers that Society, and not to mention his wife, presents. The Priest is conflicted because he never acts and always just runs away from the clutches of the Lieutenant and also reality. Newland also tries to escape reality by seeing Ellen in secret but is continually forced to return from his fantasy. Both realize that there is no escaping what is and accept their fate. While the Priest tries to escape the law and the lieutenant, Newland tries to escape Society. Sadly, both fail. The Priest is put to death and Newland loses his memory of Ellen as he becomes wrapped up in the daily happenings of the city. The Priest is haunted by his sinful past and qualms with himself regarding how to move forward with life; however, he remains in a rut until the novel’s end where he decides to hear one last confession and go to see the gringo, knowing he is giving himself up to the lieutenant. The lieutenant is one of the only characters within these three works that fully acts on his convictions. He is driven by a strong hatred for the Catholic Church and knows that the only way he can eradicate it is to do it himself. What action’s role shall be is a pivotal question that all must answer for themselves or as a society. The effects of these answers are seen through the characters within Age of Innocence, Hamlet, and The Power and the Glory.

Influence from Mexican and Puerto Ricans in the Us Culture Essay

The U. S. culture has been saturated with Mexican and Puerto Rican influences. Influence is defined as a cognitive factor that tends to have an effect on what you do. I believe most of the influences are good but there are also some that are bad. The two major influences that will be brought up would be the influence of human creativity and violence. Puerto Ricans had a unique blend of human creativity. â€Å"Fueled by that political awakening, a cultural renaissance emerged among Puerto Rican artists. † By the 1960’s salsa music began to emerge. Puerto Ricans rooted this category of music especially in the New York area. Fania Records became the dominant record label in the early salsa music scene. Juan Gonzalez mentioned artist such as Eddie and Charlie Palmieri, Willie Colon and Ray Barretto. They provoked with there politically charged lyrics. It also sprang up writers such as Piri Thomas and Nicholasa Mohr mentioned by Juan Gonzalez. Piri Thomas was born in the Spanish Harlem section of Manhattan and is known for his best seller autobiography â€Å"Down These Mean Streets†pg63 and describes his struggle having Puerto Rican heritage. Nicholasa Mohr her works also told of the difficulties of growing up in Puerto Rican communities in the New York area. As more Puerto Rican came to into the States a big clash of racial identity rose. Black and White was a struggle in itself then Brown came in to the mix it mad things twist. â€Å"A dwindling tax base, brought about by the flight of industry and skilled white workers to the suburbs, massive disinvestment by government in public schools and infrastructure, and the epidemics of drug and alcohol abuse, all tore at the quality of city life†Pg 64. Lack of investment in the infrastructure and public schools by the government was a major contributor to this especially since most did not know how to speak English and the teachers did not know how to translate to the students. â€Å"The third generation of Puerto Ricans, those who came of age in the late 1980s and early 1990s, found themselves crippled by inferior schools, a lack of jobs, and underfunded social services. They found their neighborhoods inundated with drugs and violence. They grew up devoid, for the most part, of self-image, national identity, or cultural awareness. They became the lost generation. †Pg63 Mexicans also had there share of influencial human creativity. Mexicans are known for developing corrido music. They were smart about this music though because they were used to inform. They had dates names warnings and some were stories of crime or love. † The average corrido was usually so filled with dates, names, and factual details that it functioned not only as entertainment but also as a news report, historical narrative, and commentary for the mass of Mexicans who were still illiterate†. pg124. To change up the creativity from the arts to a more meaningful influence would be the founding of MAYO and no not the one you eat but Mexican American Youth Organization. This was intended to protect the civil rights of Mexican Americans. â€Å"One of the most influential groups to arise during the period was the Mexican American Youth Organization (MAYO), founded in San Antonio by Willie Velazquez, a young community organizer for the Catholic Bishop’s Committee on the Spanish Speaking, and Crystal City’s Jose Angel Gutierrez. †pg 69. Mexicans have been picked on for decades and are still being hated upon. What was heavily impacted were schools and nothing was done about it. MAYO staged school walk outs to gain power. These acts would allow them to earn seats on school boards which in turn allowed them to participate in deciding what was best for their own people. In turn violence also was majorly influence. The US culture was raised to hate Mexicans. † Once the Great Depression hit and unemployment surged among whites, though, not even Mexicans who spoke fluent English escaped the anti-immigrant hysteria. More than 500,000 were forcibly deported during the 1930s, among them many who were U. S. citizens. † Speaking spanish a lot of times was a burden for mexicans which made them targets since most that all they spoke. To conclude Puerto Ricans and Mexicans have influenced the US culture. It still hasn’t stopped it continues to. More than likely it will still influence for many more years to come. They have been put down but they come right back up and stronger. They have given a lot to stop and to soak in many years of heritage. So go dance to some salsa or sing a corrido for a change.

Case analysis of Big Pharma’s Marketing Tactics Essay

Understanding Big Pharma: The US Pharmaceutical industry is the 2nd most profitable industry in the country. The nature of the industry follows an oligopoly form; with the big players yield much influence, hence lending to its name, â€Å"Big Pharma†. By 2010, Big Pharma has a staggering 526 lobbyists and gives an estimated $19 billion worth of gifts to physicians annually. Understanding Business ethics: The definition of ethics is given by as follows, â€Å"Ethics are moral principles that govern a person’s behavior or the conducting of an activity.† (Lawrence & Webber, 2008) Basically, they are the issues of identifying right and wrong in our daily life, serving as a moral compass. Then what are business ethics? Business ethics is the application of general ethical ideas towards business behavior (Lawrence & Webber, 2008). Due to the diversity in the modern world, different organizations and industries have different perspectives towards business ethics. Hence, with respect to business ethics, this report will review the application and implication in Big Pharma’s marketing tactics. Understanding the stakeholders of Pharmaceutical industry: 1. Consumers. They will be directly affected by the marketing practices by Big Pharma, as the immediate users of its products. Usually, consumers have a strong voice in determining the companies’ profits. However, it is different in the pharmaceutical landscape, due to their expertise in its product knowledge. As such, consumers are often at the losing end. 2. Community With the pharmaceutical being a burgeoning industry in the society, concerns from public will naturally grow. Based on a recent poll, public perceptions towards Big Pharma are largely negative, indicating their low level of trustworthiness. Consumers, which form part of the community, can also be represented through interest groups or watchdogs. 3. Industry representatives In the case of Big Pharma, it is common to find lobbyists working on their behalf to safeguard their business interests, specifically towards the government. By gathering a huge lobbying force, Big Pharma has consolidated their influence within and beyond the industry. A testament of their effectiveness would be their repeated ability to defeat attempts to restrict drug marketing. 4. Government & Regulators The pharmaceutical industry is one that can potentially affect the lives of general public, thus the government has taken a heightened interest in it. Therefore, they have tried to balance the interest of the society by having an agency, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates the legality of drugs produced. On a legislative level, the government also attempts to tighten the business conducts by Big Pharma by passing bills and laws. 5. Media The range of media tools in today’s world can serve as a double-edged sword for Big Pharma. At one end, the controversial marketing practices by Big Pharma provides fodder for magazines and newspaper for reporting purposes, contributing to a negative public image. On the other end, Big Pharma has regularly tapped into media to advertise their products such as the TV advertisements by Novartis to market Lamisil, an overrated drug. 6. Intermediaries This consists of medical students and physicians, which is seen as the â€Å"middleman† in the pharmaceutical industry. Hence, they form a crucial link between Big Pharma and its consumers. It is no surprise that Big Pharma would spend a great deal of time and money on them. In other words, getting a tight grip on them would mean business to Big Pharma indirectly. 7. Stockholders & Investors The primary concern of stockholders is the profitability of their respective companies. At times, they are also concerned with its’ reputation. Since the marketing practices by Big Pharma have been a contentious issue, this is an aspect that they might want to exercise their opinions. 8. Employees At one glance, the employees working for Big Pharma do not seem to be influential stakeholders, as they do not have much say in the running of the company. However, an ethical dilemma might happen if their ethical principles do not fall in line with those of Big Pharma. This will possibly result in the scenario of whistle blowing. Ethical issue #1: Direct to consumer (DTC) marketing: â€Å"Salesmanship v Science?† As with any business organization, the primary objective of Big Pharma is to maximize profits based on their product offerings. However, here lies an ethical question, â€Å"To what extent should Big Pharma achieve their business objectives at the expense of its consumers?† The answers to this question are definitely debatable, however an answer is certain, that various business models in different industries would have opposing measurement scales in this regard. In the case of pharmaceutical industry, it is very costly to produce an approved drug for sale. Firstly, much of R&D expenditure dollars will be wasted in the early stages of research, as it is not easy to find the cure for medical ailments immediately. Secondly, the formulated drug has to go through clinical trials before the regulatory agencies (i.e.: FDA) decide to approve it, which can be a lengthy process. Hence, the only way for companies to recoup their expenditure is through an aggressive brand of marketing of the approved drugs, with Big Pharma leading the way. Then, what are acceptable marketing practices by Big Pharma that is acceptable within ethical reasoning? The nature of this industry is that it holds a noble responsibility to inform and educate its consumers about the kind of drugs that will contribute to the health of mankind. Therefore, marketing is more than maximizing profits, as consumers lack expert knowledge on drugs. Presently, the marketing tactics by Big Pharma is disappointing by ethical standards. Take the Novartis TV advertisements for its drug; Lamisil, for instance. Despite the hype in its advertisement, the focus was not on the intended use of the product. In fact, the drug is used to treat toenail fungus, a non-serious ailment. Therefore, it is surprising to note that the product was 4th best selling drug in its shelves, thus showing a lack of understanding on the consumer’s part. This shows the miscommunication between Big Pharma and its consumers. Furthermore, Big Pharma aggressive marketing escalates this situation. This can be explained by their belief that spending more marketing dollars will generate more revenue to cover its expenditure. This is definitely not fair and ethical to its consumers, who should make an informed decision when purchasing a product, especially a drug. Therefore, taking into consideration the business model of Big Pharma, the general rule is that DTC marketing, consumers should always make known the imperatives of the drug (e.g.: users, side effects) first, above anything else. This point is also supported by s3(9) Singapore Association of Pharmaceutical Industries (SAPI) code of marketing practices, which states, â€Å"†¦all such information should be accurate, fair and not misleading†. In doing so, it will avoid the current scenario where Big Pharma has caused a knowledge handicap on its consumers, an ethical misconduct. Ethical issue #2: Intermediaries outreach: More than just promotional tools and gifts? Another avenue for Big Pharma to maximize its profits is through its spokespersons of their product offerings; the intermediaries. Hence, it is important to maintain a close relationship with them. But, how should Big Pharma conduct when it comes to giving gifts to this group of stakeholders? On the surface, the promotional tools such as pens and notepads given to medical students do not seem excessive in value. However, by doing this on a constant basis, it can be seen as a marketing ploy by Big Pharma to slowly pressure them into gaining acceptance. The readily acceptance of the gifts is due to the overarching monetary influence of Big Pharma has upon the industry. This ingrains the wrong ethical values in them, as they might perceive that accepting gifts from Big Pharma is an industry norm. As reflected in the case, this has a profound effect on them as many who go on to become physicians have cultivated an industry-wide behavior of accepting larger and controversial gifts from Big Pharma, leading to more ethical debates. Through making more inroads with the impact of its gifts, it slowly allows Big Pharma to exert more influence on them and it becomes harder for physicians to say no to them. As such, physicians are faced with an ethical dilemma, which is the conflict of interest between self-interests and patient’s welfare. The job of physicians should be prescribing the most appropriate medicines to the best interest of its patients. However, this line of opinion has been blurred by the influence Big Pharma has over them, thus at times physicians have no choice but to prescribe the medicines based on its links with Big Pharma. This ethical dilemma can be well reflected in the case of Pfizer, where physicians were induced by lavish sponsorship for personal expenditures to prescribe Neurontin for the cure of maladies, which was not approved by FDA. Henceforth, if physicians were to adopt the approach of whistle blowing, they might face the possibility of losing the financial incentives they have been receiving, and this can be a rude awakening for them. Based on business grounds, the need for Big Pharma to reach out to the intermediaries is understandable and reasonable, but the morality and monetary values of such gifts has come into question. While gifts such as sponsorships and free lunches appear to be normal, there are several others that involve serious allegations of ethical misconduct such as improper payments and kickbacks. Clearly, this is not in line with the marketing practices set by SAPI. As stated in section 6(1), â€Å"no gifts or financial inducement should be offered to healthcare professions for the purpose of sales promotions†. It also states the following as well, â€Å"Payments in cash or cash equivalents must not be offered to healthcare professionals either directly or indirectly†. Looking at the outreach conducted by Big Pharma, it is clear that their intention is to leverage on their financial power to exert undue influence upon the intermediaries for its own business gains. Therefore, this aspect of outreach should be curb to provide a fair state of mind for the intermediaries in order for them to make an equitable decision for their patients, not losing the high level of trust and integrity that is placed upon them. Ethical issue #3: Violation of legal principles and responsibilities The pharmaceutical industry has been plagued with the issue of violating its legal obligations, but does such acts constitute an unethical business behavior? In order to understand this, it is important to consider the relationship between laws and ethics. Laws are attempts made by the government to formally regulate the proper behavior in different spectrum of life. (Lawrence & Webber, 2008) Whereas ethics are guidelines to what is right and wrong. As such, ethics cannot be laws and it merely offers to cover the aspect the laws do not explicitly apply. The following is a non-exhaustive list of examples on how Big Pharma has flout its legal responsibilities, as stated by the case: * Medicaid program: lists false wholesale prices in order to obtain more dollars for its drugs from the U.S government * Illegally promoting drugs that are not ready for approval for public consumption through its physicians * Alleged cases of covering up the negative results from clinical trials for various drugs such as Paxil and Avandia. * Questionable marketing of drugs which involves giving improper payments and bribes * Repeated offences of the abovementioned and other similar crimes From the given examples, three inferences can be drawn with regards to ethical reasoning. Firstly, it can be inferred that the motivations by Big Pharma to commit such white-collar crimes is purely based on business grounds, leveraging on this to gain excessive profits. It is hard to give an alternative explanation to this, as all of these crimes committed by Big Pharma seem to have a strong business element to it. Secondly, it is apparent these crimes will adversely affect two of its most important group of stakeholders; consumers and intermediaries. The severity of these crimes is lethal, especially the non-disclosure of vital information of drugs by Big Pharma at the expense of generating sales revenue. This is scandalous and places the consumers’ health at stake. Last, but not least, it is clear that Big Pharma is intentionally flouting its legal responsibilities, which is the most blatant of all. This allows Big Pharma to achieve its business objectives and the fine that they received as a result, is a small price to pay. This can be seen by their willingness (i.e.: Pfizer, Schering-Plough) to pay up the fines. Therefore, from an ethical perspective, the breaking of law by Big Pharma does not justify its means to the end of generating profits when they are constantly putting their business interests first as opposed to those of its consumers and other stakeholders. Assessment of Big Pharma’s marketing tactics with business ethics The general idea of Big Pharma’s marketing tactics is that it has aligned its marketing tactics to be profit-centric and the rest of the key performance indicators (KPI) such as consumer satisfaction and quality control matters for little. Due to the overwhelming influence Big Pharma has upon the industry; they often ignore the primary interests of their stakeholders, specifically consumers and intermediaries. Their disregard for the law as well as the interests of the stakeholders has placed themselves in a negative light in the eyes of the public, which is why most people called Big Pharma as a group of pharmaceutical companies that is shifty and greedy. Such reputation does not make good PR headlines yet the marketing practices by Big Pharma has generate tons of profits for them, which possibly explains their nonchalance about it. However, a word of caution is the power of consumers should not be underestimated and it is not known how long more they will tolerate such aggressive marketing tactics. As such, Big Pharma is potentially facing a consumer backlash and might affect their profits. As the saying goes, â€Å"Short-term gain, long-term pain†. In conclusion, with reference to the application and implication of Big Pharma’s marketing tactics, they exhibit poor business ethics and do not actively inculcate ethical values into their marketing practices and channels since they believe it is pointless to do anything that does not generate revenues and profits in return immediately. References: 1. Lawrence & Webber (2008), Business & Society (12th edition), McGraw Hill International Edition, Page 27 (Stakeholders), 90 (Ethics & Business Ethics), 107 (Whistle-blowing), 117-119 (Marketing Ethics), 130-131 (Ethics & Laws) 2. SAPI code of marketing practices, http://www.sapi.org.sg/mktg.htm, accessed from Feb 6 2012. 3. â€Å"Drugs: Why drugs costs so much?† MedicineNet, http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=18892, accessed from Feb 6 2012. 4. â€Å"Big Pharma Spends More on Advertising Than Research and Development, Study Finds.† Science Daily (January 2008), http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080105140107.htm, accessed from Feb 6 2012. 5. â€Å"Pharmaceutical Fraud: How Big Pharma’s Marketing and Profits Come before Consumer Safety and Wellness.† Naturalnews. http://www.naturalnews.com/z020345.html, accessed from Feb 7 2012. 6. â€Å"Pfizer Broke the Law by Promoting Dugs for Unapproved Uses,† Bloomberg (November 2009), http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a4yV1nYxCGoA, accessed from Feb 7 2012 7. Pharmaceutical industry, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharmaceutical_industry, accessed from Feb 8 2012. 8. Pharmaceutical marketing, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharmaceutical_marketing, accessed from Feb 8 2012.