Thursday, October 10, 2019

Arguments against Euthanasia Essay

1) Applies to a very small number of situations, therefore unethical to make a doctrine based on this. Modern medicine can alleviate pain and suffering in almost all cases. Accepting euthanasia means accepting the fact that medicine is not advanced enough rather than looking at constructive solutions i.e. further advancements in medicine. 2) Signals giving up on a case, insult to determination and endeavor of the patient as well as the doctor, violation of Hippocrates oath 3) Value in suffering: teach the community perseverance. The community will care for the patient and will learn to go beyond its own set of autonomous goals. Show that human life has value behind personal happiness and absence of pain. 4) Focus is to alleviate pain: can be done through painkillers, euthanasia is unnecessary. 5) Life is a gift of God: each human being has intrinsic value and cannot be treated as means to an end i.e. a painless death. Shows sick and disabled as undesirable. 6) Thin line between eutha nasia and murder-can be misused. Cost cutting for terminally ill people. 7) Mistaken diagnosis-may affect a person’s life 8) Making voluntary euthanasia legal will lead to a domino effect: make involuntary euthanasia legal, which is equivalent to murder In June of 1990, Dr. Jack Kevorkian, a 63-year-old retired pathologist, was charged with first-degree murder after he helped an Oregon woman with Alzheimer’s disease commit suicide in June 1990. Kevorkian was also charged with helping two other women, Marjorie Wantz and Sherry Miller to commit suicide. Miller was incapacitated by multiple sclerosis and Wantz suffered from a painful pelvic condition. Neither condition was life threatening or terminal. Speaking to the National Press Club in 1992, Dr. Kevorkian defended himself by saying that a terminal illness was one that would curtail life by even one day and since all of his victims had ‘terminal illnesses’, therefore ‘euthanasia’ was justified. He has also referred to old age as a ‘terminal illness’ on multiple occasions. Euthanasia, or the right to die, is sought for those people who are terminally ill. Terminally ill†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦hmmm, how would you define people who are terminally ill? (Pause) Well, the definitions may vary from person to person and that is where the problem arises. People like Dr. Kevorkian effortlessly misuse this phrase to include illnesses, which are not necessarily terminal in order to fulfill their own vested interests. Good morning everyone. The motion on the floor today is â€Å"Voluntary euthanasia should be legalized† and we are going to speak against the motion. There is a very thin line between euthanasia and suicide or murder. In most cases, the two are no different from each other. People with non terminal or even trivial illnesses can misuse the legal sanction for euthanasia by using it to assist them with suicide. For a depressed, ill or elderly person, the emotional and psychological pressures, arising out of the feeling that they are a burden on the family or their caretakers, could push a person towards euthanasia. Such people may look for an exit from their guilt by approaching a doctor who is willing to help them, of course, for a handsome sum of money.

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Ethical behaviour in business Essay

In this task I will be explaining how my business (Ben and Jerry’s) could change or alter some of its practices and showing how these changes would contribute to improved ethical behaviour. The ethical issues I will be working on are CSR and trading fairly. Corporate social responsibility: Businesses do not exist in isolation nor is it simply just to make money; a lot of factors come into play. Customers, suppliers and the local community are all affected by the business and its operations. Ben and Jerry’s products, and the way they produce them all have an impact on the environment. CSR is all about businesses understanding the effects that they have on the community/wider world. Businesses will use this impact in a positive way to benefit both their business and the wider world. CSR means that business such as Ben and Jerry’s will have to take responsible attitude, going beyond the minimum legal requirements (as being ethical is strictly something you don’t have to do by law) and following basic principles that apply. How Ben and Jerry’s are responsible to society? Ben and Jerry’s take on corporate social responsibilities, taking action to achieve more desired goals to expand their business growth and also maintaining open line communication with employees to gain a better outcome. Ben and Jerry’s conduct various CSR activities, some of these include: Use of Fairtrade ingredients- Ben and Jerry’s first started using Fairtrade certified ingredients in 2005; they pledged in 2010 that by the end of 2013 they will go fully Fairtrade. Ben and Jerry’s work with dairy farmers and other farmers from third world countries, they source ingredients like cocoa, vanilla pods and various other ingredients. Fair Trade standards ensure that employees in these countries have good and safe working conditions, work reasonable hours and paid a fair amount for their work. Corporate Philanthropy- Corporate philanthropy in simple terms means a business’s care/love of humanity. Ben and Jerry’s a portion of its pre-tax profits to corporate philanthropy in attempts to become more socially responsible. Corporate philanthropy is led by employees through the B&J’s foundation and community action teams. Ben and Jerry’s award 1.8 million dollars to a philanthropy (an organisation that helps communities and the welfare of others) every year in and around Vermont, where Ben and Jerry’s  was initially set up. Engaging the Community through Community-based Projects- Another way in which Ben and Jerry’s is engaging in corporate responsibility to society is by setting up community –based development projects. The Vermont Dairy Farm Sustainability Project, which was launched by Ben & Jerry’s in 1999, set out to develop practical methods that could be used on day-to-day dairy operations to keep the water quality safe from nitrogen and phosphorus while not sacrificing the economic viability of the farm and making the farm a sustainable business. How can Ben and Jerry’s change/alter corporate social responsibilities (listed above) to contribute even more to improved business ethical behaviour? Ben and Jerry’s do all they can to make sure that they are socially responsible to stakeholders. They have engaged in a wide variety of activities/projects to insure that they do what they claim to do and that is to be as responsible to the wider community as much as they can, this includes Fairtrade, good working conditions, humanitarian concerns and other key factors in making sure that the community is affected in a positive manner. There is no denying that Ben and Jerry’s are very successful in their business operations and also their responsibility toward the society. But there are instances where they can improve on certain things. First of all the business follow all ethical procedures from Sourcing ingredients fairly to protecting the environment to the best of their ability’s, but if you were to be p icky Ben and Jerry’s are unethical in the sense that they are promoting unhealthy food. Now to most people this will not seem like a huge deal, but because obesity levels are on the increase and campaigns have been set up to tackle obesity and unhealthy eating, it seems somewhat of a contradictory move by Ben and Jerry’s to promote and sell Ice cream. This is being very, very picky however as they, like mentioned earlier, they ensure various factors are done ethically. You can argue that their advertisements and marketing techniques do not in any way state the products are healthy, so it’s not that they are misleading people. Some people may say that all Ben and Jerry’s do is sell unhealthy, fattening, chocolate rich ice creams, which can be considered a bit unethical. So in order to tackle this issue and make the company an even more ethically operating organisation, they can introduce healthier ice-cream or produce something alongside their standard ice-creams which is significantly healthier. They can use ingredients that  are healthier/low fat and implement a recipe that is just as good if not better than the original. This would contribute to better ethical behaviour by Ben and Jerry’s because it allows them to give people concerned an option of purchasing healthy (healthier) ice-cream. This will also mean that they are somewhat promoting healthier eating as people will look at them and think highly of them as they are taking these obesity concerns into consideration and doing something about it. Trading fairly: Trading fairly is a movement which strives for fair treatment for farmers. In a fair trade agreement, farmers will negotiate with the purchasers in order to receive a fair price for their products. Farmers who engage in fair trade also aim to pay their workers a fair price, and engage in environmentally-friendly practices. How Ben and Jerry’s trade fairly? Ben and Jerry’s have multiple tasks/missions they conduct to ensure that their operations are done fairly. First of all they are using fair trade. Using the Fairtrade method means that farmers who supply the ingredients get a fair pay, working and living environment. Another way in which they trade fairly is that they give back to society. This may seem like it is not directly trading fairly but Ben and Jerry’s do give something back to society. What they do is that they â€Å"operate the company in a way that actively recognizes the central role that business plays in society by initiating innovative ways to improve the quality of life locally, nationally and internationally† ( Source Ben and Jerry’s website). So while they are producing high quality ingredients at the same time they are giving back to society locally, nationally and internationally. How can Ben and Jerry’s change/alter trading fairly (listed above) to contribute even more to impro ved business ethical behaviour? Like with the previous point I struggled to really find an area within Ben and Jerry’s that they need improving on so I had to be picky, the same goes for trading fairly. Ben and Jerry’s seem to tick all the boxes when it comes to trading fairly; I mean they do everything from Fairtrade to providing the community that little something back. But If I were to be picky I think there is one thing that they might have to improve on ever so slightly and that is the marketing of  the products. The criticism that I have for their marketing is that they have allegedly a couple of times offended customers with the names of their ice creams. Now this may not seem like it has nothing to do with trading fairly but it is. The reason as to why it is because customers are ultimately the ones keeping your business going, now if they were offended with the marketing techniques such as naming then they will be put off in the future. Although Ben and Jerry’s have admitted to using â€Å"cheeky names† on their ice creams they do not do this with the intention of offending people although they have mislead/offended a few. Although they have now changed the names of those products and it was a one off incident they’ll be keen to make sure that this does not happen in the future. (The source where I found out about the names of products offending customers- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/19/hazed-and-confused_n_5845650.html) So in order to alter the trading of products Ben and Jerry’s can make sure that in future releases of new Ice cream they choose names carefully and make sure that they do not refer to anything in a bad light . Ben and Jerry’s are known for their innovative names but in order to prevent people from getting offended they can make sure they choose names that are simple in the sense that people won’t get offended. They will have to take into consideration various factors that could offend people and make sure that names that are obvious to offend people are not used and well away from the products they make.

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

The Human Stain, the Film by Robert Benton Movie Review

The Human Stain, the Film by Robert Benton - Movie Review Example   The film introduces Nathan Zuckerman, who leads a lonely life in New England due to his divorce and illness. Then Coleman Silk (protagonist), who is a professor expelled from his profession, is introduced by the director. He was expelled from his profession due to racist remarks. This incident affected his family life and he lost his wife. So he decided to write a book with the help of Nathan Zuckerman. When Coleman met Faunia Farley (divorced woman), his decision to write a book on the problems faced by him becomes unimportant. The individuals who are behind Coleman’s problem began to interfere into their relationship. When Lester (say, Faunia's ex-husband) enters, the plot thickens because he unveils Faunia's past. Lester reveals Faunia’s role in the accident which killed their children. Later, the viewers come to know that Coleman’s ancestry is rooted African American community and he was pretending as a Jew. Discussion: The discussion is divided into five sections, namely: human life, racism, identity crisis (Hopkins’s identity), complexity of characters and individual freedom of the director. A. Human life: In the film, the director tries his level best to unveil the secrets of human life and its complexity. For instance, the main characters in the film (Nathan, Coleman, Faunia and Lester) possess dual lives. Their real lives are hidden in their past and they are not ready to unveil the same in front of the viewers. For instance, Nathan does not like to reveal the secrets of his life and decides to keep aloof from the mainstream society. On the other side, Coleman decides to escape from the mainstream society and to hide his identity as an African American. Faunia does not like to reveal her past and her life with her husband. Within this context, Lester uncovers Faunia’s identity and the reason behind the psychological problems faced by him in his personal domain. So, one can easily identify that the main theme of th e film is human life and the secret behind the same. B. Racism: Racism is not the main theme of the film but it is inherent within the same. For instance, Coleman makes use of his fake identity to escape from racism. He very well knew that his real identity as an African American may create problems in his profession. So, he decided to pretend himself as a Jew. But this did not help him much because he became a victim of his own comments on racism. Foster opines that â€Å"Similarly, the passing story of The Human Stain (Robert Benton, 2003) would hold no interest without the inevitable â€Å"reveal†Ã¢â‚¬  (114). From a different angle of view, Coleman’s pretension as a Jew is to veil his real identity as an African American. At the same time, his mask (as a white Jew) did not help him to claim himself as the member of mainstream society. So, Coleman’s attempt can be considered as a futile attempt to escape from racism. C. Identity crisis (Hopkins’s ide ntity) The main characters, including the protagonist, face the problem of identity crisis and related problems in their personal lives. For instance, Nathan’s idle life is an attempt to escape from identity crisis. On the other side, Coleman’s relationship with Faunia is an attempt to escape from mechanical life.  Ã‚  

Monday, October 7, 2019

3 works of art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

3 works of art - Essay Example d people are casually having conversations with each other while partying though in a moderate manner not as most young people’s style of current clubbing. The artist to bring out then impressionistic taste, he utilized intensively harmony and balance aspects coupled with rich colors in defining the exact appearance of the entire landscape’s components. This is evident in the way he manages to give clear and well-defined images like people’s skin color, their clothes and varied delicacies including wine on the table. The location depicted in this picture is along Seine River where the impressionist together with his wife and fellow colleague Gustave Caillebotte held a party for their friends. The most striking aspect in this encompasses the setting of the entire party and varied delicacies found on the table besides people’s clothing having a taste of French. Hence, this signifies the changing of French social interaction during late 19Th period due to inf luence from the then Industrial Revolution. Through this artwork, the viewer is capable seeing a barmaid standing behind a serving table and other reflected images of quests in a partying joint seated. This artwork depicts the then French social class especially in partying joints including bars where after liberation of the female gender one was capable of partying freely and without any intimidation with men. However, based on Manet’s mode of painting, besides the woman in this image selling varied types of wines and fruits, she is also selling herself as a prostitute. The depiction of this notion is by the presence of oranges, which Manet through his works associated with prostitution. This particular Manet’s image whose location is a bar, since its painting and introduction to the public for scrutiny has attracted numerous criticisms by scholars. The most intriguing aspect that catches the eye of the viewer encompasses the two images of a man and woman whereby the latter stares in front of her

Sunday, October 6, 2019

Discussion Board Post Response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Discussion Board Post Response - Essay Example I would like your amplification on an issue that is not clear to me in your post. How can you use your strengths and those of the nurse to foster trust between her and her colleagues?. Effective communication skills as a manager are important in terms of communicating organizational as well as individual objectives within organizations. Therefore, your post has helped me understand this clearly Kinsey Weathers. Offering a listening ear as well as your full attention as you do when employees come to your office is a strength that could propel you far in your career. I am in agreement that eye contact is imperative when communicating with others. Advising the nurse and helping her address her personal problems affecting her work is a form of coaching. Tyra (2008) supports your application of your strength through coaching and asserts that "The coaching relationship provides support and accountability for clients to help them change feelings, and beliefs that are blocking them" (112). In my organization, we use trainings, either on-the-job training or holding seminars, to coach employees on how they can apply their strengths in dealing with difficult situations. This has enabled them to improve their performance

Saturday, October 5, 2019

The evolution of the Earth, the Sun, the Moon, planets, and other Essay

The evolution of the Earth, the Sun, the Moon, planets, and other bodies in the universe - Essay Example The last and furthest planet is Pluto, which is a dwarf planet. After the sun, the second brightest object in the sky is the moon. It orbits around the earth once monthly. The impact theory suggests that the moon got formed out of collision between the earth and a very large object, the size of Mars or more. The moon got borne out of the ejected materials from the collision. At the center of the solar system is the sun. The sun is the largest object in the solar system. The sun makes up close to 99.8% of the solar systems mass (Merali & Skinner, 2008). The heat and light shed by the sun makes life possible on planet earth. The planets orbit the sun in paths called ellipses, which are oval shaped. A solar system references a star and all the objects that orbit around it. In our solar system, the sun is the star. The sun as the center of our solar system illuminates the light and heat that make it possible for life within any of the planets (Merali & Skinner, 2008). The planet earth is the only one proven to support life among the system. The planets Mercury and Venus are too close to the sun making them too hot and dry with little atmosphere. The outer planets are also unable to support life because they lack atmosphere, solid ground, oxygen and contain too much

Friday, October 4, 2019

Competitive Strategies Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Competitive Strategies - Case Study Example Strategy can moderate the link between competitive environment and the decision to adopt TC. So, the choice if to adopt TC often depends on firm's strategy. "The competitive strategy (1) a corporation chooses to pursue identifies the manner with which management intends to compete successfully in its product markets and provide superior value to customers" (Susman 1992, p. 114). The firm's competitive environment affects its capacity to implement a defiinite strategy productively. "For example, a low-cost provider strategy works best when price competition among rival firms is especially intense and when the industry's product is standardized. Alternative competitive forces allow a product differentiation strategy to be effective. Examples include diverse needs or uses for the item or service, or relatively few competitors pursuing a similar differentiation approach" (Wolburg 2003, p. 340). The firm's planned vision is put into action by means of different tools, methods, and corporate policies. One such tool that is being adopted by firms all opver the world is the cost management system of TC. As Trebilcock et al. (1990) explain, the link between a firm's competitive strategy and use of TC exists primarily because TC provides the means for achieving the firm's goals of satisfying market demands at an acceptable level of profitability. A TC system provides a means for managing a company's future profits by integrating strategic variables to simultaneously plan how to satisfy customers, capture market share, generate profits, and plan and control costs (Kean, 1998, p. 47). Several large international corporations have been identified as TC adopters, including Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola; however, U.S. companies have been slower to adopt the technique. Reasons for this include TC being "not well known in Corporate America" and the existence of both cultural and organizational barriers to developing a broad team-oriented strategy TC requires (Hope & Maeleng, 1998, p. 130). The concept of TC ("Genkakikaku" in Japanese) originated in Japan at Toyota Motor Corporation in the 1960s. Since that time it has become recognized as a dynamic, comprehensive system for cost reduction and strategic profit planning. TC is not a costing system such as activity-based costing (ABC) or absorption costing. Rather, it is a program aimed at reducing the life-cycle costs of new products, while ensuring customer requirements of quality and reliability are met. "For controlling costs of new products, TC takes place at the design stage of new product development and considers all ideas for cost reduction during the product planning and research and development process" (Eckhouse 1999, p. 218). Several researchers (e.g., Covin & Morgan, 1999, p. 47) have noted changes in current economic and competitive conditions that create a need for a market-oriented cost management system. External powerful factors that have led to this need involve a growing number of competitors, high standards of competitors, globalization in the present economic situation, aggressive price competition, and shorter product life cycles. Coupled with a high rate of technology diffusion and innovation, these factors indicate the market must accept new products at a price that will generate an acceptable rate of return to the company. Thus, processes must be efficient, effective, and optimized to produce the