Fmcg Industry And Outsourcing Information Technology Essay

Fmcg Industry And Outsourcing Information Technology Essay FMCG industry, conversely also called as Consumer packaged goods industry. Fast Moving Consumer Goods are those fragile consumables which are usually consumed by the consumers at a regular interval. Prime activities of FMCG industry belong to selling, marketing, financing, purchasing, etc but the industry also betrothed in operations, supply chain, production and general management. FMCG industry provides a wide range of daily consumable products and consequently the amount of money circulated against FMCG products is also very high. Competition among FMCG companies is also mounting and as a result of this, investment in FMCG industry is also greater than ever, particularly in India, where FMCG industry is regarded as the fourth largest sector with total market size of US$13.1 billion which is estimated to grow 60% by 2010. FMCG industry is considered as the largest segment in New Zealand which accounts for 5% of the country Gross Domestic Product. FMCG product categories include Packaged food and dairy products, Hair and body care products, glassware and paper products, pharmaceuticals, consumer electronics, plastic goods, printing and stationery, household products, photography, drinks etc. and some of the examples of FMCG products are soap, detergent, shampoos, coffee, tea, dry cells, greeting cards, gifts, tobacco and cigarettes, watches etc. Well known FMCG companies are Nestlà ©, Reckitt Benckiser, Unilever, Procter Gamble, LOreal, Coca-Cola, Carlsberg, Kleenex, General Mills, Pepsi and Mars etc. The purpose of this topic is to investigate the relationship between the factors that affect the outsourcing decisions in FMCG industry of Pakistan. There are higher trends seen in the market for outsourcing in many FMCG companies but still it is reflecting as there are a number of factors which inhibit the FMCG companies to make outsourcing decisions. Outsourcing occurs as a result of intimate acquaintance between subcontractors and managing departments. Outsourcers want to decrease the cost of production and the cost of management by distributing work to avoid other costs such as wages and compensation. However, outsourcing helps society by decreasing unemployment, making the economy grow and decreasing social problems. Outsourcing is also a way to boost the economy and it helps producing industries to survive in the market. However, it is not a guarantee that the producing industries will survive. It is just one of the devices that FMCGs should use in management, but it depends on managerial efficiency in the industries. If FMCGs want to survive in the age of globalization, they have to adopt management techniques suitable for each situation in order to survive in the current industrial climate. Nowadays, macroeconomics and microeconomics have been changing very rapidly, in every region. This situation is forcing all countries in the world to adapt to competition resulting from globalization, including modifying government policies, international relations, free trade area agreements, etc. Changes are also occurring in industrial management, especially organizational management, production management and technology, delivery, and marketing management, in response to both local and international competition. In the competitive environment of manufacturing concerns and evolving technological era, to enhance efficiency and productivity, cost remains a challenge to overall manufacturing industry to compete with rivals in providing the best total lower cost to end customers and to secure the market share in order to add value to the shareholders. To invest heavily in capital investment such as machineries, buildings and land to expand space in supporting the production operation is a burden to most companies if the return of investment is not valuably. FMCGs that outsource are in quest of, to recognize benefits or address one or more of the issues like Cost savings, Focus on Core, Cost restructuring, Improve quality, Knowledge, Contracting out, Operational expertise, Access to talent, Capacity management, Catalyst for change, Enhance capacity for innovation, Reduce time to market, Co modification, Risk management, Venture Capital, Tax Benefit, Scalability and Creating leisure time etc. FMCG Industry and Outsourcing Companies that were struggling to increase the capacity to support the ramp up demand at times were upset when there was a drastic downturn of demand cut. As a result, the sudden downturn would affect the resources and investment that were put into supporting the end customers demand. Team of human resources and machineries that consumed production space and being idled would increase the overhead and fixed cost, thus affecting the companies badly in their financial statements. In addition, training and development to up skill internal resource skills set in terms of running the operation effectively, bringing up technical content expert, specialist ability to perform research and development to add value, effective management and maintaining the operation would require significant investment in human resources. Thus, most of the companies started to explore opportunities to reduce cost and to improve profit margin in order to maintain competitive edge in the market. One of the identified opportunities was to outsource non-core business functions to external service providers at a lower operating cost. Outsourcing decisions are those strategic decisions that change the operating strategy of an organization both in manufacturing and services. The most important step in any outsourcing decision is to clearly define the scope of the activities that are being considered for outsourcing versus previously in sourced. Outsourcing becomes a basic strategy of the FMCG industry and is essential for FMCG firms to stay competitive in the global environment. From firms perspective, outsourcing offers several advantages, such as reducing or stabilizing overhead costs, gaining cost advantage over the competition, concentrating on core activities and organizational specializations, providing flexibility in response to changing market conditions, and reducing investment in high technology based manufacturing organizations. Through 2004 onward business growth strategy changes and business growth was restored as the first priority for most worldwide businesses, making cost reduction the second or third priority. Ensuring business growth as well as business process speed, agility and cost reduction requires a unique mix of internal and external capabilities, skills, services and processes. Only a business-driven sourcing strategy supported by good-enough sourcing execution capabilities will guarantee successful business outcomes as well as improved performance and competitiveness. Lack of an outsourcing strategy or relevant skills and processes to manage outsourcing relationships is the most important reason for the failure of service and manufacturing industry. Global competition, increasing regulation and inspection, the development of specific standards and the industrialization of services will raise the competitive bar for the FMCGs services and business processes, making it compulsory for the FMCGs to work on their core business in source let the others do their job for you. By competing on core competencies and outsourcing non-core areas, FMCG companies achieve consistently higher performance over the globe in all fields especially manufacturing and supply chains through consistent focusing and tracking their Key performance indicators. For any of the company to make decision for in source or outsource, its the company strategic decision which will make the basis for the whole in source or outsource process. For making any decision, decision maker will consider the following perspective in their mind or they must have good answers for these questions. Determine what your company needs to or should do best strategy driven long-term positioning Determine how best to do things profit driven short to intermediate term competitiveness INSOURCING/ OUTSOURCING STRATEGIC DECISION KEY STEPS IN SERVICE BASE INDUSTRY An executive level cross-functional decision-making process identifies core competencies and areas for internal investment. The level of internal control required by the companies and prospective direction for operational insource/ outsource decisions are identified and analyzed based on strategic value and relative competitiveness of the company in the market. Document complete strategic decision making process and the implementation process for the strategic decision being made as it provides closed-loop assessment for continuous improvement of the decision in the long run. Align the implementation strategies, processes and Key performance indicators with criteria and assumptions used in strategy formulation or development and in sourcing /outsourcing decision process. STANDARDIZED OUTSOURCING PROCESS FLOW IN FMCG INDUSTRY Stage Key Activities Rough Timeline BU Role COE Role Opportunity Consideration Align on business need gain mgmt commitment to evaluate options Identify options to consider (e.g., internal cost savings, consolidation, off-shoring, outsourcing) Perform Options Analysis / Size of Prize (not detailed financial analysis) If potential for outsourcing, contact outsourcing COE for support NA PR PR PR PR C C Evaluation Team Kick-Off Establish small team to perform preliminary evaluation of outsourcing (Project Mgr/Business Mgr, Deal Mgr, Purchases Mgr, FA Mgr, HR Mgr, External Rel.) 1-2 wks PR C Initiate Evaluation Project Agree on top-line preferred deal parameters with OS COE (e.g., general scope boundaries, sell all vs. partial assets) Develop Keep Price Analysis using the CBA model (COE website) Develop preliminary project success criteria Develop preliminary project process, timing and critical path Consider advisory needs (e.g. external consultants, legal support) Consider need for employee communication pre-market evaluation activity Confirm business management alignment support to evaluate the option 1-4 wks SR SR SR SR C SR PR SR SR SR SR PR SR C Market Evaluation/Discovery Analyze market and identify potential suppliers (e.g., market position, capabilities, potential for savings monetization) Develop supplier materials (cold call message operation review presentation) Meet with suppliers (generally worth meeting w/up to 10 or so if available) Evaluate findings of visits and determine potential for outsourcing RFI may go out as part of typical assessment activity 4-8 wks PR PR C SR C C PR SR Decision to Pursue Outsourcing Refine project objectives, scope, etc. (w/knowledge of market evaluation) Prepare recommendation to pursue outsourcing Gain management approval per Decision Authority PRIOR to RFP Determine the small group of suppliers to be engaged in an RFP (3-4 ideally) Execute CDAs with these suppliers Expand project team (RFP leader, Legal, Administrative support, etc) Develop communication plan communicate to employees if not yet been done Base Case Financials 2-3 wks PR PR PR SR PR PR C C C SR PR C C RFP Development Draft and gain approval to RFP Develop RFP timeline (release date, supplier engagements, site visits, submittal date) Release RFP and instructions to suppliers 4-6 wks PR C PR TPO PR TPO RFP Process Execution Perform step-by-step RFP completion process w/suppliers (e.g., RFP review session, electronic QA cycle, preliminary solution review) Receive review bids, and execute formal solution walk-thru process Get revised bids and perform evaluation (operational, HR, financial) 4-8 wks SR SR SR SR SR SR Downs elect Process Develop recommendation to down select to 1 or 2 suppliers (keep 2 suppliers ideally to maintain competitive environment) Get management agreement 1-2 wks PR PR C C Due Diligence Conduct due diligence as required (us on suppliers; suppliers on us) 1-2 wks PR TPO Final Bids Provides suppliers with draft contract Request Best Final Offers (if appropriate) 1-2 wks C C PR PR Negotiations and Contract Signing Negotiate detailed price and contract terms (w/2 suppliers as long as possible) Align on final down select Get management approval Finalize internal and external communication plans (with External Relations) Sign contract and execute related communications 4-6 wks C PR PR PR PR PR C TPO C C Transition and Closing Put full transition team in place Execute required transition steps (including road shows, job offers, etc) Develop and execute companion agreements in other countries Execute closing Prepare deal files 4-12 wks PR PR SR PR SR PR PR Primarily Responsible Total Time Required* SR Shared Responsibility 5 10 months (ex Transition) C Contributor 6 12 months (w/Transition) TPO Technical Process Oversight * will vary based on project scope Problem Statement The rapidly changing global industrial environment, cost of working capital, research and innovation, releasing key internal resources, concentrating on Core business functions, obtaining better organizational form has significant impact on outsourcing decision making in FMCG industry of Pakistan. Hypothesis H1: Outsourcing activities are increasing day by day in FMCG Industry of Pakistan. H2: FMCG industries are Outsourcing in all areas of their business not only manufacturing operation. H3: FMCG industries are Outsourcing to reduce Operating cost. H4: FMCG Industries are outsourcing to increase concentration on their core business. H5: FMCG Industries are outsourcing to Improve Quality of Services. H6: FMCG Industries are outsourcing to Acquire Specialized expertise and knowledge H7: FMCG industries are focusing on Selective Outsourcing. H8: FMCG industries have midterm Outsourcing contracts. H9: FMCG industries make Outsourcing contracts with good reputable companies. H10: FMCG industries make Outsourcing contracts with companies that produce at lower cost. H11: FMCG industries make Outsourcing contracts with companies that have advance technology and management experience. H12: Losing control of the certain business is the major concern in FMCG industries to make Outsourcing contracts. H13: Increasing dependence with outsourcers is the major concern in FMCG industries to make Outsourcing contracts. H14: Difficult to bring in source after conflicts is the major concern in FMCG industries to make Outsourcing contracts. H15: Disclosure of commercial secrets is the major concern in FMCG industries to make Outsourcing contracts. H16: Conflict of Interest with outsourcing partner is the major concern in FMCG industries to make Outsourcing contracts. Outline of the Study The research structure based on five chapters as follows: Introduction about the Outsourcing and FMCG industry. The literature review had provided theoretical background of the research and cites author had previously researched on the topic of factors affecting outsourcing decision The research methods chapter included method of data collection, statistical technique and hypothesis development. The results chapter had included findings and interpretation of the results. The conclusion, discussions, implications and recommendation section provided the final logical analysis. Definitions Outsourcing Outsourcing is an agreement in which any task; operation, job or process that could be performed by employees within an organization, but is instead contracted to a third party for a significant period of time-one Company provides services for another company that could also be or usually have been provided in-house. FMCGs   It is an acronym for  Fast Moving Consumer Goods. It is defined as fast selling, low unit value  consumer products  normally in universal  demand. It includes categories like foods, soft  drinks, toiletries, cosmetics and other non-durables. CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW Most of the companies that were struggling to increase the capacity to support the ramp up demand at times were upset when there was a drastic downturn of demand cut. As a result, the sudden downturn would affect the resources and investment that were put into supporting the end customers demand. Team of human resources and machineries that consumed production space and being idled would increase the overhead and fixed cost, thus affecting the companies badly in their financial statements. In addition, training and development to up skill internal resource skills set in terms of running the operation effectively, bringing up technical content expert, specialist ability to perform research and development to add value, effective management and maintaining the operation would require significant investment in human resources (David Mackey and Kaye Thorne, 2003). Thus, most of the companies started to explore opportunities to reduce cost and to improve profit margin in order to maintain competitive edge in the market. One of the identified opportunities was to outsource non-core business functions to external service providers at a lower operating cost. Outsourcing decisions are those strategic decisions that change the operations strategy of an organization both in manufacturing and services. The most important step in any outsourcing decision is to clearly define the scope of the operations that are being considered for outsourcing (Cook, Mary, F. and Gildner, Scoot B. 2008). Human resource professionals throughout the world are being asked to do more or less, to enhance productivity while controlling costs and to find out new ways to increase profitability. (Uddin, Gazi, M. 2005). Outsourcing is not a new notion. For decades, jobs have been migrated from other part of the countries namely American and European countries as well as other overseas countries to global service providers primarily India, China, Singapore and Malaysia due to lower operating cost. According to Cynthia A. Kroll (2004), a regional economist from University of California Berkeley, the recent wave of outsourcing affected a different mix of jobs, at different wage levels. It was not confined only to a small set of industries but cut across all industrial sectors in new geographic area rapidly (Cynthia A. Kroll, 2004). William P. DiMartini (2005), Senior Vice President at SunGard Availability Services said businesses in all industry segments found that limited internal resources would make outsourcing an attractive, cost-effective and prudent option that would allow them to focus on their core competencies (AccountingWEB.com, 2005). Demand for outsourcing is a result of demand for organizational products by the target audience. On the basis of organizational estimate of total turnover, practicing managers can attempt to establish the nature and type of outsourcing required to that esteemed goal (Uddin, Gazi M. 2005). Outsourcing advantages to name a few include lower operating cost, improve competitiveness, low in capital investment, shift resources to focus on core functions, generate demand for new growth and market segment, access to world class capability, sharing risks and make capital funds available for core business investment. Bangladesh is a least developed country, basically an agrarian economy, having around 24 million acres of cultivated land, employing about 14.5 million cultivators. Manufacturing industries have grown around Dhaka and Chittagong based on agriculture input of jute, cotton, chemical and gas based industries. Industrial production growth has averaged more than 6% over the last 5 years. The export sector has been the engine of industrial growth, with ready-made garments leading the way, having grown at an average of 30% over the last 5 years. Primary products constitute less than 10 percent of the countrys exports; the bulk of exports are manufactured/processed products, ready-made garments and knit wears in particular. (www.euroitx.com) There are many manufacturing concerns in Bangladesh that are looking into outsourcing opportunity to reduce cost and to overcome the internal limitations and achieve lower cost of operation. The country is now moving towards industry based economy from the agro-based one. Hence, this study was an attempt to access determinants influencing the outsourcing decision and to research the manufacturing concern in Bangladesh on how well the factors would influence the manufacturing industry in Bangladesh to outsource certain function of their business areas to external service providers. The study also aimed at finding out the influencing factors that influenced the companies in outsourcing decision and helped the companies to overcome the internal limitation barriers. In the early 1980s, outsourcing typically referred to the situation while organizations expanded their purchases of manufactured physical inputs, like car companies that purchased window cranks and seat fabrics from outside the firm rather than making them inside. Nowadays, outsourcing took on a different meaning. Presently it refers to a specific segment of the growing international trade. This segment consists of arms-length, or what Bhagvati (1984) called long-distance purchase of services abroad, principally, but not necessarily, via electronic mediums such as the telephone, fax and the Internet. Outsourcing can happen both though transactions by firms, like phone call centers staffed in Bangalore to sen7e customers in New York and X-rays transmitted digitally from Boston to be read in Bombay, or with direct consumption purchases by individuals, like when someone hires an offshore firm to provide plans for redesigning or redecorating a living room (Bhagwati, J. et al. 2004) In an era of rapid technological change and short product life cycles, companies were trying to reduce cost and maintain quality at the same time which implied that companies would need to specialize in what they did best and de-emphasize management attention from business processes that did not directly impact the business. Outsourcing was a means to partner with service providers so they could handle specific business processes better, faster and at a lower operating cost (V. Krishna Polineni, 2001). It was defined as the transferring one or more internal functions of an organization to an external service providers. According to the analyst Dean Davison, the outsourcing was growing about 20 percent to 25 percent per annum (Dean Davison, 2006). Outsourcing has become an alternative, which all major corporations must consider in order to remain competitive. It helped to increase efficiency, improve service quality, accountability, values, decreased headcounts and cash infusion and gain access to world class capability and sharing risk (The Outsourcing Institute, 2006). One of the primary advantages of outsourcing arises quickly from the reduction of overheads. This might give rise to an immediate, and possibly one-off, advantage in terms of the avoidance of future or recurrent capital outlay, and the savings in office space and equipment provisions if these could be released during the outsourcing decision. There was clearly a staff cost reduction possible here, and this could be the predominant element in directly-attributable, ongoing cost savings. The spin-off from this might benefit the business support services department where the outsourcing was partial, and could be especially useful where the capital cost was high and recurrent, particularly if there was uncertainty about the future costs of maintaining effective and competitive business support. It was an investment risk transfer, in other words. Where outsourcing is total, the benefit was accrued directly by the core business it translated to a capital injection to the customers busines s. This was one of the major driving reasons of the outsourcing of IT provision in the early 1990s generally agreed as having been led in 1989 by Kodak, which outsourced all of its IT operations to IBM (Jonathan Reuvid and John Hinks, 2001). This could also confer a great deal of flexibility on the company. For a centralized organization which was providing a range of its support services from its own personnel and offices, the move to outsourcing could allow a downsizing of the property commitments. Consider the impact on the organizational infrastructure requirements of a change to outsourcing IT provision, payroll and credit processing, pensions, catering, recruitment, training, Human Resource Management (HRM), cleaning, security, lettings, software development, estates and building management. It could also confer direct scope for downsizing or increased options for organizational re-structuring through property and HRM flexibility. The transfer of a non-core service provision to a variable cost would allow economies of scale to be passed on from the supplier, and also would mean that incremental changes in the process capacity of the customer (upwards or downwards) could be covered at proportional rather than quantum cost changes. Where scope to vary the scale of the contracted supply was agreed, this has allowed the business organization to make maximum use of its marginal capital for core process change rather than non-core process support change. This could allow decreased time to market for new products or processes, and also increased scope for changes. Outsourcing solutions can provide an excellent chance to get the company service provision out of a rut and, if properly managed, to stimulate new solutions to problems from the mixing of different approaches. A noticeable feature of the global economy is the enhancing international products. Robert Feenstra (1998) describes the remarkable international specialization in the manufacturing products. For example, the raw materials of manufacturing products like Barbie dolls (plastic and hair) are obtained from Taiwan and Japan. Assembly used to be done in those countries as well as to lower cost locations like Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and China. The growth in international specialization can also be observed in aggregate statistics. William Zeile and Gorden Hanson et al (2003) document the importance of trade within multinational firms. David Hummels et al. (2003) show that trade in intermediate inputs has grown faster than trade in finished products. While the globalization of production may yield important productivity benefits, there is a widespread view that it has also adversely affected low skilled workers. There are frequent media reports on how low-skilled labors in the firs t world countries are hurt when manufacturing jobs are relocated in the US and in many other countries have picked up on this theme to push for greater restrictions on trade with developing countries. Yet, despite its prominence in the public debate, there is little systematic evidence of the extent to which low-skilled workers are harmed by outsourcing to poor countries (Hsieh, Chang T. and Woo, Keong T., 2005). Outsourcing has existed in the USA for over 30 years particularly the business process outsourcing (BPO). The Bank of America, Best Buy, Delta Airlines, Goodyear, IBM, the Marriott, Motorola, PepsiCo, Procter Gamble, and Sun Microsystems are all outsourcing HR functions. US federal and state governments also spend billions each year doing so also. HR functions are not just being outsourced, they are being sent offshore. The US companies have off-shored their manufacturing and their RD facilities in their semiconductors, computing, chemicals and pharmaceuticals to the UK, Germany, France, Ireland and other developed countries (www.shrm.org). In view of developing countries, outsourcing takes place more recently to India and China. In 2003, 1.5 million service jobs were outsourced to the developing world and the number was projected to surge to 4.1 million by year 2008 (Elmillian Chew Saint Fey, 2005). According to the Offshore Location Attractiveness Index published by AT Kearny (2004), Malaysia, an emerging South East Asian nation, was the third most desirable location for offshore outsourcing in the world, after India and china. In Malaysia, the demand for outsourcing was not only from global multi-national companies but also from local companies. The demand for outsourcing was driven by the fact that companies could access a more reliable infrastructure that could ensure smooth core business operations at lower costs and with greater flexibility. Outsourcing also encouraged the pooling of resources for a more efficient use of resources to reap the benefits that could be derived from economies of scale. Bangladesh has potential in outsourcing in its competitive business environment with a relatively low cost structure as well as support from the government and non-government organizations. In view of outsourcing demand, Bangladesh could be very well take advantage of this fact by attracting quality outsourcing operators to the country. The availability of quality resources especially in the private sector to support the outsourcing demand, this could be made available to support off-shore and local outsourcers. HR outsourcing organizations in Bangladesh are in stage of booming up and most of the organizations have realized that they should play more attention to networking activities. Uddin, Gazi M. (2005) describes the challenges and prospects of effective HR outsourcing for managerial activities in the corporate world of Bangladesh. The study reveals that networking activities play a strong role in HR outsourcing and duration of outsourcing is temporary. The study mainly focused on HR outsourci ng, not on the factors influencing outsourcing decisions. Literature review shows that several comprehensive studies have been conducted in the world regarding outsourcing specifically HR outsourcing, general time management, managerial jobs, and managerial behavior and so on. But no significant study in the light of this research has been found. It is not claimed by the researche

Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal Essay -- Literary Analysis

A satire uses irony or sarcasm to make a point. Many authors use satire to bring society’s attention to political, social, or economic problems in a somewhat humorous way. Some authors even use satire in an attempt to correct the religious practices of the society. Satire is an effective way to highlight problems because it is non-threatening but it grabs the attention of the reader. Jonathan Swift wrote his satirical essay â€Å"A Modest Proposal† to bring attention to the political, economic, and social problems of Ireland in 1729. For many years, England, and later the United Kingdom, controlled Ireland. This imperialism started when the Irish king lost part of his kingdom in 1169 and asked for help from the Normans, who were French-speaking people who then controlled England. To thank the Normans for their help, the king of Ireland gave his daughter in marriage to Strongbow, the Norman king. Strongbow then became king over Ireland, and the English have controlled Ireland ever since. It was not until the late fifthteenth and early sixteenth centuries that England started to exercise its full control over Ireland. In gaining control over the island, the English â€Å"drove the Irish leaders from Ireland† (Arthurton). During this time a process called â€Å"plantation† was introduced in Ireland. According to the journal â€Å"Experience England,† to plantation was when â€Å"†¦England took land and property from Catholic Irish landowners and gave them to English settlers who were Prot estant.† This forced the Irish men and women to become tenant farmers for the British landowners, making barely enough money to feed their families (Arthurton). When England had a civil war in the 1640s the Irish Catholics took one side. On the other side was the Protest... ....udel.edu/udireland/news/1_23_english_irish.htm> Chowdhury, Ahsan. "Splenetic Ogres and Heroic Cannibals in Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal (1729)." English Studies in Canada 34.2/3 (2008): 131-157. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 8 Mar. 2010. Lestringant, Frank. â€Å"Travels in Eucharistia: Formosa and Ireland from George Psalmaanazaar to Jonathan Swift.† Trans. Noah Guynn. Yale French Studies 86(2010) 109-25 Richardson, John. "Swift, A Modest Proposal[/em] and Slavery." Essays in Criticism 51.4 (2001): 404. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 8 Mar. 2010. Swift, Jonathan. "A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland From Being a Burden to Their Parents or Country, and or Making Them Beneficial to the Public." The Norton Anthology. Eighth Edition. Ed. Greenblatt, Stephen. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, 2006. 1114-1119.

Fair Weather Friends

The majority of us have friends, the friends we have known since childhood, the friends we would do anything for; the friend that would do anything for us. Most of us have friends that are for specific situations, the friends we party with, the friend who will help us paint our house; the friend we can call at two in the morning because we just got dumped. Our lives might not be complete without our friends. I would bet money, large sums in fact; that we all have at least one fair weather friend.We can always count on the fair weather friend to be right by our side at the best of times. When we go on that first date, and it ends up being a double date for â€Å"security† purposes; we can count on our fair weather friend being there showing their full support. When we have an extra ticket to whatever sporting event it may be, we need not look any further than our fair weather friend. Who will be the first to arrive at our house on Super bowl Sunday or game seven of the NBA play offs?Our trustworthy fair weather friend of course! When we need a friend that will drink the most drinks, and eat the most food at our social events, we can just call our fair weather friend. If good times are to be had, our fair weather friend will not disappoint us. While our true friends will be there through thick and thin, our fair weather friend will avoid us like a plague in times of crisis. Our true friends will give us that shoulder to cry on, they will tell us the truth whether it hurts our feelings or not.Our fair weather friend will not show up until there is fun to be had. It is probably safe to say that a good number of our â€Å"real† friends are mutual friends; we might notice that no one else in our circle really associates with our fair weather friend unless we are involved. When we encounter the occasional financial hardship, our trustworthy fair weather friend is not ever able to help, however if they need some money we may the first person they ask. If t here is any situation, of any importance, we should not call our fair weather friend.They always have reasons why they cannot help us at this particular time, but they will be there for us the next time. 3 As time goes on we may notice ourselves putting more and more distance between us and our fair weather friend. We start to see them for the opportunist that that they are,and, we may find that spending time around them now requires a concentrated effort on our part. From time to time we may still invite them along for some miscellaneous event, because after all they do know how to have fun.When we are bored and just need someone to have idle chit-chat with there is a chance that they can still get a call. But, if there is a situation of any real consequence; that requires a real friend, we will find ourselves scrolling past their name in the address book of our cell phone. At some point and time in the relationship, our fair weather friend will end up like that one toy that was ou r favorite as a child; they will be put on the shelf. We will give up the flashing lights and amusing sounds for something that is truly engaging.The object that once entertained our shallow senses will be replaced by one that satisfies needs that are more in depth. Even though we will call upon our fair weather friend less and less, when they have an opportunity to use us to their advantage, they will continue to seek us out without hesitation. Because even if they feel the relationship changing, they will not want to give up their â€Å"true friend†, the one they could count on to be there through thick and thin; the one they could always borrow money from and take their time paying it back.The one their life would not be complete without. The fair weather friend has a very short shelf life; they often wonder why they cannot keep friends. They do not realize that a friendship is a two way street. They wonder why, with them being such a good friend, that their calls are no l onger answered, why their messages are no longer returned. They can always find fault with the other person to explain why this always happens to them. What they cannot, and will not ever understand, is why they always end up with fair weather friends.

The Forgotten (Persuasive essay for prison education)

The Forgotten (Persuasive essay for prison education) The media has jaded people in today's society, and it seems that people no longer care or even attempt to think about others problems and how to fix them. Many people in this country either do not care or are happy to be ignorant of the issues affecting our world today. If someone cannot come up with a quick fix immediately then they simply ignore the problem until it becomes intolerable. This is true when it comes to thinking about those that we put behind bars. The prison system is only brought to the forefront when they become overpopulated and it's time to create new prisons. Every couple of years this issue comes up and always the same solution is proposed. Building more prisons will only exacerbate the problem in the end, due to the ineffectiveness of prisons. While this is a way out of the problem, it does not get to the heart of the problem.Finnish prison guardAs a society we have to begin to focus on the bigger picture. It is time that people realize that creating prisons is not a solution to this problem. A practical and more permanent solution to our failing prison system is to fund the creation of new educational programs for inmates through our tax dollars.According to statistics from the Bureau of Justice, "In 2005, over 7 million people were on probation, in jail or prison, or on parole at yearend 2005 3.2% of all U.S. adult residents or 1 in every 32 adults." Statistics show that if nothing is done, these shocking figures will continue to rapidly increase throughout the years. Even though the United States does not have the largest general population, it somehow managed to have the largest prison population worldwide (Vicini). As if that is not bad enough...

Free Essays on Supreme Court Decisions

Jon Hartman USHG per 5 January 7th 2003- Supreme Court Cases 1. 1803 Marbury vs. Madison Constituional Principle: Seperation of powers; the judiciary Backround: For political reasons, Jefferson and secretary of state James Madison refused to allow William Marbury, one of the â€Å"midnight judges†, to take office as the District of Columbia’s justice of the peace. Marbury appealed to the Supreme Court to force the Jefferson administration to allow him to serve his appoinment. Decision: The Court decided that Marbury’s request for a writ of mandamus was based on a law passed by Congress that the Court held to be unconstitutional. The Court decided unanimously that the federal law contradicted the Constitution, and since the Constitution is the Supreme Law of the Land, it must reign supreme. Through this case, Chief Justice John Marshall established the power of judicial review: the power of the Court not only to interpret the constitutionality of a law or statute but also to carry out the process and enforce its decision. Importance: Established the Supreme Court’s right to judicial review; stregthened the judiciary in relation to other braches of government. 2. 1819-McCulloch vs Maryland Constitutional Principle: Federalism; National power; the judiciary Backround: The state of Maryland brought an action against James William McCulloch, a cashier in the Maryland branch of the Bank of the United States, for not paying a tax the state had imposed on the United States Bank. Decision: In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the â€Å"power to tax involves the power to destroy,† and that the federal government’s national bank was immune to state taxation. The Court reasoned that Congress could set up a United States Bank and write laws â€Å"necessary and proper† to carry out its constitutional power to coin and regulate money. Importance: The Federal government has only those p... Free Essays on Supreme Court Decisions Free Essays on Supreme Court Decisions Jon Hartman USHG per 5 January 7th 2003- Supreme Court Cases 1. 1803 Marbury vs. Madison Constituional Principle: Seperation of powers; the judiciary Backround: For political reasons, Jefferson and secretary of state James Madison refused to allow William Marbury, one of the â€Å"midnight judges†, to take office as the District of Columbia’s justice of the peace. Marbury appealed to the Supreme Court to force the Jefferson administration to allow him to serve his appoinment. Decision: The Court decided that Marbury’s request for a writ of mandamus was based on a law passed by Congress that the Court held to be unconstitutional. The Court decided unanimously that the federal law contradicted the Constitution, and since the Constitution is the Supreme Law of the Land, it must reign supreme. Through this case, Chief Justice John Marshall established the power of judicial review: the power of the Court not only to interpret the constitutionality of a law or statute but also to carry out the process and enforce its decision. Importance: Established the Supreme Court’s right to judicial review; stregthened the judiciary in relation to other braches of government. 2. 1819-McCulloch vs Maryland Constitutional Principle: Federalism; National power; the judiciary Backround: The state of Maryland brought an action against James William McCulloch, a cashier in the Maryland branch of the Bank of the United States, for not paying a tax the state had imposed on the United States Bank. Decision: In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the â€Å"power to tax involves the power to destroy,† and that the federal government’s national bank was immune to state taxation. The Court reasoned that Congress could set up a United States Bank and write laws â€Å"necessary and proper† to carry out its constitutional power to coin and regulate money. Importance: The Federal government has only those p...

The Function and Role of the Chorus in Medea and Lysistrata Essay

The Function and Role of the Chorus in Medea and Lysistrata - Essay Example Euripides uses the chorus in a limited but important way. The chorus does not drive the action; indeed, the chorus is in many ways detached and, at times, almost physically helpless. The chorus, however, is an essential and meaningful element of the play. The chorus reacts to the action and expresses itself as an overarching conscience. The chorus expresses sympathy and understanding. The chorus expresses sadness and lamentations. Its perception of the main characters changes throughout the play, and these changes compel the reader to continuously reevaluate the main characters. In addition to these reevaluations, the chorus functions as a signifier of change in the play. The chorus is often used by Euripides to signify a further development in the play. In short, the chorus is intimately connected to the play, even though it is in many ways detached from the underlying action, and it functions to force deeper assessments of the main characters and to signify developments in the play . As an initial matter, the chorus in Medea is used to function as an overarching conscience and to compel the observer to reassess the main characters. ... This is a woman whom has been betrayed. Her wrath and her pain are justifiable. The chorus judges Medea the innocent victim, "for thou wilt be taking a just vengeance on thy husband, Medea. That thou shouldst mourn thy lot surprises me not." (Medea, 117). The chorus declares Medea oppressed and her husband perfidious. The nature of the revenge decided upon, and the breadth of victims, force changes in the opinion of the chorus. Medea's plan to poison her husband and his bride, as well as her subsequent killing of her sons, elicit a quite different reaction from the chorus. Indeed, when Medea reveals her plans to the chorus, it remarks, How then shall the city of sacred streams, the land that welcomes those it loves, receive thee, the murderess of thy children, thee whose presence with others is a pollution 'Think on the murder of thy children, consider the bloody deed thou takest on thee. Nay, by thy knees we, one and all, implore thee, slay not thy babes (Medea, 998). The chorus is recharacterizing Medea and being used by Euripides to explore both the nature of vengeance and the limits of justice. Medea is fairly motivated, but her plan goes beyond what the chorus deems moral and just. In the end, as the chorus witnesses Medea's killing of her sons, they remain outside of the action. They play no protective role bound by their oath not to intervene, and they witness the death struggle and the screams helplessly. They simply observe that, "Can there be any deed of horror left to follow this Woe for the wooing of women fraught with disaster!" (Medea, 1209). The chorus judges Jason and Medea excessive. The children are innocent victims. A vengeance, once

Deontology, Utilitarianism, and Virtue Ethics Essay

Deontology, Utilitarianism, and Virtue Ethics - Essay Example Decisions and actions should be geared towards fulfilling obligations and existing laws. Consequently, acts that meet the expectations are considered ethical and those that do not meet the expectations are considered unethical. The theory therefore offers no regards to people’s immediate welfare, may subject actors to conflict of interest, and it is not based on rationale. Utilitarianism, however, focuses on consequences of an action or decision, instead of existing rules and obligation that a person has to others. According to utilitarian theory, negative and positive effects of a decision or actions are considered and net effects used to determine morality. Those acts and decisions that yield net benefits are considered ethical, unlike those that offer net harm. This establishes the basis of determining morality as a difference between deontology and utilitarianism as deontology relies on rules and obligations while utilitarianism relies on effects of an act or a decision. U tilitarianism also remedies deontology’s weakness of lack of rationale and this identifies a difference. Focusing on consequences also establishes consistency and therefore minimizes conflicts. However, the two theories aims at determining morality in actions and decisions (Manias, E., Manias, N., & Monroe, 2013). Analysis of virtue ethics, with the other two theories, also identifies both similarities and differences. The theory distinguishes rights and wrongs, just as deontology and utilitarianism.