Chilean Copper Mine Collapse and Rescue Essay Example for Free

Chilean Copper Mine Collapse and Rescue Essay The tragedy with the happy ending all started August 5, 2010, when the mine collapses 33 workers are trapped at the Chilean copper mine 300 meters below the ground level. Safety codes require ladders for mines, and the miners attempted escape through the ventilation shaft system, but the ladders were missing. The mining operation soon became known as â€Å"Camp Hope,† for the next 69 days the dry, dusty, work site would be where rescue workers, officials, authorities, media, friends, and family of the trapped miners would call home. A small copper operation in northern Chile, owned by Minera San Esteban Primera, is in what many call the driest place on earth, the Atacama Desert. Some years earlier, the mine was shut down because of several accidents, including one death in March 2007. Later, in 2007 the mine reopened and the mine workers went back to mining the copper. In August 2010 when the accident occurred there were two groups of workers in the mine; the first group were near the entrance could escape, but the second group were so deep in the mine escape though the normal entrance was not an option. The workers quickly went to the ventilation shaft system only to find the ladders were not in place as requested in the orders written by the federation of Chilean mining workers and the confederation of copper works when the mine reopened. By the time rescue teams could respond these shafts were not accessible because of ground movement cause by the cave-in. â€Å"The Chilean government took over the rescue effort on the first day and poured enormous resources into the operation† (Kofman). By day two, rescuers had started drilling â€Å"boreholes† in the attempt to locate the miners and allowing listening devices to be sent down in efforts to hear if any of the miners had survived. A second collapse causes access to the lower shafts to be blocked and shut down operations. The trapped worker’s knew that rescue operations were in play because the 33 men could the noises below the ground. With limited food, water, and oxygen supplies officials are not sure if the trapped miners can survive four days in their current conditions. By day 17, eight holes had been bore using equipment that had been brought in because on site there was not ample equipment for a rescue of this magnitude. As one of the drill bits (normally used for oil drilling) returned to surface with a note attached, stating â€Å"Estamos bien en el refugio, los 33 (English: We are well in the shelter, the 33) (Wikipedia, 2010). Receiving this message was the first bit of given hope to the families that the collapse mine victims’ were all alive and well. This is when all involved began to change the facility once known as â€Å"San Josà ©Ã¢â‚¬  to Camp Hope. To this point in the rescue operations little talk of survival is the conversation, and this is to prevent false hope or any media mishaps. The authorities had given special thought and considerations to all persons involved in the tragedy. Many times is area’s such as Copiapo, Chile, the miners, the company’s administrative workers, and rescue personal are either friends or family, so by keeping this in mind the communications had to project that efforts to rescue would not cease until all hope is lost. Preparations fo r the rescue of the survivors were in operations, and the workers and the family members of the trapped miners needed refuge. Tents and shelters were set-up and become home as authorities announced the rescue could take several months. During the first 17 days, three plans have been put into place, in the rescue operations. All three of the plans worked in grand scheme of the rescue, in order for the trapped miners to survive this long a plan of survival had to come to play. A trapped shift-supervisor took on the role as survival leader, and gathered the men in a secure room, organizing their supplies with the intent that the few resources they had must last if they were to survive the rescue. Luis Urzula in a position of authority, and the men’s trust Urzula he explains ratios and organizes skilled men to go out into the mine shafts to assess the situation. Finally, workers’ from above can secure two holes, only six inches in diameter, but with the help of what is known as paloma, everything needed by the men below could be sent. Clothing, food, water, medicine, and sleeping supplies could be sent to the men. The items meant more than just survival, the items helped to establish trust that survival was possible. In the days to follow a small fiber optic video line is snaked down to the men. Each family is given the chance to see and speak to their loved ones; the ability to send and receive messages they receive encouragement. As the end of the month of August grows near, Plan A and Plan B toward rescue are in full operations. The trapped workers now have electricity, running water, fresh air, and the fiber optic video cable that allows the men to watch live soccer through their tiny TV, reported ABC News. Each of the men was allowed five minutes per day to communicate with their families and open-communications with the rescues. The once completely hopeless situation for all the company’s employees and the rescue worker, whether this is the professionals or the friends and families, they now feel the cohesion of the rescue efforts. In all of the communications questions were allowed and encouraged to ensure operations below and above ground were in complete collaborations for the efforts of the success in the rescue and to rejoin these families. September passed and October arrives, the rescue mission continues, in the time that has passed the assembly of people gave considerable care, and thought to each member of the rescue operation. Over the past 60 days, by establishing, a record level of compassion is felt, and a bond grew to encourage hope. Finally, on October 12, 2010 the first of the 33 miners was brought up in a rescue capsule, and almost 24 hours later the last trapped miner was brought to safety. The entire group of rescued miners underwent medical and psychological evaluations; within seven days of the rescue all 33 were home with their families. REFERENCES Sherwell, Philip. (2010). 2010 Copiapà ³ mining accident. Retrieved on April 21, 2011. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Copiap%C3%B3_mining_accident Weik, J. (2010, August 6). Over 30 workers trapped after Chilean copper mine collapse. Metal Bulletin Daily, (224), 65. Kofman, Jeffery. (2010). Trapped: Inside the Chilean Mine Collapse. Retrieved on April 19, 2010. http://abcnews.go.com/International/inside-chilean-mine-33-trapped-men/story?id=11622729page1

Hrm is more important in current economic climate business essay

Hrm is more important in current economic climate business essay The main purpose of this essay is to examine how the existing or present economic situation which led to firms trying to beat each other in business has made the role of HRM significant in achieving business success. In evaluating this statement, Armstrong (2003) sees the main role of HRM in this present economic climate as being how to carefully devise a plan of action which will be used to achieve a goal, as well as the logical way through which business organisations can manage their employees through HRM so as to achieve business success. The author of this essay observed that in this current economic climate, countries such as the United States, United Kingdom etc. are recovering from depression and inflation which led to loss of so many jobs, and increased competition in the recruitment process, thereby making it possible for HRM functions to be more important in order to achieve business success (source: Survey of Global HR Challenges, 2005). While Pendleton (2011) argued that in the face of this current economic climate, if HRM functions are not properly implemented people will be losing good jobs with better pay due to downsizing in different organisations and start taking up jobs with lesser pay because economic climate will detect salary/pay to be received by employees. McKenna and Beech (2008) emphasise that these HRM functions include; recruitment which involves the proper advertisement of job so as to attract the proper/right applicants, then comes the selection of the best candidates among all the candidates that applied for the job, and proper training of the employee is said to add value to them and the work they do so as to bring about business organisation success and on the other hand, the employees will be rewarded accordingly for their contribution to the growth of the organisation. Armstrong (2003) further indicated that the main aim of HRM is to gain business success in an organisation through the people employed in that business organisation. Som (2008) implied that HRM functions will ensure that organisations attract, retain, motivate and also develop its human resources in accordance with the organisations demand. Ulrich and Brockbank (2005) argued that HRM plays an important role in seeing that every business organisation achieves success through the proper implementation of its functions, and by applying those functions with the necessary information technology system such as the internet. Wachira (2010) suggested that HR managers ought to apply new technologies that will enable them communicate easily with other managers in the organisation so as to reduce the cost incurred during recruitment and also select the proper candidate for a particular job. Though in some developing countries, organisations may not have the technical capability to handle this t ype of recruitment and selection process and this will negatively affect such organisations (Source: CIPD survey report, 2007). It is being argued that there are challenges encountered by HR managers in the day to day management of human resources in an organisation which may result from political, environmental, economic as well as social effects, and this is said to be because of the high level of responsibility bestowed on the HR manager in this current economic situation (source: Survey of global HR challenges, 2005). Jackson and Schuler (1995) sees these as external environmental pressures which can be positive or negative, such as tax exemptions and conducive business environment used to encourage local businesses and allow them to compete favourably in business with their counterpart from other countries so as to enable them retain their existing manpower/employees through their HRM functions or political instability/uprising which discourage foreign organisations/companies from investing in a country thereby creating unemployment, affecting business success and the countrys economic growth negatively. Brewster et al (2005) also argued that in most developed countries of the world such as United Kingdom, United states etc. HRM functions will definitely be affected by political, legal, and social environmental pressure/factors either positively or negatively. This is said to be due to the fact that every business organisation operates under the framework of the law in the environment where the business is located. For example, in Libya, international companies such as British Petroleum (BP) is being affected by political and social unrest in that country, this has affected the operation of so many other companies in Libya and on the other hand reduced business success and government revenue, while Japanese car manufacturing companies in United Kingdom are all doing well and achieving business success due to the favourable political, social and legal environment they established their organisation (source: BBC news, 22/02/2011). Som (2008) argued that the positive performance of an o rganisation in this current economic situation will depend mostly on HRM functions of staff selection, training/development and incentives/compensation. Beardwell and Holden (2001) observed that before now some changes took place in the economic situation of the United Kingdom (UK) in relation to how people are being employed to work, in compliment to what is obtainable in the United States (US). This is said to be caused by economic pressure existing at that period which resulted from increase in competition, recession, and emergence of new technology, which on the other hand created employment, increased employee training and development so as to enable them master the new technology, which will improve their skill and also enable the organisation achieve business success. Though Kinnie et al (2000) argued that the inability of HR managers to properly train its employees will lead to low productivity and low customer satisfaction which will also affect business success and employee relationship with the organisation negatively. Beardwell and Holden (2001) also emphasise that increased competition tried to change the old method of H R and this made it possible for organisations to develop a new method of employment that will be employer friendly/oriented. This policy helped in directing the method of recruitment and selection so as to employ the right people needed for the organisation to arrive at its business success. Although it is also observed that this method of employment will lead to unemployment because very few people with the required skills will be employed by the organisation. Kulkarni (2008) implied that increased competition and globalisation has made it possible for most organisations to adopt uninterrupted learning and training of its employees through the human resource management department. This is said to enable the organisation to satisfy its employees and customers needs and on the other hand achieve business success. Notwithstanding the continuous learning and training adopted by most organisations, Varma (2008) argued that some organisations now concentrate more on what to gain from an employee without considering how to add value to such employee through training and development. It is then emphasised that an organisations aim should be directed towards employee and customer satisfaction through purposeful HRM strategy implementation which will result to profit maximisation as well as business success for such organisation McKenna and beach (2008) emphasized that at the beginning of the economic recession of the 1980s which changed the role of trade unions resulting to little or no strike action, made it possible for organisations to be able to change their staff with ease. This is not only said to be caused by unemployment and recession but also from the introduction of some new laws that reduced the power of trade unions by controlling strike action, which is said to have affected business success negatively because employees will not be motivated to give their best. It is being argued by Deen and Giri (2008) that employees are the biggest assets of an organisation and should be encouraged and motivated through the organisations HRM activities/functions which can provide emotional support, training and development, financial rewards etc. that will make it possible for the employees to do their work with full commitment. This is argued to result to organisations business success because the employees will feel valued and being cared for, thereby contributing positively to the organisation. McKenna and Beech (2008) also noted that the weakness in the power of trade unions is said to signal the need for less elaborate process in collective bargaining and conflict management, which also resulted in a faster way of negotiating settlement of wages. In addition to the foregoing, organisations were better positioned to make changes in work practices which resulted into an increase in productivity as well as a decrease in the number of people employed. Changes in the practice of HR were observed because of the large pool of available labour. A good example is said to be the emphasis being switched from recruitment to selection, which led to the selection of the right people for the job so as to achieve business success which will on the other hand increase unemployment because not every applicant will be selected. It is being argued by McKenna and Beech (2008) that the reduced volume of negotiations which is based on collective bargaining between labour unions and human resource specialists, including the reduction in time committed to recruitment and selection, which helped to provide HRM with the opportunities to manage employee layoff programmes and enter into negotiations so as to bring about low wage settlements, and this is said not to favour employees because of the low wage they will be receiving and it will also discourage them from giving their best to the work they do. Goel (2008) emphasise that in this current economic situation, HRM will require a cybernetic scheme of information management so as to enable an organisation gather, store, examine and disseminate information that concerns the organisations human resource management functions of recruitment and selection so as to help the organisation manage employee redundancy and negotiation programmes. Though, Goel (2008) also argu ed that without a good human resource management information system, an organisation will find it difficult to access information about its employees both old and new, as well as those seeking to work for the organisation. It is then said that an organisation will choose a HRM information system that will satisfy its information management needs if such an organisation wants to achieve business success. Davi (2008) contend that increased competition has made the role of HRM to be faced with challenges of handling management modification, managing organisational culture, dealing with leadership training and growth, measuring the strength of HRM and employee environment, designing employee engagement, dismissal as well as compensation. And to take care of these challenges, Pinnington and Edwards (2000) advised that HR managers should try and discover the main problems, analyse it and provide solutions to it through the use of HRM and performance strategies. McKenna and Beech (2008) argued that in considering organisation of reasonable size, which implies a big organisation, it is possible to find a HRM function just as one would expect to see in a finance or marketing function where specialisation of duties exists and the management team tries as much as possible to achieve organisational goal/objective. While in the smaller organisation, it is said that the level of specialisation may not prevail because the HRM function is being performed by the manager who handles HRM matters. It is observed by the author that the big organisation where specialisation exists will tend to achieve more business success than the small organisation with no specialisation. Though, it is being argued by Bhattacharya (2008) that it will be improper for human resource department of any organisation whether big or small, to assure employees of retaining them in the organisation when such employees are being seen for example by the accounts department as a lia bility. Therefore, Pendleton (2011) emphasise that the HRM department should work hand-in-hand with other departments in the organisation so as to determine employees that can be classified as asset to the organisation and retain those employees because they will help the organisation in achieving business success. According to McKenna and Beech (2008) human resource planning process is concerned with the function of matching organisational demand for quantity and quality of employees with the available supply. This demand is said to be derived from the current and forecast level of company operations, while the supply side is said to consist of human resources that is available both internally and externally. Foot and Hook (2005) observed that an organisation unmistakeably needs to be sure that they have the right staff so as to attain the needed level of competitiveness. These staff are said to be employed by the organisation through their recruitment process by assessing their internal human resource supply. This is said to involve a process through which an organisation takes into account the number of its employees as well as their duties and responsibilities, including their skills so as to enable the organisation compete favourably in order to achieve business success. McKenna and Beech (2008) argued that the internal supply consists of the exiting workforce and its potential to contribute to business success, which has been a target for systematisation in recent years. While the external supply is said to reside in the population outside the organisation and it is influenced by demographic trends, developments in education as well as competitive forces in the labour market, and this is said to be observed within the European Union (EU) where competition is common because every organisation want to achieve business success. McKenna and Beech (2008) emphasise that prior to staff recruitment, job analysis is undertaken, and this is said to involve examining the work to be undertaken by a candidate which results in the preparation of a job description, which produces a specification about the attributes a suitable candidate will need so as to perform the job. McKenna and Beech (2008) also implied that a variety of techniques such as the application form, interviews, tests and assessment centres are all available in selecting the best candidates from a pool of applications. It is mentioned that a shortlist of applicants will be produced as a first step in the selection process which will then lead to training of the applicants, and it is concerned with establishing what type of training is required and to which applicant so as to add value to the candidates and also achieve business success as the candidates work for the organisation. It is further emphasised by Kulkarni (2008) that notwithstanding the bene fits of organisations recruitment, learning and training through HRM, employees are said to be faced with tension of accomplishing business goal/objective in this current economic climate than ever before. Also employees are said to be facing the problem of having to do more work as a result of the training given to them. Although, it is said that some organisations though their HRM can take care of these problems by conducting stress management seminars and training on how to cope with tension at the workplace (Pendleton, 2011). Armstrong (2003) explained that HRM functions will bring about an integrated approach towards the development of human resource strategies or plans which will enable an organisation to achieve its goals thereby leading to success in the organisations business, but when the strategy is not properly implemented the business may collapse. Organisation strategy according to Foot and Hook (2005) are said to function with those plans of action that an organisation makes so as to take care of future occurrences and these plans are targeted at answering the basic economic question of what to do as well as how to do it. Armstrong (2003) on the other hand sees strategic HRM function as an approach used in making decisions on the intentions and plans of the organisation as it concerns the employment relationship as well as the organisations recruitment, training, development, performance management, reward and employee relations strategies, policies and practices, which if not properly implemen ted will result in business failure. According to Nachimuthu (2008) increased competition in the face of the current economic climate has made it possible for organisations that share some business strategy in common to merger together and become one organisation so as to enable them achieve more business success. Nachimuthu (2008) further implied that HR plays a vital role when organisations want to go into merger and acquisition, and the HR function is said to involve retaining some of the existing employees that will be considered as asset to the organisation through the use of HRM strategies to carry out employee assessment that will select and integrate them into the new organisation. Foot and Hook (2005) also emphasise that in order to ensure success in the business of any organisation, HRM strategy must be incorporated in all other departments of an organisation such as finance department, sales department, marketing department etc. and they must work hand-in-hand with the human resource department in the aspect of recruitment, manpower development and training so as to achieve business success. Not only is HR functions beneficial during merger and acquisition, but also it is being argued by Nachimuthu (2008) that when two organisations or more merge together, HRM will be faced with the problem of organisations cultural integration, communication between employees, appraisal and selection of managers/leaders, keeping of valuable employees as well as how to carry out compensation and welfare program in the newly formed organisation. Though, it is emphasised by Pinnington and Edwards (2000) that these problems can be taken care of or solved through a well-planned and implemented HRM strategy which will involve selection of the right employees, performance, appraisal, development and rewards. Hutchinson and Purcell (2003) noted that strategic HRM is functional through focusing on actions that differentiate a business organisation from its competitors. While on the other hand, Armstrong (2003) said that it develops a declaration of purpose which defines the means to achieve ends, and it is concerned with the long term allocation of significant company resources as well as matching those resources and capabilities to the external environment. Strategy is therefore said to serve as a perspective on the way in which critical issues or success factors can be addressed, and this strategic decisions is aimed at making a major and long-term impact on the behaviour and success of the organisation (Armstrong, 2003). According to Armstrong (2003), when considering strategic HRM, it is said to be necessary to address the extent to which human resource strategic measures should take into account the interest of all the stakeholders in an organisation, employees in general, as well as the owners and management. Storeys (2007), argued that soft strategic HRM places more emphasize on how to manage people in terms of ensuring them employment security, training, development and work benefits etc. while Hard Strategic HRM on the other hand will consider the benefit to be derived by investing in human resources in the interest of the business achieving its business success. In this situation, a well-planned soft and hard strategic HRM will guarantee business success in the sense that organisational objectives/directions, its choice of employees and how they are managed will be considered (Legge, 2005). Armstrong (2003) also emphasise that the rationale for strategic HRM is the perceived advantage of having an agreed as well as understood basis for developing approaches to people in the longer term, and this will enable an organisation achieve competitive advantage by allowing such an organisation to utilize its opportunities. On the other hand, Hamel and Prahalad (1998) argued that a firm cannot achieve competitive advantage unless the firm develop its human resource by training them so that they can learn more work techniques which they will use in working for the firm so as to beat their competitors. It is also said that one of the clear benefits that will arise from competitive advantage as a result of effective management of people is that such an advantage is hard to imitate by an organisations competitors (Pendleton, 2011). Organisations strategies, policies and practices are said to be a unique blend of processes, procedures, personalities, styles, capabilities and organisational culture, which differentiates what the business organisation supplies to its customers from those supplied by its competitors and it is said to be achieved by having human resource strategies which ensures that the firm has higher quality people than its competitors (Armstrong, 2003). Organisations challenges can be handled by redefining HRM strategies so as to sustain competitive advantage on investment in human resources, by so doing HR managers must have the core competence to deal with changes in economic situations, social effects and technology which affects the organisation by being able to discover important issues affecting the organisation and providing solutions through development and training (Source: Survey of global HR challenges, 2005). It is being emphasised by Armstrong (2003) that the aim of a resource-based approach to HRM is to improve resource capability by achieving fit between resources and opportunities as well as obtaining added value from the effective deployment of resources. Cesyniene (2008) noted that recruitment process will definitely be challenging in some fields where there is existence of dearth skills in the labour market. Armstrong (2003) also observed that in line with the intellectual capital theory used to analyse HRM, the resource-based theory of HRM emphasise that investment in people adds to their value to the firm or organisation. Therefore the author understands that when an organisation invests in its employees by training them for example, they tend to add value to the organisation by working to achieve business success for that particular organisation. More so Boxall (2011) argued that it is by hiring and developing more talented staff and by extending their skills base that an organi sation will achieve success in its business. It has been observed that a resource-based strategy for HRM is therefore concerned with the enhancement of the intellectual capital of the firm/organisation, which implies that seeing a business firm in terms of what it is capable of doing may offer a more durable basis for strategy in HRM than considering the needs which the business seeks to satisfy (Armstrong, 2003). The author of this essay tends to emphasise that a business can achieve success if it has the strategic capabilities/or plans to compete favourably with others in the same line of business not minding the present economic situation. Cesyniene (2008) argued that the deficiency in the number of qualified workers as well as increase competition will make it possible for HR managers to change from Hard to Soft HRM which will put into consideration the needs of employees so as to sustain competitive advantage. While Kamoche (2000) explained that the basis of this resource capability approach to HR strategy will be the reco gnition of the available manpower in the organisation, which is claimed that it will develop and provide a single model for strategic HRM to function better. Although Jackson and Schuler (1995) also argued that in this situation, firms will try to gain competitive advantage by using human resources through development and training in order to add value to their employees so as to match the nature of the organisations relationships with their customers and employees. According to Armstrong (2003) the key feature of strategic HRM function is the concept of fit or integration, which is also known as matching model. Malik (2009) explained that this matching model helps to bring about strategic integration in an organisation, by combining HRM strategic functions and organisations strategy together and channelling them towards the same strategic direction in order to achieve business success when they are being implemented. Legge (2005) argued that organisation strategy and strategic HRM sometimes does not seem to be appropriate to each others context. A good example can be seen in the downsizing exercise undertaken by some organisations during the last economic meltdown or recession which is not in contrast with human resource management strategy and it discouraged employees thereby bringing about poor performance of such an organisation (Pendleton, 2011). Bowen and Ostroff (2004) argued that merely having good HRM policies is unlikely to be sufficient enough to motivate employees and derive organisational performance so as to achieve business success; hence there is the need to go beyond HRM content and consider HRM process. Fey (2000) suggested that organisations ought to concentrate on HRM patterns of employee development and training at all levels of its management and employees. McKenna and Beech (2008) implied that HRM functions must have the purpose of meeting organisational objectives which will lead to enhancing service provision to its customers, quality, profitability or efficiency of its services/goods. Though, Fey (2000) also argued that there is no relationship existing between HRM Practices and organisational performance in relation to employee training and development. Therefore in this current economic climate, Hutchinson and Purcell (2003) observed that increased competition has really made the HRM functions more important to the success of business than ever before. This is said to be because of the fact that HRM now covers the activities of recruitment and employment which calls for the proper selection of those to be employed, manpower planning involving management of the available work force, employee training and management development resulting to coaching, training and guidance which add value to employees so as to support them on taking more responsibilities, organisational planning and development that helps to achieve organisation effectiveness, wage and salary administration through management and monitoring reward in the organisation and also recognising employee contribution, health and safety benefits and services which helps to maintain work-life balance by building a good working relationship between the organisation and the emplo yee, union management relations and personnel research which may result to outsourcing so as to obtain service from an outside supplier either to train its employees or work for the organisation (Hutchinson and Purcell, 2003). By taking closer look at these HRM functions, Pinnington and Edwards (2000) stressed that there has been an increase on the functions given to the HR manager unlike before, and if these functions or responsibilities are well implemented by the HR manager, there will be a tendency in which the success of the business organisation will definitely be arrived at and the business organisation will grow in all ramification. But the author observed that in a situation where these functions are being neglected, business success may not be achieved and the business will suffer.

Utilitarianism The Pursuit Of Happiness Philosophy Essay

Utilitarianism The Pursuit Of Happiness Philosophy Essay The phrase life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, enshrined in the founding documents of the United States, was derived from John Locke. Lockes formulation, however, was life, liberty, and property. In choosing the broader formulation pursuit of happiness, the framers were certainly not drawing from John Stuart Mill, since they wrote many decades before he did. They were writing and thinking in the same philosophical tradition, which goes ultimately back to Aristotle. Mill, however, has given us in Utilitarianism the most concise, analytical interpretation of this concept. What is meant by happiness, and what justifies regarding it as the goal either of a political system or of a system of ethical philosophy? In everyday usage, we use it most often in the sense of being pleased (Im happy you could come), or of general well-being (Happy Birthday!). It has pleasant connotations, but not, in everyday usage, particularly lofty ones. One might expect moral philosophy, or even political philosophy and statecraft, to seek some more profound goal. Mill, however, constructs his approach to moral philosophy from the bottom up. He starts from the premise that we naturally seek out pleasant experiences, and try to avoid pain or unpleasant experiences. At first glance this might appear to be an invitation to mere hedonism, eat, drink, and be merry. However, human experience shows that pleasant experiences are not limited to the material. We enjoy music, for example, and friendship, and seek these things out. Indeed, we often find satisfaction in experiences that mi ght well be arduous and even unpleasant, such as running a marathon. Even the effort of living up to a system of values carries its satisfactions (7-8). The sum total of these satisfactions and pleasures, or dissatisfactions and miseries, though the course of a lifetime constitutes our overall happiness or unhappiness (3-4). Happiness is therefore the good life not in the narrow sense of a house in the suburbs, convenient to a golf course (though not excluding these things), but in the broadest sense of a satisfying and joyous human existence. This, suggests Mill, is our goal in life, not imposed on us by some moral authority or power, but as a consequence of our human nature. Moreover, the pursuit of happiness extends even as a purely practical matter beyond our own condition of life to the condition of the society in which we live. Even if our motives are entirely selfish, for example, we have a vested interest in a society in which, for example, theft and robbery are not the general because we do not wish to be robbed or stolen from. (Even a professional thief benefits from not being a victim of theft as well.) The same practical principle can be extended to vices and virtues in general: We are all better off for living in a society where virtues are general practiced (31-32). However, what produces the general condition of a society but the behavior of the people who make it up. A burglar may benefit from living in a society where people do not lock their doors, but his behavior makes society less likely to display such mutual trust. If we wish to live in a virtuous society, therefore, it is in our interest to practice the virtues ourselves. What goes around, after all, comes around. Indeed, Mill speaks of a contagion of sympathy, a sort of virtuous cycle (the opposite of a vicious cycle) in which the practice of virtue encourages virtue in others, and improves the condition of life for all. This implicitly is what the founding fathers had in mind. A free society does not seek to impose virtue by fiat, but depends on the general practice of virtue to sustain itself. By aiding in the pursuit of happiness by others, we improve our own chances of pursuing it. A contemporary issue on which Mills propositions might shed light is the controversy over gay marriage. Many people, perhaps most people, have found the idea strange or shocking when first presented. Some fear that it would destroy marriage. However, it is hard to see how permitting gays to marry detracts from marriages between men and women. Their marriages are unchanged. What permitting gay marriage does is permit a new satisfaction a further pursuit of happiness for gay couples. Moreover, by recognizing such couples, it encourages gay individuals to seek stable relationships, improving the condition of society as well as their own lives. Thus, the pursuit of happiness, combined with Mills analysis of how ethical principles can be built up from our knowledge of human existence, casts a powerful light on how we can interpret social issues and their possible resolution. Source Cited Mill, John Stuart. Utilitarianism. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing, 1979. (Original publication 1861.)

Like Water For Chocolate Character Descriptions :: essays research papers fc

Tita - The protagonist of the novel, Tita is the youngest daughter of Mama Elena, prohibited by family tradition from marrying so that she will be free to take care of her mother later in life. The novel follows Tita's life from birth to death, focusing mostly on her tortured relationship with Pedro and her struggle and eventual triumph in pursuit of love and individuality. Mama Elena - The tyrannical, widowed matriarch of the De La Garza clan. Mama Elena is the prime source of Tita's suffering. Her fierce temperament inspires fear in all three of her daughters. She keeps Tita from her true love, Pedro, and it is later revealed that Mama Elena herself once suffered from a lost love, embittering her for the rest of her life. Pedro - Tita's true love, and the eventual father of Roberto and Esperanza. Denied marriage to Tita by Mama Elena, he agrees to marry Rosaura, breaking Tita's heart. Nevertheless, he asserts his continued love for Tita throughout the novel and pursues her secretly. Pedro dies after he and Tita are finally blissfully united while making love at the novel's end. Rosaura - The second daughter of Mama Elena, Rosaura marries Pedro, much to the despair of Tita. Rosaura leaves the ranch when Mama Elena sends her and Pedro to San Antonio to keep Pedro and Tita apart. Her first child, Roberto, dies as an infant; her second, Esperanza, prohibited like Tita from ever marrying, weds Alex after Rosaura dies. Gertrudis - The eldest daughter of Mama Elena. Gertrudis escapes the ranch after reacting mysteriouslly to one of Tita's recipes. She runs away with a rebel soldier, works in a brothel at the Mexico-Texas border, and eventually returns to the ranch as a general in the revolutionary army. It is eventually revealed that Gertrudis is the offspring of a hidden, extramarital affair between Mama Elena and her true love, a mulatto man. Dr. John Brown - An American doctor who cares for Tita when she experiences a breakdown, and the father of Alex. John eventually falls in love with Tita and helps rehabilitate her soul, revealing to her the nature of the fire that resides in each individual. Tita becomes engaged to him, but eventually denies him marriage to pursue Pedro. Nacha - The ranch cook, of unspecified indigenous background. Nacha is the prime caretaker for Tita throughout her childhood, and provides her with the love and support that Mama Elena fails to give. She is also the source for most of the recipes in the novel. Nacha dies on the day of Rosaura's wedding but returns throughout the narrative as a spiritual guide

Insanity in Shakespeares Hamlet - The Madness of Hamlet Essay

The Madness of Hamlet    William Shakespeare, in the tragedy Hamlet, designed two characters who exhibit symptoms of madness: Ophelia and the prince. Hamlet states his own madness as intentional, purposeful, for the carrying out of the ghost’s admonition. But does Hamlet’s pretended insanity actually touch on real, actual insanity from time to time, or is it consistent? Phyllis Abrahms and Alan Brody in â€Å"Hamlet and the Elizabethan Revenge Tragedy Formula† consider the madness of the hero to be completely feigned and not real: Hamlet is a masterpiece not because it conforms to a set of conventions but because it takes those conventions and transmutes them into the pure gold of vital, relevant meaning. Hamlet’s feigned madness, for instance, becomes the touchstone for an illumination of the mysterious nature of sanity itself. (44-45) Hamlet’s first words in the play say that Claudius is "A little more than kin and less than kind," indicating a dissimilarity in values between the new king and himself – introducing into the story a psychological problem, a refusal to conform, which lays the groundwork, or previews, the upcoming pretended madness. As the future king of Denmark, the hero is expected to maintain a good working relationship with the present king, Claudius. But this is not so. Even before the apparition of the ghost, Hamlet has a very sour relationship with his uncle and stepfather, Claudius. Hamlet’s first soliloquy deepens the psychological rift between the prince and the world at large, but especially women; it emphasizes the frailty of women – an obvious reference to his mother’s hasty and incestuous marriage to her husband’s brother: Must I remember? why, she would hang on him,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As if... ...: Hamlet. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1986. Rpt. of â€Å"O’erdoing Termagant: An Approach to Shakespearean Mimesis.† The Yale Review 63, no.3 (Spring 1974). Foakes, R.A.. â€Å"The Play’s Courtly Setting.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. of â€Å"Hamlet and the Court of Elsinore.† Shakespeare Survey: An Annual Survey of Shakespearean Study and Production. No. 9. Ed. Allardyce Nicoll. Cambridge, Eng.: Cambridge University Press, 1956. Rosenberg, Marvin. â€Å"Laertes: An Impulsive but Earnest Young Aristocrat.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Masks of Hamlet. Newark, NJ: University of Delaware Press, 1992. Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html

Feasibility study Essay

Sometimes a full-scale study cannot be justified because there are too many unknowns, or because a critical piece of information is lacking. In such circumstances a feasibility study may be warranted. A feasibility study is undertaken before the real work to determine whether to proceed with a project and decide the best approach to adopt. Feasibility studies can be extremely important in reducing uncertainties for planning the definitive study, and often provide reassurance to funding bodies that the work has been thoroughly thought through.s Our business Queen Pitahaya Fruit Shake (Dragon Fruit) bears the vision of providing fun, deliciously appetizing, uniquely enchanting food and beverage products while maintaining our commitment to uncompromised quality at economical rates with a heartening purpose to cater to society’s needs, taste and preferences: rather than simply convincing our customers to try and like whatever products we develop. Dragon fruit contains much health benefit and uses, that is why we develop something that will really help customers satisfied their needs and wants. Queen Pitahaya Fruit Shake keeps our body healthy, inside and out. Developing a new product for the public is never an easy undertaking. The number of new products that actually make it is insignificant to the total numbers that are actually produced. We as a student believe we have found one of those products that will make an impact and ultimately be successful is a shake. The healthy shake will provide our customers with an almost endless amount of healthy alternatives to the other drinks. This information will provide sales, costs, profits, market, competitors, distribution, and the macro environment balance. The healthy fruit shake will promise you customers to provide the quality, reasonably priced product in industry. We aim for continuously generate awareness, interest and desire for our product, resulting in frequent purchases by the customers. II. INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study Dragon Fruit Shake has a delightful and pretty mild taste, not too sweet but just perfect to appeal with the consumers taste buds. It is made from fresh dragon fruits, non fat milk, and green stevia. Our product will offer numerous health benefits that are good for the body and will cater the ever increasing demand for a healthy food and beverage choice, diets and losing weight. Dragon fruit are among the many wonder fruits that are said to provide multiple health benefits and include a whole array of nutrients, vitamins, fiber and anti-oxidants. It is best for all diets because it has low calories and is rich in fiber that can help avoid constipation, improve your digestive health and help you reduce weight naturally without health risk. Others call this as a super food due to its powerful healing properties. Non-fat milk which is also one of the ingredients of the product offers the goodness of milk but minus the fat, which makes it an easy addition to one’s balanced diet. It gives nutrition to those who put importance to managing to control their weight and staying fit. We use green stevia as a sweetener. It is an all-natural food supplement that is said to be 300 times sweeter than ordinary sugar. Proven by experts, green stevia has zero calories, zero fats, zero sodium and zero cholesterol. B. Name of the Enterprise The name of the enterprise is one of the most important things that are needed in the business. QUEEN PITAHAYA FRUIT SHAKE is the primary name of the business. PITAHAYA originated from the word Hylocereus undatus commonly known as dragon fruit is among the most nutritious and wonderful exotic fruits. Hylocereus undatus is one of the most popular and cultivated cacti species of the genus Hylocereus, especially for the fruit industry while we choose the name QUEEN because the 4 partners in the business are all girls. We create this kind of name in our business because it’s easy to memorize or to familiarize by the customers, its unique name and it’s our way to attract them and it could be a trademark for quality products. C. Statement of the Problem These days, consumers are considered as the king of the market. Their needs and demand varies from time to time because of the changes in technology, fashion, tastes, behavior and lifestyle. Consumers of today are becoming more conscious about their health so as to manage health related concerns, thus consumers demand for a healthy food choice, diets and losing weight. D. Objectives of the Study Stated below are the lists of objectives that this study is contemplating on pursuing. 1. To offer a healthy beverage that satisfies the fast changing consumer preferences for a shake drink. 2. To be able to earn profit 3. To gain market share III. MARKETING PLAN A. Analysis of the Customer Environment There are groups of customers for our Dragon Fruit Shake and the needs are different from segment to segment. It is primarily focused on segments including Kids, Adults, Health Conscious, and the Youth market. The table shows the segments for Dragon Fruit Shake. Not a child yet not an adult Possibly wanting to drink what adults drink but without the adult taste Intense competition with both direct and indirect competitors Unbounded changing of customers demand and preferences E. Marketing Mix Product Dragon Fruit Shake is made from pure, fresh and naturally grown dragon fruits. We do not use artificial sweetener but rather an all- natural sugar substitute. It has a delicious, creamy, delightful taste. Each cup of our shake offers a lot of health benefits for our customers at an affordable price thus, making their money worth spending on. Place Dragon fruit shake will be having its first store at food court of SM Dasmarià ±as. We will not place our store at roadside locations as we promote healthy beverage and we don’t want our product to be exposed on different toxins and smoke coming from the vehicles. We will operate on a safe and clean environment. Price The business will use the Cost-plus pricing strategy to calculate for the price of dragon fruit shake. The price will be set based on the production cost, including both direct and indirect cost at our projected sales volume, and our standard mark-up. Our product is competitively priced and is very affordable for consumers to buy. Taking into account the extreme health benefits our product can offer, we are very sure that their money will be worth spending on consuming our product and making it as a staple on their healthy diet. Projected market price for Dragon fruit shake will start at: P 26 for small; Sales Promotion In- store Sampling – will be conducting sampling program at SM Dasmarinas supermarket and at the same time, giving away fliers and encouraging them to visit and try to buy the product at the store located at the foodcourt. Exposition/ Trade fair – join trade fairs to increase awareness of the existence of our business. This would also give us the chance to showcase the goodness of our product. We will have free taste of our product and we will also sell our product if people would love to buy. We will also have the chance to be seen and known by a lot of bloggers. Public Relation Social Media – integration to social media can create dynamic, measurable ways to engage the community and drive bottom-line results. We will create fan pages on websites, such as Facebook, to start marketing our product online. Often post interesting information about our product, entertaining stories, comments to continually draw interest from consumers. Place ads on Facebook to attract even more consumers to our fan page. We could also have fun games, surveys, contests and customer testimonials. Direct Marketing (For future Direct Marketing efforts) Television, newspapers and magazines will be use to advertise our product. Our existence as well as the health benefits of the product will be the main focus of the advertisement. Television Shows – catering sponsorship on Television Health Shows like Salamat Dok Newspaper – advertisement on newspapers like Philippine Daily Inquirer and Manila Bulletin will increase people’s awareness especially the professionals Magazine – advertisement on magazines like Women’s health and Men’s health is directly targeted towards the health conscious market. We will also have advertisement on Candy Magazine. This will be directly targeted towards the Youth market. All this direct marketing efforts can generate awareness and induce them to try and purchase or product. Feedback from Customers The Dragon Fruit Shake will be operated by 4 persons as partners. Dragon Fruit Shake was a partnership business accounted as limited firm and owned by the following persons: Ma. Fe Victoria N. Alano, Dyann Bucaling, Sharmaine Lyka P. Vecino, and Melody M. Ramos. The business started with a capital amounted to 100,000.00 having equal contributions from the owners. E. Organizational Structure The figure has shown the organizational structure of Dragon Fruit Shake which composes an Operational Manager, Bookkeeper Personnel, Marketing Personnel, and Financial Analyst which all of them contributed to the company. Operational Manager – is an area of management concerned with overseeing, designing, and controlling the process of production and redesigning business operations in the production of goods or services. It involves the responsibility of ensuring that business operations are efficient in terms of using as few resources as needed, and effective in terms of meeting customer requirements. It is concerned with managing the process that converts inputs (in the forms of materials, labor, and energy) into outputs (in the form of goods and/or services). Bookkeeper – in the context of a business is simply the recording of financial transactions. Transactions include purchases, sales, receipts and payments by an individual or organization. Many individuals mistakenly consider bookkeeping and accounting to be the same thing. This confusion is understandable because the accounting process includes the bookkeeping function, but is just one part of the accounting process. Cashier – the officer of a bank or business concern in charge of paying and receiving money and handles cash transactions with customers. Sales Personnel – refers to those who work as part of the sales team either in a retail store, call center or individually from home. Sales personnel are employed to sell to other businesses or to individual consumers. Working in sales can be demanding or stressful, as much of the role involves working toward sales targets. Sources of Literature www.pinoybusiness.com/food-business/starting-a-fruit-juice-and-shake-business/ www.quennsland.qld.gov.au/industry/food/food-innovation/innovative-food-beverage-products/healthy-foods-biodegradable-packaging www.tutor2u.net/business/marketing/pricing_cost-plus.asp bizfinance.about.com/od/pricingyourproduct/a/Pricing-your-product-using-mark-up.htm kimberlysnyder.net/blog/2013/01/08/superfruit casaveneracion.com/dragon-fruit-shake/ prezi.com/k9oj8jyers1/feasibility-study/ www.greenstevia.com.ph thenutritionguruandthechef.wordpress.com/2012/05/13 www.cookinglight.com www.fruitasgroup.com www.cavite.go.ph/home/index.php/investment/cost-of-doing-business/minimum-wage Belch (2003). Advertising and Promotions. The McGraw-Hill Companies Kotler et.al (1999). Principles of Marketing. New Jersey, USA. Prentice hall

Pro Death Penalty Essay

The death penalty should be kept as a punishment in our court systems. It should be kept because it helps crime rates drop, helps give closure, serves justice, and more. Even though it gives a great outcome to the system there are people who argue against it. People against say that capital punishment is not rite, innocent people get killed, and its cruel and unusual punishment; yet none of those facts are proven, in fact, there is prove against them. Ultimately the death penalty helps society feel better and be a better place. The death penalty prevents more murders in society by causing one that is deserved. This is because people get scared of giving up everything for nothing. They think twice before they take a life because they can be punished by getting their life taken. The death penalty stops most people from killing others over stupid things like money, arguments, etc. Most of the people that do commit murders either don’t care about there life, didn’t mean to, or have some kind of anger or psychiatric problem like being psychotic, schizophrenic, bipolar and more. Many people tried to prove that the death penalty prevented murders, but there attempts were inconclusive. In 1973 Isaac Ehlrich engaged in an analysis which results showed that for every criminal executed 7 lives were saved (MSU); only because people were scared of the death penalty and didn’t want to take a chance with there life. The many people that appose the death penalty say that the death penalty doesn’ t prevent murders, but causes them. Like criminologist William Bowers of Northeastern University says â€Å"Society is hurt by the use of the death penalty, this ups the likelihood of more murder.† (MSU) I think that this is an insane idea. Even if society was brutalized by the use of the death penalty, why would they ever even think of committing more murders. The more murders that they commit the more the state would have to sentence the death penalty thus making what they were brutalized by even worse. What about all the criminals in our prisons that are serving life sentences. Life imprisonment is the worst punishment next to the death penalty and without that there is nothing left to punish the inmates with. If the inmate knows that it can’t get worse than that they could kill guard and do whatever they wanted. When there is a punishment of death the inmates have to think that they are in jail and it’s not a nice place there but at least they are alive. Murder is very severe crime and can not be handled lightly. As stated by MSU when someone kills somebody they must be punished equally; as they should be for any other crime. This can be related to the saying an eye for an eye of course we don’t take it to as great extent as they did before. If a teenager steels something like a CD they will get a certain amount of community service. This is basically being forced to do volunteer work to pay back for what you would have stolen and extra hours as a punishment. In an act of murder the victim’s family gets extremely traumatized. The damage caused can never be fixed. If the victim was say caught in a crossfire some family members might be scared to go outside. They could have nightmares and much more can happen. If the murderer is put to justice and executed at least they will have some kind of closure and know that the murderer is not able to commit any more murders. New Media Mill states that only good has happened since the government reinstated the death penalty after the court case Gregg vs. Georgia (1976). Ever since it was reinstated murder rates have dropped in almost all the states from 30% to 65%. Today, about 70% of America is for the death penalty even though there are a few problems just as there is in any other system. The main problem is executing and innocent person. According to MSU there is no proof of any innocent person getting executed. It would be extremely hard to happen because of all the safeguards and appeals added in the 1970’s. Even if an innocent has been executed it is very rare. It wouldn’t be rite to try an stop the death penalty because of some unproven fact, that’s like saying there are innocent people in prison so abolish prison. There is no way you can be 100% sure which inmates are innocent and which ones are not, and you can’t re-investigate all there cases because that would take too much man power and time. The people that do get out of death row normally get out because of legal technicalities. If someone can be proven innocent the governor will grant them clemency. The other claims are usually just delaying tactics (MSU). This is way the court has the appeal system which allows the inmate to postpone the execution. According to statistics on New Media Mill it is more likely to take a guilty man off death row and put him in a normal prison for life than it is to execute an innocent man. People say that the death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment if anything the system goes way too easy on the death row inmates. Some murderers kill people in the most brutal, disgusting, and unimaginable ways and they are executed by lethal injection. They get to die in there sleep without any pain or suffering. They die the way everyone wishes they die. In my eyes, that’s not considered a punishment comparing it to how some inmates have killed people. For example Michele Ross got the death penalty and was killed by painless lethal injection after raping and killing eight women. The people put on death row should be killed in a harsher way. According to MSU government isn’t giving cruel and unusual punishment by lethal injection, people should be happy that they are nice enough to execute the inmates so peacefully. I could understand people seeing it as cruel and unusual if the government banned lethal injection and left the inmates with a choice of the other four methods for execution which are hanging, gas chamber, firing squad, and electrocution which cause pain (MSU). When hanging the person drops with the noose around his neck so that it snaps his neck. Instant death doesn’t always happen so the person sometimes suffocates. Using the gas chamber they sit the person in a chair and fill the room until he chokes from the lethal gas. The firing squad gives a shot to the heart and kills the person in a few seconds or if the heart is missed the person bleeds to death. When being electrocuted the person is tied to a chair while they put 2000 volts of electricity through them. During lethal injection the person is put to sleep then paralyzed then given a liquid witch stops all function in the body. As you see execution can’t get much better than lethal injection. Cruel and unusual is when Ronell Wilson shot and killed detectives James Nemorin and Rodney Andrews in 2003 (Google News). Hopefully you know realize that the death penalty should be kept as a punishment in our court systems. It has helped crime rates in almost every state drop, it has given closure to many families, it has served justice, and more. There will always be people coming up with reasons why the death penalty should be stopped. Reasons like cruel and unusual punishment, that it hurts society, and more but in the end it is the main thing that stops people from going out of control and makes society a better place. Work Cited Google News. The Death Penalty. 2006. 11/25/06. http://news.google.com/news?q=for+the+death+penaltyMichigan State University. The Death Penalty. 2006. 11/21/06. http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.msu.eduNew Media Mill. DPIC. 2006. 11/20/06. http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org