Baseball and Antitrust Laws Essay

Any commerce with operations spanning state boundaries, thus undertaking interstate trade, is governed by antitrust laws. Efforts at monopolizing and controlling trade could be regarded unlawful by national circuit courts as per the Clayton and Sherman Acts. Baseball has always been immune from such antitrust regulations from 1922, upon the Supreme Court’s verdict made baseball winner in Federal Baseball Club of Baltimore, Inc. v. National Baseball Clubs. It was determined that although planning of sports was done across State boundaries, such games constituted intrastate occasions since movement from state to state was not essential (Falk, 1994). The antirust immunity bars MLB from being legally challenged because of national antirust braches. Unless such immunity is removed by Congress, baseball proprietors make whatever decisions they wish because no antirust-related legal proceedings can be instituted against them. Whenever the proprietors attempt to modify baseball, the MLBPA quickly comes in to claim that they were not consulted (Bendix, 2008). Despite the fact that proprietors may do whatever they wish disregarding antitrust regulations, nothing which breaches the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) can be done. Such agreement requires that almost each dispute be mediated, like it is done with numerous labor deals. If the antirust immunity of baseball was cancelled, would this mean the changing of baseball? This is unlikely since the same regulations that govern NHL, NFL, and NBA would continue to govern baseball. The USA at the moment has antitrust regulations meant to bar businesses from controlling specific markets. Nevertheless, US baseball market has been monopolized by key league baseball for ages, thus preventing upcoming players from actually gaining footage. The US Supreme Court has defended Major League Baseball’s (MLB) liberty to monopolize in a number of instances. MLB remains the sole US monopoly in numerous ways, and has remained so from its beginning. Upon the 1903 merger of the National League (NL) with the American League (AL), such partnership immediately proved successful. Such success was surely bound to invite imitation. Therefore a different baseball league almost immediately demonstrated willingness to challenge the NL/AL monopoly. The Federal League began as an insignificant league; however, it espoused key intentions (Anderson, 2002). By 1914, numerous individuals regarded such Federal League to be a main league; the league itself desired to officially confirm this. The Federal League (FL) took legal action against Major League Baseball on 5th January 1915 for disrupting their efforts at hiring players who were between agreements that is, not governed by the Reserve Clause, from the American National League, citing national antitrust law. The case was heard by Kennesaw Mountain Landhis, reputed for his firm observance of the law. However, Ladhis was as well a big fan of Chicago Cubs. He knew that the Federal League’s case was a justifiable one, however, his favorite team, the Cubs, would suffer if FL won the case, and thus Ladhis kept such case under advisement as opposed to immediately issuing a verdict. The FL’s 19156 collapse made everyone happy. The Baltimore Federal League license proprietors tried to buy out a team of the Major League (ML) only to be rejected. They subsequently attempted to purchase a franchise of the International league; they were once more rejected. The proprietor of White Sox, Chalets Chomsky, offended Baltimore city by saying that the metropolis constituted a bad and insignificant league. Charles Ebbets, the proprietor of Dodgers, added to the insult by stating that the metropolis was among the worst insignificant league metropolis because of having excess colored people. The perspective proprietors then took legal action against ML baseball, alleging a scheme to tear down the FL. In April 1919, a law court declared the Baltimore proprietors the winners of the suit, thus awarding them damages worth $240,000. An appeal was instituted in 1920, with the appeal ruling being made in 1921 (Barra, 2003). The 1921 ruling nullified the decision of the junior court and declared that baseball did not constitute the type of trade national law ought to standardize. The US Supreme Court endorsed such a ruling on May 22nd 1922, thus strengthening baseball’s antitrust immunity. In the Federal Baseball Club v. National League, the Supreme Court gave the verdict that ML baseball remained immune from the Sherman Antitrust Act provisions. Following the 1915 folding of the FL, majority of the FL proprietors were purchased by proprietors within the other MLs, or had received compensation in other modes. For instance, St. Louis FL owner was authorized to purchase the St Louis Browns. Baltimore Federal League club owner did not get this authorization and hence he took legal action against the American league, National League, as well as additional defendants, such as a number of FL officials. The suit alleged a plot to dominate baseball through demolishing the FL (Rovell, 2001). The listed defendants were declared jointly answerable, with $80,000 worth of damages assessed. The figure was tripled to total $240,000 as per the Clayton Antitrust Act provisions. Such immunity, as well as the monopoly of MLB, was unchallenged up to 1972. Curt Flood took legal action against baseball following his sale to Philadelphia Phillies from the Saint Louis Cardinals following 1969’s season. Such a case ultimately reached the Supreme Court, where the initial decision was endorsed with Congress left to rectify the inconsistency. Despite the fact that Flood did not win the case, he set the precedence for wage negotiation, and immediately afterwards, free action. At the moment free agency survives, however such antitrust immunity is as well law. Baseball was not to be awarded antitrust immunity if the Baltimore League squad owners had been reimbursed after the league was disbanded. All other squad’s proprietors were compensated with the exception of Baltimore, thus prompting their filing of the initial antitrust lawsuit. Such immunity is suspect, and several observers are convinced that it may once more be upheld in a law court. Nevertheless, from the Flood case of 1972, no any one case has been even close to being heard at the Supreme Court (Barra, 2006). In addition MLB’s domination has not been challenged by any league since the 1950s unsuccessful Continental League. The National Federal League has been engrossed in majority of the major antitrust court cases, such as, its lawsuits against the US Football League. Such cases have demonstrated that antitrust lawsuits are not essentially fatal. Despite that fact that the NFL lost the two cases, numerous lawsuits have been previously won by sports leagues. In antitrust lawsuits, such leagues have to demonstrate that they did not breach antitrust regulations through demonstrating that their activities generally, served to promote contest more as opposed to inhibiting it. Despite the fact that Al Davis legally defeated the NFL, the NFL could as well have emerged victorious if it possessed an unambiguous guidelines and adhered to them rather than acting because they particularly disliked Al Davis (Bartree, 2005). In addition, despite the fact that USFL legally beat NFL, a mere $3 worth of damages was awarded. If the US Congress completely revokes the antirust immunity of baseball, some interesting enduring consequences could result. Firstly, the key leagues are to be affected. Insignificant-league baseball t the moment relies on the ongoing presence of the Reserve Clause , which permits major-league teams to legally control players even following the expiry of the players’ contracts. Such Reserve Clause permits the existence of deep insignificant-league structures within baseball by permitting such teams to control numerous players not in their key-league rosters. NBA and NFL do not have any minor-league structures. Hockey has insignificant-league squads; however, such are mediated into the joint bargaining of hockey with the players. The Reserve Clause is likely to be legally challenged if the antitrust immunity of baseball is lost. In case such clause is determined to breach antitrust regulations, baseball squads could be forced surrender the legal claims to a number of or even every of their insignificant-league players. With no interest to develop the team members whom they formerly controlled, big-league squads would be less motivated to offer support to their insignificant-league partners through subsidizing their activities (Blum, 2001). This has thus made insignificant leagues lobby Congress to uphold the antitrust immunity of baseball. Without such immunity insignificant leagues would be forced to modify their activities, to become more similar to free insignificant early 1900s leagues rather than be under MLB. Proprietors would have no power regarding discussing with team members due to lack of legal standing to possess a Reserve Clause. When squads have no rights over team members, there will be less willingness to recruit high school players and accord them 4 or 5 development years, particularly if they are forced to dwell much on major league rosters. This could imply a major impetus fro baseball in colleges, and perhaps also for global baseball leagues (Rovell, 2001). Such would form the major MLB’s propagation ground as has been for basketball and football. If the antitrust immunity is revoked, franchise transfer, and particularly contraction, would from the greatest challenge. Close to thirty years have elapsed since a single baseball squad relocated from one metropolis to the other. Since that time, the other 3 games have progressed since the antitrust immunity grants baseball proprietors extra authority to bar squads from relocating than the proprietors have within other games. Such authority was especially apparent in 1992 at the time when the Tampa/St. Petersburg Vince Piazza’s group wanted to purchase the Giants from Bob Lurie at $115 million. The proprietors declined to allow such sale, and then compelled Lurie to accept $100 million from Peter Mogowan for the squad. Piazza instituted legal proceedings against MLB, actually winning the initial round of the case. The court stated that the antitrust immunity did not cover relocations (Belth, 2001). However, the Curt Flood Act currently holds that immunity does touch on relocations. Absence of antitrust immunity makes it hard to bar teams from relocating by the MLB. Attempts to block relocations would surely be met with lawsuits instituted by the cities or teams that were attempting to relocate. Baseball would be tasked with the responsibility to demonstrating that barring such relocation would benefit contest, plus that the resolution was founded on unambiguous guidelines. If Congress repealed the immunity, the contraction war would most likely not be based on Twin’s release and labor deals. Contraction challengers would posit that the proprietors were attempting to get rid of 2 competitors so as to raise profits; this is a typical antitrust breach (Falk, 1994). The proprietors would be forced to defend such relocation arguing that they were enhancing competition within the game. It is difficult to determine whether America or baseball would benefit if the antitrust immunity of baseball is revoked. Attorneys would surely benefit owing to increased lawsuits. The proprietors would benefit since the MLB has previously won against attempts to revoke the immunity and Congress always takes it time. References Anderson, P. (2002). Recent major league baseball contraction cases. Retrieved august 4th 2009, from http://law. marquette. edu/cgi-bin/site. pl? 2130&pageID=474 Barra, A. (2003). Policy debate: Should the antitrust exemption be eliminated? Retrieved august 4th 2009, from http://swcollege. com/bef/policy_debates/baseball. html Barra, A. (2006). Policy debate: Should the antitrust exemption be eliminated? Retrieved august 4th 2009, from http://www. swlearning. com/economics/policy_debates/baseball. html Bartree, H. (2005). The role of antirust laws in the professional sports industry from a financial perspective. Retrieved august 4th 2009, from http://www. thesportjournal. org/article/role-antitrust-laws-professional-sports-industry-financial-perspective Belth, A. (November 26th 2001). Ending baseballs antitrust exemption. Retrieved august 4th 2009, from http://courses. cit. cornell. edu/econ352jpw/readme/Baseball%20Prospectus%20-%20Ending%20Baseball%27s%20Antitrust%20Exemption. htm Bendix, P. (December 3rd 2008). The history of baseball’s antitrust exemption. Retrieved august 4th 2009, from http://www. beyondtheboxscore. com/2008/12/3/678134/the-history-of-baseball-s Blum, R. (June 12th 2001). Why is the antitrust exemption important? Retrieved august 4th 2009, from http://www. usatoday. com/sports/baseball/stories/2001-12-05-antitrust-explanation. htm

The Appendicular Skeleton

The clavicle is a long bone, but it has no medullary cavity. The clavicle supports the scapula and arms, it protects deeper structures (blood vessels, for example) in the upper chest, and it transmits impact from the arms to the axial skeleton. The scapula is attached to the thorax and vertebral column by muscles. The pectoral girdles attach the upper extremities (limbs) to the axial skeleton and provide attachment sites for many muscles that move the upper limbs. The 2 pectoral girdles and the associated muscles form your shoulders.The pectoral girdles are very flexible and allow the upper limbs a great deal of flexibility. They permit movement in many directions at the shoulder joint. The socket of the shoulder joint is small, shallow, and poorly reinforced with ligaments. This arrangement is good for flexibility, but it is not very stable. Shoulder dislocations are therefore fairly common. The UPPER LIMBS (extremities) (FIGS. 8. 4-8. 8) consist of 60 bones; 30 bones per limb. Thes e are the bones of the arms, wrists, and hands.They include the HUMERUS, ULNA, RADIUS, CARPALS, METACARPALS, and PHALANGES. The PELVIC GIRDLE (hip girdle) (FIGS. 8. 9-8. 11 & TABLE 8. 1) attaches the lower extremities (limbs) to the axial skeleton, and it supports and protects the visceral organs of the pelvic cavity. The pelvic girdle is a strong and stable support for the lower limbs. While the shoulder girdle moves somewhat freely and allows the arms a great deal of mobility, the pelvic girdle is secured to the axial skeleton by some of the strongest ligaments of the body.Its sockets, which articulate with the thigh bones, are deep and cup-like and are heavily reinforced with ligaments. Even though both the shoulder and hip joints are ball-and-socket joints, the thigh cannot move in its socket with the same degree of freedom as the arm can in the shoulder joint. Flexibility in the hip joint is sacrificed for stability. The pelvic girdle consists of the 2 HIPBONES (coxal bones). E ach hipbone of a newborn baby consists of 3 bones: the superior  ILIUM, the inferior and anterior PUBIS, and the inferior and posterior ISCHIUM. Eventually these fuse into one COMPOSITE bone.The area where they all fuse is called the ACETABULUM, which serves as the socket for the femur. The PUBIS of the hipbones meet anteriorly at the PUBIC SYMPHYSIS. The hipbones articulate posteriorly with the sacrum at the SACROILIAC JOINT. The 2 hipbones, with the sacrum and coccyx, form the basin-like structure called the PELVIS. The LOWER LIMBS (extremities) consists of 60 bones (FIG. 8. 12-8. 17); 30 bones per limb. These include the FEMUR (thighbone), PATELLA (kneecap), FIBULA & TIBIA (lower leg), TARSALS (anklebones and heel bones), METATARSALS (feet), and PHALANGES (toes).

Economic Policy Essay

The essence of economic policy in the areas of urban housing, urban education, and urban transportation in the United States National Government is cored on the achievement of trade targets. Boosting its market efficiency and redistribution of supply and services grounded on public values are its primary interest (Feldstein, 1999). These economic policies make up a part of the body of agenda. These are of regulated policies prepared by the Federal Reserve System headed by the President of the United States of America and the legislative branch of government (Poole 1999). Body At the outset, economic policies are decisions. President Harry Truman was a decision maker of the land in his time (Mankiw, 1998). He mentioned of his need to find one-armed economist (Mankiw 1998). This is a manifestation that the concept of economic information is ambivalent (Mankiw, 1998). Decisions are taken initially based on individual principles of: trade offs in efficiency and equity, cost of something versus opportunity cost, marginal changes to a plan, and response of people to trade offs (Mankiw, 1998). Subsequently, societal interactions principles are considered based on: trade, markets, and governmental market policy (Mankiw, 1998). Finally, national economy is considered upon the principles of: production of goods and services, inflation, and tradeoff between inflation and unemployment (Mankiw, 1998). Three of the economic policies Of the United States of America National Government are in the areas of urban housing, urban education, and urban transportation. These are parts of the regulated competitive industries (Feldstein, 1999). The urban housing policy covers private and social benefits of homeownership (Haurin, 2003). Bush said, homeownership is the core American values of individuality, thrift, responsibility, and self-reliance (Haurin, 2003). It represents a pathway to pride and prosperity for many families, encourages values of responsibility and sacrifice, creates stability for neighborhoods and communities and generates economic growth that helps strengthen the entire nation (Haurin, 2003) Dietz and Haurin (2003) however showed that 25% more of spouses in owner-occupied households work or are employed. They also have to face up to inevitable tax revenues through mortgage deductions (Haurin, 2003). While the data presumes that the rest of the population in owner-occupied households does not work, this would mean, this group is above average income in the strata of society. The next issue then is to know why were governmental supports for homeownership projects in the scale of billions of dollars far exceeded expenditure on education (Haurin, 2003) when most homeowners have beyond workers financial capabilities. Were the determinants of families becoming homeowners covered by public policy (Haurin, 2003)? What economic public policy would justify lumping up of burdens on homeowners who are mere workers? What economic public policy would explain governmental support to boost the status of those who can afford a home? Would this public policy be in consistent with the targets of government as pronounced by the President? Enhancement of market efficiency is focused on: developing performances of industries by eliminating anticompetitive elements; providing consumer protection like making informed choices possible; and ensuring product cost would include externalities (Feldstein 1999). While redistribution of resources and services anchored on the policy of collecting higher taxes from those who earn more to provide for those who earn less (Feldstein 1999). These policies however are often influenced by international institutions like the International Monetary Fund or World Bank as well as political beliefs and the consequent policies of parties. Housing Policy for example is usually analyzed in economic industry, as a form of market. Market leads to efficient allocation through a complex process of matching supply and demand. This depends on competition, good information, the existence of multiple suppliers, and the existence of different multiple purchasers. At the beginnings of the 21st century the demographical changes in the United States shaped housing consumption (Masnick, 1990). This is marked though by the big problem in urban housing policy which became inadequate for the increased number of houses required to support increasing population (Masnick, 1990). The number of homeless people is constantly increasing annually (Masnick, 1990). Homelessness became a very complex problem (Masnick, 1990). This means, if there were not enough places for people to live, then there are really those who does not have any shelter of their own (Masnick, 1990). The housing market bloated beyond previous policy allocations (Masnick, 1990). As a consequence, those who were not originally included generally became the poorest constituents of society (Masnick, 1990). Subsequent to demographical changes is the alternative of the homeless to find shelter in temporary shanties on unoccupied lands (Dunleavy, 1981). This led to problems of land entitlements (Dunleavy, 1981). Squatters over time on squatted settlements built more stable houses (Dunleavy, 1981). Homelessness often led to development of individual characteristics such as alcoholism, psychiatric illness, unemployment, and marital breakdown (Dunleavy, 1981). The situation is further aggravated by the decrease in privately owned housing programs (Dunleavy, 1981). The local governmental systems then were obligated to absorb the market (Dunleavy, 1981). As it turned out, it is cheaper to buy houses than to rent (Dunleavy, 1989). Housing conditions in many cities which were particularly unsatisfactory being old and in poor condition were improved (Dunleavy, 1989). Looking back, series of policies since the late 1960s focused on the problems of deprivation in inner city areas (Dunleavy, 1989). Much of the concern was with the inner cities growth which was an attempt to produce an acceptable racial policy. Despite this, ethnic minorities have had no proportionate share of resources from policies for the inner cities (Dunleavy, 1989). However, local government economic policies today are more focused, and greatly in consistent with constant changes in the societal demographics regardless of ethnicity (Gabriel, 1990). Another consideration however must be made. This is because of: the limited availability of affordable rental units, mortgage finance, reduced housing and income assistance to very low income populations, problems of public housing, low income housing preservation, issues of equal opportunities in housing and housing finance market (Gabriel, 1990). Thus it could be said that housing trends are developed largely because of statistical increase in the number of people as well as their movements for relocation needs (Masnick, 1990). The individual household needs were then used as the foundation for the modification of housing policy. This is in addition to the different economic changes which were built-in, in the shifting demographic landscape (Masnick, 1990). In the area of education, improvements must be made in urban education policy (Hess, 2001). Urban districts are now facing hazardous problems in educating young people because of the lack of support from the local government (Hess, 2001). Many buildings in urban public schools are very old (Hess, 2001). Because of this, despite the big number of public schools in the United States, only one-fourth of the country’s students are attending the classes throughout districts (Hess, 2001). These are the main problems of the district official in the urban public area (Hess, 2001). They are unable to comply with the needs of their student population Hess, 2001). The rates of dropout students are also increasing (Hess, 2001). The urban education policy that would most likely fit implementation will be one that is site-based management throughout the district (Hess, 2001). This will allow officials and teachers at the school level to focus more on the specific needs of the students (Hess, 2001). Educational reform efforts and policy initiatives are now under way that shows commitment in improving the quality of education. It will include the proper raising of the student outcomes in the urban districts (Hess, 2001). A key issue though in urban education policy is the potential impact of market-based reforms (Hess, 2001). It will require more than the application of additional money in improving the quality of urban education (Hess, 2001). Allocations of school funds must be centered on the functions of instruction, administration, operations, and maintenance of almost the same statistical number of clients (Picus, 1996). Urban transportation policies must likewise be modified as societal demographics evolved (Norton, 1955-1970). Many states have still no urban freeways (Norton, 1955-1970). The ever increasing numbers of privately owned cars warrants improvement in policies (Norton, 1955-1970). Evolving Americans have to face up to transport problems in the cities (Norton, 1955-1970). The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1944 made a beginning at bringing highways to the city (Barranda, 2004). It set aside 25 percent of federal highway funds for urban projects and called for the designation of a â€Å"National System of Interstate Highways† (Barranda, 2004). Although funding of these projects in the late 1940s and early 1950s was at more than two and a half times the prewar levels, total annual federal highway appropriations remained a half billion dollars or less (Barranda, 2004). The problem was that while government and industry both wanted highways, neither wanted to foot the bill (Barranda, 2004). Industry opposed excise taxes and tolls, while government opposed special bond issues and debt increases (Barranda, 2004). Divisions between pro-highway industries impeded their ability to lobby for an effective highway program (Barranda, 2004). However, eventually, the highway system that the government-industry partnership built was urban (Barranda, 2004). The unique degree of private participation in U. S. ransportation policymaking, and a federal policy treated all transportation problems as matters for highway engineers to solve (Barranda, 2004). In 1954, President Eisenhower suggested that â€Å"metropolitan area congestion† be â€Å"solved† by â€Å"a grand plan for a properly articulated highway system (Larsen, 1995). In 1956, the House Committee on Public Works urged â€Å"drastic steps,† warning that otherwise â€Å"traffic jams will soon bring down our growing economy (Larsen, 1995). The demise of the highways-only policy stemmed also from serious flaws in the policy itself (Larsen, 1995). At the end of World War II, the federal government began a significant intervention in urban transportation (Larsen, 1995). It was one which had increased to enormous proportions by 1960 (Larsen, 1995). But the funds were provided exclusively for the construction of urban highways (Larsen, 1995). Thus, urban transportation systems necessarily became imbalanced in favor of automotive transport (Larsen, 1995). Even the automotive transport systems were imbalance too (Larsen, 1995). Inequality was brought about by the ways in which federal dollars were allocated (Larsen, 1995). For example, while new freeways were providing automobiles unprecedented ease of access to cities, substantially, less federal allocations was provided for the downtown streets that had to bear the increased load (Larsen, 1995). No budgets were also allocated to provide the record numbers of cars for parking areas (Norton, 1955-1970). The US new urban transportation policy serves greater idea in resolving congestion problems in the cities (Barranda, 2004). Highway-Only Policy is one of those new integrated ideas (Barranda, 2004). Industry, not government, took the initiative in proposing that highways go downtown (Barranda, 2004). Eisenhower’s coalition was composed of industries â€Å"associated with the highway problem† and â€Å"interested in highway development,† in the words of the Clay Committee report (Barranda, 2004). Although the Clay Committee conferred with the American Railway Association in drafting its report, this group was the only one of twenty-two trade organizations consulted which had an interest in rail transport (Barranda, 2004). Fourteen of the groups consulted were expressly concerned with roads (Barranda, 2004). But these industries were not simply developing a highway policy (Barranda, 2004). This is their foundation in creating a new national transportation policy (Barranda, 2004). However, many cities in the United States have recently built light-rail systems to combat congestion problems and at the same time avoid pollution (Barranda, 2004). To some critics oppose this policy is not fit because of the function in some small downtown areas (Barranda, 2004). The application of this light-rail however, after its almost universal domination in the 20th century is one of the greatest twists in transportation history. This application policy is an exclusive idea whose time appears to have come (Barranda, 2004). Local government now hopes that the light-rail will gain moderate transportation that will reduce the traffic problems around the country (Barranda, 2004). Fighting congestion was the main rationale for making American highways enter cities to a degree unmatched elsewhere in the world (Barranda, 2004). The consequences of the improved policies ultimately transformed U. S. urban transportation system (Barranda, 2004). Critics of the policy, in government, and outside of the government circles achieved broad bases of support by confronting this problem (Barranda, 2004). Expertise in urban transportation matters, which had been the exclusive domain of highway industry, emerged in other institutions, both governmental and private (Barranda, 2004). The road builders’ promises to end congestion, to keep downtowns vital visibly failed to pan out (Barranda, 2004). In brief, the vigor of the government-industry partnership that brought the freeways into the cities did not last, but is envisioned to trigger interest on alternative prospective partners (Barranda, 2004). Conclusion The basic portfolio principles of economics provides conceptual structures underlining maintenance of flexibility of economic policies whether it is in housing, education, or transport, or even in prices where speculators are left with the liberty to discern and give value to market stocks so long as it is within the economic parameters of the United States of American government, its Federal Reserve System, its legislature as well as its executive governmental administrators that works within the framework of Federal Democracy.

Cultural analysis of Inda Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Cultural analysis of Inda - Research Paper Example It climate varies from the temperate in north to tropical monsoon in south. Its topography includes the â€Å"upland plain in the south, flat and rolling plain along the Ganges, Himalayas in north and deserts in west† (Vohra, 2001). Extended families in India are experiencing challenges due to modernization and a high cost of living that encourages individuals to keep small families. Others believe that rights of an individual should supersede family matters. As result, people live in small nuclear families. However, extended families are found in rural India where people still uphold their traditions. They consist of father, mother, children, grand parents, uncles, aunts, niece, nephew and other family members (Khasgiwala, 1993). Parents’ roles include advising the young ones on various matters like religion and education. They also ensure their children access services like education, health, recreational and better financial security. They also act as teachers and disciplinarian at home. Lastly, parents are viewed as political advocates of their children. They usually advocate for a good aboard that would safeguard the future of their children (Khasgiwala, 1993). Parents organize majority of marriages in India. The dowry was initially viewed as a gift to the parents for taking care of the partner (Nagaswami, 2002). However, dowry is currently a tool to enhance family social lives. However, modern Indians look for their own partners, court them and eventually marry them. Males and female complement one another in the Indian society. Traditionally, women were supposed to bear children and educate them about cultural practices. They were also supposed to maintain their families and homes. Men were the sole bread breadwinners and providers of the family. However, these roles are changing because employed Indian women are able to provide for their families just like their male counterparts (Singh, 2008). It is crucial to note that more than 62.8% of

Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Japanese Internment Essay

Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Japanese Internment - Essay Example movement by Japanese Americans also brought about the involvement of other ethnic minority groups like the Asian Americans and African Americans, who also pushed for its repeal. Several of these organizations pointed out internment was not the only issue with regards to the repeal but rather it encompasses other concerns such as â€Å"past and present racism, discrimination, urban poverty, violence, social unrest and other problems that the minority communities faced† (Masumi 186). The argument presented in this article is that the Japanese American internment played a major role in the repeal of the Emergency Detention Act, Title II of the Internal Security Act of 1950. More than anything else, the repeal of Title II was a way of indirectly apologizing for the atrocities brought about by the internment of the Japanese. Yes, I was convinced by the evidence that supported the argument because the move to repeal Title II became a venue for Japanese Americans to break their silence and talk openly about their experiences in the internment camps. This has led to an awareness by the American public; thus, the support for the repeal increased. Furthermore, during the time when the move to repeal Title II was initiated, the fears of an imminent communist threat already subsided (Masumi 170). Masumi, Izumi. "Prohibiting "American Concentration Camps": Repeal of the Emergency Detention Act and the public historical memory of the Japanese American internment." Pacific Historical Review 74.2 (2005):

Comparison of two UK retailers Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Comparison of two UK retailers - Dissertation Example Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Introduction 4 Brief background of home-base and Wickes 4 Discussion 5 The retail Strategy used by Sainsbury's Home-base retail group and Wickers 5 Analyse the Retail Situation of the Organizations in Competitive Environment 8 Critical evaluation of the relationship between elements of strategy and retail mix 12 Conclusion 14 Recommendation 14 References 15 Bibliography 16 Appendices 17 Introduction Brief background of home-base and Wickes Home-base is recognised as one of the renowned home-improvement and gardening centre, operating in the market of United Kingdom since 1979. It came into existence by the planned support of both Sainsbury's supermarket chain and Belgian retailer GB-Inno-BM. And due to their support, the Sainsbury's Home-base retail group developed and became successful in offering a wide range of products to its customers at a competitive cost. As a result, the total sales enhanced by ?1.57 billion in the year 2010 thereby ampli fying the brand image and demand by a significant extent as compared to other rival players. Apart from this, being headquartered in United Kingdom, it offered value-added products in the entire world in an effective way. It became possible due to the presence of 356 stores in and around United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. Other than this, Wickers is also another highly reputed retailer of United Kingdom presenting an extensive range of budgeted home decorative and gardening products to satisfy the desires of the customers. By doing so, the revenue and reputation of Wickers enhanced to a significant extent as compared to other contenders operating in the similar segment. It also proved extremely effective for the brand of Wickers to improve its position and brand-value in the market among others. This report is divided into four phases, highlighting the effectiveness of Sainsbury's Home-base retail group and Wickers. Along with this, it also highlights the positioning strategy u tilized by both the retail players in order to position itself in the market of United Kingdom. It also includes the competitive strategy used by the retail players of UK to retain its portfolio and image among other contenders. Discussion The retail Strategy used by Sainsbury's Home-base retail group and Wickers The Sainsbury's Home-base is one of the leading UK based retailer that mainly desires to offer qualitative products at an effective price so as to enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty. This is because; customer is the prime requirement of any organization in this age of extensive rivalry and economic downturn. Without which, an organization may not sustain or prosper in the market among other rival players. Therefore, in order to remain competitive and dominant in the market, Sainsbury's Home-base retailer desired to offer high attention over corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy. In order to make this strategy effective, it invested huge amount of revenues in lighting, refrigeration, heating, ventilation and many other services to enhance the efficiency of energy and to reduce the range of wastes. Along with this, by implementing such types of services, the Sainsbury's Home-base retail group desired to offer best quality of products to its targeted customers so as to enhance their level of satisfaction and reliability as compared to ot

Career Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Career - Essay Example The managers’ pinpoint the job-related experience, knowledge, competencies, and skills required employees to be productive in their positions (Ohlsson, 2010). Additionally, the manager helps the low-skilled workers to define their career development gaps that will support both the objectives of the firm and their career goals. The managers support the development plans of the employees by indicating the specific procedures that need to achieve the learning objectives. The managers also assist the workers to understand the positions that will suit their career growth. In summary, the manager’s role in career development includes listening, leveling, looking ahead, leveraging, and linking. The managers listen by getting the employees talk about their context, interests, values, and skills. They level by getting them reflect on how other view the development and skills areas. They look ahead by making them consider how their career world is changing. The managers leverage employees, by getting them analyze various career moves. Finally, the managers link their workers by getting them to move on their learning techniques. The employer’s role in career development involves providing compensation and job structures that support the firm and the growth of an individual. The employers also enrich the positions at work place to create challenges in the working setting (Hall, 2006). Additionally, they offer funds and time for career development activities. This is done by creating processes to use the skills, abilities, and knowledge of every employee. The employers also carry out pro-active planning of work force to meet the needs of staffing. This is done through employee evaluation and creation of succession criteria for important job positions for the firm. The employers also identify and nurture talents and reward the performance of the employees in a manner that

The Importance of Diversity in the Workplace Research Paper

The Importance of Diversity in the Workplace - Research Paper Example resource professionals of a company must know how to deal with Communications, Change and Adaptability to monitor and to effectively bring about normality in the environment where so many ethnicities are working together in harmony. This is the need of the time now that diversity increases over the future upcoming years, however the companies are now very vigilant with this and they are ready to spend a lot to recognise this factor and manage on diversity at the workplaces. The more an organization accepts the cultural diversity in itself, the more is their ratio of making more profits and the more beneficial is this factor for them. And, in the corporate environment, when diversity is handled carefully, there are so many benefits that come their way that they might not realise: A greater number of solutions to the problems, resources and a great variety of sourcing can be done by diversity. All the employees coming from different ethnic groups and different cultures bring along different talents that help in customer satisfactions and bringing diverse kind of methods to handle the corporate matters which are only in the advantage of the companies that they are employed in. A large pool of ideas and concepts arise when so many different languages and so many cultural perspectives are mixed together in one place which helps the company to maintain or fasten the pace in their business matters and daily tasks. This way the customers can be handled and also they can be managed perfectly. Companies that inhibit the cultural diversity are on a loss big time, however on the contrary, the companies that encourage this thing, flourish over the period and greater productivity, return on investments and profits are encountered. The first barrier could be the ways of perception and the language barriers, and for a company to flourish, it needs to overcome these key barriers as they a long way otherwise and make the teamwork and morale of the teams get ineffective. Some

Strategic Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Strategic Analysis - Research Paper Example Strategic Analysis It is best known for its Office software and Windows. It also develops and produces consumer electronics like game system and tablets. It is easily accessible thus making people hear, see and use technology. The company aims at enabling businesses and people worldwide to realize their full potential, a mission that they have succeeded in realizing. Nearly all businesses and individuals use their products. There are committed to their customers as they strive to design technology that is easily accessible to everybody. It is one of the industry leaders in building safe and easy to use products. Facebook, Inc., on the other hand, is an internet company that operates the social networking website Facebook. It is world’s largest social networking website with more than one billion active monthly users. It aims at making the world more connected and open, a mission that it has realized due to the rising number of Facebook users. It has offered people the power to share information. The CPM analysis shows that Microsoft is the leading player in the industry. It has relative strengths in market share, product quality, product design and price competitive. On the other hand, Google Inc. prevails in innovative culture and product quality. Oracle Corporations is the weakest of them all. It does not have any relative strength against the rivals in the industry. The companies, therefore, need to create strategies in accordance with their strengths and weakness and enhance their ratings in the most crucial areas of the industry.

Critical Thinking And Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Critical Thinking And Communication - Essay Example To be precise, the presentation of information through the statistical method can make easier for the persons who have least knowledge about the statistical process to comprehend the findings and thus gain better insight to the issue concerned. Statistics is also considered as one of the crucial supporting tools in planning for the organizational progress for government owned institutions as well as for private institutions. In this modern competitive world, planning is regarded as the most important aspect for developing the different levels of the organizations involving production processes, investment decisions, pricing of the products and/or services, supply chain management initiatives, and so on. Hence, the statistical method signifies the proper estimation of the previous records along with represents the graphical portrait assisting virtuously to take the initial decisions related to a particular issue (Calem & Longhofer, 2002). With the increasing demand for innovation and development of the existing commodities used for human activities and initiatives with the virtues of technology, the significance for statistical methods are also observed to be at increase. It is due to this fact that statistical measures are observed to assist the research and development groups engaged with technology innovations as well as development to execute complex processes by a significant extent such as in the medical science, computer science and other segments which involve technology as an inseparable facet (Roberts, 2010) The Information Technology (IT) sector, in the current phenomenon, is observed to be highly influenced by the competitive movements taking place among the competitors. With this concern, the IT companies need to emphasize on... Furthermore, the statistical method is also considered to overlook the importance of qualitative data which again creates a constraint on the implication of statistics as evidence. Moreover, the statistical tools are often observed to provide an approximation to the obtained result rather than rendering a clear understanding of the issue researched. For instance, graphical representation developed through statistical processes are often observed to be based on scaling techniques such as Likert Scaling which renders an aggregate or rather approximation to the values perceived by the respondents. Hence, this indicates that statistical tools cannot be regarded as the sources of best evidence. With reference to the above discussion, it becomes quite apparent that statistics can be certainly considered as evidence for establishing a lucid understanding regarding a particular issue. However, it might not be categorized as the best available evidence to gauge the findings obtained as it is also identified to possess various limitations in terms of its methodical implementation process. Various aspects, thus, needs to be taken into concern while referring to statistics as evidence such as the relation or role of qualitative data in the issue identified, the source of statistics obtained as well as the consistency of the statistical method to identify and explore the required data. Conclusively, the method can be regarded as a complex one which requires additional effort to be signified as the "best form of evidence".

Case Study on Jewish Culture Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

On Jewish Culture - Case Study Example Therefore, the supervisor did not do something helpful to Lisa’s request. The accommodations vary depending on an employee for instance in our case study when the employee needs days off for her religious holidays and Sabbath. Therefore, the employer has to arrange and make sure that his or her employee gets time off to meet her religious obligations (Anti-Defamation League, 2012, pp. 2). This can be possible through lateral transfers to other departments in the hospital, voluntary assignment substitutions, shift swap between the employees, flexible scheduling by allowing her to work on other national holidays in place of the days she needs the off day, and through use of her free time to work to allow her early departures from work. The supervisor can also allow Lisa who is a Sabbath observer from Friday night to work for longer hours from Monday to Thursday so that she can get her off days on Fridays to Saturday evening. The supervisor did not show any situation of being culturally competent since he was not able to use the domain workforce issues. This would help him or her in assessing organizational culture and issues associated with the staff’s culture (Purnell, 2013, pp. 3-4). This type of framework is important for organization’s management in helping them to guide the development of a care plan for the Jewish staff since their counterpart, the non-Jewish are not aware of the orthodox practices of Jewish. If the supervisor has been culturally competent, he would find a way of making Lisa feel satisfied as well as ensuring there are no hardships in work because of Lisa’s absence. For an effective meeting in order Lisa could pass her concerns and see them accepted, she should have an overview of her concerns in form of slides so that the team could know all that is going on (parker & Hoffman, 2013, pp. 33). Through this, Lisa can find expectations and know

Customer Value Essay Example for Free

Customer Value Essay Customer Value can be explained in simple terms by knowing the difference between what the customer gets from the product/service and what he or she has to exchange in order to get it (may be money). It is very important for any company in the market to understand this difference; if failed to do so, this can be one of the biggest reasons for the product/service failure in the market. According to many researchers, in this ever growing world of technology and social media the organization’s inability of establishing unique and convincing value to their products/services is the main reason for its failure. Keeping its importance in mind, many companies tries to understand what is their customer valuing. However, this can also be one of the most difficult things to understand. There are many factors causing it to be difficult for the marketers overcome this issue. However, for this task we will focus 3 main aspects. Firstly, every customer values different product/service differently. It might be situational or might be only for a definite period of time. Secondly, the market itself! Technology and economic nature change the pace of the global market. With the competition aggressive as never seen before, it is important for the marketers to change their strategies with the ever changing market. Thirdly, some internal factors which make it difficult for organization to bring in customer value. Gist of Customer Value No one has made it clearer of this word â€Å"Customer Value† concisely than Lamb et al. (2008, 2009) who wrote, â€Å"Customer Value is the relationship between benefits and the sacrifice necessary to obtain those benefits. Which means – if a product is of very good quality and is only obtained by paying a very high price will not be considered as of value by the customers, just like a low quality product which can be purchased for cheap price; but a value of a product is only seen by a customer when the quality of the product meets their expectation at an affordable price. Let’s take an example of coffee; some people love to drink coffee at Starbucks which may cost $10 and some people like to drink coffee from a local coffee shop which may only cost $4. Now, people who drinks coffee at Starbucks expects them to use premium offee beans (Arabica) which tastes better and so are willing to pay $10 which worth (value) for Starbucks customers. On the same note, people who drink coffee at local coffee shop might just need to satisfy their caffeine addiction and they feel that it is worth for the price they pay. According to Butz and Goodstein (1996), a customer value is the emotional bond between the customer and the company (service/product provider) developed by means of the used service/product. The emotional bond is only developed when the service/product meets the customer’s expectation. Different researchers have defined â€Å"customer value† in different ways but it all revolves around words like â€Å"benefits†, â€Å"satisfaction†, â€Å"expectation† and â€Å"worth†. If a company who wants to understand â€Å"customer value† for their product/service they need to understand more about these words with respect to their customers. But it is not as easy as it seems. Perhaps, even in dictionaries it’s difficult to find synonyms for these words because these words depend on situations. Challenges for marketers For companies to operationalize â€Å"customer value† in marketing their product can only be done by learning their â€Å"customers† and â€Å"market†. These terms can be very challenging to learn or to understand because of its diverse nature. * Customer’s change is inevitable Customer’s needs or wants can be situational. Different customers can seek same products/service for variety of needs. Vodaphone has a pre-paid mobile plan that allows customers to make international calls at a cheaper rate and also allows making free calls to local Vodaphone customers. As an international student I choose this plan to make international calls at a cheaper rate but my friend who is a local chooses the same plan because most of his friends are Vodaphone users. Further to this, a customer’s needs may change with change in their circumstances. Just like, if I secure a part-time job which gets me constant income, I will consider changing my mobile plan to post-paid service which has more offers. Customer’s needs are dynamic and can change over time. We humans have different needs at different age. Products brought by a person from a shopping mall will be different when he was single and when he gets married and more so when he’s a father. (Don Peppers Martha Rogers, 2010) It is difficult to predict or to foresee these changes in the same customer with the change in situation. At every point of time, customers are trying to actually achieve their needs for that point of time (Hultink and Atuahene-Gima, 2000). There is no single system to understand or to foresee customer’s need and to categorize them. Marketers should learn their customer’s needs beforehand to make their product valuable to their customers. To achieve this, organizations needs look at their products/services through customer’s point of view (Don Peppers Martha Rogers, 2010). As the changes in customer’s situation can be quiet fast, organizations needs to be quick in changing their strategies and innovations to meet their ever changing customers. Technological drawbacks Climbing the technological ladder too quick might pull down the organizations efforts in boosting customer’s value for a service/product. An excellent customer service is very important to maintain or to boost the value of the product/service with regards to customers. Traditional human to human interactions have been replaced by human to machine interactions by the help of technology. These changes force customers to embrace self-service technologies which can create discomfort among some low-tech savvy customers (Parasuraman, 2000). There may be customers with limited knowledge in technology or may not be willing accept the technological introduction (Walker, Lees, Hecker and Francis, 2002). Almost everyone has experienced this scenario when they call a customer service center of telecommunication provider. The call keeps bouncing to different automated machines and still our problems are not solved until we speak to a customer service executive. Similarly, online banking system with tight security measures some people still prefer to visit banks personally for some services. This is because either the customers are not willing trust these technological services or lack of knowledge to use these services. Secondly, Internet world made it easier for customers to compare the quality, product/service details, and cost of same/similar product from different companies (Bakos, 1997 Lynch Ariely, 2000). Customers can comfortable get information about the various products using internet at home without physically going to the market (J. Nielsen, 2000). This increases the competition exponentially and any company is vulnerable to this situation if they do not keep up with the hanging market trends. Companies have to constantly indulge in innovation that meets their customer’s expectation and introduce strategies to keep the customers excited about their current and upcoming product. Even a speculation of an upcoming product of the competitors can adversely affect the company’s current product in the market. Like the speculation of Samsung III (latest mobile phone) with more and better specifications tremendously reduced the sales of iphone 4s current product, even to a point that the recently released iphone 5 didn’t reach its expected sales mark. Barriers within Organizations Every organization has its own culture and employees working will be very comfortable with those culture. This culture may not be aligned with the ever changing customer’s expectations and needs. Using their own employees, organization tries to understand their customer’s needs by merely guessing it. By doing so, organizations come up with customer’s needs through employee’s perspective (or sales point of view) and not customer’s perspective. Now this â€Å"guessed† customer’s needs might be exactly opposite to what the organizations actual customer’s needs. This creates a difference between the customer value and service/product offered, which in turn results in unsatisfied customers (Woodruff, 1997). Example, Kodak Company was reluctant to change with the change in the market and customer’s needs. Customers were finding it easier to use a digital camera over a film based camera. However, Kodak Company expected its customers to use film based cameras which are not user friendly. This gradually resulted in Kodak losing its customer base to its competitors those who embraced to this change in era. Now even if the organization decides to move towards the customer’s needs by proper findings and learning their customers. It depends on managers to implement these finding in marketing their product and also in future products. Managers might be too busy with their normal duties to implement the learning on customer value. Thus the adapting to change becomes a problem when it is not in line with the introduction of new information on market change and their customers. This can also happen when the organization is reluctant to continuously train their employees on the market and customer variations. Conclusion:  There are many other factors such as market variations, globalization, wide variations in customer’s psychology, brand image etc. that makes it challenging for a marketer to show value to customers in their products/services. Theodore Leavitt of the Harvard Business School explained this idea by saying that â€Å"The customer is not interested in a quarter-inch drill. Rather the customer is interested in a quarter-inch hole†. By understanding the results preferred by the customer, an organization can invest its marketing and innovation in the right direction for the customers to achieve their desired results.

A systematic literature review to study Dignity in Care for Adults

A systematic literature review to study Dignity in Care for Adults Introduction Dignity is a broad and complicated notion that can be used in legal, religious, bioethics, scientific and political contexts with different meanings. The term dignity signifies that a person has a birthright of being respected and treated morally and ethically by others. Dignity implies that people should be treated in such a manner that they feel their value and worth as individuals within the societal context (Soulen and Woodhead 2006). Dignity can be elevated and alleviated by several factors in a healthcare facility. These factors include the facility culture, surroundings and environment, attitudes and behaviour of caregivers and the practice of care being carried out in the facility. People feel more comfortable, confident and in control for making various decisions on their own in the presence of dignity but if there is a lack of dignity they may feel discomforted, devalued, embarrassed and humiliated (Weisstub and Pintos 2007). As dignity creates a sense of comfort and contro l, it is quite important that caregivers in medical institutions realise the importance of dignity while giving care to adults with learning disabilities. The proposed research will analyse the literature associated with dignity in care for adults with learning disabilities in the United Kingdom. Research Aim The primary aim of the proposed research is to analyse the meaning, perceptions and quality of dignity in healthcare with respect to adults who have learning disabilities in the United Kingdom and study the range of healthcare services available for adults with learning disabilities. Research Objectives To assess challenges of access, inclusion, choice, attitudes and legislation faced by adults with learning disabilities in healthcare. To determine whether dignity in care for adults with learning disabilities exists in reality as proposed and promoted by the UK Department of health or not. To understand and compare the types of health care services offered and available to adults with learning disabilities. To analyse the quality of healthcare provided to adults with learning disabilities in the United Kingdom and inequalities faced by them. Methodology Research methodology is an important aspect through which researches are conducted. A research methodology will actually depict that what is the appropriate approach of conducting a research and which research strategy will be applied in this research. In the similar manner it would also depict that which data will be collected for the research and how it will be collected. This entire research would focus on learning disabilities with adults and the issue of dignity will also be addressed in this research. The main objective of this research is to understand the issues of meaning, perceptions and quality related to learning disabilities and how dignity of these individuals is affected. The primary method that will be utilised in this research is based on systematic literature review. This method is implemented in this research because it would definitely be helpful because of several reasons. First and the foremost reason is that it would give a clear about the issue that is being studied. Wolf (2008) presented an idea about that systematic literature review that philosophy of science, development of health related materials etc can be analysed through systematic literature review. In the similar manner it gives a genuine and a clear idea about the issue that is being studied. Through this approach findings can be properly analysed and systematic literature review helps the researchers in the decision making process. Wolf (2008) believed that through this approach the information that is collected for this research can easily be summarised. The benefits of this approach would be that past researches can easily be utilised and this would definitely reduce the cost of researching. Another important factor for choosing this approach is the benefit of time that is at tached with systematic literature review. According to Britton and Jonsson (2004) systematic literature review is actually a cost effective approach for conducting a research. Both the researchers agreed with Wolf (2008) that generalisation and collection of data in this approach is quite simple and easy as compared to other approaches. Therefore, it can be said that because of these benefits this approach of systematic literature review is selected for this research. Ethical Issues Ethics is the term used for differentiation of right over wrong, good over evil and signification of justice or equality in the general behaviour or actions of individuals in a society (Hinman 2007). Confidentiality and privacy of individuals participating in a research is quite important especially if the research topic is quite sensitive as the case is with dignity in care for adults with learning disabilities. The researcher needs to understand and realise the seriousness of ethical issues and considerations in such a research. Although there is a danger of participants being named or personal information being compromised, the approval from the ethical issues committee is not necessary, as the proposed study will only present a systematic literature review of the data already accessible by public. The information collected in the proposed research will only be used for research purposes and real identities will be replaced by codes or false names when required. The following sect ion provides an analysis of literature relevant to the research topic that will be used in the proposed research. Analysis of Literature According to The UK Department of Health (2001) learning disability is a combination or collection of several disabilities and disorders. These disabilities may include disability to understand new information or skills, impaired function in society and an onset of any disability that started before adulthood and had a lasting effect. Learning disability or intellectual disability also referred to as learning difficulty in the United Kingdom is quite difficult to explain as it covers a broad collection of disorders or disabilities that people may face. These disabilities include but are not limited to challenges in processing information, understanding written or spoken language and other challenges that may affect quality of life (Corley and Taymans 2002). This notion by Corley and Taymans (2002) is backed by Turnbull and Chapman (2010) who suggest that people with learning disabilities face several problems in understanding and processing complex information and face challenges in developing new skills. These descriptions of learning disabilities indicate that adults with such disabilities may have difficulties in processing information in several social circumstances including healthcare. This implies that adults with learning disabilities will have a higher degree of healthcare needs as opposed to people with no learning disabilities at all. McGrath (2010) argued in an extensive literature review that people with intellectual disabilities have greater healthcare requirements as compared to the general population. While explaining the nature and intensity of these healthcare needs he argues that the health care needs of people with intellectual disabilities are more complex in comparison with the general population and can result in premature death, which could otherwise be prevented through effective care. This argument by McGrath (2010) is also backed by several other researches conducted in the context of healthcare needs of people with learning disabilities (Michael 2008; Leyshon et al. 2004; Cooper, Melville and Morrison 2004; Paxton and Taylor, 1998; Nocon, Sayce and Nadirshaw 2008). Gaskell and Nightingale (2010) also agree with McGrath (2010) regarding the greater healthcare needs of people with learning disabilities. They suggest that healthcare needs of adults with learning disabilities tend to be higher in comp arison to the general population due to a variety of reasons including visual and hearing impairment, challenges in mobility, heart conditions, diabetes and osteoporosis. The greater needs for healthcare of adults with learning disabilities are also perceived by caregivers as Vecchio, Cybinski and Stevens (2009) in their study analysed the effect of disability on needs of caregivers. They implemented descriptive statistics and regression analysis to conclude that caregivers of adults with disabilities indicated that they required assistance while providing care to such adults. It was also concluded in the study that the needs of adults with learning disabilities were even greater than the needs of adults with physical disabilities with respect to healthcare (Vecchio, Cybinski and Stevens 2009). Adults with learning disabilities face several challenges with respect to societal factors including unethical treatment, abuse, undue pressure in interpersonal communication and biasness from the general population due to their specific disability (Slater 2005). Slater (2005) argued that the most prominent challenges with respect to societal factors in healthcare were neglect, poor treatment and abuse by caregivers. He argues that adults with learning disabilities have every right to dignity in life as the general population and should not be subject to abuse due to a specific disability. The Department of Health (2001) provides a clear strategy regarding treatment and care of elderly people especially when they face challenges due to learning disabilities. The recommendations presented by Slater (2005) are in line with the department of health framework with respect to poor treatment and abuse. The framework clearly outlines that dignity should be a top priority in healthcare where people should be treated in an ethical, moral and respectful manner. The importance of dignity and equality in healthcare services is iterated by another report of The Department of Health (2002) by implying the importance of fair access to care services irrespective of age and any disabilities a person may have. Philp (2007) recommended that dignity in care should not be an afterthought and caregivers should understand and realise the importance of dignity in healthcare of adults with learning disabilities. He suggests that caregivers are very busy and they need to incorporate dignity into the overall framework for providing care. In his study, Philp (2007) emphasised the need for treating adults with respect and integrity while giving them a sense of freedom and control over their actions and behaviour. He concluded that there are various forms of abuse and caregivers need to provide care with thorough understanding and realisation of dignity in care of adults with learning disabilities (Philp 2007). Holland (2000) on the other hand, analysed how ageing affects people with learning disabilities with respect to social, psychological and biological issues. He argued that adults with severe learning disabilities faced more challenges in later parts of life with respect to services as compared to adults without any disabilities. He concluded in his study that gaps were present in the healthcare and social services provided to learning disabilities and the standards established by the department of health (Holland 2000). This implies that albeit healthcare providers may focus on providing the most effective quality of services but improvements can still be made to make the quality of services more effective especially with respect to dignity in care. Batesa and Davis (2004) in their study of social inclusion and services for people with learning disabilities presented several societal challenges faced by adults with learning disabilities. These challenges include hindrance in local community participation, perceptions of general population, problems in safety and trust, limited access to social networks and limited access to services being offered. The study indicates that these challenges are faced by adults with learning disabilities mainly due to the perceptions of community and general population with respect to these people. The research concludes that social capital concept provides an effective model for services that focus on promoting social inclusion of adults with learning disabilities (Batesa and Davis 2004). The concept of social capital, which is based on social networks, and standards of trust and reciprocity Batesa and Davis (2004) can also be implemented in healthcare for adults with learning disabilities for bet ter outcomes. Health care services are of utmost importance to individuals who are suffering with different learning disabilities. McGrath (2010) believed that people with learning disabilities needs health checks to monitor the discrepancies they have. Annual health checks is a type of health care service that is offered and available to adults with learning disabilities. Usually, people who are facing these difficulties are less likely to receive continuous screening and they have less frequent routine checks. That is the reason why annual health checks should be offered by different health care institutions so that they can benefit from it in both the short and the long run. However, a concern is that whether these health checks are needed or not because if they are not viable enough so there is no need to have an exercise that would engage them in such activity. Albroze (2005) discussed that these annual health checks are very important because they assist the patients in every aspects and peo ple who are suffering from these difficulties can gauge that what is their current situation. People who have learning disabilities usually live in communities and they have the right to access different mainstream health care services. Deshler, Schumaker and Bulgren (2001) discussed that individual importance should be given to people who are suffering with learning disabilities and this can be considered as a health care service. Nurses should be effectively trained in this regard and they should help the individuals who are facing learning difficulties. These researchers also believed that equal health care services should be provided to patients who are suffering from learning disabilities. In the similar manner disability awareness should be given to them in different regards like trainings and workshops should be organised so that they can easily benefit from these activities. Certain special health care services should be allotted to those individuals that have complex and special needs (Bergmark, Parker, Thorslund, 2000). In the similar manner, certain action plans should be developed for this cause so that all these health care services would be implemented in a proactive manner. Besides certain annual che cks individuals suffering from learning disabilities should be offered regular checkups. This will provide an equal opportunity to learn about their health and they can lead a happy and a prosperous life. Certain picture-based books should be provided to them so that they can learn how they can face different complex situations (Deshler, Schumaker and Bulgren 2001). Emerson, Davies and Spencer (2005) analysed that learning disability in adults is a condition that is quite long lasting. A survey showed that about 62% of all the people who are suffering from this disability live with their parents or with their relatives. Similarly, 30% of the people especially adults live in certain form of residential care or they live with people who are also suffering from learning disabilities. However, only 7% of the people live with their partners or they live alone. There are different inequalities faced by adults when they are receiving health care facilities. Michael (2008) believed that at times people receive unequal health care treatment and this can be considered as an important issue for people who are providing learning disabilities and for those who are accessing it. People that are facing learning difficulties are not always offered the same level of services and treatment as the general population. People and health care service providers assume certain things when they are dealing with individuals facing learning disabilities (Kuntz, Minnes, Garcin, Martin, Lewis, Holden, 2005). In the similar manner the routine health care services received by these adults over the year in the United Kingdom is patchy too. Finally, people who are suffering from learning disabilities as not served and perceived as a priority (Michael 2008). Cooper, Melville and Morrison (2004) believed that people who are facing learning difficulties face unequal atmosphere. They are not treated as equal citizens in many conditions and this creates a sense of inequality in them. People with learning disabilities are discriminated in the society and there are different health care professionals who do not understand much about learning disabilities. In the similar manner many professionals in the society are not familiar with the laws associated with capacity to consent. There are certain professionals who are aware with this scenario but most of them do not consult the family of these individuals who are suffering with learning disabilities (Corley and Taymans 2002). Individuals that are suffering with learning disabilities may not understand the significance and importance of health care screening or it is highly probable that they may not recognise the symbols of ill health. This factor might create issues for the carers in both the s hort and the long run. Therefore, people with learning disabilities should be dealt with extreme care and the level of dignity should be maintained so that they can lead a healthy and a prosperous life. Summary The primary aim of the proposed research is to analyse the issues related to dignity in healthcare with respect to adults who have learning disabilities in the United Kingdom and study the range of available healthcare services. This primary aim will be accomplished by achieving several underlying objectives. All the researches that were analysed in the literature review depict that adults with learning disabilities face several challenges especially with respect to dignity and they should be dealt with extreme care. There are certain discrepancies and difficulties in this regard and there should be a proper equal approach adopted to care for adults with learning disabilities. It was also stressed in this research paper that dignity of these individuals is the main issues and once the dignity of these individuals are present they can live with self respect in the society. Relevance to Practice The entire research would be quite useful in enhancing the level of dignity in adults who are suffering from learning disabilities in United Kingdom. However, one of the major points that should be focused by different agencies and social workers would be how fast and effectively they can implement all these processes. A significant amount of research has been conducted in this regard but the reviewed literature shows several gaps in standards laid down by government health authorities and current practices. The proposed research will be helpful in filling these gaps. The proposed research would be beneficial for adults who are facing with learning disabilities and it would be beneficial for caregivers who are planning to implement these processes.

Overview Of Company And Pharmaceutical Market Commerce Essay

Overview Of Company And Pharmaceutical Market Commerce Essay GSK is one of the leading pharmaceutical players in the world whose operations span 117 countries globally and it markets to 140 countries around the world. (Source: www.gsk.com) It is primarily organised along product and regional divisions, including Prescription Medicines, Vaccines and Consumer Healthcare. In recent times it has undergone a major streamlining of its operations in order to better respond to the environments in which it operates. Clearly, its environment is characterized by a great deal of change and uncertainty and hence it is extremely important that the structure in place is one which allows for information flow and knowledge exchange between subsidiaries and operations throughout the world in order to achieve its objectives and also to anticipate change and turn it to its advantage as a Marketing opportunity, rather than be surprised by it when it occurs and perceive it as a threat. (Baker, 1992) It is primarily structured on a regional basis covering Europe, No rth America, Central and South America, Caribbean, Asia and Australasia, Southeast Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The nature of the industry and the varying legal and regulatory environments which govern the industry makes this necessary as the environments are highly variable with different stakeholders and interest groups participating at different levels with varying degrees of authority and influence, though convergence is increasingly evident. Although primarily involved in pharmaceuticals and healthcare, the company also produces a variety of consumer products with some leading brands such as Lucozade, Aquafresh and Ribena. This implies that the company is rather varied in terms of its product portfolio and thus, the structure needs to be adapted according to the markets it serves which are clearly varied on a global basis. In recent times, the pharmaceutical sector became increasingly consolidated on a global level as a number of notable mergers took place throughout the latter part of the 20th Century as companies sought to gain competitive advantage by combining skills and assets and to achieve scale economies in research, development and production. One of the main characteristics of the industry is that it is intensely competitive and the overriding goal of the majority of players is to provide innovative and speedy responses to market. The industry has also come under the spotlight for certain unethical practices, reflective of the nature of the industry as a whole and particularly the fact that its success is very much dependent on the purchasing power of nations. Hence, there has also been much criticism voiced, especially in developing and poorer countries where access to medication and treatment is clearly not as available as in the developed West. As a result, recent years have seen many of t he larger players becoming much more involved in issues of Corporate Social Responsibility, integrating the concept into the overall strategic framework of the company. (Katsoulakos Katsoulacos, 2007) The pharmaceuticals sector has been affected by the enormous speed of change in its operating environment, one of the principal being that of the development of the Internet and other communications technologies. In the past 20 years or so, the industry has undergone major upheaval and consolidation has been prevalent. In order to survive, business models and organisational structures have had to be adapted to cope with the wider external forces or contingencies and the complexities which exist within the industry. The high number of mergers and acquisitions which have take place has also clearly impacted on the subsequent structures in place, especially relevant in the case of cross border deals where cultures vary at both organisational and national level. This has been a major factor in the development of the structure within GSK as the company has had to deal with 2 major mergers within a relatively short space of time and has massive implications for the management of the variou s cultures, both at organisational and at national level, which it subsequently had to deal with. Hence, the creation of a uniform GSK culture across its many divisions became of paramount importance for the leadership of the company. This is obviously a major area of concern, especially in post-merger management as the correct structures and cultures need to be put in place if synergies are to be realised and was a problem area initially for the Greek subsidiary. If we look back to the 1960s as the time when the Pharmaceuticals Industry began to evolve, the business models adopted by companies then were primarily based on innovation and the creation of new and effective drugs. Many were organised along functional lines, which arguably, were appropriate at the time. Much in line with the Contingency theorists, particularly Burns and Stalker (1961), environmental factors have had an astounding impact on the way organisations in the sector are structured and subsequently managed. The 1960s were characterised by rapid growth in economic terms in most developed countries, and this new prosperity clearly brought advantages to many market sectors, the pharmaceutical industry being one such benefactor. At the same time, the regulatory environment was considered to be much less rigid than that we know today and consequently it was easier for drugs companies to bring products to market and secure patents to ensure sole distribution. Differentiation bec ame a key strategy which thus affected the structures in place (Lawrence Lorsch, 1967) which tended to focus on the distinct competencies and specialisations within the firm. Up until the 1980s, research and development was still an integral part of the value chain and the product offering, but costs were continually rising and the returns were gradually being eroded. Some might say that consolidation was inevitable, but this alone was not enough. Companies had to rationalize their manufacturing procedures and many opted to locate operations in just several markets around the world, to gain both financial savings and create hubs of specialists who would contribute to the continued drive for innovation in the market. The structures in place were no longer fitting to the environmental factors at play nor did they facilitate the execution nor realization of objectives, which had also altered radically. In the case of GSK, it was able, due to its sheer size and consequently, resources, to take advantage of technology so as to create competitive advantage in its market, much in line with the resource dependency view as advocated by Pfeffer and Salancik (1978) as opposed to the view of Hannan and Freeman (1977) who tended to see the environment as being constraining to organizations, rather than looking at how companies can benefit or exploit what others may view as contingent factors. One of the most significant developments affecting all players in the industry was the development of the Internet. This ultimately offered up choice to the end user, increased distribution efforts as well as facilitating negotiations and alliances between suppliers in the market, but ultimately, it made consumers more informed and automatically made them part of the purchasing process. This ultimately called for new structures to be put in place which could satisfy all stakeholders in the chain while still retaining and concentrating on core competencies of research and development, though the pressure to innovate has become much more intense. All of the top 15 pharmaceutical companies have undergone senior executive-level changes within the last two years, bringing in an influx of new C-suite talent that includes many individuals from industries that have successfully tackled the challenges now confronting Pharma,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦These leadership changes should help innovative companies to transform their finance function, organizational design, and business models in ways that enable them to continue to prosper in a challenging time. (Carolyn Buck Lane, Global Pharmaceutical Leader, Ernst Young, available at http://www.pharmaceuticalonline.com/article.mvc/Pharmaceutical-Industry-Needs-To-Speed-Up-0001?VNETCOOKIE=NO) Organizational Structure For most companies, organization design is neither a science nor an art; its an oxymoron. Organizational structures rarely result from systematic, methodical planning. Rather, they evolve over time, in fits and starts, shaped more by politics than by policies. (Goold Campbell, 2002) Globally, the company is organised along regional and product lines and also involves a structure which encompasses the different functions of the company. As research and development is so high on the priority of the organisation, and the industry in general, this part of the company appears to operate almost independently, though with links to the other areas of the business. As the company has evolved over time, and obviously as a result of its merger with Smithkline in the 1990s, the power structures within the company have also changed somewhat and is much more widespread and less centralised. It is evident that the company has attempted to capture the essence of Druckers information-based organisation (1988) recognising that information must be distributed throughout in order to capitalise on the existing expertise within the company and to promote further learning and development of individuals within, promoting cross-collaboration and knowledge exchange which shall in turn produce creativity and innovation, much in line with Quinns theory of the learning Organization (1980) . This is viewed as a key to achieving competitive advantage and obviously, the quest for finding new and innovative solutions for the market at all levels. It also recognises how distinct and separate functions must work together so that there is cross-collaboration, communicati on and knowledge exchange as propagated by the likes of Drucker (1988) and Handys notion of federalism (1992), The states of federation stick together because they need one another as much as they need the center. (Pg. 65) One of the major problems for GSK in terms of structure is that it not only operates across different and unique functional lines, but also across various national environments. Contingency factors are therefore also varied across legal, political, economic and social spectrums, requiring different approaches to different environments. Bartlett and Ghoshal (1990) looked to the matrix structure as a response to this problem which essentially required a degree of centralised control but also national responsiveness to the different contingency factors at play. In theory, the matrix structure should have been able to deal with the complexities, but as argued by Bartlett and Ghoshal (1990), the failure of such a structure was due to the fact it had not been created in the minds of management and they had continued to operate at local or national level. This was evident within the Greek operations as well as evident in other operations worldwide, who essentially felt isolated and independ ent of HQ at the end of the 1990s, and much was done to overcome this problem through improved communication networks and attempts at promoting an organisational-wide philosophy and mission which ultimately translated into a more uniform culture, while still retaining a degree of local responsiveness. The requirement for the effectiveness of the matrix structure is that it required a specific mindset and a major shift in organisational culture and values. Trans-nationality was a new management mentality; one that essentially attempted to recognise and deal with complexity rather than attempt to remove it. Within such an organisation, the anatomical structure of the organisation itself matters less, and the psychological element, the people element has become the most important factor of doing business globally, hence the quest to shape organisational culture and mindset. In line with the overall evolution of strategic management, the people element and the organisational culture ele ment, became more important in subsequently shaping both strategy and structure within organisations and has been the path pursued by GSK. Within the GSK, combining control and responsiveness has been problematic as employees are geographically dispersed, such as with the Greek subsidiary, operating within different socio-economic environments, whereby it is impossible and inadvisable to assume that they will share common values and be motivated by the same things. Consistency was highlighted by Bartlett and Ghoshal who saw that many corporate objectives were not being achieved as individual country subsidiaries were too concerned with the attainment of national targets, rather than overall global company objectives. Subsequently, advances in technology have facilitated and improved communication and reporting lines overcoming some of the obstacles and hurdles, yet psychological barriers remain the most difficult to deal with and shall undoubtedly be a major hurdle. The analysis has shown that GSK chose this as a suitable structure as it allowed, concentration on specific projects or special efforts and essentially it a llowed for a combination of the previously presented functional and product structure (Held et al, 2009, Pg.58) while still retaining responsiveness to specific situations or markets as required. Although some principal functions are still essentially centralised from the company HQ in the UK Finance, HR, Legal, Communications, Ethics and Compliance and IT, they work closely and in unison with the companys various divisions and regions across the globe, including Greece. It is deemed necessary to have these areas to be centralised to a certain degree in order to exert a degree of control and allow for consistency. However, there is also a great deal of emphasis on autonomy of the various units while still allowing for a unified vision and the pursuit of common objectives. As Huczynski and Buchanan described, By having a power structure, the group avoids continued power struggles which can disrupt its functioning (1991). This is much in line with Handys view of the Federalist Organisation, and the subsequent structure which has been created is simultaneously a reaction to the environments as well as being predetermined by individual opinions and the objectives of the company, as the Strategic Choice perspective of organisations advocated and reinforces Chandlers notion that structure follows strategy. One of the difficulties for GSK is the expanse of its operations globally which makes control and co-ordination difficult, but necessary. As Bartlett and Goshal argued in the 1990s, top-level managers à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ are losing control of their companies. The problem is not that they have misjudged the demands created by an increasingly complex environmentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦nor even that they have failed to develop strategies appropriate to the new challenges. The problem is that their companies are organisationally incapable of carrying out the sophisticated strategies they have developed. GSK have attempted to create a structure which is in part evolutionary, a reaction to its environment and markets, thus following a contingency view of the organisation, and has also been predetermined by management, as highlighted by Thompson and McHugh (2002) . As later commentators observed, the contingency theorists did not take into account the fact that organisations as entities could actually alter the contingency factors deliberately or unintentionally through their actions. Introducing new products or new ways of doing business, can actually alter and in many instances shape their environment, as argued by Moss Kanter (2002). GSK wanted to push accountability to all levels of the organisation, seeing this as necessary to capitalise on the internal assets available to them as well as recognising the diversity of its divisions, its markets and its employees. There is a great sense of urgency surrounding the notion of a common and unified vision and the creation of a structure which allows a positive and unified culture throughout the company, while still allowing for a degree of autonomy throughout the different divisions and functions regionally. For so long structures had been very mechanistic with clear reporting lines and lines of authority in place. Such organisations are now generally referred to as bureaucracies. It is now recognised that power must also be coordinated and integrated in some way and GSK recognised that by pulling together the overall power of the organisation is increased at a global level. They have attempted to apportion the same degree of power to different divisions, recognising that they all have a valuable and strategic role to play in the organisations overall success. Again, in line with Handy and Druckers predictions, employees are now viewed as assets, and although technology has taken on an extremely dominant role in all organisations, in essence, it is viewed as a facilitator to fully take advantage of the skills and assets a company may have in its possession, that is its people. Hence GSK fosters a learning approach, investing substantially in its people at both a functional and personal l evel and recognises that without them, it shall not achieve its objectives. Organisational Goals and Mission Strategic Fit Prahalad and Hamels (1989) view of strategic intent being the necessary ingredient of success is highly relevant to GSK. The authors saw that the Empowerment of the Strategic Intent was key to the effectiveness of strategy process and that it was, a matter that involves everybodyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..to challenge the traditional downward communication style to an upward communication stream of new ideas coming from all the organization. (Source:http://www.valuebasedmanagement.net/methods_hamel_prahalad_strategic_intent.html, accessed 11/11/09) The fostering of an open communication system while still maintaining central control and direction should facilitate the exchange of ideas across the company, thus enhancing knowledge as well as market insight from specific customer markets, and thus promoting and inciting creativity and innovation which is one of the most important goals of the company. At the same time, it develops not only a sense of common purpose across the organisation but makes employees feel part of the overall strategic plan, thereby increasing motivation and productivity levels which have knock on effects across the board as employees feel empowered (Kotter, 1995). GSK has realised that much more important than the anatomical structure in place, there is a sense of common purpose across the company and its divisions which are characterised by diversity in functional, people and cultural terms. The important element of the new structure is that it revolves around the markets it serves rather than around functional areas, though these are still of great importance, especially the RD function. There are much fewer reporting lines to allow for the free flow of information and communication throughout the company. Flexibility and 360 degree feedback are built into the system and an open network of communication is encouraged to aid in the innovation process. As Barr (2005) concedes, According to Tidd, Bessant and Pavitt, (2005), innovative organisations are those that are flexible, adoptive, learning, characterised by organic culture, with capabilities of networking and team-working. (pg.1) Although the overall objectives have remained largely the same over the years, there has clearly been a shift in emphasis, particularly a renewed importance placed on innovation, in light of increasing competitive intensity as well as the expiration of many patents globally. In addition, there has also been a greater importance attached to the notion of people as assets and the recognition of the diversity of its workforce, its operations and the differing needs of its markets. This is particularly relevant given the emphasis on new and emerging economies of China and India who shall become increasingly important strategically in the very near future, as well as the concerns surrounding access to medication and healthcare in developing countries. In this respect, the environment and the external drivers which impact upon it, have an overriding influence on the strategy and structure adopted by the company. It could, however, also be argued that the companies themselves have also had an amazing impact on the environmental landscape due to the sheer size of some of the big players as well as the innovations they have brought to market which have ultimately shaped the industry, particularly with respect to consolidation. This is likely to continue, so structures and strategies shall be part evolutionary in line with external developments, but also determined by individual organisations through their activities. In summary, the main objectives of the company are as follows: Grow a diversified global business Deliver more products of value and Simplify the operating model. The mission is: We have a challenging and inspiring mission to improve the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer. By focusing our business around our strategic priorities, were confident that we can fulfil this promise. Source: GSK Annual report, 2008 Conclusion and Recommendations The dictum Structure follows strategy refers specifically to the historical shift in the strategy and structure of large firms, first documented in the development of American industry (Chandler 1962). This shift involved the transition in strategy from single to multiple product lines and the concomitant structural innovation, the introduction of divisional structure, which made it possible to overcome the inefficiencies of functional structure (in particular, decision overload at the top of the organizational hierarchy). (Source: www.le.ac.uk/ulsm/doc/suhomlinova_organizational.pdf, accessed, 02/07/09) GSK have worked extremely hard at creating an organisation which is responsive to its environments and also one which allows it to shape the environments in which it operates. While many view the opinions of Burns and Stalker as being outmoded for business in the 21st Century, the analysis has shown that many of their assumptions still hold true today according to both firm and industry context and are particularly relevant to the pharmaceuticals industry and GSK in particular. The overriding thrust of the analysis undertaken in light of looking at the company from the perspective of the contingencies affecting it, is that an overwhelming emphasis of the structure which it has created is one that is fluid enough to facilitate innovation and the exchange of knowledge, and also one which recognises the diversity of its workforce, its markets and its operations, thus it essentially takes the best elements from the contingency school and the resource dependency theory which ultimately tr anslates into the strategic choice perspective . In this respect, it is attempting to achieve an organic structure which is flexible enough to respond to the uncertainty and unpredictability of the sector while simultaneously actually taking action which ultimately shapes the environment in which it operates. It appears that diversity is now a challenge of all business today, particularly those involved in global operations, and it appears that GSK has attempted to use this diversity as a key to its competitive advantage rather than seeing it as a problem which has to be overcome. Simultaneously, although it recognises that a certain degree of flexibility is required in its structure, it is also extremely important for the organisation to exert control and power, particularly given the intensity of competition and the fact that much of its business is of a particularly sensitive nature, both socially and politically. Power is dispersed throughout the organisation so that individuals , units and functions, can be exploited to their full potential. As Moss Kanter (1989) highlighted, to add value, managers think and work across boundariesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦every manager must think cross-functionally because every department has to play a strategic role. Hierarchies appear no longer to be a source of power in terms of both expertise, knowledge and success in the marketplace. GSK appears to be in an excellent position to capitalise on the opportunities available to it in the markets it serves globally. Its continued investment in learning and its support of staff, should allow it to recruit and retain the best skills available to it in its market. Clearly, more work and undoubtedly, changes to structure may be needed as the market changes further, particularly with regard to emerging economies, but its recognition that it is both a product of its environment as well as a shaper of its environment, should allow it to make the best possible strategic decisions going forward. Organisational structures are no longer used as a means to exert control and no longer operate in the same mode as political systems. This would be too rigid and would be at odds with the increasingly dynamic nature of the global business environment we know today. There shall be a continued emphasis on alliances and networks, internally and externally and the structure in place should be one which facilitates the pursuit of objectives but not be too rigid as to make changes, when required, impossible to achieve. As objectives change over time, the structure which accompanies it, may need to be altered as a result. As Kim and Mauborgne (2009) concede, There are three factors that determine the right approach: the structural conditions in which an organization operates, its resources and capabilities, and its strategic mind-setà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Even in a not-so-attractive industry, the structuralist approach can work well if a company has the resources and capabilities to beat out the competition. In either case, the focus of strategy is to leverage the organizations core strengths to achieve acceptable risk-adjusted returns in an existing market. In summary, our analysis of the industry has highlighted the importance and relevance of external events on a companys business model and strategic offering to the market. The nature of the industry across the value chain has changed substantially, with new entrants to the market and new and more demanding consumers of the end product. Differentiation strategies are much more difficult to create and certainly, even more difficult to maintain, hence many have formed partnerships or mergers in a bid to improve their competitive position. Price is extremely important, as we have seen from the success of the generic companies, but this alone will not suffice in such a competitive environment where stakeholders demands and expectations are constantly increasing, and the quest for innovation will continue to be important. As Daft and Marcic (2007) contend, The right structure is designed to fit the contingency factors of strategy, environment, and production technology. (Pg. 273) The chall enge is to define a business model which permits research and development to continue and succeed, while ensuring that returns are adequate and the market accepts a fair price. Over time, business models have also changed to become more focused on key competencies and strategic capabilities of the firm, much in line with the post-entrepreneurial model advocated by Kanter (2002), with many non core functions being outsourced in a quest to obtain a sustainable competitive advantage, others have opted for strategic partnership, seeing collaboration with apparent competitors as a viable option to outstripping the competition and obtaining market leadership. The contingency School of Thought, many argue, was a response to these new demands being placed on companies. Additionally, many also argued that it was in essence an extension of the Systems School, which focused more on the internal subsystems and interdependent functions within organizations. The challenge now, was to find a new a nd improved organization that fitted with its environment, which arguably calls for elements of each school of thought according to both external factors and internal capabilities (resource view). The important point is that there is no uniform answer to this problem as different industries and different companies need different responses. What may work well in one company will not necessarily translate across industry or organizational boundaries. What has become more important is that if strategy changes, for whatever reason, (internal or external), organizations must revisit structure to ensure that there is a fit between the two.