Telling the Partial Truth: Ethical or Unethical?

Telling the Partial Truth: Ethical or Unethical? Guan Huang 250547949 D. Proessel Philosophy 2074G March 27th, 2013 The article Advertising: The Whole or Only Some of the Truth by Tibor R. Machan states that only telling the partial truth is ethical in advertising. I completely agree with the author’s standpoint and am trying to defend his viewpoints by supporting in four aspects. Firstly, I am going to prove Machan’s position that sales associates are selling a combination of product, environment and service.Although there will be various prices for the same product at different stores essay writer australia, sales associates are not obligated to provide all of the locations that sell the product, and the price of said product at each location. Second, I am going to defend Machan’s position towards consumer beware. Thirdly, I will argue against potential criticism by strongly supporting Machan’s position— commercial advertising should be forgiven f or putting one’s best foot forward.Finally, I will highlight the definition of essential truth versus the whole truth to support Machan’s point that failing to tell the whole truth is ethical with some boundaries. In Leiser’s argument, suppression veri is unethical because the salesperson may use the technique of price deception, which is concealing the fact that their product can be purchased at a far lower price elsewhere. As Machan says, â€Å"it is legitimate for customers to seek satisfaction from the market, we must keep in mind that customers often seek various combinations of satisfaction, not simply product or price satisfaction† (Machan 586).Machan claims that when a customer is buying a product, he or she is not just looking for the product itself and the price. He or she also adds many other factors such as certain location of the store, customer service during the purchase, and store environment into consideration. These various combinations of satisfactions cannot be ignored. Buying a cup of Starbucks coffee in the Starbucks coffee shop compared to purchasing a bottle of Starbucks coffee in the grocery store can be a good example.The Starbucks shops don't just sell coffee; they sell an atmosphere (Daniel R. ). People go to Starbucks usually not for just a cup of coffee, but the combination of product including relaxing atmosphere in Starbucks store, the friendly service they provide, other Starbucks products that could be also bought etc. But purchasing at a supermarket also can be seen as a combination that includes self-service, a package of Starbucks in bulk, and convenience. The combinations are simply valued differently, and thus are priced differently.As a result, this proves Machan’s position that sales person is selling the combination of the product and that price deception proposed by Leiser is inconsistent. After proving a classical form of egoism as the most appropriate method to morally guide busine ss conduct, Machan holds the position that to promote one’s rational self-interest, â€Å"a merchant could be acting with perfect moral propriety in not offering help to a customer with the task of information gathering† (Machan 588). Thus, it is morally correct to answer only part of a question, or even deflect a question from a customer to avoid lying to them.As long as the merchant does not lie, it is perfectly ethical to communicate to the customers with a sole goal of selling the product (not caring for the customers’ personal interest). Buyers should take the responsibility to gather information. For example, McDonald’s posts all of the nutritional information of their foods on the company’s website. It is the customers’ personal responsibility to go on the website to find the information, and not the servers’ responsibility to inform the customers of the caloric or sodium content while placing the order.Machan’s position here is that information is available (through various forms communication) and the customer must not rely on the merchant to receive this, but take a proactive role while deciding on their purchases. Machan holds the position that commercial advertising should be forgiven for putting one’s best foot forward. To prove this, he demonstrated that even apart from advertising, people often enough advance a biased perspective on themselves, their skills, looks, and so on (Machan 585) first by using the example of CV and dating to show how people give others an overstated first mpression. Then by claiming commercial relationships usually take place between strangers (Mahan 589), he finally reaches his position. In his example, people will highlight his/her advantages and try to diminish his/her disadvantage as much as possible when going to a date or sending a resume to a potential company he/she may work for. At this point, the potential criticism may claim that it’s a fal se analogy by comparing commercial advertising as going on date or sending a CV. People show their best image on a date or people listing all their asset in a resume is their private business.It is their own interest to do so. But in terms of commercial advertising, advertiser is in his or her public life. There is no difference between an advertiser and a doctor or journalist in some ways. Advertisers should take some responsibility to play as a public role, thus to give some probable benefits for people on the other side. With this false analogy (Exhibit 1) the potential criticism may claim that Machan’s position that commercial advertising should be forgiven for putting one’s best foot forward is less convincing. I will argue against this potential criticism in support of Machan’s position.To begin with, the potential criticism commits a classic problem of causal oversimplification. The line of reasoning here is that because advertiser should take some respon sibility to play as a public role, so he or she has the obligation to give some benefit for people on the other side. This argument is solely based the altruism school of thought. However, the potential criticism has not indicated any other schools of thought in which the argument could be plausible, but only with basis of altruism can this line of reasoning (where helping each other is key) be applied (Exhibit 2).However, as Machan argued in his paper, only the most robust form of altruism, a form where â€Å"none is left to be the beneficiary of human action, can be a candidate for the morality to guild merchant† (Machan 588). In reality, the robust form of altruism is too extreme to be possible in society which proves that the possible opposing view is incorrect. The potential criticism also argues that the example of a date and CV is a false analogy to commercial advertising since private issues are different from public issue. Let’s consider what would happen if a rather lazy person pplied for a company with a well-written resume or if a very sloppy man was given a makeover and then goes on a date. With these enhancements, the rather lazy person has a possibility of being hired by the company, and the rather sloppy man could get a second date. Thus, the company and the girl may be harmed from people’s putting best foot forward in private issue situation. The company could have a bad employee (laziness) and the girl may realize that what seemed like a well-groomed man is actually not and that she has wasted her time.As customers can also suffer from sellers putting their best foot forward, we find that in terms of result, there is no difference between private issues and public issues. So we do not need to focus on whether or not the issue is personal or public. The answer seems to be straightforward: the example of date and CV can be seen as a good analogy to commercial advertising and those examples can be used to reach Machanâ€℠¢s position— commercial advertising should be forgiven for putting one’s best foot forward.Machan also holds the position that from a robust or classical ethical egoist standpoint, â€Å"the [essential truths] about an item or service being traded should be told† (Machan 591). Essential truths can be further thought of as information regarding the function of product when utilized under normal circumstances. So when a customer buys an air conditioner, it is expected that it will keep a room cool in the summer. This is different from the whole truth, since failing to tell the essential truth will violate the principle of an honest transaction, which is more important to oneself than competitive advantage (Machan 589).For a merchant, the truth should not be concealed just to obtain the competitive advantage. On the other hand, the whole truth also includes the information regarding what is incidental or merely closely associated with the essential truths about a p roduct. This information is not important and it’s truly not possible to tell all. Machan holds the position that essential truth should be told, but not the whole truth. Many examples can be found in the real world can be used to support Machan’s position. In the pharmaceutical industry, companies must list all the functions as well as side effects of the drug on the package.This information is essential because when we buy medicine, we must know what the function of the medicine is, and whether or not it is safe to take in our situation. Many drugs are not safe for pregnant women to take, and they must be informed of it. This would be essential information that must be given, whereas other locations where the same drug is available is not essential information about the product and can be kept to the seller. As I proved above, only telling the partial truth is ethical in commercial advertising.Merchants sell metaphorical package of goods when selling a single product , because they are also selling the store’s environment, and their service in addition to the product. Customers are all different, and some may place higher value in location of the store or attitude of the salesperson than price, so when the sales associate fails to speak of other locations selling at a lower price, this is not price deception. Different stores may have different combinations of satisfaction, and thus it is completely ethical to avoid presenting information about other stores.It is important for merchants to always put their best foot forward and present only the most valuable aspects of their product. There is no need to provide the customers with more information than they need, as buyer beware is a very realistic aspect of our world. We cannot provide all the information for everything we are telling others about, so customers should have the initiative to do adequate research before deciding on a purchase. Merchants are only obligated to provide the mos t essential information needed about the product.Thus, when advertising, it is completely unnecessary for merchants to tell the customers everything about the product. As long as the merchants are not lying to the customers, telling partial truths about products is a very ethical form of advertisement. Exhibit 1 Public Life Public Life Private Life Private Life Doctor or journalist Doctor or journalist Commercial advertising Commercial advertising Not a good reason to prove Not a good reason to prove Sending a CV Sending a CV Going on a date Going on a date Exhibit 2 Altruism AltruismHe/she should give some benefit for people on the other side He/she should give some benefit for people on the other side Advertiser should take some responsibility to play as a public role Advertiser should take some responsibility to play as a public role Work cited Tibor R. Machan. â€Å"Advertising: The Whole Truth or Only Some of the Truth?. † Allooff and Vaidya 584-592. Fritz Allooff and An and J. Vaidya. Ed. Business in Ethical Focus an Anthology. Canada: Broadview, 2008. Print. â€Å"The Starbucks Culture† Daniel Rein. Web Feb, 10, 2007

Dissertation Topics in Mass Media and Journalism

Dissertation Topics in Mass Media and Journalism â€Å"The types of questions investigated in mass media research are virtually unlimited† (Roger and Dominick 2006:5). Going by Roger’s statement, it is practically impossible to limit mass media research subject areas. Given that a research work can never be perfect, hence, the limitations of a research open the scope for further research work in the subject area. Here we have collected a number of original dissertation topics in mass media and journalism. dissertation topics in mass media and journalism usually address several ongoing practices in the field of journalism. However, it becomes difficult if the researcher focuses on a vast subject area for example the world cinema, which is a generalised topic and has no specific target. Hence, ideally it is suggested to narrow down the target and focus on a specific research question, which is a crucial part of research work. The biggest challenge in this field would be to get hold of participants and interviewees. Given media signifies a practical approach mainly rather than theoretical, hence, a media research depends a lot on whom we are interviewing which can range from a common man to a minister. The following ten categories are just some of the subjects that can be covered and not an exhaustive list.1. Dissertation Topics in Mass Media and Journalism – Journalism/ News – Dissertation examples1.1 Representation of women journalists in the media. How are women journalists treated across the world and their limitations? 1.2 Newspaper readers pay unnecessarily for ads in which they are not interested, but newspapers can’t do without advertisements. Is there an alternative? 1.3 Night life and how it affects the youth in developed countries-a journalistic research. Night clubs, pubs, strip clubs, discotheques and its impact upon the teenage section of countries likeUSAandUK(You may refer to other countries as well). 1.4 Does the media industry follow Noam Chomsky’s Propaganda modelRefer to different countries and how they practise journalism. 1.5 Journalism and showbusiness: where does truth based and objective journalism stand today with the practice of infotainment based reporting worldwide? 1.6 Paparazzi, yellow journalism, and tabloidism- is this the future of journalism? 1.7 Political chaos in India. How would the current political turmoil in the UPA government affect its ties with neighbour countries? 1.8 A research of local media in Britain – choose a particular media and its representation of a particular community issue; what were the impacts for the local community?2. Dissertation Topics in Mass Media and Journalism – Film/Cinema – Dissertation examples2.1 Bollywood and its profit margins. How Bollywood has changed India’s cultural economy? 2.2Hollywoodor Bollywood- which is biggerHow does the industry turnover contribute to the world market? 2.3 Is French cinema a national or global cinema? 2.4 South-East Asian films and other emerging film markets on the global arena. Threat to Hollywood? 2.5 YashRaj films and its overseas business over the years. Examine how the major Indian production houses like the YashRaj films have a hold worldwide? 2.6 What makes USA and UK the major business hub of Indian cinemaAn analysis of Indian global film market. 2.7 An examination of 3D technologies in cinema- its emergence and worldwide acceptance. 2.8 The music industry and its billion dollar profit. How does Pop, Rock, Classical, RnB, Bollywood music influence a nation’s economy? 2.9 How foreign collaborations and its competitive advantage proved beneficial for the film industry over the yearsFor example Slumdog Billionaire? 2.10 Indian cinema Vs Bollywood. Is Indian cinema not a part of Bollywood?3.Dissertation Topics in Mass Media and Journalism – International journalism – Dissertation examples3.1 United Kingdom visa norms and its impact on the country’s economy. What can be the possible plans and strategies to cope with the massive monetary loss and tackle recession? 3.2 China has been the most efficient country in practising public diplomacy. Do you agree? 3.3 Globalisation and its impact upon the businesses of developing countries; specifically refer to India- a developing country facing economic slowdown but still a major player in the world market. 3.4 Stagnating economy of the United Kingdom. How can a developed country facing constant recession be safeguarded against the downfall of the nation? 3.5 Anti-Islam stance of the United States; even celebrities are not spared. The anti-Islam video has created fuss all over. How does this affect the image of Muslims in other countries? 3.6 How efficiently does the United Nations response to an emergency or crisis situation in any nation Examine how the UN practices propaganda, public diplomacy and psychological operations in controlling these situations. 3.7 Formation of media finally took shape during the Gulf War, the Somalia, Bosnia and Kosovo conflictDo you agree? 3.8 Psychological operations and propaganda are crucial to Iraq and Afghanistan’s nation building process? 3.9How does war reporting and the role of a journalist affect in forming or destroying the image of any nation?4. Dissertation Topics in Mass Media and Journalism – Political and investigative reporting – Dissertation examples4.1 Critically analyse the UPA government’s functioning ahead of the parliamentary election in India in 2014. 4.2 Sonia Gandhi’s Italian roots and its impact on the future of India? 4.3 Corruption is synonymous with politics. Do you agree? 4.3 Power of America-what has made the USA the ultimate ruler? 4.4 Can there be any solution to Pakistan/Afghanistan/Iraq’s negative image worldwide(or any other country of your choice). Examine the role of mass media in fostering stereotypes and establishing images. 4.5 Politicians and political parties have lost their ideological drive. They are now driven by the goal of marketing/selling their ideas to the public. Do you agreeChoose a particular country. 4.6 Call centres are creating numerous jobs and helping the unemployed section of the society. This would be impossible without the assistance of media and journalists. Do you agreeSupport your answers with examples. 4.7 Creating adequate jobs and education system are still vague promises made by politicians in many countries. Probe into the realities of developing countries?5. Dissertation Topics in Mass Media and Journalism – Business journalism – Dissertation examples5.1 Go Green- How would you go about promoting an online store for green leafy products/clothing to appeal for green revolution? 5.2Fashion portal- how does the world of fashion dominate business market todayAn analysis of business market of major countries. 5.3 Develop a social networking site and formulate ways to compete with popular sites such Facebook and Twitter. 5.4 Emergence of social networking sites and e-commerce. Examine how it changed the concept of business over the years? 5.5 3G countries and their contributions to the world economy. Analysing each of the countries growth rate and where it would stand by 2050. What are the implications?6. Dissertation Topics in Mass Media and Journalism – Developmental journalism – Dissertation examples6.1 Dowry system and other dogmatic practices still prevalent in modern India. Examine media role in this issue and its implications upon development. 6.2 Primary education is still a distant dream for many countries. Research of the underdeveloped countries where the illiteracy rate is rising. Examine the role of media in tackling these issues. 6.3 Poverty, hunger, malnutrition still haunt the regions of Africa. What is the practical solutionHow can mass media contribute to alleviation of povertyExamine particular region/regions/countries in Africa. 6.4 Female Condoms-the latest discovery; discuss in-depth on how to go about promoting it. Discuss the risk factor of introducing it among the conservative societies. 6.5 Women molestation/rape is rampant now in India, are the officials listeningExamine the role of mass media in tackling the issue. 6.6 Is education/economic reform the way to transform a developing countryExamine the role of media in education promotion as a path to economic development.7. Dissertation Topics in Mass Media and Journalism – Media discourses – Dissertation examples7.1. An examination of the role of media discourses in facilitating ethnic conflict. A case study / systematic review of the Bosnia Conflict. 7.2. The role of media in foreign policy: can mass media discourses influence foreign policy and why(The CNN effect).8. Dissertation Topics in Mass Media and Journalism – Online media – Dissertation examples8.1 Can the web media revolution make the print media extinct? 8.2 Examine the role of social media in the Arab uprising. Was it the facilitator of peace or conflict?9. Dissertation Topics in Mass Media and Journalism – Animation – Dissertation examples9.1 The film/advertising industry is incomplete with animation. Do you agree? 9.2 The world of cartoons and serious business. Analyse some of the cartoon giants and examine how they transformed a child’s play into billion dollar business. 9.3 The world of animation-both in theory and practise-you may also make a short animation film of your choice.10. Dissertation Topics in Mass Media and Journalism Advertising /Public Relation/ Corporate communication/ Television production – Dissertation examples10.1 Media and advertising: Can media exist without advertising? 10.2 Public Relation and journalism: Are public relation professionals more satisfied than journalists? 10.3 Even big production companies cannot do without the PR industry, put forward evidence to prove. Tips Journalism/mass media requires more of a practical approach and even if any topic is theoretical, it is better to conduct interviews, surveys or other practical tests to be on the safe side. Harvard style of referencing applicable everywhere. Charts/ diagrams/ statistics add credit to the investigation. Some specific media sites like Media, Culture and Society and European Journal of Communication might be useful. Don’t forget to check out our most popular dissertation examples in mass media and journalism Free Essay – our site Essay

Implications of Information Technology in Developing Countries Essay

The survival and growth of organizations in an increasingly turbulent environment would depend upon effective utilization of information technology for aligning the organizational structure with environmental preferences and for creating symbiotic interorganizational structures. How can IT help the organizations in responding to the challenges of an increasingly complex and uncertain environment? How can IT help the organizations achieve the flexible organization structure? These are the topics that remains to be a matter of question for many developing countries. Although Information technology is still a .black box . technology for developing countries, it is largely applied in industrialised countries to the disadvantage of the majority of developing countries. This paper will try to illuminate the aspects and the impact of Information Technology in managing organizational change and its implications for developing countries. 1. Introduction The rate and magnitude of change are rapidly outpacing the complex of theories. economic, social, and philosophical on which public and private decisions are based. To the extent that we continue to view the world from the perspective of an earlier, vanishing age, we will continue to misunderstand the developments surrounding the transition to an information society, be unable to realize the full economic and social potential of this revolutionary technology, and risk making some very serious mistakes as reality and the theories we use to interpret it continue to diverge..-Arthur Cordell(1987). We have modified our environment so radically that we must modify ourselves in order to exist in this new environment..Norbert Wiener(1957) The survival and growth of organizations in an increasingly turbulent environment would depend upon effective utilization of information technology for aligning the organizational structure with environmental preferences and for creating symbiotic interorganizational structures. How can IT help the organizations in responding to the challenges of an increasingly complex and uncertain environment? How can IT help the organizations achieve the .flexible. organization structure? These are the topics that remains to be a matter of question for many developing countries. This study will try to illuminate the aspects and the impact of Information Technology in managing organizational change and its implications for developing countries. 2. Aspects of Information Technology Information technology (IT) may be defined as the convergence of electronics, computing, and telecommunications. It has unleashed a tidal wave of technological innovation in the collecting, storing, processing, transmission, and presentation of information that has not only transformed the information technology sector itself into a highly dynamic and expanding field of activity – creating new markets and generating new investment, income, and jobs- but also provided other sectors with more rapid and efficient mechanisms for responding to shifts in demand patterns and changes in international comparative advantages, through more efficient production processes and new and improved products and services (e.g. replacing mechanical and electromechanical components, upgrading traditional products by creating new product functions, incorporating skills and functions into equipment, automating routine work, making technical, professional, or finan cial services more transportable). The development of IT is intimately associated with the overwhelming advances recently accomplished in microelectronics. Based on scientific and technological breakthroughs in transistors, semiconductors, and integrated circuits (â€Å"chips†), micro-electronics is affecting every other branch of the economy, in terms of both its present and future employment and skill requirements and its future market prospects. Its introduction has resulted in a drastic fall in costs as well as dramatically improved technical performance both within the electronics industry and outside it (Malone and Rockart, 1993). The continuous rise in the number of features on a single micro-electronic chip has permitted lower assembly costs for electronic equipment (each chip replacing many discrete components), faster switching speeds (thus faster and more powerful computers), and more reliable, smaller, and lighter equipment (fewer interconnections, less power and material). Similar dramatic falls in costs occurred in the transport and steel industries in the nineteenth century and in energy in the twentieth, associated with the emergence of the third and fourth Kondratiev cycles, respectively. The potential effects of microelectronics are thus very far-reaching, for its use in production saves on virtually all inputs, ranging from skilled and unskilled labor to energy, materials, andcapital. All sectors of the economy have been influenced by the development of IT applications: information technology opens up greater opportunities for the exploitation of economies of scale and scope, allows the more flexible production and use of labor and equipment, promotes the internationalization of production and markets, offers greater mobility and flexibility in capital and financial flows and services, and is frequently the precondition for the creation of innovative financial instruments. Information system developments are constantly being applied to increase the productivity, quality, and efficiency of finance, banking, business management, and public administration. In manufacturing, and to some extent in agriculture, many processes have been automated, some requiring highly flexible, self-regulating machines, or robots. The engineering industry has been transformed by computer-aided design and three-dimensional computerized screen displays. The pace of technological change in IT will most likely accelerate the already observable growth in the interdependence of international relations not just economic or financial, but also political and cultural. National economies have become more susceptible to the effects of policy decisions taken at the international level, and domestic economic measures are having increased impacts on economic policies of other countries. World markets for the consumption of similar goods are growing, and so are common lifestyles across national borders. The advance of telecommunications and computerization has recently enabled large companies to use information systems to transmit technical and economic information among numerous computer systems at different geographical locations, subjecting widely dispersed industrial plants to direct managerial control from a central location; this affects the international division of labor and production and international trade, changing the patterns of industrial ownership and control, altering the competitive standing of individual countries, and creating new trading partners. It is the integration of functions that confers on information technology its real economic and social significance. More than just a gradual and incremental technological evolution leading to improved ways of carrying out traditional manufacturing processes (i.e. simply the substitution of new technologies for existing systems and the rationalization of standard activities), IT offers the opportunity for completely new ways of working through systems integration. Rather than applying one item of new technology to each of the production functions now performed at distinct stages of the production process, i.e. design, production, marketing, and distribution (in what could be called â€Å"stand-alone† improvements or â€Å"island automation†), having evolved in to new technologies, i.e. Enterprise Resource Planning systems, IT offers the possibility of linking design to production (e.g. through programmable manufacturing, measuring, and testing equipment responding to the codification of design), planning and design to marketing and distribution (e.g. through a variety of computer aids and databases that sense and collect changing market trends), production to distribution (e.g. by automatically incorporating orders and commissions by customers and suppliers into the production process), etc. The complete integration of all these production subsystems in a synergistic ensemble is still more a long-term trend than a reality, but use of automated equipment to link together individual items of equipment belonging to hitherto discrete manufacturing operations has already made IT a strategic issue for industry. More technical advances are expected soon in the automation of telecommunications and the linkage of computers by data transmission that will enhance the possibilities of systems integration. Such â€Å"programmable automation,† or computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM), has the capability of integrating information processing with physical tasks performed by programmable machine tools or robots. CIM offers radical improvements in traditional problem areas confronting manufacturers, such as: – reduced lead time for existing and new products; – reduced inventories; – more accurate control over production and better quality production management information; – increased utilization of expensive equipment; – reduced overhead costs; – improved and consistent quality; – more accurate forecasting; – improved delivery performance (Miles et al., 1988). These features characterize information technology as a new technological system, in which far-reaching changes in the trajectories of electronic, computer, and telecommunication technologies converge and offer a range of new technological options to virtually all branches of the economy. Moreover, IT forms the basis for a reorganization of industrial society and the core of the emerging techno-economic paradigm. The reason for the pre-eminence of the new technological system clustered around information technology over the equally new technological systems clustered around new materials and biotechnology is the fact that information activities of one kind or another are a part of every activity within an industrial or commercial sector, as well as in our working and domestic lives. Almost all productive activities have high information intensity (some involve little else, such as banking or education). Further more, along with the premier of internet technology and e-business architectures; powerful concepts like inventory control, supply chain management, customer relationship/service management, and management resource planning through the internet under the name of Enterprise Resource Planning have enabled IT to be capable of offering â€Å"strategic† improvements in the productivity and competitiveness of virtually any socio-economic activity. Other than industrial or commercial sectors, information technology is also applicable in education sector and in public institutions. Thus, Information Technology is universally applicable. Probably only a fraction of the benefits derived from information technology-based innovations have so far been reaped and the rest remain to be acquired in the next decades. The shift towards systems integration to capitalize the full potential benefits of IT requires considerable adaptations, learning processes, and structural changes in exis ting socioeconomic institutions and organizational systems. The tradition in most current organizations is still to operate in a largely â€Å"disintegrated† fashion, reminiscent of the Ford-Taylorist management approaches that dominated the fourth Kondratiev cycle: high division of labor, increasing functional specialization/differentiation and de-skilling of many tasks, rigid manufacturing procedures and controls, long management hierarchies with bureaucratic decision-making procedures and a â€Å"mechanistic† approach to performance. Under these conditions, use of IT is restricted to piecemeal technology improvements. By contrast, information technology-based systems offer organizations the opportunity of functional integration, multi-skilled staff, rapid and flexible decision-making structures with greater delegation of responsibilities and greater autonomy of operating units, a more flexible and â€Å"organic† approach enabling a quick adjustment to changing environmental conditions. (Piore and Sabel, 1984.) But this means that information management skills require the ability to make choices about the optimal arrangements for particular situations: unlike earlier generations of technology, IT offers not a single â€Å"best† way of organization but a set of more or less appropriate alternative organizing, staffing, and managing options that may be adopted in different organizational contexts. There is no â€Å"determinism† in the way information technology influences the socioinstitutional framework. Therefore, organizational innovation is a crucial part of the requirement for firms to adapt to survive (Miles, 1988). Unfortunately, this is true for all the institutions as well. Further, it is even more dramatic for the organizations in developing countries because of not being able to properly adapt to this so-called .black-box. technology. No matter how frustrating it is interpreted for these countries, IT still has significant impact on their development. Although socio-economic structure of these countries resists organizational or institutional changes, the complex interrelations between these changes and information technologies have significant implications for the way IT does and will affect the societies and economies of developing countries. As a matter of fact, the negative and positive potential impacts of IT on these countries are a matter of great controversy among economists and politicians. The main short term issues usually discussed are the potential erosion of the comparative advantages of low labor costs, particularly in relation to assembly facilities, and the effects of automation, particularly on internal markets and international competitiveness. Implications of information technology for those countries hold great importance. 3. Implications for Developing Countries The first direct effect of the â€Å"micro-electronics revolution† was the location of production for export in third world countries. While production of mainframe computers continued to be located largely in industrialized countries, production of smaller computers and of microelectronic devices, more subject to price competition, was shifted to low-wage locations, mainly in East Asia, where countries presented low wage costs as well as political stability, a docile labor force, and government incentives. Location of production for local and regional consumption followed, but the countries concerned were mainly middle income: three quarters of US investment in third world micro-electronic industries was concentrated in 11 countries, namely the four Asian â€Å"dragons,† India, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia (Steward, 1991). Export-oriented investments in these countries were associated more with direct foreign investment from larger firms in industrialized countries than with firms producing for the local market; on the other hand, licensing was more associated with smaller firms (Tigre, 1995). The automation of production decreases the relative importance of labor-intensive manufacturing and cost of labor, thereby eroding the competitiveness of low labor costs. For instance, automation led to a sharp decrease in the difference between manufacturing costs of electronic devices between the United States and Hong Kong: in manual processes, manufacturing costs were three times higher in the United States, and the introduction of semi-automatic processes made the difference practically disappear (Sagasti, 1994). Equally, the expansion of automation in Japan has contributed to a reduction of Japanese investments in the Asia/Pacific region involving firms in electronics, assembly parts, and textiles (Sagasti, 1994). The trend to increasing systems optimization and integration is most likely to induce large producers in industrialized countries to bring back a significant share of their production located in developing countries (offshore production). This movement has been called â€Å"comparative advantage reversal.† As integration increases, with functions previously obtained by assembling pieces being incorporated in the electronic components, value-added is pushed out of assembly processes into the components themselves and upwards towards servicing. In addition, the growing technological complexity of electronic devices increases the value of the parts manufactured by firms located in industrialized countries The amount of value-added obtained in offshore assembly has thus been constantly decreasing (Sagasti,1994). Global factories constructed in locations of least cost, often at a considerable distance from final markets, were economically worthwhile because labor was one of the major determinants of costs. Technology and rapid responsiveness to volatile local markets are becoming more important components of competitiveness. The reduction of product cycles due to the growing resistance to obsolescence of programmable machines and equipment has led to a concentration of manufacturing investment in capital-intensive flexible manufacturing, further adding to the erosion of the comparative advantages of developing countries. The assembly of systems will probably continue in some developing countries that have adopted protective legislation for local production targeted at particular market segments (e.g. Brazil), although this is changing very rapidly (Steward, 1991). The types of equipment produced under these circumstances are used largely in internal markets and are hardly competitive on the international level; they tend to be far more expensive than comparable equipment available abroad, and often their installation and use are also more costly because of expensive auxiliary installations, under-use, and lack of management skills. Nevertheless, they may at least provide the country with the capacity to follow the development of information technologies more closely. In other countries, assembly of equipment is taking place from components bought practically off the shelf, but as the level of hardware integration and the amount of software incorporated into the chips (firmware) grow, valueadded will be taken away from the assembly process, reducing or eliminating its economic advantages. The introduction of microelectronics requires certain new skills of design, maintenance, and management, as well as complementary infrastructural facilities such as reliable telephone systems and power supplies. Deficiencies in these factors prevent the widespread adoption of information technology in developing countries (Munasinghe et al., 1985). The more advanced developing countries, with a wider basis of skills and infrastructure and a more flexible labor force, may be in a better position to adopt IT and to increase their productivity and their international competitiveness. But the less developed countries, with inadequate skills and infrastructure, low labor productivity, and lack of capital resources, will find it difficult to adopt the new technologies; they are likely to suffer a deterioration in international competitiveness vis-à  -vis both industrialized and the more advanced developing countries (Stewart et al., 1991). Quality, too, requires an adequate level of skills, infrastructure, and managerial know-how that is generally lacking in developing countries. This greatly reduces the synergies, number of options, faster responses, and more informed decisions that can be implemented in the firm by the optimization of the systems performance. In turn, the composition of the labor force existing within firms located in industrialized countries will further improve their systems performance and further reinforce the advantages derived from automation. The proportion of the labor force employed in production is constantly decreasing in the industrialized countries, implying that performances at the systems level and innovation, not manufacturing, are becoming the key to profit, growth, and survival (Sagasti, 1994). Like biotechnology, information technology is a proprietary technology, vital technical information regarding design engineering specification, process know-how, testing procedures, etc., being covered by patents or copyrights or closely held as trade secrets within various electronic firms from industrialized countries. Many companies in the software area do not patent or copyright their products because it entails disclosing valuable information, and firms are generally reluctant to license the more recent and advanced technologies. Therefore, technology transfer takes place mainly among established or important producers, hindering the access to developing countries. Moreover, the main issue facing developing countries is not so much the access to a particular technology but to the process of technological change, because of the dynamism of this process. Sagasti implies this issue in the book The Uncertain Guest: science, technology and development (1994) that recent trends in int er-firm relationships seem to indicate that this access takes place essentially through the participation in the equity of the company holding the technology.

Why kids should not be on the internet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Why kids should not be on the internet - Essay Example The success remains in how cleverly we utilize them for the wellbeing of the people. Internet is just like an ocean of knowledge for all the people. But the problem is that this ocean consists of good and evils. Only the matured persons will be able to select and segregate good things from internet whereas immature people always fell in to this ocean as victims of the bad things. â€Å"Internet can provide contents like sexual acts or conduct, lewd exhibitions of genitals, the seven "dirty" FCC words, revealing attire, the use or sale of weapons, game sites designed for teens or older, legal or illegal drugs, legal or illegal gambling, alcohol consumption, explicit violence against people or animals including hate crimes, tobacco use etc to the kids which are harmful in their development as a socially accepted personality and hence the internet usages should be restricted to them. This paper analyses the negative impacts of internet on kids. Internet consists of sex related contents which is harmful to the kids. One of the major reasons for juvenile offenses is the influence of internet upon children. Segregation of good and evils is difficult for kids because of the growth sex hormones at these ages. It is easy for the juveniles to watch movies filled with violence and sexual activities using internet websites like YouTube. Internet is used by kids playing video games and relaxing purposes. It is difficult for them to search for serious things at this age because of the peculiarity of their age. After a busy work outs in the classrooms most of the children uses internet for watching something interesting to them. â€Å"The Internet is an invaluable tool for adolescents who use it to look for answers to personal, sensitive, and embarrassing questions about their bodies, relationships, and health. A study of 778 teens aged 15-18 in the African nation of Ghana shows that two-thirds had gone online, mainly at cafes with I nternet access. All of

Management in a early years setting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Management in a early years setting - Essay Example Introduction Evidently through research, it is clear that in an early setting there are certain guidelines that manager should adhere to in order to enhance correct management. There are diverse guidelines in the setting and so manager’s attitudes shape the form of program. In any given business, management is something which should be done in the right manner possible, and this should be able to integrate all elements of management and functions as well. This becomes a defining application which has the capability of improving performance and ensuring that business goals have been realized within the shortest time possible. For instance, within any strategies of management, it should be appropriate to adopt a number of practices, theories and organizational adoptions which have the capability of improving performance of business. In early year setting, management is considered to be significant since this determines several aspects in the running of the business. With this un derstanding, this paper critically presents a discussion in management in early year settings from a broad point of view. This is enhanced through covering several different topics related to management and responding to different questions succinctly. Critical Analysis of the Management of Provision of the Setting The setting followed through early year’s management stage-offset and the attitudes at the same time as can be set on the subject of specific documents outside the setting. Documents in the settings, it is significant to note down that not every expert that is working in the setting have an identical attitudes and beliefs in place (Harrison, 2003, P. 38). In that sense, they can differ appreciably between individual, and there is no incorrect value, attitude or belief. In this section, the roles of a manager will be highlighted clearly. The Manager’s Roles and Responsibilities Essentially, the main role of a manager is to supervise and ensure that the settin g is been run in accordance to the set guidelines (Laura, 2008, P. 48). The manager therefore, becomes responsible to supervising staff when required and ensuring that the staff is always organized in order to accomplish their tasks. There are innumerable ways through which change in an early management can be achieved. This is through the role played by managers as well as their responsibilities. It is evident that members of staff do not have the accountability to deal with management. Their responsibility in the organization is to do what is most excellent for the benefits of the entire organization (Wang, 2010, P. 18). Therefore, the accountability for dealing with management in early year setting is the role of managers. Managers should cope with the change in a manner that workers can get by it. The role of the manager is to keep up to date with registers and other important data files, for children in their early setting. Managers should play the role to smooth the progress a nd facilitate change, and all this is disguised in that declaration in order to comprehend the circumstances from

Devolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Devolution - Essay Example Regional or local governments who get the power of home rule may also get some legal powers to have their own legislative framework and legal rules which they can apply to their region exclusively. In the United Kingdom, a case of devolution in seen in the 1997 referenda in Wales and Scotland when a devolved or regional government was created and this was followed by the establishment of Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales, Northern Ireland Assembly and Greater London Assembly in 1999 (see O'Neill 2004; Trench 2004). The proposals for a devolved state in Wales and Scotland were made in 1979 although the actual implementation of such a proposal could only be made two decades later. However there have been no devolved governments or devolution within England as the Labour government faced defeat in their proposals for a devolved regional government in North East England in 2004. Since then there have been no successful plans of devolution or formation of local and regional governments within England and all are failed plans. Apart from Wales and Scotland, there has been a system of home rule in the US as District of Columbia represents a regional and devolved government and is under the sole control of the United States Congress and the district government was created by statute. ... Fothergill discusses three government reports to argue that the new directions set by the Labour government do not take account of the accumulated knowledge or even the long history and background of the UK regional policy, Thus the regional policies which are already existing have serious lessons to impart which the new approach of Labour government seems to be overlooking or ignoring. The paper further states that, 'The new approach (of Labour) also prioritizes the devolution of decision-making over positive discrimination from the centre in favour of less prosperous areas'. Thus devolution has become not just a means of constitutional settlement but a dynamic process of change with possible uncertain consequences. In the later part of the analysis we will consider the process of devolution using case studies, examples and research reports. Implications of Devolution Even following devolution, there are many issues and concerns that are applicable to devolved governments. Elliott et al (2005) write that public sector pay is of critical concerns to governments of Westminster and Edinburgh. Public sector pay accounts for the major part of the government's expenditure and when not controlled by the central government, may have to be controlled according to budget in case of regional or devolved governments. The quality and range of services provided by the public sector is largely dependent on this pay controlled by the government. Within the UK, there is a national rate of pay that may not be sensitive to labour market conditions. However many recent changes have been made and consequently in Scotland there have been pay scale revisions and "public sector

Math problem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Math problem - Essay Example This means that there is some question as to whether this sample is sufficiently random, and whether that sample accurately represents the population. Another question to ask is how representative the sample was, by having only 50 represented could result to sample size as reported in guideline 3 of the article. In addition, the data that is used comes from the parents, rather than a single observer. As a result, there is likely to be significant variation in the observed results. Lastly, the question one remains asking is that the conclusions made are based on what? The study does not tell us the values of comparison in order to reach at the conclusion, it is important to consider guideline 8 in making the conclusions since sometimes the comparison values could not be significant to warrant such a conclusion made. The data reported by the parents is essentially anecdotal, rather than being an actual measure of the childs activity or energy level. The parents perception of how active their child is at any particular moment may be affected by the parents own mood and tolerance for activity at the time. If a parent is feeling particularly harried or overwhelmed, a lesser level of activity on the part of their child may seem more "active" than usual. Conversely, if a parent is feeling less stressed, they may be more tolerant of activity before they reach the point where the activity of the child seems "high" or "excessive". In other words, the parents perception of the childs activity may be inconsistent (According to guideline 1 we would conclude that the type of study is not appropriate), both due to the lack of a standard scale of measurement, and by their own emotional state. Finally, this particular study was sponsored by a group that has a vested interest in the outcome. In particular, the stated outcome favors the company that sponsored the study-this is similar to what we observe in guideline 2 of the article. This calls