Monday, September 30, 2019

Social Problem

Nowadays , social problems are very serious and we should pay more attention to these problems. As a part of the community , we should be concerned about social problems. Every day we read the newspaper and get the news from media, almost every day the newspaper and the media reports are about the social problems. All sorts of social problems will appear in our surrounding , but we cannot turn a blind eye and a deaf ear. We need to find ways to solve these social problems so that the society will not be mess order.Social problems are some condition , set of events or group of persons constitutes a troublesome situation that needs to be changed or improved. Social problems are like time bomb , when it explode, it will be out of control. Social problems let us live in a pressured situation. Today’s society there are too many examples of social problems, I took a few more popular examples to explain in detail. Explain the social problems in the end how it affects the growth of ou r country and the ways of prevent to reduce the social issue. Now, we take a look at what social problems are the most popular .Firstly ,the most common and the most serious social problems in our life are gangsters. Speaking of gangsters, will make people tremble with fear. Gangsters are not limited to age, previous may be older establishment gangsters, now both primary and secondary schools also have a group of students create a own gangster within the school. They will require students to pay a protection fee , if students do not, they will use means to force students pay protection money . Gangsters may intimidation , harassment and find someone to hit the student until the student willing to pay money.As long as someone offended gangster boss or brother, the man must not be at peace. Gangsters will send someone to give warning and told the man who is the stronger one. Gangsters also smoking , fighting , make trouble and provoke others everywhere. In short , they do any bad thin g, also bully the weak . New gangs also never lost on the old gang . Next, the gangs will cause the growth of our country to have a negative impact . These will be brought to the community a lot of unnecessary trouble and fear. So that the country would be in a very unstable state.People in other countries will be disappointedin our country, they are afraid to trade in our country and the economic will downturn . Just so that our country is greatly losses and enough to affect the development of the country . Moreover , there are several ways to prevent the establishment of gangs . The first step is whenever you see someone organization gangs immediately alarm . Second is counselors to counsel these kids . Also let the parents pay more attention to children’s behavior and trends ,and more concern for children .The second problem is traffic jams , in our country always occur the traffic problems especially during the peak time are often traffic jams . I often think that our cou ntry really is so many cars ? Our country has many public transport can ride like bus and LRT . In the end is too rich or people do not want to take the public transport with others or they do not want wake up early to catch the bus and LRT . In my observation , most of the vehicles are driving one in the working hours . And a family is more than owning a car . When there is the festival season , have long queues of vehicles on the road .People are required to spend half a day in the car ,it's really a headache . Apart from that ,this problem makes our country's poor reputation when it comes to the transportation. Foreigners evaluation of our traffic is low. Affect the ranking of our country is seriously lagging behind . This is enough to affect our reputation severely damaged . Following that ,have a problem we have to go to solve . The solution of a traffic jam is government can greatly promote the public transport and explain the advantage of using public transport .If just your colleagues or friends to the same place , that simply driving a car is enough or everyone turns driving their own car with a colleague or friend . As long as people are willing to comply , then the problem can be solved . The third problem that I think need to be paid more attention to is illegal immigrant. Illegal immigrants mixed the name suggests is that there is no approved . Illegal immigrants once they are caught will suffer severe punishment or be forced to exit or leave to country they are in.If the illegal immigrants think that the country is not properly managed, these immigration will be able to sneak into our country without any fear of being caught or punished . Our country has a huge and important part of responsibility and also need to ensure that there are no problems in the country due to these immigrants. Illegal immigrants seemingly innocuous, but in fact , it hurt not to be looked down upon small . Their arrival so that people reduce jobs , because their low sala ries , better efficiency and the important one, they are hardworking than people in our country .The other is that they cause a lot of distress and they will rob and trouble . Many social chaos is manufactured or are cased mostly by them . We should immediately think of a way to solve this problem so that we are getting the security and tranquility. The checkpoint staff must strictly regulate immigration checkpointsand not to let them muddle through . People are urgerto pay very close attention to suspicious person around and if found, it has to be immediately notifiedto the police . Police and people ‘s cooperation are essential and vital to crack down on illegal immigrants.The fourth social problem is divorce which happens in every place around the world. There will be a divorce as long as there are men , women , and married . I really cannot figure out why people want a divorce and had chosen to marry . Although divorce is very easy , but the marriage is not child’ s play . Since the original thought of marriage , think of the consequences of divorce , do not impulse bad throughout life . The high divorce rate is not a good thing for a country . If the divorce rate is higher , on behalf of the people does not pay attention to the views of marriage .Marriage is a sacred thing , many people have opted for early marriage . For this reason and cause the divorce rate to improve . This country has given the impression that marriage is a failure , this once again undermines the reputation of the country . What method can reduce the divorce rate ? It is up to people to their own ideas . Government should be called on the people to not be too early marriage , early marriage has a lot of potential problems . Now , society difficult and having a family is not an easy task .Marriage gave birth to the child , if divorce the child does not have a perfect family environment to grow and will leave to childhood shadow . Ultimately suffering only child . So , th ink about it before marriage . The fifth is environmental pollution problems , this is also the community most concern . Environmental pollution refersto human discharged to the environment than its self-purification capacity of substances or energy , so that the quality of the environment to reduce the phenomena of an adverse impact on the survival and development of humanity , ecosystems , and property .The most common are water pollution , air pollution , and noise pollution . Water pollution will harm to human death and directly affect the water quality of the drinking water source then produce many diseases . Furthermore , it will constrain economic development because the industrial use of water as a raw material or washing products and directly participate in the processing of products. Deterioration of the water quality will directly affect the quality of product. Water pollution for human health , agriculture , fisheries and other sideline have largely affected the developm ent of the economy!Air pollution will affect the body health and also the impact of weather and climate . People believe that climate change may cause a variety of air pollutants , carbon dioxide has a significant role in . The content of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere according to the current rate of increase continues , after a number of years will make the north and south ends of the ice melting , leading to global climate anomalies . Noise pollution will damage to the hearing of the human body . The worse case can cause deafness. Noise can induce a variety of diseases .The impact of noise on sleep great , people even in sleep , hearing , have to bear the noise stimulus . It will distract people ’ s attention , leading to unresponsive , fatigue , decreased work efficiency and error rate rise . So, we must not underestimate the importance of these three pollution damaged. It must find a way to prevent . Prevention and treatment methods for all pollution is severely punish ed or give warning to them . Noise prevention measures is to minimize the sound decibel value or use sound – absorbing , sound insulation , noise barrier isolation and other measures .For air pollution is reducing emissions of pollutants and afforestation . There is also a most important is to start with ourselves . Do not throw waste , the perfect city is everyone ’s responsibility . Lastly , the way of preventing water pollution is before we drink the water , we boiled or filter it . We also can actively promote â€Å"clean production† . Clean production to change the existing unsustainable methodsof raw material and energy consumption , to encourage sustainable production using non- toxic products . Of course , our government should control our environment .Cannot just verbally agreed to without action because protecting the environment is everyone ‘s responsibility . As a conclusion , all these issues makes me feel , is social change or human nature ha s changed . Only human indifference , will bring up this society today . We can really make it cool treatment? Our society is reduced to a point where it is we want to do ? The first condition is the protection of society the people must lead by example . In fact , as long as everyone concerted effort to make a change, it certainly can . If everyone changed , then the social will peaceful . I sincerely hope we can do this !

Sunday, September 29, 2019

John Stuart Mill Essay

Utilitarianism is a moral theory generally considered to have been founded by Jeremy Bentham, a 19th century English philosopher and social reformer. It is centered on the concept of happiness, and those who seek it. The idea is that all people seek happiness, and that it is the ultimate goal of all human beings to be happy. Therefore, according to classical utilitarianism, when a person wishes to act in an ethically sound manner he or she should strive to bring about the greatest possible amount of happiness for the greatest possible amount of people. This is known as the greatest happiness attitude. Another, similar idea is that a person should always strive, if incapable of producing happiness, to reduce unhappiness. As the theory is wholly focused on the outcome of a person’s actions, it is classed as a â€Å"consequentialist† theory, i. e. a theory that concerns it with consequences and not actions in themselves. Utilitarianism can be seen as a highly mathematical theorem, looking at the total units of happiness that a particular action gives rise to. For instance, I might want to go out and have drinks with some friends and my boyfriend or I could find something more family oriented and do something fun with my son and my boyfriend. Consider that my son is only little for a short time, would I rather have drinks and regret the hang over later or share a memory with my little boy. Taking my son out for a night might add 10 units of happiness to the world’s total stock, whereas going out for drinks would only add a total of 6. Certainly, the latter would make a greater quantity of people happy (the former only benefiting one person), but it is the quantity of happiness produced that is of the first importance to utilitarianists. But let us look more closely at Bentham’s utilitarianism. To understand his approach more fully, it is vital that one come to an appreciation of exactly what he meant by â€Å"happiness†. His ideas here are, really, quite simple. Bentham thought that we should look at happiness as being based on pleasure. Naturally, it follows from this that he also felt that we should treat unhappiness as something consisting of pain. This view on happiness has led his particular brand of utilitarianism to be seen as a hedonistic theory. Furthermore, Bentham did not distinguish between different forms of pleasure. To him, anything that gave rise to happiness – be it drugs or reading – was fundamentally good. Other philosophers have striven to develop Bentham’s theories further. One of the more notable of these is John Stuart Mill, who sought to distinguish between what he termed â€Å"higher† and â€Å"lower† pleasures. Mill disagreed with Bentham’s all-inclusive view on pleasure, feeling that there was a fundamental difference between the varying forms of pleasure available to people, and that some had a finer quality than others. It was Mill who put forth the notion that it is â€Å"better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied†. Mill’s idea was fairly straightforward, namely that while there are many simple, sensual pleasures in life, such as eating or drinking, there are also certain pleasures which are of a more cerebral nature, such as listening to classical music or reading poetry. According to Mill, these latter pleasures are of a greater quality, and should therefore be considered more important. He posited that someone who has experienced both forms of pleasure would naturally feel inclined to choose the higher pleasures. For instance, a man who is familiar with both tasty food and good poetry would view the latter as something more valuable than the former. This is a fairly straightforward exploration of the most common forms of utilitarianism. The most important thing to remember about these theories is that they are consequentialist and, above all else, that they are concerned with the greater good. Utilitarianists don’t care about your personal agenda or whether your actions happen to hurt some people. As long as the eventual results of your actions lead to more pleasure than pain, you’re in the clear. There were a number of things Mill did to change Utilitarianism. Mill said: â€Å"Better to be a human dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be a Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied. † Mill also linked Utilitarianism with Christian morality. He connected the theory with the teachings of Jesus. He said that the ‘ideal perfection of utilitarian morality’ was abiding by the ‘Golden Rule’-‘Do onto others as you have them do to you. ’ This made many more people accept Utilitarianism as it linked with their religion. Rules were introduced into Utilitarianism by Mill. The rules introduced were ones that generally brought about the greatest happiness for the greatest number. For example, Mill argued that society needs the principal of truthfulness as it brings the most happiness on the long run. Utilitarianism is a theory that Christians can relate to. Mill brought it closer to the Christian church by introducing Rule Utilitarianism. This would be closer to the principals Jesus lived by. For example, it was against the Jewish law to work on the Sabbath but when people were in need, Jesus bent this rule and healed them. The largest connection Christianity has with Utilitarianism is the death of Jesus. He was crucified and died for the sins of mankind-sacrificing himself for the majority. However, Utilitarianism does accept evil where Christianity most certainly does not.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Capital Budgeting

Are there any similarities between a firm’s capital budgeting decisions and an individual’s investment decisions? Capital budgeting is the process of analyzing potential additions to fixed assets. Capital budgeting is very important to firm’s future because of the fixed asset investment decisions chart a company’s course for the future. The firm’s capital budgeting process is very much same as those of individual’s investment decisions. There are some steps involved. First, estimate the cash flows such as interest and maturity value or dividends in the case of bonds and stocks, operating cash flows in the case of capital projects. Second is to assess the riskiness of the cash flows. Next, determine the appropriate discount rate, based on the riskiness of the cash flows and the general level of interest rates. This is called project’s required rate of return or cost of capital in capital budgeting. Then, find the PV of expected cash flows and the asset’s rate of return. If the PV of the inflows is greater than PV of outflows (NPV is positive), or if the calculated rate of return (IRR) is higher than the project cost of capital, accept the project. Question b What is the difference between independent and mutually exclusive projects? Between normal and non-normal projects? Independent projects mean a company can select one or both of the projects as long as they meet minimum profitability. This is because the projects do not compete with the firm’s resources. Projects are independent if the cash flows of one are not affected by the acceptance of the other. Mutually exclusive projects mean if acceptance of one impacts adversely the cash flows of the other which is firm can select one or another project but not both. This is because projects investments that compete in some way for a company’s resources. When projects are mutually exclusive it means that they do the same job. Normal projects have outflows, or costs, in the first year (or years) followed by a series of inflows. Non-normal projects have one or more outflows after the inflow stream has begun. So, we can conclude that the lower the WACC, the higher the value of NPV. Question d 1) Define the term internal rate of return (IRR). What is each project’s IRR? Internal rate of return (IRR) is the discount rate that will equate the present value of the outflows with the present value of the inflows. The IRR is the intrinsic rate of return. By using financial calculator, the IRR for project L is 18. 13% while the IRR for project S is 23. 56%. 2) How is the IRR on a project related to the YTM on a bond? A project’s IRR is the discount rate that forces the PV of the inflows to equal the cost. This is equivalent to forcing the NPV to equal zero. The IRR is the estimate of the project’s rate of return, and it is comparable to the YTM on a bond. 3) What is the logic behind IRR method? According to IRR, which project should be accepted if they are independent? Mutually exclusive? The logic behind IRR method is; if the IRR is more than WACC, the project will be accepted, but the project would be rejected if the NPV is less than WACC. IRR that equal to WACC means it is technically indifference whether we accept or not the project, will not gain any benefit or loss. According to IRR, both projects can be accepted if they are independent because the IRR for both project have percentage more than the percentage of WACC. But, if they are mutually exclusive, only one project that should be accepted that is project S. This is because the IRR for project S is 23. 56% and it is higher compared to the IRR for project L which only 18. 13%. 4) Would the projects’ IRR change if the WACC changed? No, the IRR would not change if the WACC changed. Question e 1) What is the underlying cause of ranking conflicts between NPV and IRR? In the normal project for the NPV profiles to cross one project must have both a higher vertical axis intercept and a steeper slope than the other. A project’s vertical axis typically depends on the size of the project and the size and timing pattern of the cash flows. For example, for the large projects and with large distant cash flows would expect to have relatively high vertical axis intercepts. The slope of the NPV profile depends entirely on the timing pattern of the cash flows. The long-term projects have steeper NPV profiles compared with short-term projects. So, NPV can only cross in two situations which is when mutually exclusive projects differ in scale or size and when the projects’ cash flows differ in terms of the timing pattern of their cash flows (Project L and S). 2) What is the â€Å"reinvestment rate assumption†, and how does it affect the NPV versus IRR conflict? The underlying cause of ranking conflict is the reinvestment rate assumption. All DCF methods assume that cash flows can be reinvested at some rate. This applies to Project L and S. When we calculated their NPV, we discounted at WACC, 10% which means that we assuming that their cash flows could be reinvested at 10%. IRR assumes that cash flows are reinvested at the IRR. Discounting is the reverse of compounding. Compounding assumes reinvestment and also for the discounting. NPV and IRR are both found by discounting, so they both assume some discount rate. NPV calculation is the assumption that cash flows can be reinvested at the project’s cost of capital while the IRR calculation assumes reinvestment at the IRR rate. 3) Which method is the best? Why? The NPV tells us how much a project contributes to shareholder wealth. The larger the NPV, the more value the project adds, and added value means a higher stock price. Thus NPV is the best selection criteria. A project IRR is the discount rate that forces the PV of the inflows to equal the cost. This is equivalent to forcing the NPV to equal zero. However, NPV or IRR give better ranking is depends on which has the better reinvestment rate assumption. NPV is selected because it used as a substitutes for outside capital hence save the firm cost of outside capital. For most firms, assuming reinvestment at the WACC is more reasonable for the following reasons. If a firm has reasonably good access to the capital markets, it can raise all the capital it needs at the going rate, which in our example is 10%. Since the firm can obtain capital at 10%, if it have investment opportunities with positive NPV, it should take them on and it can finance them at a 10% cost. If a firm uses internally generated cash flows from past periods rather than external capital, this will save it the 10% cost of capital. Thus, 10% is the opportunity cost of the cash flows, and that is the effective return on reinvested funds. However, NPV and IRR usually give the same results to accept or reject the project for independent project. NPV and IRR occurs conflict only when mutually exclusive projects are involved. Question f 1) What is the difference between the regular and discounted payback methods? Payback period is defined as the number of years required to recover the funds invested in a project from its operating cash flows. Discounted payback is the length of time required for an investment’s cash flows, discounted at the investment’s cost of capital to cover its cost. Actually, discounted payback is similar to regular payback except that discounted rather than the raw cash flows are used. 2) What are the two main disadvantages of discounted payback? Is the payback method of any real usefulness in capital budgeting decisions? Discounted payback does consider the time value of money, but it still disregard cash flows beyond the payback period, which is a serious flaw. For example, if mutually exclusive projects vary in size, both payback method can conflict with the NPV, which might lead to a poor choice. However, many firms still use the payback to do the capital budgeting decisions. Payback and discounted payback used as a measure of project’s liquidity and risk. The shorter the payback, other things held constant, the greatest the project’s liquidity. This factor is important for smaller firms that do not have really access to the capital markets. Cash flows expected in the distant future are generally riskier than near-term cash flows, so the payback is used as one risk indicators.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Financing Delivery of Healthcare Services Article

Financing Delivery of Healthcare Services - Article Example The current public and private sources of funds for health care financing There are three major sources of healthcare financing for healthcare delivery services in Mexico. While some methods of financing covers the bulk of the financing burden, there are others which caters for only a small percentage of the country’s population, owing to the inaccessibility and unaffordable nature of such methods. The three methods of financing healthcare in Mexico include: General government Government plays a vital role in the financing of healthcare services in Mexico. The contribution of the general government to healthcare financing in this country ranges from 44 to 48% of the annual healthcare budget. In the years 2005, governments contribution to healthcare financing in Mexico was rated at 45.5% of the total healthcare spending, while the same was rated at 48% in the year 2009 (OECD, 2011). The government offers financing through the Ministry of Health, which is responsible for ensurin g that the public health institutions are financed and supplied accordingly, to ensure continuous provision of health services, especially to the rural poor and the people in the informal sector. Private Social Security Insurance The country has established a system of formal social security institutions that offer health insurance for the formally employed, which is financed through a tripartite contribution by the employer, the employee and the government (Cassels, 2005). This way, the social security insurance ensures that the formally employed as well as their families are offered health services, catered for by the tripartite contribution. For the year 2009, private social security insurance catered for 48% of the healthcare financing in Mexico (OECD, 2011). Out-of-pocket The country has a category of people who are not wholesomely covered by either the government or the private insurance financing services, and thus has to depend on their pockets to pay for the healthcare serv ices (Garman, Johnson & Royer, 2011). These are especially the category of people who have enlisted the services of private physicians. The current methods of acquiring money for health care services, research, and training There are various methods that are applied in the acquisition of money for healthcare services, research and training in Mexico. Some of these methods include household contributions through community. Angel financing is one of the methods of obtaining money especially for healthcare services provision, where the angel financiers offer their financing of healthcare in the form of medical loans (Frenk, 2006). Such loans are offered to individuals who are salaried, yet are not able to obtain other forms of financing for their healthcare needs, considering that it is a financing method that does not require any collateral provision to qualify for the loans, while also helping the beneficiaries to avoid their credit cards being burdened with loan charges and loan int erests (Johnson& Stoskopf, 2010). Government-to-Non-governmental Organization collaboration is yet another method that is applied in Mexico to acquire money for healthcare services, research and training. The Mexican government partners with the existing Non-governmental organizations that operate in the country, to provide the necessary funding for

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Immigration law Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Immigration law - Case Study Example Sonia wants to come for medical treatment. She doesn’t know how long the treatment will take: Sonia is not an EEA national, so she would not be provided medical treatment on the National Health Service (NHS) (Sedwill 2007). She would be denied entry to UK on this basis. To gain entry to UK, she will have to arrange for private treatment, for which she will have to pay for herself without the need to work during her stay. She will also not be funded through the public funds (Sedwill 2007). She will be required to provide a confirmation of her arrangements. She will have to specify the exact duration of her treatment to get the visa, without which she would not be able to get her visa extended after 6 months of her stay. Also a letter from a doctor would be required, stating the exact nature of her treatment and the duration. A confirmation would be needed that she would leave the Country after the treatment.b)Kristina wants to come and help care for her new-born grand-daughter: Kristina will enter UK on a visitor visa, which allows her to stay in the country for just six months (Sedwill 2007). Hence, she cannot stay any longer for the purpose that she is going, unless she applies for a multiple-entry visa. Her sponsors (her relatives) will need to provide a letter of sponsorship (Sedwill 2007), stating their relation with her. Kristina, being ineligible to paid jobs and funding by the public funds, will have to provide confirmation of financing her own trip, unless her sponsors decide to finance her trip... c) Justin wants to visit his brother who is an asylum seeker: Justin's brother is under protection by the UK Government (BBC News 1999). To gain entry in UK to meet his brother, Justin will have to get a visitor visa that will allow him to stay in UK for 6 months, and he must provide a confirmation that he will leave the country after that duration is over. He will be required to provide an evidence of his relation with his brother (Sedwill 2007), and before he can get the clearance, a confirmation by the Government of UK proving the asylum-status of his brother, and a permission letter to Justin by the immigration officer would be needed, allowing him to visit his brother. Justin will have to provide a confirmation, in the form of a financial statement, that he will be able to support his stay by his own means. As his brother is under protected custody (BBC News 1999), being a non-EEA national, Justin will have to provide a certificate of approval, without which he will be denied entry in UK as a visitor to an asylum seeker. d) Gregory has been accepted to do a university course. His English is poor: to enter UK as a student, Gregory needs to provide all the documents to prove his eligibility as a prospective student (Sedwill 2007). He needs to provide a student visa issued by the university which should be a recognized institution, along with a letter from that university confirming his admission and stating the charges for the study course. He needs to

Ford Case (Marketing) Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ford Case (Marketing) Analysis - Essay Example However, according to Sullivan-Diaz, her father was never interested in services part of the business and it was only a necessary adjunct of the business. The problem starts right from here because Sullivan family has been unable to identify the strong interdependency between product sales and services. Nowadays, marketing products and services are interdependent because of the changing consumers’ buying behaviour. Consumers make the purchase after considering how the services later on, will benefit them. However, at Auto World, a huge difference has been noticed between their efforts to market products and providing services. First, the showroom was built in modern building with latest facilities and ambient whereas, the services section was hidden behind the showroom and its building was old and greasy however, the equipment was latest. Second, services section had sufficient capacity to handle more repair work but the capacity was not being achieved because of the requirements of more mechanics and more focus of the staff towards unit sales. The major difference between marketing products and service operations is that services require the personal contact or face-face meeting. At Auto World, the buyers of new cars were given a warm welcome however, whenever the same customer came for car services, he used to wait for many hours. The major reason is that marketing cars was being considered to be a highly efficient process whereas, service operations were very inefficient and even the service layout was not properly developed. Auto World is offering tangible products and services to the customers, and both these components are contributing to create value for the customers. Therefore, company should give great focus towards both marketing cars and services operations. If the company has been able to introduce used cars after ensuring their full repair and maintenance, then it should be also efficient in its services operations.

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

E-loyalty and Customer relationship management Essay

E-loyalty and Customer relationship management - Essay Example Some sole proprietors use online programs in targeting nationwide and global customers by using accurate information regarding the business and the use consumer programs such as credit card reward programs as a strategy in keeping their loyal customers satisfied. It is common that these reward systems are tailored according to the needs and expectations of the customers. Business-to-business (B2B) or e-biz is an effective tool in the exchange of products, services, and information between business and consumers. Over the years, B2B has proven to be very effective in closing business transactions between the business owner and the customers. According to a study that was published back in early 2000, the profitability of using B2B has exceeded the ‘e-tailing’ by 10 to 1% and is expected to have an annual growth of 41% over the next few years. (Jones, 2001) Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a ‘software’ that helps a business organization in managing its customers better. (Walsh, 2007) CRM software enables the sales people and service representatives to have a quick access over the information related to the customers. This allows the sales force of the company to immediately provide the customers with a more customized service according to the customers’ needs regarding the products and services the business is offering. (Williams, 2006) According to Kumar and Reinartz (2006), CRM is defined as a strategic process of selecting the customers a firm can most profitably serve. It is also capable of shaping the interactions between a company and these customers with the goal of optimising the current and future value of the customers for the company. (Kumar and Reinartz 2006, 6) Based on the definition, CRM is a process of enterprise-wide that has the potential to affect decisions related to marketing communications, pricing, customisation of products and services, resource allocation across different customers

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Biologic Manufacturing and the FDA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Biologic Manufacturing and the FDA - Essay Example Biologics combined with radioactive components are considered biologics, while biologics combined with non-radioactive components are drugs. While most analyses of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) focus on the agency's authority to decide which new treatments reach the American marketplace, the FDA plays a regulatory gatekeeper role at another key point in the biological development process. In reviewing investigational new drug applications (INDs), the FDA determines which experimental therapies, vaccines, and other biological products advance from preclinical through clinical development to the licensing phase (Mark). Biopharmaceuticals are licensed under Section 351 of the Public Health Service Act (Mark)and in specific sections of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. To obtain marketing approval for a new biologic, an applicant submits a biologics license application (BLA) (Koan and Ellis). The BLA must permit agency reviewers to make four principal determinations: The growth media falls under Federal food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (the act) and hence, controlled by the same, specifically, if the media is derived from any protein, a label stating the possibility of the media as an allergen should be stated.

Monday, September 23, 2019

Competitive Advantage of Marks and Spenser Essay - 1

Competitive Advantage of Marks and Spenser - Essay Example The present research has identified that during the 1997 period Marks and Spencer took important strategic decisions like pushing the supplier groups to procure materials the far eastern and African region to help lower the cost of production. Side by side the firm also focused on not only enhancing the product assortments but also transforming its image from conservative to fashion minded.In taking such decisions the company found that the cost of supply chain activities increased for the goods being procured from Asiatic and African countries to their United Kingdom distribution houses. Again focusing on enhancement of product assortments meant the display of garments in small numbers thus failing to counter high demand. Moving over to high trend fashion wear also led the company to bear large chunks of unsold merchandises. Thus the past strategic decision taken by Marks and Spencer is found to render negative impact on its competitive advantage. In the present scenario, Marks and Spencer also were noted to carry out some important strategic activities like focusing on rendering diversification to the existing category and groups of products. Moreover, the company also worked in an expansion of the size of the stores from small units to help in the effective stocking of its diversified displays and thus gaining in more consumers. Other strategic decisions incorporated by the firm are acquiring of other small firms for expansion of business to other areas and also in creating distribution houses for stocking merchandises. Marks and Spencer did not only focused on filling up the stores with different product categories and assortments but also in opening up diversified units like food marts and other specialty stores. Strategic decisions like changing on in displays to help stock more products also helped the store in grabbing more consumers. Again the business of Marks and Spencer also took resort of a diversification strategy thus moving into newer service se ctors like finance and insurance. All these strategic decisions taken by the company helped in augmenting the level of competitive advantage of the concern in the light of other competitors.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Kraft Foods Essay Example for Free

Kraft Foods Essay Kraft Foods is an extremely well recognized brand that provides a vast array of food and beverage products with the ultimate goal â€Å"to become North America’s best food and beverage company† (Kraft, 2014). Critical analysis of Kraft Foods mission, vision and values statements revealed some necessary changes to enhance organizational success. Kraft Foods will become the top in their industry by continuing to develop and sell products tailored to their consumers needs/demands. Assisting consumers to make healthy life choices is part of their dedication to stakeholders. Through incentives and rewards employees will remain dedicated, motivated and have pride in Kraft Foods products thereby increasing financial growth. Kraft Foods understands that contributing to the community is essential for lasting success. Actively protecting natural resources will leave a huge footprint and legacy for Kraft Foods.  Kraft Foods mission statement is very generic and broad in nature. By narrowing and focusing this goal they will guarantee their future success. The vision and values statements are well written and invoke memories and emotions from their stakeholders thereby drawing them to Kraft Foods. Introduction Since its establishment in 1903 Kraft Foods has become a well respected household name (Kraft Foods, 2014). Over the last century Kraft Foods has bought out many of their competitors and expanded their line of products, keeping them as one of the top food and beverage companies in the nation (Kraft Foods). In order to remain successful and accomplish their mission  it is imperative their business statements accurately reflect their vision and values. In this paper the author will discuss the mission, vision and values of Kraft Foods and how these powerful statements contribute to their overall success in the industry. Mission Statement Analysis Every organization should present a powerful clearly articulated statement as to why their organization exists (McNamara, 2009). This statement should convey to outside stakeholders the benefits of conducting business together to increase chances of financial success. Kraft Food’s mission statement reads â€Å"our aim is to be North America’s best food and beverage company† (Kraft Foods, 2014). Kraft Food’s mission statement is very simple, generic and lacks sufficient depth, especially given the size of the Kraft Foods organization. Mission statements should include strong powerful words that articulate and enunciate an organization, resulting in a memorable impression that remains on the forethought of all the stakeholders (Ramjee, n.d.). A mission statement is short term future goals and it is therefore imperative that organizations readdress their mission statements from time to time (Rector, 2010). With all the health phenomenon concerns in North America it is pivotal Kraft Foods continue to reevaluate their mission and re-strategize as needed to remain on the top of their industry and draw new clientele to their organization. The ability to use different marketing strategies, seize different opportunities will draw new stakeholders to Kraft Foods thereby ensuring mission success and financial growth. Vision Statement Analysis An efficient and effective vision statement is a powerful tool that paints a vivid picture while describing how an organization is going to accomplish their mission (McNamara, 2009). This one statement can convey power, confidence and inspire stakeholders (Change Factory, 2014). A vision statement takes into consideration an organizations market, customers, strengths and weaknesses in order to enhance themselves (Change Factory). Kraft Foods vision statement reads â€Å"we’ll get there by continuing to offer products consumers love, creating a performance-based culture that motivates  and excites employees and becomes the best investment in the industry† (Kraft Foods, 2014). With this simple sentence Kraft Foods inspires, motivates and invokes memories from their stakeholders. Painting a vivid picture for stakeholders invokes emotions from past experiences. These memorable impressions stay with stakeholders and they are therefore more likely to support Kraft Foods. This influential statement also describes the most cherished values, services and vision of the future thereby allowing stakeholders to determine if their personal values meet up with that of Kraft Foods future and if investment in this organization is beneficial (Crea, n.d.). Another aspect of vision statements is the ability to state realistic outcomes (Millard, 2010). Realistic outcomes are imperative as they motivate employees and help them focus on something bigger than themselves (Millard). Meeting these goals, â€Å"offering products consumers love† enhances dedications, motivation and pride, which will further enhance Kraft Foods success (Kraft Foods, 2014). The vision statement for Kraft Foods is well articulated, creates a vision of the future company, invokes emotions and draws stakeholders to the organization. Values Statement Analysis In addition to mission and vision statements a values statement will enhance an organizations chance of future success. A values statement is the core of an organization and what values they cherish (Edmunds, 2014). It defines how employees will behave and how actions and behaviors will be evaluated (Edmunds). A values statement reveals how an organization values not only their customers, but suppliers, shareholders and stakeholders (Edmunds). At Kraft Foods their values statement reads to â€Å"make a difference in communities, protect greatest resources – land, air, water, people, educate and motivate to make healthful choices, food safety and quality, and workplace safety† (Kraft Foods, 2014). It is essential a values statement identify and address the organizational values in a clear concise manner so every stakeholder knows and understands what will be tolerated within the organization. The clear writing of Kraft Foods vision statement allows people to contribute to something bigger then themselves. An added benefit of a values statement is rewards and recognitions are structured around this  statement and those employees who embrace the organizational values are identified and rewarded (Edmunds). This statement tells shareholders how the organization hires and promotes individuals and demonstrates that Kraft Foods external suppliers are in alignment with the organizations values, thus enhancing bonds of trust and respect. Alignment of Goals/Needs with Stakeholders Interests The mission, vision and value statements all work together to define an organization. Additionally these statements need to address the goals and needs of the shareholders and stakeholders thereby insuring future investors. Through their business statements Kraft Foods specifically addressed four stakeholder needs they hope to meet. Kraft Foods addresses consumers by focusing on â€Å"quality, safe food that consumers love† in their vision and values statements (Kraft Foods, 2014). Additionally Kraft Foods values statement discusses their dedication to helping North Americans â€Å"make healthy food choices† (Kraft Foods). Their dedication is also evident by the accumulation of healthy name brands products, such as Back to Nature granola (Kraft Foods). The values statement of Kraft Foods also addresses the organizations dedication to â€Å"making a difference in the community† (Kraft Foods, 2014). Kraft Foods is leaving a positive impression, huge footprints and taking massive strides â€Å"to make the world a better place with every action they take† (Kraft Foods). This is apparent by their dedication to food drives aimed at fighting hunger, providing humanitarian support, building playgrounds, and planting gardens (Kraft Foods). Kraft Foods also addresses their employees, one of the biggest stakeholders, in their business statements. Employees at Kraft Foods are â€Å"treated with respect, provided a safe work environment, and encouraged to do great things† (Kraft Foods, 2014). This organization understands that success is dependent on motivated, driven and dedicated employees that take pride in their work. Additionally, through their business statements Kraft Foods is telling the outside world about their employee commitment thus developing respect from the community, industry and other stakeholders. Kraft Foods understands that in order to be successful a strong cooperate governance must be establish to help balance the needs of shareholders and stakeholders (Kraft Foods, 2014). â€Å"Kraft Foods Board of Directors believe effective corporate governance provides a strong framework to assist them in upholding their fiduciary responsibilities to shareholders and promote long term success of the organization† (Kraft Foods). Improvements of the Company Statements Kraft Foods is one of the largest organizations in North America and it is essential their business statements accurately reflect their dedication and drive to succeed. Although admirable, Kraft Foods mission statement is very generic and lacks the special connection to draw stakeholders to the organization. In comparing McNamara’s list of criteria for a well written mission statement Kraft Foods falls short (2009). This statement is not powerful, not memorable, does not discuss growth and profit sufficiently and does not target specific clientele (McNamara). Additionally their goals are extremely far reaching and unattainable. The mission statement needs to be more focused in order to keep stakeholders motivated and driven for success. The vision statement is well written and invokes emotions and memories from stakeholders while also being descriptive in how they will achieve success. Millard states vision statements should be clear, memorable, realistic and discuss positive outcomes (2010). Kraft Foods addresses each one of these criteria in their vision statement. This powerful statement draws stakeholders to the organization and makes they want to be a part of the success. It is the author’s opinion that Kraft Foods values statement clearly articulates the values Kraft Foods cherishes. This statement motivates people to join the Kraft Foods team and become part of something bigger. Kraft Foods is dedicated to leaving a lasting impression and legacy not only with consumers but the environment and this is clearly communicated in their values statement. Conclusion Developed in 1903 Kraft Foods has become one of North America top brands. Through their mission, vision and values statement Kraft Foods is able to communicate to stakeholders why the organization exists, where they are going in the future, how they will get there and their dedication to the world around them. Although some adjustments can be made to their mission statement, overall these statements are clearly written and draw stakeholders to Kraft Foods by invoking their emotions, memories and values. References Change Factory. (2014). The Components of a Good Vision Statement. Change Factory.Retrieved July 13, 2014 from http://www.changefactory.com.au/our-thinking/articles/thecomponents-of-a-good-vision-statement/ Crea, T. (n.d.). A Good Mission Statement. All About Leadership. Retrieved July 13, 2014 fromhttp://www.all-about-leadership.com/good-mission-statement.html Edmunds, S. (2014, May 6). What is a Value Statement? EHow. Retrieved July 12, 2014 fromhttp://www.ehow.com/about_5063071_value-statement_.html Kraft Foods. (2014). Retrieved July 12, 2014 fromhttp://www.kraftfoodsgroup.com/home/index.aspx McNamara, C. (2009). Developing a Mission Statement. Management Library Online. RetrievedJuly 12, 2014 from http://managementhelp.or/strategicplanning/mission-visiom-vales.htm Millard, S. (2010, December 7). Characteristics of Mission and Vision Statements. University ofHawai’i Hilo. Retrieved July 10, 2014 fromhttp://hilo.hawaii.edu/strategicplan/documents/SPC18_10_Mission_and_Vision .pdf Rector, B. (2010, April 18). Clear, Concise Mission Statements. Memphis Business Journal.Retrieved July 10, 2014 fromhttp://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/stories/2010/04/19/smallb2.html Ramjee, P. (n.d.). The Important of Making a Good First Impression in Business. Chron SmallBusiness. Retrieved July 13, 2014 from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/importancemaking-good-firstimpression-business-23065.html

Friday, September 20, 2019

Survey on Sanitary Conditions and Hygiene

Survey on Sanitary Conditions and Hygiene ABSTRACT Mauritius is known as a paradise island, attracting thousands of tourists each year. During the last two decades this sector has undergone a rapid development making it one of the most important pillars of our economy. Nowadays our country relies a lot on this industry as it is a source of revenue for foreign currency. Our hotels accommodate the majority of this population. Hotels provide them with basic accommodation such as lodging and food facilities. Therefore any wrong management in this sector can make drastic changes to our economy. The Government did a lot to promote this sector, by amending laws protecting the environment while other authorities are working hard to avoid propagation and controlling communicable diseases. Therefore hotels have an important role in maintaining a good hygienic level and also in the fight of controlling any diseases or infections by reporting them to the authorities concerned. Thus a study was carried out to study the general sanitary practices of medium size hotels of Mauritius. Fifty hotels were selected at random throughout the island. Two survey questionnaires were designed. Questionnaire 1 was designed for my personal view to assess the hygienic conditions of food preparation area, rooms and other facilities available whereas questionnaire 2 was designed to assess the knowledge of the food handlers concerning various issues. After carrying out the surveys, it was found that simple hygienic practices were lacking among the food handlers. Moreover some hotels sanitary conditions were not satisfactory concerning certain issues, thus not complying with the recommended laws. Good sanitary facilities were not provided by the hotels management. CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Overview A hotel is an establishment providing paid lodgement on short time basis. It provides basic accommodation consisting of room with bed, toilet and bathroom and water facility. It also provides food for room service daily and has its own restaurant (Wikipedia, 2010). Therefore it must have a high level of hygiene. Hotels accommodate adults, children and old persons. People coming from all parts of the world. These people are strangers with different life styles and different personal hygiene levels. A good degree of hygiene in the hotel establishment is therefore necessary to counteract any hygienic problems that may arise. Therefore hotels must provide services of good quality with trained personnel. The level of hygiene of staffs must be considered as priority. The workers must cope with all sanitary regulations for themselves to be clean and not to be the cause of any infection spread. Hotels are regulated because of cleanliness reason and sanitary practices which help to prevent the spread of diseases and parasites. Inspections are made to ensure they operate safely complying with all regulations such as Public Health Act, Safety and Health Act or the Food Act. (FAQ, 2010). From a research carried out by Environmental Health Division in the United States, inspections carried out by the inspectors were mainly to have a visual examination for overall cleanliness and soundness of building construction. Moreover simple inspections were done concerning proper washing of dishes like cups and glasses, proper laundering of bed and bath linens. Other inspections performed were to look in the maintenance of other room furnishings and for the absence of rodents and insects that are of great importance in preventing diseases. These inspections are effected according to the Tourist Accommodation Regulation (Environmental Health, 2010). Hotels are inspected at least once per year and sometimes much more depending on complaints arising from the public. In United States, Fire Marshal approval is an important factor else no permit is delivered (Environmental Health,2010). . In Mauritius hotels license are issued after approval of an EIA and compliance of all health codes. Food hygiene training is an important factor in hotels. Adopting a safe food handling practice is an important factor for effective management of food safety. A study carried out by the International Journal of Environmental Health Research on food hygiene training practices by interviewing managers and food handlers. It showed that most of the food handlers had undertaken formal food hygiene training courses but many others did not and still were preparing food, including high risk foods. Pre-training support and on-going supervision was absent, thus limiting its effectiveness. It is believed that food handlers are in many cases causes of food contamination (Taylor and Francis, 2008). Researches effected in Wales, showed many that hotels were criticised for a number of failures. Numerous high risk foods were kept past their use by dates. Chopping boards were in a state that could no longer be disinfected properly due to their worn state while mouldy plastic bread containers were also spotted. Other hotels were criticised for inadequate level of food hygiene awareness among its staff while another had a leaking cellar roof (Woodrow, 2009). Other researches reported that in United States, there were cases where rooms were causes of sickness where housekeeping staff was not properly doing their job (Conrad,2008). In New York, during an inspection it was observed that a hotel room was infested by bed bugs, mice and other vermin (Riverside Studio, 2009). Studies carried out in other parts of the world have demonstrated that hotels often lack a good hygiene level. Carelessness of workers lead to food contamination and other infections. However our country is not the best compared to them. This study is being carried out to investigate the level of hygiene in our medium size hotels of Mauritius. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES Aims of the study The aim of the study is to assess the level of hygiene present in medium size hotels of Mauritius. Food handlers are to be assessed concerning food hygiene practices in food processing area. Housekeeping staffs are to be assessed about the importance of hygiene in rooms and also evaluating the level the knowledge of workers concerning communicable diseases. Recommendations were also made for improvements. Objectives of the study The objectives of the study are to: Taking a sample size of at least 50 hotels around Mauritius to have an overview evaluation of the level of hygiene over the whole island. Carry out a survey for my personal view of hygiene in hotels. Carry out a second survey to assess the knowledge of workers about hygienic importance in their working place Compare the sanitary facilities available in these hotels to the law requirements. Analyse the data and to make propose recommendations for improving the level of hygiene and the sanitary facilities available. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW Hygiene Hygiene is described as the science of preserving health in connection to cleanliness. It compromises all those measures necessary to detect and prevent infection and intoxication which may be harmful to health. The aim of a good hygiene is to provide consumers with both a good service and safe food. It involves all measures directed to ensure a safe and good quality product and service. Hygiene is an important factor in a business as it helps to protect and also promote ones reputation. In order to have all these, it is a must to comply with all Acts Regulations made in the law (schurmann,2008). Food poisoning Food poisoning is one result of poor hygienic practices. We are surrounded by tiny living organisms that cannot be seen without a microscope. These organisms are called microorganisms. Some are harmless whereas those which are harmful are called pathogens. They are found everywhere. An example is Staphylococcus aureus living on the skin as a normal flora. The same bacteria if in contact with food, can cause food poisoning. This is one of the most common food poisoning bacteria. Another example is E.Coli living naturally in our intestines for breaking down of food, but when in the urinary tract, it causes serious infections (Frazier W, 1995). Contamination can be made by different bacteria such as Bacillus cereus, Clostridium perfringens and Clostridium botulinum. The symptoms arising when consuming food harboring these harmful bacteria are familiar to most people. They are namely vomiting, headache, abdominal pain and diarrhea. There is loss of fluid through vomiting and diarrhea in most severe cases. Those who are more prone to such risk are youngs and elderly or already ill people. Therefore sanitary conditions play an important role in preventing such disease to happen. Necessary precautions must be taken at all stages in food preparation and most important when this concerns bulk production of food as in hotels (JFraser,Microbiology Book). To prevent food poisoning there are three main things that can be done: stop the bacteria from multiplying by : Bacteria reproduce very if they get suitable conditions: moisture, food, warmth, and time Therefore it is important to prevent such conditions by using proper storage. stop bacteria getting onto the food Keeping food covered Handling food as little as possible Keeping raw and cooked foods separate Keeping animals and pests out of the kitchen Disposing of rubbish in covered bins destroy the bacteria in the food only a few bacteria are able to survive temperatures higher than 70o C. This is why it is important to cook food thoroughly. Food such as meat and vegetables should be chopped into small pieces to ensure cooking. Food that is reheated, should be used only once. The left overs should be discarded. Frozen food should be well defrosted before cooking as it may happen that inner part remain uncooked. Food borne diseases Food-borne disease arises when contaminated food is ingested containing a pathogen. This pathogen causes problems only because of the fact that it reproduces inside the human body which provides all necessary factors for its development. Poor food handling and bad sanitation practices are commonly the cause of food-borne diseases in food establishments. One example is the gut bacteria Escherichia coli causing food-borne disease. It may be present through faecal or other source of contamination. E.coli caused 20 deaths and 200 other cases in Lanarkshire, Scotland in 1996 which needed to be treated during the outbreak. This bacteria is particularly dangerous because few bacterial cells, possibly 20 minimum need be ingested by a person to cause severe symptoms( Maff, 2000). A study carried out in Mekelle Town in Ethiopia to determine the sanitary conditions in 420 establishments including small hotels showed that latrines, hand washing basins, proper type of solid waste disposal and tap water were available at 96.9% , 57.1 % , 39.2% and 93.6% respectively. Proper dish washing and food storage practices were observed at 46% and 52% respectively. But poor personal hygiene among the workers and food handlers were observed. Staphylococcus aureus and E.Coli were found in utensils at a high level which can only result from poor hygienic practices of the workers. (Ethiop.J.Health Dev. 2007). It was observed that sanitary conditions were maintained but however there were conditions where there was non adherence in workers. Our country is not an exception to such food-borne outbreaks. The sanitary inspectors of the Ministry of Health are here to give support to avoid such problems. Water borne diseases Water contamination is common worldwide. The category affected is mainly young people and elders having a poor immune system. A study was carried out in India about the water hygiene behaviours in hotels and restaurants few years ago. It showed that contamination in drinking water is made by man and usually due to improper storage, handling and serving which leads to serious water borne diseases. It has been noticed that in a drinking water sample of 340, 69.1% were non-potable water and 73.2 % had presence of E.Coli due to human faecal matter. Causes to this outbreak were poor hygiene behaviours, storage and handling practices which was known to deteriorate the water quality. This could have been improved by educating the workers and food handlers in these hotels and restaurants. This can result to illness of mainly diarrhoea and vomiting, whereas other symptoms include fever, abdominal pain, headache and giddiness (Pubmed,2003). General sanitary requirements in hotels People normally visit a hotel for short-term basis. There is a continuous flow of incoming and outgoing people. Different people from different countries stay in same room. Therefore rooms must be well sanitized and disinfected after each visit. Aeration and ventilation is important. Cleanliness and sanitary practices play an important role in maintaining this balance. It helps to prevent the spread of diseases and parasites not only to tourists but also our general population. Hotels are therefore inspected to make sure that it copes with the law and that they operate safely following the Health Codes (Lockyer,2003). Points that are inspected and controlled for aiming a good cleanliness and soundness of building facility are : Absence of pests such as rodents and insects Proper handling and storage of trash Proper laundering of bed linens and bed Proper washing of utensils such as plates ,cups and glasses No hazards due to infrastructure of building facility Cloakroom accommodation for staffs Proper services such as power, heat, water General maintainance of area to eliminate potential breeding places for mosquitoes or other vectors No domestic animals in area Fire safety and emergency exits Good hygiene rules Consumer satisfaction is prior to all. Thus a good service and hygienic food and water are important. Rooms should be well maintained. Housekeeping department plays an important role. It is the backbone of any good hotel. Employees of housekeeping department are made responsible for maintenance, as they have to visit each room every day to set the room for same the guest or the next guest. During their routine visit, they check all the possible electric point, water points, gadgets, while replacing linen, soap, shampoo, towel, etc other important factors are listed below. Sanitary design premises should be assessed and designed in such a way to reduce health hazards. Personal Hygiene and Food handlers One must be educated about hygiene and to start oneself should be hygienic in all aspects and should possess a food handlers certificate. Cleanliness Working environment should be maintained clean. There should be a high standard of cleanliness, most important for those handling food stuffs. Awareness knowledge of hygiene practices in work place, communicable diseases awareness. Hands Skin Hand is the main route for contamination. Therefore to avoid food poisoning bacteria to get in contact with food, water and soap must be used for washing time to time. Mouth, nose ear it is the route for staphylococcus bacteria to enter food through coughing, sneezing and scratching. Therefore necessary precautions should be taken be avoid these during food preparation. Sanitary conditions in restaurants A good hygiene is required in food premises to make sure food is safe. It prevents food poisoning and prevent spreading of any communicable diseases resulting from careless personnel or caterers handling food stuffs. Rules such as Cleanliness, Cooking, Chilling and Cross Contamination should be well observed while handling food. Food safety and hygiene practice using Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) is recommended by WHO and FAO to maintain a good quality of food and services (Silva, 2001). Trained personnel should preferably be employed. Facilities such as proper dustbins, wash hand basins and toilets should be made available for the workers. Points that should be observed in aiming a good and safe food hygiene are: ood handlers Certificate Floors (smooth clean) Ceilings / Walls maintained properly Utensils properly washed sterilized Proper sanitary design of kitchen Fly proof and rodent proof Storage accommodation of foods Disposal of waste (Solid and Liquid) Drainage system Wash hand easily available Good aeration / temperature /Humidity Work area spacious enough for workers Showers facility for workers(Working Day / Night) Hygiene in kitchen All employees working in food premises either in the task of preparation, handling or serving food should possess a food handler certificate after having followed a medical inspection by a doctor. They should have a satisfactory knowledge of hygiene and cleanliness and be aware of possible problems caused of improper food handling. Health education plays an important role in promoting food and personal hygiene. All staffs should be given appropriate training. Health inspectors have an important work in providing health education by promoting awareness of dangers of food poisoning and poor hygiene practices Medical certificate The law states that every food handler involved in food business should be in possession of a valid medical certificate. This food handler certificate is issued by a G.M.O and is valid for only 3 years and has to be renewed each year. This certifies that its owner is in good health and is not suffering from any communicable diseases (Food Regulation, 1999) (refer to Appendix 2). Obtention of medical certificate The person has to call at the Health Office of the Ministry Of Health of his region with his national identity card and with two photo passport. An appointment is given for a session of talk on hygienic practices and after due accomplishment, the latter is examined by a Regional Public Health Superintendent (RPHS). Thereafter if the person is observed to be in good health, the certificate is obtained(Food Regulation,1999) Working environment The standard of cleanliness of factory and its workers is a reflection of the standard of efficiency of management and the morale of the working population. Provision has been made in the Occupational Safety and Health Act 2005 concerning welfare of workers and overcrowding in place of work. It says that a place of work shall not be overcrowded as it can cause risks of health injury of the employees. It is mentioned that the space allowed shall not be less than 11 cubic metres per workers (OSHA, 2005, Appendix 3). Kitchen is an example where there is often overcrowding of workers in hotels. Smoking The personnel should be well educated and trained about hygiene in a workplace. Employees should not smoke during work, mainly during preparation of food or while handling any food stuffs or utensils. Smoking is prohibited by law in any public places and moreover smoking in a food preparation area can pass diseases from an individual to another. Customers also can be contaminated. Smokers can transfer harmful bacteria from their mouth to food and thereafter, consumers of these foods may ingest these bacteria in turn. These bacteria can be harmless on the carrier but harmful to another person. Communicable diseases Any person suffering from a communicable disease, boils, sores, acute respiratory infection or bleeding wounds should not be allowed to work in any food premises. A list of these diseases is listed in (Appendix 4). All communicable diseases should also be reported to the Health Offices for treatment. Therefore all employees should possess their food handler certificate and renew it every year by a doctor to ensure that safe food and services are provided to customers. The law has made provisions concerning infectious or communicable diseases. It is said that the occupier of any premises in which a patient resides shall give notice to Sanitary Authority or if visited by a medical practitioner and it is confirmed that the patient is suffering from an infectious disease, health inspector of the region shall made aware of the existence of the disease , name of the patient, the situation of the premises and name of the occupier. (Public Health Act,Appendix 5). Preventing food contamination We should not forget the motto PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE . Prevention of food contaminations is a must. Appropriate preventive measures should be taken. Employees should give attention to personal hygiene and the working habits in a hotel kitchen. Body should be kept clean by washing and bathing. Hands should be washed at least on every occasion when entering food preparation zone. Hands and arms should he washed thoroughly using soap and water after each visit to the toilet. Avoid use of common towel (use paper that are disposable). Wear clean and washable overall preferably white Keep hands away from mouth, nose ,hair ,ear while working Do not eat while handling food/ preparation Do not wipe hands on overall Use spoons, forks , tongs instead of hands in preparation Avoid useless blabbering while working Smoking, spitting should e avoided in working area Obey food safety signs Keep work area clean Staff facilities maintained in good hygienic conditions A research carried out in 2004 in a popular hotel of Egypt after a major outbreak of Hepatitis A where 351 tourists was contaminated showed that there was poor sanitation, no proper health education and medical examination. An infected worker with imperfect hand hygiene and who was in contact with sewage-contaminated water was the source of this huge outbreak. (Eurosurveillance, 2006) Concerning food safety, the WHO has initiatives for surveillance programme with objectives of a development of an international food safety network, application of HACCP and development of a safety information system. (WHO, 2004). Storage of food Food storage is important industrially. Hotels prepare food for hundreds of persons daily. Therefore a good storage system is necessary. Area should be pest proof, warm, clean and not humid. There are three main categories of food requiring different storage methods. Dry food should be kept in a warm place and not humid to avoid spoilage by microorganisms growth. Chilled food should be stored at an appropriate low temperature, and precautions should be taken in case of electricity cut. Canned food should be verified before using. Stock rotation is important concerning canned products. It is important that you rotate and use your food storage (Caldwell M, 2006). Storage of water An ample supply of water should be provided with adequate facilities for its storage and adequate protection against contamination. Water is used both in food preparation and rooms for toilets and bathrooms. Many aquatic microorganisms can survive and flourish in water with minimal nutrients and can be transferred to people with poor immune system. A study conducted in United States described how gastroenteritis is a common outbreak in hotels. Unsteady state flow and stagnation in distribution systems affect the biological stability of drinking water which promotes bacterial accumulation (Dippold L et al, 2000). Therefore it is important that tanks are fitted tightly with lids and that they are regularly cleaned and sampled for chemical and bacteriological analysis. Cleaning frequency is an important factor. The tanks should be verified in case of rusting of any parts and dates should be noted at each cleaning done. (Logan G, 2008). Tanks should be cleaned at least once every trimester for proper maintainance to avoid microorganism proliferation. Waste disposal A hotel can be considered as a microcosm in itself having the potential of producing all kinds of waste that is hazardous. Hazardous waste comes in many different shapes and forms: it can be liquid, solid, gas or sludge, and more often it is poured down sinks directly or discharged to regular waste stream (Patel A, 2008). The types of waste generated in hotels and their sources are listed below. However there are two main types of hotel waste, solid(dry),known to be non-biodegradable and liquid(wet),biodegradable wastes. The risk and problem that arises are odour, unaesthetic and it acts as breeding place for vector of diseases (flies, rats, rodents), thus a nuisance to health (Wagh V, 2005). Solid waste Solid waste is described as materials of no longer value and which is not meant to be discharged through pipe. These dry wastes comprise of plastic bottles, papers, plastic wrappers, HDPE bags etc. These wastes should not be mixed with the wet waste which may produce bad odor and dirty look. They should be disposed in dry places for storage until collection is done (Wagh V, 2005). Liquid waste Liquid waste is simply discharged in sinks. Wet waste comprises of food and vegetable. Most hotels kitchen sinks are fitted with a garbage disposer (garburator) which is a device installed under the kitchen sink between drain and pipe which shred waste into pieces enough to pass them through plumbing. Grease traps are also fitted to prevent drains to be blocked from fats, oil and grease. Some hotels also provide septic tanks to avoid potential problems that may occur in case there is blockage of main sewage pipes provided by the Government. Elimination of mosquito breeding places The hotels management does the necessary to avoid spreading of diseases. Potential breeding places for vectors are eliminated by draining all roofs water accumulation at least twice a week and insecticides are sprayed. All ponds and garden water are regularly checked and all bottles or containers are removed and bushes like the grass are well maintained. The Ministry Of Health also provide services for spraying insecticides on a regular basis (MOH, 2009 Health surveillance of tourists Tourist can be responsible for spreading of diseases. One recent case notified was in 2009 where the first case of H1N1 flu virus was detected in a French tourist. The Ministry Of Health has provided officers for this specific duty. Health surveillance Officers are responsible to contact every incoming passengers in order to know their health condition on arrival to Mauritius. The hotel management plays an important role as they need to report any kind of communicable diseases occuring in their residence (MOH Health, 2009). The Ministry Of Health has a list of infectious and communicable diseases that are controlled closely as shown in (Appendix 4). CHAPTER 3 : METHODOLOGY Methodology A survey was carried out and two questionnaires were designed where one was for personal view and opinion about the working place and food handlers and the second, to assess the workers and their knowledge to food hygiene.50 hotel in all were chosen throughout Mauritius. Random selection will give a broader view of hygiene in hotels around the island. List of hotel was obtained from the Tourism Authority at Port-Louis and some details obtained at the Municipality and Health offices. The Questionnaires Questionnaire for Personal View of Foodhandlers, Checklist for Kitchen and environment (room, garden, Swimming pool). (Appendix 6) Questionnaire for personal hygiene for the workers (Appendix 7) The questionnaire (Appendix 6) is a checklist concerning the number of workers, personal hygiene at sight, state of preparation area and toilet in the hotel kitchen. The workers who were pointed were mainly cooks, waiters and maids who work in hotel restaurant. A walkthrough was done where access was granted by the management in the kitchen to assess the level of hygiene of the workers and to inspect if they practice personal hygiene. The toilets were also seen and mess rooms. The second part of the questionnaire was dedicated for rooms and the environment such as garden. Points that were observed during the walkthrough inspection were: No of Personnel Sanitary conditions Water availability Lighting Ventilation Refuse disposal Toilets and bathrooms The second questionnaire was designed for food handlers to assess their knowledge about hygienic practices and food poisoning. CHAPTER 4: RESULTS Results and Findings Possession of food handlers certificate among workers General personal hygiene among workers The below bar chart shows the general personal hygiene maintained among workers at work and it can be concluded that 98% of them keep their hands clean, 94% keep their fingernails clean, 75% have their hair covered, 100% keep their body clean. But it could also be observed that only 25% of them keep their overall clean and 13% of them had nail varnish. Wall conditions of kitchens The wall conditions of the kitchens were surveyed and was found to have the following structures ; 82% of them are waterproof, 88% can be observed to be clean, 93% are washable, 82% are without crevices, 94% are painted white and 86% of them are tiled up to 2 meters from floor. Ventilation From figure 6, it can be seen that 83% of the hotels had adopted a good ventilation system using air conditioner for ease of workers while 17% of them did not have appropriate ventilation system. Lighting Figure 7 describes the lighting condition in the preparation area. 78% of the hotels were seen to provide a good lighting system for the workers and 22% had lighting system not satisfactory. Provision for refuse disposal Refuse disposal availability was surveyed and was found that 50% had foot operated pedal bins,70% of the garbage bins were cleaned and disinfected regularly,75% had their bins covered while 95% removed them daily. Room management Room conditions were observed to be at 72% satisfactory. 28% was seen to have a bad room management. Frequency of changing Blanket on bed From Fig 10. it can be observed that 80% of hotels changes bed blanket regularly,5% on a weekly basis and 15% when it seems necessary to do so that is when seen dirty. Bathroom and toilets sanitary conditions From the result obtained during the survey, it has been found that toilets and bathrooms in rooms are at 70% and 75% clean respectively. . Detergents Distribution The figure below gives detail of the type of detergents commonly used in hotels for sanitizing and cleaning purposes and their percentage used. Knowledge of food poisoning During the survey it was observed that only 40% of workers interviewed had a satisfactory knowledge of food poisoning and answered yes to the question whereas the other part could not give explanation food poisoning. Validity of food handlers certificate Professional training by employer From the survey carried out among workers, it was found that among the 70% of workers who were in possession of a food handlers certificate, only 55% of them were valid while 15% of them were

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Low Birthweight Piglets Essay -- Food, Pork Industry

Introduction Low birth weight piglets have high mortality and poor growth postnatally. The pork industry has strategies to increase the piglets’ birth weight. Maternal growth hormone treatment with developmental timing and dose difference increased fetal growth in pigs [1-4]. As GH cannot cross the placenta [5], the increase in fetal growth must due to changes in maternal metabolism and/or placental development and function. Placental weight was increased with maternal GH treatment [4]. However, none of the above studies has demonstrated the effect of maternal GH treatment on placental structural development and function in pigs; therefore, this is the gap that will be addressed in this study. Birth Weight Determinants of fetal growth and birth weight in pigs Birth weight is influenced by several factors during pregnancy, such as parity, maternal nutrition, uterine capacity and litter size. Pigs have two parity groups, sows and gilts. Sows are pigs which have given birth at least 3 times before, and gilts, are pigs that had never been pregnant. The low birth weight of the progeny from gilts might be due to first pregnancy. As gilts are growing when they pregnant, so mother and fetus were competing for limited nitrogenous substrates to meet their needs, and leads to low birth weight in fetus *gatford 2009 & Schoknecht 1993. Piglets from dam which has restriction in food intake or specific nutrients during gestation have reduced in birth weight. The progeny of gilts fed with protein-deficient diet (0.5% protein) in early (d 1 to d44) or late (d 82 to term) during gestation have lower birth weight compared to the control (with 13% protein in diet); whereas protein deficient diet throughout pregnancy caused the progeny weigh... ...reased maternal lean meat percentage *rehfeldt 2001. The backfat depth of pGH treated dams in *gatford 2010 was lower than the controls at farrowing and weaning *. This suggested that GH treatment can stimulate lean growth and inhibiting adipose tissue growth in pigs. The gestation length of sows, but not gilts was being shortened by long term GH treatment. Maternal GH treatment would also affect the concentration of maternal circulating metabolites and hormones. There was an increased in amino acids nitrogen and decreased in free fatty acids in maternal circulation by a 2 or 4 mg GH dose treatments from d 25 to d 51(gatford, 2000). Maternal plasma urea concentration was decreased by 28% by GH treatment with a dose ~15ug/kg from days 25 to 50 *gatford 2009. There was a similar finding in another study with maternal GH treatment in underfed gilts *gatford 2000.

Freedom of Speech -- Censorship Rights Essays

Freedom of Speech Freedom of speech is something that, traditionally, has been unique to the United States. In fact, it was one of the founding principles of our country. It was the group of repressed colonists that decided that they would no longer accept the fact that they were not allowed to speak out against the throne. They decided that they would not accept not being able to denounce the Church of England. And on July 4, 1776, what could be seen as one of the boldest forms of speech ever ensured that never again would American's be subject to the harsh regulation of Great Britain. Then, in 1789, our nation's forefathers made it official with the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, including the first of ten amendments: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.1 Ever since, the United States has been a country known, and in some cases hated, for the freedom it promises to its citizens. As we move into the 21st century, not only do we have speech in the form of oral communication, written correspondence, and even physical action, we have the internet - a global network by which people communicate regardless of their geographic location. Today we see the internet as a vast resource which is exploited for its business prospect as well as its entertainment value. However, there is a problem: Bringing the rest of the world on board with the standards of the United States - or perhaps less arrogantly put - bringing the United States on board with the standards practiced by rest of the worl... ...e only way for everyone across the globe to be able to embrace their individual freedoms while not imposing on the innocent who wish to remain just that - innocent. Bibliography 1 Harjinder Rahanu, "Freedom of Speech", paper, University of Wolverhampton, 2003/2004, 23. 2 Winchel "Todd" Vincent, III, "Freedom of Speech in Cyberspace: Are You a Criminal?", paper, Georgia State College of Law, 1996, 25. 3 "Freedom of Speech is Not Absolute", editorial, CaymanNetNews.com, 2000, 1 4 P. Bernt Hugenholtz, "Copyright And Freedom Of Expression In Europe", paper, University of Amsterdam, Institute for Information Law, 2000, 16 5 Sara Baase, A Gift of Fire (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education/Prentice Hall 2003) 401-420 6 National Coalition Against Censorship, "Internet Free Expression Alliance", paper, National Coalition Against Censorship, 1998, 1

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

The Importance Of Planning For A Stereo Manufacturer :: essays research papers

The Importance of Planning For A Stereo Manufacturer There have been a continuously developing process of recording, prepare & process, and playback equipment during the last century. This has placed the music in a totally new position in our society. Prior to the 20'th century music was only related to special occasions like concerts and the high festivals. This has changed. Nowadays we listen to music wherever we are, in supermarkets, cinemas, radios, official places and even from small pocketsized players. Earlier all music was live, today almost all music we listen to are recordings. This also states that, the trends in the music industry is ever changing. The development of sound-recording technique has matured a serious audio industry. It contains of a wide spectre of different manufacturers, which often link to each other and to other participants in the music/audio industry. Sale of records became the modern audio industry's launch. Because all record players around the world were standardised, the sale of records had an enormous take off. This made it possibilities to earn a good profit in the music/audio industry, and many different equipment manufacturers arised. The market was, and still is, alive because of the continuing audio developments. Radios, cassette players, CD players, DAT players, minidisk players, etc. give rise to even more sales. In the 1960's the firs stereo recordings were made. Soon afterwards, the industry introduced the notion Hi-Fi (high fidelity) just to make clear how far the development had come. When the cassette tape was introduced in the 1960's, many problems were solved. Now it was possible to produce a recorder which could be used when the surroundings were in motion (i.e. in a car) . Now it was workable to bring the source of music were ever people wanted. The cassette could also record, and was extremely easy to use compered to the LP. Also the cassette became standardised. Later we got DAT, CD, minidisks, etc. which all have brought the audio market a step further. The stereo industry of today is noticed by several manufactures that compete in the same market. Hence that competition is severe and the importance of being in front with design innovation, product consistency, value for money, sound quality and the firm's goodwill, is of greatest importance. This also means that planning is crucial. Planning is something that is arranged beforehand. Worked out in advance to reach a goal. "The ability to determine appropriate objectives:'doing the right thing '. The stereo industry consists of two main segments, the home stereo market and the professional market. Even though many manufacturers operate in both these markets, I will assume that Sonic Wave Ltd.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Brain Damage

Essay cover sheet Essay Title: What does the study of brain injury and disease tell us about normal brain functioning? Word count (Excluding title and references section): 829 What does the study of brain injury and disease tell us about normal brain functioning? To understand atypical brain function, it is important to distinguish the expectations for a typical brain function. It is true that many diseases or injuries result in impairments in cognition; as different areas of the brain is designed to control specific cognition and processes.For example the hemispheres are known to control different functions such as language, spatial judgements, reasoning and abstract notions (Martin, 2003). Whilst, the frontal lobe is famous for processing memory, attention, personality, and behaviour (Martin, 2003). Parietal lobe tends to control spatial and sensory information; whereas occipital lobe processes visual stimulus. Language, retrieval of memory and behaviour is administrated through te mporal lobe (Martin, 2003). Finally, the limbic system tends to control emotion as well as short term memory (Martin, 2003).Brain damage is the degeneration or abnormal growth of brain cells, which can be the result of outer (injury) or inner (disease) influences. Therefore, in cases of brain disease there are biological and psychological impairment that causes abnormality in the brain such as Alzheimer’s disease, Dementia, Amnesia and Aphasia; which some may be genetically inherited. Brain disease such as Alzheimer’s help us to understand the processes of the central executive function, which assists in producing controlled and flexible responses (Groome, 2006).In Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), this process is replaced by automatic and stereotyped responses; thus, it results in a dysexecutive syndrome (Groome, 2006; Baddely & Wilson, 1988). Conditions such as AD, symptoms like amnesia and dementia are known to involve damage to frontal lobes (Groome, 2006); therefor e, there are impairments in abstract and conceptual thinking, attention, behaviour and memory. For example, lesions to frontal lobes result in difficulty in retrieving contextual information (Parkin, Walter & Hunkin. 1995); thus, when presented with series of items, the frontal lobe patients are likely to remember the item shortly after, however, are not able to specify the order in which they were presented in (Swain, Polkey, Bullock & Morris. , 1998). Additionally, patient H. M had part of his medial temporal lobes removed due to his epilepsy; however most of his hippocampus were also removed to reduce seizures (Groome, 2006). Although his condition improved, he developed amnesia, which affected his short term memory (Groome, 2006).This meant he was no longer able to form new memories due to the lesion made to his hippocampus. Schizophrenia is a psychiatric disorder that results in several cognition impairments such as: deficit in memory and learning, poor abstract thinking and pr oblem solving, difficulty in sustaining attention. Studies suggest that such patients are likely to suffer from dysfunction in areas such as : frontal lobe, temporal lobe, left or right hemisphere and basal ganglia (Blanchard & Neale, 1994). Heinrichs & Zakzanis (1998) illustrated how schizophrenic patients tend to have impaired verbal memory.Furthermore, injuries or lesions to frontal and temporal lobes of the cerebral cortex can result in language deficiencies, such as Wernicke and Broca’s aphasia (Groome, 2006). For example, patient Phineas Gage suffered an injury to the Broca’s area (damage to frontal lobe), showed inability to produce language, as there was no sentence structure and the language was just string of disjointed words (Fleischman, 2002; Groome, 2006). Gage also showed emotional inbalance, where he was described to have acted out of character and was more aggressive, which was the result of damage to amygdale (Fleischman, 2002; Groome, 2006).Whilst, We rnicke’s aphasia (damage to temporal lobe) results in meaningless production of language; the patient is able to produce sentences but it does not convey information (Groome, 2006). Moreover, studies on blindsight suggest that patients such as DB have no conscious experience of perceived surroundings, however they manage to use the visual information at some other level to guide them through the surrounding world (Groome, 2006). It is believed that this neglect is the result of damage to the contralateral hemisphere.For example patients who have lesions to the right hemisphere have left spatial neglect, thus will fail to notice the left side of space (Groome, 2006). Such studies, highlight that spatial neglect is not a unitary disorder but a cohort of deficits. Thus, it allows us to distinguish between conscious experiences and the ability to respond appropriately to stimulus (Groome, 2006). The brain is a major organ that executes functions and vital processes essential to h uman activity; for example thinking, memory, language and emotions.The use of brain injuries and diseases, enables us to identify better models to comprehend cognition; as these areas will create a natural lesion in the processing mechanism. Thus, it identifies specific elements that play a major role in cognition. The mentioned studies show specific cognitions can be used to process information in a particular way. To ensure that specific cognitive model is processing properly, it is important to look at the neural activity of that region. Lack of activity in the interested area shows impairment in the model and that region.Therefore, by studying that specific area further, we can highlight its activity and information processing. This will allow us to understand normal functioning of the brain further. However, it is important to note that these theories might not be fully supported. For example, not much is known about the central executive system; thus, the vagueness only allows to corroborate processes that are not fully understood. Therefore it is vital to critically analyse theories before applying them. References Baddeley, AD. Kopelman, MD. , and Wilson, BA. (2004). The Essential Handbook of Memory Disorders for Clinicians. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd Blanchard, J. J. & Neale, J. M. (1994) The neuropsychological signature of schizophrenia: generalized or differential deficit? American Journal of Psychiatry, 151, 40–48. Fleischman, J. (2002). Phineas Gage: A gruesome but true story about brain science. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Groome, D. (2006). An introduction to cognitive psychology. Hove: England. Heinrichs, R. W. & Zakzanis, K. K. 1998) Neurocognitive deficit in schizophrenia: A quantitative review of the evidence. Neuropsychology, 12, 426–445. Martin, G. N. (2003). Essential biological psychology. London: Arnold. Parkin, AJ. , Walter, BM. , and Hunkin, MM. (1995). Relationships between normal aging frontal lobe function, and memory for t emporal spatial information. Neuropsychology, 9, 304-312. Swain, SA. , Polkey, CE. , Bullock, P. & Morris, RB. (1998). Recognition memory and memory for order in script-based stories following frontal lobe excisions. Cortex. 34, 25-45.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Different Groups of Teachers

Teaching is an important profession. â€Å"We will always need teachers. † (Waln) This is why I am interested in the career of secondary education. To be there to teach the upcoming generations and those that will be following behind us. It is important that we continue to teach the children so that they will be able to take over as the leaders of our country. Teachers are divided into different groups. The first group is the Elementary Teachers. Elementary Teachers usually teach one class of children at a certain grade level. These teachers teach all of the subject areas. Therefore they need to be knowledgeable in all subject areas. The next group of teachers is the Secondary Education Teachers. Secondary Education Teachers usually teach five or six classes of students a day, however, they only teach one subject area. Having the teacher teach in one subject area and not many different areas allows the teacher to learn more about that area and this allows the students to learn more in depth about the subject. The last group of teachers is the Special Education Teachers. These teachers work with both Elementary and Secondary students. They help the students in all subject areas, but mainly in Math and Language Arts. Special Education Teachers also work with students that have disabilities ranging from mild to severe. The group of teachers that I would like to be in is the Secondary Education group. I am interested in teaching Business. The working conditions of teachers varies depending on where they are employed. Most districts have a schedule where the teachers teach for nine months and have three months off in the summer. In other districts, teachers teach all year around with a schedule of working eight weeks and then having a week off. They would also have a five week mid-winter break. In most states there is a Tenure Law. The Tenure Law prevents teachers from being fired without just cause and due process. Teachers normally have to teach in one district for three years before they gain tenure. Teachers usually put in more than forty hours a week. Along with the teaching time in the classroom, teachers put in many hours after class and at home doing correcting and lesson plans. Teachers also put in a lot of time with different committee meetings and staff meetings that they need to attend. Some teachers can feel isolated from their colleagues at work. This comes from being in a classroom of students all day and not really getting a chance to see anyone else in the building. There are some schools, however, where the environment is very informal. In these schools, teachers get a chance to see and talk to other teachers throughout the day. This helps to build the morale of the teachers. Teachers also work with students from many different backgrounds and cultures. Teachers need to be aware of these backgrounds and cultures so they can better help the students. A person needs to be licensed to certified to be a teacher unless he/she works for a private school. The license or certification is usually granted by the State Board of Instruction or the Office of Public Instruction. Certification for teachers is from K-8 for Elementary and 6-12 Secondary. Requirements for certification vary from state to state. The one requirement that all states require is that teachers have a Bachelor†s Degree and the completion of an approved teacher training program. The outlook for teachers varies by geographic area and subject specialty. The overall employment is expected to increase for all occupations through the year 2008. The funding of the school by the state is another factor on the teacher job growth. Teacher†s wages range from $19,710 to $70,030 a year. The average starting salary for a teacher with a Bachelor†s Degree and no experience is $25,700. The average wage for teachers is $39,300 a year. Private school teachers usually get paid less than public school teachers. In many schools, teachers receive extra pay for coaching sports or working with extra-curricular activities and clubs. Teachers earn extra money by working during the summer at other jobs. The teaching profession is an important profession. The world will always need teachers to teach it†s children. Teachers need to go through a training program which usually consists of four years in college and doing student teaching. Teachers need to be certified by the state in which they are teaching in. Teachers can make a lot money or not so much money depending on what geographic area they are in. Teachers, however, do not go into teaching for the money. Teacher become teachers because they like working with children and they like watching the children grow and learn.