From the beginning of human existence, man has identified ways to improve the standard of living. Electricity was one of these identified ways. The development of electricity led to the creation of electrical engineering, a challenging vocation that changed and improved our way of life. In this paper I will discuss the history of electrical engineering, the preparation for becoming an electrical engineer, and the actual career.
The history of electrical engineering is rather recent, but it is based on ancient ideas. Electricity and magnetism are the two bases for electrical engineering. The Greeks were the first to discover the nature of attraction of amber and lodestone. The Chinese, on the other hand, were the first to control the power of magnetism. Therefore, they understood how to magnetize steel from lodestone. The Chinese used their knowledge of magnetism to create the first compass in the third century A.D. Then came the first dedicated observers of magnetism, Roger Bacon and Peter Peregrinus, during the Renaissance period. Dr. William Gilber also wrote the first meaningful book, De Magnete, about electrical science in the 1600Тs. Gilbert discovered the first electrical instrument, a versorium, which is an electroscope for detecting the presence of an electrical charge. There were many others who contributed to the advancement of electrical engineering such as: Robert Boyle, Otto von Guericke, Benjamin Franklin, Aslessandro Volta, Luigi Galvani, Georg Simon Ohm, Michael Faraday and many more. Robert Boyle, in 1675, wrote about the mechanical origins or production of electricity. Otto Von Guericke, of Magdeburg, Germany, observed, for the first time, sparks and heard crackling sounds when attaching objects using magnetism. Benjamin Franklin was a giant in electrical science. He coined the terms "conductor" and "nonconductor". He also theorized that lightning was an electrical display (History of Electricity 1). Aslessandro Volta created the volt, the unit of electromotive force, in 1900. Luigi Galvani was a professor of anatomy at the ancient University of Bologna (Kingsford 17). He discovered, when experimenting with dead frogs and electricity, that frogsТ legs twitched when two different metals, copper and zinc, were made to contact them. This was significant because it led Volta to finding the Voltaic pile, the first electric battery. Georg Ohm discovered Ohm's Law when at Cologne caring out experiments (20). Michael Friday was one of the greatest scientists of all time. He has been compared in greatness to Galileo and Isaac Newton (21). Friday brought electricity and magnetism together and discovered a new source of current, electromagnetic induction. His discovery was the basis for the electric motor and laid down the laws of electrolysis. Without all these contributions by the founders of electricity, our technology would not be as advanced as it is today.
College preparation is key to becoming a successful engineer. Consequently, it is beneficial to find others that are interested in electrical engineering. Being involved with students who have similar interests, most likely, will improve one's chances of success. Likewise, one should meet with one's high school career counselor and ask what kind of classes one must take to prepare for an engineering major in college. A person interested in engineering should get suggestions as to what must be done to prepare for such a career. Thirdly, one should ask parents for support and advice to advance one's exploration in engineering. In addition, one should let teachers know of his interest in electrical engineering in case they can provide more information (Jets). Chris Abrahamsen of Pace Engineering said, "I prepared for electrical engineering by taking all the math and science classes I could in high school. I also worked one summer while in college to help determine what area of electrical engineering I would like to pursue."
If one wants to be an engineer, keep up with one's communication skills. I often write reports that are technical in nature that need to be simple enough for a non-engineer to read and understand. I used to hate English, but now I spend just as much time attempting to clearly communicate with others in writing as I do in performing actual engineering work. I wish I paid more attention in my English classes in school. (Abrahamsen)
In preparation for the decision of which field of engineering one is interested in, one could job shadow an engineer. Also, one could get involved with some engineering related projects in society (Jets). These projects can let one know about certain disciplines and if these disciplines are of interest. The steps to preparing for engineering seem quite basic, but completing all will be time consuming and extremely difficult.
Electrical engineers regularly apply what was learned in college in their daily work. For example, at Cal Poly University, the Electrical Engineering Department's goal is to educate students to achieve excellence in the discipline of electrical engineering. This is why Cal Poly S.L.O is considered to be one of the best electrical engineering colleges. The engineering program at Cal Poly is difficult to get into. One must have worked extremely hard and one must have received outstanding grades in high school to be admitted. Cal Poly tries to educate their students to the point where they can apply their knowledge to practical problems (Cal Poly).
Electrical engineering graduates should be looking at many job opportunities since electrical engineering is supposed to grow with the average of all other occupations. Job openings will be due to the increased demand for electronic goods, including advanced communications equipment and defense related electronic equipment. For example, in 2000, electrical engineers held 288,000 jobs. For example, electrical engineers were employed by: business consulting firms, government agencies and manufacturers of electrical, electronic, computer and office equipment (Occupational Outlook Handbook). Electrical engineering, despite being an impacted major, has a promising outlook as a career after college.
Electrical engineers are characterized by specific categories and for whom they work. The main purpose of an electrical engineer is to: design, develop and supervise the manufacture, installation, operation and maintenance of electrical systems (Job Guide). In todayТs technological society there are building/construction, public work, educational institution, military, and design house engineers (Electrical Engineers). None of the subcategories is better than another. Personal preference determines which one an engineer will choose to pursue.
Much of the research done, concerning electrical engineering, is done in cooperation with industrial and government institutions. The main topics of research are: electronics, control, communications, computing and power systems (Kreuzer). Since electrical engineers are expected to be able to calculate every element within their field, they are highly trained through "higher education" (Electrical Engineers). The different engineering departments often team up and work together. For example, electrical engineers may team up with mechanical engineers to design equipment with electrical control (Electrical Engineering). The work opportunities within the electrical engineering field are numerous and varied. Thus, it appears to be an exciting career in which to be involved.
Electrical engineers make a beginning salary that is often determined by the number of years of college one completed. The median salary for an electrical engineer was $64,910 in 2000. Graduates with master degrees have an average starting salary of $63,812 per year. Graduates with doctorate degrees make an average of $79,241 per year. The highest ten percent of engineers earned more than $94,490 a year. According to a 2001 salary survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, electrical engineers received a starting salary of $51,910 per year (Occupational Outlook Handbook). Although electrical engineering is not one of the highest paid careers available, it will provide for the economic needs of most.
The life of an electrical engineer is interesting, complex and varies from engineer to engineer. For Chris Abrahamsen, "A typical workday is from 8:00-5:00. Usually there are projects that I am working on which require electrical engineering design. Some of the projects might involve water/wastewater facilities, office buildings, schools etc." Electrical engineering hours are similar to most other jobs. One might sometimes put in over time with or without pay. A person's conscientiousness and dedication most often determines how successful one will be. Electrical engineers must keep up with new technologies.
Keeping up with technology is an on going process. I attend regular conferences and seminars to keep up with the most recent technology. I also subscribe to numerous technical journals and magazines, which I never seem to have enough time to read. Also, manufacturing representatives often drop by my office and let me know of their latest products. In order to keep my professional registration in the state of Arizona I am required to attain a certain number of continuing education units (CEU) every other year. (Abrahamsen)
One must also love the job in order to be successful at it. One should not go into a career because it makes a lot of money if one cannot stand doing the work. One could suffer from "burn out", which may cause the quality of work to suffer. Chris Abrahamsen said this about his job as an electrical engineer, "I very much enjoy my job. I enjoy the variety of things I do and the fact that none of our projects are exactly the same. I enjoy the challenge of solving difficult problems and seeing the results afterward." Electrical engineering is not a career for the average person. One must be interested in math and science and enjoy problem solving.
The founders of electricity did our society a great service. They made a difference by developing a science that has greatly improved our way of life. Not many Americans go through a day when they do not turn on one electrical appliance, use something electronic, or deal with something that uses magnetism. If scientists did not discover electricity, our society, today, would not be as advanced.
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Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Human Cloning Research Paper
Through and through the annals of time, from one generation to another, there has always been overwhelming wonderment and mystery on the topic of cloning. Whether they thought it was ethically right or wrong, nearly every person that has lived a significant life has, one way or another, dreamed about what it would be like to have a double another human being that seemingly looks, acts, or possibly even thinks exactly the way they do. And as time passes by throughout each generation, evolution occurs. As a result of this, life as we know it advances to an entire new level. Everything from plants and animals, to our own physiques and minds, increases in its overall development. In our modern day, there is one thing in particular that has evolved at an alarming rate technology. With this on-going advancement of technology, the possibility of human cloning appears to be just around the corner. Major controversy has risen in spite of this, and rightfully so, as the possibilities, both good and bad, of human cloning are presumably endless. Everyone seems to have their own opinion on the subject of human cloning, including religious leaders, political figures, and modern society dwellers. Is human cloning right, or is it wrong? Although there is not a correct answer to that question, as it is solely based on opinion, I will, however, cover as much information as I possibly can in the following essay to attempt to enlighten your very own beliefs and opinions on the topic of human cloning.
Before I proceed any further, you must understand exactly what cloning is. According to Human Genome Project researchers, cloning is "the copying of genes and other pieces of chromosome to generate enough identical material for further study." (www.ornl.gov) What this basically means, in others words, is the copying of oneбжs genes to produce an exact duplicate of those genes. There have been numerous methods of going about this, some of which have been successful (ex. Dolly the sheep) and others have been a complete failure. Nonetheless, if a human were ever cloned, which may or may not ever happen, it is believed by many that the procedure would be as follows:
1. "Doctors harvest up to 15 eggs, each from up to 40 donors who have been injected with fertility drugs. About 400 eggs are produced.
2. Cells are taken from the cloning candidate.
3. The nucleus of each egg is sucked out with a fine needle. Then the DNA-free eggs and the donor cells are placed next to one another and zapped with electricity, which cause them to fuse. Some of the rebuilt eggs divide to form embryos.
4. Because embryos often fail to implant, each surrogate moth gets several at once. Even so, up to 50 surrogates could be needed to ensure nine of ten pregnancies. Of these, most will terminate early by miscarriage or by abortion when abnormalities are found. The single viable baby may be normal." (Gibbs, 02/19/01)
Although it is unknown at this time that whether or not the above procedure to cloning could ever work, it is quite possibly that the route to human cloning would be very similar to the process that was just stated.
As there often is with most controversial issues, human cloning has two sides to the story a good side and a bad side. These sides are both known, respectively, as the pros and cons of human cloning. Since the possibilities of human cloning are seemingly endless, the amount of pros and cons that occur with cloning are quite lengthy. However, some of the main points that deal with the pros and cons of human cloning include the following:
Pros
Cons
As is the case with most topics of controversy, the opinions that society has on human cloning are of great variety. Be that as it may, the overall feeling of cloning in society appears to be bad. In a poll that appeared all across North America, Time/CNN asked, "Is cloning a good idea or bad idea?" (Gibbs, 02/19/01) The results were a landslide - 90% said cloning is a bad idea, while only 10% said it was good. Despite the leanness towards cloning being a bad idea, there have also been many cases in society that have been voiced in it's approval. For example, "While human cloning might not offer great benefits to humanity, no one has yet made a persuasive case that it would do any real harm, either." (Macklin, 03/10/97) And, as well as that, "Cloning is the key to humanity's future." (Boyce, 07/09/01) Nevertheless, the fact of this still remains, the majority of society feel that it is a bad idea. But why you ask? In another poll that appeared across North America, Time/CNN asked, "What is the main reason you are against cloning humans?" (Gibbs, 02/19/01) The results were close, but are as follows: 34% said they are against human cloning because of religious belief, 22% said that it interferes with human individuality, 22% also that it could be used for questionable purposes like breeding a superior race, and finally, 14% said the technology is dangerous. Although there was a large gap between each result, there appears to be one significant reason to why society feels human cloning is a bad idea - religious and ethical belief.
It's no secret that religion is against human cloning, as they are the most passionate about what is right and wrong in this world. Obviously, to them, cloning is very wrong and is an act of God's work. Some religious views on cloning include: "Cloning is entirely Gods work; he makes about 4 000 a day through identical twins." (Gibbs, 02/19/01) "For a scientist to do mechanically what God does naturally is to interfere with his work, and no possible benefit can justify that presumption." (Gibbs, 02/19/01) "If God had meant for man to fly, he would have given us wings. And if God had meant for man to clone, he would have given us spores." (Bailey, 05/01/97) While it is apparent that this opinion will not soon change, there are some religions, very few, that agree with human cloning. Of these, is the Raelians, who "are a religious group committed to welcoming the first extra-terrestrials when they appear and are convinced to create the first cloned human." (Gibbs, 02/19/01) With that being said, even religion has it's agreement with human cloning, which is just a fragment of the belief that that there are two sides to every story.
In conclusion, I would just like to say that the controversy that revolves around human cloning will never be resolved, at least not in the near future. While the fact is that "98% of human embryos never implant or die off gestration or soon after birth," (Gibbs, 02/19/01) it is also a fact that human cloning can save possibly save lives. (Ex, "a grieving couple whose child is dying" Macklin, 03/10/97) Ethically and morally human cloning appears to be wrong, but will this stop scientists from doing it? As I stated above, there is no real answer to the question if cloning is right or wrong, and there is no telling what the results of a human clone may be. That being said, is cloning the greatest breakthrough in scientific history, or is it a timebomb waiting to detonate? The answer to that questions relies upon time and the future of civilization.
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Warning!!! This is just a sample Human Cloning research paper (Human Cloning research paper example) which cannot be used as your own paper. You can contact our custom research paper writing service which provides college and university students with high-quality custom written essays, term papers, research papers, thesis papers and dissertations on Cloning topics.
Get professional Human Cloning research paper writing help from our professional Ph.D. and Master's academic writers. A+ quality and 100% plagiarism are guaranteed! Feel free to ORDER A CUSTOM RESEARCH PAPER ON HUMAN CLONING RIGHT NOW and you won't be disappointed.
Before I proceed any further, you must understand exactly what cloning is. According to Human Genome Project researchers, cloning is "the copying of genes and other pieces of chromosome to generate enough identical material for further study." (www.ornl.gov) What this basically means, in others words, is the copying of oneбжs genes to produce an exact duplicate of those genes. There have been numerous methods of going about this, some of which have been successful (ex. Dolly the sheep) and others have been a complete failure. Nonetheless, if a human were ever cloned, which may or may not ever happen, it is believed by many that the procedure would be as follows:
1. "Doctors harvest up to 15 eggs, each from up to 40 donors who have been injected with fertility drugs. About 400 eggs are produced.
2. Cells are taken from the cloning candidate.
3. The nucleus of each egg is sucked out with a fine needle. Then the DNA-free eggs and the donor cells are placed next to one another and zapped with electricity, which cause them to fuse. Some of the rebuilt eggs divide to form embryos.
4. Because embryos often fail to implant, each surrogate moth gets several at once. Even so, up to 50 surrogates could be needed to ensure nine of ten pregnancies. Of these, most will terminate early by miscarriage or by abortion when abnormalities are found. The single viable baby may be normal." (Gibbs, 02/19/01)
Although it is unknown at this time that whether or not the above procedure to cloning could ever work, it is quite possibly that the route to human cloning would be very similar to the process that was just stated.
As there often is with most controversial issues, human cloning has two sides to the story a good side and a bad side. These sides are both known, respectively, as the pros and cons of human cloning. Since the possibilities of human cloning are seemingly endless, the amount of pros and cons that occur with cloning are quite lengthy. However, some of the main points that deal with the pros and cons of human cloning include the following:
Pros
- There is no better way of understanding the human genome
- Ability to produce "superhumans"
- Will all but cease the production of lab animals
- Medicinal methods will be thrusted into a new era
- Further understanding of our past (i.e. Evolution, creating, big band, etc.)
- Organ transplant waiting lists will be no more
Cons
- Humans are sentient beings, they are no made to be specimens. The are of free will
- Ability to produce "superhumans"
- Countries could clone armies
- If humans can be cloned, it makes them property, which can be sold. Inhuman
- If cloning is relied upon for reproduction and we lose the ability to clone, everyone will have the same genotype and to reproduce would be a sick twist of inbreed
- If everyone has the same genotype, a disease that is fatal for the genotype wipes out the human race" (library.thinkquest.org)
As is the case with most topics of controversy, the opinions that society has on human cloning are of great variety. Be that as it may, the overall feeling of cloning in society appears to be bad. In a poll that appeared all across North America, Time/CNN asked, "Is cloning a good idea or bad idea?" (Gibbs, 02/19/01) The results were a landslide - 90% said cloning is a bad idea, while only 10% said it was good. Despite the leanness towards cloning being a bad idea, there have also been many cases in society that have been voiced in it's approval. For example, "While human cloning might not offer great benefits to humanity, no one has yet made a persuasive case that it would do any real harm, either." (Macklin, 03/10/97) And, as well as that, "Cloning is the key to humanity's future." (Boyce, 07/09/01) Nevertheless, the fact of this still remains, the majority of society feel that it is a bad idea. But why you ask? In another poll that appeared across North America, Time/CNN asked, "What is the main reason you are against cloning humans?" (Gibbs, 02/19/01) The results were close, but are as follows: 34% said they are against human cloning because of religious belief, 22% said that it interferes with human individuality, 22% also that it could be used for questionable purposes like breeding a superior race, and finally, 14% said the technology is dangerous. Although there was a large gap between each result, there appears to be one significant reason to why society feels human cloning is a bad idea - religious and ethical belief.
It's no secret that religion is against human cloning, as they are the most passionate about what is right and wrong in this world. Obviously, to them, cloning is very wrong and is an act of God's work. Some religious views on cloning include: "Cloning is entirely Gods work; he makes about 4 000 a day through identical twins." (Gibbs, 02/19/01) "For a scientist to do mechanically what God does naturally is to interfere with his work, and no possible benefit can justify that presumption." (Gibbs, 02/19/01) "If God had meant for man to fly, he would have given us wings. And if God had meant for man to clone, he would have given us spores." (Bailey, 05/01/97) While it is apparent that this opinion will not soon change, there are some religions, very few, that agree with human cloning. Of these, is the Raelians, who "are a religious group committed to welcoming the first extra-terrestrials when they appear and are convinced to create the first cloned human." (Gibbs, 02/19/01) With that being said, even religion has it's agreement with human cloning, which is just a fragment of the belief that that there are two sides to every story.
In conclusion, I would just like to say that the controversy that revolves around human cloning will never be resolved, at least not in the near future. While the fact is that "98% of human embryos never implant or die off gestration or soon after birth," (Gibbs, 02/19/01) it is also a fact that human cloning can save possibly save lives. (Ex, "a grieving couple whose child is dying" Macklin, 03/10/97) Ethically and morally human cloning appears to be wrong, but will this stop scientists from doing it? As I stated above, there is no real answer to the question if cloning is right or wrong, and there is no telling what the results of a human clone may be. That being said, is cloning the greatest breakthrough in scientific history, or is it a timebomb waiting to detonate? The answer to that questions relies upon time and the future of civilization.
__________________
Warning!!! This is just a sample Human Cloning research paper (Human Cloning research paper example) which cannot be used as your own paper. You can contact our custom research paper writing service which provides college and university students with high-quality custom written essays, term papers, research papers, thesis papers and dissertations on Cloning topics.
Get professional Human Cloning research paper writing help from our professional Ph.D. and Master's academic writers. A+ quality and 100% plagiarism are guaranteed! Feel free to ORDER A CUSTOM RESEARCH PAPER ON HUMAN CLONING RIGHT NOW and you won't be disappointed.
Cloning Essay
The successful story of the cloning of Dolly the sheep was a big step forward for the scientific world. However, it also triggered much controversy on different issues about cloning such as whether or not we should permit cloning on other animals, specifically humans. Human Cloning should be permitted since it will do great things for us such as allowing couples who are unable to reproduce have a biological child, keep recessive genes alive and provide the ability to produce organs to save lives and cure diseases.
Allowing couples unable to reproduce through procreation to have a biological child will most certainly prove to be a better alternative for those couples instead of adopting a child. Sterile women will now have the chance of having a biological baby to experience the full extent of having a child. Before with adoption they may not have cared for the child as much as they could whereas, now with the option of cloning a biological child can be produced which may give the parents more pride in the child’s achievements. (Gibbs, Nancy. 2001). As well as sterile women, homosexuals who wish to have a child with their life partner will be able to have a biological child. (President's Council on Bioethics, Cloning-to-Produce-Children; Cloning-for-Biomedical-Research, Nov 28, 2001). Widows are unable to have children with their partner since they have passed away, however with the help of cloning they could create a baby with the genes of their partner giving them something to remember their deceased loved one by. The loss of a loved one is always tragic and some people may be clouded by thoughts and strong emotions that their judgement may be impaired which may in the end take their life, with a biological baby it will give them something to live for as well as someone to care for again. (Gibbs, Nancy. 2001). Cloning children is definitely a good idea since it allows everyone to be able to have the opportunity to experience having their own biological child, however whether they take this opportunity is up to them.
In addition to reproduction, through cloning, recessive genes will not be shadowed by the dominant gene traits and disappear eventually. As Canadians we have had encounters with many different cultures and friends of many different backgrounds. We take pride in our society’s multiculturalism and diversity. Without cloning the diversity that we cherish so much will disappear before our eyes. All the red hair, blonde hair, blue eyes will one day be extinct if we do not keep them alive by cloning. The day that the recessive traits die out may occur millennia’s from now, however if another genocide was to take place; a whole race would most likely be wiped out with the weapons that nations possess now. With the aid of cloning it would be impossible to wipe out an entire race since more genetic copies of the race could be reproduced countless times. Moreover, the stereotypical view of cloning is that everyone becomes the same, no one is unique or considered an individual, however in reality, with cloning it will only keep the diversity and individuality of everyone since natural breeding would eliminate recessive gene traits making everyone identical with the same dominant genes. As Canadians along with many other nations which encourage diversity, cloning should be acceptable to maintain these recessive traits.
Although cloning may not be an issue or affects everyone directly, every person most certainly would encounter it indirectly. In November of 1998, the discovery of stem cells was publicized. Although so far stem cells have only been found in stem cells are cells in the body that have not been assigned to transform into a certain type of tissue yet. ("Stem-Cell Research" Issues and Controversies, August 13, 1999. http://www.2facts.com). Using stem cell technology we could clone specific organs from the person’s own cells so their body will definitely accept the new organ. These organs would be very beneficial since there would be no need for donors to donate an organ for the transplant. This way, more lives can be saved and it will guarantee success as long as doctors perform the procedure correctly since the organ is made from the patient’s own stem cells and DNA. Stem cell technology is still in its early stages. However, if we allow the research of cloning to continue we would be able to produce a donor that is a perfect match for the patient or possibly be able to produce organs which will in turn eliminate the need for donors. For instance, if a child was ill and needed a kidney, they could clone the child and use the clone as a donor. This would result in two healthy and living children living with two very satisfied parents. (Genetic Encores: The Ethics of Human Cloning, Unknown. http://www.puaf.umd.edu/IPPP/Fall97Report/cloning.htm). If we were to talk about the near future, the most likely medical advancement along the lines of cloning would be DNA research to create vaccines against viruses. Vaccines could be created using DNA structures to counteract deadly diseases such as AIDS, cancer etc. (Lemonick, Michael D., 2001). With the usefulness of cloning and DNA research, we would greatly increase the life expectancy around the world and save many lives.
On the other hand, some people still think that cloning should not be permitted on humans and they argue that it is a sin to play God. In a telephone poll 69% of adult Americans felt that human cloning is playing the role of God and would mean that we are defying his will. (CNN Poll Report. Feb 2001). People will use cloning to breed elite armies for war and treat them as soldiers rather than humans, which is inhumane and letting them live without a purpose, literally living to die. (Bova, Ben. 1995). Some even argue that cloning a child will only make the parent want the child to follow in his footsteps and possibly give the child a chance to experience all the things that the parent didn’t have the chance to do. The parent may take the child’s success as his own achievements since through cloning the child would basically be a younger version of himself. (Genetic Encores: The Ethics of Human Cloning, Unknown. http://www.puaf.umd.edu/IPPP/Fall97Report/cloning.htm).
These are all legitimate points; however, they have over looked the fact that sins are a natural part of life. Everyday we commit sins, so it does not differ from our regular routines. A sin of claiming to be God is no different from a sin like jealousy, what it all comes down to is that we have committed a sin. Humans have played God on countless occasions that this argument doesn’t carry much meaning anymore. “It’s in the Bible-be fruitful and multiply. People say ‘you’re playing God.’ But we’re not. We’re using the raw materials the good Lord gave us. What does the doctor do when the heart has stopped? They have to do a direct massage of the heart. You could say the doctor is playing God. But we save a life.” (Rebecca, 2001). Also if clones were bred the fight, and given no choices, then if they did not feel it was fair according to their rights then they could rebel. Only if they accepted the terms of their designated task would they attempt to cooperate with us. Otherwise they would rebel and make a bold statement since they are bred to fight. (Bova, Ben. 1995). The parent of a clone may push their child(ren) harder to strive for success and follow in their footsteps to possibly become the parent’s dream that never came true. This may sound unfair to the child(ren) and harsh since there is so much pressure of the child(ren) being like their parent. However if one were to examine at families right now, one would realize that many parents are doing the same to their child(ren) right now. They hope that their child(ren) will follow them into their field of profession. This is merely pride working on behalf of the parents and regardless of whether the child(ren) is a clone or not, certain parents will still pressure their child(ren) into becoming what they want their child(ren) to be. Moreover, even with the added emphasis from the parent on become what they want their child to be, the clone will most likely never live up to the expectations and dreams of the parent since they are brought up in a whole different manner and period of time. (Reed, Susan. 2001).
Cloning will prove to be a huge asset in the future because it will allow couples to have a biological baby when nature does not, it will keep the recessive genes alive and it will save many lives through organ transplants and DNA structures to create vaccines. Cloning must first be recognised as a great advancement for the scientific and medical fields rather than just another act that goes against the wills of God who shall punish us for our misdeeds. “We should not let our fears hold us back from pursuing our hopes.” (Kennedy, John F.)
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Warning!!! This is just a sample Cloning essay (Cloning essay example) which cannot be used as your own paper. You can contact our custom essay writing service which provides college and university students with high-quality custom written essays, term papers, research papers, thesis papers and dissertations on Cloning topics.
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Allowing couples unable to reproduce through procreation to have a biological child will most certainly prove to be a better alternative for those couples instead of adopting a child. Sterile women will now have the chance of having a biological baby to experience the full extent of having a child. Before with adoption they may not have cared for the child as much as they could whereas, now with the option of cloning a biological child can be produced which may give the parents more pride in the child’s achievements. (Gibbs, Nancy. 2001). As well as sterile women, homosexuals who wish to have a child with their life partner will be able to have a biological child. (President's Council on Bioethics, Cloning-to-Produce-Children; Cloning-for-Biomedical-Research, Nov 28, 2001). Widows are unable to have children with their partner since they have passed away, however with the help of cloning they could create a baby with the genes of their partner giving them something to remember their deceased loved one by. The loss of a loved one is always tragic and some people may be clouded by thoughts and strong emotions that their judgement may be impaired which may in the end take their life, with a biological baby it will give them something to live for as well as someone to care for again. (Gibbs, Nancy. 2001). Cloning children is definitely a good idea since it allows everyone to be able to have the opportunity to experience having their own biological child, however whether they take this opportunity is up to them.
In addition to reproduction, through cloning, recessive genes will not be shadowed by the dominant gene traits and disappear eventually. As Canadians we have had encounters with many different cultures and friends of many different backgrounds. We take pride in our society’s multiculturalism and diversity. Without cloning the diversity that we cherish so much will disappear before our eyes. All the red hair, blonde hair, blue eyes will one day be extinct if we do not keep them alive by cloning. The day that the recessive traits die out may occur millennia’s from now, however if another genocide was to take place; a whole race would most likely be wiped out with the weapons that nations possess now. With the aid of cloning it would be impossible to wipe out an entire race since more genetic copies of the race could be reproduced countless times. Moreover, the stereotypical view of cloning is that everyone becomes the same, no one is unique or considered an individual, however in reality, with cloning it will only keep the diversity and individuality of everyone since natural breeding would eliminate recessive gene traits making everyone identical with the same dominant genes. As Canadians along with many other nations which encourage diversity, cloning should be acceptable to maintain these recessive traits.
Although cloning may not be an issue or affects everyone directly, every person most certainly would encounter it indirectly. In November of 1998, the discovery of stem cells was publicized. Although so far stem cells have only been found in stem cells are cells in the body that have not been assigned to transform into a certain type of tissue yet. ("Stem-Cell Research" Issues and Controversies, August 13, 1999. http://www.2facts.com). Using stem cell technology we could clone specific organs from the person’s own cells so their body will definitely accept the new organ. These organs would be very beneficial since there would be no need for donors to donate an organ for the transplant. This way, more lives can be saved and it will guarantee success as long as doctors perform the procedure correctly since the organ is made from the patient’s own stem cells and DNA. Stem cell technology is still in its early stages. However, if we allow the research of cloning to continue we would be able to produce a donor that is a perfect match for the patient or possibly be able to produce organs which will in turn eliminate the need for donors. For instance, if a child was ill and needed a kidney, they could clone the child and use the clone as a donor. This would result in two healthy and living children living with two very satisfied parents. (Genetic Encores: The Ethics of Human Cloning, Unknown. http://www.puaf.umd.edu/IPPP/Fall97Report/cloning.htm). If we were to talk about the near future, the most likely medical advancement along the lines of cloning would be DNA research to create vaccines against viruses. Vaccines could be created using DNA structures to counteract deadly diseases such as AIDS, cancer etc. (Lemonick, Michael D., 2001). With the usefulness of cloning and DNA research, we would greatly increase the life expectancy around the world and save many lives.
On the other hand, some people still think that cloning should not be permitted on humans and they argue that it is a sin to play God. In a telephone poll 69% of adult Americans felt that human cloning is playing the role of God and would mean that we are defying his will. (CNN Poll Report. Feb 2001). People will use cloning to breed elite armies for war and treat them as soldiers rather than humans, which is inhumane and letting them live without a purpose, literally living to die. (Bova, Ben. 1995). Some even argue that cloning a child will only make the parent want the child to follow in his footsteps and possibly give the child a chance to experience all the things that the parent didn’t have the chance to do. The parent may take the child’s success as his own achievements since through cloning the child would basically be a younger version of himself. (Genetic Encores: The Ethics of Human Cloning, Unknown. http://www.puaf.umd.edu/IPPP/Fall97Report/cloning.htm).
These are all legitimate points; however, they have over looked the fact that sins are a natural part of life. Everyday we commit sins, so it does not differ from our regular routines. A sin of claiming to be God is no different from a sin like jealousy, what it all comes down to is that we have committed a sin. Humans have played God on countless occasions that this argument doesn’t carry much meaning anymore. “It’s in the Bible-be fruitful and multiply. People say ‘you’re playing God.’ But we’re not. We’re using the raw materials the good Lord gave us. What does the doctor do when the heart has stopped? They have to do a direct massage of the heart. You could say the doctor is playing God. But we save a life.” (Rebecca, 2001). Also if clones were bred the fight, and given no choices, then if they did not feel it was fair according to their rights then they could rebel. Only if they accepted the terms of their designated task would they attempt to cooperate with us. Otherwise they would rebel and make a bold statement since they are bred to fight. (Bova, Ben. 1995). The parent of a clone may push their child(ren) harder to strive for success and follow in their footsteps to possibly become the parent’s dream that never came true. This may sound unfair to the child(ren) and harsh since there is so much pressure of the child(ren) being like their parent. However if one were to examine at families right now, one would realize that many parents are doing the same to their child(ren) right now. They hope that their child(ren) will follow them into their field of profession. This is merely pride working on behalf of the parents and regardless of whether the child(ren) is a clone or not, certain parents will still pressure their child(ren) into becoming what they want their child(ren) to be. Moreover, even with the added emphasis from the parent on become what they want their child to be, the clone will most likely never live up to the expectations and dreams of the parent since they are brought up in a whole different manner and period of time. (Reed, Susan. 2001).
Cloning will prove to be a huge asset in the future because it will allow couples to have a biological baby when nature does not, it will keep the recessive genes alive and it will save many lives through organ transplants and DNA structures to create vaccines. Cloning must first be recognised as a great advancement for the scientific and medical fields rather than just another act that goes against the wills of God who shall punish us for our misdeeds. “We should not let our fears hold us back from pursuing our hopes.” (Kennedy, John F.)
__________________
Warning!!! This is just a sample Cloning essay (Cloning essay example) which cannot be used as your own paper. You can contact our custom essay writing service which provides college and university students with high-quality custom written essays, term papers, research papers, thesis papers and dissertations on Cloning topics.
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Tuesday, June 30, 2009
CRM Essay
The letters CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. Over the last three or four years, customer relationship management has become a popular catchphrase. Although CRM in one form or another has been around for some time, the current interest in CRM has developed with a combination of new technologies that enable companies to ensure better customer relationships. A good CRM strategy is vital in the Supermarket retail sector. This is because there is increasing competition for customers, as well as the widespread realisation that customer retention and loyalty is just as important as customer acquisition. Another reason driving this renewed interest in CRM within the retail sector is the shift in the balance of power to customers. Better-informed customers are more aware of alternatives, and as customers become more informed consumers of services and products, customer expectations rise and change, and their sophistication increases, too. This essay will therefore explore elements of the CRM framework and see how this is utilised in the UK retail sector.
The principle of CRM is that the more information a company has about its customers, the better. It involves managing the customer relationship across all its interfaces with the company as one entire process According to Cook, S, 2002:
"The Strategic process of identifying desirable customers segements, micro-segments or individual customers on a one-to one basis and developing integrated programmes that maximum both value to the customer and the lifetime value of customers to the organisation through targeted customer acquisition, profit enhancing activities and retention"
From an application perspective, CRM is often talked about in terms of sales force automation (SFA), marketing automation, customer services and support. However, CRM really encompasses all business processes that impact the customer experience. Essentially the goal of CRM is to:
" Increase the lifetime value of a company's relationship with target customers. Optimize the effectiveness of marketing, selling and servicing of target customers and maximise the value of customer expenditures for mutual company/customer gain" (Marcouse & Gillespie, 1999, p121)
The above three goals seem to be very apparent in the retail supermarket sector as CRM is required as a operating model and to understand how it affects the customer experience. Eventually, it will permeate and impact all company initiatives. It must translate into effective business change in terms of insight, processes, systems and behavior that result in measurable return. Hill and O'Sullivan(2001) have identified The 10 Key principles of CRM:
" For example, beer connoisseurs will receive news of the latest continental lagers or real ales, chocolate addicts will be shown the latest confectionery, and vegetarians will avoid the latest meat promotions - without the need to fill in online forms specifying user interests."
The above demonstrates that Tesco has employed technology to carry out part of its CRM plan, as it has utilised technology to automate the entire online shopping experience, enhance personalisation, and turn one-time visitors into regular users.
Terry Leahy, CEO of Tesco, said:
"Customers love Internet shopping. This year we have doubled to half a million the numbers signed up to shop with us on the net.Customers know and trust Tesco and that gives us a real competitive advantage. 30% of our customers shop nowhere else on-line which means Tesco is driving the use of the Internet.
Tesco.com, the UK's leading online retailer, will this week officially launch its Pocket Shopper application, which will allow registered users with Microsoft Pocket PC-based mobile devices to submit their orders on the move.Analysts said the move, revealed by Computer Weekly in January, will provide a boost to the burgeoning UK m-commerce market, which will be worth [pound]2.63bn by 2005, according to research firm GartnerG2. The Pocket Shopper application, available for download from the Tesco.com Web site, allows consumers to choose their shopping, from a total of 20,000 items, and pay by credit card without having to a connect to a network. The next time the user goes online, their order will be sent to Tesco.com, which delivers the goods to their home from their local Tesco store. The Pocket Shopper application is aimed, according to Carolyn Bradley, chief operating officer at Tesco.com, at what she described as "long suffering commuters".
"Being able to shop anywhere is an advantage many commuters would love to have," she said.
"As prices tumble, the technology will become available to everyone."
Duncan Brown, consulting director at analyst firm Ovum, said m-commerce is ideally suited to supermarkets."Mobile grocery shopping has a good chance of working as it is just another step on the evolutionary path from loyalty cards and online shopping," he said. However, Brown warned, companies should not be over-ambitious with their mobile projects.
"M-commerce should be very specific - the consumer's usual order or a delivery at a certain time," he said.
"If you can get it right it has the potential to be very popular," Brown added.
In recent years competitive markets have been flooded with customer loyalty programmes which is considerd a cost-effective customer relationship management strategy. To obtain customer loyalty, the biggest single step, and the one with the widest implications, is the progressive introduction of loyalty cards., According to Customer Loyalty today, 51% of all British shoppers possess a loyalty card and of those who shop in a supermarkets which offer them 70% have a card. Through loyalty card schemes, retailers have been able to build up databases of customer profiles and preferences. Supermarkets are building relationships with customers by sending them individually adressed letters and customised promotions. In return for a very small discount, typically 1 per cent, the store gets what it really wants, information about its customers. It is hardly getting what it says it wants, loyalty; when all stores have cards, and all customers have cards for all stores, we will be back where we began. With this difference: the stores' computers will know more about us than we know about ourselves. There are, of course, safeguards: there is statute law on data protection. Research carried out by Mori for the Black Sun Consultancy, has shown that supermarket loyalty cards do not encourage shoppers to stay loyal to any particular chain. The study found that although over 50% of the UK's supermarket shoppers carried a loyalty card, 69% said that it did not persuade them to shop at any particular chain.Nine out often people said that they were more concerned with getting a better price for their shopping than collecting points on loyalty cards. Many shoppers said that they were forgetful about the points, and 25% said they "rarely" or "never" redeemed the points, according to the article in the Sunday Times. Some supermarket chains seem to have taken notice of the research, with Safeway having dropped its loyalty card back in 2000, while Waitrose never introduced a card scheme, saying they were a waste of time.
Having seen rival supermarket chain Sainsbury's join the Nectar loyalty card scheme, Asda claims that such cards do not work.The UK-based food retailer, owned by US giant Wal-Mart, has unveiled new research by NOP that shows that plastic cards fail to keep customers loyal. Asda said the survey, conducted at the beginning of September, shows that shoppers across the UK, regardless of their favourite store overwhelmingly prefer lower prices to plastic points. Over nine out of ten people (93%) said they would prefer lower prices to loyalty cards. The survey also found that people have not warmed to loyalty cards in the last few years with almost three-quarters (73%) saying their attitude to them had not changed. Asda, the UK's number three supermarket chain according to their market share 2002. (www.mintel.co.uk, 10/08/03) is hot on the heels of number two Sainsbury's, and Asda said it will continue to do what it has done since it abandoned its own loyalty card pilot in 1999--chip away at prices. However, with the Nectar scheme Sainsburys has recoginised the need to give shoppers instant gratifiaction in conjuction with have having a m points scheme that builds up. They therefore can offer instant rewards such as savings in real cash, like Ј5.00 of your shpooing bill when you spend over Ј50.00. However, whether this increases loyalty is also questionable as on the writers recent visit to their local Tesco store the check- assistant advised that I could reed all Sainburys vouchers at that store.
Loyalty schemes such as Loyalty cards act as an incentive for repeat purchasing, which will help maintain or increase a supermarket market share. Supermarkets such as Tescos which uses the loyalty card scheme, will save time analysing customer requirements, which will allow them to reduce stock levels and improve cash flow.
"Tesco, uses the data obtained from its Clubcard to target future offers, minimising customer annoyance and maximising their own sales." (Cran,S,2001,p18)
Loyalty depends on personal relationships, and it is not possible to have a 'meaningful relationship' with an electronic check-out or even generally, with the young person at it. The chains have attacked this problem - which they recognise - by various routes. Some, such as Sainsbury's, have produced glossy magazines full of recipes and suggestions of how to enjoy an enviable lifestyle - all from Sainsbury's own shelves. Some chains develop a house style of architecture: 'Tesco tithe-barns' have gables, mansard windows and occasionally clock-towers, while Safeway's larger newer stores have spacious glass atriums; they remain, of course, basic steel-framed sheds underneath. The range of products and services they offer constantly extends. Some are approaching 20,000 'lines' of merchandise. All the larger stores now have cafeterias .Financial services are appearing, where pension schemes, savings plans and loans on mortgage are among the 'products' on offer. In theory, town planning law enables local councils to limit and control what is sold in a supermarket, but in practice this is a broken reed, and herein lies the next and greatest threat to the traditional town centres. When one can obtain banking, professional advice and even medical services along with groceries, clothing and household goods in one visit, under one roof, the reasons for going to the High Street will be few indeed.
Increasing numbers of UK retailers are adopting a new customer profiling technique which is designed to allow them to exploit their large CRM investments in a more effective way. The purchase behaviour profiling (PBP) technique, which is already being used by Sainsburys and Co-op, segments data by transaction rather than simply by customer demographics.This means retailers can analyse customer behaviour without the need for a loyalty card scheme, giving them meaningful insights into buying patterns, said datawarehousing specialist Teradata, which developed PBP.Retailers have made massive investments in loyalty card schemes but they do not use the data properly," said Mikael Bisgaard-Bohr, retail industry director at Teradata. "Segmenting data by demographics is fine for financial services firms, but it does not work for retailers. With PBP you can break down types of customer behaviour into more meaningful segments
This CRM essay has identified and defined the key concepts of CRM and how this is being utilised in the Uk supermarket sector through inplementing new techonlogy and indentifying cutomers needs. Businesses also need to keep their valuable customers. A keen focus on customers is an axiom of good business. Businesses that do not maintain that focus are doomed. The customer can easily be forgotten in the rush to develop and launch new products and services, mitigate competitive threats, appease financial markets, manage the organization, increase profitability, expand market share and globalize. While CRM applications and their associated technology are critical, they are only tools to enable an idea. CRM is a vision, an In this sense, CRM is like Total Quality Management (TQM) you cannot buy it in a box; instead, you must make it happen through a variety of efforts. Therefore, care must be taken to ensure that CRM does not become a pure product push or an efficiency play wherein customers bear the brunt of a company's cost-containment measures, CRM must be developed from the outside in-- beginning with target customer's wants and needs. Understanding customer behavior can lead to very simple changes in business processes that can improve customer value. As with many things that are simple in concept, the real challenge of CRM lies in its execution.
__________________
Warning!!! This is just a sample CRM essay (CRM essay example) which cannot be used as your own paper. You can contact our custom essay writing service which provides college and university students with high-quality custom written essays, term papers, research papers, thesis papers and dissertations on Customer Relationship Management topics.
Get professional CRM essay writing help from our professional Ph.D. and Master's academic writers. A+ quality and 100% plagiarism are guaranteed! Feel free to ORDER A CUSTOM ESSAY ON CRM RIGHT NOW and you won't be disappointed.
The principle of CRM is that the more information a company has about its customers, the better. It involves managing the customer relationship across all its interfaces with the company as one entire process According to Cook, S, 2002:
"The Strategic process of identifying desirable customers segements, micro-segments or individual customers on a one-to one basis and developing integrated programmes that maximum both value to the customer and the lifetime value of customers to the organisation through targeted customer acquisition, profit enhancing activities and retention"
From an application perspective, CRM is often talked about in terms of sales force automation (SFA), marketing automation, customer services and support. However, CRM really encompasses all business processes that impact the customer experience. Essentially the goal of CRM is to:
" Increase the lifetime value of a company's relationship with target customers. Optimize the effectiveness of marketing, selling and servicing of target customers and maximise the value of customer expenditures for mutual company/customer gain" (Marcouse & Gillespie, 1999, p121)
The above three goals seem to be very apparent in the retail supermarket sector as CRM is required as a operating model and to understand how it affects the customer experience. Eventually, it will permeate and impact all company initiatives. It must translate into effective business change in terms of insight, processes, systems and behavior that result in measurable return. Hill and O'Sullivan(2001) have identified The 10 Key principles of CRM:
- Value Segmentation. Segmentation is based in customer needs, preferences, behaviors and economic potential, which provides the basis for resource allocation decisions in marketing, sales and service.
- Institutional Memory: When the customer interacts with us, everyone in the enterprise is aware of prior inter actions, outstanding issues and pending opporotunities.
- Collaboration. Customers are involved in the specification, design and/or delivery ala desired result.
- Touch-point Alignment Customers are able to do business With you through multiple channels, which are aligned with your customer r needs and, their value to your business
- One & Done. Customer needs are solved during the first contact.
- Real-time information manager. Your employees have real-time access to the right information in order to make customer-based decisions and resolve issue immediately.
- Customer Scorecard: Employee performance requirements arid measures are designed to drive specific customer behaviors (e.g. share of spend, loyalty, average value of customer) that are measured explicitly.
- Closed-Loop Processes. Integrated front and hack office systems ensure that information and workflow carry through the entire enterprise to their logical conclusion, closing the customer loop and enabling continuous knowledge capture.
- Listening & Learning Posts: Forums facilitate information sharing and learning among your customers that help them do business with you, learn from each other and provide valuable input to your business processes and operations.
- Customer Experience Management: You have mapped all "touch points" between you and your customers and are able to deliver a consistent, high quality experience that provides added value to the customer."
" For example, beer connoisseurs will receive news of the latest continental lagers or real ales, chocolate addicts will be shown the latest confectionery, and vegetarians will avoid the latest meat promotions - without the need to fill in online forms specifying user interests."
The above demonstrates that Tesco has employed technology to carry out part of its CRM plan, as it has utilised technology to automate the entire online shopping experience, enhance personalisation, and turn one-time visitors into regular users.
Terry Leahy, CEO of Tesco, said:
"Customers love Internet shopping. This year we have doubled to half a million the numbers signed up to shop with us on the net.Customers know and trust Tesco and that gives us a real competitive advantage. 30% of our customers shop nowhere else on-line which means Tesco is driving the use of the Internet.
Tesco.com, the UK's leading online retailer, will this week officially launch its Pocket Shopper application, which will allow registered users with Microsoft Pocket PC-based mobile devices to submit their orders on the move.Analysts said the move, revealed by Computer Weekly in January, will provide a boost to the burgeoning UK m-commerce market, which will be worth [pound]2.63bn by 2005, according to research firm GartnerG2. The Pocket Shopper application, available for download from the Tesco.com Web site, allows consumers to choose their shopping, from a total of 20,000 items, and pay by credit card without having to a connect to a network. The next time the user goes online, their order will be sent to Tesco.com, which delivers the goods to their home from their local Tesco store. The Pocket Shopper application is aimed, according to Carolyn Bradley, chief operating officer at Tesco.com, at what she described as "long suffering commuters".
"Being able to shop anywhere is an advantage many commuters would love to have," she said.
"As prices tumble, the technology will become available to everyone."
Duncan Brown, consulting director at analyst firm Ovum, said m-commerce is ideally suited to supermarkets."Mobile grocery shopping has a good chance of working as it is just another step on the evolutionary path from loyalty cards and online shopping," he said. However, Brown warned, companies should not be over-ambitious with their mobile projects.
"M-commerce should be very specific - the consumer's usual order or a delivery at a certain time," he said.
"If you can get it right it has the potential to be very popular," Brown added.
In recent years competitive markets have been flooded with customer loyalty programmes which is considerd a cost-effective customer relationship management strategy. To obtain customer loyalty, the biggest single step, and the one with the widest implications, is the progressive introduction of loyalty cards., According to Customer Loyalty today, 51% of all British shoppers possess a loyalty card and of those who shop in a supermarkets which offer them 70% have a card. Through loyalty card schemes, retailers have been able to build up databases of customer profiles and preferences. Supermarkets are building relationships with customers by sending them individually adressed letters and customised promotions. In return for a very small discount, typically 1 per cent, the store gets what it really wants, information about its customers. It is hardly getting what it says it wants, loyalty; when all stores have cards, and all customers have cards for all stores, we will be back where we began. With this difference: the stores' computers will know more about us than we know about ourselves. There are, of course, safeguards: there is statute law on data protection. Research carried out by Mori for the Black Sun Consultancy, has shown that supermarket loyalty cards do not encourage shoppers to stay loyal to any particular chain. The study found that although over 50% of the UK's supermarket shoppers carried a loyalty card, 69% said that it did not persuade them to shop at any particular chain.Nine out often people said that they were more concerned with getting a better price for their shopping than collecting points on loyalty cards. Many shoppers said that they were forgetful about the points, and 25% said they "rarely" or "never" redeemed the points, according to the article in the Sunday Times. Some supermarket chains seem to have taken notice of the research, with Safeway having dropped its loyalty card back in 2000, while Waitrose never introduced a card scheme, saying they were a waste of time.
Having seen rival supermarket chain Sainsbury's join the Nectar loyalty card scheme, Asda claims that such cards do not work.The UK-based food retailer, owned by US giant Wal-Mart, has unveiled new research by NOP that shows that plastic cards fail to keep customers loyal. Asda said the survey, conducted at the beginning of September, shows that shoppers across the UK, regardless of their favourite store overwhelmingly prefer lower prices to plastic points. Over nine out of ten people (93%) said they would prefer lower prices to loyalty cards. The survey also found that people have not warmed to loyalty cards in the last few years with almost three-quarters (73%) saying their attitude to them had not changed. Asda, the UK's number three supermarket chain according to their market share 2002. (www.mintel.co.uk, 10/08/03) is hot on the heels of number two Sainsbury's, and Asda said it will continue to do what it has done since it abandoned its own loyalty card pilot in 1999--chip away at prices. However, with the Nectar scheme Sainsburys has recoginised the need to give shoppers instant gratifiaction in conjuction with have having a m points scheme that builds up. They therefore can offer instant rewards such as savings in real cash, like Ј5.00 of your shpooing bill when you spend over Ј50.00. However, whether this increases loyalty is also questionable as on the writers recent visit to their local Tesco store the check- assistant advised that I could reed all Sainburys vouchers at that store.
Loyalty schemes such as Loyalty cards act as an incentive for repeat purchasing, which will help maintain or increase a supermarket market share. Supermarkets such as Tescos which uses the loyalty card scheme, will save time analysing customer requirements, which will allow them to reduce stock levels and improve cash flow.
"Tesco, uses the data obtained from its Clubcard to target future offers, minimising customer annoyance and maximising their own sales." (Cran,S,2001,p18)
Loyalty depends on personal relationships, and it is not possible to have a 'meaningful relationship' with an electronic check-out or even generally, with the young person at it. The chains have attacked this problem - which they recognise - by various routes. Some, such as Sainsbury's, have produced glossy magazines full of recipes and suggestions of how to enjoy an enviable lifestyle - all from Sainsbury's own shelves. Some chains develop a house style of architecture: 'Tesco tithe-barns' have gables, mansard windows and occasionally clock-towers, while Safeway's larger newer stores have spacious glass atriums; they remain, of course, basic steel-framed sheds underneath. The range of products and services they offer constantly extends. Some are approaching 20,000 'lines' of merchandise. All the larger stores now have cafeterias .Financial services are appearing, where pension schemes, savings plans and loans on mortgage are among the 'products' on offer. In theory, town planning law enables local councils to limit and control what is sold in a supermarket, but in practice this is a broken reed, and herein lies the next and greatest threat to the traditional town centres. When one can obtain banking, professional advice and even medical services along with groceries, clothing and household goods in one visit, under one roof, the reasons for going to the High Street will be few indeed.
Increasing numbers of UK retailers are adopting a new customer profiling technique which is designed to allow them to exploit their large CRM investments in a more effective way. The purchase behaviour profiling (PBP) technique, which is already being used by Sainsburys and Co-op, segments data by transaction rather than simply by customer demographics.This means retailers can analyse customer behaviour without the need for a loyalty card scheme, giving them meaningful insights into buying patterns, said datawarehousing specialist Teradata, which developed PBP.Retailers have made massive investments in loyalty card schemes but they do not use the data properly," said Mikael Bisgaard-Bohr, retail industry director at Teradata. "Segmenting data by demographics is fine for financial services firms, but it does not work for retailers. With PBP you can break down types of customer behaviour into more meaningful segments
This CRM essay has identified and defined the key concepts of CRM and how this is being utilised in the Uk supermarket sector through inplementing new techonlogy and indentifying cutomers needs. Businesses also need to keep their valuable customers. A keen focus on customers is an axiom of good business. Businesses that do not maintain that focus are doomed. The customer can easily be forgotten in the rush to develop and launch new products and services, mitigate competitive threats, appease financial markets, manage the organization, increase profitability, expand market share and globalize. While CRM applications and their associated technology are critical, they are only tools to enable an idea. CRM is a vision, an In this sense, CRM is like Total Quality Management (TQM) you cannot buy it in a box; instead, you must make it happen through a variety of efforts. Therefore, care must be taken to ensure that CRM does not become a pure product push or an efficiency play wherein customers bear the brunt of a company's cost-containment measures, CRM must be developed from the outside in-- beginning with target customer's wants and needs. Understanding customer behavior can lead to very simple changes in business processes that can improve customer value. As with many things that are simple in concept, the real challenge of CRM lies in its execution.
__________________
Warning!!! This is just a sample CRM essay (CRM essay example) which cannot be used as your own paper. You can contact our custom essay writing service which provides college and university students with high-quality custom written essays, term papers, research papers, thesis papers and dissertations on Customer Relationship Management topics.
Get professional CRM essay writing help from our professional Ph.D. and Master's academic writers. A+ quality and 100% plagiarism are guaranteed! Feel free to ORDER A CUSTOM ESSAY ON CRM RIGHT NOW and you won't be disappointed.
HRM Dissertation
Along with the Thatcherite era and an emphasis away from collective bargaining, reduction in bureaucracy and a move from the collective to the individual, a new void in the personnel function required to be filled.
Thus, human resource management, or HRM, emerged as a practiced personnel function, promising flexibility, responsiveness and a marked increase in the value of the employee. Furthermore, with the reduction in heavy industries and increase in services and high technology, HRM promised to put emphasis on the individual and the longer-term strategic issues.
The push towards this seemingly ideological approach to personnel increased in the late eighties, arguably, due to increasing competitive pressures, increased globalisation and a generally harsher business environment. It is these factors that caused managers to want to enhance internal corporate effectiveness and thus improve external competitiveness. This entailed the maximisation of all resources, including the human resource.
However, the failure of personnel management to adequately promote to others the benefits of effectively managing people at work is also cited as a reason for the need for a new approach, a fact stated by Skinner (1981). Legge (1978) however suggested that the failure occurred at an even more fundamental level; personnel management as an activity has failed to develop an appropriate theoretical base, resulting in "piecemeal textbook interventions, usually out of context with the needs of the organisation".
Defining Human Resource Management
There appears to be no single definition of the term human resource management that is accepted by both people management practitioners and the academic community. Furthermore, trade unionists argue that HRM is a slippery concept which means different things to different people (Monks, 1994). With this fact underlined, to attempt to draw a qualitative judgement as to the impact of HRM practices in Britain can only be done with the knowledge that evidence cited may actually be referring to differing concepts and approaches.
Guest (1987) refers to a model of HRM that is characterised by;
"...being people-orientated throughout with an ethic of respect for the individual, maximisation of individual talent, well developed well-integrated policies and practices, genuine consultation and involvement, and clear challenging goals with feedback".
However, it is argued that Guest's model does not identify the key difference between HRM and personnel management, namely a shift from a hands-on, fire fighting approach to a planning function of a company as part of an overall corporate strategy.
Legge (1989) further supports this view, defining HRM as being a central strategic management task; it is the ability of a company to utilise its personnel at all levels to create and sustain a competitive advantage.
The above definition can be compared to a more procedural approach seen in Megginson's (1972) definition of personnel management;
"it is believed that the most significant aspect of personnel management is to be found through the direction and control of human resources of an organisation in its daily operationsЕ the successful performance of the personnel function necessitates that each manager orient himself within his total business environment in order to help achieve the various organisational programs and objectives".
Thus, by comparing HRM with personnel management, we see that HRM is the achievement of a fit between management of the work force and the strategic thrust of the organisation, a notion reinforced by Harris (1984);
"Successful companies guide and shape their company's culture to fit their strategy. One of the tools used to accomplish this shaping is the reinforcing of certain ideas, values and behaviours and discouraging others by means of human resource management activities".
However, this concept of fit has been identified by Legge (1995) as one of several ambiguities and contradictions proliferating in HRM definitions. Does fit refer to the external integration of HRM with business strategy, as identified above, or the internal integration of employment policies?
Regardless of these ambiguities in the HRM definitions, it is clear that whilst personnel management is seen as a short-term solution, reacting to stimuli, HRM is founded on the idea that an organisation includes human resource factors within top-level corporate strategies and hence seeks to adopt a long-term view.
However, empirical evidence as to the extent of HRM implementation tends not to support the idea of top-level corporate human resources strategy integration. This is backed by findings from Storey (1992) from a study of fifteen companies in Britain, where, in the majority of instances, there was a lack of a strong link between people management activities and an overall corporate plan. This fact is given further credence by Legge (1995), who found that there was patchy implementation of practices designed to achieve flexibility and quality, and more emphasis on dealing with short-term issues and opportunities such as high unemployment rates, rather than "any long term strategic considerations".
Given this lack of empirical support on a key distinguishing feature of HRM, doubts must be raised as to the claimed strategic shift from personnel management to HRM.
A Case of "Old wine in new bottles?"
It is highly common to find texts citing HRM as simply being variation on a single theme; that HRM is merely personnel management, under a new label - eloquently stated by Armstrong (1987) as being "Old wine in a new bottle". Miller (1989) concludes that any difference between HRM and personnel management remains confusing and confused. Possibly more insightful is Fowler (1987), who states, "what's new in HRM is not what it is, but who is saying it, HRM represents the discovery of personnel management by chief executives".
The fact, pointed out by Guest (1987), that a number of personnel departments have become "human resource departments" without any observable changes in roles does not help. This is a practice mirrored in some long standing personnel management textbooks, where the title was changed to "human resource management", with little or no change in the actual content.
It is clear that there is no universally accepted description of the concept of HRM, although there are those who clearly have identified variations of HRM. Most notably, is Story (1989), in his identification and classification of two types of HRM, namely "hard" and "soft".
Summed up by Kessler et al (1998), "Hard" HRM puts the stress on the idea of a "resource" that is something to be used dispassionately and in a formally rational manner, as with any other economic factor. "Soft" HRM lays the stress on the term "human", thus conjuring up echoes of the human relations school, and emphasises communication, motivation and leadership.
Further types of HRM have been identified by Keenoy (1990), who makes reference to four variations; traditional - as practiced by the companies mentioned previously, which stresses the importance of people; neo-pluralist - which includes joint consultation, and the use of quality circles and increased employee involvement; strategic human resource management, this being concerned with the integration of human resource issues into corporate plans, and having little or nothing to do with actually managing people, and adversarial pluralism.
Whilst it can be seen that there is a certain amount of overlap between the definitions, there are also clear differences. What is striking, therefore, is that the same term is thus capable of signalling dramatically opposite sets of assumptions. Thus it is up to the individual or an organisation on how they interpret HRM - an echoing of MonkТs statement that HRM is practiced on individual interpretations. Legge (1989) points out that, not only are there differences in the definitions of HRM, they exhibit central characteristics that may ultimately be irreconcilable.
A knock on effect is the difficulty in defining the level to which organisations practice HRM. Noon (1992) states that it is not merely a case of semantics; it does matter which label is attached, as each carries different expectations and important practical implications.
What is clear however is that whichever variation of HRM is implemented by the organisation, its adoption will impact directly on the management of people at work. For some, this means a move away from institutionalisation and collectivism, and also a move away from the traditional view of employee relations management as being concerned with the making and administering of rules which regulate the employment relationship. This can be seen as an ideological shift away from the collective, and towards a unitarist and individualistic standpoint, within which employees' commitment to the company replaces the traditional Western allegiance to the occupation (Wickens, 1987).
Now that the differences between HRM and personnel management have been discussed, and more significantly, variations in HRM identified - despite higher-level ambiguities and confusion, it is appropriate to consider actual empirical evidence as to the extent and nature to which HRM has been implemented in actual organisations.
Qualitative Evidence
Popular management theorists draw a clear link between company success or excellence and the practice of human resource management. Excellent organisations such as IBM, Hewlett-Packard and, at one point, Marks and Spencer are often cited as practicing HRM. However, it must be questioned as to whether it is appropriate for the tag "HRM" to be appointed to an organisation given the lack of a precise definition.
Despite this issue, not withstanding the considerable variations and implementations or HRM practices, there are undoubtedly indications that current management attitudes are consistent with many of the core elements of HRM, such as employee involvement, strategic human resources considerations and a move to devolve the personnel function to the line. Over the years, research has been carried out, looking at organisations that display these characteristics, and much can be learnt from these studies.
Research carried out by Hope-Hailey et al (1997) looking at self-proclaimed HRM practicing organisations, namely Glaxo (pharmaceuticals), Citibank (investment banking), Hewlett-Packard (hi-tech), WH Smith (retail and distribution), Lloyds Bank (retail banking), BT (telecommunications), KJS (fast moving consumer goods) and an NHS Trust (healthcare) revealed several interesting facts.
It was found that in most companies, there was an HR function at the board level of the company, although HRM was seen as a secondary decision making process. Furthermore, it was seen to be more of a process rather than a strategy and emergent rather than intended. A further surprising indicator of this, is the fact that there were very few examples of written HR strategies, reinforcing the idea that;
"HR strategy formulation is much more of an interactive process, based on what is feasible in terms of organisational politics at board level and practical in terms of implementation".
A further emergent fact is that as the HR function has been devolved, in terms of decision making to line managers, the presence of the HR department has diminished. As a personnel manager of Citibank typifies;
"We operate fairly independently within broad parameters and guidelines. We don't behave as a department on a weekly basis "I don't think you could look at us and say we are a department" this puts us very close inside, next to the business".
However, it was found that the move did not reduce in any way the necessary bureaucracy associated with the personnel policies and procedures. Furthermore, the recruitment, selection and the operations of the pay systems were still tasks of a now diminished HR staff. This has led to an observable lack of co-ordination, with a lack of communication between an organisation's business units. The research cites examples of secretaries being released on one floor of a bank due to overstaffing, and secretaries being recruited on another, due to an increase in workload.
Paradoxically, however, this downsizing and devolution of HR departments has been accompanied by an increased regard for the functionТs contribution at a strategic level, despite itТs diminished capability to deal with direct requests for help from staff; HRM is clearly regarded by management to be working, rather than non-management staff.
The researchers state three effects due to this paradox;
- Lower levels of staff often had little understanding of the role and purpose of the function;
- There was a clear identification for the worker's need in a neutral body or department within the organisation that could be consulted for neutral opinion;
- There seemed to be a demand for a counselling service within the organisation.
It is clear from the last two points that having spent decades shedding the image of personnel as the loyal opposition to management (Sisson, 1989), once this has been actualised, there is exactly a demand for these very services. This is contrast to beliefs that with the advent of service based industries and individualisation of the workforce, the welfare mechanisms necessary in factories and heavy industries would become redundant.
This paradox links directly to management practices in relation to trade unions, and the impact HRM has and potentially will have on unionised organisations.
Human Resource Management and Trade Unions
The impact of HRM on trade unions is relative to the environment in which it is being implemented. Traditional British industrial relations, post-Donovan and pre-Thatcherism, has be characterised by pluralism and the institution of collective bargaining, both of which argued as conflicting in nature to HRM practice, which unitarism as itТs core concept, which Guest (1987) sees as marginalising unions.
This process of marginalisation is seen as likely due to the importance placed upon employee commitment and employee involvement within an HRM framework. If an organisation, through the adoption of HRM, stresses the importance of commitment to that organisation, the employee may be put in a position where they will find it necessary to offer allegiance to both the company and the union.
However, it is important to note that HRM is not by definition anti-union, although practices associated with it may well prove to be detrimental to unions in practice. Reinforcing this, Millward (1994) found that HRM practices were actually more likely to be found in unionised companies.
Guest (1989) has suggested that the perspective adopted by management will dictate the impact of HRM on unions. Where the management leans towards a more pluralistic approach then there will be no threat to unions. But where the approach shows accord with the values of hard HRM, namely, individualism and unitarism, then the outcome could be the failure of management to recognise trade unions.
The precise impact on employees generally will depend on the type of HRM that is actually practised, as opposed to simply the adoption of an HRM policy. The TUC (1994) refer to; bad HRM, which they define as the piecemeal, ad hoc, unsystematic attempt to select items from the HRM menu to improve company performance which conceals a vigorous anti-union strategy; and good HRM which is in keeping with companies' attempts to build a workplace by developing employee commitment.
Keenoy (1990) describes HRM as a wolf in sheep's clothing. Furthermore, Fowler (1987) argues that employee involvement under HRM is actually involvement on the company's terms, and is actually a subtle form of employee manipulation disguised as mutuality.
Therefore, it's possible that, whilst it may appear that employees have a greater involvement in the organisation, it is only selective involvement on the company's terms, a situation that may change with the advent of works councils. At the same time, it is feasible that management, in adopting HRM, will no longer see trade unions as being appropriate, as they raise the potential problem for the employee of dual allegiance - union or company? If the union were indeed no longer recognised, then if a situation arose where an individual is placed in a position of conflict with the company, due to this process of individualisation that employee would be in a relatively weak position to oppose the company.
Conclusion
It is clear that there are identifiable components that recur in HRM topics, such as employee involvement, commitment, appraisal and reward. However, these are also tenants of personnel management. The only clear factor that goes some way to differentiate HRM from personnel management is strategic planning. But, does the presence of an element of strategic thinking in people management justify the application of the term human resource management?
Focusing on this view of a long-term strategic view, Skinner (1981) argues that benefits as a result of the implementation of HRM practices may not become apparent for five or more years, and secondly, current corporate polices tend not to reward managers for results that might not become apparent for several years. Hence, whilst it may be argued that HRM has the means of providing increased organisational effectiveness in the long term, will organisations, and managers, be prepared, or even allowed, to wait?
There also appears to be very little qualitative evidence to support any great degree of consistency between people management strategies and corporate strategies within companies. Hope-Hailey et al (1997) indeed suggest that HRM is not being practiced in the forms suggested in the 1980s, and that current practices are actually highly diverse. This diversity in practice suggests that HRM is highly sensitive to environmental and contextual factors as well as higher-level issues such as culture and managerial mentality.
These points lead to the question as to whether human resource management is actually sustainable in the long-term, despite the fact that HRM practices in organisations is on the increase. In order for HRM to be sustainable, several high-level definitions and concepts must be clarified.
Firstly, there is an implication that HRM can be seen as an "all or nothing" concept. This leads to a fundamental question; does an organisation have to actively implement all the practices that fall within HRM in order to claim that they are truly practising HRM? Conversely, can it be said that an organisation practices HRM if the personnel function centres on the practice of any combination of defined constituents of HRM?
Secondly, as Legge (1989) suggests, HRM suffers from three inherent contradictions; individualism versus co-operation, commitment versus flexibility, and strong culture versus adaptability. Clearly unless such internal tensions can be rationalised, they too may threaten the long-term sustainability of HRM.
Finally, the effect on the employee must be considered. In effect, this is directly related to the effects on, and response of, trade unions to HRM. With the move in management to draw direct links to the employee, the potential for trade unions to intervene on behalf of the employee, through the traditional means of collective bargaining, will become increasingly marginalised.
Potentially, with increasing allegiance from the employee being sought by the company, there may come a time when an employee will have to choose between company and union. Furthermore, as company-employee links strengthen, the company may question the very need for trade union recognition, leaving the employees in a potentially undermined position.
Ultimately, though, the question that has to be asked is whether or not HRM is simply context specific; it seems that the observed shifts in management style to HRM is simply a response to the new employment conditions in the 1990s, and the question that begs answering is, if this is the case, how well will HRM fare with the next inevitable change in personnel management methodology?
__________________
Warning!!! This is just a sample HRM dissertation (HRM dissertation example) which cannot be used as your own paper. You can contact our custom dissertation writing service which provides college and university students with high-quality custom dissertations, thesis papers and research proposals on Human Resource Management topics.
Get professional HRM dissertation writing help from our professional Ph.D. and Master's academic writers. Premium quality and 100% plagiarism are guaranteed! Feel free to ORDER A CUSTOM DISSERTATION ON HRM RIGHT NOW and you won't be disappointed.
Thus, human resource management, or HRM, emerged as a practiced personnel function, promising flexibility, responsiveness and a marked increase in the value of the employee. Furthermore, with the reduction in heavy industries and increase in services and high technology, HRM promised to put emphasis on the individual and the longer-term strategic issues.
The push towards this seemingly ideological approach to personnel increased in the late eighties, arguably, due to increasing competitive pressures, increased globalisation and a generally harsher business environment. It is these factors that caused managers to want to enhance internal corporate effectiveness and thus improve external competitiveness. This entailed the maximisation of all resources, including the human resource.
However, the failure of personnel management to adequately promote to others the benefits of effectively managing people at work is also cited as a reason for the need for a new approach, a fact stated by Skinner (1981). Legge (1978) however suggested that the failure occurred at an even more fundamental level; personnel management as an activity has failed to develop an appropriate theoretical base, resulting in "piecemeal textbook interventions, usually out of context with the needs of the organisation".
Defining Human Resource Management
There appears to be no single definition of the term human resource management that is accepted by both people management practitioners and the academic community. Furthermore, trade unionists argue that HRM is a slippery concept which means different things to different people (Monks, 1994). With this fact underlined, to attempt to draw a qualitative judgement as to the impact of HRM practices in Britain can only be done with the knowledge that evidence cited may actually be referring to differing concepts and approaches.
Guest (1987) refers to a model of HRM that is characterised by;
"...being people-orientated throughout with an ethic of respect for the individual, maximisation of individual talent, well developed well-integrated policies and practices, genuine consultation and involvement, and clear challenging goals with feedback".
However, it is argued that Guest's model does not identify the key difference between HRM and personnel management, namely a shift from a hands-on, fire fighting approach to a planning function of a company as part of an overall corporate strategy.
Legge (1989) further supports this view, defining HRM as being a central strategic management task; it is the ability of a company to utilise its personnel at all levels to create and sustain a competitive advantage.
The above definition can be compared to a more procedural approach seen in Megginson's (1972) definition of personnel management;
"it is believed that the most significant aspect of personnel management is to be found through the direction and control of human resources of an organisation in its daily operationsЕ the successful performance of the personnel function necessitates that each manager orient himself within his total business environment in order to help achieve the various organisational programs and objectives".
Thus, by comparing HRM with personnel management, we see that HRM is the achievement of a fit between management of the work force and the strategic thrust of the organisation, a notion reinforced by Harris (1984);
"Successful companies guide and shape their company's culture to fit their strategy. One of the tools used to accomplish this shaping is the reinforcing of certain ideas, values and behaviours and discouraging others by means of human resource management activities".
However, this concept of fit has been identified by Legge (1995) as one of several ambiguities and contradictions proliferating in HRM definitions. Does fit refer to the external integration of HRM with business strategy, as identified above, or the internal integration of employment policies?
Regardless of these ambiguities in the HRM definitions, it is clear that whilst personnel management is seen as a short-term solution, reacting to stimuli, HRM is founded on the idea that an organisation includes human resource factors within top-level corporate strategies and hence seeks to adopt a long-term view.
However, empirical evidence as to the extent of HRM implementation tends not to support the idea of top-level corporate human resources strategy integration. This is backed by findings from Storey (1992) from a study of fifteen companies in Britain, where, in the majority of instances, there was a lack of a strong link between people management activities and an overall corporate plan. This fact is given further credence by Legge (1995), who found that there was patchy implementation of practices designed to achieve flexibility and quality, and more emphasis on dealing with short-term issues and opportunities such as high unemployment rates, rather than "any long term strategic considerations".
Given this lack of empirical support on a key distinguishing feature of HRM, doubts must be raised as to the claimed strategic shift from personnel management to HRM.
A Case of "Old wine in new bottles?"
It is highly common to find texts citing HRM as simply being variation on a single theme; that HRM is merely personnel management, under a new label - eloquently stated by Armstrong (1987) as being "Old wine in a new bottle". Miller (1989) concludes that any difference between HRM and personnel management remains confusing and confused. Possibly more insightful is Fowler (1987), who states, "what's new in HRM is not what it is, but who is saying it, HRM represents the discovery of personnel management by chief executives".
The fact, pointed out by Guest (1987), that a number of personnel departments have become "human resource departments" without any observable changes in roles does not help. This is a practice mirrored in some long standing personnel management textbooks, where the title was changed to "human resource management", with little or no change in the actual content.
It is clear that there is no universally accepted description of the concept of HRM, although there are those who clearly have identified variations of HRM. Most notably, is Story (1989), in his identification and classification of two types of HRM, namely "hard" and "soft".
Summed up by Kessler et al (1998), "Hard" HRM puts the stress on the idea of a "resource" that is something to be used dispassionately and in a formally rational manner, as with any other economic factor. "Soft" HRM lays the stress on the term "human", thus conjuring up echoes of the human relations school, and emphasises communication, motivation and leadership.
Further types of HRM have been identified by Keenoy (1990), who makes reference to four variations; traditional - as practiced by the companies mentioned previously, which stresses the importance of people; neo-pluralist - which includes joint consultation, and the use of quality circles and increased employee involvement; strategic human resource management, this being concerned with the integration of human resource issues into corporate plans, and having little or nothing to do with actually managing people, and adversarial pluralism.
Whilst it can be seen that there is a certain amount of overlap between the definitions, there are also clear differences. What is striking, therefore, is that the same term is thus capable of signalling dramatically opposite sets of assumptions. Thus it is up to the individual or an organisation on how they interpret HRM - an echoing of MonkТs statement that HRM is practiced on individual interpretations. Legge (1989) points out that, not only are there differences in the definitions of HRM, they exhibit central characteristics that may ultimately be irreconcilable.
A knock on effect is the difficulty in defining the level to which organisations practice HRM. Noon (1992) states that it is not merely a case of semantics; it does matter which label is attached, as each carries different expectations and important practical implications.
What is clear however is that whichever variation of HRM is implemented by the organisation, its adoption will impact directly on the management of people at work. For some, this means a move away from institutionalisation and collectivism, and also a move away from the traditional view of employee relations management as being concerned with the making and administering of rules which regulate the employment relationship. This can be seen as an ideological shift away from the collective, and towards a unitarist and individualistic standpoint, within which employees' commitment to the company replaces the traditional Western allegiance to the occupation (Wickens, 1987).
Now that the differences between HRM and personnel management have been discussed, and more significantly, variations in HRM identified - despite higher-level ambiguities and confusion, it is appropriate to consider actual empirical evidence as to the extent and nature to which HRM has been implemented in actual organisations.
Qualitative Evidence
Popular management theorists draw a clear link between company success or excellence and the practice of human resource management. Excellent organisations such as IBM, Hewlett-Packard and, at one point, Marks and Spencer are often cited as practicing HRM. However, it must be questioned as to whether it is appropriate for the tag "HRM" to be appointed to an organisation given the lack of a precise definition.
Despite this issue, not withstanding the considerable variations and implementations or HRM practices, there are undoubtedly indications that current management attitudes are consistent with many of the core elements of HRM, such as employee involvement, strategic human resources considerations and a move to devolve the personnel function to the line. Over the years, research has been carried out, looking at organisations that display these characteristics, and much can be learnt from these studies.
Research carried out by Hope-Hailey et al (1997) looking at self-proclaimed HRM practicing organisations, namely Glaxo (pharmaceuticals), Citibank (investment banking), Hewlett-Packard (hi-tech), WH Smith (retail and distribution), Lloyds Bank (retail banking), BT (telecommunications), KJS (fast moving consumer goods) and an NHS Trust (healthcare) revealed several interesting facts.
It was found that in most companies, there was an HR function at the board level of the company, although HRM was seen as a secondary decision making process. Furthermore, it was seen to be more of a process rather than a strategy and emergent rather than intended. A further surprising indicator of this, is the fact that there were very few examples of written HR strategies, reinforcing the idea that;
"HR strategy formulation is much more of an interactive process, based on what is feasible in terms of organisational politics at board level and practical in terms of implementation".
A further emergent fact is that as the HR function has been devolved, in terms of decision making to line managers, the presence of the HR department has diminished. As a personnel manager of Citibank typifies;
"We operate fairly independently within broad parameters and guidelines. We don't behave as a department on a weekly basis "I don't think you could look at us and say we are a department" this puts us very close inside, next to the business".
However, it was found that the move did not reduce in any way the necessary bureaucracy associated with the personnel policies and procedures. Furthermore, the recruitment, selection and the operations of the pay systems were still tasks of a now diminished HR staff. This has led to an observable lack of co-ordination, with a lack of communication between an organisation's business units. The research cites examples of secretaries being released on one floor of a bank due to overstaffing, and secretaries being recruited on another, due to an increase in workload.
Paradoxically, however, this downsizing and devolution of HR departments has been accompanied by an increased regard for the functionТs contribution at a strategic level, despite itТs diminished capability to deal with direct requests for help from staff; HRM is clearly regarded by management to be working, rather than non-management staff.
The researchers state three effects due to this paradox;
- Lower levels of staff often had little understanding of the role and purpose of the function;
- There was a clear identification for the worker's need in a neutral body or department within the organisation that could be consulted for neutral opinion;
- There seemed to be a demand for a counselling service within the organisation.
It is clear from the last two points that having spent decades shedding the image of personnel as the loyal opposition to management (Sisson, 1989), once this has been actualised, there is exactly a demand for these very services. This is contrast to beliefs that with the advent of service based industries and individualisation of the workforce, the welfare mechanisms necessary in factories and heavy industries would become redundant.
This paradox links directly to management practices in relation to trade unions, and the impact HRM has and potentially will have on unionised organisations.
Human Resource Management and Trade Unions
The impact of HRM on trade unions is relative to the environment in which it is being implemented. Traditional British industrial relations, post-Donovan and pre-Thatcherism, has be characterised by pluralism and the institution of collective bargaining, both of which argued as conflicting in nature to HRM practice, which unitarism as itТs core concept, which Guest (1987) sees as marginalising unions.
This process of marginalisation is seen as likely due to the importance placed upon employee commitment and employee involvement within an HRM framework. If an organisation, through the adoption of HRM, stresses the importance of commitment to that organisation, the employee may be put in a position where they will find it necessary to offer allegiance to both the company and the union.
However, it is important to note that HRM is not by definition anti-union, although practices associated with it may well prove to be detrimental to unions in practice. Reinforcing this, Millward (1994) found that HRM practices were actually more likely to be found in unionised companies.
Guest (1989) has suggested that the perspective adopted by management will dictate the impact of HRM on unions. Where the management leans towards a more pluralistic approach then there will be no threat to unions. But where the approach shows accord with the values of hard HRM, namely, individualism and unitarism, then the outcome could be the failure of management to recognise trade unions.
The precise impact on employees generally will depend on the type of HRM that is actually practised, as opposed to simply the adoption of an HRM policy. The TUC (1994) refer to; bad HRM, which they define as the piecemeal, ad hoc, unsystematic attempt to select items from the HRM menu to improve company performance which conceals a vigorous anti-union strategy; and good HRM which is in keeping with companies' attempts to build a workplace by developing employee commitment.
Keenoy (1990) describes HRM as a wolf in sheep's clothing. Furthermore, Fowler (1987) argues that employee involvement under HRM is actually involvement on the company's terms, and is actually a subtle form of employee manipulation disguised as mutuality.
Therefore, it's possible that, whilst it may appear that employees have a greater involvement in the organisation, it is only selective involvement on the company's terms, a situation that may change with the advent of works councils. At the same time, it is feasible that management, in adopting HRM, will no longer see trade unions as being appropriate, as they raise the potential problem for the employee of dual allegiance - union or company? If the union were indeed no longer recognised, then if a situation arose where an individual is placed in a position of conflict with the company, due to this process of individualisation that employee would be in a relatively weak position to oppose the company.
Conclusion
It is clear that there are identifiable components that recur in HRM topics, such as employee involvement, commitment, appraisal and reward. However, these are also tenants of personnel management. The only clear factor that goes some way to differentiate HRM from personnel management is strategic planning. But, does the presence of an element of strategic thinking in people management justify the application of the term human resource management?
Focusing on this view of a long-term strategic view, Skinner (1981) argues that benefits as a result of the implementation of HRM practices may not become apparent for five or more years, and secondly, current corporate polices tend not to reward managers for results that might not become apparent for several years. Hence, whilst it may be argued that HRM has the means of providing increased organisational effectiveness in the long term, will organisations, and managers, be prepared, or even allowed, to wait?
There also appears to be very little qualitative evidence to support any great degree of consistency between people management strategies and corporate strategies within companies. Hope-Hailey et al (1997) indeed suggest that HRM is not being practiced in the forms suggested in the 1980s, and that current practices are actually highly diverse. This diversity in practice suggests that HRM is highly sensitive to environmental and contextual factors as well as higher-level issues such as culture and managerial mentality.
These points lead to the question as to whether human resource management is actually sustainable in the long-term, despite the fact that HRM practices in organisations is on the increase. In order for HRM to be sustainable, several high-level definitions and concepts must be clarified.
Firstly, there is an implication that HRM can be seen as an "all or nothing" concept. This leads to a fundamental question; does an organisation have to actively implement all the practices that fall within HRM in order to claim that they are truly practising HRM? Conversely, can it be said that an organisation practices HRM if the personnel function centres on the practice of any combination of defined constituents of HRM?
Secondly, as Legge (1989) suggests, HRM suffers from three inherent contradictions; individualism versus co-operation, commitment versus flexibility, and strong culture versus adaptability. Clearly unless such internal tensions can be rationalised, they too may threaten the long-term sustainability of HRM.
Finally, the effect on the employee must be considered. In effect, this is directly related to the effects on, and response of, trade unions to HRM. With the move in management to draw direct links to the employee, the potential for trade unions to intervene on behalf of the employee, through the traditional means of collective bargaining, will become increasingly marginalised.
Potentially, with increasing allegiance from the employee being sought by the company, there may come a time when an employee will have to choose between company and union. Furthermore, as company-employee links strengthen, the company may question the very need for trade union recognition, leaving the employees in a potentially undermined position.
Ultimately, though, the question that has to be asked is whether or not HRM is simply context specific; it seems that the observed shifts in management style to HRM is simply a response to the new employment conditions in the 1990s, and the question that begs answering is, if this is the case, how well will HRM fare with the next inevitable change in personnel management methodology?
__________________
Warning!!! This is just a sample HRM dissertation (HRM dissertation example) which cannot be used as your own paper. You can contact our custom dissertation writing service which provides college and university students with high-quality custom dissertations, thesis papers and research proposals on Human Resource Management topics.
Get professional HRM dissertation writing help from our professional Ph.D. and Master's academic writers. Premium quality and 100% plagiarism are guaranteed! Feel free to ORDER A CUSTOM DISSERTATION ON HRM RIGHT NOW and you won't be disappointed.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Anthropology Essay
If you were to ask someone what Anthropology is, the first thing they might mention is Indiana Jones, digging up bones and artifacts, and at the same time, running away from big boulders in a dark cave. Although these facts are somewhat true, that is not all what Anthropology is about. Anthropology is the study of the human species, in the past, and the present (Park 2002). Through Anthropology, we are able to learn about our pasts and ancestors. Anthropology is basically, “digging up people’s garbage,” (Griffin 2002). But it’s garbage that helps us to further expand our knowledge about the past. One day, thousands, and maybe even millions of years from now there will be people digging up our garbage and learning about us. Anthropology has many different subfields (Griffin 2002).
The main topic that we are going to discuss is Biological Anthropology, also known as Physical Anthropology, which focuses on the study of the human species. The theory of evolution is an important factor that helps scientists, and ourselves, understand what Anthropology is all about. Charles Darwin was the first man to strongly believe in the theory of evolution, which by definition means, a species of living things change over time, and under the right circumstances, this change can produce new species of living organisms (Park 2002). Although he proved that evolution exists, there are still people out there who believe that man was created by God, and that we didn’t evolve from other animals. So to this day, evolution vs. religion becomes a very controversial topic. To better understand the human species, scientists closely study and examine primates because we share derived characteristics which means that two groups share phenotypic features not found in other groups and if it can be supported that those features were derived from a common ancestor, the groups must be lumped from the same category at whatever taxonomic level is appropriate (Park 2002). Each new discovery that Anthropologists make whether it be from bones and artifacts, or from primates, helps us as human beings understand why we are the way we are.
There are four subfields of Anthropology. Cultural Anthropology deals with the way we are raised. It is not in our genes, but rather the society and the area that we live in (Park 2002). If you observe different parts of the country, everyone’s culture is different. For example, Amish people are taught and raised the old fashioned way. They don’t use electricity, they grow their own food, and wear certain types of clothing. They choose not to be exposed to the modern day world, therefore they live how people lived before technology came about. That is part of their culture, and what they’re all about. Even people that live in the same country but in different parts have a very different culture.
New York and California are in the same country, but the people in each state have a different culture all their own. The next field is archaeology which is almost like biological anthropology. Archaeology is the study of the human cultural past and the reconstruction of past cultural systems. It also involves the techniques used to recover, preserve, and interpret the material means of the past (Park 2002). Archaeology is more focused on artifacts created by our ancestors and the way they lived. The last subfield in Anthropology is Linguistic Anthropology. Linguistic Anthropology focuses on languages in the past and their change over time. Other culture’s languages and ways of communication are also studied.
In order to understand what Anthropology is all about we must understand the theory of evolution. Evolution simply means, “change over time,” (Griffin 2002). About two million years ago humanity began to show its evolution in the order of the universe. Humans originally belonged to the order of mammals, the primates, which existed before the dinosaurs became extinct. This development of descending from tree habitats to forest floors and eventually to more open country was associated with the development of many unique features of the human species. However, humans did not evolve from a primate ancestor, humans as well as apes both evolved from the same primate species, but each branched out in different directions tap become different species (McKenna 1998). Darwin was the first man to ever really prove the theory of evolution. He was able to gather enough information and evidence that evolution does exist. Darwin’s findings marked a revolution of thought and social upheaval that not only challenged the scientific community, but the religious ones as well (Walker 2002). Some people do not believe in evolution, due to their religion. Christians believe that man began with Adam and Eve, and that we descended from them. Today there are still arguments if evolution is a fact or theory. By definition, “theory” means a statement of what are held to be the general laws, principles, or causes of something known or observed, as the Oxford English dictionary defines it. Evolution began as a hypothesis and achieved “facthood” as the evidence became so strong that not even the smartest and most knowledgeable person could deny its reality. This theory continues to challenge religious beliefs.
Primatalogy is the study of primates and apes to help us better understand human behavior (Johnson 1997). Of all the animals, primates and apes are closely similar to humans. A primate’s intelligence is closely related to our own. Humans and apes have the same behavioral patterns such as grooming, and interacting in groups. Some of our facial features are also somewhat alike. To better understand the human species, we need to study and understand other forms of life, to see how we are different, and how we are alike. It’s hard to study ourselves, because humans tend to not want to be objective about our own type, so Primatology plays an important role in Anthropology (Park 2002).
Anthropolgy is a crucial subject to be studied. The more educated we are about our past, the wiser our decisions will be for the future. Learning about our ancestors, and the way we live plays an important role for our lives today. Without the study of Anthropology and its different subfields, we would know nothing at all about ourselves.
In the future, the way we live, and everything that we are now will be studied. Some of the most prominent evolutionary theories of all time can be found in Charles Darwin’s “Origin of Species.” His conclusions linked humans’ bone structure to primates, apes, and gorillas. They are closely linked to the evolved human of the time. Within 500,000 years time, he claimed, that we had evolved from Australopithecus Ramidus to the present Homo Sapiens that we are categorized as. He sums the entire evolutionary theory in his book, “We must...acknowledge, as it seems to me, that man with all his noble qualities, sympathy, benevolence, and god-like intellect which has penetrated into the movements and constitution of the solar system itself-with all these exalted powers-Man still bears in his bodily frame the incredible stamp of his lowly origin (Darwin). In my opinion, evolution is both a theory and a fact. Facts and theories are different things. Facts are the world’s data theories are structures of ideas that explain and interpret facts. Facts don’t go away when scientists debate rival theories to explain them. Darwin continually emphasized the difference between his two great and separate accomplishments: establishing the fact of evolution, and proposing a theory-natural selection-to explain the mechanism of evolution.
Those who do not believe in evolution should consider the fact that maybe God made it possible for living things to evolve. Religious beliefs and evolution come help make what we are today. Due to an abundant amount of evidence, it is hard to dismiss the theory of evolution. Between digging up the past, and studying primates to better understand ourselves, Anthropology becomes an important science.
Sure, doctors and surgeons can cure the diseases of the world, but without extensive knowledge of the human race, then we might as well be blind when we are trying to cure the sick. Our past becomes the key to our future, it’ll prevent us from making mistakes that our ancestors may have made, and it aids us in understanding the very complex human species.
__________________
Warning!!! This is just a sample Anthropology essay (Anthropology essay example) which cannot be used as your own paper. You can contact our custom essay writing service which provides college and university students with high-quality custom written essays, term papers, research papers, thesis papers and dissertations on Anthropology topics.
Get professional Civil War essay writing help from our professional Ph.D. and Master's academic writers. A+ quality and 100% plagiarism are guaranteed! Feel free to ORDER A CUSTOM ESSAY ON ANTHROPOLOGY RIGHT NOW and you won't be disappointed.
The main topic that we are going to discuss is Biological Anthropology, also known as Physical Anthropology, which focuses on the study of the human species. The theory of evolution is an important factor that helps scientists, and ourselves, understand what Anthropology is all about. Charles Darwin was the first man to strongly believe in the theory of evolution, which by definition means, a species of living things change over time, and under the right circumstances, this change can produce new species of living organisms (Park 2002). Although he proved that evolution exists, there are still people out there who believe that man was created by God, and that we didn’t evolve from other animals. So to this day, evolution vs. religion becomes a very controversial topic. To better understand the human species, scientists closely study and examine primates because we share derived characteristics which means that two groups share phenotypic features not found in other groups and if it can be supported that those features were derived from a common ancestor, the groups must be lumped from the same category at whatever taxonomic level is appropriate (Park 2002). Each new discovery that Anthropologists make whether it be from bones and artifacts, or from primates, helps us as human beings understand why we are the way we are.
There are four subfields of Anthropology. Cultural Anthropology deals with the way we are raised. It is not in our genes, but rather the society and the area that we live in (Park 2002). If you observe different parts of the country, everyone’s culture is different. For example, Amish people are taught and raised the old fashioned way. They don’t use electricity, they grow their own food, and wear certain types of clothing. They choose not to be exposed to the modern day world, therefore they live how people lived before technology came about. That is part of their culture, and what they’re all about. Even people that live in the same country but in different parts have a very different culture.
New York and California are in the same country, but the people in each state have a different culture all their own. The next field is archaeology which is almost like biological anthropology. Archaeology is the study of the human cultural past and the reconstruction of past cultural systems. It also involves the techniques used to recover, preserve, and interpret the material means of the past (Park 2002). Archaeology is more focused on artifacts created by our ancestors and the way they lived. The last subfield in Anthropology is Linguistic Anthropology. Linguistic Anthropology focuses on languages in the past and their change over time. Other culture’s languages and ways of communication are also studied.
In order to understand what Anthropology is all about we must understand the theory of evolution. Evolution simply means, “change over time,” (Griffin 2002). About two million years ago humanity began to show its evolution in the order of the universe. Humans originally belonged to the order of mammals, the primates, which existed before the dinosaurs became extinct. This development of descending from tree habitats to forest floors and eventually to more open country was associated with the development of many unique features of the human species. However, humans did not evolve from a primate ancestor, humans as well as apes both evolved from the same primate species, but each branched out in different directions tap become different species (McKenna 1998). Darwin was the first man to ever really prove the theory of evolution. He was able to gather enough information and evidence that evolution does exist. Darwin’s findings marked a revolution of thought and social upheaval that not only challenged the scientific community, but the religious ones as well (Walker 2002). Some people do not believe in evolution, due to their religion. Christians believe that man began with Adam and Eve, and that we descended from them. Today there are still arguments if evolution is a fact or theory. By definition, “theory” means a statement of what are held to be the general laws, principles, or causes of something known or observed, as the Oxford English dictionary defines it. Evolution began as a hypothesis and achieved “facthood” as the evidence became so strong that not even the smartest and most knowledgeable person could deny its reality. This theory continues to challenge religious beliefs.
Primatalogy is the study of primates and apes to help us better understand human behavior (Johnson 1997). Of all the animals, primates and apes are closely similar to humans. A primate’s intelligence is closely related to our own. Humans and apes have the same behavioral patterns such as grooming, and interacting in groups. Some of our facial features are also somewhat alike. To better understand the human species, we need to study and understand other forms of life, to see how we are different, and how we are alike. It’s hard to study ourselves, because humans tend to not want to be objective about our own type, so Primatology plays an important role in Anthropology (Park 2002).
Anthropolgy is a crucial subject to be studied. The more educated we are about our past, the wiser our decisions will be for the future. Learning about our ancestors, and the way we live plays an important role for our lives today. Without the study of Anthropology and its different subfields, we would know nothing at all about ourselves.
In the future, the way we live, and everything that we are now will be studied. Some of the most prominent evolutionary theories of all time can be found in Charles Darwin’s “Origin of Species.” His conclusions linked humans’ bone structure to primates, apes, and gorillas. They are closely linked to the evolved human of the time. Within 500,000 years time, he claimed, that we had evolved from Australopithecus Ramidus to the present Homo Sapiens that we are categorized as. He sums the entire evolutionary theory in his book, “We must...acknowledge, as it seems to me, that man with all his noble qualities, sympathy, benevolence, and god-like intellect which has penetrated into the movements and constitution of the solar system itself-with all these exalted powers-Man still bears in his bodily frame the incredible stamp of his lowly origin (Darwin). In my opinion, evolution is both a theory and a fact. Facts and theories are different things. Facts are the world’s data theories are structures of ideas that explain and interpret facts. Facts don’t go away when scientists debate rival theories to explain them. Darwin continually emphasized the difference between his two great and separate accomplishments: establishing the fact of evolution, and proposing a theory-natural selection-to explain the mechanism of evolution.
Those who do not believe in evolution should consider the fact that maybe God made it possible for living things to evolve. Religious beliefs and evolution come help make what we are today. Due to an abundant amount of evidence, it is hard to dismiss the theory of evolution. Between digging up the past, and studying primates to better understand ourselves, Anthropology becomes an important science.
Sure, doctors and surgeons can cure the diseases of the world, but without extensive knowledge of the human race, then we might as well be blind when we are trying to cure the sick. Our past becomes the key to our future, it’ll prevent us from making mistakes that our ancestors may have made, and it aids us in understanding the very complex human species.
__________________
Warning!!! This is just a sample Anthropology essay (Anthropology essay example) which cannot be used as your own paper. You can contact our custom essay writing service which provides college and university students with high-quality custom written essays, term papers, research papers, thesis papers and dissertations on Anthropology topics.
Get professional Civil War essay writing help from our professional Ph.D. and Master's academic writers. A+ quality and 100% plagiarism are guaranteed! Feel free to ORDER A CUSTOM ESSAY ON ANTHROPOLOGY RIGHT NOW and you won't be disappointed.
Euthanasia Research Paper
Euthanasia is one of society's most widely and fiercely debated moral issues. No one is able to determine the significance of one’s life and the quality a person should live. Euthanasia is categorized into two separate definitions; active and passive euthanasia. Euthanasia gives the terminally ill the ability to orchestrate their death. Euthanasia lifts a burden from the sufferer as well as their caretakers. Euthanasia gives the terminally ill the final dignifying say which allows them to practice the ultimate freedom; the right to die.
Euthanasia is split into two different categories; active and passive euthanasia. Active euthanasia, which by definition, is; "Doing something, such as administering a lethal drug, or using other means that cause a person's death” (MacKinnon, 126) is more detestable than passive euthanasia, which is defined as; "Stopping (or not starting) some treatment, which allows a person to die, the person's condition causes his or her death," (MacKinnon, 126). Active euthanasia is typically the more highly debated of the two acts of euthanasia and is better known because of the actions of Dr. Jack Kevorkian, who has aided in many successful suicides. Passive euthanasia, on the other hand, is rarely debated and usually never enters controversial dialogue because it is typically looked at as letting someone die naturally. In passive euthanasia one simply refuses treatment with the knowledge that death is imminent. This offers little debate for several reasons, primarily because it is seen as a natural way of dying. There are exceptions, for example, some religions refuse to accept life preserving treatments with the knowledge that without the treatment they will die. For example in the faith of the Jehovah's Witness, a child, who has been in a serious car accident and is in need of blood, will die rather that accept treatment (Humphry, 104). Although this kind of passive euthanasia would endure much scrutiny, it would be accepted because it is tied to religious convictions. In either case, active or passive, the victim will die due to the aid of a physician or another able bodied individual. There is essentially no difference between the two types of euthanasia; both aid the terminally ill in taking their own life. From herein, both active and passive euthanasia will be referred to as euthanasia. Essentially euthanasia aids people in ending their lives, and gives those who are terminally ill, the last and perhaps only decisive measure during their illness.
Supporters of the practice of euthanasia argue that helping the terminally ill to bring about their own deaths and allowing them to determine the how and when they die, defends their basic human right to decide whether they should live in suffering, or die in peace. Euthanasia is not only humane, but also allows the person the ability to maintain their dignity by planning their own end, thus letting them die with dignity and at peace. Freedom to choose how one lives their life is not taken away due to a terminal illness, thus this freedom should be carried out regardless of whether the issue is death or our freedom of speech. Supporters of euthanasia state that, "[They] believe that everyone has the right to choose how they live and die" (The Voluntary Euthanasia Society [TVES]). Euthanasia allows the person, who is principally awaiting their death, to maintain a fraction of their dignity by coordinating their own death. Thus letting the person die in peace, rather than suffering through their illness until their eventual demise. The Voluntary Euthanasia Society states that, "Each person has value and is worthy of respect, has basic rights and freedoms and the power to control his or her destiny. [The proponents] campaign to legalize assisted dying within certain strictly defined circumstances is fundamentally about choice" (TVES). The choice being discussed is their right to a person’s freedom to choose whether or not to live in pain and suffering or die in peace.
The worth of a humans life does not change because they are terminally ill, but the manner in which one lives there life changes significantly. In some cases, victims of terminal diseases suffer great humiliation due to loss of control over their muscles and other parts of their body, making them completely dependant upon someone else. These hardships are often times degrading to the sufferer and costly to both the victim and their loved ones, which puts strain not only on the person affected by the disease but also those who are taking care of them.
In many cases, euthanasia is the victims’ way to pay back their debt to their family, and their last effort at dignity. Suffering from a terminal illness is costly and time consuming for those who take care of the victim. Victims in the advanced stages of some terminal illness will have limited muscle control and experience excruciating and unrelenting pain. Rather than suffer through an illness, one should have the right to end the pain and plan their death. As the Euthanasia Society states, "Not everyone dies well. At least 5% of terminal pain cannot be fully controlled, even with the best care. Other distressing symptoms such as sickness, incontinence or breathlessness cannot always be relieved" (Dr. Jack Kevorkian). Not only does the sufferer endure the hardships of their disease, but often times their loved ones also bear the brunt of the monetary costs related to their illness.
The costs of at-home treatments as well as hospital, medicine and treatment costs are an extreme burden upon the victim’s family. In the victims eyes, their death signifies eliminating their own, as well as their next of Kin’s, perception of them dying to be a burden, physically and financially, and then can focus on the positive aspect of their death; the end to their suffering. Derek Humphry states that “patients with a high wish to hasten death have greater concerns with physical symptoms and psychological suffering, perceive themselves to be more of a burden to others” (Humphry, 127.) Patients suffering from illness simply want to lessen the weight and dependence upon their loved ones, and exercise their freedom to decide when and how they want to die.
No one is capable of determining the worth of someone’s life; however those who suffer terminal illnesses should have the freedom of determining whether the pain they are forced to endure is worth continuing their lives. Euthanasia is categorized into separate definitions, both of which are scrutinized and both allowing the freedom of choice. Through euthanasia, the choice of how and when the victim of a terminal illness should die lies in the hands of the person themselves. The victim views their final demise as a way for them to repay those who took care of them or the final lift of burden from their loved ones. Euthanasia allows the practice of basic human rights and gives the terminally ill the right to die.
__________________
Warning!!! This is just a sample Euthanasia research paper (Euthanasia research paper example) which cannot be used as your own paper. You can contact our custom research paper writing service which provides college and university students with high-quality custom written essays, term papers, research papers, thesis papers and dissertations on Medicine topics.
Get professional Euthanasia research paper writing help from our professional Ph.D. and Master's academic writers. A+ quality and 100% plagiarism are guaranteed! Feel free to ORDER A CUSTOM RESEARCH PAPER ON EUTHANASIA RIGHT NOW and you won't be disappointed.
Euthanasia is split into two different categories; active and passive euthanasia. Active euthanasia, which by definition, is; "Doing something, such as administering a lethal drug, or using other means that cause a person's death” (MacKinnon, 126) is more detestable than passive euthanasia, which is defined as; "Stopping (or not starting) some treatment, which allows a person to die, the person's condition causes his or her death," (MacKinnon, 126). Active euthanasia is typically the more highly debated of the two acts of euthanasia and is better known because of the actions of Dr. Jack Kevorkian, who has aided in many successful suicides. Passive euthanasia, on the other hand, is rarely debated and usually never enters controversial dialogue because it is typically looked at as letting someone die naturally. In passive euthanasia one simply refuses treatment with the knowledge that death is imminent. This offers little debate for several reasons, primarily because it is seen as a natural way of dying. There are exceptions, for example, some religions refuse to accept life preserving treatments with the knowledge that without the treatment they will die. For example in the faith of the Jehovah's Witness, a child, who has been in a serious car accident and is in need of blood, will die rather that accept treatment (Humphry, 104). Although this kind of passive euthanasia would endure much scrutiny, it would be accepted because it is tied to religious convictions. In either case, active or passive, the victim will die due to the aid of a physician or another able bodied individual. There is essentially no difference between the two types of euthanasia; both aid the terminally ill in taking their own life. From herein, both active and passive euthanasia will be referred to as euthanasia. Essentially euthanasia aids people in ending their lives, and gives those who are terminally ill, the last and perhaps only decisive measure during their illness.
Supporters of the practice of euthanasia argue that helping the terminally ill to bring about their own deaths and allowing them to determine the how and when they die, defends their basic human right to decide whether they should live in suffering, or die in peace. Euthanasia is not only humane, but also allows the person the ability to maintain their dignity by planning their own end, thus letting them die with dignity and at peace. Freedom to choose how one lives their life is not taken away due to a terminal illness, thus this freedom should be carried out regardless of whether the issue is death or our freedom of speech. Supporters of euthanasia state that, "[They] believe that everyone has the right to choose how they live and die" (The Voluntary Euthanasia Society [TVES]). Euthanasia allows the person, who is principally awaiting their death, to maintain a fraction of their dignity by coordinating their own death. Thus letting the person die in peace, rather than suffering through their illness until their eventual demise. The Voluntary Euthanasia Society states that, "Each person has value and is worthy of respect, has basic rights and freedoms and the power to control his or her destiny. [The proponents] campaign to legalize assisted dying within certain strictly defined circumstances is fundamentally about choice" (TVES). The choice being discussed is their right to a person’s freedom to choose whether or not to live in pain and suffering or die in peace.
The worth of a humans life does not change because they are terminally ill, but the manner in which one lives there life changes significantly. In some cases, victims of terminal diseases suffer great humiliation due to loss of control over their muscles and other parts of their body, making them completely dependant upon someone else. These hardships are often times degrading to the sufferer and costly to both the victim and their loved ones, which puts strain not only on the person affected by the disease but also those who are taking care of them.
In many cases, euthanasia is the victims’ way to pay back their debt to their family, and their last effort at dignity. Suffering from a terminal illness is costly and time consuming for those who take care of the victim. Victims in the advanced stages of some terminal illness will have limited muscle control and experience excruciating and unrelenting pain. Rather than suffer through an illness, one should have the right to end the pain and plan their death. As the Euthanasia Society states, "Not everyone dies well. At least 5% of terminal pain cannot be fully controlled, even with the best care. Other distressing symptoms such as sickness, incontinence or breathlessness cannot always be relieved" (Dr. Jack Kevorkian). Not only does the sufferer endure the hardships of their disease, but often times their loved ones also bear the brunt of the monetary costs related to their illness.
The costs of at-home treatments as well as hospital, medicine and treatment costs are an extreme burden upon the victim’s family. In the victims eyes, their death signifies eliminating their own, as well as their next of Kin’s, perception of them dying to be a burden, physically and financially, and then can focus on the positive aspect of their death; the end to their suffering. Derek Humphry states that “patients with a high wish to hasten death have greater concerns with physical symptoms and psychological suffering, perceive themselves to be more of a burden to others” (Humphry, 127.) Patients suffering from illness simply want to lessen the weight and dependence upon their loved ones, and exercise their freedom to decide when and how they want to die.
No one is capable of determining the worth of someone’s life; however those who suffer terminal illnesses should have the freedom of determining whether the pain they are forced to endure is worth continuing their lives. Euthanasia is categorized into separate definitions, both of which are scrutinized and both allowing the freedom of choice. Through euthanasia, the choice of how and when the victim of a terminal illness should die lies in the hands of the person themselves. The victim views their final demise as a way for them to repay those who took care of them or the final lift of burden from their loved ones. Euthanasia allows the practice of basic human rights and gives the terminally ill the right to die.
__________________
Warning!!! This is just a sample Euthanasia research paper (Euthanasia research paper example) which cannot be used as your own paper. You can contact our custom research paper writing service which provides college and university students with high-quality custom written essays, term papers, research papers, thesis papers and dissertations on Medicine topics.
Get professional Euthanasia research paper writing help from our professional Ph.D. and Master's academic writers. A+ quality and 100% plagiarism are guaranteed! Feel free to ORDER A CUSTOM RESEARCH PAPER ON EUTHANASIA RIGHT NOW and you won't be disappointed.
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