healthcare organizations

Executive summary

The role of healthcare organizations in implementing the long-term nutritional program is to reduce inequalities in health caused by interrelated factors; external and internal to the health-care realm, such as ethnicity, education, geography, and socioeconomic status. This paper evaluates internal and external environments of a nutritional program, incorporates various strategic planning developments, and proposes strategic planning to adapt to the changing environments. The paper further applies analytical models and decision making methods to evaluate challenges and demonstrates ethical practices that lead to sound decisions making.

Introduction

Changes in hospital market conditions, environment, and the aging population are bringing changes in management strategies(Hyun, Kang & Lee, 2015). Nutrition is a challenge in nursing homes as evidenced by up to 80% of elders suffering from malnutrition, and more than 30% child deaths and a fifth of total disease burden attributed to maternal and child under-nutrition(Hyun et al., 2015). The nutritional deficiencies are rarely recognized and form the base of major clinical outcomes despite the availability of opportunities to control undernutrition.  According toGodamunne, Zamroziewicz, Luo & Hegazi, (2016), any form of malnutrition threatens human health and development, and a lot of it is characterized by persistent under-nutrition, overweight, and obesity.

The role of healthcare organizations in implementing the long-term nutritional program is to reduce inequalities in health caused by interrelated factors; external and internal to the health-care realm, such as ethnicity, education, geography, and socioeconomic status.There is a necessity to review and develop programs and strategies in efforts to improve availability and access to nutritionally adequate diet to the needy, using the best approach. The program has to be by the current international recommendations of nutrient composition and implement integrated and continuous educative and social communication strategies to promote general well-being. This paper aims at discussing the strategic planning and management of a nutritional improvement project, and key decisions needed to improve performance in the long run.

Factors Affecting Healthcare organizations

Healthcare industry is a unique environment faced with many challenges (Abdul Aziz & Idris, 2012). Leadership and teamwork in the organization are keys in meeting the challenges, with a constant evaluation process to identify factors affecting the performance of the organization.  Various influences affect the performance of a healthcare program, categorized into internal and external environments. External factors causing distress in healthcare organizations are well recognized, but less is known about the adverse impacts of internal factors (Kotzian, 2016).

Internal Factors

Leadership and Management

Effective healthcare management improves quality from the perspective of provider, managers, payers, and policymakers. According to Prince, (2017), treatment performance is affected by the management; people with a good idea for quality improvement fail to deliver satisfaction when management is poor. Public hospitals do not give their managers the ultimate power to make decisions, with extremely prescriptive national policies with limited considerations to local factors. The ministry of health should define indicators that are not dictated and ask their doctors to achieve them so that they can have more authority and execute decisions easily.

Resources and Facilities

The quality of healthcare services depends on the availability of resources, with limited facilities affecting the quality of overall work. Patient history record should be obtained, especially for evaluating the effectiveness of the treatment at all time. High productivity requires high-quality inputs, and a reduced employee’s job stress to perform duties at higher speed.

Managers and policymakers give priority to financial resources because they are the most vital factors influencing healthcare quality. Employees who are paid well and on time produce quality and organizations’ differences in financial resources affect their quality of service (Waheed, 2018).

Provider competence

Practitioner’s knowledge and technical skills determine the quality of a healthcare service. Factors that influence the quality of work are mainly knowledge, expertise, commitment, and the ability to examine patients properly. Education institutions are responsible for providing professional development opportunities for healthcare workforce. According to Knodel, (2013), medical professionals do not believe educational institutes are equipping their graduates fully since they tend to be practically incompetent and depend on hospitals to provide additional education and treatment to meet educational requirements.

Healthcare providers should have a character and personality that improves the quality of service. There should be a link between provider’s attitude and communication with patients, and their problems should not interfere with their output.

External Factors

Political factors

Political factors affect nutritional improvement programs when it comes to funding, affecting organizations that depend on government financial assistance. Changes in government policies are sometimes well notified and discussed, but can be changed without warning. Political factors lead to strong labor movements that directly improve work conditions. According to Jankovic, Mihajlovic & Cvetkovic, (2016), the environment of work and outcome of services are directly proportional; malnutrition, traditional-occupational diseases, accidents at work, and lifestyle factors at work have a role in good health. Policies ensure low socioeconomic and income inequalities. Income inequalities affect health as they interfere with psychological perceptions of a workplace, and improvement is vital for positive culture shifts and improved business ethics.

Technology

Technological advancements create healthcare prospects both in terms advanced therapy systems, and provision of services. The most improved internet services improve information network and ease in evaluation when it comes to acquisitions and actionable factors. Online technology has contributed to direct patient communication, patient advertising, customized treatments, and social media healthcare.

Social factors

Social factors include the aging population that offers a wide range of opportunities and threats to the nutritional improvement program. There is also the risk of obesity amongst the population and its associated risks. The current culture has improved patients and caregiver’s knowledge and awareness, changing their expectations to become more demanding. Public activism is also increasing through social media technologies, a challenge to healthcare organizations to meet consumer’s need without overstepping the regulatory boundaries.

Economic Factors

Economic environment deals with issues like the global economic crisis that create reluctance of consumers to spend on healthcare programs. The increased growth in nutrition healthcare is a clear demonstration of how nursing services have been privatized to become a key business offering. Countries that use part-payment health insurance models have greatly been impacted by a reduction in consumer disposable income (Kallianiotis, 2015). Pricing becomes highly pressurized, although the market continues to grow to the aging population. The economic status of a healthcare organization leads to increased pressure from stakeholders causing consolidation of the industry, causing more mergers and acquisitions in future to add value.

Legislative restrictions

The performance of the program is also affected by the many regulatory and legislative restrictions. Many countries have a litigation culture; therefore a company must focus on producing quality. Moreover, internet evolution is increasingly stretching legislative boundaries with consumers demanding more satisfactory rights in their healthcare programs.

The growing environmental degradation issues require key organization stakeholders to improve their awareness for their business to be more proactive. A comprehensive environmental scanning should be done to see how business and marketing plans are compatible with environmental issues. The program implementation should conduct an environmental impact assessment, to consider ways of preventing or minimizing environmental impact (Conservancy, 2015).

Strategic planning development, implementation, and evaluation systems

Strategic planning as a management tool is not greatly deployed in healthcare programs especially in third world countries. This is because of lack of appropriate internal incentives needed to formulate and implement strategies meeting the legal requirements of health ministry. Nutritional improvement program evaluation goes through planning, implementation, completion, dissemination, and reporting.

The phase of planning demands managers to determine feasibilities of evaluation, stakeholder identification, and goals specification. Stakeholder inclusion in planning increases reliability by creating a room for participation by the public, stakeholders, and policymakers. Once stakeholders are identified, a strategy is put in place to ensure their engagement in all evaluation stages. A two-way communication should be maintained between the evaluator and stakeholders to create room for ideas and suggestions. Communication establishes an advisory committee to run programs and evaluate activities in the community. Stakeholder involvement creates the need to understand and embrace cultural diversity.

The implementation phase is the formative and process evaluation examining whether the program recruits and retains the intended participants. It also ensures effective training materials are used and meet standards for accuracy and clarity.

Completion phase involves evaluation based to do an examination of outcomes in the short run or long-term impacts of the general performance. It provides summative, outcome, and impact evaluation; determining the degree to which changes in outcome can be ascribed to the program.

Dissemination and reporting phase ensure distribution and reporting of results to all available audiences comprehensively. The plan includes guidelines for the party presenting results, audiences, and those who record. This phase requires adequate resources and is time-consuming making community participation hard.

Strategic planning and administrative methods and strategies to cope with internal and external environmental factors

Organizations should respond appropriately to changes occurring in their respective environments to succeed effectively. Any organization that fails to take actions to align itself with the environment fails to survive and is forced out of the market.

The manager is required to have great attention to the many rapid changes that take place in an external environment containing resources the company depends on. An external analysis is performed to examine opportunities and threats that exist in the environment. This analyzes customers, competition, market, and environment with the aim of identifying external opportunities, threats, trends, and strategic uncertainties, customers, employees, and suppliers. Firms depend on suppliers for materials, labor and always take advantage of competition among suppliers to obtain lower prices, quality, and efficient deliveries. Healthcare organizations react to increase in competition by cutting services; cost, offering improved quality services and spending more on promotion cut costs such as employee’s redundancy.

Patients are the customers in healthcare, and managers must monitor the effectiveness of their services now and in the future. The must utilize the media to improve communication with both internal and external audiences and uphold a good reputation.

Employees agree to work for certain hours in return for wages and salaries. They should be

timely and fairly paid to uphold the good name of the institution and improve their morale.

Macro environment deals with factors like the economy and government policies controlled by the firm indirectly. Factors most likely to change and those with greatest impacts must be identified. Planning is said to be significant when there is a high probability that change will occur with greater impact. Managers develop strategies using strengths of the firm to exploit existing opportunities. They identify relevant factors and their importance then put in place strategies that provide a great combination of opportunities and strengths to implement the plan.

Environmental impacts are countered by reducing the number of forces to reduce uncertainty. Examples include waste reduction, moves of competitors by middle managers, or availability of new strategies by top management. Organization structures are created to define roles, changing environments, and overlap of roles. Moreover, boundary spinning is crucial to gain access to information necessary to forecast future issues.

Seven Steps for Effective Problem Solving

Analytical models require analytical skills to collect and analyze information, solve problems, and make key decisions in the workplace. Managers recruit employees with the ability to investigate problems and find solutions in timely and efficient manner. They must exhibit the ability to communicate effectively, be creative, have skills in data analysis, think critically, and be able to conduct research.

Conflicts in the workplace occur all the times and are opportunities to improve system and relationships. The seven-step model was formulated by Tim Hicks to help solve problems in the workplace as illustrated below.

Identify the issue: Managers need to be clear on the issue, putting in mind that different people have different views regarding the situation. A list of the issues is made defining why they are problematic, and problem identification should focus on behavior instead of personality.

Understand everyone’s interests: The interest that satisfies the interests of all should be selected. All the members should engage actively and respect opinions of others while putting down all individual differences to understand the intentions. The naming of interests is then separated from the listing of solutions.

List the possible solutions: This phase demands a lot of creativity and brainstorming. A possibility of ways to counter the problem is explored keenly to prevent offering solutions to problems that do not even exist. All ideas are noted no matter how absurd they are, and a variety of solution alternatives to particular problems identified.

Evaluation of options: This is the phase of determining advantages and disadvantages of options, and separating the evaluation of options from the selection of options. The pros and cons of every option identified in previous steps should be weighed.

Selection of an option or options: All the options are weighed, and the best is selected, and find possibilities of putting some options together to provide a more satisfactory solution. The manager thinks of the options that highlight positive impacts to the organization, and the solution that would produce the mildest impact. This phase demands the creation of a timeline intended to achieve the organization’s ultimate goal before deciding on the solution.

Documentation of agreement(s): The selected option should be written down to help think through all details and implications. Memory should not be relied on.

Agreement on contingencies, monitoring, and evaluation: Contingency agreement should be prepared based on near future, in case of conditions change.  The phase requires ways of monitoring compliance and follow-ups to be put in place. Opportunities should be created at this stage to evaluate agreements and their implementation. The seventh phase evaluates success and makes managers appreciate their decision-making skills while offering a learning opportunity to those who fail.

According to Uzonwanne, (2014), the model can be applied by one person, individuals, and even larger groups when faced with difficulties in making decisions. Decision-making maxims help reinforce the seven-step process regardless of whether they are related to problem-solving or not.

Exemplary ethical principles

In examining the manner correlating to conducting the nutritional healthcare program and individually ascribed values, workers are impacted by their respective upbringing, social environment, and academic influence. According to Rao ( 2017), values are who we are, and they get us out of bed every morning, enable us to choose our jobs daily, the company we keep, groups we lead, and the relations we keep.

Managers should work to recognize, understand, and articulate their values because of the vital role they play in the workplace in decision making. This will assist in determining employees’ allegiance and performance by creating a powerful connection that creates vast opportunities for individual and organization growth.

Building loyalty and respect as a fusion of personal and organization’s values results in the development of a team that respects the firm. Firm’s resources are utilized effectively when workers have respect and are loyal to stand by the firm when need be. The current attrition crisis in the workplace creates the essence of generating employees’ enthusiasm and dedication to services offered to retain them and infuse passion. Employees believing in the work they do for their employers are driven to construct an environment that is safer, and valuable services with dedication, pleasure, and respect to purpose.

Managers should focus on demonstrating a history of fair dealing by performing certain due diligence to emphasize on worker appreciation and contribution. The company should create clean historical records on service delivery by providing desirable and necessary assistance to clients. Managers should ensure employees’ prospect of fair play and equity in treatment is upheld, and business reputation held high to meet the goals of the program. The company’s goals should be accomplished in manners that meet the required expectations by stakeholders, public, and environmental concerns realistically.

The organization should build trust, imperative, especially with new legislation to counter corruption and demand accountability in financial accounting standards. The managers should operate all the programs in an indisputable manner infusing trust to all business stakeholders and beneficiaries. They should manage labor concerns, stakeholder and public expectations, desirable products, and environmental preservation, and government scrutiny.

Decisions in the organization should be based on values rather than beliefs. Beliefs should be used to formulate responses and not to make decisions because they reflect history in dealing with similar conditions (Franklin, 2016). Beliefs are believed to be steeped in humans’ past histories, habits, and traditions, therefore, not adaptable to new situations and are not equipped to handle complexities of emerging issues. Decisions based on values align with future expectations and engage both contexts and experiences favorable to make tough decisions in complex situations.

Organizations produce quality services when they gain team member and customer commitment. Organizations working in unity with employees and all stakeholders under a shared set of values are less bureaucratic, more flexible, and less hierarchical. The company’s performance is great when all the personnel share a similar vision and core values increasing reliability. Trust in a business entity is a core foundation for establishing relationships with customers and team members.

The management at all level should stimulate vision and inspire others. Leaders should inspire the workforce so that they can get passionate about their performance, and possess the great energy to spark excitement crucial in achieving results.

Value-based leadership should be upheld in the organization to achieve great heights in our competitive global economy. Values offer support in environments where change can be bewildering, and connect with powerful forces to dictate our actions. The instilling of value in firms deeply dictates existence by preserving principles, and every decision generates respect from others and preserves the integrity of the firm.

Conclusion

Programs in healthcare need to make enough capital to cover their expenses and stay in business long enough to provide sufficient care to patients. Leadership and management are not well taught in medical schools. Thus managers need to apply strategic management to retain and attract physicians in competitive environments. The paper has identified some of the factors that influence achievement in decision making among organization leaders because decisions are the most dynamic challenging and ongoing concept in every organization. Decision making is an ongoing process in every organization and requires future research on leadership decision making in response to organization success.

Reference

Abdul Aziz, S., & Idris, K. (2012). E-Government Application: The Challenges in Malaysia. SSRN Electronic Journal. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2184632

Conservancy, L. (2015). The Conservator.

Franklin, J. (2016). P-values and decision-making: discussion of ‘Limitations of empirical calibration of p-values using observational data’. Statistics in Medicine, 35(22), 3889-3891. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/sim.6984

Godamunne, K., Zamroziewicz, M., Luo, M., & Hegazi, R. (2016). Malnutrition and healthcare-acquired infections: the need for policy change in an evolving healthcare landscape. Journal of hospital Infection, 93(1), 9-11. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2016.02.003

Hyun, K., Kang, S. and Lee, S. (2015). Population Aging and Healthcare Expenditure in Korea. Health Economics, 25(10), pp.1239-1251.

Kallianiotis, I. (2015). The European Economic Crisis in a Global Context and its Originator. Archives of Business Research, 3(4). http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/abr.34.1407

Khalatbari-Soltani, S., & Marques-Vidal, P. (2015). SUN-PP245: Malnutrition Almost Doubles the Risk of In-Hospital Death in a Swiss University Hospital. Clinical Nutrition, 34, S114. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0261-5614(15)30396-4

Knodel, L. (2013). Practitioner Application: Healthcare Employers Policies on Nurse Education. Journal of Healthcare Management, 58(6), 410-411. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00115514-201311000-00006

Kotzian, P. (2016). External Drivers, Internal Agents. On the Role of Environmental Factors and Agents for the Integration of Business Reporting. SSRN Electronic Journal. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2831461

Prince, T. (2017). Behavioral Finance and the Business Cycle. Business Ethics And Leadership, 1(4), 28-48. http://dx.doi.org/10.21272/bel.1(4).28-48.2017

Rao, M. (2017). Values-Based Leadership. The Journal of Values-Based Leadership, 10(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.22543/0733.102.1185

Uzonwanne, F. (2014). Leadership styles and decision-making models among corporate leaders in non-profit organizations in North America. Journal of Public Affairs, 15(3), 287-299. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pa.1530

Waheed, Z. (2018). Facilities management and the business of managing assets. Facilities, 00-00. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/f-08-2017-00

APPLE’S ETHICAL PROBLEM

Introduction

The interdependence of the contemporary global economy has made international business to operate in a market influenced by national political and cultural diversities (Kline,         2010). Over the recent years, foreign enterprises have grown enormously, spurring debates over the normative standards that should be enacted to guide business decisions.  For local and international businesses to operate efficiently and effectively, there is a need for a societal foundation of ethical values. Ethical values are concerned with the nature and justification of the right actions meaning that businesses need to identify values for guiding actions in the present and the future (Kline 2010). There is a need for firms to embrace international business ethics which simply refers to the comparing various business practices as well as their consequent ethical evaluation in different nation-states (De George 1994).

International business ethics investigates the ethical norms commonly recognised in all countries which should govern the operations of various international businesses and economic transactions. It looks at the variations in ethical standards and assesses whether global firms are bound by social and business norms of either their home country or the host country (De George 1994). One major role of international business ethics is to ensure that all multinationals embrace corporate social responsibility as they interact with various stakeholders in different levels including governments, suppliers, subcontractors and individual employees. This essay aims at assessing ethics in international business by drawing from the case of Apple in Foxconn factories and applying the Kantian deontological theory.

The case of Apple in Foxconn factories

International business often impacts on other people and cultures given that companies do not operate in a vacuum and most international management decision making usually involves interaction with local politics and stakeholders. All businesses have a potential of impacting either directly or indirectly local and national communities. Many at times, firms engage in activities aimed at maximising short time strategies which end up severely clashing with ethical dimensions governing the moral norms and well-being of the society.

The case of Apple reflects an ethical clash as a result of its international operations in the company’s Foxconn iPhone factories in China and around the globe (Barboza2018). Apple is known to be one of the most influential, profitable and successful global enterprises in the world. There is no doubt that the company’s power and profitability came about in the last decade partly due to its ability to master the global manufacturing and strategic choice of suppliers in China and other parts of the world (Barboza2018). However, Apple’s success in the global supply chain has been faced with severe ethical challenges mainly due to the often reported violent riots, workers suicides and other considerable issues including the substantial adoption of robots and massive employee layoffs. Apple has always denied involvement in unethical business by often arguing that its suppliers entirely run the factories it outsources from and therefore, it does not bear any ethical responsibility.   Moreover, Apple claims that its direct employees are always thriving and prospering under good working conditions (Barboza2018).

The Kantian Deontology

The case of Apple can be argued through the Kantian deontological perspective which denotes that the highest good is goodwill. Kant argued that acting from goodwill is acting from duty, and therefore,  it is the intention behind an action that makes an action good and not its consequences (Bowie, 2002). The Kantian morality distinguishes between two particular duties and imperatives. One type of imperative is the hypothetical imperative whereby we do something so that we may achieve something else. The other duty which Kant advocates for is the categorical imperative that is based on the requirements of reason. Kant entirely advocates for the ethics of duty as opposed to the ethics of consequences (Bowie, 2002). An ethical individual is, therefore, one acting while having the right intentions in mind and through free will.

The application of the Kantian deontology in the case of Apple

The Kantian approach is mainly concerned with the rationality of a company and the notion that companies should make right decisions for the right reasons. According to Kant, a company ought to be moral for the right reason and not for the sake of self-interest (Bowie, 2002). By drawing from the Kantian theory, it is clear that Apple’s practices are unethical given that it uses factories in China for self-interest without caring about the poor working conditions and illegal overtime. Apple violates Kant’s belief that a business needs to exercise good deeds not only for its employees but also customers by having the right motivation for its actions. This can be explained by Kant’s formula of humanity which denotes that we should treat humanity as an end and not just as the means (Bowie, 2002). This implies that Apple should care about the manner in which its products are being manufactured by the Foxconn factories in China and other suppliers all over the world.

The outsourcing of products from factories with unfair working conditions in order to maximize profits is highly unethical by reason of not only the Kantian theory but also the utilitarian theory and Aristotle’s virtue theory. The deontological theory emphasizes on three major precepts which Apple seems to be violating; treating stakeholders as persons, treating a business firm as a moral community and ensuring purity of motive (Bowie, 2002).

 

Treating Stakeholders as Persons

According to Kant, all human beings have free will, can act by the laws of reason and have dignity or a value that is beyond money (Bowie, 2002). Therefore, it is wrong for an individual to use another person to just satisfy their own personal interests (Bowie, 2002). It should be noted that the principle of having respect for other people is not meant to prohibit financial transactions just because, in voluntary economic exchange, no one is used as a mere means as both parties benefit. This particular formulation plays a significant role in constraining the nature and manner of undertaking economic transactions. To fully understand why Apple’s position demonstrates an apparent weakness in serving the common good and exercising ethics in its international business, it is critical to draw from Kant’s negative and positive freedom.

In this case, contrary freedom implies discharge from both coercion and deception. Drawing from the formula of humanity, we can describe coercion and deception as the most basic forms of an unethical conductor, in other words, the roots of all evil (Bowie, 2002). The use of coercion and deception is against ethical business principles and conditions of assent. Physical coercion treats an individual as a mere tool while lying undermines an individual’s reason for treating it as a tool. Apple depicts the use of coercion and deception through its suppliers by being a highly demanding client without caring about the employees’ working conditions. While negotiating contracts, Apple allows the suppliers only the slimmest of profits thereby forcing them to take harmful shortcuts by using less costly chemicals as opposed to expensive alternatives and coercing workers to work for long hours rapidly. The company’s suppliers denote that, “the only way one can make money while working for Apple is by looking for ways to increase efficiency or doing things cheaply” (Barboza2018).

 

The Kantian deontology denotes that respecting the humanity in a person goes beyond desisting from coercive and deceptive acts (Bowie, 2002). There is a need for additional requirements as stipulated by Kant’s perspective on positive freedom which refers to the freedom of developing an individual’s human capacities. This implies merely the development of rational and human capacities and not doing anything that can diminish them. Therefore, treating humanity not as a mere means but an end, in the case of Apple requires two significant things. Firstly, it needs Apple not to use people in its business relationship by refraining from deception and coercion. Secondly, it implies that Apple should arrange its business practices to contribute to rational and moral capacities instead of inhibiting these capacities. The use of a poisonous chemical namely, N-Hexane at one of Apple’s major manufacturing partner, Wintek is a good example of how Apple has failed to treat its stakeholders as persons (Myers and Fellow 2014). Wintek began using n-hexane in early 2009 to speed up production at its East China LCD plant after acquiring a large order. N-hexane which was used as a cleaning agent of the touchscreens was found to be a narcotic that attacks the nervous system of individuals exposed to it (Barboza2018). Despite activism from workers and the fact that Apple was aware of the inhumane situation at Wintek factories, the company failed to appropriately and promptly react to the matter. Rumours about the use of n-hexane began spreading in 2009, but Apple was slow to take action against its manufacturing partner Wintek. The company only mentioned this situation in 2011 at its annual review of the labour conditions in its global suppliers (Myers and Fellow 2014).

There has also been a significant concern regarding the heavy use of robots and massive layoffs in Foxconn’s iPhone factories in China, an aspect which raises questions about the immorality of Apple. From a Kantian perspective, the layoffs can be labelled as immoral since the factory workers are merely used as a means for enhancing Apple’s wealth (Bowie 2002). A critical assessment of the employer/employee relationship as well as various contractual agreements reveals an aspect of deception and coercion from Apple thereby making the layoffs unethical and immoral. The requirement of Kant’s deontology that business practices should be able to support positive freedom implies promoting meaningful work. From a deontological perspective, useful work can be defined as one that is chosen freely and gives the workers an opportunity to exercise job autonomy (Bowie2002). It should support the rationality of human beings by enabling workers to develop rational capacities and morality. Meaningful work also ought to provide sufficient salary that can give employees an opportunity to exercise dependence, provide for their physical well-being as well as satisfy their desires.

Treating a Business Firm as a Moral Community

Drawing from Kant’s third categorical imperative, individuals should act as if they are members of an ideal kingdom (Bowie 2002). Companies such as Apple and Foxconn comprise of persons who must be treated with dignity and respect. Additionally, the rules governing an organisation need to be ones that can be supported by every individual in the company. Kant draws from this universal endorsement to denote that every person is both a sovereign and subject with regard to the rules (Bowie 2002). A Kantian approach to organisational design advocates for various principles. One major principle is that a business firm needs to take into consideration the interests of all the impacted stakeholders in making any decisions. This implies that in making contractual choices with suppliers such as Foxconn, Apple should consider all the affected stakeholders including Foxconn employees’ working conditions. Another principle is that a firm needs to have all the individuals affected by its rules and policies participate in their determination before their actual implementation. However, this is not the case in Apple whereby only the interests of one stakeholder are prioritised. In a given situation where the interests of different stakeholders need to be subordinated, the decision should not be merely because one group of stakeholder is supreme than the other. It should also be known that every profit-making business is equipped with a duty of beneficence and procedures must be established to ensure the relationship between various stakeholders is governed by rules of justice (Bowie 2002). The beneficence factor here implies that since Apple benefits from its suppliers, it has a duty of beneficence to these particular suppliers. It also implies that since the Apple benefits from the society which provides the necessary means for enforcing business contracts and the required infrastructure and perhaps, most importantly, a skilled workforce, it should reciprocate through corporate social responsibility. Apple has failed to reciprocate CSR through its supply chains since it does not care about the employees’ working conditions and continuous to outsource products from manufacturers practising unethical business practices such as child labour. In 2012, Foxconn admitted to the use of child labour at one of its facilities through internships that were targeted at students below the legal working age in China (Myers and Fellow 2014). The fact that Apple was aware of the practice of child labour by its supplier and failed to promptly take action reveals that it is an irresponsible global firm.

The Kantian deontology sees an organisation as a moral community with each member of such an organisation standing in a moral relationship to all other members (Bowie 2002). The managers of an organisation have a moral obligation to respect the humanity of all individuals in the organisation. On the other hand, each employee also needs to view the organization other than a mere means of accomplishing personal goals. The organisations are a means of the accomplishment of goals, and therefore, a person who views them as purely instrumental in nature is not in line with the “respect for persons” principle. The principles of a moral firm as stipulated by Kant advocate for the adoption of a theory Y in organisations instead of theory X (Bowie 2002). Theory X denotes that employees inherently dislike work and tend to avoid it if possible. Theory Y, on the other hand, stipulates that workers prefer to act creatively and are willing to take responsibility. Kant’s ethics tends to act as a moral critique of the authoritarian hierarchical organisational structures (Bowie 2002). It calls for the involvement of all stakeholders as well as the vast democratization of the workplace. According to Kant’s moral philosophy, all individuals in a given firm need to be represented by a stakeholder group as a minimum condition for democratisation. These stakeholder groups also need to agree to the various rules and policies governing the firm (Bowie 2002).

Ensuring Purity of Motive

One major tenet of Kant’s moral philosophy is that an action can only be treated as truly moral if it is morally motivated (Bowie 2002). The self-interest morals cannot pollute those actions that are truly moral. In this sense, Kant is implying that business actions need purity of motive. Looking deeper into this issue, individuals usually assume that those actions which are likely to enhance the bottom line are pure acts of self-interest for the firm. However, this is not entirely true for those companies that are publicly held since they are obliged to make profits, fulfil legal obligations to shareholders as well as satisfy their implied contract to the general public. Therefore, it is not totally unethical for managers of Apple to strive for profits. In this case, the aspect of Apple striving for profits can be seen as a moral one even for the strictest Kantian. In doing this, the company is purely honouring its obligation to its stakeholders of realising profits. Therefore, Kant’s notion should not undercut the acts of corporate beneficence which make an important contribution to the bottom line (Bowie 2002). Perhaps, one way through which Apple has failed to ensure purity of motive is by allowing its major supplier Foxconn to act unethically. For instance, Apple has received several reports of forced overtime at Foxconn’s Shenzen plants, but it has failed to take action. Foxconn has been continuously under the spotlight from various media sources mainly for lousy working conditions such as overworking its employees to even a point where some of them have ended up committing suicide.

For example, in 2010, 17 Foxconn employees attempted suicide out of which 13 were successful (Myers and Fellow 2014). This alarming rate of deaths raised questions on the working conditions of Foxconn employees and later on, there were demonstrations against Foxconn and Apple which led to ritual burnings of iPhone pictures. An investigation found out that the suicide incidences were as a result of bad working conditions and overwhelming overtime hours forced into the employees. China’s labour laws allow maximum overtime of 36 hours per month, but Foxconn employees reported being forced to work up to 80-100 hours per month, sometimes without even being paid (Myers and Fellow 2014). Surprisingly, Apple is aware of the inhumane working conditions of Foxconn’s workers since most of these reports have been publicised but has failed to act in line with Kant’s purity of motive.

Kant’s focus on the purity of the moral motive has a positive impact on business ethics, and it is not just merely a barrier that needs to be overcome (Bowie 2002). To enhance the bottom line, Apple, perhaps, needs to focus on various aspects other than small profits such as increasing employees’ working conditions, ensuring a democratic workplace as well as formulating non-deceptive and non-coercive relationships with its suppliers. A majority of management theorists always encourage business organisations to focus on the bottom line. However, a Kantian approach stipulates that profits can still be enhanced without exclusively focussing on the bottom line (Bowie 2002). In the case of Apple, this implies that profits can even be increased if the company starts concentrating on respect for the humanity of all persons and stakeholders. Profits should be viewed as an outcome of ethical business practices and not as the goal that must be achieved by all means.

Conclusion

In summary, there is a need for global firms to embrace international business ethics by engaging in corporate social responsibility as they interact with different stakeholders such as the suppliers, subcontractors and individual employees. The case of Apple, which is one of the most valued companies in the technology industry, reveals the need for companies to act ethically and exercise care for all stakeholders. Apple has been using suppliers in China such as Foxconn to produce some of its products at reduced costs. However, the working conditions in these supply chains have not been conducive, an aspect that has often led to violent riots and employee suicides.  Apple has always denied moral obligation about its role in overseeing its suppliers’ activities.

Drawing from the Kantian deontology, the company’s position depicts a weakness and lack of care for serving the employees’ common good and being a global ethical firm.  The Kantian perspective on businesses is that they need to do good not only for their customers but also other stakeholders including suppliers and employees. This is about the formula of humanity which denotes that humanity should be treated as an end and not just as a means. By this theory, Apple is acting unethically since it is only concerned about massive profits while ignoring the poor working conditions of its suppliers’ employees.

References

Barboza, C. 2018. Apple’s iPad and the Human Costs for Workers in China. [online] Nytimes.com. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/business/ieconomy-apples-ipad-and-the-human-costs-for-workers-in-china.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all [Accessed 5 Feb. 2018].

Bowie, N.E., 2002. A Kantian approach to business ethics. A companion to business ethics, pp.3-16.

De George, R.T., 1994. International business ethics. Business Ethics Quarterly, 4(1), pp.1-9.

Kline, J., 2010. Ethics for International Business: Decision-making in a global political economy. Routledge.

Myers, C. and Fellow, K., 2014. Corporate Social Responsibility in the consumer electronics industry: A case study of Apple Inc. Resource document. Georgetown University, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. http://lwp. georgetown. edu/wp-content/uploads/Connor-Myers. pdf. Accessed, 10.

Ethics

INTRODUCTION

Ethics is defined as the philosophy that deals with concepts of right and wrong conduct for people in various situations. In this era of globalisation, the business practices have defined that the decision-making process is based on both financial and ethical elements, thus conceiving the concept of business ethics (Gangone, 2010). Also known as “corporate ethics”, it examines the ethical problems arising in a business domain. Business ethics surfaced in 1970s but due to increase in international trade, there was a need for a wider ethical outlook for international business domain. This resulted in development of international business ethics in late 1990s (Carpenter & Dunung, 2011).

International business ethics is becoming more crucial due to globalisation. Development of technologies led to the feasibility of international business and many companies are expanding into new markets. Domestically the business ethics have developed in accordance to major businesses, as a result of which it becomes vital for the international business ethics to take over and set its guidelines in the business realm.

THE CULTURAL, SOCIAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF ETHICS AND MORALS

In simple terms, ethics is defined as a system of moral principles. It is derived from the Greek word “ethos” which means habit or disposition. Ethics and morality have slight variation while defining them and are not always related. Ethics is more of professional codes of conduct, while morality is based on an individual’s conduct. However, they can be used interchangeably to define how humans ought to act in any situation.

In this modern world where many ethical situations arise, ethics provide a moral map to tackle such problems. But ethics doesn’t necessarily provide the right answer to a given moral problem. There is no right or wrong defined in its framework. Its principles are applied to a moral problem to get a clear understanding of the situation; after which each individual derive their own outcome.

The ethical principles are not limited to just one area of ethics. Different cultures have their own moral values. What seem to be right in one culture, maybe wrong in another. There is no specific area where all these ethical theories converge. Ethical and social morals are culture bond. Similarly the psychological principles of ethics vary from person to person. The thought process of a person is based on his/her virtues and the external stimuli. The course of moral actions in a particular ethical situation depends on the disposition of an individual. A person’s moral values and character plays an important role in tackling a moral problem. There can be clashes between the moral values between two people while encountering an ethical situation. This leads to more confusion and inability to resolve the problem. Thus, it is advisable to have a broader spectrum of reasoning based on moral ethics to get a solution.

When it comes to international business, the ethical conduct is considered to be above the legal conduct. Both ethical and social conducts are desirable in the business activities. However, the expectations arising from these conducts differ in cultures of different countries (Godiwalla & Damanpour, 2006). Businesses should follow social conduct and rise above the economic motives, and be socially responsible.

TAMBOGRANDE MINING CASE – OVERVIEW

Tambogrande is a Peruvian town in Piura province of San Lorenzo Valley. This was an arid area which was made economical by the development of irrigation systems. It depends on its agricultural lands to generate income. Mangoes, lemons, rice, cotton, potted marigolds and corn are produced, making Tambogrande the most extensive agricultural production in the country (Echave, 2005). Mango and lemon are the main productions of this town, where a part of mango produce is sent for export, and the lemons are used for a Peruvian delicacy known as “ceviche”. The inhabitants of this area have access to running water and electricity which is an advantage over its neighbours. Due to agriculture, the town is completely employed. This town sits over thick deposits of valuable metal, where above the rich copper and zinc deposits are the gold and silver present (Wilson, 2002). This attracted the Canadian mining company “Manhattan Minerals” in 1996. It sought to extract US$1billion worth of minerals. The company formally proposed a mining project to the Peruvian government, which was refused by the local community.

ETHICAL ISSUES AND CHALLENGES IN TAMBOGRANDE CASE

Tambogrande was one such town that successfully opposed the mining operations. Initially when Manhattan Minerals proposed the project it received a lot of flak from the locals, leading to various ethical issues for the business and its stakeholders. Manhattan Minerals had invested around $350million in an estimated $1billion project (Kline, 20015). They also had concessions in Tambogrande for five years. Yet the project wasn’t approved due to pressure from locals. This was mainly because the mining project required significant displacement of locals from their land, loss of agriculture and exploitation of water resources. In return, the company guaranteed new homes for displaced people and 300 mining jobs for the locals (Wilson, 2002). Will monetary factor satisfy the local people? Are we quantifying “way of life” financially? The company’s business relied on the cost outcomes of the project. This raised ethical issue on how the cost outcome is measured? In two years; ten years; or when gold deposits exhausts? A different outcome is concluded in each point of time (Kline, 2005).

The Peruvian government played an unethical role by backing the mining project without the consent of the locals. The government supported the proposal only to gain monetary benefits and to increase foreign exchanges (Feyen et al, 2015). This raised ethical issues on the corruption occurring in the governing system. Does the government decision always give right answers? Should new policies be made to stop injustice? Though a local referendum generated 90% votes against the mining project, it was treated illegally by the government. Was it ethical to neglect those votes? (Kline, 2005)  This affected the indigenous groups and caused mistrust amongst different stakeholders.

Local people were marginalised from the development processes of the project resulting in discord with the mining firm and government (Feyen et al, 2015). Locals formed a group called “Defense Front of Tambogrande” backed by many foreign NGOs to fight against the mining firm and corrupt government. The main concern for locals was the exploitation of natural resources and loss of supremacy. Ethical issues that could arise were:

• Ignorance of locals while reaping mining revenues.
• The inability of the government to handle conflicts, regulate political wills and redress grievances (Feyen et al, 2015).

The mining company used unethical ways to operate its project resulting in mistrust with locals. Monetary gains were considered more important than the needs of the people. A lot was at stake for the company and the government, which they considered more important than what was at stake for the local community (Wilson, 2002).

DISCUSSION ON CONFLICTS

Conflict is defined as the conjunction of different ideologies, interests and worldly facts that cannot be met concurrently and leads to increase in tension (Franks et al, 2014). Any mining proposal requiring a large scale of agricultural land, to develop its mining activities attracts a lot of controversies (Moran, 2001).

ENVIRONMENTAL CONFLICT

Tambogrande constitutes about 37.5% of the agricultural area, where the mining project required the displacement of locals from their lands and diversion of Piura river in the mining area. Around 85%-99% deposits of iron sulphite in the area raised the risk of surface and underground water contamination leading to acidic waters (Echave, 2005).

Another conflict was related to the possible waste generation by the mining activities. Mines are environmentally risky and create a tiff between the “national interest” and local communities. In view of stakeholders, the environmental conflicts can be used to envisage alternative economic activities to increase local income (Muradian&Correa, 2003).

COMPANY-COMMUNITY CONFLICTS

From the beginning of the proposal, the mining company had received negative vibes from the locals, due to their unethical behaviour. This was a small mining company having no projects in their country leading them to set their foot in Tambogrande. Due to the weak governance, it was easy for the company to get approvals for the project and get hold of 75% of land shares. That led to trust issues with the indigenous groups. Moreover, the company had hidden most of its motives leading to doubts among the locals. Misleading information on mining, environmental damages and bias opinion on the co-existence of mining and agriculture, led to more suspicions. There was no transparency and honesty regarding environmental studies, information about their shareholders and other false promises which led to their failure.

COMMUNICATION CONFLICT

Miscommunication was a reason for conflict between the locals and the government in alliance with the company. The locals were frustrated with them as nobody could understand their point of view. One of the major problems was the language used by different stakeholders. The government officials and the mining representatives usually used technical jargon, which intimidated the locals about their incapability to participate in discussions (Echave, 2005). Better knowledge of the local culture, customs, values; involving them in company’s activities and pictorial explanation of complex matters would have bridged the communication gap.

RIGHTS THEORY OF ETHICS TO ANALYSE TAMBOGRANDE CASE

After studying the case carefully, I observed that in a lot of instances the rights of the Tambogrande community were being exploited from the very beginning of the mining controversy. The corrupt government had exploited the right to be informed and consent when they initially approved the mining proposal. They used the innocence and illiteracy of the locals. Not just legally but morally it was unethical. Furthermore, the company had plans to turn the urban land into a mining pit. This would have been unfair to the right to life, property and environment.

The indigenous groups too had been unethical when they vandalized the property of Manhattan Minerals. This move was uncalled and as responsible citizens, such step should have been avoided. They could have used their freedom of expression in peaceful protests; since many foreign NGOs media interactions backed them could have handled the situation. In turn, the leader of the local gang was murdered. This was very barbaric and against the human rights. Monetary gains and worldly pleasures drive people to commit such heinous crime.

Weaker political and legal policies along with corrupt governance had a negative impact on the rights of the locals. An important observation made on this basis was when a local referendum gained 90% votes against the mining activity only to be declared invalid by the government. The locals had no rights legally and as an individual. Only if there were a stronger legal framework, the foreign companies would have known their limit. Moreover, the company had concealed major motives that were unfair to the locals both legally and morally. It was very unethical the way company behaved and indiscriminately disregarded the locals. Furthermore, the right to be treated equally should have been practised by the firm which would have bridged the gap, rather than focusing on the profits.

In my opinion, if the human rights were taken into consideration, preached and practised, the locals would have been strong. The entire community would have been unified on the human rights and claimed their justice much before all those controversies. Not just the legal rights but the moral rights of an individual shall be considered. That is what that differentiates us from the animals and makes us more human.

EXAMPLE- PARACATU MINING CASE

Another example where the indigenous communities faced problems from foreign companies is the Paracatu or Morro do Ouro case.

Morro do Ouro is Brazil’s largest gold mine situated on the outskirts of Paracatu. This area was heavily exploited by a Canadian mining company named Kinross Gold. Inhabiting the Morro do Ouro were the indigenous community called “Quilombolas” (Alforte et al, 2014). A case similar to Tambogrande, the quilombolas too faced unethical situations and exploitation.

The quilombolas went through a tough phase when the company started buying licenses and land for the mining operations. Not only were the locals intimidated to sell their land, but also assaulted physically and sexually for opposing the mining activities. In my view, the company has committed a serious crime, not just legally but morally too. Such uncivilized and barbaric attitude should have been stopped by the Brazil government. Instead of resorting to such acts, Kinross should have respected the locals and created a trusting environment.

Another important situation that I came upon was the weak political and legal framework of the host (Brazil) country, and the Canadian government which had no rules on their company regarding the safety of locals and environment. It was a very unethical conduct of business and the foremost duty of the government is the development of their respective ethical and legal laws. The quilombolas should have had access to the legal advisory, human rights and support by its federal government.

Canadian government further behaved unethical and biased when it supported Kinross in its mining activities, knowing the fact that the quilombolas were treated badly. This was purely a profit based interest. I strongly oppose this move since no business is above humanity. Business yields cannot compromise human life and the environment. Businesses should be done in a way that causes no harm to the surroundings. Kinross should have responsibly taken measures to improve the relationship with quilombolas and protection of the environment.

After studying these cases, I suggest that the foreign mining companies not only abide by the host nations legal and social policies but also develop a sense of responsibility towards the local communities and environment. The locals should be treated equally and their rights should be respected. Better communication and knowledge would help build a trustable relationship between the company and locals. Environmental precautions should be taken care of and sustainable development concept should be practised.

My opinion is based on how a firm should behave ethically and responsibly in a given ethical dilemma. Ethics not only applies legally but also justifies a person’s moral behaviour. Thus, the code of conduct in business should be maintained ethically and morally.

CONCLUSION

Ethics plays a crucial role in day to day life and the business domain. Any situation that arises needs a clear understanding to avoid conflicts. Our morality defines the person we are today. Our moral values along with the right decision-making can help us to live in a world of peace and harmony. In Tambogrande case, Manhattan Minerals project was cancelled by the reformed government. This was a great victory for the locals. In 2002, the Tambogrande people were awarded by the National Coordinator of Human rights for their courageous struggle. Hence, ethics should not only be practised legally, but morally.

REFERENCES

Alforte, A. et al., (2014). Communities as Counterparties: Preliminary Review of Concessions and Conflict in Emerging and Frontier Market Concessions. THE MUNDEN PROJECT.

Alfredo, D., (2017). Teleological Approach to Ethics. Bizfluent. Available at: https://bizfluent.com/info-8473740-teleological-approach-ethics.html [Accessed January 28, 2018].

Athanassoulis, N., (2004). Virtue Ethics. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Available at: https://www.iep.utm.edu/virtue/ [Accessed January 28, 2018].

Business Ethics, Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_ethics [Accessed January 26, 2018].

Carpenter, M.A. & Dunung, S.P., (2011). International Business: Opportunities and Challenges in a Flattening World. Available at: https://catalog.flatworldknowledge.com/bookhub/3158?e=fwk-168388-ch01_s05#fwk-168388-ch01_s05 [Accessed January 27, 2018].

Chandran, A., B, A. & Byju, A., (2015). Ethics In International Business. in SlideShare . Available at: https://www.slideshare.net/ayanawithyou/ethics-in-international-business-54699908 [Accessed January 29, 2018].

Chonko, L., (2012). ETHICAL THEORIES. DSeF.

Echave, J.C.A.de, (2005). CANADIAN MINING COMPANIES INVESTMENTS IN PERU: THE TAMBOGRANDE CASE AND THE NEED TO IMPLEMENT REFORMS. COOPER ACCION.

Ethics: a general introduction. BBC. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/introduction/intro_1.shtml [Accessed January 27, 2018].

Ethics for Environment and Development. CeDEP. Available at: https://www.soas.ac.uk/cedep-demos/000_P563_EED_K3736-Demo/module/pdfs/p563_unit_01.pdf [Accessed January 28, 2018].

Ethics. THE BASICS OF PHILOSOPHY. Available at: http://www.philosophybasics.com/branch_ethics.html [Accessed January 28, 2018].

Ethics, Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethics [Accessed January 26, 2018].

Executive Summary Of Business Ethics And Teleology Business Essay. UK ESSAYS. Available at: https://www.ukessays.com/essays/business/executive-summary-of-business-ethics-and-teleology-business-essay.php [Accessed January 28, 2018].

Feyen, J., Crespo, P. & Célleri, R., (2015). Mining from a conflicting to a collaborative activity: Review of literature. MASKANA, 6.

Franks, D.M. et al., (2014). Conflict translates environmental and social risk into business costs. NCBI. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4040549/ [Accessed January 30, 2018].

Gangone, A.D., (2010). ETHICAL ISSUES IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS. The Annals of The “stefan cel Mare” University of Suceava. Fascicle of The Faculty of Economics and Public Administration, 10.

Godiwalla, Y.H. & Damanpour, F., (2006). The MNCS Global Ethics And Social Responsibility: A Strategic Diversity Management Imperative. Journal of Diversity Management, 1.

Gray, J.W., (2010). Moral Theories (Normative Theories of Ethics). Ethical Realism. Available at: https://ethicalrealism.wordpress.com/2010/08/20/ethical-theories/ [Accessed January 28, 2018].

Kantianism. Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kantianism [Accessed January 28, 2018].

Kline, J.M., (2005). Ethics for International Business: Decision making in a global political economy 1st ed., Routledge.

Mayer, D. & Jebe, R., (2010). The Legal and Ethical Environment for Multinational Corporations. Good business : exercising effective and ethical leadership.

Moran, R.E., (2001). An Alternative Look at a Proposed Mine In Tambogrande, Peru. OXFAM. Available at: https://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/a-proposed-mine-in-tambogrande-peru-an-alternative-look/ [Accessed January 30, 2018].

Muradian, R., Alier, J.M. & Correa, H., (2003). International Capital Versus Local Population: The Environmental Conflict of the Tambogrande Mining Project, Peru. Society & Natural Resources : An International Journal, 16(9).

Normative Ethics. Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normative_ethics [Accessed January 28, 2018].

Swept Aside: An Investigation into Human Rights Abuse at Kinross Gold’s Morro do Ouro Mine. ABOVE GROUND. Available at: http://aboveground.ngo/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Swept-Aside-Kinross-Morro-do-Ouro-report.pdf [Accessed January 31, 2018].

Tambogrande. Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tambogrande [Accessed January 30, 2018].

WHAT ARE INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS ETHICS? LAWS. Available at: https://business.laws.com/business-ethics/international-business-ethics [Accessed January 27, 2018].

Wilson, S., (2002). A Life Worth More Than Gold – Peruvian Town Tries to Turn Away Mining Company . newsmine.org. Available at: http://newsmine.org/content.php?ol=cabal-elite/international-banking/gold-scam/globalisation-gold.txt [Accessed January 30, 2018].

 

Healthcare Organization Niche Market

Yale-New Haven Hospital

Yale-New Haven is a non-profit hospital providing healthcare services in Connecticut. The hospital had more than one million outpatient and emergency visits in the year 2013, and 80,000 discharges (Yale-New Haven Hospital, 2018). The hospital has more than 10,000 employees and numerous university-based physicians practicing medical specialties (Yale-New Haven Hospital, 2018). As a public health advocate, it excels at creating innovative programs supporting the area’s economic growth and healthcare accessibility. The organization is highly involved in many community-based, and health-related organizations to allow continuity community health assessment (Yale-New Haven Hospital, 2018).

Niche Market

Niche Market is created by making a clear identification of what customers want by understanding their needs, then working to deliver better solutions to problems not presented by other firms (Dugonjic, 2016). The tactic involves specific target audience with specialized offerings, making a company become a market leader making it possible for other firms to venture into that particular segment.

Niche marketing reduces competition in market segments, with companies being leaders and enjoying a monopoly. The firm has strong relationships with customers because they operate in small segments, strengthening brands key to customer loyalty. Niche markets enjoy good revenues because customers do not mind paying a little more for services they cannot receive in other places. Healthcare organizations that enjoy greater market power can negotiate higher prices with insurance companies than those facing more direct competition.

Yale-New Haven Hospital specializes in pediatric specialties such as heart surgery, cancer, and cardiology. It takes pride in dealing with diabetes, uronology, neurosurgery, and neonatology.

Segmentation Strategy

Segmentation in marketing allows healthcare firms to identify unique population subsets, so that they can be targeted for delivery of special services in marketing initiatives (Verley, 2015). Segmentation is usually defined by demographic distinctiveness, location, and category of diseases. Segmentation help healthcare organizations to formulate marketing mix, products, promotions, and pricing.

Health institutions segment patients for reasons of insurance status, risk stratification, and marketing. Yale-New Haven Hospital segments them based on the traits they share such as advanced cancer, complex chronic, aging risks, pregnancies and deliveries, and newborns and toddlers.

Yale-New Haven Hospital aims at stimulating community growth, improve the healthcare of children, provide educational opportunities, end homelessness, and create employment to the locals.

Marketing Programs to address Targets

Yale-New Haven hospital specializes in branding strategy to address a diverse customer base. The hospital involves in co-branding to market its name alongside another brand name. This maximizes the marketing budget by creating a partnership (Roson, 2015).

They also practice multi-brand strategies, placing different names on each of their items. This establishes interest to a wide number of groups creating different appeals. The hospital takes advantage of the history it has created in years providing sophisticated, high appealing care to open new satellite clinics in other parts.

The hospital also practices multiproduct strategies, placing its name on their outpatient surgery center, and in all industrial, medical programs to make use of brand equity. Once customers have knowledge and name of the product, they always have confidence that the new brand should work as other products in the line. Application of multiproduct strategy ensures quality productions to meet the organization’s standards because any faulty brand puts the entire brand equity at risk.

They put into application the diffusion of innovation strategy to save on the amount of time required by customers to adopt new products. Profiles of innovators and early adopters are developed, and identification of nurses and physician groups most likely to influence their hospital staff made. Companies send these groups information on new products or invite them to conferences making product announcements.

Effectiveness of marketing Approach and Tools Used

Yale-New Haven Hospital uses effective marketing approach that has been all around, relying on well-assessed methods to advertise services and products to create a connection with patients. I have come to this conclusion after following their user network in social media. The hospital regularly conducts service surveys through social media to interact with patients and know interests. They also share preventive health-care tips to educate patients, forming a personal bond with patients.

Yale-New Haven Hospital uses social media for cross-promotional marketing strategies to get connections with other local organizations and do cross-promotion. This increases exposure and retains customers, to maintain and refer other people to enjoy their services.

Social media comments by people who read blogs and posts from the hospital indicate the success of marketing tools employed. Their twitter handle has more than a million followers globally who follow online medical help program. Increased number of followers can be used as a content metrics to measure content success and reputation. Online marketing assesses context exposure in terms of how many people view the content and content engagement.  Google rankings shows how frequently the organization name is searched, while content conversion estimates how much more was made after the campaign.

The overall monthly performance can be monitored by analyzing tweets to get insight into followers, while measuring exposure and engagement. This is done by looking the number of people who saw your tweet, number of times they visited the profile, number of followers and other mentioning. The organization knows when to improve on service delivery, and what to change depending of followers views.

Things to Do Differently

Marketing and business development services should focus on taking the work of the hospital and focusing on quality improvement and taking the results to grow the market niche. I would improve the hospital physician marketing materials as my most important assets to help market their skills and the facility. The facility would create custom prescriptions for referrals and outpatient programs and also identify key therapists to discuss other progress.

The effects of hospitals buying out their competitors are higher prices and lower quality (Park, Byung-Jin, 2014). I would focus on measures to merge with other hospitals to create efficiency in gains to reduce bills that target to reduce competition. Merging will improve the quantity of management because the CEOs compensations will reduce, and income distribution among medical professionals will balance.

The hospital would take advantage of hospital discharge data and census building to attend to services lacking in the community. The discharge data trends would be analyzed regularly to identify opportunities and increase census building to deal with underserved areas to help create niche program areas that are difficult for other local hospitals to cover. Community outreach would be put in place to develop a market plan to forge relationships with all individuals and organizations to help in developing a good reputation in the community the hospital serves.

 Reference

Dugonjic, A. (2016). Market of halal products: From niche to global market. Ekonomski Izazovi, 5(9), 56-61. http://dx.doi.org/10.5937/ekoizavov1609056d

Park, Byung-Jin. (2014). Administrative Monopoly Regulation on China’s Anti-Monopoly Law Enforcement. China And Sinology, 22(null), 35-74.= http://dx.doi.org/10.17935/chinan.2014.22..35

Roson, R. (2015). Competition between Multiproduct Firms with Heterogeneous. Advances In Social Sciences Research Journal, 2(7). http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.27.1215

Verley, P. (2015). Révolution Industrielle/ industrialization, innovations, organizations. Marché Et Organisations, 23(2), 61. http://dx.doi.org/10.3917/maorg.023.0061

Yale-New Haven Hospital, B. (2018). Yale-New Haven Hospital, Inc.: Private Company Information – Bloomberg. Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 23 February 2018, from https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=4205064

 

Name

Institution

Yale-New Haven Hospital

Yale-New Haven is a non-profit hospital providing healthcare services in Connecticut. The hospital had more than one million outpatient and emergency visits in the year 2013, and 80,000 discharges (Yale-New Haven Hospital, 2018). The hospital has more than 10,000 employees and numerous university-based physicians practicing medical specialties (Yale-New Haven Hospital, 2018). As a public health advocate, it excels at creating innovative programs supporting the area’s economic growth and healthcare accessibility. The organization is highly involved in many community-based, and health-related organizations to allow continuity community health assessment (Yale-New Haven Hospital, 2018).

Niche Market

Niche Market is created by making a clear identification of what customers want by understanding their needs, then working to deliver better solutions to problems not presented by other firms (Dugonjic, 2016). The tactic involves specific target audience with specialized offerings, making a company become a market leader making it possible for other firms to venture into that particular segment.

Niche marketing reduces competition in market segments, with companies being leaders and enjoying a monopoly. The firm has strong relationships with customers because they operate in small segments, strengthening brands key to customer loyalty. Niche markets enjoy good revenues because customers do not mind paying a little more for services they cannot receive in other places. Healthcare organizations that enjoy greater market power can negotiate higher prices with insurance companies than those facing more direct competition.

Yale-New Haven Hospital specializes in pediatric specialties such as heart surgery, cancer, and cardiology. It takes pride in dealing with diabetes, uronology, neurosurgery, and neonatology.

Segmentation Strategy

Segmentation in marketing allows healthcare firms to identify unique population subsets, so that they can be targeted for delivery of special services in marketing initiatives (Verley, 2015). Segmentation is usually defined by demographic distinctiveness, location, and category of diseases. Segmentation help healthcare organizations to formulate marketing mix, products, promotions, and pricing.

Health institutions segment patients for reasons of insurance status, risk stratification, and marketing. Yale-New Haven Hospital segments them based on the traits they share such as advanced cancer, complex chronic, aging risks, pregnancies and deliveries, and newborns and toddlers.

Yale-New Haven Hospital aims at stimulating community growth, improve the healthcare of children, provide educational opportunities, end homelessness, and create employment to the locals.

Marketing Programs to address Targets

Yale-New Haven hospital specializes in branding strategy to address a diverse customer base. The hospital involves in co-branding to market its name alongside another brand name. This maximizes the marketing budget by creating a partnership (Roson, 2015).

They also practice multi-brand strategies, placing different names on each of their items. This establishes interest to a wide number of groups creating different appeals. The hospital takes advantage of the history it has created in years providing sophisticated, high appealing care to open new satellite clinics in other parts.

The hospital also practices multiproduct strategies, placing its name on their outpatient surgery center, and in all industrial, medical programs to make use of brand equity. Once customers have knowledge and name of the product, they always have confidence that the new brand should work as other products in the line. Application of multiproduct strategy ensures quality productions to meet the organization’s standards because any faulty brand puts the entire brand equity at risk.

They put into application the diffusion of innovation strategy to save on the amount of time required by customers to adopt new products. Profiles of innovators and early adopters are developed, and identification of nurses and physician groups most likely to influence their hospital staff made. Companies send these groups information on new products or invite them to conferences making product announcements.

Effectiveness of marketing Approach and Tools Used

Yale-New Haven Hospital uses effective marketing approach that has been all around, relying on well-assessed methods to advertise services and products to create a connection with patients. I have come to this conclusion after following their user network in social media. The hospital regularly conducts service surveys through social media to interact with patients and know interests. They also share preventive health-care tips to educate patients, forming a personal bond with patients.

Yale-New Haven Hospital uses social media for cross-promotional marketing strategies to get connections with other local organizations and do cross-promotion. This increases exposure and retains customers, to maintain and refer other people to enjoy their services.

Social media comments by people who read blogs and posts from the hospital indicate the success of marketing tools employed. Their twitter handle has more than a million followers globally who follow online medical help program. Increased number of followers can be used as a content metrics to measure content success and reputation. Online marketing assesses context exposure in terms of how many people view the content and content engagement.  Google rankings shows how frequently the organization name is searched, while content conversion estimates how much more was made after the campaign.

The overall monthly performance can be monitored by analyzing tweets to get insight into followers, while measuring exposure and engagement. This is done by looking the number of people who saw your tweet, number of times they visited the profile, number of followers and other mentioning. The organization knows when to improve on service delivery, and what to change depending of followers views.

Things to Do Differently

Marketing and business development services should focus on taking the work of the hospital and focusing on quality improvement and taking the results to grow the market niche. I would improve the hospital physician marketing materials as my most important assets to help market their skills and the facility. The facility would create custom prescriptions for referrals and outpatient programs and also identify key therapists to discuss other progress.

The effects of hospitals buying out their competitors are higher prices and lower quality (Park, Byung-Jin, 2014). I would focus on measures to merge with other hospitals to create efficiency in gains to reduce bills that target to reduce competition. Merging will improve the quantity of management because the CEOs compensations will reduce, and income distribution among medical professionals will balance.

The hospital would take advantage of hospital discharge data and census building to attend to services lacking in the community. The discharge data trends would be analyzed regularly to identify opportunities and increase census building to deal with underserved areas to help create niche program areas that are difficult for other local hospitals to cover. Community outreach would be put in place to develop a market plan to forge relationships with all individuals and organizations to help in developing a good reputation in the community the hospital serves.

Reference

Dugonjic, A. (2016). Market of halal products: From niche to global market. Ekonomski Izazovi, 5(9), 56-61. http://dx.doi.org/10.5937/ekoizavov1609056d

Park, Byung-Jin. (2014). Administrative Monopoly Regulation on China’s Anti-Monopoly Law Enforcement. China And Sinology, 22(null), 35-74.= http://dx.doi.org/10.17935/chinan.2014.22..35

Roson, R. (2015). Competition between Multiproduct Firms with Heterogeneous. Advances In Social Sciences Research Journal, 2(7). http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.27.1215

Verley, P. (2015). Révolution Industrielle/ industrialization, innovations, organizations. Marché Et Organisations, 23(2), 61. http://dx.doi.org/10.3917/maorg.023.0061

Yale-New Haven Hospital, B. (2018). Yale-New Haven Hospital, Inc.: Private Company Information – Bloomberg. Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 23 February 2018, from https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=4205064

 

Winter War

The winter war was a military battle that erupted between the Soviet Union and Finland lasting for about three months. The war broke out in 1939 and ended in 1940. It started immediately after the Second World War where the Soviet Union invaded Finland with a quest to obtain some portion of land from the Finnish state.[1]

The Soviets claimed that they wanted to enhance their security on Leningrad which was primarily twenty miles from Finland’s border. The Soviet Union had a much stronger military base characterized by twice the number of Finnish soldiers, majority aircraft and tanks which indicated dominance on their part.[2]However, the Soviet army was crippled regarding leadership and strategy. Despite Soviets advantage in number and military equipment, Finland was able to repel its attack for more than two months.[3] During that period, Finland was able to inflict majority losses on the Soviet army. For the Soviets to defeat the Finnish army, they had to reorganize and formulate distinct action plans.

The hostility between the two nations ended in nineteen forty when they both signed the Moscow Peace Treaty. Finland passed more than 10% of its territory and 13% of its economic returns to the Soviet Union. Despite the loss of the land, Finland maintained its sovereign power and image in regards to military warfare.[4] On the other hand, the poor performance of the Soviet Union destroyed their image and enticed other Nations to initiate an attack on them, for instance, Hitler’s Barbarossa Operation.[5]

The winter did not only show the historical events that contributed to the nation’s civilization but also emphasizes the impacts of undermining others. We should, therefore, learn that larger rivals can be defeated by proper strategies just as Finland opposed the Soviet Union.

[1] Engle, E., & Paananen, L. (2014). The Winter War: The Soviet Attack on Finland, 1939-1940. Stackpole Books.

[2] Ibid

[3] Ibid

[4] Nivala, S., & Sarvimäki, A. (2015). The lifelong struggle of Finnish World War II veterans. Aging & mental health, 19(6), 493-499.

 

[5] Ibid

Telework

Based off this weeks resources, a literature review is taking scholarly articles and research and picking out key findings/facts, that will go into a lengthier secondary report. For instance, my manager is asking me to find research on teleworking (good or bad) and put together a comprehensive report on what the findings are. It is not going to be a persuasive paper or one of me conducting my own research. It will just be the more recent findings of what teleworking is, how it works, and the results. So I would find scholarly sources on telework, review the findings, analysis what they found, and then present it in a research report with citations. From there, my manager will have a clearer understanding of how telework works and if it would be beneficial.

criminal behaviour among youths

Salas-Wright, C. P., Vaughn, M. G., & Maynard, B. R. (2014). Religiosity and violence among adolescents in the United States: Findings from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health 2006-2010. Journal of interpersonal violence, 29(7), 1178-1200.

Religiosity and Violence among Adolescents in the General Population

The author outlines religion as a significant contributor to the decline in fights and attacks among the youths in America. In as much as religion acts as an inhibitor to criminal activities, the article does not go ahead to explain why religion is a protective factor to crimes. The author explains that some religious beliefs influence the decisions being made by an individual. For instance, a person who attends a religious service is less likely to be involved in violent activities such as fights and robbery. However, there are neither examples of religious beliefs that would limit the youth to perform criminal activities nor evidence of the influence of religion of criminal behaviour.

The article can be used as a basis for further research since one can search deeper details regarding the influence of religion. More research should be undertaken so as to clearly establish the influence of religion and its importance in managing criminal activities among the youth. Religion, on the other hand, can be used as a platform for criminal activities and this should be clarified.

Cooley-Strickland, M., Quille, T. J., Griffin, R. S., Stuart, E. A., Bradshaw, C. P., & Furr-Holden, D. (2009). Community violence and youth: Affect, behavior, substance use, and academics. Clinical child and family psychology review, 12(2), 127-156

Exposure to Community Violence and Emotional, Social, and Behavioral Functioning

The author in this article outlines communal disruptions as the major disruption of normal psychological behavior and development among the youths. The young people in cities and major towns characterized by high levels of poverty and violent attacks and disruptions manifest symptoms of nervousness and poor school performance. Majority of them end up dropping from school. Those highly exposed manifest higher levels of anxiety and depression compared to the one with limited exposure. The author goes deeper into the issue in which it can be derived that in the United States, the highest affected youth populations are the African Americans and the Hispanics.

Their neighborhoods are characterized by high rates of violence and aggression. Most of the black youngsters are deeply rooted in drug trafficking; a business characterized by gun violence and aggressive behavior. Living in such communities usually ends up instituting the same aggression in the youths.  The recurring violence usually disrupts their behavior and distorts their psychological working and social aspects. The article hence sheds light to a person interested in researching on this topic and can be a basis for further research.

McGee, Z. T., Logan, K., Samuel, J., & Nunn, T. (2017). A multivariate analysis of gun violence among urban youth: The impact of direct victimization, indirect victimization, and victimization among peers. Cogent Social Sciences, 3(1), 1328772.

A multivariate analysis of gun violence among urban youth: The impact of direct victimization, indirect victimization, and victimization among peers

The author expresses deep interest in gun violence among the children and youth of the United States. Many young people have died as a result of shooting that has become rampant in many nations. Urban areas are highly affected by criminal activities since there is a lot of peer pressure among the young people. Children who are brought up in the urban areas, as explained by the author are likely to involve themselves in criminal activities due to exposure and desire to feel included among peers due to fear of victimization.

The article goes deeper to explain that African American youth are most likely to be exposed to criminal activities especially those living in the cities. The article can therefore be used by any person willing to learn more about criminal behaviour in different residential areas. Disparities in the areas and the reasons behind rise of crime in different areas can therefore be easily compared and a plan of action formulated by the police department for the different areas.

Simckes, M. S., Simonetti, J. A., Moreno, M. A., Rivara, F. P., Oudekerk, B. A., & Rowhani-Rahbar, A. (2017). Access to a loaded gun without adult permission and school-based bullying. Journal of Adolescent Health, 61(3), 329-334.

Guns in America: The worrying relationship between school-bullying and gun violence

The article sheds light on the increase in exposure to guns among school going youths. The author broadly describes the risks associated with exposure to guns and the places where the guns are easily available to children which include homes, friends’ houses or school among other settings. The youths who have been bullied whether through the social media or physically may tend to be vulnerable to violence using guns that they are easy to access. Some youths may have experienced violence at their homes for instance, where one parent has been shot by another. Schools have become centers where bullying is rampant.

The frequent exposure to violence has made youths more violent. The article is a great base from which more research can be undertaken relating to gun violence among youths. More knowledge can be obtained on how to minimize the exposure to guns among people and how the police can intervene. Availability of guns has been one of the contributing factors to increased criminal activities among the young people.

Day, D. M., & Wanklyn, S. G. (2012). Identification and operationalization of the major risk factors for antisocial and delinquent behaviour among children and youth. Public Safety Canada.

Major Risk Factors for Antisocial and Delinquent Behaviour among Children and Youth

The research clearly outlines that there is no evidence of the risk factors that are associated to the behavior of a person. Bad morals are as a result of a particular pattern that has been adopted for a long time among a certain community. The author explains that it is important for the behavior of individuals to be understood since it acts as a lens through which effects can be ascertained. Failed relationship, as established by the author, can result to delinquent behaviors among the young people. Such failures increase risks of antisocial behavior and mental health problems which act as a catalyst for increased criminal behaviour among the affected youth.

The author, however, do not mention the remedies to these behaviors nor does he provide recommendations to parents or other stakeholders on how to minimize the risks associated with delinquency. This research can be broadened to capture the gaps left out by the researchers so as to broaden the association of isolation and criminal behaviour.

Perron, B. E., & Howard, M. O. (2008). Prevalence and correlates of traumatic brain injury among delinquent youths. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 18(4), 243-255.

Prevalence and Correlates of Traumatic Brain Injury among Delinquent Youths

In the research provided in this article, the author provides a basis for reasoning regarding the results of criminal behavior. One of the results of criminal activities is TBI (traumatic brain injuries) which is caused by involvement in high risk behaviors. TBI can result to other problems such as drug and substance abuse which may only elevate the level of crimes committed especially the young people. However, the author does not provide readers with the examples of criminal activities that can lead to serious problems.

The police departments may therefore be unable to clearly distinguish criminals from those who suffer injuries as a result of an accident. Criminal behaviour is hence not easily recognizable through use of the details in the article. The study cannot be used to make critical decisions by police or detectives in a crime committed. It can however be used as base to obtain more information of criminal behavior and its consequences.

Samenow, S. (2012). Inside the criminal mind: Revised and updated edition. Crown.

A Criminal Personality or So-Called “Radicalization”?

The author makes it known that terrorists use the root cause of a problem to their own advantage in a way that they will be able to express their personalities. Criminal behaviour is in a way related to the personality of an individual and the environment surrounding that person. Radicalization can be said to be a form of influence among the young people especially those who are isolated from the rest of the society. The author goes deeper to explain that the Islam is among the highest ranked group who undertake terrorist attacks.

The information in this article, however, seems to be biased to only a single group of individuals and religion. Scholars reading the article might tend to lean on one side which is not logical. In as much as this information may be used to study criminal behaviour among the youth, more research needs to be undertaken which relates to personalities.

Weaver, C. M., Shaw, D. S., Crossan, J. L., Dishion, T. J., & Wilson, M. N. (2015). Parent–child conflict and early childhood adjustment in two-parent low-income families: Parallel developmental processes. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 46(1), 94-107.

 

The author of this article states that mental health professionals have for a long time associated criminal behaviour with the upbringing of a person who has committed a crime for example, mass shooting. Low income families may be the most affected by criminal activities as most children turn to violence. He continues to expound that parents have been judged and blamed for having delinquent children. The reason behind this, as explained by the author, is that parents are supposed to shape their children similar to a lump of clay. The author describes that every child has a different personality and that there exists genetic components relating to criminal behaviour.

The author, however, demonstrates weakness in the study since he does not have a firm stand. He does not argue against nor support that parents are to blame for the behaviour of their children. A firm stand should have been established so as to ensure the research done is concrete and reliable. More research needs to be undertaken so as to establish whether parents contribute or not towards criminal behaviour of their children.

Loeber, R., Farrington, D. P., & Petechuk, D. (2013). From Juvenile Delinquency to Young Adult Offending (Study Group on the Transitions between Juvenile Delinquency and Adult Crime). Bulletin, 1.

From Juvenile Delinquency to Young Adult Offending

The article exposes that children who have been involved in criminal activities are likely to involve themselves in crimes as they grow older and become adults. The author explains that criminal activities tend to increase with age in that at teenage, offenses are more likely to be committed and decline as the youth near their twenties. The author goes on to explain that there is high probability of continuation of criminal activities for the people who started offending at an early age.

Drug dealing and use of weapons persist more than membership of the youth in gangs involved in robbery and violence. The article provides with the interventions that can be undertaken to minimize criminal behaviour among the youth such as training parents on how to handle children and offering enrichment programs to the young offenders. The article is therefore a great reference to those in need of details relating to juvenile crimes for example police officers and detectives.

Beresin, E. V. (2009). The impact of media violence on children and adolescents: Opportunities for clinical interventions. American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, The DevelopMentor. http://www. aacap. org/cs/root/developmentor/the_impact_of_media_violence_on_children_and_adolescents_opportunities_ for_clinical_interventions.

The Impact of Media Violence on Children and Adolescents: Opportunities for Clinical Interventions

Violence has become a common term in the modern society. As the author explains in details, the availability of guns and other weapons have increased the risk of violence among the young people. The author deeply explains the topic on violence by providing the reader with examples such as the increased school shootings that have been trending and suicide among the youth. The media has also contributed to violence in that some films that are being aired on television influence bad behaviors among the youth. The author explains that there exists a relationship between aired violence and violent behavior among the young people which have been proven by a number of researches undertaken. Music videos and television programs have continued to impact the views of the youth on violence.

The article provides recommendations to parents and psychiatrists that could be used to reduce the influence of media violence among the youth. However, the author does not provide recommendations to media platforms on how they can set good examples to the youth using the programs they air. Therefore, this can be a platform for further research to those willing to learn more about criminal behavior for example police officers.

Floyd, L. J., Alexandre, P. K., Hedden, S. L., Lawson, A. L., Latimer, W. W., & Giles III, N. (2010). Adolescent drug dealing and race/ethnicity: a population-based study of the differential impact of substance use on involvement in drug trade. The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse, 36(2), 87-91.

Adolescent Drug Dealing and Race/Ethnicity: A Population-Based Study of the Differential Impact of Substance Use on Involvement in Drug Trade

The author of the article explains that the youth mostly act as drug dealers. The article describes the disparities that exist in the different races and ethnic groups. For instance, the drugs associated with the white people may differ from those being used by the African American community. The author goes ahead to explain that the white people prefer using drugs than participating in the sale of drugs. The reason why there are disparities in criminal activities is not explained in the article.

Drug dealing is a criminal behavior that has been on the rise recently and has been associated with other crimes such as robbery. More research should be done on the disparities and criminal behaviour among youths of different race. However, the author does not provide a clear link of drug dealing and crime. The information obtained from the research obtained can be used for reference by detectives, police officers and psychiatrists.

Salas-Wright, C. P., Nelson, E. J., Vaughn, M. G., Reingle Gonzalez, J. M., & Córdova, D. (2017). Trends in fighting and violence among adolescents in the United States, 2002–2014. American journal of public health, 107(6), 977-982.

Trends in Fighting and Violence among Adolescents in the United States, 2002–2014

The articles emphasizes on the trends and changes that have occurred regarding violence among the young population in the United States. The author focuses on the three major ethnic groups in America, that is, the African Americans, the Hispania’s and the Whites. The article stipulates that violent behaviour among the young population in the United States has significantly reduced by a big margin from the year two thousand and two to the year two thousand and twelve. It dropped by a margin of 9.9% which is proportional to the number of youths involved in violence. The article continues to outline the consistency in violence occurrence among the different ethnic groups in the years of study.

The ratings escalate mostly among the African Americans, Hispania’s and finally the whites. The author in the study only emphasizes the study on the three major ethnic groups in the United States. However, the study only focuses on the rate changes in fighting among the youths and places little emphasis on the causes of fighting. The reader will only gain significant knowledge on the drop in figures but will gather minute comprehension in regards to causes and recommendations for the study.

   Reference

Beresin, E. V. (2009). The impact of media violence on children and adolescents: Opportunities for clinical interventions. American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, The DevelopMentor. http://www. aacap. org/cs/root/developmentor/the_impact_of_media_violence_on_children_and_adolescents_opportunities_ for_clinical_interventions.

Cooley-Strickland, M., Quille, T. J., Griffin, R. S., Stuart, E. A., Bradshaw, C. P., & Furr-Holden, D. (2009). Community violence and youth: Affect, behavior, substance use, and academics. Clinical child and family psychology review, 12(2), 127-156

Day, D. M., & Wanklyn, S. G. (2012). Identification and operationalization of the major risk factors for antisocial and delinquent behaviour among children and youth. Public Safety Canada.

Floyd, L. J., Alexandre, P. K., Hedden, S. L., Lawson, A. L., Latimer, W. W., & Giles III, N. (2010). Adolescent drug dealing and race/ethnicity: a population-based study of the differential impact of substance use on involvement in drug trade. The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse, 36(2), 87-91.

Loeber, R., Farrington, D. P., & Petechuk, D. (2013). From Juvenile Delinquency to Young Adult Offending (Study Group on the Transitions between Juvenile Delinquency and Adult Crime). Bulletin, 1.

McGee, Z. T., Logan, K., Samuel, J., & Nunn, T. (2017). A multivariate analysis of gun violence among urban youth: The impact of direct victimization, indirect victimization, and victimization among peers. Cogent Social Sciences, 3(1), 1328772.

Perron, B. E., & Howard, M. O. (2008). Prevalence and correlates of traumatic brain injury among delinquent youths. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 18(4), 243-255.

Salas-Wright, C. P., Nelson, E. J., Vaughn, M. G., Reingle Gonzalez, J. M., & Córdova, D. (2017). Trends in fighting and violence among adolescents in the United States, 2002–2014. American journal of public health, 107(6), 977-982.

Salas-Wright, C. P., Vaughn, M. G., & Maynard, B. R. (2014). Religiosity and violence among adolescents in the United States: Findings from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health 2006-2010. Journal of interpersonal violence, 29(7), 1178-1200.

Samenow, S. (2012). Inside the criminal mind: Revised and updated edition. Crown

Simckes, M. S., Simonetti, J. A., Moreno, M. A., Rivara, F. P., Oudekerk, B. A., & Rowhani-Rahbar, A. (2017). Access to a loaded gun without adult permission and school-based bullying. Journal of Adolescent Health, 61(3), 329-334.

Weaver, C. M., Shaw, D. S., Crossan, J. L., Dishion, T. J., & Wilson, M. N. (2015). Parent–child conflict and early childhood adjustment in two-parent low-income families: Parallel developmental processes. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 46(1), 94-107.

Child Abuse and Neglect

Child abuse refers to the treatment of children in a malicious way that affects their physical, psychological, or sexual mistreatment and neglect of a child. The mistreatment might be from parents, caregivers, educators or any person who may be directly linked with the children.  According to Chen and Chan, (2016), child neglect is a form of abuse of children where the child’s needs such as medical care, clothing, housing, nutrition, and education are not met. The federal government refers to child neglect and abuse as a form of failure of child caregivers to act as responsible parents for the child, which results in emotional, physical and sexual exploration and abuse.

Risk Factors of Child Abuse

Child abuse can arise from a number of issues that contribute to the risk of abuse increasing. The factors can be grouped into three, that is, the parental, environmental and child factors.

Parental

The parent may have abused other children or was abused at their tender ages. The mother might not be supported and may lack enough education or may be isolated and therefore abuses the child. In addition, the pregnancy may not have been wanted or the parent may not be mentally fit.

 

Environmental

Violence in the family, stress, poverty, overcrowding and lack of good nutrition in ma lead to child abuse (Houlgate, 2017). In addition, non-biological adults who may be living in the same house with the children may abuse these children.

Child

The child may have development or physical disability, lack of attachment between the parent and the child, or constantly falling seek, being unwanted colicky can lead to child abuse. Also, if the child is as a result of an abusive relationship, then it is possible that the child may be abused by the parent (s).

Signs and Symptoms of Child Abuse

            According to LLL, the signs and symptoms of that may suggest cases of child abuse, among others, include:

• Slower development of their skills and abilities such as socializing and talking as compared other children of the same age.
• Failure to gain weight and height over time.
• Unusual parent-child relationship.
• Emotional health issues such as low self-esteem, depression, thought of suicide, and anxiety.
• The sudden drop in grades in school.
• Children running away from home.
• Signs of pain, discomfort, and fear.

Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect

According to Pasalich, Cyr, Zheng, McMahon and Spieker (2016), prevention refers to the strategies and measures that can be undertaken in reducing the probability of a risk from occurring.  Some of the best ways to ensure that child abuse and neglect is curbed include:

• Development of prevention programs and schemes
• Promotion of the well-being of families and child-parent relationship
• Making sure the public is aware of child abuse and that it affects the children.
• Advocating for Psychological treatment and counseling to parents when they bear children and to those who are parents already.

Roles of Nurses in child abuse and neglect prevention

Primary

            Within the primary prevention, nurses should aim at preventing abuse before it begins by focusing on individuals from the community through expensive based projects to bring issues to the light of the issue and offer help administrations.

Secondary

            Nurses advocate for prevention through the development of programs which are aimed at minimizing the incidences of child neglect and abuse through the identification of families which are likely to abuse and neglect children and giving them supportive services to help them resolve their issues (Pasalich et al., 2016).

 

 

Tertiary

            Here, the nurses are expected to develop frameworks in which they can identify families where child abuse has recently occurred and design plans to help the affected children and the conflicting party to resolve their problems.

Intervention, Treatment, and Reporting

            The nurses should be ready to identify any child who is has been noted to be treated in any abusive way or with neglect. After the identification, the nurses should intervene and try to help these children in overcoming and solving the abuse issue. This process will thus lead to the treatment process, which is only necessary if there is any sexual or physical abuse or malnutrition and other neglects that may need treatment. Houlgate (2017) adds that the nurses should as well report their findings on the abuse of the child to the administration and health care services for preventive measures to be made in due time to reduce additional risks for the children. Any person should report the cases of child neglect if they notice any cases. The reporting can be done to the police stations or health care centers and thus the ones who receive the information can devise plans on solving the same (Chen & Chan, 2016). One of the referral points that is within the United States is the Prevent Child Abuse America organization, which is responsible for treatment, counseling and providing care for children who have been abused.

 

 

 

 

 

Differences between child abuse and child neglecting

Child Abuse	Child Neglecting
Physical hurting of a child	Failure to provide basic needs
Resulting effects can be treated but may cause long lasting effects.	Can cause long-lasting effects on the child
Exist in three categories: physical, emotional, and sexual abuse.	Exist in four categories; physical, emotional, educational, and environmental neglect.
Examples include; sexual abuse, slapping, isolation, and threats.	Examples include poor nutrition and lack of education.

Reporting of the cases should be similar since the cases affect children and may result in unwanted cases. According to Briere, Runtz, Eadie, Bigras and Godbout (2017), the types of abuse cannot be defined in the same way but their reporting systems should be similar. Therefore, many resources are available for the different types of abuse, which may include non-governmental aid, hospital care and the government and the police. The community nursing changes at every level of nursing prevention depending on the type of abuse. The nurses are expected to be more concerned with the community around those children being affected by abuse cases and with parents for the cases where neglect is noted.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the nurses play an important role in preventing child neglect and abuse. This is because it is their responsibility and mandate to ensure children have good security, health and physical and hence the nurses must ensure that children are not abused. The nurses are expected to report any cases of neglect to the administration for proper action to be undertaken in the event of reducing the associated risks arising from child abuse and neglect. As such, it is imperative to ensure the children are protected and the parents and caregivers have the necessary information on how to reduce and prevent child abuse and neglect.

Child Abuse and Neglect

Child abuse refers to the treatment of children in a malicious way that affects their physical, psychological, or sexual mistreatment and neglect of a child. The mistreatment might be from parents, caregivers, educators or any person who may be directly linked with the children.  According to Chen and Chan, (2016), child neglect is a form of abuse of children where the child’s needs such as medical care, clothing, housing, nutrition, and education are not met. The federal government refers to child neglect and abuse as a form of failure of child caregivers to act as responsible parents for the child, which results in emotional, physical and sexual exploration and abuse.

Risk Factors of Child Abuse

Child abuse can arise from a number of issues that contribute to the risk of abuse increasing. The factors can be grouped into three, that is, the parental, environmental and child factors.

Parental

The parent may have abused other children or was abused at their tender ages. The mother might not be supported and may lack enough education or may be isolated and therefore abuses the child. In addition, the pregnancy may not have been wanted or the parent may not be mentally fit.

Environmental

Violence in the family, stress, poverty, overcrowding and lack of good nutrition in ma lead to child abuse (Houlgate, 2017). In addition, non-biological adults who may be living in the same house with the children may abuse these children.

Child

The child may have development or physical disability, lack of attachment between the parent and the child, or constantly falling seek, being unwanted colicky can lead to child abuse. Also, if the child is as a result of an abusive relationship, then it is possible that the child may be abused by the parent (s).

Signs and Symptoms of Child Abuse

            According to LLL, the signs and symptoms of that may suggest cases of child abuse, among others, include:

• Slower development of their skills and abilities such as socializing and talking as compared other children of the same age.
• Failure to gain weight and height over time.
• Unusual parent-child relationship.
• Emotional health issues such as low self-esteem, depression, thought of suicide, and anxiety.
• The sudden drop in grades in school.
• Children running away from home.
• Signs of pain, discomfort, and fear.

Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect

According to Pasalich, Cyr, Zheng, McMahon and Spieker (2016), prevention refers to the strategies and measures that can be undertaken in reducing the probability of a risk from occurring.  Some of the best ways to ensure that child abuse and neglect is curbed include:

• Development of prevention programs and schemes
• Promotion of the well-being of families and child-parent relationship
• Making sure the public is aware of child abuse and that it affects the children.
• Advocating for Psychological treatment and counseling to parents when they bear children and to those who are parents already.

Roles of Nurses in child abuse and neglect prevention

Primary

            Within the primary prevention, nurses should aim at preventing abuse before it begins by focusing on individuals from the community through expensive based projects to bring issues to the light of the issue and offer help administrations.

Secondary

            Nurses advocate for prevention through the development of programs which are aimed at minimizing the incidences of child neglect and abuse through the identification of families which are likely to abuse and neglect children and giving them supportive services to help them resolve their issues (Pasalich et al., 2016).

 Tertiary

            Here, the nurses are expected to develop frameworks in which they can identify families where child abuse has recently occurred and design plans to help the affected children and the conflicting party to resolve their problems.

Intervention, Treatment, and Reporting

            The nurses should be ready to identify any child who is has been noted to be treated in any abusive way or with neglect. After the identification, the nurses should intervene and try to help these children in overcoming and solving the abuse issue. This process will thus lead to the treatment process, which is only necessary if there is any sexual or physical abuse or malnutrition and other neglects that may need treatment. Houlgate (2017) adds that the nurses should as well report their findings on the abuse of the child to the administration and health care services for preventive measures to be made in due time to reduce additional risks for the children. Any person should report the cases of child neglect if they notice any cases. The reporting can be done to the police stations or health care centers and thus the ones who receive the information can devise plans on solving the same (Chen & Chan, 2016). One of the referral points that is within the United States is the Prevent Child Abuse America organization, which is responsible for treatment, counseling and providing care for children who have been abused.

 

 

 

 

 

Differences between child abuse and child neglecting

Child Abuse	Child Neglecting
Physical hurting of a child	Failure to provide basic needs
Resulting effects can be treated but may cause long lasting effects.	Can cause long-lasting effects on the child
Exist in three categories: physical, emotional, and sexual abuse.	Exist in four categories; physical, emotional, educational, and environmental neglect.
Examples include; sexual abuse, slapping, isolation, and threats.	Examples include poor nutrition and lack of education.

Reporting of the cases should be similar since the cases affect children and may result in unwanted cases. According to Briere, Runtz, Eadie, Bigras and Godbout (2017), the types of abuse cannot be defined in the same way but their reporting systems should be similar. Therefore, many resources are available for the different types of abuse, which may include non-governmental aid, hospital care and the government and the police. The community nursing changes at every level of nursing prevention depending on the type of abuse. The nurses are expected to be more concerned with the community around those children being affected by abuse cases and with parents for the cases where neglect is noted.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the nurses play an important role in preventing child neglect and abuse. This is because it is their responsibility and mandate to ensure children have good security, health and physical and hence the nurses must ensure that children are not abused. The nurses are expected to report any cases of neglect to the administration for proper action to be undertaken in the event of reducing the associated risks arising from child abuse and neglect. As such, it is imperative to ensure the children are protected and the parents and caregivers have the necessary information on how to reduce and prevent child abuse and neglect

References

Briere, J., Runtz, M., Eadie, E., Bigras, N., & Godbout, N. (2017). Disengaged parenting: structural equation modeling with child abuse, insecure attachment, and adult symptomatology. Child Abuse & Neglect, 67, 260-270.

Chen, M., & Chan, K. L. (2016). Parental absence, child victimization, and psychological well-being in rural China. Child Abuse & Neglect, 59, 45-54.

Houlgate, L. D. (2017). Child Abuse and Neglect. In Philosophy, Law and the Family (pp. 127-141). Springer International Publishing.

Pasalich, D. S., Cyr, M., Zheng, Y., McMahon, R. J., & Spieker, S. J. (2016). Child abuse history in teen mothers and parent–child risk processes for offspring externalizing problems. Child abuse & neglect, 56, 89-98

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Briere, J., Runtz, M., Eadie, E., Bigras, N., & Godbout, N. (2017). Disengaged parenting: structural equation modeling with child abuse, insecure attachment, and adult symptomatology. Child Abuse & Neglect, 67, 260-270.

Chen, M., & Chan, K. L. (2016). Parental absence, child victimization, and psychological well-being in rural China. Child Abuse & Neglect, 59, 45-54.

Houlgate, L. D. (2017). Child Abuse and Neglect. In Philosophy, Law and the Family (pp. 127-141). Springer International Publishing.

Pasalich, D. S., Cyr, M., Zheng, Y., McMahon, R. J., & Spieker, S. J. (2016). Child abuse history in teen mothers and parent–child risk processes for offspring externalizing problems. Child abuse & neglect, 56, 89-98

Control process

Control Process Steps                                     

Establishment of standards

            Turning to the work of Chorafas (2004), one finds that the term standard is a criterion used for measuring results. Standards are norms that assist an organization to accomplish the set goals. The management of an organization can measure the standards using the output obtained (Plunkett, Allen & Attner, 2013). Non-monetary terms such as goodwill, loyalty and customer attraction can also be used to measure standard. Examples of standards in control process include cost standard, income standard among others.

Measuring the performance

            Measuring performance involves comparing the obtained result to what the company had intended to accomplish (Lester & Lester, 2007). In the control process measurement helps management to understand the deviation and devise ways of collecting the shortcomings. Chorafas (2004) argues that the measurement of predetermined and actual results should be similar. Measuring performance helps to reduce additional costs in the future operations.

Comparison between the actual and expected performances

            The management of any organization should compare the set goal and the actual result that the company obtains (Lester & Lester (2007). The comparison phase involves receiving the raw information, classification and recording of the acquired data, periodic evaluation and reporting the status. The comparison stage enables the managers to study the cause of deviations, effect and size of deviation (Plunkett, Allen & Attner, 2013).

Correction of deviations

            After learning the causes, effect and size of the differences, the management should take the appropriate measures to eliminate the deviations in the process. Lester and Lester (2007) state that effective correction of the failures involves the probes in the areas of variance.

Types of control

Premise control

            An organization designs the control to monitor continuously and methodologically the validity of the assumption.

Special alert control

            The control involves a rapid and rigorous reassessment of the firm’s strategy.

Implementation control

The application control comprises controlling the resources in implementing the policies.

Assessing the effectiveness of control

            Chorafas (2004) states that an organization can test the effectiveness of the control by comparing the results before and after the application of the control systems. Furthermore the cost involved in the process can be used to assess the high cost associated with poor performance of the control

References

Chorafas, D. N. (2004). Operational risk control with Basel II: Basic principles and capital requirements. Amsterdam: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann.

Lester, A., & Lester, A. (2007). Project management, planning and control: Managing engineering, construction and manufacturing projects to PMI, APM and BSI standards. Amsterdam: Elsevier/Butterworth-Heinemann. N.p.

Plunkett, W. R., Allen, G. S., & Attner, R. F. (2013). Management: Meeting and exceeding customer expectations (10th Ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.

 

Competitive Strategy E-Learning Activities

Paragraph one

What is strategy?

            A strategy is a plan or method that an organization chooses in an attempt to establish the desired outcomes of the firm in the future. There are the various goals, tactics, objectives, and descriptions that an organization can adopt in their attempt to being effective in the industry or marketplace. The goals help in targeting a huge customer base in comparison to other players (Whittington, 2000). The goals or the tactics include being low cost providers in the industry, pursuing of global strategy by the organizations that help in targeting customers across the world, integration of a set of regional acquisitions, the companies can also have a tactic of providing unrivalled customer services across the world, always being the first movers and moving from defence to industrial applications. Strategy comes from a Greek word strategos that mean the art of general. Strategies demonstrate the strengths of an organization that can help in competing against other players in the industry. Viardot (2011) states that the executive of the modern organizations needs to develop strategies that lead to their victory.

From the video, a good strategy is the one that provides an answer to the following main four questions: where do we compete? Sadler (2003) argues that a good strategy should give direction on the areas that the company should compete in including the markets and the segment. What unique value do we bring to the market? The question helps in understanding why customers prefer purchasing from a certain market player. The unique values may include differentiation and low-cost strategies. What resources and capabilities do we use in delivering the value? Whittington (2000) records that an organization should evaluate the capital it has, technology and intangible resources including reputation in delivering value to the customers. Capabilities are the things that the company can be able to do or the potential to use the available resources in producing goods and services needed by the customers. How do we sustain the potential of providing the unique value? In sustaining the ability to provide the value, the organization may have various imitations, ability to exclude competitors in the provision of certain goods and services. The question helps in analyzing the factors that an organization to continue being competitive in the market taking into consideration other players in the same industry. IKEA is an example of clearly identified strategy that has been competing across the world

The company has been inexpensive in comparison to other players in the furniture industry, the skills possessed by the company employees is greater than the one held by the local operators, the company has been providing unique value to its customers through proper choice of the markets, low shipping cost for its products to the customers, the company also has technology that helps in mass production of products that help in reducing the cost of operation. Sadler (2003) postulates that different factors including skills of the employees play a key role in determining the position of a company in the industry in comparison to other market players.

Business model innovation

The business model of an organization determines the competitiveness and success of an organization. Business should focus on future even as they conduct their daily activities such as serving the customers. The success of today is the enemy of tomorrow’s success. Innovation increases the value of customers of a service or lower cost of operation and therefore creating competitive advantage. There are various misconceptions about innovation including views such as innovation results from ideas that nobody else has discovered them, big success requires big resources among others. Most successful organizations have innovated their business model. Business model enhances the success of an organization by answering some questions including who are the target customers, what the company offer, how the company creates value and means of generating revenue. There are 55 models that are responsible for the innovation of all business models. There are four steps that an organization can follow in developing its model and are initiation, ideation, integration and implementation.

Turning to the work of Abramson and Littman (2002) one finds that a company should carefully analyse its current model in developing new models. After initiation, the firm should confront the current model with the 55 business models pattern and develop the new pattern. The firm should then check the consistency of the model and then implement it. In development and implementation of the business model, there are various rules that the business should adhere to and include: only implement one business model at a time, clearly communicate the new business model and the need for change, make sure that the process takes the necessary time for it to be effective, get the new management commitment and overcome or avoid the not invented syndrome.  According to Kaplan (2012), innovation is the key factor that contributes to the success of an organization. In additional to technology and new ideas, innovation also includes learning from other people or organizations and re-inventing the model.

Paragraph two

Application

Strategy

            Nestle company is an Australian company that has been dealing with the various range of products. Research by Lee (2010) shows that the company operates in various countries in the world. The company operates by providing a range of products including food products and drinks. Some of the products that the company has been offering include breakfast cereals, water, chocolate, canned beans among other products. The company has been selling its products at relatively low prices in comparison to other players making it competitive across the globe. The company has also been educating its employees across all regions that it operates on how to deal with the clients with an aim of improving its position. Diversification strategy helps in maintaining the sustainability of an organization (Viardot, 2011). Nestle company has been diversifying through the production of products that is fit for different categories of people and therefore provides value effectively in the industry. The company has established a good reputation and has good technology that has enabled efficient production and delivery of the products to the outlets for easy access by the customers. Brand of the company has been helping the organization in providing value to its customers without great interference and has great imitation in the market. Because of proper services and quality goods, the company has continued being able to influence the customers towards their operations.

Business model innovation

            Volycom Company has been working to provide various products and services that facilitate telecommunication including phones and accessories. According to Abramson and Littman (2002), the company has been operating in a competitive environment where it faces competition from Techno Company and airtel. Trapp (2014) states that to remain competitive in the market, a company should consistently employ competitive advantage techniques that help in improving their competitiveness. Volycom Company has been inventing new ideas and technology that has helped in sustaining it in the market. The company has also improved on the innovation of business model. The business model of the company has helped in explaining to the customers and the general public the products and services that the company offer. Through the explanation of the products and services, the firm has been able to acquire more loyal customers and therefore improving the competitive edge of the firm. In addition, the model helps in explaining the target customers for its products and services, how the company creates value for the products and services it offers and how the company generates revenue.

Research by In Foss and In Saebi (2015) show that Volycom Company started by analyzing the current model in the attempt to develop a new model for the well-being of the company. The firm the employs the available 55 business mottos to develop a new model, check the consistency of the developed model and finally implementing. To remain competitive, the firm has actively been involved in innovating new ideas and model by learning from other companies operating in the same field. The company has been communicating its innovated idea to the members as well as to the intended clients

References

Abramson, M. A., & Littman, I. D. (2002). Innovation. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

In Foss, N. J., & In Saebi, T. (2015). Business model innovation: The organizational dimension.

Kaplan, S. (2012). Business model innovation factory: How to stay relevant when the world is changing. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Lee, G. (2010). Business process management of Japanese and Korean companies. New Jersey: World Scientific.

Sadler, P. (2003). Strategic management. Sterling, VA: Kogan Page.

Trapp, M. (2014). Realizing business model innovation: A strategic approach for business unit managers.

Viardot, E. (2011). The timeless principles of successful business strategy. New York: Springer.

Whittington, R. (2000). What is strategy, and does it matter? London: Routledge.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD7WSLeQtVw (8:47) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4ZSGQW0UMI (8:22)