The War On Drugs | History

The War On Drugs | History Throughout history drugs have been nothing but a social problem, virtually a burden. Some of the most famous and influential people have been known to abuse drugs. Such individuals are Edgar Allen Poe who smoked opium in an attempt to make his poetry more creative, and musician Ray Charles, arrested in 1964 on drug charges. (Erowid) A rise in drug use began around the time when American soldiers came back home from the Vietnam War addicted to heroin. At that time, drugs were only being used by small group of people, and they were simply looked down upon. It was not until the late nineteen sixties when recreational drug use became fashionable among young, white, middle class American citizens that the United States Government put its foot down. (PBS) They started slowly, developing agencies like the (BNDD) Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, which was founded in 1968 by the Linden Johnson administration. Congress also started passing laws like the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevent ion and Control Act in 1970. It was not until June 17, 1971 when the war really started. At a press conference in the White House, President Richard Nixon officially declared war on drugs. He stated, Drug abuse is public enemy, number one in the United States. He also announced the creation of the (SAODAP) Special Action Office for Drug Abuse Prevention. Three years later on August 9, 1974, President Nixon resigned, but not before founding one the greatest assets for the war on drugs, the (DEA) Drug Enforcement Agency. Established in July of 1973, this super agency (PBS) consisted of agents from the CIA, Customs and ODALE. This agency was designed to handle all aspects of the drug problem in America and would be headed by Myles Ambrose. Throughout the first years of the program the DEA established their main focus; to stop the flow of marijuana from Mexico to America. Around the mid-seventies the enemy face began to change, the enemy was now cocaine and it was coming from the country of Colombia. On November 22, 1975 the Colombian police seized over 600 kilos of cocaine from a small plane at the Cali (Colombia) Airport. The plane was believed to be headed to Miami, Florida. The amount of cocaine that was seized that day was the largest cocaine bust to date. (PBS) The DEA, along with other agencies, are still fighting cocaine and many other drugs to this day. One of the reasons the war on drugs is lasting so long is because of the cost; the war on drugs is a very expense war. In the past, the government has spent around 10 billion dollars a year, this year alone (2011) over $14,000,000,000 is how much the federal government has spent on this seemingly, never-ending war. (Drug Sense) At this rate the cost per second will be over $600 per second by the end of the year! The reason the cost is so high is because there are so many different agencies and programs that need financial aid. Programs such as D.A.R.E and the Just Say No anti-drug campaign are some of the programs that such money is spent on. The Just Say No campaign was founded by Nancy Reagan in 1984 and was the centerpiece of the Reagan Administrations anti-drug campaign. (Wikipedia) The campaign mainly consisted of TV commercials and public advertisements, to keep kids from trying drugs. When the war on drugs first began to take shape in the early seventies, the government wanted to know where the illicit substances were coming from. In the beginning the answer was simply Mexico, they had previously imported in all of the marijuana in the sixties. The simple mom and pop cartels (small businesses) would grow the marijuana in their own backyard and smuggle it over the border into southern Texas. This and much larger operations are known as the Trafficking of drugs. (Wikipedia) After a few years of smuggling, the government caught on, so customs started cracking down on the border. This made the smugglers take to the air; they began using airplanes to get over the border. (Drug Library) The Mexican smuggling business began to slow down though, due to stricter regulations on customs and border patrol. The lack of business was also due to another factor; Americas drug of choice had changed. America now had a taste for cocaine and it was coming from the country of Colombia . Cocaine which is an extract of the cocoa bean is grown all over the country of Colombia. The country of Colombia is a nation made of poverty and corruption. Its main cash crop is coffee, but in reality its cocaine. It is speculated that in Colombia alone, there is over 150,000 hectares of coco plantations. (Transnational Institute) Colombia depends on cocaine; it is estimated 300,000 people are directly dependent on the cocaine economy. (icdc.com) Thousands of people are assassinated and kidnapped every year in Colombia, due to political violence. In 1989, three of the five Colombian presidential candidates were murdered; the Medellin drug cartel was mainly responsible for these violent atrocities. Medellin is one of Colombias biggest cities; it is located in central Colombia. Throughout the early seventies to the early nineties, Medellin was the cocaine capital of the world. In fact anyone using cocaine between the late seventies, early eighties, had a high chance of using cocaine from the Medellin Cartel. They invented the market for cocaine; they were the first people to ever be that successful in selling dope. The Medellin Cartel consisted of many people, but there was one man who controlled it all, the key figure on the other end of the war on drugs, the kingpin himself Pablo Escobar El Patron. (Wikipedia) Pablo was born in the most violent of times in Colombia, La Violenica a time of civil war in that nation. Around 1965 when Escobar was just 17, he dropped out of school, and then began selling cocaine, by 1976 he was arrested, but this did not stop him. By 1982 Escobar had become so powerful that he was elected congressman on the Colombian Parliament. (Wikipedia) He also purchased one of Colombias popular professional soccer teams (Escobar was a bil lionaire). By this time in Colombia, Escobar was looked at as a sort of Robin Hood (PBS) buying mass apartment complexes for the poor to live in, the poor loved him. He was unstoppable, that was until 1989, Escobar helped coordinate a terrorist campaign that shot down an airliner out of the sky. His men shot down the plane in attempt to kill the only presidential candidate in the Colombian election. (Wikipedia) After this incident the U.S. government made Escobar a military target, and began a so-called war with Escobar. Four years later, a vigilante death squad known only has the Los Pepes secretly composed of the Colombian Search Bloc, Ex Medellin cartel members, and American DEA agents, announced they intended to attack family members, friends, associates, and assets of Pablo Escobar until he was found. (Wikipedia) On March 4, 1993 the Los Pepes killed Escobars attorney Raul Zapata. Two days later the Los Pepes killed two more of Escobars attorneys, by this time the Los Pepes wer e brutally killing five to six people a day. On July 14, 1993 Col. Hugo Martinez, head of Search Bloc, met with U.S. Army Col. John Alexander and agreed to allow a ground-based U.S. listening post in Medellin(Freedom To Exhale) Finally on December 2, 1993, Colonel Martinez and his men tracked Escobar to his three million-dollar estate. As the Search Bloc went in to arrest him, Escobar ran out on the roof and he and his bodyguard Alvaro de Jesus Agudelo, fired at the squad. Because of this, the police were forced to gun both of them down. He died from multiple gunshot wounds the day after his birthday at the age of 44. This was the deathblow to the Medellin Cartel; business would never be the same in Medellin. Another country that is highly involved in drug trafficking in America is the country of Mexico. In the past, Mexico was primarily responsible for marijuana; today Mexico is responsible for many illicit substances coming into the United States, but mainly cocaine and marijuana. Today there are many drug cartels in Mexico, but the Arellano- Felix Organization (aka Tijuana Cartel) is by far the strongest. (Wikipedia) The Arellano-Felix Organization is North Americas most violent drug trafficking cartel. Based out of Tijuana, Mexico, for over a decade they shipped tons of cocaine, heroin and methamphetamines into the U.S. every year. Annual revenues are in the hundreds of millions. (DEA) The cartels strategy is to recruit Juniors; young educated upper class men with families living on both sides of the San Diego-Tijuana border, using them as their drug runners and hit men. They have single handedly killed hundreds of innocent people including the cardinal of a church in Mexico. They wer e on the FBIs ten most wanted list a couple years ago, but they are still on the loose. At the other end of the war on drugs, is treatment; treatment for the addiction to drugs. Addiction is one the most serious parts of the war on drugs, its the aftermath of having fun. (PBS) The Vietnam soldiers were some of the first people to suffer from heroin addiction. Psychiatrist Dr. Robert DuPont is a pioneer doctor in drug abuse treatment; he performed studies in Washington D.C. in 1969 of heroin addicts, and then convinced the mayor to allow him to provide methadone to the heroin addicts. This action resulted in the citys crime rate dropping. (PBS) Speaking of drug abuse addiction and treatment, the costs incurred needs mentioning. The cost of addiction can be devastating to the abusing person and the persons family. People trade in their cars, clothing, and shelter just to get a fix for their addiction. Moreover, the cost of rehabilitation is outrageous. Unless you are attending a free one, it can cost up to $1000 dollars a week. There are many public programs today for the sole purpose of keeping people clean. Programs such as Betty Ford, D.A.R.E, and many more are set up to keep people from drug abuse. In the end, the war on drugs is not a war to be won or lost; it all boils down to personal choice; to do drugs, or not to do drugs. Hopefully the choice is not to do drugs. Also, the complete ceasing of illegal drug smuggling into the United States is virtually impossible. For one, the 2,000 miles of border separating the U.S. and Mexico, as well as the coastal areas, make it tough to stop all drug trade from the south. I also suspect that government corruption on both sides of the border allow for many of these illegal substances to make their way into this nation, as it generates enormous amounts of money. After all, it is all about the money and power.

School Dress Code

School uniforms give the identity of the school. A certain design, style of a uniform initially gives an impression about the school. Usually, schools which require their student to wear coat and tie every day are dubbed as the exclusive schools. In America, those schools which have uniforms are private schools and somehow provide a status symbol for people. The aesthetics of a school uniform is just a bonus. A school uniform provides formality in education. This is why the teachers and the staff in an educational institution also wear uniforms. However, the public schools in the country do not require their students to wear uniforms. Instead, they just wear casual clothes to school (Brunsma, 2004, p. 50). The importance of having school uniforms is highlighted when it comes to the safety of the students. It is relevant that the student be given school uniform for easier identification when outside of the school campus. A modified school uniform per year level will also help. An example of this would be providing color-coded ribbons for each grade school. This will better help in identifying the students especially in a big school. In school gatherings and announcements, this helps in organizing the students in such big events (Brunsma, 2004, p. 55). When outside the campus, a student in uniform can easily be identified if he or she should be in or outside the campus. Once caught, the school can easily take action for the student's wrongdoings. Thus, uniforms help make the administration's jobs easier in maintaining the discipline of the students. It will also give the students a second thought on cutting classes and doing nasty things especially when they are carrying their school's name. Although this may be just a glitch, the problem that will probably be faced in having a school uniform is that it will somehow give more schoolwork to the institution. With these being said, it is just important that schools have uniforms. The above reasons are more than enough to justify the importance of school uniforms.

The Merger of Ranbaxy and Daiichi

A REPORT ON Ranbaxy-Daiichi Deal 1/26/2012 Ranbaxy-Daiichi Deal Introduction: Daiichi Sankyo bought Ranbaxy for $4. 6 billion in June 2008. This report studies the implications of the merger between Ranbaxy and Daiichi Sankyo, from an intellectual property as well as a market point of view. There are many critical events happening in international pharma market including the growing preference for generics, increasing dominance of emerging markets such as India, fast approaching patent expiry etc. Also, this deal involves 2 major players who are the largest among their respective markets. Background: Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd. acquired 34. 8% of Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. from its promoters and increased its stake through preferential allotment, public offer and preferential issue of warrants to acquire a majority in Ranbaxy, i. e. at least 50. 1%. After the acquisition, Ranbaxy operates as Daiichi Sankyo’s subsidiary but supposed to manage independently under the leadership of its current CEO & Managing Director Malvinder Singh. Mr. Singh left the company in 2009 with a 4. 5 billion rupees severance package. Why: Daiichi Sankyo wanted to acquire a drug maker that specialized in generics after Japan eased its laws allowing sales of these cheaper versions of expensive drugs. The deal was a trendsetter in Indian market for future M&A deals. India's family-owned companies realized that it was not shameful to sell and profit from their businesses. Benefits Expected: Operational: The main benefit for Daiichi Sankyo from the merger was Ranbaxy’s low-cost manufacturing infrastructure and supply chain strengths. Ranbaxy gained access to Daiichi Sankyo’s research and development expertise to advance its branded drugs business. Expansion: Daiichi Sankyo’s strength in proprietary medicine complements Ranbaxy’s leadership in the generics segment and both companies acquire a broader product base, therapeutic focus areas and well distributed risks. Ranbaxy gains smoother access to and a strong foothold in the Japanese drug market. Financial: The immediate benefit for Ranbaxy was that the deal freed up its debt. Also, Ranbaxy’s addition elevated Daiichi Sankyo’s position from #22 to #15 by market capitalization in the global pharmaceutical market. Synergies: . A complementary business combination that provides sustainable growth by diversification that spans the full spectrum of the pharmaceutica l business. 2. An expanded global reach that enables leading market positions in both mature and emerging markets with proprietary and non-proprietary products. 3. Strong growth potential by effectively managing opportunities across the full pharmaceutical life-cycle. 4. Cost competitiveness by optimizing usage of R and manufacturing facilities of both companies, especially in India. † 5. Respective presence of Daiichi Sankyo and Ranbaxy in the developed and emerging markets 6. Ranbaxy’s strengths in the 21 emerging generic drug markets allow Daiichi Sankyo to tap the potential of the generics business. 7. Ranbaxy’s branded drug development initiatives for the developed markets significantly boosted through this relationship. 8. Daiichi Sankyo able to reduce its reliance on only branded drugs and margin risks in mature markets and benefit from Ranbaxy’s strengths in generics to introduce generic versions of patent expired drugs, particularly in the Japanese market. Post-acquisition objectives: Daiichi Sankyo’s focus was to develop new drugs to fill the gaps and take advantage of Ranbaxy’s strong areas ? To overcome its current challenges in cost structure and supply chain ? To establish a management framework that would expedite synergies ? To reduce its exposure to branded drugs in a way that it can cover the impact of margin pressu res on the business, especially in Japan ? In a global pharmaceutical industry making a shift towards generics and emerging market opportunities, Daiichi Sankyo’s acquisition of Ranbaxy signalled a move on the lines of its global counterparts Novartis and local competitors Astellas Pharma. Post acquisition challenges: Post acquisition challenges included managing the different working and business cultures of the two organizations, undertaking minimal and essential integration and retaining the management independence of Ranbaxy without hampering synergies. Ranbaxy and Daiichi Sankyo also needed to consolidate their intellectual capital and acquire an edge over their foreign counterparts. What went wrong? A lack of proper due diligence In its eagerness to tap the expertise of a generic drug maker, Daiichi took the risk of buying Ranbaxy for top dollar. Three weeks later, the US Food and Drug Administration banned imports of 30 of Ranbaxy's generic drugs, and later determined that the company was selling adulterated or misbranded medicine. It blacklisted two of the company's manufacturing units, limiting the company's ability to sell drugs made in those facilities. Ranbaxy then reported currency-exchange losses of nine billion rupees in 2008. This made Ranbaxy post losses in the same year. Ranbaxy Laboratories Cash Flow ——————- in Rs. Cr. ——————Dec '10 Dec '09 Dec '08 Dec '07 Dec '06 12 mths 12 mths 12 mths 12 mths 12 mths Net Profit Before Tax Net Cash From Operating Activities Net Cash (used in)/from Investing Activities Net Cash (used in)/from Financing Activities Net (decrease)/increase In Cash and Cash Equivalents Opening Cash & Cash Equivalents Closing Cash & Cash Equivalents 1565. 25 1168. 89 -2067. 8 991. 48 92. 57 69. 26 161. 83 1061. 92 -1619. 08 -665. 43 -599. 22 86. 12 -462. 91 -214. 14 2817. 2 -793. 46 1755. 07 862. 39 172. 14 68. 93 1927. 21 774. 41 442. 98 685. 77 315. 49 -708. 18 -2103. 74 132. 19 1739. 65 109. 78 -48. 6 62. 36 110. 96 172. 14 62. 36 What worked? Mr. Singh timed the sale of his family silver perfectly – he got a huge premium for the stake before U. S. regulatory concerns came to light. Daiichi, after the initial stumbles, seems to now be heading in the right direction and in the past year has integrated Ranbaxy's R&D unit in an effort to gain synergies. Daiichi also launched a generic version of Pfizer Inc. ‘s cholesterol drug, Lipitor in US recently. The verdict: Fail This is a classic example of an acquirer paying top price without looking too closely at the quality of the goods. Daiichi continues to pay for the huge risk it took in the deal. U. S. regulatory problems have slowed down the integration of Daiichi and Ranbaxy a lot more than expected. We can see that Daiichi is having similar level of operating expenses and yet to achieve anything special from Ranbaxy. US FDA said that, Ranbaxy had ‘numerous problems' at its facilities in US and India. The US DOJ has also filed the consent decree against Ranbaxy in the US district court of Maryland on 26th January 2012, which would further put pressure on the margins. â€Å"Daiichi is yet to realize anything concrete from this deal. â€Å"

SAMPLE OUTLINE FOR A PERSUASIVE SPEECH - By Tom Wi Essays

SAMPLE OUTLINE FOR A PERSUASIVE SPEECH - By Tom Wi Essays Fat SAMPLE OUTLINE FOR A PERSUASIVE SPEECH - By Tom Wingard Introduction Attention Are you getting a bit tired of that three inch spare tire Material around your waist? Are you becoming increasingly lazy, fat? Thesis/ I'd like to show you that we're all in need of exercise. Overview Now is the time to get started so that we can enjoy the health and psychological benefits the rest of our lives. Motivation I'm assuming that none of you will argue that exercise is harmful. You'll agree that exercise is beneficial. However, I'm not so sure all of us are actually exercising. I'd like to tell you, then, not how to exercise, but to persuade you to go out and get some exercise. Transition (First, I'd like to tell you why I'm so concerned about our inactivity.) Thought Pattern: PROBLEM-SOLUTION Body Problem: I. Lack of exercise is harmful to our health. A. Cardiovascular disease, the nation's leading cause of death, is caused by inactivity. 1. Clogged arteries and veins are a result of inactivity. (example) 2. Excess fat also caused by inactivity leads to a higher incidence of heart disease. (explanation and example) Internal (Statistically, then, you will die at an earlier age if summary you do not exercise.) Transition (Now some of you might be wondering why I'm preaching to a bunch of 20 year olds.) B. College students are not as healthy as we are often lead to believe. 1. High school seniors are in better health than we are. (survey) 2. We are on the threshold of decline as our level of activity drops. (explanation) C. This change is correlated with the changes in our lifestyles that occur between high school and college. 1. Most of us have less time to run around because we are studying more. (explanation) 2. Many of us have given up the sports we used to play competitively. (example) 3. Now that we're in college we have less motivation to exercise. (explanation) Internal (The point here is that exercise for us must come from summary within. But, statistically, that hasn't been happening.) Transition (This point becomes increasingly significant as we realize that this stage in our lives is a primary force in determining our future behavior.) D. Our inactivity now may lead to inactivity later. 1. Our choices in brand of beer will be carried on through the coming years. (analogy) 2. By being inactive now we are getting ourselves into a rut of being inactive. This rut can be avoided, but it is difficult. (explanation) Internal (I have shown you that by not exercising we are decreasing summary our life spans, and at this particular time in our lives we are especially vulnerable to becoming out of shape. This may carry with us for years, until it is too late. Transition (A fair question to ask here is: What is so great about exercise? If it's such a pain in the ass, it's not worth living a few more years. To this I would respond that it isn't such a pain.) Solution II. Exercise is not a large investment,but the yield is very high. We should all exercise to take advantage of this. A. To exercise, you don't have to lift weights for hours on end or join the wrestling team. Exercise can take as little as 15 minutes a day. (statistic) B. One advantage of being healthy is that your body needs less sleep. This may more than make up for the time it takes to exercise. (explanation) C. Studies show exercise clears your thoughts so that you can be more efficient. (testimony) D. Also, you'll feel better. 1. When hurrying to class you won't get winded so easily. (example) 2. You won't get sick as easily since exercise increases the body's resistance. (testimony and explanation) E. More important, however, are the effects on your body you don't feel. 1. Increasing your cardiovascular strength increases your heart's stroke efficiency. (testimony) 2. Researchers at San Diego State have found that increases in exercise slow the onset of senility. (testimony) Internal (If none of these facts impress you, keep in mind that summary/ exercise might make us look better and this might make transition girls take a little more notice of us.) Conclusion Attention Just as none of us wants to be called a fat slob by our material mothers, none of us wants to die earlier than we

Las Ferreterias de Mexico Essay Example

Las Ferreterias de Mexico Essay Example Las Ferreterias de Mexico Essay Las Ferreterias de Mexico Essay Introduction To find out whether or not Mr. Gonzales should implement the new compensation plan, we will initiate with a valuation of the proposed bonus plan that he is considering. This evaluation will include an analysis of the key decisions and the persons responsible for making the decision as well as a discussion of the proposed plan. Upon this analysis we will conclude whether it is a good idea to implement it and state our suggestions for a modification of the plan. Valuation of the proposed bonus plan Included in the new bonus plan are the store managers (SM), the regional managers (RM), and the corporate staff managers (CM). Not included are the CEO (Mr. Gonzalez) and the COO; their bonuses would be decided by the compensation committee of the board of directors. Furthermore all other employees not included in the plan would continue as before with a bonus in the range of 2%-5% of base salary. Each of the company’s 82 stores is operated by a SM, who has a lot of autonomy. The 82 store are organized into 9 geographical regions. The RMs are responsible for providing oversight and advice to the SMs, whom had little formal education. On the top of these two manager levels are the CMs, who are responsible for a range of centralized functions including purchasing, human resources, marketing, real estate, and investor relations. The proposed bonus plan consists of 4 million pesos plus 8 percent of the corporate income before bonuses and taxes in excess of 120 million pesos. The total bonus pool will be divided between the managers as following: SMs – 70%, RMs – 15%, and CMs – 15%. This year, the bonus pool will amount to 8,498,400 million pesos (all calculations: cf. the calculations for the Whiz Kids questions on the last page), meaning that the bonus pool will be divided by the different manager levels as following: Store Managers5,948,880. 00 million pesos Regional Managers1,274,760. 00 million pesos Corporate Staff Managers1,274,760. 00 million pesos The SMs’ bonus pool will be divided among the store managers based in their relative proportion of bonus units earned. The maximum number of bonus units are 6, with a lower cutoff level at 5% ROI and a upper cutoff level at 11% ROI. These cutoffs stipulate an acceptable minimum performance, while restricting superior performance. Denying bonuses for exceptionally good efforts can be justified by the fact that the performance results can be good luck. Moreover it, to a certain degree, ensures that the managers will not be myopic, which again ensures that the company will show a more steady performance improvement over time. Another reason for the upper cutoff level on the incentive payments might be a desire of not paying lower-level mangers more than upper level managers. In this case, a SM gets 72,547. 32 pesos in average, RMs get 141,640. 00 pesos, and CMs get 254,952. 00 pesos. A top-performing SM cannot earn more than 118,189. 68 pesos in bonus. This is less than the CM’s bonus, so in this case the upper cutoff definitely ensures that the lower-level managers cannot earn more than the upper-level managers. The bonus pools will be assigned to managers based on their entity’s ROI, given by following formula: ROI = (bonus eligible revenues – expenses) / total store investments. Using ROI as the central measurement of performance causes some problems: Accounting profit does not reflect the total value of the company and is therefore not a completely fair method Management myopia: a ROI-focus stimulate shortsightedness, and can undermine long-term focus, which may not be in the interest of the corporation Suboptimization – it may not be in the interest of the enterprise that individual regions will focus solely on the success of themselves rather than on the overall success of the company Regional differences in e. . investment prices, local expenses etc. All bonuses will be paid in cash as soon as financial statements have been prepared. Beside the problems of using ROI as the central measurement element we see following problems with the new incentive plan: Not all people are motivated by cash payment. Furthermore, cash bonuses can generate durability issues, i. e. eople spent the money right away and quickly forgets the joy of having performed well The reward is not timely, as it is not necessarily given upon successes, but when the financial statement has been prepared which in the end of the day may reduce the motivational effect The geographical location also has an important role in determining the success of the different stores; some stores have more favorable locations than other, and therefore enjoy higher bonuses An issue is also whether or not all stores should have the same performance standards. On one hand, motivational incentives are highly individual, and preferences may vary greatly across the regions. Tailoring reward packages to the individual employee’s preferences will undoubtedly have the highest motivational effect, but will not keep the incentive system at the lowest possible cost. It is difficult to implement such a tailored plan due to the vast scope of the project: it will require a huge amount of analysis and date to map down differences. So even though the motivational effect might be higher for an individual tailored incentive program, a single strategy with common performance standards for all stores may be much easier and cost-efficient to implement. The new bonuses are greater than before, and should therefore stipulate improved operating efficiencies. Since ROI is the central element in calculating the bonuses, there is a risk of suboptimization, but since the bonus is partially determined through the corporate profit, the managers should also be concerned with the overall operating efficiency of the company. Ultimately an improvement within operating efficiency should lead to an increase in market shares. By tieing the rewards of the employees to the overall performance of the company, it would inevitably commit them – given that the employees have sufficient possibilities for influencing the results. In this case, the managers have a lot of responsibility and have many channels by which they can control and influence the results. Nevertheless, basing the bonuses partly on a group effort enforce cultural controls, as the employees are more alert of what their colleagues are doing, hence controlling whether they are working efficiently enough; â€Å"get to work; you’re hurting my profit sharing†. In this way, it makes good sense to base the bonuses on a proportion of corporate profit. Proposals for modification of the compensation plan The SMs have a lot of responsibility which is not corresponding to their level of education and their level of bonus. Compared to the RMs and CMs, who are better educated and have more experience, however, the bonus levels are fair. Thus it will be difficult to justify a higher bonus-level for the SMs, based on their current educational level. A possible solution will be to make a compulsory training program in finance and management. When the SMs have passed the courses, they will be qualified to receive a larger bonus. The training program will be an overall gain for the whole enterprise, since they will have more competent employees. So even though this extension does not make the incentive plan cheaper, it will be a gain for the company in the long run. Moreover, the further-training program will be personally satisfying for the managers. Another solution to what we see as the too-much responsibility-compared-to-bonus-problem, would be to enhance the upper cutoff level. Since Mr. Gonzales is concerned about the increased compensation expenses he should consider to lower the bonus pool and implement some non-monetary rewards, as they are often more motivating and durable. An example could be to recognize and communicate particular good performance throughout the company. An alternative idea to pay cash directly could be to reward the managers by some sort of stock option. This would further commit the managers to the company, and would probably be motivating since they have sufficient authority to influence the actual performance of the company. To find a solution for the personnel not included in the plan, i. e. store employees and regional sales and corporate purchasing staff, we suggest modifying the current discretionary bonus awards. Instead of Gonzales being responsible for giving these rewards, we suggest that this authority is delegated to the store managers and regional managers, respectively. These managers are in daily contact with the â€Å"neglected† employees, and it therefore seems more fair that they delegate the rewards. In this way the bonus system will be more motivating for the personnel. Whiz Kids Competition Number of managers% of bonus pool Store Managers:8270% Regional Managers:915% Corporate Managers:515% Bonus Pool 4. 000. 000+(8% of corporate income before taxes and bonuses in excess of 120000000) 4. 000. 000+(0,08*(176. 230. 000-120. 000. 000)) 8. 498. 400 The bonus pool is then divided between the different groups: Store Managers:70%*8. 498. 400= 5. 948. 880,00 Regional Managers:15%*8. 98. 400= 1. 274. 760,00 Corporate Managers:15%*8. 498. 400= 1. 274. 760,00 To find the average amount per manager we divide the pools by the number of managers in the specific group Store Managers:5. 948. 880/82= 72. 547,32 Regional Managers:1. 274. 760/9= 141. 640,00 Corporate Managers:1. 274. 760/5= 254. 952,00 The bonus pool for the top performing store managers : Total units in the bonus plan 6*1+9*2+11*3+20*4+15*5+8*6+4*6+3*6= 302,00 Average pay per unit:5. 948. 880/302= 19. 698,28 Store top performing managers (6 units)= 118,189,68

Human and Animal Interrelationships from Domestication to Present Term Paper - 4

Human and Animal Interrelationships from Domestication to Present - Term Paper Example Theories have been advanced to give an in-depth explanation of the scope of animal ethics as they try to explain the boundaries within which animal ethics should exist and what human beings are expected to do in order to ensure their moral obligation as far as animal ethics is concerned. There are three groups of theories that have been advanced so far that try to explain issues concerning animal ethics and morality. They include; indirect theories, direct moral theories and moral equality theories (Beauchamp). Therefore, this paper examines issues concerning animal ethics and morality by examining the above theories. Indirect theories are against animal ethics as they argue that animals are not entitled to any form of moral status or equal considerations to man since they lack consciousness (Beauchamp). This means they are not able to make sound decisions, moreover they cannot think independently hence they should be treated less of human beings are they do not form part of the moral community hence they have no rights to be protected (Palmer). Despite that, the theories do not encourage animals to be harmed as they possess a sense of sentiment thus their feelings should be respected. Direct theories are those that accord animals moral considerations but the moral status that is accorded to animals is limited in nature since animals are unable to recognize the rights of other agents and respect them thus they cannot be included in the moral community (Palmer). The theories argue that actions by human beings should not harm animals directly but whenever conflict of interest between animals and hu man beings sets in the interests of human beings always supersedes as human beings are always supreme over all other animals. The moral equality theories, on the other hand, argue that animals and human beings ought to be treated equally. The theories ignore the special characteristics that are often associated with human

Teacher evaluation Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Teacher evaluation - Term Paper Example The discussion includes specific examples from two districts, namely, the Midwest School District and South Central Texas School District. The final section provides some recommendations that will help educators design a better evaluation system for the 21st century. The incongruity of teacher evaluation is that it has the capability to significantly contribute to the growth and improvement of every teacher, but in reality it helps only a very few people. The capability of teacher evaluation is widely known. Almost all states mandate standard evaluation in compliance to the law and validate such mandates, partly, based on the obligation of teachers to improve. Most districts have collective bargaining contracts or rules specifying evaluation processes. In fact, numerous of the major educational reforms in the United States (e.g. career ranking, performance incentive/merit pay, etc.) are rooted in the belief that strong, effective evaluation processes can be formulated. Even so, in truth, teacher evaluations performed in most schools are short, inconsistent, formal procedures requiring several instances of classroom inspection every year at least accompanied by the accomplishment of a compulsory evaluation document, which is approved by all involved entities and then stacked away to oblivion. When this takes place, state law provisions and requirements of the collective bargaining contract have been satisfied, but in reality nothing valuable is accomplished for the teachers, schools, students, or community (Marsh, 2009). This essay, on the first part, discusses the history, trends, and effectiveness of teacher evaluation in the United States. The second part discusses the similarities and differences between two distinct district teacher evaluation. And the third part spells out the features of an ‘ideal’ teacher evaluation in the 21st century. Teacher evaluation originated from the evaluative role of the