Ethical neutrality Essay Example for Free

Ethical neutrality Essay In what follows, when we use the term â€Å"evaluation† we will mean, where nothing else is implied or expressly stated, practical value-judgments as to the unsatisfactory or satisfactory character of phenomena subject to our influence. The problem involved in the â€Å"freedom† of a given discipline from evaluations of this kind, i. e., the validity and the meaning of this logical principle, is by no means identical with the question which is to be discussed shortly, namely, whether in teaching one should or should not declare one’s acceptance of practical evaluations, regardless of whether they are based on ethical principles, cultural ideals or a philosophical outlook. This question cannot be settled scientifically. It is itself entirely a question of practical evaluation, and cannot therefore be definitively resolved. With reference to this issue, a wide variety of views are held, of which we shall only mention the two extremes. At one pole we find (a) the standpoint that there is validity in the distinction between purely logically deducible and purely empirical statements of fact on the one hand, and practical, ethical or philosophical evaluations on the other, but that, nevertheless – or, perhaps, even on that account- both classes of problems properly belong in the university. At the other pole we encounter (b) the proposition that even when the distinction cannot be made in a logically complete manner, it is nevertheless desirable that the assertion of practical evaluations should be avoided as much as possible in teaching. This second point of view seems to me to be untenable. Particularly untenable is the distinction which is rather often made in our field between evaluations linked with the positions of â€Å"political parties† and other sorts of evaluations. This distinction cannot be reasonably made: it obscures the practical implications of the evaluations which are suggested to the audience. Once the assertion of evaluations in university lectures is admitted, the contention that the university teacher should be entirely devoid of â€Å"passion† and that he should avoid all subjects which threaten to bring emotion into controversies is a narrow-minded, bureaucratic opinion which every teacher of independent spirit must reject. Of those scholars who believed that they should not renounce the assertion of practical evaluations in empirical discussions, the most passionate of them – such as Treitschke and, in his own way, Mommsen- were the most tolerable. As a result of their intensely emotional tone, their audiences were enabled to discount the influence of their evaluations in whatever distortion of the facts occurred. Thus, the audiences did for themselves what the lecturers could not do because of their temperaments. The effect on the minds of the students was to produce the same depth of moral feeling which, in my opinion, the proponents of the assertion of practical evaluations in teaching want to assure – but without the audience being confused as to the logical distinctiveness of the different types of propositions. This confusion must of necessity occur whenever both the exposition of empirical facts and the exhortation to espouse a particular evaluative standpoint on important issues are done with the same cool dispassionateness. The first point of view (a) is acceptable, and can indeed be acceptable from the standpoint of its own proponents, only when the teacher sees it as his unconditional duty – in every single case, even to the point where it involves the danger of making his lecture less stimulating – to make absolutely clear to his audience, and especially to himself, which of his statements are statements of logically deduced or empirically observed facts and which are statements of practical evaluation. Once one has granted the disjunction between the two spheres, it seems to me that doing this is an imperative requirement of intellectual honesty. It is the absolutely minimal requirement in this case. On the other hand, the question whether one should in general assert practical evaluations in teaching – even with this reservation – is one of practical university policy. On that account, in the last analysis, it must be decided only with reference to those tasks which the individual, according to his own set of values, assigns to the universities. Those who on the basis of their qualifications as university teachers assign to the universities, and thereby to themselves, the universal role of forming character, of inculcating political, ethical, aesthetic, cultural or other beliefs, will take a different position from those who believe it necessary to affirm the proposition and its implications – that university teaching achieves really valuable effects only through specialised training by specially qualified persons. Hence, â€Å"intellectual integrity† is the only specific virtue which universities should seek to inculcate. The first point of view can be defended from as many different ultimate evaluative standpoints as the second. The second – which I personally accept – can be derived from a most enthusiastic as well as from a thoroughly modest estimate of the significance of â€Å"specialised training†. In order to defend this view, one need not be of the opinion that everyone should become as much a pure â€Å"specialist† as possible. One may, on the contrary, espouse it because one does not wish to see the ultimate and deepest personal decisions which a person must make regarding his life, treated exactly as if they were the same as specialised training. One may take this position, however highly one assesses the significance of specialised training, not only for general intellectual training but indirectly also for the self-discipline and the ethical attitude of the young person. Another reason for taking this position is that one does not wish to see the student so influenced by the teacher’s suggestions that he is prevented from solving his problems in accordance with the dictates of his own conscience. Professor von Schmoller’s favourable disposition towards the teacher’s assertion of his own evaluations in the lecture room is thoroughly intelligible to me personally as the echo of a great epoch which he and his friends helped to create. Even he, however, cannot deny the fact that for the younger generation the objective situation has changed considerably in one important respect. Forty years ago there existed among the scholars working in our discipline, the widespread belief that of the various possible points of view in the domain of practical-political evaluations, ultimately only one was the ethically correct one. (Schmoller himself took this position only to a limited extent. ) Today this is no longer the case among the proponents of the assertion of professorial evaluations – as may readily be observed. The legitimacy of the assertion of professorial evaluation is no longer defended in the name of an ethical imperative resting on a relatively simple postulate of justice, which both in its ultimate foundations as well as in its consequences, partly was, and partly seemed to be, relatively unambiguous, and above all relatively impersonal, in consequence of its specifically trans-personal character. Rather, as the result of an inevitable development, it is now done in the name of a motley of â€Å"cultural evaluations†, i. e. , actually subjective cultural demands, or quite openly, in the name of the teachers’ alleged â€Å"rights of personality†. One may well wax indignant over this point of view, but one cannot- because it is a â€Å"practical evaluation† – refute it. Of all the types of prophecy, this â€Å"personally† tinted type of professorial prophecy is the most repugnant. There is no precedent for a situation in which a large number of officially appointed prophets do their preaching or make their professions of faith, not, as other prophets do, on the streets, or in churches or other public places- or if they do it privately, then in personally chosen sectarian conventicles – but rather regard themselves as best qualified to enunciate their evaluations on ultimate questions â€Å"in the name of science† and in the carefully protected quiet of governmentally privileged lecture halls in which they cannot be controlled, or checked by discussion, or subjected to contradiction. It is an axiom of long standing, which Schmoller on one occasion vigorously espoused, that what takes place in the lecture hall should be entirely confidential and not subject to public discussion. Although it is possible to contend that, even for purely academic purposes, this may occasionally have certain disadvantages, I take the view that a â€Å"lecture† should be different from a â€Å"speech†. The unconfined rigour, matter-of-factness and sobriety of the lecture declines, with definite pedagogical losses, once it becomes the object of publicity through, for example, the press. It is only in the sphere of his specialised qualifications that the university teacher is entitled to this privilege of freedom from outside surveillance or publicity. There is, however, no specialised qualification for personal prophecy, and for this reason it should not be granted the privilege of freedom from contradiction and public scrutiny. Furthermore, there should be no exploitation of the fact that the student, in order to make his way in life, must attend certain educational institutions and take courses with certain teachers with the result that in addition to what he needs, i.e. , the stimulation and cultivation of his capacity for understanding and reasoning, and a certain body of factual information – he also gets, slipped in among these, the teacher’s own attitude towards the world which even though sometimes interesting is often of no consequence, and which is in any case not open to contradiction and challenge. Like everyone else, the professor has other opportunities for the propagation of his ideals. When these opportunities are lacking, he can easily create them in an appropriate form, as experience has shown in the case of every honorable attempt. But the professor should not demand the right as a professor to carry the marshal’s baton of the statesman or the cultural reformer in his knapsack. This, however, is just what he does when he uses the unassailability of the academic lecture platform for the expression of political – or cultural-political- sentiments. In the press, in public meetings, in associations, in essays, in every avenue which is open to every other citizen, he can and should do what his God or daemon demands. The student should obtain, from his teacher in the lecture hall, the capacity to content himself with the sober execution of a given task; to recognize facts, even those which may be personally uncomfortable, and to distinguish them from his own evaluations. He should also learn to subordinate himself to his task and to repress the impulse to exhibit his personal sensations or other emotional states unnecessarily. This is vastly more important today than it was 40 years ago when the problem did not even exist in its present form. It is not true – as many have insisted – that the â€Å"personality† is and should be a â€Å"whole†, in the sense that it is distorted when it is not exhibited on every possible occasion. Every professional task has its own â€Å"responsibilities† and should be fulfilled accordingly. In the execution of his professional responsibility, a man should confine himself to it alone and should exclude whatever does not strictly belong to it – particularly his own loves and hates. The powerful personality does not manifest itself by trying to give everything a â€Å"personal touch† on every possible occasion. The generation which is now coming of age should, above all, again become used to the thought that â€Å"being a personality† is a condition which cannot be intentionally brought about by wanting it and that there is only one way by which it can – perhaps- be achieved: namely, the unreserved devotion to a â€Å"task†, whatever it – and its derivative â€Å"demands of the hour†- may be in any individual instance. It is in poor taste to mix personal concerns with the specialised analysis of facts. We deprive the word â€Å"vocation† of the only significant meaning it still possesses if we fail to adhere to that specific kind of self-restraint which it requires. But whether the fashionable â€Å"cult of the personality† seeks to dominate the throne, public office or the professorial chair – its effectiveness is only superficially impressive. Intrinsically, it is very petty and it always has injurious consequences. It should not be necessary for me to emphasise that the proponents of the views against which the present essay is directed can accomplish very little by this sort of cult of the â€Å"personality† for the very reason that it is â€Å"personal†. In part, they see the responsibilities of the university teacher in another light, in part they have other educational ideas which I respect but do not share. For this reason we must seriously consider no only what they are striving to achieve, but also how the views which they legitimate by their authority influence a generation with an already extremely pronounced predisposition to overestimate its own importance. Finally, it scarcely needs to be pointed out that many ostensible opponents of the academic assertion of political evaluations are by no means justified when they invoke the postulate of â€Å"ethical neutrality†, which they often gravely misunderstand, to discredit cultural and social-political discussions which take place in public and away from the university lecture hall. The indubitable existence of this spuriously â€Å"ethically neutral† tendentiousness, which in our discipline is manifested in the obstinate and deliberate partisanship of powerful interest groups, explains why a significant number of intellectually honorable scholars still continue to assert personal preferences in their teaching. They are too proud to identify themselves with this spurious abstention from evaluation. I believe that, in spite of this, what in my opinion is right should be done, and that the influence of the practical evaluations of a scholar, who confines himself to championing them on appropriate occasions outside the classroom, will increase when it becomes known that, inside the classroom, he has the strength of character to do exactly what he was appointed to do. But these statements are, in their turn, all matters of evaluation, and hence scientifically undemonstrable. In any case, the fundamental principle which justifies the practice of asserting practical evaluations in teaching can be consistently held only when its proponents demand that the proponents of the evaluations of all other parties be granted the opportunity to demonstrate the validity of their evaluations from the academic platform . But in Germany, insistence on the right of professors to state their preferences has been associated with the very opposite of the demand for the equal representation of all tendencies- including the most â€Å"extreme†. Schmoller thought that he was being entirely consistent when he declared that â€Å"Marxists and the Manchester school† were disqualified from holding academic positions, although he was never so unjust as to ignore their intellectual accomplishments. It is exactly on these points that I could never agree with our honoured master. One obviously ought not in one breath to justify the expression of evaluations in teaching – and when the conclusions are drawn therefrom, point out that the university is a state institution for the training of â€Å"loyal† civil servants. Such a procedure makes the university, not into a specialised technical school- which appears to be so degrading to many teachers- but rather into a theological seminary, although it does not have the religious dignity of the latter. Attempts have been made to set certain purely â€Å"logical† limits to the range of evaluations which should be allowed in university teaching. One of our foremost professors of law once explained, in discussing his opposition to the exclusion of socialists from university posts, that he too would be unwilling to accept an â€Å"anarchist† as a teacher of law since anarchists, in principle, deny the validity of law – and he regarded this argument as conclusive. My own opinion is exactly the opposite. An anarchist can surely be a good legal scholar. And if he is such, then indeed the Archimedean point of his convictions, which is outside the conventions and presuppositions which are so self-evident to us, could enable him to perceive problems in the fundamental postulates of legal theory which escape those who take them for granted. The most fundamental doubt is one source of knowledge. The jurist is no more responsible for â€Å"proving† the value of these cultural objects which are bound up with â€Å"law†, than the physician is responsible for demonstrating that the prolongation of life should be striven for under all conditions. Neither of them can do this with the means at their disposal. If, however, one wishes to turn the university into a forum for discussion of practical evaluations, then it obviously is obligatory to permit the most unrestricted freedom of discussion of fundamental questions from all standpoints. Is this feasible? Today the most decisive and important political evaluations are denied expression in German universities by the very nature of the present political situation. For all those to whom the interests of the national society transcend any of its individual concrete institutions, it is a question of central importance whether the conception which prevails today regarding the position of the monarch in Germany is reconcilable with the world interests of the country, and with the means- war and diplomacy- through which these are pursued. It is not always the worst patriots nor even anti-monarchists who give a negative answer to this question, and who doubt the possibility of lasting success in both these spheres unless some profound changes are made. Everyone knows, however, that these vital questions of our national life cannot be discussed with full freedom in German universities . In view of the fact that certain evaluations which are of decisive political significance are permanently prohibited in university discussion, it seems to me to be only in accord with the dignity of a representative of science and scholarship to be silent about such evaluations as he is allowed to expound. In no case, however, should the unresolvable question – unresolvable because it is ultimately a question of evaluations – as to whether one may, must, or should champion certain practical evaluations in teaching, be confused with the purely logical discussion of the relationship of evaluations to empirical disciplines such as sociology and economics. Any confusion on this point will hamper the thoroughness of the discussion of the logical problem. However, even the solution of the logical problem will provide no aid in seeking to answer the other question, beyond the two purely logically required conditions of clarity and an explicit distinction by the teacher of the different classes of problems. Nor need I discuss further whether the distinction between empirical propositions or statements of fact and practical evaluations is â€Å"difficult† to make. It is. All of us, those of us who take this position as well as others, come up against it time and again. But the exponents of the so-called â€Å"ethical economics†, particularly, should be aware, even though the moral law is unfulfillable, it is nonetheless â€Å"imposed† as a duty. Self-scrutiny would perhaps show that the fulfillment of this postulate is especially difficult, just because we reluctantly refuse to approach the very alluring subject of evaluation with a titillating â€Å"personal touch†. Every teacher has observed that the faces of his students light up and they become more interested when he begins to make a profession of faith, and that the attendance at his lectures is greatly increased by the expectation that he will do so. Everyone knows furthermore that, in the competition for students, universities when making recommendations for promotion will often give a prophet, however minor, who can fill the lecture halls, the upper hand over a much weightier and more sober scholar who does not offer his own evaluations. Of course, it is  understood that the prohet will leave untouched the politically dominant or conventional evaluations which are generally accepted at the time. Only the spuriously â€Å"ethical-neutral† prophet who speaks for powerful groups has, of course, better opportunities for promotion as a result of the influence which these groups have on the prevailing political powers. I regard all this as very unsatisfactory, and I will therefore not go into the proposition that the demand for abstention from evaluation is â€Å"petty† and that it makes lectures â€Å"boring†. I will not go into the question as to whether lecturers on specialised empirical problems must seek above all to be â€Å"interesting†. For my own part, in any case, I fear that a lecturer who makes his lectures stimulating by the intrusion of personal evaluations will, in the long run, weaken the students’ taste for sober empirical analysis. I will acknowledge without further discussion that it is possible, under the guise of eliminating all practical evaluations, to insinuate such evaluations with especial force by simple â€Å"letting the facts speak for themselves†. The better kind of parliamentary and electoral speeches in Germany operate in this way – and quite legitimately, given their purposes. No words should be wasted in declaring that all such procedures in university lectures, particularly if one is concerned with the observance of this separation, are , of all abuses, the most abhorrent. The fact, however, that a dishonestly created illusion of the fulfillment of an ethical imperative can be passed off as the reality, constitutes no criticism of the imperative itself. At any rate, even if the teacher does not believe that he should deny himself the right of rendering evaluations, he should make it absolutely explicit to the students and to himself that he is doing so. Finally, we must oppose to the utmost the widespread view that scientific â€Å"objectivity† is achieved by weighing the various evaluations against one another and making a â€Å"statesman-like† compromise among them. The â€Å"middle way† is not only just as undemonstrable scientifically – with the means of the empirical sciences – as the â€Å"most extreme† evaluations: in the sphere of evaluations, it is the least unequivocal. It does not belong in the university – but rather in political programmes, government offices, and in parliament. IThe sciences, both normative and empirical, are capable of rendering an inestimable service to persons engaged in political activity by telling them that (1) these and these â€Å"ultimate† evaluative positions are conceivable with reference to this practical problem; and (2) that such and such are the facts which you must take into account in making your choice between these evaluative positions. And with this we come to the real problem.

My Dance with the Devil :: Personal Narrative Writing

There was a hawk in the night. This is unusually rare for an apprehensive town like Albany. Something began that night in Albany that would leave an everlasting experience in my mind. It all started somewhere around the beginning of the winter season. In fact, it was on a Saturday night during choir rehearsal. The choir was going over the final song when Derrick stopped by the church. He asked me to ride with him and a friend down to New Orleans. Well, this was an opportunity that I could not miss out on; after all, I was an inquisitive teenager, daring to experience life at all cost. At any rate, rehearsal had come to an end. So Derrick and I got into the car and headed out to Hammond to pick up his friend, Sharon, and then headed on down to New Orleans. With each mile of the way, I could only think about what I had gotten myself into by taking this trip without letting my parents know where I was going. The journey from a small quiet town like Albany to a major city like New Orlean s had become a sudden switch to a risky atmosphere. It was mandatory that Mom or Dad always knew where I was whenever night appeared; this was a rule I lived by growing up in their home. On the contrary, here I was with Derrick and a total stranger as we headed down to a city that was known for violence, New Orleans. However, as if that was not enough, Derrick and his friend Sharon brought along some marijuana cigarettes that he had already rolled to smoke along the way. Since I did not smoke marijuana, Derrick brought a fifth of vodka and a bottle of orange juice along just for me. This mixture would get my head all messed up, like theirs, leaving me floating in a cloud without a worry in the world. He wanted me to enjoy the same sensations as he and Sharon. As we cruised on down to New Orleans, Derrick and Sharon smoked the reefer as I drank the vodka mixed with orange juice. We wanted to be on cloud nine so that by the time we reached the big city of New Orleans, our heads would be ready for adventure, and we could do anything, or so we thought. We reached our destination at last.

How Are Racial Issues Such As Stereotyping, Centrality and Stacking Related to the Olympics?

There are different examples in the Olympics, which deal with racist issues. Stacking, centrality and stereotyping are just three. Stereotyping is defined as when the athletes are said to be good or bad at certain sports due to their race or ethnicity. An example of the stereotyping is that â€Å"white men can't jump†. Stacking is where players are put into positions and sports based on their ethnic background. An example of stacking is the North Americans in the marathons. A linked theory is called centrality; this is where the dominant group in society does the dominant role in a team or sport, (in the UK and USA this tends to be WASP's (White Anglo Saxon Protestants)). An example of centrality is the Olympic Committee being mostly white. Every race is stereotyped where people label a group of people as all having the same image or characteristics for example people say that black people are faster at sprinting than white people. This isn't a racist comment as it is the truth. Scientists have found that Athletes of West African descent which include most African American, Caribbean and black British athletes have a physique that is suited to explosive events, requiring sprinting and jumping. Such athletes possess what biologists call a mesomorphic physique with bigger, more visible muscles including a larger chest. Their muscles contain a higher proportion of fast-twitch fibres than do whites or East Africans. Athletes of West African descent also possess less body fat, a higher centre of gravity, narrower hips, and higher levels of testosterone in their blood. There are myths that are formed based on this information that isn't true like ‘Black men can't swim'. These myths can lead to putting a person off a certain race from entering the Olympics. They may start the particular sport because of the stereotype. However, there is also the negative stereotype that people will not take up a certain sport as they are channelled towards certain sports due to their ethnic background or race. They also might want to take up a sport that they haven't seen anyone form their racial background competing and therefore will not take up that sport. There is a lot of over representation at the moment but only in specific sports, for example there are lots of Afro-Caribbean's competing in boxing and sprinting, Asians competing in badminton and hockey, and lastly the Far East compete mostly in table tennis and gymnastics. There has always been racism in the Olympics. One of the biggest issues was in 1936 at the Berlin games. Jesse Owens, one of the greatest track and field athletes of all times came to the Games holding two world records. In all four events, Owens either equalled the existing Olympic record or broke world records. He went home with four gold medals. His three other African Americans teammates also won Olympic medals. But Hitler refused to recognize the achievements of Owens and his â€Å"black auxiliaries† as he called them. Hitler walked out of the stadium when the time came to congratulate and present them with their well-won medals. He did not want to shake hands with black people who he considered inferior to his Aryan race. In another case of racism in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, two African American sprinters, Tommy Smith and John Carlos raised a black-gloved fist (the Black power salute) while on the victory stand to protest U.S. racial policies, causing acts of hooliganism and fighting among the Americans in the stadium. Both athletes were expelled from the Games and they were sent home like criminals. Carlos claimed that â€Å"Ours was not a political act; it was a moral act-and that's all right.† Also at these Games was the expulsion of South Africa due to the Apartheid, which has also been a major factor in Olympic history. They were not allowed to compete in the Olympics from 1964 to 1992 due to the discrimination between Black and White races. This showed that strong racist issues such as these were not being tolerated, the Olympics were starting to reflect world union, and everyone is equal. It caused major problems in the Montreal games 1976 because many African nations boycotted the games. They were in protest at New Zealand entering, because the New Zealand rugby team, the ‘All Blacks', had toured South Africa, where apartheid was taking place. Finally though in 1992 South Africa abolished Apartheid and was allowed back into the Barcelona games. As time as gone on roles of black people have changed. Nowadays there are many black role models for example there is Denise Lewis. She encourages young black girls to partake in athletics. More and more people of different origins are taking part in sports that they are expected not to take part in. Stereotyping, centrality and stacking are still happening in the Olympics now. Take the 100m final in the Athens Games; there was not one single white man in that race just black men.

Will Star Trek-Style Matter Transporters Ever Exist

Beam me up, Scotty! Its one of the most famous lines in the Star Trek franchise and refers to the futuristic matter transportation device or transporter on every ship in the galaxy. The transporter dematerializes entire humans (and other objects) and sends their constituent particles to another destination where they are perfectly reassembled. The best thing to come to personal point-to-point transportation since the elevator, this technology seemed to have been adopted by every civilization in the show, from the inhabitants of Vulcan to the Klingons and Borg. It solved a multitude of plot problems and made the shows and movies iconically cool. Is Beaming Possible? Will it ever be possible to develop such technology? The idea of transporting solid matter by turning it into a form of energy and sending it great distances sounds like magic. Yet, there are scientifically valid reasons why it could, perhaps, one day happen. Recent technology has made it possible to transport—or beam if you will—small pools of particles or photons from one location to another.  This quantum mechanics phenomenon is known as quantum transport. The process does have future applications in many electronics such as advanced communication technologies and super-fast quantum computers. Applying the same technique to something as large and complex as a living human being is a very different matter. Without some major technological advances, the process of turning a living person into information has risks that make the Federation-style transporters impossible for the foreseeable future. Dematerializing So, whats the idea behind beaming? In the Star Trek universe, an operator dematerializes the thing to be transported, sends it along, and then the thing gets rematerialized at the other end. Although this process can currently work with the particles or photons described above, taking apart a human being and dissolving them into individual subatomic particles is not remotely possible now.  Given our current understanding of biology and physics, a living creature could never survive such a process. There are also some philosophical considerations to think about when transporting living beings. Even if the body could be dematerialized, how does the system handle the persons consciousness and personality? Would those decouple from the body? These issues are never discussed in Star Trek, although there have been science fiction stories exploring the challenges of the first transporters. Some science fiction writers imagine that the transportee is actually killed during this step, and then reanimated when the bodys atoms are reassembled elsewhere. But, this seems like a process that no one would willingly undergo. Re-materializing Lets postulate for a moment that it would be possible to dematerialize—or energize as they say on screen—a human being. An even greater problem arises: getting the person back together at the desired location.  There are actually several problems here. First, this technology, as used in the shows and movies, seems to have no difficulty in beaming the particles through all kinds of thick, dense materials on their way from the starship to distant locations. This is highly unlikely to be possible in reality. Neutrinos can pass through rocks and planets, but not other particles. Even less feasible, however, is the possibility of arranging the particles in just the right order so as to preserve the persons identity (and not kill them). There is nothing in our understanding of physics or biology that suggests we can control matter in such a way. Moreover, a persons identity and consciousness is likely not something that can be dissolved and remade. Will We Ever Have Transporter Technology? Given all the challenges, and based on our current understanding of physics and biology, it does not seem likely that such technology will ever come to fruition. However, famed physicist and science writer Michio Kaku wrote in 2008 that he anticipated scientists developing a safe version of such technology in the next hundred years. We may very well discover unimagined breakthroughs in physics that would allow this type of technology. However, for the moment, the only transporters were going to see will be on TV and movie screens. Edited and expanded by Carolyn Collins Petersen

Neglected Diseases Under-Funded Research and Insufficient Health Interventions - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 5 Words: 1451 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Health Essay Type Argumentative essay Did you like this example? Neglected diseases: under-funded research and insufficient health interventions Sachs (2001, 2002) describes how health, science and technology are increasingly being identified as the fundamental pillars for the social and economic development. Despite the advancements in scientific and technology, infectious diseases are on the rise and keep affecting the poor and considered marginalized populations of the world. Three key factors are attributed to the burden from a public health point of view. These include the failure to use the tools that are in existence or either they are inadequate and failing. Another reason is that there is insufficient knowledge of the disease. The resulting outcome is the neglected diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria that the public-private partnerships have started to tackle the situation. The most of these neglected diseases are the sleeping sickness and the Chagas disease that are virtually ignored when it co mes to drug development and continue to plague the developing world. However, this reality could otherwise be changed like the example of Tanzania where there has been better use of the interventions already present. Another obstacle is the investment made in the basic research alone which will automatically lead to the development of new tools and their flawless adoption and use by the health systems of poor countries. This vision emphasizes the use of the available knowledge on the gaps but also disregards the difficulty of the health translation of research into policy and its practicality. There are usually complex relationships between the fundamental science and technological innovations. Stokes (1997) argues that the low priority that is given to the public health and research as pertains to health, by most disease endemic countries worsens the situations when they do the research themselves. Infectious diseases cause a lot of threats that the possibilities of singling out a specific strain is next to impossible. Instead of selecting the killer disease, we should also take into consideration of the biological enemies. We should put in mind the possible voluntary spread of infections by bioterrorism and the biological warfare. Henderson (1998) explains that although Ebola with wings is still a hypothesis, we should not forget that the pandemic of influenza is permanently on the horizon and that bioterrorism has already killed people. The postponing of the destruction of the last strains of the smallpox virus has resulted in the spending millions of dollars, in the campaign against a disease that was officially certified as having been eradicated in 1979 is a sad outcome. The proportion of military expenditure used to support the purchase of arms and the equipping militia has had an increase in GDP from 0% to 10% in areas such as Iceland and Costa Rica. It is higher in other sectors such as Eritrea having 22.9%, Angola with 21.2% while others hav e been excluded due to inconceivable health and education data. The component health share on the GDP continues to shrink considerably when compared to education. In simpler terms, military-oriented governments are more prone to finance a war and other armed skirmishes at the expense of the health structures and services of their population. Charitable Organization: World Health Organization The world health organization is a dedicated agency of the United Nations concerned with the public health on an international scope. It was created in 1948 and is a member of the United Nations Development Group. The world health assembly convened in July 1948 and settled at the creation of the World Health Organization to sign 61 countries. The current priorities of the WHO (world Health organization) include all communicable diseases in particular focusing on HIV/AIDS, Ebola, Malaria, and Tuberculosis. It is tasked with mitigating their effects, sexual reproduction, health and developme nt, food security, aging and nutrition, once all these are accomplished; they compile and develop reports and publications to network. WHO is responsible for the WHO health report which is a leading international paper on the health, the worldwide World health survey and the World Health Day. The proposed budget for the 2014/2015 is at US$3.98 billion of which about US$0.93 billion is to be provided by the member states. Cassels (2002) When any disaster happens, WHO is tasked with the objective of reducing any adverse consequences the catastrophe may have on the world health and its social and economic implications. The WHO has successfully announced the extraordinary spread of the disease polio on 5 May 2014. The outbreaks happened in Asia, Africa, and Middle East. On 8, August 2014, WHO discovered the Ebola outbreak and declared it a public health emergency as they believe it started in Guinea and found its way to subsequent countries such as Liberia and Sierra Leone. They cons ider the situation in West Africa severe. Shimkin (2014) The legislative and supreme body of the World Health Organization is the World Health Assembly, which is based in Geneva. Their annual meetings are usually in may, and it is the one responsible for appointing the director general every five years. On a number of occasions, it votes on the policies and the possible sources of finance for WHO including their budgets. It reviews the reports made by the Executive Board and decides where there is a need for further evaluation. The Assembly elects a qualified team in the field of health, notably 34 members, to the Executive Board for a period of three years. The primary functions of this committee are to implement the policies the assembly puts in place and to facilitate its work. In the recent years, the work the WHO has been doing has been on the increase and has been involved in collaboration with different external bodies. In 2002, the total number of NGOs who had partners hips with the World Health Organization was 473. In addition to, there were 189 partnerships with international non-governmental organization in formal official relations while the rest were considered to be informal in character. Shimkin (2014) Investment Funds: Why the World Health Organization Doesnt Have Enough Funds The WHO was in deep financial trouble in 2012 with a deficit of 300 million USD. The World health assembly voted for major budgetary reforms, as a result. The agency has taken into action pruning and prioritizing their work. However, the $3.98 billion budget that was approved by the Assembly for 2014–15 shows zero growth on the $3.96-billion budget for 2012–13. These numbers are in line with the flat lining of the worldwide spending on global health. It would be imperative to notice that the government support for WHO has leveled off in the recent years and fails to keep up with the rising needs. Their budget is now majorly funded by the member c ountries. The Congressional Research service formulated a report that showed how US funding for the global health programs was increasing steadily until 2011 and then suffered a blow and started declining for the first time. The funding from US in 2010 totaled to $280 million in support of WHO’s general fund. Two years later, according to documents from the WHO, Washington had reduced the contribution 23% to $215 million. The drop in the US funding was as a result of the overall global trend. The financial crisis and their long term effect had set in. Many members started to replace their stimulus packages with the strict budgets and cutbacks on their initial commitment to the World Health Organization. Declain (2013) WHO had proposed a budget in 2010 which greatly exceeded the money inflow and thus faced with reduced income. They had to scale back its budget to around $3.96 billion total which was 20% less than what the leaders initially wished for at the time. The res ult was the slashing of 300 jobs at the Swiss headquarters. The US again in 2013, significantly reduced their contributions dropping its funding to $180 million. The 2014/15 budget which was approved in May 2013 has held steady at about $3.97 billion. The budget has also funded half of the health crises funding which caters for $228 million. About two-thirds of the overall budget for the World Health Organization is earmarked by donors including the United States for individual projects like the anti-Malaria or HIV/AIDS programs. Consequently, a substantial portion of the organization’s funds are off limits for the Ebola Effort. Alex (2014) References Cassels A: â€Å"Bioterrorism becoming too dominant on public health agenda? Can. Med. Assoc, 2002 Fenner F., Henderson D.A: â€Å"Smallpox and its eradication.† WHO, Geneva, Switzerland, (1988) Shimkin, Michael B: The World Health Organization, Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science, 20 14). Sachs J.D: â€Å"Macroeconomics and Health: Investing in Health for Economic Development. Report of the Commission on Macroeconomics and Health, 2001 Sachs J.: â€Å"The essential ingredient.† (2002) Stokes D.E.: â€Å"Pasteur’s Quadrant: Basic Science and Technological Innovation.† The Brookings Institution, Washington DC, USA, (1997) Henderson D.A: â€Å"The looming threat of bioterrorism. Science,† (1999) Declain Buttler: â€Å"World Health Agency Gets a Grip on Its Budget†, 2013 Alex Park: â€Å"Why the World Health Organization Doesnt Have Enough Funds to Fight Ebola†, 2014. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Neglected Diseases: Under-Funded Research and Insufficient Health Interventions" essay for you Create order

The Success Of A Company Tesla Garments Strategy - 1383 Words

For our company Tesla Garments strategy is central to the success of the company due to the stiff competition and the continuously changing market. After careful consideration I think ‘Beyond the Stars’ our five year strategy is just what we need to achieve success and growth in this industry. The strategy as the name suggests is intended to drive the company to success levels beyond the wildest imaginations. The name is chosen to reflect the kind of heights the top leadership has set their eyes on. This is also good as a driving force for the management as well as staff as they all pursue the levels envisioned in this plan. The idea for this strategy came from a deep set need to grow market share and build brand equity as a driver for†¦show more content†¦This will in turn help the company honor its promises to customers which will create customer goodwill. Again a lean production ensures the company reduces wastage to the bare minimum. (Wolfe, 2011) This is ve ry helpful in pursuing lower costs. Key areas addressed by the strategy include stock holding levels, lead time minimization and reduction of stock holding costs for the company. Lower costs will enhance our ability to offer better prices than competition giving us a cost leadership competitive edge. Efficiency and effectiveness of sourcing and the elimination of waste in our goods inwards processes is also key in breaking the quality cost trade off which is central to securing a blue ocean space in the industry. After inputs are received the next step is converting those inputs into outputs for consumption by the market. In my view this is the nerve center of the organization as the quality of our output relies heavily on how good we perform at this stage. Beyond the stars recognizes the critical role of internal processes to the success of the company. This is broken down to three aspects, (Barney, 2010) operations management, human resource management and Information management systems. These three provide the support as well as the core functions of the company. In operations management beyond the stars proposes lean manufacturing as the basic production philosophy. This is envisioned to reduce waste in the form of

Strategy and Culture Management

Question: Discuss about the Strategy and Culture Management. Answer: Introduction Apple is a technological organization, which had to attain high success in the field of designing, producing as well as selling off a huge range of products, such as iPod, iPad, and iPhone, that brings innovation in computers (Hubbard, Rice Galvin, 2015). Mobile phones, media tablet, along with Portable music players. Along with this, Apple also provides a huge range of software, networking solutions, application services, third-party digital content, as well as peripherals that depict the revolutionary time of differentiation and innovation of Apple. Although it is noted that touch screens are not something new, still Apple managed to become the first in attaining the huge market adapter for the technology by developing and launching the first ever series of iPhone in the year 2007 (Hubbard, Rice Galvin, 2015). The phone was popular due to its virtual, which was created by the new category within the market by leaving everything else. The target market of Apple cover up teenagers, university, and college students, along with young children, adults, business people, and kids. In the year 2012, Apple had around 412 retail stores in around 14 countries of the world (Zand, 2009). Simultaneously, Apple had 72800 employees as permanent and around 300 as temporary workers all over the world (Zand, 2009). As per the financial report, the organization recorded around total net revenue of around $156508 million in the 2012 fiscal year that also depicts the rise of 6% in the 2011 fiscal year. The company also recorded the net profit of around $41733 million, which was an increase of 61% in the 2011 fiscal year. It is depicted that, gross profit margin of Apple rise from 40.5% to around 43.9% in the last two years. It had happened mainly due to the efficient implementation of the differentiation strategy and cost-leadership in the years (Zand, 2009). Identify and evaluate the suitability of the organization's current strategy Detect and discuss the strategy that the organization (or SBU) is implementing/has executed by examining its strategy statement and its value chain activities. There is a shift in strategy at Apple for their business of Smartphones because the company had tried to change in their leadership practices in the year 2012. The current goals of Apple are to provide customers with the best experience of product through providing them with high as well as low-end items, which are user-friendly, includes innovative features that relate to the excellent sales along with post-sale support customer experience (Mankins Steele, 2005). Strategies applied in Apple Value chain activities Apple tried to outsource the core production of its items to the third party original manufacturer of equipments, which attain the cost savings by the massive economies of scale, where else in housing components of the design attract as well as retain the users. The company excels in the field of the user interface, and industrial designs and emphasize over these areas for the purpose of delivering the items, which are both stylish and useable (Mankins Steele, 2005). The people friendly devices of Apple along with highly personalized services of one to one customer help in creating the value proposition, which also commands the high and average cost. Value chain analysis plays a significant role in the progress of Apple. The company failed in becoming pioneer within the market, which was always good and came as the second mover in the market (Mankins Steele, 2005). Apple also attempts to explore the drawbacks in various items, and the company had tended to launch the products that are entirely free from the disadvantages. For instance, in the starting days, there exist a good availability of music players in the market, but simultaneously in lacks an important factor, such as portability. People are also not comfortable in applying the fewer facilities such as Walkman. People often look around for the portable music player having the enough capacity of storage along with best music quality. IPod launched by Apple tried to satisfy the needs, and this product was having the best quality of music as well as huge capacity for storage (Mankins Steele, 2005). There is no wonder that the iPod sell had broken all the previous records. One can even view the best implementation of the value chain of Apple when it offers the substitution for their items. The introduction of Apple like the vast range of issues due to the possibility of consumers adopting products goes less (Mankins Steele, 2005). Apple is still considered as excellent in its value chain analysis due to below factors: Inbound Logistics In inbound logistics, the primary operations of the company are highly controlled, which cover up activities like attaining materials from the suppliers, storing content and the manner it is handled by the enterprise. Apple had tried to implement the sophisticated automated system of receiving, to speed up the process of receiving and minimizing the footprint facility as well as the need for storage space (Okumus, 2003). It also includes delegation of raw material acquisition. The company works with the OEM partners to delegate the procurement process of raw material, which offers precise supervision of quality control. Operations relate to handling production as well as services. Apple had attained loads of ground through this factor. About the production and services of Apple, its quite complicated as well as vast in its nature, because various subdivisions are created for work distribution (Kaplan, 2005). According to the operations of the company, it is significant to make use of OEM economics of scale. Outsource production of Apple towards the third party partners that they take advantage of economies of scale while trying to mitigate production management burden from the company. It also includes interior designs. It includes conceptualization and design of the present as well as future products, which is undertaken internally at Apple, and it also makes use of industry-leading engineering and design team (Kaplan, 2005). In outbound logistics, end items are offered to the users, and its important that the firms distribution system should be good enough to do better within the department. In outbound logistics, Apple stores are highly devoted towards Apple items. In which distribution network is up to the mark, but the again monopoly of the product matters a lot. Outbound logistics includes about stylish or economic packaging (Kaplan, 2005). For the purpose of saving money over entice customers as well as shipments, Apple makes use of eye-catching packaging, which takes around little weight and physical space. It minimizes the cost of shipping as well as the impact of the environment while targeting the customers towards the products of Apple. Outbound logistics also includes authorized retailers or Apple stores. To control the brand image of the company, Apple tries to sell its products through first party details or either through the authorized retailers (Kaplan, 2005). Apple store also tries to ac t as per its ads for their brands and offer human touch between the customers and company. Authorized retailers often held towards specific standards for protecting the brand image of Apple. Outbound logistics includes direct shipment, in which the website of Apple includes online orders directly through the consumers through the availability of storage facilities set in China (Kaplan, 2005). It reduces the build-up of inventory in costly locations of a warehouse located in America. Sales and marketing Apple tries to slowly score in all these areas due to conducting aggressive marketing, developing heavy buzz within the market at the time of product launch, slick items, along with vast product range. Apple always try to innovate new items as per the requirements of user and even try to analyse the need of user in a very authentic way, for that Apple consistently undertake individual market survey, construct predictions, and then finally produce the items that meet the needs of consumers (Henderson Miller Hambrick, 2006). In the case of marketing and sales, Apple undertakes Mac Ads, in which Apple make use of TV ads as compared to products of the company towards competitors and apply various indirect and direct ways for building the brand image. The advertisements are quite humorous and dont stress over the cost or either the features, and develop a picture of the company (Henderson Miller Hambrick, 2006). Apple also emphasizes over the location of retail or either flagship stores , while marketing. Apple stores located in America try to serve live ads for the purpose of promoting the lifestyle and brand image of the company. Flagship stores such as one located in New York try to attract the customers over novelty in a hope to convert the consumer's visit during the time of sales. It also includes selective unveilings. Through undertaking the secrets related to items release and hold press events for unveiling the things (Henderson Miller Hambrick, 2006). The company also try to create suspension and hype around the launch of products. Services usually force the company, in which they hold specific provisions that excellently work towards growth such as Apple users had to make use of softwares developed by Apple, in case they take advantage of Apple gadgets. It not only tries to create a monopoly of products, but it also enhances the base of product and even increases loyalty of product. Services also include Apple genius, in which Apple store the Apple genius bar, in which customers can quickly discuss the specialist of Apple, about the issues ongoing with the device (Bradford Duncan, 2000). This interaction of human having the service provider of the first party try to build the rapport with the customers and provide the stark contrast towards unlimited service calls of the phone. It also covers included as well as extended warranty. Apple offers around 90-day warranty that goes against the problems and defects ongoing with products. Customers can also make a purchase the extended warranties by their Apple care, to save the product. Service also include free consultation, in which customers can come with a device for having a free consultation about the problems related with no commitment (Kono, 1994). The customers hold an option towards pursuing various avenues towards resolving the problem without going for an upfront charge. General Administration It includes greener Apple, in which Apple try to redesign its packaging for various famous items, to be more lightweight and hold less space in the shipment of products. It implies minimizing the emissions at the time of transportation and outcome in firm savings. Apple had also tried to move towards decreasing the harmful use of chemicals in the production of the product. It also includes the active position of cash. Apple seeks to maintain the vast cash reserves as well as undertake the little long-term debt (Kono, 1994). It also seeks to enable the company towards the capital purchase, expansion of finance, along with internal development with less dependence towards the third party creditors. Human Resource Management It includes selection process for recruiting talented people. Apple also provides different benefits to employees to complement the direct wages. The system of interest applies entice as well as retain the talent in benefit of the company (Kono, 1994). Apple focuses on research and development, and the company had spent around $1.33 billion in the year 2009. This push the company towards innovation. The company even holds the portfolio of having thousands of patents (Akan, Allen, Helms Spralls III, 2006). Apple works with leading suppliers like electronic industry citizenship coalition and makes sure that right treatment is given to factories (Akan, Allen, Helms Spralls III, 2006). The company had also developed suppliers code of conduct to focus on suppliers action. In the year 1996, Bowman had considered Porters general strategy, which includes product differentiation, cost leadership, as well as market segmentation for developing the model, known as Bowmans Strategy Clock (given in Appendix 1). It is noted that Apple 2011 report depicts that business strategy of Apple leverage the different ability towards designing and developing the own operating systems, softwares, hardware, and services for offering customers with new items and solutions having the high ease to use, innovative industrial design as well as seamless integration. It implies that Apple is creating things by adopting digital hub strategy that refers the MAC operating system (Allen Helms, 2006). The famous products of Apple include iPad, iPhone, iPod, as well as iTunes. None of these items can work without Mac operating system, and this depicts the focused differentiation strategy of the company. The company had even developed the brand reputation and even leads towards innovat ion in Smartphone technology. Apple even charges high price for its products in its segment and niche (Allen Helms, 2006). Significant factors affecting the organizations performance Political factor- It provides the high influence on the decision-making process of Apple, as they had set up various companies in the world. Though Apple failed in controlling the political factors since 2009, it is seen that half of companys sale comes through America. For reducing the operating cost, the firm had also spread the manufacturing of its product to various other businesses located in America (Parnell, 2006). Economic factor- the Global condition of the economy can be viewed as the factor, which can create influence on the business process of Apple, as the company is famous in the international market. Recession, inflation, as well as currency, are the three key factors, which are noticed by Apple. For instance, in inflation time in America, the people purchasing power get reduced and product sale of Apple in America also got reduced (Parnell, 2006). Social factors- Lifestyle, globalization and virtual world are considered as a social factor, which provides a broad effect on the business development of Apple. Technology is also viewed as a critical media, which develops globalization even faster. The virtual world can access in the present time by the support of tremendous business opportunity for Apple (Stephen Haines, 2004). Through this, the company can develop various virtual media. Cyberspace to trade market holds a huge role in creating influence on people to apply virtual world. Technological factor- in present time, technology market is getting big. The competition is increasing due to the healthy technological changes as well as innovation at a faster rate. In this case, Apple requires up gradation of its products to outdo competitors (Pretorius, 2008). Organization's strategy The generic strategy, as well as intensive growth strategies, directly link with the strategies of the company in costing, marketing as well as in various other business areas. As one of the top company in the world, Apple depicts the generic strategy as the key determinant benefit for supporting growth and for maintaining the firm position in the international market (Finkle Mallin, 2011). With the increased rate of innovation and stress over excellence in the area of product design, Apple had gained success relatively with higher cost. The favorable position depicts that the effectiveness of firm lies in its use of intensive growth strategies and growth strategy. The generic strategy of the company is broad differentiation. This strategy emphasizes over main features, which create a difference in the company and its items from the competitors. By applying general differentiation generic strategy, the company can easily stand out in the market (Heineman, 2011). For instance, stress over the designs along with high-end branding and user-friendliness create a difference in the company. The generic strategy of broad differentiation aims towards establishing the firm apart from its market competitors not by price but rather through the main features, which are advantageous to customers. All these main features cover up seamless connectivity existing among the cutting edge aesthetics and devices while designing (Heineman, 2011). Intensive growth strategy of Apple Product development- Apple make use of product development, as their critical intensive strategy towards bringing growth. Development of product needs that the firm should provide beautiful items for enhancing its market performance and share (Hull, 2012). Apple tries to implement their intensive growth strategy with the help of innovation in the process of research and development. Market penetration- Apple make use of market penetration as the key intensive growth strategy. It includes attaining high market share through selling the current items of the company. For instance, intensive approach to selling out the iPads and iPhones in the present targeted market (Hull, 2012). Market development- Apple make sue of developing market as the less important factor within intensive growth strategy. Market development includes developing new markets for the total new market (Hull, 2012). The intensive growth strategy match with the strategy of market penetration, but still the development of market emphasize over establishing a presence within new markets. Apply usually apply intensive growth strategy through trying to authorize the market new sellers, in which companies fail to hold presence. Implementation of strategy Apple strategic goals are set towards developing new items, while simultaneously, it stresses over designing it successfully, due to its use as the element of strategic implementation. The resource allocation undertaken by the company for creating the new items should be substantial, and it should be planned and thought resources (Heather 2012). The financial resources emphasize the new product development, having a unique and high design, which adopts the Sun Tzus strategic principles for knowing the competitors. By making use of superior capabilities, Apple had tried to develop the above items, as developed by its competitors and therefore, its important for the firm to acquire the valuable segment in the market. The important systems, which is employed by the company is best, and it helps in bringing electronics and telecommunications business, and accordingly implementation is undertaken (Lynch, 2011). Main issues and recommendations The key issues faced by Apple is related to whether it will be able to maintain their success. The firm had tried to establish the high standards on its own. In case the company comes with the new product, it can be ground breaking or it might either disappoint the customers (Lynch, 2011). Coming in contact with the high expectations can be considered as the key challenge, which is faced by the organization. Famous notion mentions that Steve Jobs can be seen as responsible for coming up all fortune for the firm, and under the guidance given by him had helped in rolling the products such as iPad, iPhone, iPad as well as MacBook. The other issues relate with increasing competition coming from other companies like, HP, Samsung, Nokia, etc., which wouldnt be easier. The key intensive growth strategy of Apple is referred as product development. Market development, as well as market penetration, are considered as a second and third priority for the company (Lynch, 2011). These intensive strategies of growth approve and help the generic strategy of Apple. The company is reliable in its product development, which is undertaken from innovation. However, for enhancing the performance, the firm should stress over market development and market penetration. It is important that focus should be set on two main intensive growth strategies, which can support in improving the resilience of Apple against the aggressive competitors (Lynch, 2011). Conclusion A good strategy can help in turning the ailing firm to become a global leader. The story related with success of Apple prove this statement. Simultaneously, inability in explaining the competitive strategy, when required can impact the future of the organization. References Hubbard, G., Rice, J., Galvin, P. (2015). Strategic management: Thinking, analysis, action (5th ed). Sage. 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