Entrepreneurship

Part 1: Article Review
Stam and Elfring analyze entrepreneurship orientation in new ventures (97). The authors describe entrepreneurial orientation as the processes, behavior, and structures in a firm that takes risks, invests in innovation and are proactive in decision-making. Stam and Elfring argue that entrepreneurship orientation can enhance the performance of an organization by helping the organization to identify opportunities for innovation (97). Such innovation opportunities may attract large returns and may include premium market segments. Organizations can take derive first mover advantages by taking innovation opportunities. Stam and Elfring argue that entrepreneurial orientation is not sufficient for wealth creation especially for new ventures (98). New ventures have limited capacity to use entrepreneurial orientation to improve their performance. This is because new ventures have insufficient strategic resources and this limits these ventures in building their social capital (Stam and Elfring 98).

New ventures need to obtain and leverage strategic resources that can stimulate advantage- seeking and opportunity-seeking behavior. Stam and Elfring conducted an empirical study on 60 new ventures in a software industry to determine if intra and extra industry networking has an influence on the contribution of entrepreneurship orientation to organizational performance (97). The empirical study revealed that a high network centrality in an industry and extensive bridging ties were positively related to the relationship between a firm’s performance and its entrepreneurial orientation.

The findings of this study emphasized the importance of social capital resources of entrepreneurs to organizational performance. Social capital is important to any new firm that intends to improve its performance through entrepreneurship orientation. Stam and Elfring continue to indicate that accessing industry-specific resources is not sufficient to derive the maximum benefits of entrepreneurship orientation (108). An organization must develop its capacity to complement industry-specific resources with other resources from different social domains.

If an organization has few bridging ties, industrial centrality weakens the relationship between its performance and entrepreneurial orientation (Stam and Elfring 108). Industrial dynamics such as bridging ties and centrality limits the capacity of new entrants to create wealth through entrepreneurial orientation. This is because that new entrants have few bridging ties and may take time before they can establish more ties. Well-established firms have strong ties and a high level of social capital relative to new ventures (Stam and Elfring 108). In this study, Stam and Elfring acknowledge that entrepreneurship orientation makes a significant contribution to organization performance. However, the authors argue that an organization’s social capital, age, and the structure of its respective industry will determine the magnitude of the contribution. This implies that firms can strengthen the relationship of their performance with entrepreneurship orientation by increasing their investments in social capital (Stam and Elfring 108).

Yang conducted an empirical study on small and medium enterprises in Taiwan to determine if the leadership style in an organization has an effect on entrepreneurial orientation (258). This study was also aimed at determining if leadership and entrepreneurial orientation have any effect on organizational performance. Yang defines entrepreneurial orientation as the presence of entrepreneurship at an organizational level (259). The author agrees with the three dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation that include innovation, risk taking and proactiveness. Assuming that entrepreneurial businesses are different from other businesses, Yang compared the three dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation with business performance. The study also compared the effect of whole concept of entrepreneurial orientation on the performance of a business. In addition, the study analyzed the contribution of different leadership styles to organizational performance and entrepreneurship in small and medium enterprises.

Yang’s study involved top-level managers of small and medium enterprises in Taiwan. One of the objectives of this study was to determine if transformational, transactional and passive-avoidant leadership styles have an effect on business performance and entrepreneurial orientation (Yang 258). The findings of Yang’s indicate that innovation, risking and proactiveness were positively correlated with the performance of a business. The findings indicate that proactiveness and innovation are significant predictors of business performance. However, risk taking cannot be used to predict business performance. The study indicated that transformational leadership was positively correlated with the three dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation. There was a significant positive correlation between transactional leadership and innovation. However, the correlation between transformational leadership and the other two dimensions namely proactiveness and risk taking was positive but small (Yang 272).

The findings of Yang’s study indicate that transformational leadership is a significant predictor of entrepreneurial orientation. Transactional and passive-avoidant leadership styles are not reliable predictors of entrepreneurial orientation in an organization. The entrepreneurial orientation in most small and medium enterprises was a result of transformational leadership skills in their top-level managers. Yang concluded that entrepreneurial orientation contributes to business performance (272). However, each dimension of entrepreneurial orientation relates differently to business performance. High levels of proactiveness and innovation in an organization will lead to higher levels performance. Yang suggests that although risk taking is not a good predictor of an organization’s performance, it is positively related to business performance. Risk taking does not guarantee that an entrepreneur will succeed. Successful entrepreneurs take well-calculated risks and avoid unnecessary risks. This implies that successful entrepreneurs possess risk management skills (Yang 272).

The correlation between risk taking and business performance also implies that organizations cannot solely rely on taking risks to improve their performance. However, calculated risks could lead to higher levels of performance. The findings of Yang’s study confirmed that leadership influences the growth of an organization. Transformational leadership had the strongest correlation with business performance and entrepreneurial orientation. Some of the key aspects of transformational leadership include inspirational motivation, individualized consideration of employees and intellectual stimulation. A combination of transformational leadership and entrepreneurship orientation can lead to higher levels of business performance (Yang 273).

Madhoushi et al indicate that the quest for achieving a competitive advantage in many organizations has motivated them to turn to entrepreneurial orientation and innovation (310). Madhoushi et al add two dimensions to entrepreneurial orientation that include autonomy and competitive aggressiveness. The authors define risk taking as the tendency to undertake high-risk projects and make bold steps instead of cautious steps to achieve an organization’s objectives. Proactiveness involves anticipating future needs in a market and acting on such information by seeking opportunities or aligning current operations to meet such needs before competitors make a similar move. Competitive aggression involves challenging competitors directly while autonomy involves independent actions by teams or individuals to introduce and implement an idea in an organization. Innovation is the tendency in organizations to introduce and support new ideas, creativity and experimentation. Innovation will results in new products, new technology and solutions to problems (Madhoushi 310).

Madhoushi et al conducted a study to determine if entrepreneurial orientation is correlated with innovation performance and knowledge management (310). The study also investigated if knowledge management has an effect on innovation performance. The study involved 164 small and medium enterprises in Iran. The findings of this quantitative study indicate that entrepreneurship orientation is positively related to innovation performance. In addition, the findings indicate that there is a positive relationship between entrepreneurship orientation and knowledge management (Madhoushi et al 314). This implies that organization can enhance innovation performance and their effectiveness in knowledge management by developing the dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation.

The study by Madhoushi et al also revealed that there is a positive relationship between knowledge management and innovation performance (314). The authors argue that new ventures can improve the effectiveness of their innovation strategies by adopting the right approach to entrepreneurial orientation as well as knowledge management. Knowledge management acts a mediator in the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and an organization’s innovation performance. The findings of this study suggest that entrepreneurship orientation enables organizations to acquire, share and apply knowledge, which has a positive effect on innovation performance. Thus, knowledge management acts an independent managerial aspect and as a tool of strengthening relationships. This means that any firm that intends to improve its innovation performance through entrepreneurial orientation should improve its strategies in knowledge management to achieve better results (Madhoushi et al 314).

Entrepreneurial orientation creates a supportive environment in an organization in which the management derives information from customers, employee, suppliers, and other stakeholders. Such information helps an organization to identify the required changes in its processes, products and customer services. Acquiring knowledge from internal and external sources is a prerequisite for effective innovation in any organization. Combining new knowledge and organizational expertise enables organizations translates to better products or services for the customers. The findings of this study have implications for top-level managers. Managers must realize the significant role of knowledge in innovation performance. Therefore, managers should focus of knowledge acquisition, sharing and application (Madhoushi et al 315).

The authors of three articles reviewed in this section agree that entrepreneurial orientation is important in organizations. The authors agree that entrepreneurial orientation has positive and significant contribution to organizational performance. This relationship exists in new ventures and well-established organizations. The arguments in the three articles indicate that although entrepreneurship orientation positively correlated with business performance, organization cannot solely rely on this aspect to enhance their performance. Stam and Elfring indicate that the extent to which entrepreneurship orientation influences the performance of firms will depend on their social capital investments (97). Yang on the other hand argues that every dimension of entrepreneurship has a different level of influence or impact on organization performance (258). Proactiveness and innovation are better predictors of organizational performance relative to risk taking. Madhoushi et al emphasize of the need to combine entrepreneurship orientation with knowledge management (310)

Yang introduces the aspect of leadership and outlines the relationship between various approaches to leadership with entrepreneurship orientation (258). Transformational leadership is more effective for fostering entrepreneurship orientation and strengthening the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and the performance of a firm (Yang 272). The authors agree on the importance of entrepreneurship orientation but differ on the managerial aspects that are should be combined with entrepreneurship orientation. The knowledge derived from the three studies has various implications for managers. From the findings of the study by Stam and Elfring, it is evident that managers should study industrial dynamics and invest in social capital. Networking and bridging ties will enable an organization to derive more benefits from entrepreneurship orientation. This is particularly important for new entrants in an industry that may be locked out by the nature of networking in the industry.

The findings of Yang’s study imply that managers should shift their focus to transformational leadership. Organizations should create opportunities for their top-level managers to acquire and develop their transformational leadership skills. The leaderships style that an organization will determine if an organization adopts entrepreneurship principles and the extent to which those principles affect its performance. The findings also imply that managers should rely more on proactiveness and innovation for higher organizational performance than risk taking. There is need for managers or entrepreneurs to acquire risk management skills before using risk taking as a strategy for higher business performance. The study by Madhoushi et al outlines the need for organizations to invest in knowledge management. The knowledge management process involves acquiring information from internal and external sources, sharing the information, and applying the information in the production process (Madhoushi et al 314).

Investing in knowledge acquisition will help organization to determine the most appropriate innovation strategies for their products or services. The application of the acquired knowledge will help managers to identify the strategies of utilizing entrepreneurship principles to improve the performance of their organization. The study by Stam and Elfring outlines the importance of strategic resources to successful entrepreneurship. Organization must combine industry-specific resources with other resources such as social capital to improve their performance.

This implies that managers have a role to play in identify the required resources in an industry especially for new ventures. Lack of strategic resources is cited as a major reason why networking and bridging ties limit new ventures (Stam and Elfring 98). Each of the studies analyzed have different implications on managers depending on the managerial aspect that an author investigates. However, the findings of all the studies indicate that all the aspects considered including knowledge, leadership and social capital have an effect on the relationship between an organization’s performance and its entrepreneurship orientation. Therefore, managers should utilize an integrated approach to entrepreneurship orientation as a tool for higher organizational performance.

Part 2: Interviews
Three interviews were conducted to gain more insights on the propositions made in the three articles reviewed in the previous sections. The participants were picked from different organizations that have embraced entrepreneurship orientation and asked the same set of questions. The questions are based on the proposition outlined in the literature review include the role of leadership, social capital and knowledge in entrepreneurship orientation. The questions, responses in each interview and an analysis of the responses are outlined below.

The First Interview
The participant is a manager of local bank who has worked in the organization for many years in a managerial position. The manager is among the co-founders of the bank.
Does entrepreneurship orientation affect the performance and competitiveness of your organization?

Yes it does. I joined this organization when the management team had already adopted entrepreneurial orientation. I have observed the effect of this approach to the performance of the organization for years and the bank has managed to record an upward trend in its performance. By adopting an entrepreneurship orientation, the bank has improved the quality of products and services and reached new markets that its competitors have not yet reached. We have a very aggressive management team that constantly conducts research on new markets and the effectiveness of our products in meeting the needs of the customers. Sometimes you may find managers talking to customers just to get information on their level of satisfaction. We are also very keen on the moves of our competitors and coming with new ideas on serving our customers better that competitors cannot copy. So our success as a bank is not just based on our large market share. I believe adopting an entrepreneurial approach has not only enabled us to record outstanding and consistent top performance but also to keep ahead of our competitors.

Do the main dimensions of entrepreneurship orientation, that is, proactiveness, risk taking and innovation make an equal contribution to the performance of your organization?
I would say all the aspects have a significant contribution but in our case, innovation has played the most significant role in improving our performance. Any move that we make as a bank is aimed at improving the satisfaction of our customers and reaching potential customers with better products and services. As we speak, there are three projects that are underway that will simplify banking for our customers.

Do industrial networking and social capital affect the effectiveness of entrepreneurship orientation in improving organizational performance?
Yes, they do but indirectly. There are occasional forums where banks managers meet to discuss external issues that are affecting them. For instance, new government regulations may affect the banking industry and managers will meet to determine the best reaction to such moves by the government. Therefore, such forums will help us as a bank to gather more information on external factors that may affect our performance. We can then use such information to realign our operations. Maybe the other form of networking that benefits us as a bank is sharing information on credit histories of our clients.

What is your leadership style and how does it affect entrepreneurship orientation in your organization?
As leaders, we value of employees. Our managers at all levels are trained to motivate and inspire employees to perform better in their positions. We encourage employees to come up with new ideas and present the management team especially on innovation. I have seen approach work well for us. Our employees feel valued and actually, some of the ideas that the bank has implemented and reaped huge benefits came from our employees. You know they interact with our customers directly and they can tell whether we are meeting our customer’s needs.

What is the role of knowledge in entrepreneurship orientation and innovation?
As I told, our management team is keen on gathering information on the satisfaction of our customers and the moves by our competitors. This kind of information is what guides as managers in developing our products and services in a way that they competitive in the market and effective in meeting our customers’ needs. I believe knowledge is important in entrepreneurship. For example, you can only manage your risks well if you have full knowledge of the risks in every market. You cannot act of something that you have no knowledge of or reach a market effectively without proper information about the market.

Second interview
The participant owns a chain of stores that sell beauty products for both men and women.
Does entrepreneurship orientation affect the performance and competitiveness of your organization?
Yes it does. In the initial stages of planning my business, I analyzed the businesses in my industry of interest to determine the factors that made them successful. Although most of them are large companies with many shareholders, I discovered that entrepreneurship was common to all the companies. Therefore, I started gather information on how to be a successful entrepreneur. I looked for mentors who would sharpen my entrepreneurship skills. I believe the knowledge and skills that I gained on entrepreneurship that I gained before starting my business is what has made it a success.
Do the main dimensions of entrepreneurship orientation, that is, proactiveness, risk taking and innovation make an equal contribution to the performance of your organization?

For me proactiveness and innovation have made the most significant contribution to the performance of my business. I do not believe in waiting for my competitors to do something then copy it when it succeeds. I believe that am in this industry as a leader. Thus, I am always looking for new products to offer my customers and new locations for my business. I do take risks but I am very careful about risks. I only take risks after gathering all information that is available about a market and how a move will affect my business.
Do industrial networking and social capital affect the effectiveness of entrepreneurship orientation in improving organizational performance?

Networking is very important in this industry. For the years I have been in business, I have I discovered the need to interact with other entrepreneurs. Such interactions will give you information on new suppliers, market dynamics, innovation strategies and consumption trends. An entrepreneur cannot ignore the role of social capital. When I was starting, I did not belong to any network and I discovered that I was missing important industrial information that would help me penetrate the industry better. Therefore, my response to the existing networks in the industry has been to look for avenues of joining the network. I would encourage other entrepreneurs to find out what other entrepreneurs in their industry are doing
What is your leadership style and how does it affect entrepreneurship orientation in your organization?
I value the contribution of my employees and their ideas. I have been raising leaders from my employees who are now in charge of the operations of the stores. I derive satisfaction in raising other business leaders.

What is the role of knowledge in entrepreneurship orientation and innovation?
Knowledge is important to every entrepreneur. You have to gather knowledge to make informed decisions. You cannot make decisions based on assumptions. You have to do your research and be informed of every new move in the industry.
Third Interview
This entrepreneur runs a hotel that has been operation for the past one year.
Does entrepreneurship orientation affect the performance and competitiveness of your organization?

Yes it does. Although I have not been in business for long, I witnessed my business grow I terms of the number of customers that frequent the hotel as I apply entrepreneurial principles. We started with very few customers but one year later, we have been forced to increase our seating capacity.
Do the main dimensions of entrepreneurship orientation, that is, proactiveness, risk taking and innovation make an equal contribution to the performance of your organization?
Well I believe they are all necessary not only in this business but in other businesses as well. However, what has worked for me for the past one year is innovation. We have been changing our menus to include more healthy foods. We have even new recipes and methods of cooking just to meet more of our customers’ needs. Proactiveness has also play a role especially when I was starting the business. I noticed the kind of foods and customer services that other hotels in town were offering and decided to do something different. I believe that is the reason I have regular customers.
Do industrial networking and social capital affect the effectiveness of entrepreneurship orientation in improving organizational performance?

As a new entrant, I have had difficulties connecting with other hotel owners in the industry. Most of the events and business forums target large hotels and this has locked out many hotel owners. I hope that the situation will change as the business grows.
What is your leadership style and how does it affect entrepreneurship orientation in your organization?
I believe that leaders should listen to and support their followers. Leaders should set an example to their followers and be as a source of inspiration. I do not believe in dictatorship expect in cases where crucial decisions have to be made. Therefore, this has been my approach to leadership so far and I am still learning.

What is the role of knowledge in entrepreneurship orientation and innovation?
Knowledge plays a very significant role in any business especially if its management team knows how to apply it effectively. I spend most of my working hours gathering information because I understand its importance in decision-making, risk management and in the overall performance of a business.
Analysis of the Interviews
An analysis of the responses of the three entrepreneurs indicates that their responses are in line with most of the propositions of the literature reviewed in the previous section. All the entrepreneurs indicated that entrepreneurial orientation has played an important role in the performance of their businesses. The entrepreneurs indicate that their entrepreneur skills have helped them to grow their business and remain ahead of their competitors. One the participants stated, “I believe the knowledge and skills that I gained on entrepreneurship that I gained before starting my business is what has made it a success.”

Stam and Elfring outlined the importance of social capital to entrepreneurial orientation and indicated that lack of sufficient social capital limits new firms in improving their performance through entrepreneurial orientation (97). The third participant’s response agrees with this notion. The participant stated, “As a new entrant, I have had difficulties connecting with other hotel owners in the industry. Most of the events and business forums target large hotels and this has locked out many hotel owners”. This implies that networking of large hotels in the industry have limited small and new hotels from accessing important information that would help them to expand their businesses.

The fourth question was based on the role of leadership in entrepreneurship orientation. Two the participants described their leadership style. Only one participant indicated the significant contribution of the leadership style to entrepreneurial orientation. The participant stated, “Our managers at all levels are trained to motivate and inspire employees to perform better in their positions …some of the ideas that the bank has implemented and reaped huge benefits came from our employees”. This implies that the organization’s innovation strategies have improved because of engaging employees in the process. The involvement of employees in innovation largely depends on leadership style. The responses of the participants on leadership imply that they have adopted some aspects of transformational leadership. One participant argued, “I believe that leaders should listen to and support their followers. Leaders should set an example to their followers and be as a source of inspiration.”

It is unclear from the interviews how risk taking contributes to organization performance. The participants did not indicate whether risk taking is an unreliable predictor of organizational performance as suggested in the literature review. However, the participants indicated the significant contribution of innovation and proactiveness to the growth their business. Innovation seems to play the most significant role in organizational performance. One participant indicated the importance of innovation and stated, “… what has worked for me for the past one year is innovation”. All the participants indicated that knowledge is important to entrepreneurial orientation. This is line with Madhoushi et al argument that knowledge management mediates entrepreneurial orientation with organizational performance. The participants indicated that knowledge enables them as entrepreneurs to design innovation strategies, expand to new markets and monitor their competitors’ moves.

Works Cited
Madhoushi, Mehrdad, Sadati Abdolrahim, Delavari Hamidreza, Mehdivand Mohsen, and Mihandost Ramin. “Entrepreneurial Orientation and Innovation Performance: The Mediating Role of Knowledge Management.” Asian Journal of Business Management 3.4(2011): 310-316
Stam, Wouter, and Elfring, Tom. “Entrepreneurial Orientation and New Venture Performance: The Moderating Role of Intra-and Extra Industry Social Capital.” Academy of Management Journal 51.1(2008): 97-111
Yang, Chung-Wen, “The Relationships among Leadership Styles. Entrepreneurial Orientation and Business Performance.” Managing Global Transitions 6.3(2008): 257-275

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Should the Electoral College be abolished?

In the United States the Electoral College is charged with the responsibility of picking the president. I believe that the Electoral College needs to be abolished in order to allow all the US citizens to decide directly the person of their choice to lead the country. The Electoral College mode of picking the president is an outdated means, which has outlived its usefulness, especially in the contemporary democratic world politics. This could be replaced by the introduction of a constitutional amendment, to favor the participation of the electoral process by all US citizens to ensure that the president is representative of the literal majority (Rose 199).

Actually, the US needs to amend her constitution and provide for the individual who obtains the majority votes to become the president as opposed to the Electoral College, which composes of just a few individuals who may not represent the will of the majority satisfactorily. In the contemporary political world, communication has become instantaneous, with the citizens having more than enough access to information concerning their presidential contenders. Thus, voting by all the citizens could be a viable means of propelling American politics to the next level (Edwards 19).

What was the Marshall Plan? What events led up to its implementation?
The Marshal Plan (or ERP-European Recovery Program) was the large-scale provision of aids and assistance to the European nations from America. In this plan, the US gave monetary assistance to aid in rebuilding the economies of the European nations following the end of the Second World War. The aim of this assistance was preventing the European nations from falling prey to the Soviet communism, which was gaining grounds. The Marshal Plan operated and lasted for 4 years since April 1948 with the goals of the US being rebuilding of the war-devastated region, modernize industry, remove the barriers to trade, as well as make the European nations more prosperous to match their diverse levels of potential (Sorel & Padoan 120).

The main reason why the plan was implemented was to avert the possible Soviet Union’s communism. Following the end of the Second World War, the two super powers (US and the Soviet Union) started a new scramble to spread their economic influences across the globe. The US had the capitalist view while the Soviet Union subscribed to the Communism view. This led to the build up of the cold war, which led to the adoption and implementation of the Marshal Plan (Schain 261).

Compare and Contrast Medicare and Medicaid
The differing structures of Medicare and Medicaid plans of health care have led to some conflicting incentives regarding the dual eligibility of beneficiaries without some well coordinated care. Both Medicare and Medicaid are interested in cutting the medical plans of those subscribed to their services. However, both lack an effective incentive for accounting for the health care quality services they offer. According to William and Melissa both plans have a key strength in that they provide an effective opportunity to individuals for dual eligibility (17).

Although they may have similar incentives and operations, the Medicare program is a federal government entity. Eligibility for the program is dictated by age as the federal government policy requires the beneficiaries to be over 65 years, regardless of their disabled young individuals qualified for the social security for the disabled and/or their earning. On the contrary, Medicaid program is also a health care program but it is run by states for provision of insurance cover for the income-based employees regardless of their age (William & Melissa 22). Both plans are the principle methods of providing access to the health care services across the US. However, it is evident that Medicaid is highly committed towards the promotion of access to health care services than the Medicaid program (Carlson 28).

Works Cited

Carlson, Griffin. Difference between Medicaid and Medicare. Health Feature articles, 2009.
Edwards, George C. Why the Electoral College Is Bad for America. New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press, 2005. Print.
Rose, Gary L. Controversial Issues in Presidential Selection. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1994. Print.
Schain, Martin A. The Marshall Plan: Fifty Years After. New York, NY [u.a.: Palgrave, 2001. Print.
Sorel, Eliot, and Pier C. Padoan. The Marshall Plan: Lessons Learned for the 21st Century. Paris: OECD, 2008. Print.
William, Charles and Melissa, Martins. Dually eligible beneficiaries, Opportunities and Challenges. Health Care Financing Review, 20.2, 1998, pp. 1-5.

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A Review of the Report about the Fire Tragedy on the Cook County Administration Building

The Cook county administration fire review is a report prepared by James Lee Witt Associates to look into the root cause of the fire tragedy that ravaged the administration building of the Cook County on Friday, October 17, 2003. The report is detailed, and contains nine sections, and three chapters. The report explores the factors that led to the fire incident that resulted into the death of six people. To come up with a comprehensive report, the researchers from James Lee Witt Associates used primary data. They interviewed 70 people connected to the incident, and sampled a survey from 551 people in the building that day. In addition, the research team reviewed fire procedures in the building, and examined several physical layouts connected to fire fighting. This paper summarizes the information in the report with a focus on the cause and the fire and the mitigating factors.

According to the report, the fire incident took place on Friday, October 17, 2003. Several events took place on that day. Fire started at around 5.00 pm in a closet on the 12th floor, suite 1240. Suite 1240 served as the office of the Secretary of the State’s business service. At that time, there was no fire safety director within the building, and thus the security officer took control of the situation by calling for evacuation. The voice alarm was activated and the voice informed the people to evacuate the building through a voice alarm using any staircase.

At the same time, the Chicago fire department was called to the scene. As soon as the fire fighters arrived, they fought the fire through the stairway in the southeast part of the building. As a result, people evacuating from the southern staircase were ordered back. However, all doors were closed except at the 27th floor, and thus the evacuees were forced to use the 27th floor. Before all evacuees could reach the 27th floor, the stairway door was opened for firefighting exercise. As a consequence, smoke from the tower and poisonous gas filled the staircase and choked the people. After about 90 minute in the smoke, six of the evacuees died.

According to findings from the report, several events, which would have been avoided easily, combined to cause the death of the six people. First, the fire fighters failed to search for evacuees at the stair. Second, the southeast door was opened thereby allowing the smoke to enter the staircase. Third, the stairway door was locked denying building occupants time to evacuate the building. Lastly, the building did not have automatic fire sprinklers to put off the fire at its early stages. The report further discovered some anomalies from the management of the Cook county building, the Chicago fire fighting department, and the state of Illinois at large. As a result, the researchers made several recommendations based on the findings.

To the Cook county and building management, the report made several recommendations. In the first place, the building management should ensure that automatic fire sprinklers are installed right away. Stairway doors should always be unlocked during emergencies. This door should have the capability of unlocking automatically when an emergency occurs. Efficient management oversight should be made available to individuals, companies, and contractors. Security officers should be provided with fire and life safety as well as evacuation training. The management should also ensure that a building emergency action plan is developed and an incident management system, as well.

The report made further recommendations to the City of Chicago. According to the report, a review of the Municipal Code of the City of Chicago should be instituted annually to ensure that it complies with the laws and regulations of the state. Fire sprinklers should also be installed immediately on all high-rise places. Stairway doors should be installed with failsafe systems, which unlock automatically, incase of any emergency.
The report made further recommendations to fire department of Chicago. According to this report, a nationally acknowledged incident management and command system should be adopted, and implemented. This would help address several issues related to fire operations. The incident management would also deal with matters of developing professional leadership and this would clear the expectations and standards for members of the department. General orders relating to high-rise fire activities, search, and policies should be reviewed and updated in Cook County Administrative Building. Evacuation drills and exercises can be used to evaluate their competency.

More comprehensive review and inspections about the building emergency plans should be increased. This would in turn improve cross-coordination and compliance as well as the response personnel and the office of emergency management and communication. Inspections should always be documented and compliance efforts should focus on follow up so that corrections may be done in time. The fire safety director training and certification programs should too be reviewed and redesigned were necessary. This reflects a national acceptance of standards and lessons are learned through such incidents.

To the state of Illinois, the report recommends it to enforce sate fire code compliance rules. The fire code should be enforced in homes and offices. The state is supposed to ensure any changes in the state’s fire codes are communicated in time. In addition, the state should work with relevant authorities to train and equip fire fighters on ways of fighting fire in high rise buildings (James Lee Witt Associates, 2004). The report has been backed by myriads of appendices to assist the fire departments and the public.

References
James Lee Witt Associates. (2004). Cook County Administrative Building Fire Review. Washington, DC: James Lee Witt Associates, LLC.

THE COOK COUNTY ADMINISTRATION BUILDING FIRE REVIEW 5

Running head: THE COOK COUNTY ADMINISTRATION BUILDING FIRE REVIEW

Article Summary: Article on teaching Computer Science

Rough Draft
Article to review: “A Study of Factors promoting Success in Computer Science, including Gender Differences” by Wilson, B., 2002
Maximum number of words: 250
Audience: researcher(s) on effective instruction approaches/methods in computer science, university level; purpose: brief description in summary form of the article
Opening line: study computer science beginner courses, students, determine issues that support successful completion of course among students; also determine whether any variations between genders – based on the factors, what they are
The 9 factors, sample, method, model,
Results: three factors – course comfort, a mathematics academic background, ascription to luck – influence success/failure in preparatory course; in that order; positive influence for first two factors, negative for third; inconsiderable variation between genders, for all three; lesser influence for past programming experience, past computer use for games, positive and negative respectively
Closing line: five factors important considerations in computer science instruction

Fine Draft
Wilson studied computer science beginner students to determine the issues that supported successful completion of the course among them. He also aimed at determining whether any variations existed between the genders with regard to such factors, and what they were. The study applied questionnaire and the “Computer Programming Self-Efficacy Scale” instruments to collect data on the progress of 105 beginner students, based on a nine-factor model to assess factor influence on levels of success in beginner computer science classes.

The nine factors included a mathematics academic background, students’ personal attribution/ascription to success or failure, personal efficacy concepts (personal beliefs of competence), support levels, course comfort, preferences of job style, past familiarity with programming, past non-programming familiarity, and gender. The study regarded the nine factors as probable facilitative factors in the beginner’s course. A possible limitation in the research concerned restriction to a single class in a single university. The study yielded conclusions that three of the factors – course comfort, a mathematics academic background, and ascription to luck – in that order, influenced success or failure in the preparatory computer science course.

It depicted positive influence on success in the course for the first two factors and a negative one for the third. It further showed inconsiderable variations between the genders for all three factors. Lesser influence on success was evident for past programming familiarity and past use of computers for games, with positive and negative influences respectively. All five factors are important considerations in computer science instruction at university.

References
Wilson, B. 2002, A Study of Factors promoting Success in Computer Science, including Gender Differences, Computer Science Education, Vol. 12, No. 1-2, p. 141-164, retrieved on February 22, 2012 from: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.91…pdf

Article Summary 4

Summary of Chapters 7, 8, 9, and 10 (MUTS)

Chapter 7
Total compensation is made up of wage earnings and the costs incurred in fringe benefits. Fringe benefits are legally mandated programs in employment policies that include unemployment and workers compensation like medical cover, paid vacations, sick leave and pensions. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (199), fringe benefits account for 30% of a worker’s total pay. Fringe benefits enable an organization to attract and retain workers. Total composition varies across industries. For instance, in high paying industries, the fringe benefits percentage is higher as compared to low paying industries. Goods manufacturers’ percentage is higher than in service industries and transport sector percentage is higher than retail trade. Moreover, the proportion of the accrued benefits is specific to different types of organizations. For instance, the transport sector offers 8% in paid leaves whereas the retail sector offers only 4%.

Literature indicates that fringe benefits percentage is higher in blue-collar job group than in white-collar jobs. Fringe benefits package has grown over the past decades. Workers may prefer increased fringe benefits because of tax advantage and an opportunity to grow principal, interest and dividends at a pre-tax rate. Moreover, the pension that is given after retirement is taxed at a lower rate compared to actual wages. Fringe benefits confer benefits of scale to individuals. This is because they are charged less to access the services they are saving for like medical and insurance cover. Thus, workers are prompted to accept more fringe benefits to reduce taxes and benefit from higher economies of scale. According to Even & Macpherson (205), employers offering fringe benefits enjoy a lower employee turn over because it indicates the availability of overtly experienced staff.

Buchmueller & Valletta (206) assert that single women and married men receiving health insurance suffer from job lock. Government policies to raise unemployment compensation and increasing cost of living are other contributing factors to the growth of fringes.
Organizations can experience employee-agent conflicts when employees give less in productive time and effort relative to the employment contract. Employees’ solve these conflicts through the use of incentive pay plan that encourages employees to give their best. Use of price rates is considered as a convenient mode of compensation because employees earn directly for their input. Bonuses and profit sharing affect employee input positively. Minimal supervision at the work place is directly related to compensation and productivity.

Chapter 8
Literature indicates that wage earnings differ from one job group to another in the United States. This can be attributed to the equilibrium wage differences in the economy that do not allow labor mobility from low paying job groups to the high paying ones. Heterogeneity of jobs and workers in the market and variations in mobility and competition lead to variability in the resultant wage structure. According to Hirsh & Macpherson (232), wage differences occur in the economy and the variations are likely to persist through time. A study conducted in 2008 indicates that individuals’ in management, business and financial fields earned an average wage of $31.50. Production employees earned $15.99 while those in service made $12.74. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (234), hourly compensation and cost of products varies from one country to another. Mexico, Brazil and Taiwan are the least paying nations while Norway, Germany and Denmark are the highest paying countries.

Jobs are heterogeneous and thus have different attributes, educational requirements in knowledge and experience and offer different compensation to encourage maximum productivity. In addition, organizations vary in union status, size and equality policies. Compensation differentials can be associated to the need to compensate an employee for having a certain attribute that is absent in another employment environment. Wage compensation discourages employee movement from low paying jobs to the ones that require specified educational qualifications and experience. Jobs that expose employees to a high risk of injury or death are likely to attract less people. They thus offer higher risk compensation as compared to others requiring the same specifications. Organizations that do not offer fringe benefits pay a higher wage to compensate for the discrepancy in total earnings per hour.

Some forms of employment are associated with low status and do not attract many people in the job market. For instance, working in a sewage plant as a semiskilled electrician can be stigmatized as compared to working in an electronic industry for the same post. Such differentials in society perception require cover up through wage compensation. Cities that have a good working conditions and social amenities are likely to attract more job seekers. On the other hand, organizations located in places with poor living conditions offer compensation to attract people to those areas. Jobs that offer security through a regular pay check and certainty of being retained in the organization attract more people. On the other hand, jobs that do not offer security like construction and sales jobs are likely to offer higher hourly rates as compensation for lack of security.

Organizations that offer constant wage growth and employee advancement are likely to employ in experienced staff at a very low wage. Employees receive on-job training and their wages grow over time as they move up the corporate ladder. On the other hand, flat lifetime employment opportunities offer a high wage at the entry point to attract and maintain employees. Skill differential is the difference in pay created different job requirements in the level of education and skill. Jobs that need high educational qualifications and experience pay higher compared to those do not. Moreover, risky jobs that require special skills and training are likely to pay higher than those requiring the same skills but are safe. Workers with the same qualifications may earn differently because of wage efficacies. For instance, employers may be forced to pay wage efficacies in situations were supervision is costly and when poor performance has detrimental effects on the organizations performance.

Other factors that contribute to wage differentials include union status, firm size and inequality. Work unions create a difference in wage earnings in different ways. Unions hold organizations responsible for compensating employer set-overtime, creation of a good working environment and specification of working hours. In the United States, discrimination on the basis of race is prevalent. This means that the demand for the Whites is higher than that of their Black counterparts with the same qualifications. In such a setting, whites are likely to be paid higher, and this creates wage differentials between people of different races holding the same position in the same organization. Literature indicates that big organizations are likely to pay higher wages compared to smaller ones. This is attributed to a high probability that large organizations are unionized and are more productive. Higher productivity in large organizations is because of more training, availability of working capital and employees’ ability to work with minimum supervision (Charles & Medof, 243). Another explanation for the higher wages is bureaucracy, location in metropolitan areas and high operation profits that increase the employees’ bargaining power.

The labor force is composed of workers that possess different human capital and wage aspects. Workers in possession of the same attributes consider different nonwage factors before taking an opportunity. Moreover, the labor market is made up different subgroups that classify workers according to preferences and qualifications. Workers in different subgroups offer little or no competition to one another in the chase for available job opportunities. The market generates similar wages for people in the same subgroups. Wage differentials are also influenced by the information available in the labor market.

Chapter 9
Changes in economic circumstances force employers to make adjustments through hiring, giving transfers, laying-off staff, closing or opening up new facilities or localization. These changes create labor movement for staff and firms in terms of space and requirements. Research indicates that labor movement is closely related to wage differentials. Mobility in the labor market leads to movement of workers to opportunities that hold a higher social status. Employment mobility can involve movement from one organization to another in a similar occupation, change of occupation, geographical movement and geographical movement a long with occupational change.

Research indicates that migration is a form of investment in human capital. Migration prompts workers to sacrifice their current opportunity, incurring higher commuting costs for a better pay. Individuals contemplating migrating consider factors like transport costs, income, detachment from family and friends, loss of pension benefits and seniority in the former organization. In the United States, job mobility is influenced by factors like age, employment trends, education and training, compensation and benefits, gender and ethnicity and self employment. Individuals choose to migrate if the associated benefits are higher in the present investment.

Besides the earnings, workers migration is influenced by factors like age, education, distance, family circumstances and unemployment. According to migration Studies, workers migration probability decreases with an increase in age. This is attributed to the short investment period at their disposal to recover their investment costs. Older employees are highly experienced and thus have a high value of human capital to their current employers. The older people are likely to incur high transportation costs as compared to young people.

This is because the aged have amassed many possessions and are likely to lose seniority acquired through years of working in the present organization. Migration costs increase with an increase in family size. In the United States, studies show that individuals with high educational qualifications are likely to migrate. Highly qualified individuals look for employment in regional and national fronts. Distance discourages workers from moving because of transport costs and lack of information on the available opportunities on the other end. Unemployed people’s decision to move is fueled by ones probability to secure employment. Studies indicate that unemployed people are likely to move with their families than employed ones (Da Vanzo, 269).

Migration leads to allocative efficiency through necessitating movement of labor resources from a lower-valued environment to a higher valued one. If migration creates perfect competition and low costs, workers of a certain sub group are likely to continue migrating until equilibrium is attained in the marginal product of labor. Migration can have negative effects to the new environment and community. For example, establishment of industries in new locations can cause water pollution and unequal income distribution. Countries have policies and regulations governing immigration and emigration. According to the United States Department of Homeland Security (284), legal migrations in the country increased between 1970 and 1988. On the other hand, illegal migrations increased between 1989 and 1991. Illegal immigration in United States has raised employment competition, wage rate depression and financial strain on taxpayers through the need for social services.

Chapter 10
Historically, in the United States, unions are believed to have been born out of industrialization. In the preindustrial society, people were self-employed and worked as artisans, craftspeople and farmers. Industrialization pushed the self employed people to dependence on employment from factory owners. Production pressure and competition forced the employers to pay low wages, made them work for long hours with minimal amenities and employees did not have job security. As a response to this oppression in the industrialization era, employees formed unions to fight for their rights.

Research indicates that in 2008, only 16.1 million of 143 nonagricultural workers were affiliated to workers unions. The probability of a worker being in a union is related to industry and occupation, age, gender and race. Goods-producing industries are highly unionized as compared to service industries. The high unionization of the producing industries is because are publicly owned and capital intensive. Blue-collar job group is also highly unionized as compared to the white-collar ones. White-collar workers hold senior positions in their organizations. According to the current labor law, managers make the decisions many employees prefer seniority to unionism and white-collar employees have high wages. Currently, employees join unions by virtue of being employed in a certain organization.

Personal attributes like gender, age and race are important contributors in an individual’s probability of unionization. Men are likely to be in unions because of less representation of women in unionized occupations. Women mostly work in retail sales, service industry and in offices. Moreover, women attachment to the labor force is more temporary as compared to men. In the United States, the most unionized states include New York, California, Michigan, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is a federation of different national unions. AFL-CIO is a major political organ that promotes activities of organized labor in the United States. The organization’s objective is to formulate and support employees’ views from various society perspectives. Unions aim at organizing workers and negotiating collectively on their behalf. Union bargaining structures refer to the collective bargaining agreement among the stakeholders. Bargaining structures include single employee-plant bargaining whereby the union negotiates with a single organization.

Pattern bargaining involves negotiation with unions objective of imposing the agreements terms and conditions on all employees in the organization in question. Studies show that unionism is on the decline in the United States. This is attributed to structure and pattern of growth of the labor force. Moreover, employers have realized that unionism affects profits through enforcing compensation of workers. Unions can influence the employees wage package in a certain organization through controlling the availability of labor and bargaining for a pay rise. Strikes in organizations result from disagreement between workers and the union or the union and the firm’s management.

Works cited
William Even and David Macpherson, employer size and employer turn over. The role of pensions, “industrial and labor relations review”, July 1996, pp. 707 28
Thomas Buchmueller and Robert Valletta, The effect of employer-provided health insurance on worker mobility, “industrial and labor relations review, April 1996, pp439-55.
United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, Data from international comparisons of hourly compensation costs for production workers in manufacturing, 2007.
Barry Hirsh and David Macpherson, Union Membership and Earnings Data Book: compilations from the current population survey, 2009. Washington DC: Bureau of National Affairs, 2009
Charles Brown AND James Medof, “the employer-size wage effect”, journal of political economy 1989, pp 1027
Julie Da Vanzo, Does Unemployment Affect Migration? Evidence from micro data, “review of economics and statistics, November 1978, pp32-37
United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, employer for employee compensation, United States Department of Labor. News release 08 1802, September 2008

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Introduction
Research reveals that a company’s success largely depends on its capability to attract and retain customers towards its brands (M. Millens, 1996). It is always critical for a company’s survival that they retain their current customers by making them loyal their brand. Disney institute maintains a similar view towards brand loyalty. The focus of this paper is to offer a succinct critical review of the Disney’s incumbent brand loyalty program.

Components of the program
Brand loyalty model
The company employs an organization-wide commitment in its approach to ensure achievement of brand loyalty. In the Disney’s brand loyalty program, it is everyone’s commitment in the company to exemplify internal quality of service. The company believes that improving its quality of services is a key component in the loyalty profit chain. The company acknowledges improving the quality is a strategy with long-term financial benefits.

Building relationships
Disney’s brand loyalty recognizes the importance of establishing a good relationship with the customers. The company believes that the relationships and individual contacts that the consumers encounter with the business can either hurt or enhance the company’s success. According to Peter Clark, establishing a real lasting relationship based on relevance is a crucially important step in establishing brand loyalty (Clark, 2006).

Building repeat Business
The company believes that it keeping customers coming back is a vital element of sustaining brand loyalty. The company acknowledges in its brand loyalty program that it costs a lot more to obtain new customers than retaining current customers. Therefore, as part of its brand loyalty schemes, the company values the essentiality of delivering superior quality and developing lasting relationships with the customers.

Sustainable competitive advantage
The Disney’s brand loyalty program focuses on establishing a lasting brand with the capability of setting up a competitive advantage over its competitors. The program acknowledges the sustainability of such a competitive advantage is crucial for maintenance of brand loyalty.
Viability of the program
Disney’s recognition of the importance of nurturing a consistent brand allows the company to develop and sustain lifelong relationships with its customers, gives it higher chances of success. The program highlights the company’s ambition to work hard in sustaining customer relations, continually expanding their products and services while maintaining integrity as one of the world’s most recognized brand. Perhaps it is the recognition of the emotional connection that customers hold towards brands and products, and most importantly the respect and cultivation of this relationship that enhances the success of the program. The consistency established by the Disney Company in delivering superior quality products and the enhancing emotional connection towards the company’s brand serves to enhance the success of the program.

Strengths and weaknesses
The strength of the program lies in the talented management team and the loyalty of the brand. Disney is one of the few global brands that can boast of a kind of passion and loyalty that span generations of Disney fans. The company has persistently provided family entertainment while maintaining a worldwide appeal.
Weaknesses to the program are the immeasurability of the target of the program. The lack of a measurement technique of the achievements from the implementation of the program provides a leeway for failure. Another weakness is that the program does not result into immediate results to the company, besides, the lack of measurement scale of the effectiveness of the program in terms of output.

Recommendation
The company should incorporate a loyalty reward scheme, which will reward the loyal customers and enhance the company’s move to retain its customers. The company should enhance the degree of differentiation in its loyalty program in order to set its brand apart. In addition, the company can enhance the success of its program by increasing the degree of integration in the program.

References
Clark, P. (2006, march). The 30 major factors behind a successful customer loyalty programme.
Retrieved February 08, 2013, from The Wise Marketer:
http://www.thewisemarketer.com/features/read.asp?id=89
M. Millens, M. D. (1996). A Review of Brand-Loyalty Measures in Marketing. Tijdschrift voor
Econoniie en Management Vol. XLI, 507.

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Running Head: A Critique of Disney’s brand loyalty program 1

International Organization

(Word Count: 1916)
Descriptions of an International Organization
An Organization is a creation of ideas aimed at addressing real world issues affecting real people. These ideas, functions, operations and addressed issues should neither be bureaucratic nor unequally effected and implemented. An international organization should therefore comprise of different and diverse people from States across the world. This is because, with their different backgrounds; their objectives, goals, organization designs, structures, national interests, laws, human rights, freedom and development plans are also diverse.

Although implementing these diversities while designing an organization can be challenging, in creating our own organization which deals with widgets and schmmee production, we focused on one main agenda; benefiting from diversity (Martha 1993, p. 566). We therefore decided to name it SACUS a name we retrieved from member State initials; South Africa, China and United States. It aims at expanding the growth and development of current luxury markets by providing widgets and schmmee products at affordable prices while preserving and conserving the environment especially tropical and forested and wildlife habitat areas. Therefore, our organization comprises of three States endowed with the raw materials and resources required in widgets and schmmee production processes

.
Organization Outline
The organization mission aims at promoting luxury markets through provision of safe products while maintaining safe environments in each State. As a result, organizational requirements include; maintaining and improving diplomatic peace by upholding legitimate international, civil and military laws, offering employment opportunities to State citizens and closely monitoring the implemented agreement among comprising States. SACUS’s targets on the other hand include; reducing deforestation by promoting forestation and reforestation in member States, preserving wildlife habitat areas, conserving the environment, expanding production qualities and quantities and concealing our raw materials and resources. SACUS’s policy therefore is ‘Improving Legal Luxury Markets and Conserving the Environment’.

Membership
Our organization has three major member States; South Africa, China and United States. We came together in December 2012 after recognizing how the current widget and schmmee producers had created a business opportunity and loop in the market through loss of wildlife habitats and deforestation. We decided to include States from developed and developing continents in order to foster growth and progress of Luxury markets across the world.

Decision Making Procedures
While establishing our SACUS organization, we chose United Nations as our model organization. This is because; it has successfully been in existence for a long period of time in delivering its services across the world. We therefore concluded that, by forming an organization with a similar outline, decision making procedures and other factors determining the success and continuance of SACUS organization, we had to research further on United States. From our research, we realized that, all United Nation member States vote while making decisions (The Economist 2013, p. 47). Therefore, we decided to settle on a similar voting procedure so as to avoid conflict of interests and unnecessary heated debates prolonging the decision and policy making procedure. Since our organizational functions are also large and diverse, we required to form an executive council which oversees the decision and policy making procedure just like UN’s Secretary Council (The Economist 2013, p. 51).

SACUS executive council however comprises of three executive members from each State and twenty one secretarial representatives. Each State therefore is represented by three secretariats who are tasked to oversee that, each of the State civil laws, democratic policies, civil laws and other factors that are different among the three are neither violated nor disregarded. Therefore, our executive council is tasked in exercising regulatory and legislative powers during the decision making procedures.

Organization Obligations, Norms and Principles
SACUS is obliged to preserve and conserve the environment, increase production of widgets and schmmee, increase profits and revenues earned, provide employment, uphold social corporate responsibilities in each State and improve States’ economic, social and political status. From these obligations, SACUS norms derived include; observing, respecting, complying and upholding international laws, maintaining peace and security domestically and internationally, establishing friendly and conformed relationships based on international judicial laws, respecting cultural heritages, social and human rights, laws and fundamental freedoms while harmonizing our activities, policies, decisions and goals. SACUS principles on the other hand are; maintaining sovereignty, equality, acting in good faith in order to achieve our obligations, settling disputes and conflicts peacefully and justly and, no application of force, threats or disrespecting State integrity and political independence in achieving our organization purposes (Martha 1993, p.576).

Comparing SACUS Analogies with United Nations
We designed SACUS to include an Executive Council similar to UN’s Security Council. This is because; this organization has existed and presented several achievements across the world by working with other different agencies and organization. We therefore believed that through our own council, we can relate with SACUS departments, agencies and branches cohesively despite of the diverse subsidiary bodies, military requirements, organizational programs and functions. Thus, through working in a similar way as United Nations based on the article ‘An Impossible Hybrid; The Structure of the United Nations’, we realized we can achieve a similar and a future larger capacity of success stories if we are devoted to SACUS organizational systems, structures, norms, principles and functions as United Nations is ardent to its own (The Economist 2013, p. 135).

Organization Theoretical Insights
Based on realism theory, realists describe an international organization as a platform where nations seize advantageous opportunities against each other. It argues that, daily lives are a struggle of power and authority among people, institutions, systems and nations in order to achieve the top position. Therefore, international organizations continuously compete for power, peace and security. However, these nations can be involved in wars and conflicts as there is always a limit to the competition which cannot be eliminated. Therefore, realists do not believe in a world where international organization among States can exist in a peaceful platform without competition (John 2013, p. 33).

Based on realism theory five assumptions; anarchy, possession of offensive military powers, uncertainty of States’ and International Organizational intentions, survival is their main motivating factor and they thrive through strategic thoughts in order to remain relevant, we can clearly state that, neither SACUS nor our model the United Nations can fall under realists descriptions. SACUS creation is unified in achieving organization mission, targets, vision and goals. This is because; organization member States share common intentions. Although markets survive through competition, realists’ arguments can be termed as baseless. This is supported through the United Nations case study since the organization never been involved in neither conflicts nor wars. Rather, United Nations has expanded by establishing and opening other programs and agencies aimed at improving world peace, security and living standards (John 2013, p. 37).

Liberalism theory is mainly concerned with issues based on State’s cooperative and peaceful procedures. This theory implies that, international politics which are a major concern during policy and decision making procedures are rebellious to a society orders. From this theory, the main actors include; Non-Government Organizations, international institutions and States among others. This theory argues that, for international organizations to survive, they ought to incur costs in order to improve efficiencies, gain a good reputation, avoid sanctions and achieve individual democratic rights. With regard to SACUS, although we incurred similar costs, some were based on a short term basis such as reputation costs. We however wanted to achieve our benefits for a long time, thus, our sanction costs were not only high but they were also on a long term basis. In order to achieve democracy, we applied judicial rules and constitutional guidelines domestically and internationally. Through this, we were able to comply with individual governments as well as international laws (Paul 2002, p. 15).

Constructivists theory argues that, the identity of an international organization is based on their negotiation abilities while establishing their own interests and complying the laid out fundamental rights, laws, norms and principles. Based on all theories I have discussed above while describing SACUS, it is clear that this theory is more applicable. This is because, all member States agreed on the norms when establishing our SACUS’s domestic and international values. We therefore did not experience conflicts over the need and want to comply with all government and State laws, rules and fundamentals. This is because, we all agreed that disobeying and disregarding them would shame our young reputation in the market before we grow, develop and expand (Martha 1993, p. 578).

Provisions on Monitoring and Enforcement Procedures
Our major challenge and fear was on imposition of sanctions. This is because, imposed sanctions not only increase organization’s expenditure costs while attempting to eliminate them but they also reduce earned benefits in form of profits, a good reputation and operations in affected States. Although the amount of raw materials and monetary resources utilized when designing SACUS were high, we had to enforce them so as to achieve more encores.

SACUS therefore had to obey and respect provided compliance list with regard to provisions and monitoring procedures from each member state. This was therefore our major challenge as we lacked enough resources. We however comprehended that, disregarding these compliances would render us irrelevant in the market before we commenced our operations. Therefore, we outsourced human and capital resources in order to eliminate imposition of sanctions. Thus, the solutions were based on outsourcing, minimal expansion, reduced expenditures and respecting international fundamental requirements.

Safe and Legal Supplies of Schmmee and Widget Products
In order for United Nations to provide safe and legal services, it adopted the science policy (Martha 1993, 567).The current widget and schmmee qualities are manufactured from natural raw materials gathered form natural forests located in semi tropical areas. During raw material and resource gathering procedures, there are unsafe and illegal implications which affect supply especially of schmmee. In order to resolve this issue, SACUS has an advanced military technology aimed at reducing negative environmental impacts while guaranteeing steady supply of high quality and legal schmmee.

Effects of the Products to the Environment
Between the two products, schmmee seems to attribute to most of the negative environmental effects as it is harming the environment in various manufacturing processes. This is because, in order to create it, forests and wild habitat areas are being destroyed to gather raw materials, while supplying it, applied technology is illegal and destructive and finally, its utilization involves creation of land mines and weapons. Therefore, none of schmmee utilization measures are either preservative or conservative to the environment, society and economic status to all producer countries. Land mines encourage soil erosion and loss of soil nutrients required for agricultural activities. On the other hand, when creating the weapons, composition chemicals attribute to air and soil pollution thus, environmental degradation. Therefore, SACUS aims at resolving these environmental threats and risks posed by schmmee.

Threats of Illegal Scheme Trades on Security and Peace and Impacts of SPUDD on Development
Illegal schmmee products are utilized in manufacture of weapons. Thus, it is creating a threat to world peace and cohesion between the States involved in schmmee production and sale. Civil conflicts, encouraging rebels, wage wars, humanitarian crisis, violation of fundamental human rights and freedoms are therefore the major threats schmmee is posing to world States and the environment.

With regard to SPUDD development and its possible impacts on the environment and economy, the fact that it requires advanced military technology translates to military wars between countries unable to produce their own technologies. Therefore, SPUDD development should be enabled among all nations as a preventive measure against military wars and conflicts, mass production of weapons and occurrence of land mines.

Bibliography
John, M 2013, The False Promise of International Institutions, The MIT Press, International Security, 19(3)5-49.
Martha, F 1993 International Organizations as Teachers of Norms: The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization and Science Policy, The MIT Press, International Organization, 47(4)565-597.
Paul, C 2002, Attacking the Poor, New Left Review
The Economist 2013, An impossible hybrid: the structure of the United Nations, Foreign Affairs 82(5) 26-143.

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION 1

Reality Show Jersey Shore

Introduction
The existing debate regarding the effect of media in influencing the culture of individuals raises questions about the quality of programs aired in televisions. Televisions are the most common medium of family entertainment in various parts of the world. Individuals expect programs aired therein to be friendly to viewers of different ages, races, and social classes. Thus, inappropriate material is often banned from public viewing. However, there are still other programs with questionable material depending on their content. For instance, many folks are very obsessed with the reality show Jersey Shore and carefully follow each of its episodes. This is irrespective of the absurdity and obscenity of its content. The show represents the youth as irresponsible, careless, and immoral. The show’s cast does not lead a quality life since most of them do not have a particular occupation or ambition. This means that the youth do not need to worry about tomorrow or the future but rather they should focus on inappropriate behavior. This paper argues that Jersey Shore Show should not be aired on television because of the inappropriateness of its content and because it adds no value to the lives of the viewers.

Background
Jersey Shore is an American reality television series, aired for three years on MTV between December 2009 and December 2012. The show illustrates the daily lives of eight housemates – four male and four female – in some of the most well-liked vacation destinations, including the Jersey Shore, Miami Beach, and seaside Heights. Their love rotates around inappropriate drinking behaviors, endless conversations about sex, hooking up in some cases while half-naked and using filthy language (Ruscitti 1). I believe Jersey Shore show is inappropriate for family viewing. This is because it depicts age-inappropriate material that is likely to misguide young children and teenagers on important aspects of life. People in this age bracket are still forming an identity and their developing mind is gullible to outside influences. The media has a great influence on the youth, as they tend to choose their role models from among the television stars.

The characters in Jersey Shore all indulge in immoral acts and it would be terrible if the youth chose them as role models. Most of the cast members, for example Mike, can only teach the youth to idle around, engage in fights and unnecessary conflicts, and engage in promiscuous activities (Ruscitti 1). Thus, the show should not be aired on television. There are a number of reasons why this should be the case as discussed here in.

First, each of the eight cast members drinks too much and starts engaging in improper behaviors. Social drinking does not usually result in misbehaving. Encouraging the youth to misbehave under the pretext of alcohol use therefore goes against the society’s core values. As much as inappropriate conduct driven by the influence of alcohol is entertaining to adults watching, it has dire consequences with regard to the young audience. By watching the TV stars’ drinking and misbehaving, young people may start doing the same things to imitate their idols. This has long-term consequences for the lives of these young people, who may end up with wasted lives due to too much alcohol that prevents them from chasing their dreams. Further, it is misleading since the cast members are only acting while the youth will adopt the behavior in their lives.

Secondly, the Jersey Shore show seems to be blind to the serious effects of skin cancer due to their fanatical indoor skin tanning. This is sad, especially considering the large number of Americans suffering from skin cancer due to UV rays both from the sun and from bed tans (Schulman and Fisher 145). The Food and Drug administration (FDA) in the US reports that the use of tanning beds before the age of 35 increases skin cancer risk by 75% and their occasional use triples the chances. Thus, the fact that the show is promoting the use of tanning beds makes it inappropriate for television. It creates the false perception that the excessive use of tanning beds does not have any side effects on an individual. Jersey Shore is reality show and it should not use deceptive facts since viewers may not be able to differentiate between fact and fiction.

Thirdly, the cast members earn a lot of money as compared to most of the viewers. This also promotes the stupidity and inappropriate behavior that they depict, especially in the face of the youth who are finding it hard to find proper work. The show presents a fantastic world where people need not worry about work, money, or morals. Viewers use the show to escape to a world of fantasy in order to achieve utopia and protection from the world’s challenges. However, after the show is over, the viewers realize that the challenges are still there and they need to be handled. Thus, the show only compounds the problems by offering an inappropriate way of escaping problems such as drinking and indulging in sex. Most viewers do not even realize the effect of exposing their families to the Jersey Shore show until it is too late. Therefore, I do believe that reality shows and particularly this one is one of the worst examples of medium in presence.

Further, the sexual events in the show are risky and improper for the watching youth as they depict a wrong example by promoting promiscuity. For example, Mike engages in inappropriate sexual behaviors with multiple partners, such as oral and vaginal intercourse, and there is not a single incident where the members display safe sex measures like condoms to prevent sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). According to CDC (13), about half of all the HIV infections presently occur among people under the age of 25, and some of the behaviors associated with the spread include drinking sprees, intercourse with many partners, and lack of preventive measures such as condoms or abstinence. This clearly coincides with the age and behavior of the show’s cast members. The show under consideration does not mention or raise concerns on the severity and importance of sexual health. This has negative consequences, especially since the youth watching the series might find it okay to engage in unprotected and risky sexual activities because they watch others do it on TV and stay healthy afterwards (Brown, 43). This is inappropriate because studies also indicate that the rising number of teenage pregnancies and STDs are due to televised encouragement of sex.

Refutation
Opponents suppose that the show should be aired since it is entertaining. Laughter is good for the spirit and it helps individuals forget their worries, refresh and be more productive. They further argue that the show may not have dire consequences on individuals since it can work using the reverse psychology ideology. Here, viewers will be repulsed by their own inappropriate behaviors and choose better relationships. It can also help individuals realize if they are in negative relationships by depicting the characteristics of a bad relationship. Moreover, individuals have the liberty to watch or not watch the program. They can also choose to follow only the positive attributes of the show.

Counter-argument
However, the show exposes individuals to indecent behavior indiscriminately. This is wrong because studies like the Journal of Sex Research shows that there is a direct correlation between high-risk sexual behaviors and televised media (Brown 43). The purpose of the TV is to entertain the whole family, and, thus, it should only air appropriate material. Further, the entertainment argument does not hold water since there are several options for citizens concerning entertainment. The value of entertainment and the need to protect the right of citizens to information cannot be overemphasized. However, citizens can choose other entertainment forms from clean options rather than having to stick with inappropriate material. For instance, the Oprah show, hosted by Oprah Winfrey, is an entertaining reality show that does not encourage inappropriate actions. The main aim of the Oprah show is to help people deal with various challenges in their lives. This has a positive impact on the society as it can help people with similar problems know how to handle their problems. Thus, Oprah offers a solution to life’s problems, while Jersey Shore compounds the problems. This is especially significant since both shows are reality shows. Thus, it is possible to host a reality show that upholds the society’s moral principles.

Conclusion
Generally, the Jersey shore Show features a depiction that is contrary to societal moral values. It upholds inappropriate character traits such as heavy drinking, promiscuity, and idleness. Although individuals have the capacity to choose their actions, exposure to inappropriate material tends to influence the choices that people make. This is especially true for young people who do not yet understand the difference between right and wrong. Since the programs are aired on national televisions, these developing minds will assume that the behavior is acceptable. Thus, they will adopt such behavior, especially when there is no adequate guidance.

It is undeniable that the show is entertaining, but its entertainment ability comes with an expensive cost of eroding moral standards within the community. Young people only need to choose what to watch or not to watch, and what to adopt or not adopt after they have developed a sense of right and wrong. This will guarantee the possibility of preserving morality in the society. The negative consequences it has on the youth are far much more significant and critical than the entertainment it offers to the audience. These include developing rude attitudes, excessive drinking problems, and contracting sexually transmitted diseases. To avoid further promotion of the destructive behavior, it is important that the show TVs cancel and stop airing the show. It is also necessary to stop airing the program since it promotes the excessive use of bed tanning, which exposes individuals to skin cancer (Schulman and Fisher 1). Televisions should air only valuable show like the Oprah reality show instead.

Works Cited
Brown, Jane. “Mass Media influences on Sexuality.” Journal of Sex Research, 39(1):42-45, 2002.
This article provides an evidence-based analysis of the effect of mass media in changing the society’s perceptions towards sexuality matters.
“CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report, 2001;13-No. 2.
The centre for disease control and prevention is an international health organization. In this article, the organization presents facts concerning the prevalence of HIV/AIDS and other STDS among the youth. Further, it discusses the most common causes and preventive measures for these diseases.
Ruscitti, Keith. “Seaside Heights sees Good Times when MTV Show Returns.” McClatchy-Tribune Business News. 2010.
Keith Ruscitti analyses the Jersey Shore Show in the article published on the McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
Schulman, Joshua. and Fisher David. “Indoor Ultra-Violet Tanning and Skin Cancer: Health Risks and Opportunities.” Curr Opin Oncol 21(2): 144-149, 2009.

Schulman and Fisher seek to present facts about skin cancer and ultra-violet rays in this article.

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Integrated Marketing Channels (Article Review)

The article, Essay on the Scotch Whisky Industry focuses on ways by which the Scotch industry can develop strategic management of channels of distribution and Integrated Marketing Communications. Such integration of marketing channels allows for the development of a variety of ways that will see firms that distill Scotch whisky expand their markets and increase demands in the ever growing global economy whose needs keep fluctuating depending on the products available in the market, the governing rules and their competitors. The article concentrates on the contemporary marketing channels that Scotch whisky uses (Dow & Sungwoo, 2011). It also focuses on strategic implications on Integrated Marketing Communications if the industry uses advertising, sales promotion and other related tools as instruments of promoting its sales and building its customer base.

Integrated Market Communications aims at describing the nature and roles of marketing channels. It also explores how the integration of channels of communication can help in the improvement of channel efficiency (Kitchen, & Burgmann, 2011). To do so, the future of Scotch whisky channels depends on unexplored economies such as India. This is only possible when the thriving Indian whisky industry allows for proper competition with the assistance of the government on matters related to the reduction of tariffs. Such integration gives the industry a chance to understand the retailers, the networks of distribution including the possibility that the Indian market, if well captured, could be a great source of revenue (Dow & Sungwoo, 2011).

Integrated Marketing Communications is a process of the development of persuasive communication channels with customers and prospects over time (Kitchen, & Burgmann, 2011). To achieve this, the Scotch whisky industry and the firms that distill the beverage engage themselves in an entire spectrum of promotional tools. Previously, most of the promotional activities of Scotch whisky happened to ensure repeated purchase of the drink by the old and college educated individuals who were essentially the major buyers of the whisky. The restrictions by countries, such as the United States on whisky television adverts hindered the growth of a young generation of Scotch whisky drinkers. However, with the print media especially magazines and journals, such as Forbes, despite the drop in the population that reads, is still one of the best ways of advertising to the target customers of Scotch whisky (Dow & Sungwoo, 2011).

Integrated Market Communications channels, such as sales promotion, sponsorships and guerilla marketing campaigns are in use by the Scotch whisky industry as a way of rewarding loyal customers and illustrating lifestyle choices to consumers in the future. These tools, especially the guerrilla marketing campaign pay spokespeople representing Scotch whisky in a variety of social gatherings (Dow & Sungwoo, 2011). Despite all these efforts to maintain the close relationships with customers, there is a lack of measuring the establishment of these channels. Many marketing activities are not quantifiable making measurability a great problem and a primary concern of all marketing communication activity (Kitchen, & Burgmann, 2011).

Over the last 1500 years, Scotch whisky industry has experienced an evolution by way of consumption of its products and growth of the company. This has been possible through integration of marketing channels and embracing the current innovations in information technology and communication, especially the use of the Internet for information and marketing purposes (Dow & Sungwoo, 2011). The article, Essay on the Scotch Whisky Industry argues that the industry has been able to compete with its rivals on a level ground enabling the understanding of various economies and customers and the means by which on-premise and off- premise sales and promotions are possible to ensure the interests of the company are addressed (Dow & Sungwoo, 2011).

References
Dow, R., & Sungwoo, J. (2011). Strategic Management of Channels of Distribution and
Integrated Marketing Communication: Essay on the Scotch Whisky Indurstry. International Journal of Business & Social Science, 2(22), 108-113.
Kitchen, P., & Burgmann, I. (2011). Integrated Marketing Communication. Wiley International.
Wiem04001, 12-16.

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Running head: INTEGRATED MARKETING CHANNELS (ARTICLE REVIEW) 1

AL-ZUBARA

North Qatar is characterized by the archeology remains that are evident at the foot of the site and the whole site is referred to as al-Zubara. Many people have visited the site just to have a look at the indigenous features that the Qatar inhabitants have long identified with in their existence. The people who lived during the time when the al-Zubar was not an archeological site said that, the region had provided them with a lot of economic activities such as fishing. There are very many features that are described by the things that are evident in the site. The documentary film on al- Zubara expresses the exact features of the site in both oral and visual contents. It is captivating how the people are able to appreciate the existence of the archeological features saying that the Qatar citizens are proud that they can present the sources available to the museums for human viewing.

This site has definitely attracted many people, including students and other foreigners carrying out their research on geographical features (Carbonell 2011).
UNESCO has expressed an interest in the archeological site of Al-Zubara. In addition, the site is being excavated by university students and it would also be renovated to form Qatar premier Heritage Park. The purpose of this report is to recognize the AL-Zubara archeological site by considering the views of the people. Two sources would be used on this review. One would include the documentary film of Al-Zubar and the other will include an article by UNESCO on “Archaeological Site of al-Zubara town and its cultural Significance”. Thus, this report would review the contents brought out in the documentary film and the article by UNESCO.

The documentary film on Al-Zubara talks about the structures that are evident in the site and the anticipation of developing Qatar, and at the same time maintaining their cultural heritage. The Qatar region is characterized by the features that are evident in the site. In relation to this, the people would like to reform the site by constructing structures and at the same time maintaining the pride of their heritage which is based on their culture. The film represents several people who are seen working towards the development of the site. Several features are identified as the place is also recognized as a fishing site due to the nearness to a water body. The article is about Al-Zubara as an expressed interest of UNESCO. The UNESCO is geared towards establishing a park out of the Al-Zubara site. It is striving to take upon the responsibility of building up Al-Zubara and making it a site that would be visited every now and again.

It is therefore, their sincere hope that, the people of Qatar would accept their proposal as they are geared towards making the region developed and at the same time not interfering with their cultural heritage. This is possible since the people need to experience development and if the development would not interfere with their cultural values then, the construction of the Al-Zubara archeological site would be benefit the citizens if Qatar. According to UNESCO, the construction of structures with different identifications such as; religious, commercial, military, and public, among others would lead to the attraction of many people. The site would become a trading spot and this would subsequently improve the economic and social status of the Qatar people (UNESCO 2008).

The authors of both the film and the article are related in their views about the Al-Zubara archeological site. This is because; both of them have a positive mind about Al-Zubara archeological site. They believe that the renovation of the Al-Zubara archeological site would lead to the development of Qatar and preservation of the country’s cultural heritage. The film producer uses two people to explain the feelings they have towards the Al-Zubara archeological site. When the participants say their views, the producer seem to agree with them that the structures that represent the site should be kept considering renovation of e site and at the same time adhering to the cultural heritage of the Qatar people.

He says that it is important to acknowledge the culture of the Qatar people because it is the only identity that they have. The author goes ahead and recommends that the site should probably undergo renovation and everything should be worked out by keeping in mind the importance of culture. On another hand, the article that features the interest of UNESCO has the author explaining in detail the views of UNESCO in relation to Al-Zubara archeological site. The author is clear in his point of view as he says that, it would be good if the Al-Zubara archeological site was made an official site as it would be looked at as a very important and recognized site around the world. He does this by comparing it to the worlds’ largest sites such as; Qal’at Al-Bahrain, the World Heritage Site of which it was also a harbor of the ancient Dilmun

References
Carbonell I. (2011). Zubarah. Retrieved on 5th December, 2012 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYS5ac9ITZ0&feature=youtu.be
UNESCO. (2008). Archaeological site of Al-Zubarah town and its cultural landscape. Retrieved on 5th December, 2012 from http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5316/

AL-ZUBARA 4