Social Policy Essay Example for Free

Social Policy Essay Explain the meaning of the term ‘social policy’ and discuss how social policy is applied in practice, drawing upon the major milestones in the development of the British welfare state. For the purpose of this assignment I intend to discuss in great detail social policy and how it is applied in practice, using examples from mainly voluntary sectors. I will also discuss the introduction of the Beverage report in 1948 and Margaret Thatcher’s move to the new right approach in 1979 in regards to being the two major milestones within the development of the welfare state. Social Policy is a study of the social services and the welfare state, the welfare state being anything that helps people get back on their feet after hardship, this is not always in regards to money it can sometimes relate to resources. Social Policy it looks at socially constructed issues such as divorce, unemployment, crime and it aims to improve them by making positive changes. Social policy also looks at vulnerable people in society such as single parents, elderly people, disabled people and looks at ways in which they can be supported. Social policy is not always legislation it can be looked at more along the lines of trial and error, almost like guidelines or aims something to be worked towards achieving. It is not always effective depending on how beneficial or valuable it is and whether or not people choose to conform. Although most sociologist wouldn’t agree on social policy and the definitions may vary depending on whether the sociologist is left or right wing. Left wing approach supports social equality and discourages hierarchy, whilst looking out for and supporting disadvantaged individuals within society. In contrast to this is the right wing approach which accepts hierarchy and social inequalities, and views them as inevitable. It is very much a functionalist approach seeing hierarchy as necessary for society to function. Ways in which social policy is put into place are through projects such as The New Economic Foundation also known as the NEF they work with people within society as well as the government, businesses and academic sources to help improve society as a whole tackling all areas surrounding the nvironment, economy and society. NEF are an independent registered charity who are funded by, grants and donations, individual followers and earned income â€Å"Our individual supporters gave a total of ? 121,860 this year† (NEF, 2013). There is also David Cameron’s Big Society, which aims to concentrate on welfare being provided more through voluntary sectors rather than the state, this in turn aims to give communities more control over issues such as public service s, schools and housing. It also encourages and financially supports people working towards a better future, to enable them to improve their circumstances. â€Å"A strong, diverse, well-capitalised and sustainable social investment market in the UK, through which social sector organisations can access appropriate and affordable finance and support to grow their impact on society. † (Big society, 2013) There are believed to have been two major milestones in the development of the British welfare state, one of which was the implementation of The Beverage report in 1948, this was introduced by William Beveridge after the war to help maintain control. The Beveridge report was very much a left wing approach, based on and supported by social democracy, he had the idea that everybody needs to work together in order to reduce inequalities and believed it was the responsibility of the government to help and support citizens who needed it. He identified 5 social evils that needed to be overcome in order for society to function, Ignorance (education) , squalor (housing), want (need), idleness (unemployment) and finally disease (health) for the purpose of his assignment I will be concentrating on disease, this was combated by the introduction of the National Health Service, most commonly known as the NHS. This was introduced in 1948 and provided free healthcare for the state, it provided security from the cradle to the grave. The second of the major milestones was Margaret Thatcher’s move to the new right approach in 1979, as a conservative her approach was very much a right wing approach, she questioned the social democracy, she reduced welfare spending and she sold off council houses. Margaret Thatcher also challenged the method of delivering welfare. Social democracy which was favoured by the UK government following the war was based on the theory of John Keynes  and was implemented through the Beveridge report, this theory believed it was necessary for the government to intervene within the economy and thought society should work together to help each other, the strong supporting the weak. The new right theory which was dominant in 1979, supported the capitalist system and believed it was cable of providing wealth for everyone, they believe that the government should not intervene with the market system via taxes, or welfare as the market system makes sure prices and wages meet supply and demand ensuring employment for all. It sees the welfare state as being unnecessary and although it shouldn’t be eliminated entirely they believe it should follow a residual model, which is basically only the deserving poor should be given minimal benefits, thus making the rich richer and he poor poorer. Margaret Thatcher’s challenging attitude towards the delivery method of welfare introduced welfare pluralism, also known as mixed economy welfare, meaning that the welfare is not provided only by the state it is made up of 4 different sectors. Government agencies, which is the welfare state, advantages of this would be that there is very little chance of bankruptcy within this sector as the government can raise taxes to maintain welfare for those who require it, this way of providing welfare also ensures that only qualified individuals can work within this sector maintaining a high standard of care which can be equally distributed throughout the whole country, the disadvantages of this method of welfare are that specialist care such as elderly people is overlooked and it is possible that they would benefit more from voluntary care rather than the state, it creates higher taxes as people now have longer life expectancies and it can also create dependency upon the state giving people no motivation. Voluntary Organisations, which is charities this can be cheaper as volunteers and donations are used, and as previously discussed can attend to specific needs better than the state such as elderly, people suffering with HIV or dea ling with domestic abuse. Disadvantages of this are that if the charity fails to get funding the care may not be available long term, also due to funding welfare may not be distributed evenly across the country. In addition to this volunteers may lack qualifications and training. Private Sector, which is profit making companies because of their profit making nature the quality of care can often be better in the hopes to attract business, there is also more of an element of choice within this sector. Although like the voluntary sector if the business ends the service provided will be terminated, and the private sector is only really available to those with money. Informal Sector, this is where welfare is provided by the family. Although it promotes independence and saves the government money it is very much a New Right view upon which the care responsibilities fall on women and in some cases young children who are more often than not lacking in resources. As you can see Margaret Thatcher and William Beveridge had a huge impact on the development of the British welfare state, whether some would agree or disagree that all changes where positive they have never the less influenced the British society we live in today. Although there is still controversy in regards to certain aspects of the welfare state, recently there has been argument by Iain Duncan Smith, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in regards to pensioners and their benefits â€Å"Wealthy elderly people who do not need benefits to help with fuel bills, TV licences or free travel should return the money, the work and pensions secretary says. † (BBC, 2013). This has created huge controversy as people feel that after such a long time of paying into the system that they are deserving of these benefits and may also discourage people from paying into the system in future, this is a situation in which the trial and error of social policy would be applicable. Reference List: NEF. (2013). Who funds us. [Online]Available: http://www. neweconomics. org/pages/who-funds-us. [Accessed 10th May 2013]. Big Society Capital. (2013). OUR VISION AND MISSION. [Online] Available from: http://www. bigsocietycapital. com/our-vision-and-mission. [Accessed 10th May 2013]. BBC News UK. (2013). Iain Duncan Smith urges wealthy elderly to hand back benefits. [Online] Available from: http://www. bbc. co. uk/news/uk-22327335. [Accessed: 10th May 2013].

The Book Of Isaiah Theology Religion Essay

The Book Of Isaiah Theology Religion Essay The book of Isaiah can be divided into 2 sections; the judgment and the comfort. The first thirty nine chapters are about judgment and the rest is comfort. The book of Isaiah is about the prophet Isaiah and the visions he saw regarding Judah and Jerusalem. Isaiah was mainly called upon by God to prophesy to the people of the kingdom of Judah. Judah was experiencing some difficult times and was on the verge of being destroyed by Egypt and Assyria, but God showed them mercy and spared their life. The book of Isaiah paints a picture of Gods forthcoming judgment. The mighty man will become tinder and his work a spark; both will turn together, with no one to quench the fire (Isaiah 1:31), this shows how powerful Gods judgment is; it is going to come blazing down like a forest fire. The book of Isaiah also mentions that Isaiah also recognizes that our God is merciful, compassionate and gracious. According to the book of Isaiah, the great nation of Israel (Judah and Israel) was deaf as a be etle and blind as a bat when it came to Gods commands. The book of Isaiah, more so than other, emphasizes on Messiah and the salvation that follows him. One day, the Messiah will rule in righteousness and justice, a king will reign in righteousness and rulers will rule with justice (Isaiah 32:1). Peace and safety will be brought by the Messiah; through Him, Israel will be the light house and all the nations will look up to Israel. The book of Isaiah mainly focuses on the kingdom of Messiah on earth; it also says that Gods righteousness is entirely revealed during Messiahs reign. As an ambiguity, the book represents Messiah to be the one to suffer. Christ suffered in his body; arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin (1 Peter 4:1), the book of Isaiah also mentions that you can only be healed through his wound. Although God punishes sinners he also comforts them at the time of their trouble, for instance As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you (Isaiah 66:13) RESPONSE According to the first verse of the book of Isaiah, it was about the visions of Isaiah. If that was the case who is the author of the book; could it have been, Isaiah? Toward the end of the book, it describes the arrival of the Messiah and all the suffering he has to tolerate in order to wipe our sins clean. In order to fulfill all the prophecies in this book, the sovereign Lord organized every detail down to the crucifixion. All throughout the book of Isaiah, the main themes were the judgment and salvation of the people of Israel. From what I have noticed, the book of Isaiah is mentions a group of angels, called seraphim. It introduces the idea of heaven. The book also mentions Lucifer, an angel of god, the days before became the devil. One of Isaiahs prophecies was one that was truly remarkable; it was the prediction of the Persian king Cyrus and his life, were mentioned long before his birth. Isaiahs calling from god was mainly make the people of Judah and Jerusalem repent, and re turn to god as he is the judge, the jury, and the executioner. According to the book of Isaiah, Isaiahs job as a prophet was to deliver an important message; repent your sins to the God and that Salvation comes not from man but the God almighty. The first chapter in the book of Isaiah, God promises the people two things; the first for the people who are good, and the second for the sinners. Gods promise to the obedient one was you will eat from the best of the land (Isaiah 1:19) and to the disobedient people, you will be devoured by the sword (Isaiah 1:20). If you look at the Isaiahs prophecies; they were basically depictions of the life of Jesus Christ and his ministry. Why was the Northern Kingdom, Israel, being judged upon? What was Israel doing that made God so angry, that He decided to punish them for their sins? Why is the verse, For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still. (Isaiah 9:12, 17, 21; 10:4) repeated several times in the book of Isa iah? What does it signify? When I first started reading the book of Isaiah, one thing that I noticed is the fact that the book had 66 chapters and the first 39 chapter, the judgment, and the last 27 chapter, the coming of messiah and the salvation. Similarly, the Bible has 66 books divided into 39 books, the Old Testament, and 27 books, the New Testament. Are these numbers related to each other, if so does that symbolize anything? Something that needs to be further analyzed.

The Second World War (WWII) - Identities Honored :: World War 2 II Two

JOE FOSS PAGE Joe Foss was born in 1915 to a Norwegian-Scots family in South Dakota. He learned hunting and marksmanship at a young age. Joe Foss was inspired by Charles Lindbergh, especially after he saw Lindy at an airport near Sioux Falls. Five years later he watched a Marine squadron put on a dazzling exhibition, led by Capt. Clayton Jerome, future wartime Director of Marine Corps Aviation. In 1934, Joe began his college education in Sioux Falls, but he had to drop out to help his mother run the family farm. However he scraped up $65 for private flying lessons. Five years later he entered the University of South Dakota again and supported himself by waiting on tables. In his senior year he also completed a civilian pilot training program before he graduated with a Business degree in 1940. When he graduated he enlisted in the Marine Corps reserves as an aviation cadet. Seven months later, he earned his Marine wings at Pensacola and was commissioned a second lieutenant. For the next nine months he was a "plowback" flight instructor. He was at Pensacola when he was notified about Pearl Harbor, and since he was Officer of the Day, he was placed in charge of base security. Thus he prepared to defend Pensacola from Jap invaders, riding around the perimeter on a bicycle. He was then ordered to the aerial photographers school and assigned to a VMO-1, a photo reconnaissance squadron. But he insisted he wanted fighter pilot duty, even after being told he was to old at the age of 27. After lengthy lobbying with Aircraft Carrier Training Group, he learned all about the new F4F Wildcat, logging over 150 flight hours in June and July. When he finished training, he became executive officer of VMF-121. Three weeks later, he was on his way to the South Pacific, where Americans were fighting t change the momentum of the war. Arriving in the South Pacific, VMF-121 was loaded aboard the escort carrier Copahee. Joe Foss fits well into this book because he is an example of an ambiti ous leader and at this time of need thats what was very important. Joe Foss was one of the success stories of his age. He represented his generation well and is commended with a story in this book. GEORGE SHULTZ George Shultz was a man who accomplished many things in his life. He graduated from Princeton University in 1942 and recieved a B.

Ghost Story of Bloody Mary :: Ghost Stories Urban Legends

Bloody Mary I remember enacting an urban ritual with my friends back in middle school. Giggling and squealing, running in and out of the bathroom, not really believing but still terrified by the possibilities. It was less a story with a moral than it was just a sleepover prank. Needless to say I wasn’t surprised that when I asked a roommate to relate an urban legend to me over lunch one day that she chose that of â€Å"Bloody Mary." The storyteller is a 20 year old woman studying psychology at the University. She transferred to school after one semester at another college. She is of French descent and her parents speak French at home. She has conservative to moderate political beliefs and is Lutheran, although does not regularly attend religious services while she is at school. She is in a long distance relationship with her boyfriend of two years who is in the Navy and stationed at Virginia Beach. When prompted for a story she was initially hesitant but finally responded with, â€Å"‘Bloody Mary’, I guess.† You’re supposed to like, go into the bathroom in front of the mirror and turn around saying â€Å"Bloody Mary† three times. Then she’s supposed to come. I asked what happened after that and she replied with a mouthful of food, â€Å"She kills you.† This story was told; it seemed, with the assumption that I should know the story. As if it was more a matter of public knowledge than a personal story. This was an accurate assumption on her part as not only had I heard the story many times before, but I also found frequent references to it online. The narrative from my storyteller differed slightly from others I read online, be it the number of times â€Å"Bloody Mary† was chanted or supplementary actions that were or were not included, each story had slightly different elements. "Bloody Mary† is often confused with Mary I, the queen of England from 1553-1558 who restored Roman Catholicism to England, which resulted in many Protestants being burnt at the stake as heretics. While she was referred to as â€Å"Bloody Mary†, in very few variations is it the queen who appears in the bathroom mirror (Mikkelson & Mikkelson). Some stories identify Mary as a woman specific to the storyteller’s own community, such as a girl killed in a local car crash or other such tragic accident. In other cases Mary is just a woman of myth; an executed witch, a woman murdered on her wedding night, a mother who killed her children, some tragic or horrific figure that appears in a mirror upon being summoned (â€Å"Bloody Mary [person]†).

Essays --

Consequently, California higher education has increased in student fees in order to gain the amount of the state budget. Larry Gordon, Gale Holland, and Mitchell Landsberg, authors of the article â€Å"The California Fix,† have pointed out that CSU system has raised student fees by a total of 32% and is commanding 24 furlough days for all employees, including college presidents in 2009. Indeed, the UC system has a reduced freshman enrollment by 6% and hiking undergraduate fees by 9.3%. Then, Governor Jerry Brown has fund higher education but not enough. Laurel Rosenhall, author of the article â€Å"After Massive Cuts,† has revealed in 2010, state funding for CSU went up by more than 11% over in 2009 while UC moved up by more than 12%. In 2011, Brown decided to intend cutting $500 million each from the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) systems and another $400 million from a California Community College (CCC). Brown also has plans to ra ise fees on community colleges from $26-$36 a unit which means a full-time student would actually pay $1,080 per school year in fall 2011 (Rosenhall). According to Investment Weekly News, May 17, 2012, the California Student Aid Commission will resist to proposed Cal Grant cuts and the rearrangement of the Cal Grant Entitlement Program. The proposal of Cal Grant cuts will reduce college opportunity for students. This will affect the greatest free funding at the UC and CSU when the Governor’s proposal to eliminate Cal Grant which low income students cannot afford the rising cost of higher education. Michele Siqueriro, commissioner of the Campaigns for College Opportunity, explains that Cal Grant students whose family incomes are $50,000 a year for a family of four would lose t... ...ion in funding. However, California is struggling due to the economy so CSU will have to look for ways to modernize and educate students in difficult finaincal times (Dulaney). Although our parents thought the higher education system is the key to success, the budget cuts is causing the state and people to save money in California. Conversely, students are concern about the reductions that will extend the time it takes to gruaduate in four years. Most likely higher tuition is distressing many students to pay their student loans. For example, Dior Sweeney, a senior at UC Berkeley, has works two jobs while going to school, but he believes when he graduate that he will owe more than 20,000 student loans. He also worries about paying his tuition, rent, transportation, and food because the economy is effecting him to think that he will not get a job with a B.A. (Chea 7).

Kimberly Clark Proctor Gamble Diaper Wars Essay

Competition in the diaper industry raged on as Kimberly-Clark (KC) strived to stay ahead of its main competitor, Proctor and Gamble (P&G). By the end of 1989, KC’s Huggies controlled 32% of the market share—the highest of any single product competing in the diaper market. Now facing significant financial constraints, the leader in personal care products endeavored to create product improvements that would hold market share and outperform Proctor and Gamble’s Pampers. External Analysis One political force affecting KC and the diaper industry is Congress and eleven states introducing legislation taxing, regulating or banning the sale of disposable diapers. Because disposable diapers were not biodegradable, environmentalists were concerned about millions of diapers saturating landfills and possibly contaminating groundwater. Environmentalists lobbied for diapers to be taxed or banned to prevent further environmental degradation. If laws were passed taxing or banning disposable diapers, consumers would stop buying Huggies and resort back to cloth. Possible legal restrictions severely threatened the future of the disposable diaper. A second political factor affecting Kimberly-Clark and the diaper industry is ease of entry to European and Japanese markets. Neither Japan nor European countries imposed political sanctions and foreign regulations preventing KC from entering their markets. A final example of political/legal forces affecting the diaper industry and KC is P&G unlawfully monopolizing the diaper market and violating anti-trust laws. In 1989, Pampers (Proctor and Gamble’s premium diaper line) and Luv’s (Proctor and Gamble’s mid-price diapers) together controlled 49% of the diaper market. P&G’s violation of anti-trust laws could prevent KC from having an equal opportunity to gain market share and every percentage of market share lost would cost KC $6-10 million in profit. Because diapers accounted for 37% of Kimberly-Clark’s net income, P&G’s monopolization could significantly impact KC’s future. An economic factor affecting Kimberly-Clark and the diaper industry is the increase in disposable income by women working outside their homes. The increase in disposable income allows KC and its competitors to successfully sell disposable diapers at premium prices. There are several social/cultural forces affecting KC and the diaper industry, as previously mentioned, there was an increase in consumer activism. Environmentalists and environmentally concerned customers expressed concerns over disposable diapers’ potential health risks for sanitation workers and groundwater pollutants. Also, disposable diapers received harsh criticism for not being biodegradable. Landfills contained approximately 4-5.5 billion pounds of discarded diapers—nearly five percent of total volume. Environmentalists were determined to stop further pollution, which seemed inevitably detrimental to KC and other diaper manufacturers. Another social/cultural force was an aging population. Fortunately for KC, there is a positive relationship between the number of elderly persons and the need for incontinence products. According to statisticians, 31 million North Americans were over age 65 and 10% had incontinence issues. Because Kimberly-Clark has extensive knowledge in producing diapers, feminine products, toilet paper and other paper products, they could easily create diapers for adults. A third social/cultural force is the extended amount of time children spent in diapers. The diaper extension led KC to introduce Pull-Ups, which targeted toddlers being potty-trained. Other social/cultural forces include a decrease in family size and more mothers working outside the home (mentioned above). A technological force affecting Kimberly-Clark and the diaper industry was the introduction of super-thin technology. Super-thin technology was created by using polyacrylate, a powder crystal that absorbs 50 times its weight in liquid. The introduction of super-thin technology created more shelf space for Huggies and reduced shipping costs (more diapers fit in a truck). A second technological factor is industry spending on R&D. P&G and KC spent approximately $110 million annually on Research and Development. As previously mentioned, every percent of market share gained equals $6-10 million in profit. Kimberly-Clark and its competitors worked to create breakthrough inventions that would steal customers away from Proctor and Gamble. A third technological force affecting KC and the diaper industry is patent protection. Due to heightened competiveness in the industry, P&G and KC took strenuous efforts to protect their technology from competitors. KC and P&G were extremely suspicious of one another and frequently sued over use of proprietary technologies (gains from lawsuits were negligible). Some of the political/legal, economic, social/cultural and technological forces are similar in other parts of the world. For example, a social/cultural force in Japan and Western European countries is the changing role of women. Like North America, the number of Japanese and Western European women working outside the home increased. Unlike Western and Japanese women, Southern Europe had few mothers working outside the home. A social/cultural trend in Japan that is frequent diaper changes. Japanese parents change their children twice as often as North Americans. Also, Japanese avoided the use of non-biodegradable plastics. Forces that drive industry competition are threat of new entrants, rivalry among existing firms, threat of substitute products or services, bargaining power of buyers and bargaining power of suppliers. The most important forces are rivalry among existing firms and threat of new entrants. The five forces are discussed separately below. Some factors that affect the threat of new entrants are product differentiation, capital requirements, access to distribution channels and economies of scale. Kimberly-Clark sought to differentiate itself from competitors through extensive advertising. It used coupons, commercials and product placement to convince customers that Huggies are the best diapers. It used product placement by showing customers that even baby Elizabeth in â€Å"Baby Boom† wears Huggies diapers. Successful advertising campaigns created a high barrier of entry to new firms hoping to enter the market. Another factor that prevented new competition from entering the market is high capital requirement. The machines used to produce diapers cost between $2-4 million and were several feet long. New firms that lacked capital to purchase machines would automatically be barred from competition. Access to distribution channels also affected the threat of new entrants. Retailers created their own mid-priced/lower market diapers and were often reluctant to give shelf space to competing firms (in the mid/low price segment). Retailers’ ability to earn profit margins on their own products outweighed revenue from firms purchasing shelf space. A final factor that prevented new entrants is economies of scale. Large companies, such as KC and P&G, created similar products and could take advantage of existing distribution channels, resources and facilities. Overall, threat of new entrants in favorable. Factors affecting rivalry among existing firms include the number of competitors, rate of industry growth, capacity, fixed costs, product or service characteristics and height of exit barriers. The number of firms competing in the diaper industry is relatively low. P&G and KC are the only firms competing in the premium diaper market and control 81% of market share. Other firms and retailers compete in the lower price segment; however, they target a different audience than premium diaper manufacturers. A second factor contributing to rivalry among existing firms is rate of industry growth. Because birthrate is declining, there is little market share to be gained. Therefore, market share cannot be gained unless taken away from competitors. Rivalry among competition is unfavorable. A third factor affecting rivalry is capacity. Kimberly-Clark and its competitors must operate their plants at full capacity to lower unit costs. They also have regional plants in multiple locations to reduce transportation costs. Another factor affecting rivalry is the amount of fixed costs. Diapers are expensive to produce, market and sell, as previously mentioned, machines cost between $2-4 million. Height of exit barriers also influences rivalry. Exit barriers are low. Throughout Huggies’s existence, many firms have entered and left the diaper market. For example, Johnson & Johnson, Borden, Scott and International Paper all unsuccessfully created diapers. Some factors that contribute to threat of substitute products or services are cloth diapers and two piece diaper systems. Increased environmental concerns led some customers to choose to dress their babies in cloth diapers as opposed to disposable. Initially, cloth diapers were seen as more environmentally friendly do to their reusable nature. Cloth diapers posed a serious threat to disposable diapers until KC and P&G convinced customers that cloth was more detrimental to the environment (laundering cloth diapers created ten times more water pollution). Another substitute for disposable diapers is the two-piece diapers created by Fischer-Price and Gerber. Threat of substitute products or services is somewhat unfavorable for firms in the diaper industry. Bargaining power of buyers was influenced by the buyers’ ability to integrate backwards, margins from diaper sales and brand-names. Many of the retailers that sold Kimberly-Clark’s diapers also created their own lines sold at lower prices. Another factor contributing to the bargaining power of buyers is the low profit-margins retailers made off diaper sales. Over one-third of KC’s revenue came from diaper sales. Brand loyalty decreased the bargaining power of buyers. Parents with young children may only shop at places that sell the kind of diapers their baby wears. If the retailer chooses not to sell diapers, it could lose business. Bargaining power of buyers is unfavorable for the diaper industry. Bargaining power of suppliers is affected by inability to integrate forward and technology. As previously mentioned, super-thin technology was achieved by using polyacrylate. Unfortunately for KC and P&G, only one firm, Cellanese, had a license to make polyacrylate in the United States. Substitutes for polyacrylate were not readily available, so Kimberly-Clark and its competitors were dependent upon a single firm for super-thin technology. Cellanese had significant supplier power over its buyers. It could control price increases and business deals. Although Cellanese could make polyacrylate, they did not have the ability to integrate forward. Cellanese was a chemical firm and diaper production was not one of its competencies. Inability for supplier to integrate forward is favorable for KC. The bargaining power of suppliers is unfavorable for firms in the diaper industry. When evaluating the external environment, it is important for firms to recognize opportunities and threats. Some opportunities are a large un-served mid-price market, changing demographics and priorities of North American women, Japanese markets, expansion into Southern Europe, aging population and new technology. Threats include Japanese companies consider global expansion, rising environmental concerns, saturated disposable diaper market and declining birthrate. Each opportunity and threat’s application to Kimberly-Clark is described below. Seventy-five percent of new mothers in the 1980 are working outside the home. Families began to value time over money and were more willing to pay premium prices for quality diapers. Also, the decrease in family size increased the amount of money that could be spent on diapers. This is an opportunity because it allowed KC to successfully sell Huggies at premium prices. A third opportunity for Kimberly-Clark is Japanese markets. Selling Huggies in Japanese markets is an opportunity because they had not reached the same level of maturity as North American markets. Also, as previously mentioned, Japanese babies use twice as many diapers than Americans. The Japanese market was comparable in size to the North American market. Expansion into Southern Europe is an opportunity for growth due to the low penetration levels and unsophisticated competitors. In 1989, there was no large European industry leader. KC has the potential to become the leading diaper distributer in Europe if they execut e successful marketing campaigns. An aging population is an opportunity for KC to increase its incontinence product sales. Sales for 1990 were estimated to exceed $1 billion due to the increase in people over age 65. In the future, the incontinence market is projected to become more profitable than diapers. A final opportunity for Kimberly-Clark is new technology. Utilizing and taking advantage of new technology is an opportunity because it allows KC to outperform P&G and regain market share. A threat that affects Kimberly-Clark is Japanese companies consider global expansion. Japanese expanding globally would hurt KC because Japanese diaper technology is years ahead of North American. Japanese companies, specifically KAO and Unicharm, create biodegradable diapers. Due to recent environmental concerns, KC would lose market share to Japanese companies if they penetrate the North American market. Rising environmental concerns are a threat to Kimberly-Clark because environmentalists feared potential health risks for sanitation workers and ground water contamination. They were lobbying to ban disposable diapers and pushing for consumers to use cloth diapers instead. Kimberly-Clark could lose customers to environmentally-friendly diapers if they do not create a biodegradable diaper. Another threat to KC is a saturated disposable diaper market. A saturated disposable diaper market is a threat to KC due to little growth in the diaper industry. The only market share to be gained must be taken away from competitors. A final threat to KC and the diaper industry is the declining birthrate. A declining birthrate and decrease in family size is positively related to a decrease in diaper sales.

Huckleberry Finn Essay

Morality is what sets humans apart from the animal kingdom. We act on our beliefs, instead of our instincts, which perhaps makes us the flawed species. As humans, we all develop our own set of morals of which we use to make decisions in our day to day life. We use this moral compass to differentiate between right and wrong, but what we see as the right thing to do is not necessarily our own opinion, but societies. Adventures of Huckleberry finn by Mark Twain demonstrates that morality and society are one and the same. Huck has the opinions and morals of society constantly thrown in his face, and instead of giving into those values, he creates his own. Huck was raised without a mother, who provides an essential role in determining a child’s morals and beliefs. Huck’s motherless upbringing allowed him to develop morals of his own based on experience, not on hand-me-down morality. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn also shows us how stereotypes created by society influence the way we act towards others. Religion is definitely the largest component to determining one’s morality. Look more:  religion in huckleberry finn essay Religion literally lays out societies laws and values, and how can one argue with something when they believe their afterlife depends on it. These were not only issues that came up in our past, but in our present and most definitely our future. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn will always be relevant to society as long as humans walk the earth. By nature, humans desire to fit in with society and fear rejection. Huck teaches us that society isn’t always right, it is our individual opinions that should determine our actions, not what the general population believes. If there weren’t people to voice their opinions about the treatment of african americans, then we would still have slave to this very day. Also, if these lessons are not continually taught to future generations, history may one day repeat itself. Morals tend to get passed down from generation to generation. You raise your kids the way you parents did you, and their parent did for them. You teach them what you think is right and what you think is wrong, and that becomes their morals, â€Å"The Widow Douglas she took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize me† (Twain 3). Translation, â€Å"The Widow Douglas she took me for her son so she could brainwash me into believing her own set of morals. † The Widow took Huck into her home, not out of the goodness of her heart necessarily, but out of the desire to mold him into one of societies little clones. The moral compass we create in our own head is easily molded by outside influence, for Humans seem to have this compelling desire to fit in with the rest of the population. Huck grew up without a mother so he was essentially a â€Å"blank slate† that was able to develop his morals based on his own personal experiences, not those forced upon him, â€Å"Huck Finn, a motherless, isolated child who has neither well-developed cognitive skills nor solid perceptions of social reality, does in fact develop morally† (Altschuler 32). Hucks isolation from society, many would assume, would make Huck a rather immoral and almost barbarian like individual, but instead Huck is found to be more ethical than most of society at that time. Huck’s moral compass is relatively non judgmental. Despite his pre-programmed definition of a black person, he still be-friends Jim and goes well out of his way to help free him, risking his own life for a man that is just considered property. Huck, even when he thinks that he is making the wrong decision (though it would actually be considered a selfless and caring path), follows to the beat of his own ethical drum as opposed to that of societies. Huck exhibits what John Locke would consider genuine human nature. Huck is naturally selfless and caring for others, sometimes that faith in people gets him stuck with the wrong crowd (such as the King and Duke). The fact that Huck grew up isolated from society seems to have allowed Huck to develop a sense of morality unlike that of the rest of society. Hucks motherless childhood allowed Huck to become a true human being, not a carbon copy like everyone else. While Huck doesn’t have the same morals as the rest of society at that time, some stereotypes do rub off on him. When Huck first meets Jim, he thinks of him as just a slave, but as he gets to know him, he struggles with one side of him saying that Jim was property and the other telling him he is a friend. Jim was basically a manifestation of the inner battle of societies morals vs Hucks. Although he thinks Jim belongs to Miss Watson and that freeing him would cost him his afterlife, he still did it out of the friendship he and Jim shared. Huck actually says that Jim was white on the inside. While that does show that he still has a preconceived notion about slaves, it was still a revelation for Huck to discover that a slave could be more than just property. That is a lesson Huckleberry Finn teaches, that you cannot determine who or what someone is just by the the stereotypes that society labels different sexes, sexualities, religions, and races with. Everyone is an individual, â€Å"As ‘an agent of aggression— aggression against the self or against another,’ conscience deprives the individual of free choice and subject him or her to painful restraint† (Derwin 438). The preconceived notions about others is what causes prejudice in the first place. Twain shows that while someone appears to one simple being on the surface, they can actually be an entire spectrum of human emotion. Jim is first portrayed as a simple, uneducated slave, but when his friendship with Huck begins to flourish, Jim is shown as a caring friend that has suffered much throughout his life. Religion is the foundation of all cultures. It creates laws and morals, but also creates conflict and segregation. America was, and still is, founded on strong Christian beliefs. This is clearly illustrated by Twain as Huck has to make the decision between what he believes is right, and the Bible says (although, based on his actions, he seems to have better christian views than some of those teaching him about it). Huck many times tries to pray and follow the bible, and while he seems to believe in it, he accepts that he just wasn’t meant to pray and that the words just won’t come. When challenged between whether he should help free Jim or tell Miss watson, he chooses the â€Å"wicked† path which he believes will sent him to hell, just to help Jim, shows how selfless Huck really is, â€Å"Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company† (Mark Twain) Huck is literally willing to go to hell and reject everything he had been taught to believe in just to free a friend. This allows Huck to become a role model to students that are struggling between the religion that they have been raised into, and their own personal beliefs, giving them motivation to generate their own identity and their own values, initially becoming their own person. Adventures of Huckleberry finn clearly illustrates battles that go on between oneself and society everyday. It is frowned upon to disagree with the majority of society, or to reject the religious views of your community and/or family, and these are all topics that are addressed in Mark Twain’s novel. It seems that even Mark Twain disliked society and felt the need to write the nspirational story of Huckleberry Finn to encourage those who have different views or are just trying to fit in. â€Å"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect† (Mark Twain). Society is flawed. Mark Twain new this, and anyone with a reasonable head on their shoulders would agree. Twain uses Huck to show what pure human behavior is like. It is not just going with what everyone else believes, it is about you own morality. Being different while walking the halls can be a harsh four year sentence in high school. Students need to be encouraged to voice their opinions, and disagree. If we all had the same values then we wouldn’t be humans, we would be clones. Allowing Huckleberry Finn to be taught in school is allowing motivation and confidence (something that many students don’t have) to voice their opinions and stand up for their own â€Å"Jim†. Also teaching the effects racism and discrimination had on our country, to help prevent history from looping back on itself. Teaching Huckleberry Finn would hopefully create a ripple effect throughout the generations creating a country where voicing opinions isn’t frowned upon, and a place that is more accepting to those with different beliefs.