Human Disease Research Essays - Infectious Diseases, Epidemiology

Human Disease Research Human Disease IINTRODUCTION Human Disease, in medicine, any harmful change that interferes with the normal appearance, structure, or function of the body or any of its parts. Since time immemorial, disease has played a role in the history of societies. It has affected-and been affected by-economic conditions, wars, and natural disasters. Indeed, the impact of disease can be far greater than better-known calamities. An epidemic of influenza that swept the globe in 1918 killed between 20 million and 40 million people. Within a few months, more than 500,000 Americans died-more than were killed during World War I (1914-1918), World War II (1939-1945), the Korean War (1950-1953), and the Vietnam War (1959-1975) combined. Diseases have diverse causes, which can be classified into two broad groups: infectious and noninfectious. Infectious diseases can spread from one person to another and are caused by microscopic organisms that invade the body. Noninfectious diseases are not communicated from person to person and do not have, or are not known to involve, infectious agents. Some diseases, such as the common cold, are acute, coming on suddenly and lasting for no more than a few weeks. Other diseases, such as arthritis, are chronic, persisting for months or years, or recurring frequently. Every disease has certain characteristic effects on the body. Some of these effects, called symptoms and signs, include fever, inflammation, pain, fatigue, dizziness, nausea, and rashes, and are readily apparent to the patient. These symptoms offer important clues that help physicians and other health care professionals make a diagnosis. Many times, however, the symptoms point to several possible disorders. In those cases, doctors rely on medical tests, such as blood examinations and X rays, to confirm the diagnosis. The course of a disease-that is, the path it follows from onset to end-can vary tremendously, depending largely on the individual and the treatment he or she receives. For example, otherwise healthy people usually recover quickly from a bout of pneumonia if given proper treatment, whereas pneumonia often proves fatal to people with a weakened immune system and to those who do not receive prompt, effective treatment. Some diseases run a different course depending on the patient's age. Chicken pox, for instance, is usually mild in childhood but severe in adults. In the United States, only about 5 percent of chicken pox cases occur in people over the age of 20, but these cases account for 50 percent of all deaths from the disease. Scientists, public health officials, and other members of the medical community work diligently to try to prevent disease epidemics. The battle is constant and is fought on many fronts. There have been many victories. Once-devastating diseases such as smallpox and diphtheria have been virtually eradicated, and many other diseases that once conferred automatic death sentences can now be either cured or controlled. At the same time, however, new killers have emerged. Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and hantavirus pulmonary syndrome are among at least 30 diseases that have been identified by scientists since the early 1970s. Other growing challenges, particularly in the affluent societies of industrialized nations, are so-called diseases of choice, such as alcohol abuse, drug abuse, or obesity, that result from addictive behavior, poor eating habits, or insufficient exercise. Complicating matters further are societal changes. Increased international travel accelerates the spread of both new and old diseases: A person infected with an unusual virus on one continent can arrive-with the virus-on another continent in a matter of hours. Ships, planes, and trucks can transport disease-carrying organisms just as easily. In 1985 tires imported into Texas from Asia carried larvae of the Asian tiger mosquito, which is a carrier of dengue fever and other tropical diseases. Within five years, Asian tiger mosquitoes were living in 17 states. Changing dietary habits and the availability in local supermarkets of foods from all parts of the world contribute to an increase in food-borne illnesses. Some researchers worry that growing populations and the resulting crowded living conditions will increase the risk of epidemics. IIINFECTIOUS DISEASE Infectious diseases are caused by microscopic organisms commonly called germs. Physicians refer to these disease-causing organisms as pathogens. Pathogens that infect humans include a wide variety of bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoans, and parasitic worms. In addition, it has been

Kant Essays - Social Philosophy, Kantianism, Deontological Ethics

Kant Essays - Social Philosophy, Kantianism, Deontological Ethics Kant Kant starts off making two distinctions regarding kinds of knowledge, empirical/rational and formal/material. Empirical or experience-based knowledge is compared with rational knowledge, which is independent of experience. This distinction between empirical and rational knowledge rests on a difference in sources of evidence used to support the two different kinds of knowledge. Formal is compared with material knowledge. Formal knowledge has no specific subject matter; it is about the general format of thinking about any subject matter whatsoever. Material knowledge is of a specific subject matter, either nature or freedom. Rational knowledge is metaphysics, of which there are two branches, the metaphysics of nature and of morals. The metaphysics of nature is supposed to provide rational knowledge of the laws of nature. These are not empirical laws; they are more like universal principles of nature that any empirical physical would presuppose, such as that no event in nature occurs without a natural cause. The metaphysics of freedom is supposed to provide knowledge of the laws of freedom. These are the universal rules, which free agents form to govern them. Therefore, Kant's grounding, his initial attempt at a critique of rational reason, is an investigation of the possibility of purely rational knowledge of morals. Take, for example, the Moral Rule: Thou shall not lie. If the moral law is valid as the basis of moral obligation or duty, then it must be necessary. Kant using the word necessity means that the rule obligates or binds whatever the conditions or in all circumstances. It also means that the rule applies to all rational beings and not only to human beings. In this second sense we can say that the rule is universally binding. So in fact, moral rules are universal and necessary. If a moral rule is to be universal and necessary, the moral law must be derived from concepts of pure reason alone. Therefore, if a moral rule or law can only be derived from reason alone, there must be a pure moral philosophy whose task is to provide such a derivation. According to Kant good will and only a good will is intrinsically good. Kant distinguishes two different types of intrinsic or extrinsic goods. If a thing is only extrinsically good, then it is possible for that thing not to be good, or to be bad or evil. Intrinsic goodness is goodness in itself; if a thing is intrinsically good, its goodness is essential to it; and its goodness is not a function of factors other than itself. Kant holds that only a good will, not happiness, is intrinsically good. The idea that it is reason rather than natural impulse that guides action for the sake of happiness is false. Parts of a person perform their functions by surviving and this provides happiness for the person. Reason functions poorly in serving that purpose; instinct does better job. Natural instinct rather than reason provides better for happiness. Kant distinguishes between having a reason to act and acting for a reason. The motivating reason is the reason for which agent acts. A justifying reason is the reason that justifies, warrants, and provides the criterion of rightness for the action. The agent's motivating reason might or might not provide a justifying reason for his action. Kant then defines three types of motivating reasons. One type of non-moral motivation is natural motivation. Action in accord with duty is motivated by immediate or direct inclination. Direct inclination includes such motives as love, sympathy, instinct for self-preservation, or the desire for happiness. The other type of non-moral motivation is prudence. An action in agreement with duty, but motivated by prudence, is action motivated by the pursuit of self-interest or happiness. Since all human beings naturally desire happiness, prudential motivation is indirectly motivated by a natural motivation. Moral motivation is the third type of motivation. The action is not only in agreement with duty, but motivated by duty, done from duty, or for sake of duty. The agent's motivating reason, the reason for which he acts, is that the action is what morality demands and he wants above all to do what reason demands.

Spanish new paper article. Selling Mansion. 1 page or less Essay

Spanish new paper article. Selling Mansion. 1 page or less - Essay Example Las habitaciones està ¡n equipadas con muebles antiguos. Todas tienen chimeneas, armarios, cama, burà ³ con su silla, gaveteros, dos mesitas de noche, una silla de noche, là ¡mparas, espejos, televisià ³n, radio, cuadros, y plantas. Los tres servicios sanitarios està ¡n ubicados en cada piso de las habitaciones, son dos habitaciones por piso y el medio servicio sanitario ubicado en el sà ³tano. Los tres servicios sanitarios tienen su ducha, baà ±eras con jacuzzi, lavamanos, bacineta, espejos de pared, y armario. La cocina es amplia, tiene una amplia mesa en el centro de la cocina, tiene estufa, nevera de dos puertas verticales y una de ellas es el congelador, està ¡ equipada con platos, vasos, copas, utensilios, sartenes, cacerolas, tostadora, micro-ondas, batidora y plantas. La sala tiene su sofà ¡, sillas, mesa en el centro de forma rectangular, mesitas a los extremos del sofà ¡ y al lado de las sillas, là ¡mparas en cada mesa, là ¡mpara cristal colgada del techo, una chimenea, cuadros y plantas. El comedor tiene su mesa para sentar doce personas, un chinero, cuadros y plantas. El salà ³n de juegos tiene un billar, mesa para juegos de mesa para seis personas, una computadora y sus accesorios, sofà ¡ y sillas. El à ¡tico se usa para guardar artà ­culos. El sà ³tano lo ocupa la lavanderà ­a con una mà ¡quina de lavar, una secadora, un lavadero, y un colgadero. El cuarto de servicio de la servidumbre està ¡ en el sà ³tano y tiene su cama, mesitas de noche, gavetero, là ¡mparas, televisià ³n, radio, cuadros y

Describe in detail one developmental and one degenerative method of Essay

Describe in detail one developmental and one degenerative method of age determination in human skeletal remains. Then Describe i - Essay Example For example, some methods are more relevant to males and some to females. Actually, fforensic biology deals with various methods and techniques used for identification of age and sex of the skeletal remains. On the basis of the modern researches and studies it is evident that currently modern scientists are implementing the most accurate and efficient research methods in their studies. A field of forensic biology is not an exception and both degenerative and developmental methods, as well as their relevant application are considered further on. Part A Developmental method For example, such conditions as arthritis and osteoporosis can be prevalent in old age. Therefore, this type of conditions signifies old age of the remains of the skeleton. The age at death of a skeleton is the key feature in analysis of demographic characteristics of the skeleton. Age of dead individuals can be a key to their life, physical features, health, culture etc. Methods for age determination can depend on environment or a specific region. Widely-known methods, such as those used by Buikstra and Ubelaker’s and other researchers and scientists (1994) are focused on fusion of bone, which is a very important indicator. UK scientists and researchers underline the importance of dentition. Whereas Van der Merwe, Morris, Steyn, Maat underline that a special attention should be paid for fusion and degenerative features. These researchers pay their attention to the efficient and accurate practices and methods of age determination. Researchers and scientists are mainly dependent on microscopic determination of age. Age category determination depends on a certain community and its traditions of age determination. Scheuer and Black (2000) or Brickley and McKinley (2004) and many other modern researchers and scientists were focused on a detailed consideration about developmental osteology which is a very important resource for working and cooperation with infants or juveniles and their skel eton remains. Each skeletal element develops in accordance with its own scenario and each age stage. There are the following appropriate features and characteristics, which can be mentioned: â€Å"The complete fusion of all long-bone epiphyses, the eruption of the third molars, and fusion of the spheno-occipital synchondrosis (basilar suture) are all used as markers of adulthood† (Righter, 2002, p. 43). Developmental characteristics and methods are confirmed, because genetics and evolution can be identified in the process of developmental methods implementation. Bones, teeth and other features, which are appropriate for this method, are less sensitive to the environment. Age can be also determined in accordance with the following methods and techniques implemented: â€Å"For example, union of the mandible at the mandibular symphysis occurs between six and nine months, while development of the tympanic ring and its eventual fusion with the temporal bone, closure of the fontan elles, and fusion of the metopic suture all normally occur around two to three years of age† (Van der Merwe, Morris, Steyn, Maat). Therefore, developmental methods are mainly reliable on skeletal parts, which are less sensitive to the environment and many other external factors. Degenerative method From 20s the age of skeleton remains has been identified basing on the degenerative method. There were some changes in the

Air Asia Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Air Asia - Case Study Example However, they tend to value quality service, and are willing to pay for excellent service. On the other hand, Asians are less likely to concentrate on quality of service, and are willing to compromise quality service for a low price. Furthermore, people in the U.S. and Europe can use other forms of transport for short trips such as speed rail, bus etc. However, there are hardly any world class rails in Asia, and air travel remains the only option for many travelers. Some people in Asia might use bus, but the advent of budget airlines has made it cheaper for travelers to fly instead. Given today's economic climate, low-fare service would be a hit in any part of the world and the Gulf region is no exception. Although, the Gulf region has a good per capita income, lower and middle class travelers would nevertheless welcome low-fare service and it would definitely affect the large carriers in the Gulf Region. Q2: Air Asia is a budget airline which was on the verge of bankruptcy, but sprang up in 2001 to become the world's cheapest airline. Air Asia is a budget airline and succeeded in getting the lowest cost per kilometer of any airline. It was largely in part because of the declining demand for air travel and fleet purchases in the aftermath of 9/11. Thus, time was a key player in ensuring that Air Asia got the lowest cost structure possible. Furthermore, Air Asia also differentiated itself from other carriers by initiating ticketless travel. Under this new method, travelers had to book tickets online and there was no hassle to for travelers to go through agents. This made travel easy for the passengers and helped further in the reduction of distribution costs. However, Air Asia was similar to other carriers because all carriers of its type focused on low cost travel and targeted small business travelers. Moreover, Air Asia just like other carriers also offered only three types of fares. This was to stimulate demand for these carriers and attract travelers from major airlines like Malaysian Airlines. Q3: By reading the case study, I feel that Air Asia was wrong in its decision of Internet booking. Although this has been a viable option for many travelers, it has also meant that the airline is losing potential passengers who do not have access to the Internet. Air Asia is targeting relatives and small travelers and many might not have access to Internet. Furthermore, I also feel that expanding too much in a short period of time might have its disadvantages. Purchasing a lot of fleet might be a cause of concern given today's shifting business climate. It would be difficult to make monthly payments if uncertain conditions force demand to plunge. First, Air Asia came into the market at the right time. Just after the terrorist attacks of September 11, the aviation industry took an uncertain turn and there was a drop in demand. This caused the market for fleets to go down and leasing costs were reasonable, causing Air Asia to penetrate the market. Also, Air Asia expanded beyond national borders and grabbed the opportunity to serve neighboring countries. Moreover, Air A

Royal Mail To Change Its Business Plan And Strategies Business Essay

Royal Mail To Change Its Business Plan And Strategies Business Essay Royal Mail HRM Strategies an Overview (2005-2010) Abstract: The rapid growth in the Digital Communication applications such as internet, fax, email, online shopping, and the Postal Service Act (2000), liberalization of market, drives Royal Mail to change its business plan and strategies to survive in the current dynamic completive postal market and in a broader way its future business is uncertain. This essay aims to depict the Royal Mail Human Resource Management (HRM) policies and strategies, and mainly focused for the period of 2005-2010. It also covers how Royal Mail is dealing with competition from the new entrants, and how it handled the recent credit crunch and its impact on the Royal Mail business. Introduction: In recent times, this group has been confronting with various problems. The group reported loses for several quarters. So, the government had asked the postal regulatory body Postal Service Commission (Postcomm1) to liberalize the postal market. Initially, in 2003 license were allotted to private company to handle the bulk mail. In 2006, the markets were fully liberalized and the group loses its monopoly2 status. All the licensed operators were able to deliver mails to both the residential and business customers. Postal Service in the UK: 1 An Independent regulatory body set p up in the year 2000, to regulate the postal service in UK 2 A dominant player in the postal service market with full control over the market. 3 http://www.royalmail.com. In spite of the advancement in the communication methods like internet, email and other electronic messaging options, people are trusting on postal service for sending parcel and letters and particularly in elderly, disabled, and the low income groups, and the small business sectors. Every week the group serves 20 million customers3 through its network of around 12000 post office branches and deliver some 400 million parcels a year through general logistics systems and parcel force . The universal service and the uniform pricing are the two important attributes of the Royal Mail postal service. Based on these attributes only the Universal Service4 Obligation (USO) was formed. As per the USO, the cost of delivering the letter is same irrespective of the location. To regulate the postal service in the UK, the Postal Service Act was put in place with the Postcomm. The main task of the Postcomm includes, 4Delivery every working day to every premises regardless of price and location , some exceptional conditions permitted by UK and Europe Union law. 5 Handling with customers complaints in the postal services and monitoring the standards and quality of the services provided by the Royal Mail. . Grant license to other companies. . Provisioning the uniform pricing and universal service. . Controlling Royal Mail pricing strategy and its quality of services. . Advising the government on the development in the post services. To watch dog the Royal Mail quality services, an independent organization Post Watch 5 was formed to monitor and control the quality standards. Royal Mail Group History: Royal Mail was established by Henry VIII, in 1516 under a Master of Post . Royal Mail was available to public in1635, with postage being paid by the recipient. In 1660, Charles II officially established the General Post Office (GPO). Telegraph services was introduced in 1840 by Royal Mail, and in 1912 the group started the telephone service. Post code was introduced in 1959. In 1969, the GPO became a public corporation from its existing government department. The post office made acquisition and partnership with German parcel, Katipos and TNT post group to enter into international market. In 2000, the company reported losses and it continued for several quarters. In 2001, the post office was renamed Consignia. In 2002, Consignia was renamed as Royal Mail group plc. The Royal Mail Group lost its monopoly status when the 2006 liberalization was introduced. In 2007, government proposed to privatize the group but the election, change in the government and the recent financial turmoil is the key factors for the postponement of the proposal without any further date. Literature Review: Over the years, it is apparent that organizations are considering Human Resource Management policies as the key factor to succeed in the business. HR department is acting as a strategic business partner within the organization to make the effective strategic business and human resource policies to achieve the organization goals and objectives, rather than managing the employees and payroll, as was conventionally the case. Senior HR practitioners and experts are more in demand in the today s corporate world. Through the years, there is lot of organizational level studies and research across the business sectors manifested measurable relationship between the effective HR practices (recruitment and selection, performance appraisal, rewards and recognitions, training and development) and business performance. According to Mark Huselid (Huselid, 1995) seminal study related the adoption of HR practices across 968 US companies with their financial performance (controlling for performance in previous years) . HRM authors such as Becker and Huselid (Becker and Huselid, 2006) emphasize the need for HR strategy to be clearly linked to the business strategy and for the constituent HR Practices to operate in a joined-up way, this being seen as key in order for the strategy to be focused on what matters, avoid duplication and optimize outcomes . Therefore HR function has vital role in understanding the stakeholder s business goals, transforming those into commercial business perspective and identifying the challenges and opportunities from the employee s perspective and address them in their final approach. Combs, et al. (2006) aggregated 92 large scale studies conducted at the organizational level to produce a robust analysis across a large sample. This research revealed that on an average, having a progressive HR system (e.g. objective selection, training, appraisals, employee surveys, etc.) related to an average of 4% higher revenue per employee where five or six major HR practices were in place within an organization . Business Model: Royal Mail Group operates through its subsidiaries Royal Mail, Post Office Limited, General Logistics Systems (GLS) and Parcel force worldwide. Royal Mail is responsible for collecting and delivering the mail in the UK and handles around 71 millions of letters and packages to 28 million addresses in every working day, in line with its unique Universal Service Obligation (USO). Producing and Designing the stamps and, philatelic products are also taken care by Royal Mail. The Post Limited: It has national net work across the UK. Larger post offices in urban area were directly managed by the Post office limited and other branches are managed by franchise partners. General Logistic Systems: Royal Mail acquired the General Logistic Systems in 1999 to enter into the European parcel market. GLS was market leader in the integration parcel distribution and express customer service in the European market. Parcelforce Worldwide: Parcelforce Worldwide is responsible for collecting and delivering the parcel and express packages throughout the world and in the UK for both the individual and business customers. Royal Mail Competition and Challenges: Royal mail is facing tough competition in postal market after the full liberalization act, and in particularly express package business. Its main competitors6 in the package delivery market are world net, Deutsche Post, TNT, UPS, and other airline which provide express package services. Most of its key competitors such as UPS, Deutsche Post, and TNT have large scale of operations, which could put Royal Mail at a competitive disadvantage . 6 http://www.datamonitor.com Though the letter market is declining due to the digital communication advancements, Royal Mail s profitability and efficiency is vital for the future of the UK postal sector and it also plays a major role in the UK economy and providing and safeguarding millions of jobs in the recent financial down turn, where as all other public and private sector firms are reducing its work force in large numbers.. But Royal Mail faces a lot of challenges. The group has been reporting looses for several quarters, and its pension deficit is widening; Modernization process is being very slow and also the tough competition from the new entrants in the domestic and European markets are constantly increasing. The culture change is one of the biggest challenges Royal Mail has been facing from quite some time. It required consistent high quality delivery from everyone in the company, value for money. According to, Adam Crozier7, Royal Mail must have the freedom and flexibility to set the right prices, based on real costs. If that happens, I think the new competitive environment will succeed. Competitors are already targeting profitable business mail. We need to compete with them on price as well as service if we are to keep the universal service8 in business . Improving the Customer Service: One of the main objectives for the Royal Mail was to reach everyone, everywhere, more than any other business in the UK through its mail, post office, and parcel and package business services . There were many complaints from customers about loss of letters but after working with Post Watch, the quality and service standards were improved when compared to the previous years. Price is the predominate factor in the competition. New entrants are providing higher value services with the modern technologies. Royal Mail has to offer high standard services to the customers. IT Initiatives: 7 The CEO Of Royal mail (2003-2010(June) ) 8 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4274335. To modernize its services and operations, Royal Mail streamlined its IT departments in collaboration with BT and Xansa. Royal Mail web based customers are growing vastly, so to improve the communication with online users. Royal Mail has also implemented the SAP 9Software to main its sales order and other process. As part its IT initiatives the group introduced the recruitment and employment process through online. Financial Crisis Impact on Royal Mail: 9 SAP Systems, Application and Products in data processing. ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software to automate the customer and payment details . 10 Royal Mail Holdings plc Annual Report and Financial Statements for the period 0f 2009-2010 Royal mail made good progress in (2008-2010), when compare on the previous year records. Due to the subprime mortgage crisis, all the major economies are suffering from the so- called credit crunch. Royal mail made profit, despite when the world economy in downturn and the mail market is declining in UK and in all part of the globe. Due to the weak global market conditions, the group revenue dipped to 9,349 million 10in first time in a decade, but all it is four business groups (mail, post office, GLS, parcel force worldwide) made in profits through their pricing strategy and good customer service. Royal Mail implemented modernization and efficiency measures to automate the mail processing and the agreement the made with Communication Workers Union (CWU) also made positive impact among its employees. Business unit performance External Revenue Operating profit/Loss* M M 2010 2009 2008 2010 2009 2008 Royal Mail Letters GLS Parcelforce Worldwide Post Office Limited Other businesses Group 6,564 6,707 6,830 121 58 (3) 1,487 1,495 1,232 112 124 114 399 399 379 17 12 8 838 908 911 72 41 (34) 61 51 36 82 86 77 9,349 9,560 9,179 404 321 162 Source: Royal mail financial repots Royal Mail HR Approach and Strategies: To modernize the organization and create world class HR function, McCarthy 11 was appointed as the director in 2003. According to him, there was lack in coherent HR strategy which was characterized by disparate spread of HR professional across the group . The group spent most of its cost on employment. Royal Mail reduced its HR employee strength from 3700 to 2400 and saved 57 million in two years span. There were only few HR specialists and experts in the entire organization. The HR functions were separated and payroll was the only centralization team. Profitability, Modernization, Efficiency and Employee Relationship are the key words for success of any public limited company. Developing the good HR frame work and strategy are vital for the public limited organization like Royal Mail to sustain in the today s globalized competitive postal market. Due to the advancement in the technologies, communication industry changed quickly. Internet, fax and other electronic options are dominating the traditional letters. Managing the huge work force and trade union royal are the challenging task for Royal Mail, in particular to the HR Managers. With strong HR strategic plans and polices, Royal Mail can handle their workforce effectively. Royal Mail HR Metrics: 11Royal Mail HR director(2005), http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2005/01/25 . People Strategies . Organizational Development . Shared Services The main goal of the HR team is to build strong HR strategies and polices to manage and retain the human resources. It includes Recruitment and Selection, Learning, Career development, Rewards and Recognition. Organizational Development and effectiveness are the main objectives to provide the zero tolerance work place and working closely with the business partners and HR directors. The training team conducts the leadership, personal and career development programs to improve the leadership qualities and other work related trainings. Royal Mail s people strategy key areas: . Creating meaningful, challenging jobs with flexible working structure; . Treating customers with value and respect; . Building the organization to improve and respond according to the changes in the market and environment; . Recruiting and developing the core potentialities to prosper in the open competitive market; . Recruiting and developing the leadership capabilities to deliver the goals and to retain the talent to contend successfully. Royal Mail HR Practices: Recruitment and Selection: Royal mail follows equal opportunity as an employer. Employment practices are based on regardless of age, sex, disability, race, color, religion, and sexual orientation. Royal Mail employs diverse mix of people who reflect the communities where we live and work. At Royal mail, selection and recruitment goes on for both the experienced professionals and fresh graduates. Different type of jobs are available; permanent, part-time, apprenticeship, and seasonal (Christmas) jobs. Training and Development: Royal Mail believes in training and development. So, the training team organizes various training programs for their employees which includes from starting induction training to the customized individual training suits12 through the on job training, mentoring, e- learning, and coaching. Major training programs provided by Royal Mail are 12 http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/content1?catId=24400706mediaId=24400710 . Information Technology . Health Safety . Communication Skills . Performance Management . Project Management . Leadership Skills The group also has self learning centers where employees can utilize different packages according to their needs, and Royal Mail is having partnership and link with different local institutes to improve the skills of their employees; with various external trainings. Compensation and Benefits: Royal Mail offers compensation package based on the employees skills and experience. To attract the skilled employees, Royal Mail offers good compensation package based on the type of the employment status like full time or part time, and Permanent or contract. Royal Mail offers the following benefits to all the employees based on their employment type.13 13 http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/content1?catId=24500655mediaId=16000174 14 http://www.ocp.co.uk/_Attachments/Re http://www.ocp.co.uk/_Attachments/Resources . Health and Welfare . Holiday Entitlement . Basic pay/allowance . Pension . Time Out . Benefits /discounts/ ongoing discounts . Support for Disabled Applicants Performance Management: Performance Management is an effective method to analyze the employees potential and capabilities, if it is properly implemented. Measuring the performance of the employee is an indicator of the success of the organization. Royal mail introduces new performance management practices14. The objectives of the programs were to: 1.introduce a set of common validated numerical indicators which had been standardized for similar units/businesses. 2. Apply the Pareto principle and exception reporting. 3. Create a focus on looking forward, forecasting improvements (rather than a backward-looking blame culture) . Work life Balance (Flexible working): Royal Mail is offering the flexible working option. This includes where employees are allowed to work from home for their personal commitments, leaving early for the child care and compensating the time as per the business needs. It generally gives moral support to the employees and the best way to recruit and retain the talent resources which in turn improve the productivity. Corporate Social Responsibility: Royal Mail strongly believes in serving to society. Royal Mail and its employees play important role in serving to the community. Royal Mail s ambition is to become the leading organization in corporate responsibility is a priority of our Chief Executive and every one of our Managing Directors . Employees also fund to the good cause via their payroll regularly. Royal Mail also takes part in controlling the climate change using renewable source electricity to make the environment green. It raised 1.8 million15 via charitable donations in 2009. As a leader in corporate social responsibility initiatives, the group won the following awards in the last two years. BITC Example of Excellence (Healthy Workplace Award) 2009 Shortlisted for Personnel Today Awards2009 Award for Health at Work Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents Awards 2009 Gold Award, Safety Institute of Fundraising Awards 2008 Winner, Best Use of Payroll Giving Award Winner Quality in Print Media Environmental Award, Quality in Print Awards 2008 . Findings and Suggestions: 15 ww.royalmailgroup.com/portal/rmg/content1 . Prioritizing the HR strategy according to the key business goals and objectives. . Identifying the challenges and opportunities to moving ahead. . Develop and define the HR strategy backed by strong analysis with good HR metrics. . Reviewing the defined strategies and approaches with stake holders and business partners. . Finalize the HR polices and strategies. . Building the right-sized productive work force to achieve the business goals. . Automate and standardize the mail process with modern technologies and equipments to compete in the business market with skilled and efficiency workforce where the market and environment is changing rapidly. . Analyzing the data with help of employee and customer satisfaction survey, opinion pool and feedback data. Understanding the external market environment and competitor strategies is important while framing the HR policy. HR metrics will vary with each organization depending upon their vision and mission statements. Metrics should be cover the organization goals, rather than following the best industry practice. Stakeholders and business partners should be engaged while framing the strategy, to make the strategy effective. Conclusion: Due to the advancement in digital technologies and internet, the postal industry and market is changing quickly. Mailing market is declining and online shopping and other commercial activities through internet are growing speedily. So, Royal Mail has to modernize and restructure their business strategies to survive in the liberalized competitive market place. As many studies, research, and survives demonstrated the strong relationship between the good HR strategic policy and the business performance. So, Royal Mail has to develop the strong HR policies and strategies to streamline the HR practice to achieve the organizational objectives and goals. Implementing the effective HR strategies in public organization like Royal Mail is very challenging task for HR mangers and, where trade union and pension problems are widening year by year. The strong determination from the HR mangers, top management, regulatory bodies, and the government can help the Royal Mail to implement the HR and business strategies to shape the UK postal industry and economy and in particularly in the current economic crisis condition where unemployment is already in peak.

Abortion is Unethical Essay -- The Right to Life, Pro-Life Essays

Abortion is Unethical The Center for Bioethical Reform states that on lifetime average there will be one abortion per woman in the world. This makes abortion a very relative point of ethical discussion. According to the World Resources Institute there are about 3,155,945 females world-wide, and if you used crude mathematics to make a rough estimate you would have potentially 3,155,945 lost lives. We can no longer ignore an issue with such impact. I believe that abortion is an unethical act and should not be an option to anyone. Â   One could say that an abortion should be legal because the developing fetus is part of the female and she should be able to do with her body what she likes, but this is not so. The fetus is not part of her body, it is inside her body. Since the fetus is made from a combination of the male’s and the female’s DNA it has an entirely different chemical make up than that of the female in which it dwells. The human developing inside the female was made from a chromosome of both the male and the female making it not entirely the female and not entirely the male. Also due to chromosomal mutations the DNA could vary even more. Therefore, a completely different chemical make up is being developed inside the female and we now have one organism inside of another. Thus making the argument mute, the fetus has a different make-up of DNA and is therefore a different organism. Â   Another fallacy of abortion is that sometimes it can be used to save the life of the mother. This situation just does not happen. Dr. C. Everett Koop, former Surgeon General stated that he was never aware or a single situation in which a pre-born child’s life had to be taken in order to save the life of the mother. Less than 3% of women, ... ...They according to this argument are not alive. Many other arguments rely on false situations and often do not think their ethics though. It is my hope that people would consider their ethics before performing such an act or even something that would lead up to it. I hope that people would seek out information and knowledge on something with such great repercussions. Â   In conclusion, the reasons for abortion are most often unethical, the result of misconceptions about genetic make-up, hypothetical situations, not being ready to foster a child but ready to make one, and an unethical option to choose. Just like many other laws are in place to protect others so other abortion laws should be in place. Abortion should not be legal just as rape and theft should not be legal. Even if a law is not passed to stop abortion people should become more educated on the subject. Â