Legalization of Marijuana in Arizona Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Legalization of Marijuana in Arizona - Essay Example Currently, taxation on Alcohol and Cigarettes has been beneficial for the federal government. Solely $9 billion are gained annually through the excise tax on alcohol and $25 billion through cigarettes. States collect approximately $5.5 billion through alcohol taxes. There are certain shortcomings in the system due to which legitimate amount is still not collected. Collection of the exact amount of money through taxes on alcohol and cigarettes would gather billions of dollars. Strong legislation and adequate measures for the collection of tax on marijuana will definitely help Arizona to accumulate billions of dollars. Legalization of marijuana should be done in such a manner that high taxes are applied to it. There is not the much abundant supply of marijuana in the country and it has been sold in the grey market at a high price. Eventually, legalization of marijuana and quotation of high prices would basically discourage people to spend money on it. At the same; tax collection throug h it would be advantageous. The legalization of marijuana would promote its usage in the country but due to high prices, people would not be able to purchase it which would be ultimately positive. Most of the users of Marijuana are teenagers, high prices would change their purchase behaviors and sales reduction would be seen. Legalization of marijuana would also enable State to keep the record of demand and supply, which is fundamental for economics and finance division of Arizona. The sale and purchase mechanism of marijuana is still prevalent beneath the table and it involves drug dealers, criminals, and mob gangs. Due to legalization, these unlawful business operators would get out of their hubs for business. Their presence in the market would basically escort police officials to find the culprits of smuggling and illegal trade. By catching these individuals, the economy of the country and state would rise as grey market and smuggling has destroyed nation’s economy.  

Occupational Health And Safety Impact in Construction

Occupational Health And Safety Impact in Construction The main aim of the research is to study the impact of occupational health and safety in construction industry. It will also aim at identifying the attitude of construction organisations as well as employees towards occupational health and safety in India. To support the research, survey questionnaire and a telephone interview was conducted. It helped it achieving objectives of the research. The construction industry is a very dangerous industry. The performance of the industry in occupational health and safety is very poor. The standard of occupational health and safety is even worse in developing countries. In Indian construction industry OHS has never been given prime importance. Even though in India construction industry is significantly booming, there are no proper initiatives undertaken by the government to implement OHS rules and regulations. There are several initiatives taken by Government of India but they are still in their initial stages and need to be enforced. The employers are concerned about completion of project rather than focussing on improving OHS of their employees. The industry has larger number of small and medium size firms and very few numbers of larger firms. Smaller firms lack resources to comply with proper OHS procedures. The workers are not provided with proper training and information about occupational health and safety hazards. Lack of awareness on OHS, sub-contracting system, use of traditional methods in construction, lack of proper personal protective equipments, low wages and labour-driven industry are some of the important factors that have their impact on occupational health and safety in Indian construction. CHAPTER I Introduction and background study 1.0 Introduction The construction industry in developing as well as developed countries is one of the most significant industries in relation to the contribution to the GDP (Rantanen et al., 2004). Also it is having a significant impact on the health and safety of the people working in it. According to Haupt as cited in Rowlinson (2004), the construction industry has a poor record in relation to the health and safety of its worker. It is a known fact that workplace accidents are linked basically with unsafe behaviour. There is a positive correlation between safety climate on construction sites and workers safe behaviour. The attitudes of workers on construction sites toward health and safety are widely influenced by their perception towards risk, health and safety rules and procedures; management (Mohamed and Ali, 2005). According to Larcher and Sohail (1999), occupational health and safety is a highly important area of concern in developing countries where Acts related to safety rarely exist with we ak regulatory authorities that finds it difficult to implement it effectively. Also awareness towards occupational hazards is not at all or rarely perceived. The other factors that affect occupational health and safety in developing countries are lack of statutory regulations and legislations to protect workers in construction sector, standards maintained in corporate and government systems are low, inadequate infrastructure and high labour intensity (Mohamed and Ali, 2005). Every year hundreds of accidents take place on construction sites resulting in severe injuries or even deaths. It is matter of concern that the same type of work related deaths, injuries and illnesses occur in the construction industries all over the world. The working life of construction workers is curtailed by several years due to the exposure to occupational health and safety hazards. The process of construction involves many hazardous activities such as working at height, manual handling, exposure to hazardous materials, frame erection, lifting operations, scaffolding, demolition works and groundworks. Falls and manual handlings are the important risks associated with injuries and long term disability in the construction industry (Gillen et al.1997). 1.1 Background study According to study conducted by Holmes et al., (1999), that the occupational health and safety risks are mainly related to the nature of work, low standard of individual work practices, lack of knowledge, work pressure due to cost and time constraints. Rechenthin (2004) stated that, for a construction company to be consistently profitable, all its project must complete on time and within budget. But at the same time due to the nature of the high risk works undertaken by the construction companies results in high accident rates. Eakins (1992) stated that international research confirms that as compared to larger construction firms, smaller firms are poor in the implementation of occupational health and safety programmes. Henceforth, the rate of occupational injury is inversely proportional with the size of the organisation, i.e. smaller firm having higher injury frequency rates (McVitte et al. 1997). As per Lingard and Rowlinson (2005), the construction industry consists of several SMEs and small amount of large firms. These small and medium size firms lack professional occupational health and safety advisors in staff. They also lack knowledge and resources required to implement occupational health and safety management activities for example: training, performing risk assessments, routine inspections and audits. Moreover the expense due to involvement of expensive occupational health and safety advice and services may be considered as unnecessary. Due to high competitive construction industry with cost cutting pressures, the priorities related to occupational health and safety is likely to be low with small size construction firms. According to Rantanen et al., (2004), nearly 2.4 billion people in the developing countries have to bear employment conditions, that dont even meet the basic occupational health and safety standards. Furthermore due to lack of work safety, excessive amount of work pressures, exposure to occupational physical, biological and chemical environment results to occupational diseases and injuries to an extent of 1.2 million fatalities per year. 1.2 Rationale for Research This research studies the attitude of organisations in India, a developing country towards occupational health and safety. As per report of The Economic Times as cited in (Shenoy et al., 2000), size of the Indian construction industry is more than USD 25 billion. Due to large investment made in roads, railways, nuclear and other infrastructure areas, the construction sector of India is witnessing a high growth. After agriculture sector, construction sector is the largest employer in India, with more than 18 million people employed in it. In spite of all these advancement, the construction sector is still dependant largely on labour intensive operations as they are easily available at low cost. Also occupational health and safety of people working in construction are not given due attention by the organisations (Shenoy et al., 2005). According to a report published by Construction Industry Development Council (CIDC) India (2010), safety in the construction industry is a matter of conc ern all over the world. With an unorganised workforce, issues related to construction safety become the most vulnerable segment in India. With 18 million people employed in the construction sector within India, the issues related to safety are considerably important. The industry is highly labour intensive with a large amount of workers exposed to the risks of occupational health and workplace safety problems. In construction industry the fatal accidents rate is comparatively four to five times higher than the manufacturing sector. In India 165 per 1,000 workers get injured while working on construction sites. Further the report states that the workers are exposed to several hazardous substances having the potential to cause serious occupational health diseases such as asbestosis, silicosis, poisoning etc. According to International Labour Organisation (2005), the rate of accident among industrial workers is highest with 4 per 1000 and the major contributor for this is the construction industry. International Labour Organisation (2005) report also estimated the number of deaths in India due to accidents at work as 40,000 in 2001 and 2,62,000 dying from work related diseases. Thus if construction is held responsible for one sixth of the total, then the death of the Indian construction workers can be estimated up to 60,000 each year. According to Damodaran (2006) ‘safety in construction is in the bottom of list of priorities of builders, contractors and engineers. While the monetary loss heads the list, loss of man-hours and material progress are equally irreparable when scaffolding fails, a roof collapses or a fatal accident takes place at site of work, the human life is irreplaceable. The construction companies in India have experienced that when a worker loses his life due to an accident on the site, there is a sudden downturn in the morale of the working force. It affects the spirit of working and the progress of work. It is only after some accidents takes place, the company begins to take safeguards. As labour is very cheap and unorganised, having little or no knowledge of their rights, the companies find it convenient as well as profitable using manpower rather than machineries. Though getting a job in the construction industry helps poor labours to get out of poverty, due to presence of high occupati onal health and safety risk it can drive them back into insolvency. 1.3 Research aim and objectives 1.3.1 Aim of the research The aim of this research is to study the impact of occupational health and safety in construction industry, whilst exploring the attitude of organisations and employees toward occupational health and safety in Indian construction industry. 1.3.2 Objectives The above mentioned aim will be achieved with the help of the following objectives: 1. To explore the issues impacting health and safety with the focus on occupational health and safety in the construction industry. 2. To investigate occupational health and safety hazards and its impact in construction industry 3. To investigate the implementation of occupational health and safety in the Indian construction industry whilst; Exploring the attitude of employees and construction organisations toward occupational health and safety in India. Investigating the impact of existing occupational health and safety rules and regulations on the Indian construction industry. 1.4 Research methodology Figure 1.1 Details of research methodology The adopted research methodology will be divided into primary and secondary research. In primary research, questionnaires survey and a telephone will be conducted. This will help in understanding and identifying the perception of the management and the employees toward occupational health and safety in Indian construction industry. In secondary research, literature review will be carried out in order to understand the factors affecting occupational health and safety such organisational culture, climate and government policies. It will also help in identifying different occupational health and safety hazards and its effect on construction projects. 1.4.1 Primary research Primary research such as questionnaires survey and telephone interview will help in achieving the main objectives of the research. Data will be collected from clients, contractors, managers, site engineers and supervisors who play an important role in the construction industry. The data collected through the telephone interview will help in supporting the findings from survey questionnaire. 1.4.2 Secondary research Secondary research will be carried out through literature review. The data will be collected through electronic databases, journals, websites, magazines, books and conference papers. These data will help in identifying the issues and factors influencing occupational health and safety in the construction industry. 1.5 Limitations of the research The most significant limitation to this research is the time constraint. Due to limited availability of time, the research cannot be conducted in depth. Provided more time, it could be possible to visit India and collect more data available on occupational health and safety in the Indian construction industry. As the research is carried out from United Kingdom, the collection of secondary data is limited to the information available on websites. Limited research has been carried out in India related to occupational health and safety in the construction industry. As such, there is less availability of data to support this research. The other constraints can be that some companies may not be reluctant in providing the right information. During telephone interview there may be possibilities that the interviewee give diplomatic or misleading answers. Also the size of the company can influence the answers of the interviewee. Also the answers provided by the respondents may be influenced by the size and location of the company. 1.6 Structure of dissertation The dissertation will be divided into various chapters. Chapter 2, 3 and 4 will be part of literature review. An overview of the chapters included in this research thesis is as shown below. Chapter 1 – Background study and rationale for research This chapter will provide an overall of overview of the research. It will consist of background study, aim and objectives and also the rationale for the research. It will also give an overview of the research methodology to be conducted in order achieve the desired aim and objectives. Chapter 2 – Factors affecting health and safety on construction sites This chapter narrates the factors influencing health and safety on construction such as sub-contracting systems, organisations structure, size, location, personnel and incentive factors. Chapter 3 – Introduction to OHS and detail description of OHS hazards This chapter will provide detail description of occupational health and safety including safety culture, human behaviours and different OHS hazards. Chapter 4 – OHS in the Indian construction industry This chapter will investigate the current scenario of OHS in the Indian construction industry. It will also explore the government rules and regulations related to OHS and their influence on the construction industry. Chapter 5 – Research methodology This chapter will provide a brief outline of the different research methods available and the adopted research methodology. Chapter 6 – Analysis and interpretation of the survey This chapter will include analysis of data collected through questionnaires survey and the telephone interview with help of charts, figures and tables. Chapter 7 – Conclusion and recommendations This chapter will include the summary of the research findings as well as recommendations related to the research.

colonization Essay -- essays papers

colonization From the beginning of American colonization we were a mainly farming people. The basis of our society was built upon agriculture, and little else. The rise to corporate capitalism has had such a profound impact on American society, it is impossible to study any aspect of United States history post Civil War without a direct relation, on any level, to the industrial revolution. America would not be the superpower it is today had we not made the change from an agricultural society to an industrial one long ago. The rise of corporate capitalism radically changed the way Americans lived forever. In the years previous to those following the Civil War, the American lifestyle was pretty much the same. People lived on the farm, and everybody contributed to the families well being. After the Civil War, the technological change in America was so great, it forced people to reconstruct the way the lived their lives. New inventions and technology bombarded every aspect of the American life. â€Å"Whereas only 276 inventions had been recorded during the Patent Office’s first decade in the 1790s, during the single year of the Columbian Exposition [1893] 22,000 patents were issued† (Martin 420). The government’s role in the rise of corporate capitalism varies depending upon whom you asked the question to. Some said the government held to the laissez-fair policy, while some said that they favored the big business and disregarded the common worker as a non-issue. â€Å"Government’s proper role was to leave the economy alone, so as not to disrupt the operation of the natural forces that ordered the economy† (Martin 426). In a actuality, both are probably right. â€Å"To a large extent the industrialists got what they wanted- a laissez-fair policy that left them alone, except when they needed help† (Martin 426). The government set out no regulatory rules to the large corporations until the Interstate Commerce Commission in 1887. In 1886 the Supreme Court passed a ruling that allowed the 14th amendment to include a corporation as a â€Å"person.† States could then not deny equal protection without due process of law, and the courts were now in charge of setting the limit of â€Å"reasonable† profits by corporations (Martin 428). This once again left the common laborer to be subject to the ruling of their superiors in the business world. Industrialism was growing so rapidly,... ...nvironment. While the 8-hour workday and end of child labor was a long way off, this strike helped to hasten the coming of these events. The rise of corporate capitalism had such a profound positive impact on our nation as a whole, its nearly immeasurable. Without it, America would not have become the world superpower that it is today. The shift from and agricultural society into an industrial one may have been difficult for those in the immediate wake of it, however, it was a new situation to everybody. Such great technological advances had never been seen before in America or anywhere else at any time. I believe it would be impossible for a nation to go through such tremendous changes without some misuse of power, and burden on the lower classes of people. After time, things were smoothed out and ran in an acceptable manner to everybody. The big bosses were still making their money, and the lower working class people were granted the 8 hour workday, as well as having conditions improved in the workplace. Overall, I believe this to be the most important time in US history. It has developed us as a nation, and set us apart as independents strong enough to provide for ourselves. colonization Essay -- essays papers colonization From the beginning of American colonization we were a mainly farming people. The basis of our society was built upon agriculture, and little else. The rise to corporate capitalism has had such a profound impact on American society, it is impossible to study any aspect of United States history post Civil War without a direct relation, on any level, to the industrial revolution. America would not be the superpower it is today had we not made the change from an agricultural society to an industrial one long ago. The rise of corporate capitalism radically changed the way Americans lived forever. In the years previous to those following the Civil War, the American lifestyle was pretty much the same. People lived on the farm, and everybody contributed to the families well being. After the Civil War, the technological change in America was so great, it forced people to reconstruct the way the lived their lives. New inventions and technology bombarded every aspect of the American life. â€Å"Whereas only 276 inventions had been recorded during the Patent Office’s first decade in the 1790s, during the single year of the Columbian Exposition [1893] 22,000 patents were issued† (Martin 420). The government’s role in the rise of corporate capitalism varies depending upon whom you asked the question to. Some said the government held to the laissez-fair policy, while some said that they favored the big business and disregarded the common worker as a non-issue. â€Å"Government’s proper role was to leave the economy alone, so as not to disrupt the operation of the natural forces that ordered the economy† (Martin 426). In a actuality, both are probably right. â€Å"To a large extent the industrialists got what they wanted- a laissez-fair policy that left them alone, except when they needed help† (Martin 426). The government set out no regulatory rules to the large corporations until the Interstate Commerce Commission in 1887. In 1886 the Supreme Court passed a ruling that allowed the 14th amendment to include a corporation as a â€Å"person.† States could then not deny equal protection without due process of law, and the courts were now in charge of setting the limit of â€Å"reasonable† profits by corporations (Martin 428). This once again left the common laborer to be subject to the ruling of their superiors in the business world. Industrialism was growing so rapidly,... ...nvironment. While the 8-hour workday and end of child labor was a long way off, this strike helped to hasten the coming of these events. The rise of corporate capitalism had such a profound positive impact on our nation as a whole, its nearly immeasurable. Without it, America would not have become the world superpower that it is today. The shift from and agricultural society into an industrial one may have been difficult for those in the immediate wake of it, however, it was a new situation to everybody. Such great technological advances had never been seen before in America or anywhere else at any time. I believe it would be impossible for a nation to go through such tremendous changes without some misuse of power, and burden on the lower classes of people. After time, things were smoothed out and ran in an acceptable manner to everybody. The big bosses were still making their money, and the lower working class people were granted the 8 hour workday, as well as having conditions improved in the workplace. Overall, I believe this to be the most important time in US history. It has developed us as a nation, and set us apart as independents strong enough to provide for ourselves.

Ethical modifications on marketing relations Essay

In this paper I will analyze and assess legal and ethical modifications on marketing relations as it relates to both consumers and organizations. This research will analyze three to five ethical issues that relates to marketing and advertising, intellectual property, and regulation of product safety. The discussion of arguing for or against Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) marketing by drug companies will also be analyze. This paper will also determine who regulates compounding pharmacies under the current regulatory scheme, what the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) could/should have done in the PharmaCARE scenario and whether the FDA should be granted more power over compounding pharmacies. Throughout this paper the decision on whether PharmaCARE’s use of Colberian intellectual property would be ethical in accordance with: Utilitarianism, Deontology, Virtue ethics, Ethics of care, and my own moral / ethical compass will be discussed. There will be an analysis discussed on the way PharmaCARE uses U.S. law to protect its own intellectual property while co-opting intellectual property in Colberia. A discussion will be determined at least three ways the company could compensate the people and nation of Colberia for the use of its intellectual property and the damage to its environment. Compare PharmaCARE’s actions with those of at least one real-world company whose creativity in skirting legal technicalities led to ethical lapses and financial loss. Be able to determine the success PharmaCARE and WellCo shareholders would have in suits against the companies. Determine whether or not PharmaCARE lives up to its brand. Recommend at least three changes PharmaCARE can make to be more ethical going forward. Ethical Issues Ethical issues are situations or problems that calls for a person to choose between two alternatives. In marketing and advertising ethical issues can arise when advertising weakens or undermines personal autonomy. Also, it promotes consumption as way of life and it destroys credence in the written or spoken word (Ethics, 2013). In intellectual property it creates a monopoly for firms and enables them to charge prices for their innovations that are more than the marginal cost of the production. When valuable products are given intellectual property protection this creates an ethical issues (Sonderholm, 2010). In regulation of product safety everyone within  the company are expected to act and abide by the company’s Code of Ethics or conduct (McBain and Balassone, 2012). As a result, of the ethical theories being used throughout this paper, one can see how the drug companies are important and what they need to do in order to obtain and maintain their clientele. The different t heories applied throughout this paper have discussed how important the theories are and how they can interrelated to better understand how drug companies operate. Overall, the drug companies should use the distributive justice theory to provide and distribute health care evenly to all individuals. Direct-to-Consumer There have been several different theories used to either argue for or against Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) marketing by drug companies. The ever increasing cost of health will continue to present health care issues and ethical challenges that will result in a better understanding of how to use ethical tools when looking for the best drug companies for an individual. Therefore, ethical theories and principles will help to focus on the clearer direction one must take in order to make a decision about one’s future. Regulates Food and Drug Administration State boards of pharmacy typically regulate compounding by pharmacies, but federal legislation also plays a role. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) could have force PharmaCARE to shutdown because of how they were operating. They were operating under extreme working conditions. The people in Colberia were being exploited (hazardous working environment) and taking advantage of (wages). This type of working environment is unethical. The FDA will continue to provide proactive and for-cause inspections of compounding pharmacies, and FDA plans to take aggressive action, including enforcement actions, as appropriate to protect the public health and the people of Colberia. The FDA should be granted more power over compounding pharmacies because FDA has been conducting inspections of compounding pharmacies for cause and proactively to identify pharmacies with deficient sterile compounding practices. There have been more problems identified at compounding pharmacies across the country and the FDA intends to continue its inspection and enforcement efforts to address these problems, using currently available resources (FDA, 2013). PharmaCARE and Colberian Ethical theories represent the grand ideas on which guiding principles are based. The theories that will be used throughout this paper will discuss how important ethical theory is and when implement in a company how effective they will be for the company. The use of utilitarian refers to all action should be directed toward achieving the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. In other words, the utilitarian approach implies that insurance companies should insure some type of insurance to all people because this makes unhealthy people healthier sooner than without insurance due to the cost and high price of physicians. The stakeholder’s theory implies that business ethics discussions are based on the responsibilities of the decisions from managers and executives (Luxury, 2007). Deontology Virtue ethics Ethics of care Own moral and ethical compass In Kant’s categorical imperative, he refers to how everyone should be treated as a free person and should be equal to everyone else (Luxury, 2007). Therefore, drug companies should not choose to do the same thing for the same reason for all their patients. In using adverse selection, it refers to how different individuals that are on one side of the market have better information than the other individuals do on the other side of the market (Luxury, 2007). The drug companies will offer the wealthy a cheaper price over the poor and this type of behavior is unethical. Therefore, the poor will start doing things that makes it hard for them to obtain the products from the drug companies. Health care is necessary to meet everyone’s health needs and thus to promote equality of opportunity, which is such an important value in American political culture. According to Childress (2000), he states that Dan Brock’s interpretation of health care is, â€Å"While health careâ €™s impact on people’s well being is fundamental to why justice requires that it be available to all, it is possible to capture most of this impact of health care under the concept of opportunity. It is health care’s role in promoting equality of opportunity that makes ensuring access to health care for all a fundamental requirement of justice† (30). Analyze PharmaCARE PharmaCARE uses the U.S. law to protects its own intellectual property by ensuring that the patents, copyrights and trademarks are protected. This enables people and other organizations to earn recognition or financial benefits from what they create or produce. Although, these rights extends only to the U.S. anyone who desires to patent, copyright or trademark protection in other countries will have to apply for to patent, copyright or trademark in each country that they choice because each country has their own patent, copyright and trademark law (Intellectual, 2013). Compensate the people of Colberia PharmaCare can compensate the people and nation of Colberia by cleaning up the environment such as using safe and healthy products to eliminate the hardzarous chemical smell and spill. They can offer the employees better wages and health insurance. By offering better wages for the people this can help them continue pour in revenue for their country, helping the country to begin to prosper. The company can also make the working conditions in the building better so that the employees will be able to come to work in a healthier working environment. If all of these suggestions are completed then the people and nation of Colberia can start to live a better life. Real Word Company Hospira manages it task environment in accordance with setting goals and working to meet the goals of the organization (Thompson, 2007). When the pharmaceutical company sets a safety goal is regards to OSHA’s goal, then they work vigoursly towards maintaining this goal, so they will not be in violation. They believe that this is a unique opportunity for human resource to step in and take the lead in developing tools and capabilities. This will help to identify and strike down on barriers that keep employees from doing their very best. According to Sullivan (2006), the challenges that need to be address are how to increase the output volume that the organization faces on a daily basis; what would be an innovation for continuous improvement; and what would the employee recommend to the organization for improvement and change.The critical part for human resources is being able to align  their mission and priorities of the organization and engaging the minds of employees in thei r work (Pomeroy, 2006). The challenges that need to be addressed are in organizational design, hiring the most talented person and moving people around to different locations. Success PharmaCare and WellCo The shareholders of PharmaCARE would have a stockholder’s derivative action against them because of the improper management of the company. According to Hill and Hill (1985-2005) stockholder’s derivative action is a lawsuit governed by corporation’s shareholders to help protect the corporation and shareholder’s benefits against any wrongdoings and improper management from the corporation. The shareholders of WellCo. have a stockholder’s action against PharmaCARE for failure to provide due diligence before the transaction of purchase took place. The company failed to provide all the necessary information to WellCo. and in return WellCo. is now responsible for all of the assets and liabilities that PharmaCARE created before the purchase. PharmaCARE is now free from all of the debt and liability the company created therefore, PharmaCARE success depends on the company’s continued products that are delivered to their clients without the adverse re actions of the development and marketing product of AD23. PhamaCARE brand The following information will determine why PharmaCARE lives up to its brand. When talking about the rational system perspective, PharmaCARE portrays their ability in this way because they enforces a strong urge for growth and with their concise and clear goals set, they have proven this and is maintaining their status. They have become a great organization by ensuring their rules and regulations are enforced (Scott and Davis, 2007). In the natural system perspective, they have highly motivated individuals who are willing to work harder and smarter to obtain a clear since of pride (Scott and Davis, 2007). They focus on their mission and vision statement and they stand by it in order for them and the organization to be prosperous. In the open system perspective, PharmaCARE has maintained the change and have grown to an organization of pride and prestige. They still invest in the right product and ensure they spend their money on profitable means. Therefore, making it cheaper for cons umers to buy their products and for the organization to make a profit. The major challenges that PharmaCARE  will be facing in the next two to three years will be how they will withstand their financial responsibilities and keeping their clientele. These challenges are most important because as PharmaCARE continues to make products they will continue to be introduced to new clients and they must be able to meet the demands of the clients. Their financial responsibilities comes into play when they have to try to come up with new products and if they are already over budget then the new products will not be able to be completed. In addition, by PharmaCARE trying to keep up with other pharmaceutical companies and clientele, this leads to the employees working longer hours and are not compensated for their work. This situation can end up with some of PharmaCARE’s employees leaving to work for the competition. Therefore, PharmaCARE must ensure that their financial and client responsibilities are met in order for PharmaCARE to stay a successful organization and meets the needs of their employees. PharmaCARE has implemented a human resource department and they focus on continued success within the organization. Although, the human resource department is a department of its’ own, this department runs the organization because everything must go through this department for any changes. Therefore, the change in thi s human resource department for PharmaCARE would be in the best interest for this organization. Recommendation I recommend the following actions for change with PharmaCARE for strategic purposes. They are analyzing, forecasting, planning, implementing and evaluating. In analyzing the overall workforce, planning system should be well thought out, systematic and documented. The effectiveness of planning depends on the detail, accuracy and reliability of the information sources. It is important to identify all factors that could influence future demand for outputs service as well as competencies of the internal and external supply of labor (Scott and Davis, 2007). Information that is gathered during the analyzing phase must be reliable and accurate. In forecasting, PharmaCARE should consider the future needs of the organization. One of the most useful outcomes is the identification of potential problems or issues facing the organization. The data collected from the information sources should help develop a gap analysis and emergent strategies to manage the future. It involves the identification of any predicted changes and  developments that may result from a demand and supply chain (Thompson, 2007). In planning, strategies initiatives, programs and policies should be developed to address the gaps within PharmaCARE. This will ensure that the recruitment and development will be critical of a needed staff for a successful workforce plan. In implementing, it is critically important to put together an implementation plan to carry out the planned activities included in the workforce plan. According to Scott and Davis (2007), this will be the process for using all the information gathered and devising a plan to execute the new strategies. In evaluating, there should be an evaluation of the workforce plan because this is imperative in determining if the devised strategies are addressing the gaps specified. It is important to obtain feedback concerning the effectiveness of outcomes from the plan. PharmaCARE should design a plan that would be more effective in the managerial and business aspect of the organization. A logical implementation plan for a human resource program for PharmaCARE would be to offer a new set of curriculum and qualifications opportunities that is truly built around the needs and as pirations of each employee. By matching the best employees in the organization, PharmaCARE would allow all employees to have opportunities to learn in ways, which motivate and pushes them to work harder for a successful and well deserve future (Mathis and Jackson, 2006). PharmaCARE’s human resource program works in the area of development, such that managers are mentors to supervisors. This allows growth and knowledge within the organization. PharmaCARE prides itself in being a successful organization and will be served better with the right approach to the implementation initiative. Human resources will have more flexibility in hiring, supporting and managing their people. PharmaCARE should do the following in order to become a more successful organization. Increased flexibility will strengthen accountability based on transparency, fairness and respect. Human resource management relations will become more collaborative with both management and employees working together to foster a mature, healthy and productive workplace. The goal is to make it easier to attract, hire, support and retain the best people. This is a great opportunity if it is done right, PharmaCARE will be a better place for people to work and will provide better service to th eir employees and customers. References Childress, J.F. (2000). Summary and Synthesis of Papers and Discussion at Ethics in Oral Health Policy Seminar. Retrieved from http://www.nidcr.nih.gov/NR/rdonlyres/7E3F3CDF-B133-4503-B8C1-049793F869D9/0/Childress.pdf Ethics of Advertising (2013). Retrieved from http://www.carroll.edu/msmillie/busethics/ethadvertising.htm FDA Implementation of the Compounding Quality Act. (2013). U.S. Food and Drug Administration. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved from http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/PharmacyCompounding/ucm375804.htm Hill, G. & Hill, K. (1981-2005). Shareholder’s Derivative Action. The Free Dictionary. Retrieved from http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/shareholder’s+derivative+action Intellectual Property Law and Policy. (2013). The United States Patent and Trademark Office and Agency of the Department of Commerce. Retrieved from http://www.uspto.gov/ip/ Luxury primary care-market innovation or threat to a ccess? (2007). The New England Journal of Medicine. Massachusetts Medical Society, 346(15) 1165-1168. Retrieved from http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/extract/346/15/1165 Mathis, R. & Jackson, J. (2006). Human Resource Management. (11th Ed.). New York. Thomason-South-Western. McBain, J. & Balassone, J (2012). Product Safety Case Studies. Santa Clara University. Retrieved from http://www.scu.edu/ethics/dialogue/candc/cases/product-safety.html Pomeroy, Ann (2006). Society of Human Resource Management. HR Is Mission Critical at the FBI. Volume 51, No.6. Retrieved from SHRM Online http://www.shrm.org/hrmagazine/articles/0606/0606pomeroy.asp Scott, W.R., & Davis, G. (2007). Organizations and organizing: Rational, natural, and open system perspectives. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Sonderholm, J. (2010). Ethical Issues Surrounding Intellectual Property Rights. Wiley Online Library. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-9991.2010.00358.x/abstra ct Sullivan, John. (2006). Workforce Management. HR’s New Opportunity: Removing Barriers to Productivity. Retrieved from http://www.workforce.com/section/01/article/24/38/30.html

Brand Audit Essay

The sole objective of this brand report is to know about the brand potency of Mobilink in the Pakistani market in comparison to other competing service providers. The other objective is to put a spotlight on the different cellular companies operating in Pakistan and the perception of the users about them. TARGET AUDIENCE: As far as the Mobilink is concerned, it has no specific target audience because it is catering the requirement of all the users through its different packages. Cell phone is a requirement of every one so it also  of several segments whether it is youth, ladies or corporate sector. Brand Positioning  makes sense to launch multiple products to cater to the requirements RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: INTRODUCTION: The purpose of the research methodology is to carry out different methods of research to accomplish the set research objectives pertinent to the brand tracking. For that purpose, a set of questions have been made to inquire and analyze the responses of the  respondents. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: The research methodology used in this brand tracking is qualitative as well as quantitative in which we have not only used a questionnaire to know the responses of the respondents of the sample group but also open ended questions asked from a set of respondents at mobilink franchises to get a more flexible response from the respondents. Secondary research methods are also used to get the information regarding the competitors and Mobilink to get to know the market structure and the standing of the cellular companies in it. Triangulation  and secondary research to find the parity in results. SAMPLING DESIGN: The target population belongs to every segment and class of life because cell phone users belong to every class of population and we method is used to cross check the results from qualitative, quantitative  cannot discriminate the target market based on SECs. Subsequently, the sample selection is random and random sampling method is used for sample selection to get the feedback of the users from all the classes. The sample size used for the questioning consists of 250 respondents. RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS: The instrument used for the research in this brand tracking activity is primarily a multipurpose questionnaire which comprises of open and close ended questions not only to help in the quantitative research but also in the qualitative research as well. It consist questions pertaining to the brand associations, brand recall, brand image, projective responses and brand values. The reliability of the instrument is measured through the triangulation method by comparing the results of all three research methods. PROCEDURES: The data collection is through the questionnaire from a sample group of 250 respondents. The screening of the information acquired from  entry. All the information from the responses is entered as per the frequency of respondents against the questions. These respondents is done manually using MS Excel as a tool for data. The objective of this brand audit report is to measure the brand potency of Mobilink in line with the competing brands. The specific issues faced by the brand in terms of market conditions, saturation in the cellular market and the overall recession in the economy will also be taken into account while studying the brand. Also, what subproducts fall in the generalized master brand i.e. Mobilink and to which segments these sub-brands are catering to.  When speaking of the target audience for Mobilink, we should keep in mind that in the world of today, cell phone is no longer a luxury as was the case in 90s but now, it has become a necessity for everyone. So when we speak of cell phone target market, we speak of all the socioeconomic classes from A to E. The brand audit is limited to Karachi only because of limited time and resources. But, in order to get a  are covered with a dynamic sample population to get diverse views about the brands so as to get a better and augmented underst anding of the market perceptions about the brands. The approach used for brand audit is mainly the survey through set questionnaire and secondary research methods regarding their inputs on brand imagery & usage, brand recall, brand perception, brand loyalty and brand awareness. BRAND BRAND (SELF ANALYSIS): Pakistan Mobile Communications Limited, better known as Mobilink GSM, is a telecommunication service provider in Pakistan. The company is Pakistan’s leading cellular operator with a subscriber base of 31.5m and market share of 31% in October 2010. Mobilink’s Head office is located at Mobilink House, 1-A Kohistan Road, F-8 Markaz Islamabad. Mobilink’s corporate postpaid package is sold under the brand name â€Å"Indigo† and prepaid by the name of â€Å"Jazz†. Mobilink started operations in 1994 as the first GSM cellular Mobile service in Pakistan by MOTOROLA Inc., later it was sold to Orascom, an Egypt-based group is diversifying its service portfolio by setting up new businesses and also expanding through acquisitions. Recently, they started offering DSL broadband through a wholly owned subsidiary, Link.Net. Additionally, the company has also launched its wireless broadband  service through WiMax based technology under the label of ‘Mobilink Infinity’. Technology is backed by Alcatel, and company is using a ZYXEL Customer Premises equipment. BCG GROWTH-SHARE MATRIX Companies that are large enough to be organized into strategic business units face the challenge of allocating resources among those units. In the early 1970’s the Boston Consulting Group developed a model for managing a portfolio of different business units. The BCG growth-share matrix displays the various business units on a graph of the market growth rate vs. market share relative to competitors. OF  SBUSCLASSIFICATION These packages are low growth, high share products. These established and successful SBUs need less investment to hold their market share. They produce a lot of cash to support the other SBUs that need investment. These packages are low share in high growth markets. They require a lot of cash to hold  their share. Management needs to think hard about question marks it should  try to build into stars or should be phased out.  It is low growth, low share product. It may generate enough cash to maintain itself but do not promise to be large source of cash. PRICING STRATEGY OF MOBILINK: Mobilink was offering Jazz connection for about 3000 rupees 5 years passage of time now Mobilink is offering Jazz connections for about 100 rupees. In 2002 Ufone which is one of the leading competitor of Jazz introduced its prepay connection for about 2500 rupees. In 2005 Telenor came into existence in Pakistani market and offered its connections for about 500 rupees. Then in 2005 Warid also entered the market offering its connections for 250 rupees. In this way price war   ago. Its market oriented statement is â€Å"Aur Sunao† But through the started between these telecom brands in the market. Previously it was Jazz’s oligopoly as they offered their prices. In 2005 Jazz offered a Cellphone plus connection and prepaid card implementing a productbundle pricing strategy for creating more attention and attraction. The major shift in the pricing strategy came in when they started 30.second operations using the promotional pricing strategy. In the early days Jazz was offering its sim-cards for a high-price using captiveproduct pricing strategy as its SIM-card is a main product that must be used along with the cell phone. Initially Jazz’s call rates and SMS charges were also reduced using discount and allowance strategy and initially directing towards promotional strategy as the competition between cellular brands in the market grew faster. Recently Jazz introduced its offerings of 0.99 per minute call rates in their â€Å"happy hour package† which represents their operations with the  promotional as well as psychological pricing of their services. Through its happy hour package they are also operating with promotional strategy as they are engaged in continuous promotion through their offerings. INDUSTRY REVIEWS In the era of globalization and information society, the fundamental role of telecommunication technologies cannot be underestimated. Although tremendous growth has taken place in the Pakistan telecom sector but most of it can be attributed to the cellular growth. Fixed line is still awaiting a takeoff. Similarly Value Added Services have grown introduced in the telecom sector some very positive impact have been observed on the growth of the sector in a short span of time which is expected to continue to grow for at least next five years if the daring investors influx continue as in the last 3 years. Our Industry already has LL (Local Loop), WLL (Wireless Local Loop), LDI (Long distance and but are still a drop in the bucket. Now that the competition has been  International), and ISP (Internet Service Provider) players and WiMax; 3G cellular systems are expected be a part of this Industry soon. The Pakistan market has reached 100 million subscribers landmark with cellular mobile tele density of over 60% (PTA press release Sep 2010).The growth slowed down in 2009 but has picked up again gradually. At 2006 year end the total subscribers were 48.2 million. In June 2007 the total mobile users reached over 63 million. Based on numbers published at PTA website for 2007, the total number of million, a teledensity of nearly 49%. In 2007 the average growth rate was about 2.5 million new subscribers each month! After second half of 2007 it seemed as if the growth had slowed down but overall it was fine. One remarkable achievement was by Zong (formerly Paketl) which  launched  very  successful. Telecommunication Co. Ltd (PTCL), is now under the control of Etisalat group of UAE. It has 20% of subscriber share and added the most lines (2.4 million) from 2006-07. Warid, owned by the Abu Dhabi group of the United Arab Emirates and sister of Wateen group is number 4 with 17.0% market of subscribers. Recently it sold 30% share to SingTel. Norway’s Telenor, a recent entrant with about a billion US dollar investment in Pakistan has been doing well, based on its recent earning report. It has about 24% of the market share. Telenor stock is listed in the Oslo stock market (TEL) and in US (TELNY.PK). CMPak (Zong brand), formerly Paktel, was the latest target of foreign acquisition. After it got acquired by China Mobile it was rebranded as Zong and launched one of the most successful and aggressive  campaigns. Within a matter of few months, Zong has achieved a 8 %  market share. CONSUMER ANALYSIS The Pakistani mobile users are more price-conscious but in cellular sector they also don’t compromise on the quality of voice. So, By taking the advantage of this consciousness of the users mobile operators re enhancing product offering in the form of low rate packages  and  network  expansion  by  installing  boaster. Mobile sector comes under verity seeking buying behavior by the buyer because it occurs under the conditions of low consumer involvement and significant brand difference. In this market, consumer has low involvement they perceive the brand benefits on the basis ultimate objective is to communicate to other at for off place. Buying is initiated by â€Å"communication purpose†. Everybody can enter in to buying process by need of communication. In the regard of this communication media vehicles play an important role in getting their service preferred by the users. These days there is a rush of packages   price, voice quality and coverage. The reason for this is that their  out in the market from the mobile service providers, targeting different market segments and offering all kinds of discounts depending on who you call or when you call. Off-peak timings have always been used by service providers to create interest and to lure customers. So, customer seeks indifference among services provided by these cellular operators and switch according to their desire. Factors that influencing on customer switch age to other operator of mobile network are, Price: Users use services of the operator to communication so on of the factor influencing the customer switch age is price. A person in this segment seeks the prices most important factor and operator of service are also offering verity of packages to make the customer attract. Where the price of any product is low people change their taste and divert towards that low price product. Quality: After the price people prefer quality of voice second because they are paying for the voice if the voice is not clear to them which they are paying for they defiantly they switch to other operators. Coverage: After the quality of voice second available factor for  customer switch age is coverage. Users perceive that the operator’s services are available to them where they visit. If they find signal problem they may switch to more coverage operator in the sectors Promotion: With promoting services that has factor too for consumer switch age. Fierce promotion leads an image in the mind of the consumers that company offers many servers and â€Å"a customer focus company†. MARKET Pakistan currently has one of the largest allies of young people in its history, with approximately 25 million people between the ages of 15 and 24. Target market group of cellular sector ranges from 15 to 64 percent which according to demographic profile of Pakistan consist of 56.9% (male 48,214,298; female 46,062,933) of total population. As in the Buying behavior we have studied that Female and male both contribute into making decision for the purchasing of the brand. So the both genders would be in target market. In spite of this professionals are also Mobilink target audience. The Employment Status categorizes majority (45%) as employees followed by own account workers (42%).  About one in ten workers (11%) are reported as unpaid family workers and one & a half percent as employers. As far changes in the comparative periods, unpaid family workers fall by some fractions, employees indicate some increase while own account workers and employers remain on the same level. In the buying and sales of  rise of urban consumerism, global corporate such as Unilever, P & G, GlaxoSmithline and many small & medium enterprise and local  national companies emerges both manufacture and sell their products Mobilink brand also depends on these customers too. Along with the  in Pakistan. In manufacturing and natural resources, Shell and BP are present in addition to the Pakistani state oil company. Honda, Nissan and  Suzuki are among international automotive manufacturers with plants in Pakistan. Mobilink fulfill needs of these local MNC’s local national and SME’s firms by providing them special service package Brand Inventory COMPETITOR’S ANALYSIS COMPETITIVE COMPARISON MATRIX Bring innovation and VAS and data services to increase revenue Market Growth and industry expansion Threats †¢ Recession in economy. †¢ Rapid change in consumer demand. †¢ Inconsistent and adhoc decisions from regulatory authorities. †¢ Political Instability, Security issues. †¢ Adverse shifts in trade policies of government. †¢ High taxation rate of activation tax is causing a slowdown in consumer growth especially all in rural areas. †¢ Price competition †¢ Larger competitors network coverage †¢ Strong advertisement and media presence of competitors †¢ Entrance of new competitors like Zong. †¢ Presence and the acceptability of competitor brand like Telenor and Ufone Strengths: †¢ Leveraging brand equity from international corporate â€Å"Abu Dhabi Group† †¢ Having modern network capabilities in respect of infrastructure. †¢ Financial strength of share holder and their telecom expertise ‘Warid international† †¢ Large Post paid based generating high ARPU †¢ State of the art IP based contact center and leading data center †¢ It has technical partnering involving â€Å"SingTel†, â€Å"Nokia† and â€Å"Wateen†. Weaknesses: †¢ Need to expand network coverage. †¢ Need to increase brand awareness and improved market positioning †¢ Lack of proactive churn management and stimulate programs to address inactive subscriber Page 20 of 28 Brand Positioning COMPETITORS SWOT MATRIX Low promotional packages activities The product line is too narrow. Strengths: †¢ Subsidiary of PTCL. †¢ Stream line benefit. †¢ Knowledge about country culture. †¢ Experience Variety of †¢ Value Added Service †¢ Broad market coverage. Weaknesses: †¢ Stagnant Profitability †¢ Low market share as compare to competitor (Mobilink). †¢ Overly Dependent on PTCL Strengths: Superior infrastructure & technology in PAKISTAN Have a very strong financial. They have the ability and resources to hire skilled engineers. Large number of Subscriber Weaknesses: Low market share as compare to competitor (mobilink) Limited coverage due to newly introduce in the market Signal problem due to limited network Strengths: World biggest network A product of China Mobile Company. Page 21 of 28 Brand Positioning Leverage financial resource from CMC Experienced administration Weaknesses: †¢ Low market share as compare to competitor †¢ They are unable to improve the network means that they are not using their resources. †¢ There is the diversion of customers towards other brands due to connectivity issue BRAND INVENTORY BRAND ELEMENTS: Brand elements consist of brand name, color, Urls, symbols slogans, sound and jingles through which one brand is differentiated from other brands. Brand Name: Mobilink Urls : http://www.mobilinkgsm.com Logos and Symbols: Slogans: Apna Hai Purple and Whitish Purple CORE BRAND VALUE Page 22 of 28 Brand Positioning Colors: Quality: Mobilink Telecom has an uncompromising commitment to quality in this regard. that is why they spare no efforts in pursuing the best in network‚ services‚ product offerings. Innovation: For years‚ people complained of the same things on mobiles. At coverage‚ they are constantly look to make the communication experience different by doing things in a better way. They already introduced 3G supportable system for being see the need of this in the near future. For seeing the growing trend of SMS usage Mobilink has introduces SMSC-less messaging infrastructure that controls the traffic of SMS and makes sure the delivery of messages without involving pending issues. Customer-Friendliness: They enjoy working and succeeding together by building close relationships. While they have a sense of purpose in their operations‚ they also have a strong culture that demonstrates to customers that â€Å"Reshaping communciation†. Mobilink considers the needs of customers first. Coverage: Mobilink has widest network coverage all over Pakistan. One can find the network if they go to northern areas or remote city of Pakistan Mobilink message are communicated through using all channels of media including building an identity for the corporation and brand, advertising campaigns, sponsorships, media relations (newspaper coverage, press releases, press conference before launching etc), point of sale material preparation (brochures, tariffs, flyers etc), website. Message delivered on electronic media through jingle and using celebrity endorsement. First ever add that comes in the electronic media is symbolize with rain season that bring hope and refreshment and new joy. Now a day it bran message come man through ball to boys who are playing Cricket symbolize that Mobilink is customer oriented and helping the customer in even small mattes. MARKETING PROGRAM Media: Mobilink has always tried to deliver truthful and interesting advertising to its viewers. Through these ads they are trying to convey the message that Mobilink is solely meant for the people’s benefit and convenience. They advertise through Channels like Geo Super Geo, hum TV and through News channels, PTV, ARY and, News 1 TV, Dunya News etc. Print media: Mobilink has designed attractive brochures for their customers. These brochures contain all the necessary information about their package deals and tariffs. Hence, making it easier for the people to know about the general prices and services offered. Sponsorship: Mobilink advertise through sponsorship in Golf matches, Mobilink agreement with PCB and Mobilink and Citi card launch. Also it got sponsorship with Pizza Hut. BRAND ASSOCIATIONS: These are the desired associations which Mobilink wants to create in the mind of customers. Brand Positioning Mobilink Voice Quality Premium Brand Network Coverage