Problem solving assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Problem solving - Assignment Example These calls attention from both parties to read carefully the terms and conditions before putting a sign into a contract. The scenario in question has two parties, Bonnie Hart, who owns a manufacturing firm that produces and distributes sunglasses. Bonnie sees a potential market in the seniors who are not their main target in the normal sunglasses. He opts to manufacture the total eclipse sunglass that would attract seniors. The main attracting feature of the product is the ability to protect the customers from some harmful UV lights. Bonnie takes a step further to advertise her products in the media. To attract more customers, she opts to carry out a promotion that would see some of her customers win a two weeks holiday in Paris. The scratch ticket was to be fixed in the sunglass so that there may be some lucky winners. She contacts her printer Ozzblock Pty Ltd, whom she had entrusted for the printing job. The mistake that Bonnie made was that she signed the document without reading its terms (The City Law School, 2014). The terms were as follows; 2. Notwithstanding clause 7, the printer accepts no responsibility for any loss or damage howsoever caused by errors in printing resulting from faulty typesetting work by the printer or any of its employees. Considering these terms, the first one offers to do a considerable good work in proofreading any errors related to printing of the scratch cards before delivery. As a lawyer, I would have advised Bonnie to take Ozzblock to the court because the company did not fulfil its obligation as promised in the agreement. Proofreading was part of the agreement outlined by the contract. The damage is primarily a result of not doing proofreading of the contract from the Ozzblock printers. The case is the same as that of Administration of PNG v Leahy (1961) 105 CLR 6 (Business Law, 2014). In this case, there was a contract between

OSHA Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

OSHA - Assignment Example An article by Bender Thomas, which talks about on workers deaths in confined spaces, was identified, an investigation that was carried as part of Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation program. According to the author of an investigation where a worker died after entering a toluene storage tank and then on a rescue attempt a fireman also ended up being killed when the tank exploded (Bender 37). According to the author owner of a petroleum bulk storage tank, found out that his toluene storage tank was contaminated, and therefore he wanted to clean it and therefore it will have to be drained and cleaned. However, he found out that the tank’s only access was located at the top and since the tank was cylindrical it was not easy to clean it. Therefore, the owner decided to install the portal at the bottom. In connection to this, he consulted a contractor who gave him the cost estimates of installing the access portal at the bottom of the tank. The contractor after carrying out his assessment told the owner of the tank that it has to be drained, and all the sludge removed before he puts the access portal. The owner of the tank, therefore, directed his supervisor to get the tank ready for the contractor. On that fateful day, the supervisor and unskilled worker decided to get the job done. Therefore, the supervisor decided to rent self –contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). However, because the opening was small and since a ladder could not be used the supervisor decided to use a rope. In addition, because the opening was so small it was decided that the worker get in with the SCBA loosely tied on his head. After a while, the supervisor saw the worker standing at the bottom of the tank, and then he directed him to get out, however, and there was no response. He then informed the facility manager who was just standing nearby. After that, a fire rescue team was called. The firemen

Prostate cancer among African American men Essay

Prostate cancer among African American men - Essay Example In essay "Prostate cancer among African American men" author describes the connection between genetics, social status, health and cancer occurrence among Afro-American in the USA. Despite an intensive campaign that is directed to men in order for them to undergo regular medical screening, the majority of them are still reluctant resulting to increased cases of deaths caused by prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is a major type of cancer that affects the reproductive system of males especially those above the age of 45 years. However, there are cases of insistent prostate cancer that results in major complications on the reproductive system. This paper seeks to discuss medical compliance treatment of prostate cancer among African American men. As mentioned earlier, African-American men are at high risk of prostate cancer development. According to the 2003-2007 US medical report, for every 100,000 African American men, 234.6 cases of prostate cancer were reported in the US as compared to 150.4 cases per 100,000 white men. Due to the high number of cases of prostate cancer among the African American men, their mortality rate is more than double as compared to the white men. For example, between 2003 and 2007, 54.2 cases of mortality rates were reported for every 100,000 African-American while only 22.3 cases of mortality rates occurred among the white men. In 2001, more than 31,500 deaths due to prostate cancer were reported. Since 2001, at least 221,000 cases of prostate cancer are reported per year (Chronic Disease Indicators, 2012). One of the major obstacles that are affecting the efforts of the medical personnel is lack of early detection guidelines. In the same way, men are hesitant to screening thus making it difficult to curb the diseases during its early stages. In its endeavor to address the challenges faced by the African American men as far as control of prostate cancer is concerned, American Cancer Society, advocates for adoption of two major strategies . First, it recommends that men at the age of 45 years should emulate digital rectal examination (DRE). Secondly, the society recommends for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test for men who are between the ages of 45 and 50 years. Even though a task force that is concerned with prevention services depicts that there is insufficient evidence on the implications of DRE and PSA on the prevention and control of prostate cancer, the task force argues that a strong relationship between doctors and patients should be maintained to ensure that men are interested in undertaking regular screening. Additionally, the task force maintains that PSA is a better strategy of early detection. However, it is still unclear of how early detection

Risk Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 10000 words

Risk Management - Essay Example 1. What is the significance of reviewing the existing risk managements processes, procedures and requirements at the commencement of ‘establishing risk context’ stage of the risk management process? Establishing the risk context is essential in identifying the limits of any organisation, their risk management processes and the expected results. Before instituting the context it is important to review the existing risk management as it has already evaluated the potential risks that can be sustained and losses incurred. These processes have helped to introduce necessary measures to reduce the probability of occurring risks. Reviewing these existing procedures helps to improve and reassess their ability to mitigate and manage risks. It also helps to identify the probability of new risks and the likelihood of past risks occurring again. This is essential in establishing the value of existing strategies and the effect they have had on the organisation’s assets, profitability, risk management, and their cost effectiveness. 2. Why is it essential that the scope of your risk management is clearly identified? The scope of risk management encompasses many things like identifying personnel such as stakeholders, timeframes, specific areas that need to be reviewed, and the applicability of certain strategies. Therefore, it is very important that the scope be properly defined. This would help in accurately applying risk management sources without unnecessarily replicating them, help involve stakeholders, and aid in achieving the desired goals. It will also help the organisation to manage their resources, target specific risk management areas, set proper timeframes for strategies and precisely define the desired goals. 3. Identify the possible internal and external stakeholders that an organisation might have. Internal External Employees Manager Owners Departments Work teams OHS department Committees Shareholders (e.g., small groups and business) Suppliers Society Government Creditors Shareholders (e.g.: public listed company) Customers Agents Other businesses Finance companies Chambers of commerce Creditors 4. Why is it important to consult with stakeholders when you are in the process of establishing the risk context? Different stakeholders have different issues and concerns, which means that we need to maintain a high level of interpersonal skills to engage stakeholder cooperation and find out what works for everybody, as well as be aware of what do they want to be informed of and when. Consultation with stakeholders wil l enable development and open communication, encourage cooperation, build communication early, and also give early notice of some issues that may arise (e.g., costs, timing, resources, other personnel involved and aspects of the process itself). Stakeholders can provide risk managers with information about risks and who is likely to be affected by the processes, potential impacts or outcomes of the identified risks. They may have a much broader knowledge about risks, and therefore be able to help in identifying impacts. 5. What specific types of documentation should be reviewed during the ‘establishing risk context’ stage of the risk management process for the following areas? Area / context Documentation Political and legal context Companies’

Exposure to Light at Night increases the risk of Breast Cancer Article

Exposure to Light at Night increases the risk of Breast Cancer - Article Example Female breast principally entails of lobules which are the milk-producing glands, the tiny ducts that transport milk to the nipple from the lobules, the fat tissues referred to as the tumor, the connecting tissues found around the lobules and ducts, lymphatic and blood vessels the other part of the killing phrase is cancer. Riley observes that cancer is a word given to a disease where abnormal cells split with no control and are capable of leaving tumor to attack other tissues (Riley 36). These cells can multiply through the body through blood and lymph systems. Breast cancer is a cruel tumor that originates from the cells of the breast. A cruel tumor is a collection of cancer cells with the intention growing into the immediate tissues stretch to far-away parts of the body. These occur nearly entirely in women, however, men may catch it, too. A study investigated whether exposure to light at night-time increases the threat of breast cancer, this is likely by suppressing the standard nocturnal creation of melatonin by the pineal gland and this in return, could boost the discharge of estrogens by the ovaries (Schernhammer 1563). Such disclosure is related to the rising risk of breast cancer among women. In simple terms, light exposure through the night suppresses melatonin creation. In a case-patients aged 20–74 years, were diagnosed in three years, particularly from November 1992 to March 1995. They were regularly matched depending on 5 year age group. A person was used to physically interview and gather details on sleep behaviors, bedroom lighting, and surroundings in a decade before diagnosis and lifetime profession history. Odds ratio and ninety-five percent self-assurance intervals were approximated by use of restrictive logistic falling off, with alterations for other possible hazard factors.  Ã‚  

Dubliners & stories Essay Example for Free

Dubliners stories Essay James Joyce’s book, â€Å"Dubliners† offers a variety of stories about the city of Dublin. James wrote the collection of short fifteen stories where each story adds to the wonderful completion of the book. Each story was so different from the previous and it was very interesting to read various tales that took place in Dublin where each of the stories were kept interested and ready to read the next short story about a great love for the country and you could easily see the disappointment the writer held for some of the country people and the way they lived. I found myself glued to the pages while reading most of the stories and I would be eager to get to the next short story, and occasionally the next wasn’t quite as good, but I continued in my reading and I was never fully disappointed. Some of the stories were better than others, but as a whole, I would have to say that the book, â€Å"Dublin† was well worth the extra time I spent reading it, and I would recommend that others read the book, as well. Reading Joyce’s book is a wonderful way of learning about the country of Dublin and viewing how people live in the country. It was interesting to tour the country using a mental image that guided me along with Joyce’s words. Joyce used impressive and descriptive words to describe the surroundings in Dublin, such as â€Å"glow of a late autumn sunset† which gave me a feeling of serenity and full color description. Joyce used the color gold more than once in her writing, which I assumed was a color that she closely associated with the country of Dublin. In one of Joyce’s short stories, I found it very interesting when she told about Gallaher, from the title, â€Å"A Little Cloud† and told about the man returning from London and she had a way of clearly describing the man as dirty and dear. Gallaher brought interesting light to the short stories because he was able to bring in a different perspective of Dublin, because he wasn’t one that resided in the country. Joyce, in my opinion, possessed a love and hate relationship with Dublin. The author would tell stories of the country which left you feeling as if you never wanted to go there, but would then he would leave you feeling as if you had a deep respect for the country and the people who lived there. In the short story, â€Å"The Dead† Joyce talks about a marriage that was all wrong and failed because the relationship was full of deception and lies. The secrets destroyed the marriage, but at the same time, I liked and appreciated how the author was still able to show the love that was in the failing relationship. Joyce was able to teach me that it’s okay to still love someone, even though there are problems. I was able to see that you can still love someone, even though they are not perfect. The story made me think of unconditional love. In some of the stories, the author was able to come across strongly when she told about alcoholism and how it effected the lives of those who lived in Dublin. I was also able to feel sorry for the poor residents. It was sad how some of the Dublin citizens tried to escape the country only to end up in prison. It took some of the hope away that you had previously wished for and left a stagnant impression of Dublin. In the story, â€Å"Mother†, I found that it was depression that was the main theme of and I found it to be, less than entertaining. It was interesting to see how the author was able to move the story from ones youth to that of an adult. The author brought the words of the stories with anger at times and then gentleness with others. Joyce was able to display both good and bad emotions, from love to hate, and from depression to hope. The young characters in the story made me want to reach out to them. They seemed to be starving for affection and looked so helplessly for a means to escape from the country of Dublin. It was sad to see that hope diminish with the turning of the pages and watch as the young characters grew up to be defeated in their possibilities of escaping. The author spoke with an artistic ability with the words he chose for the story. He spoke in rhythm and it was easy to follow his writing. He had a remarkable way of describing the characters in his short stories and a means to help me closely identify with the characters. â€Å"His eyes burned with anguish and anger† was a line at the end of one story that was more frightening than entertaining. The author spoke bluntly about what he was saying I could clearly see the rage in the eyes of the person. The character, Farrington is such an angry individual in the story â€Å"Counterparts† and you can sense a hatred in his character. You had to wonder if Dublin brought out the worst in everybody. Dublin is a country that I see as oppressed through the authors writing and I don’t feel that I’d enjoy visiting the country, in fear that some of the anger and depression may rub off on me. I sense too much struggle in the daily lives of Dubliners, some which manage to survive with some hope and other characters that I just saw no hope for their eventual happiness. Joyce seemed cold and agitated in his writing when he talked about Dublin as if he had some type of hate for the country. But, in the end you have to ask yourself if he really did hate the place as much as he tried to make you believe he did. His writing was extremely creative and interesting and I’m happy that I read each of the short stories because I did learn so much the people who lived in Dublin. Their lives seemed so dull and full of despair which reminded be how fortunate I am to be able to live in a great country like The United States of America. The author very successful at opening up my imagination and I felt like I was in Dublin with the characters. I would have like to been capable of intervening for many of the characters, which is why I feel that â€Å"Dubliner† was a book that made me feel and react with several emotions. â€Å"Dubliners† by James Joyce is a story that I will always remember, but not with fondness. I will never forget the characters or the country of Dublin. I didn’t realize how old the book truly was, and I found it very impressive to read about the stories of Dublin in the early years. Joyce, James, 1914, â€Å"Dubliners† Penguin Group

Firm survival

Firm survival 1. INTRODUCTION During a recent period of time, the topic of firm survival has received increasing academic attention and many of the studies have focused on its determinants. It is well known that entrepreneurial small businesses contribute to the creation of the new jobs and innovations that helps to develop the economy and reduce the poverty. Some firms survive for considerably longer periods while others do not. The purpose of this paper is to discover research findings that are related to either the survival or death of young firms. Starting a business and operating successfully is subject to uncertainty and requires resources and capabilities which is not available for everyone. Government takes action to reduce unemployment by encouraging new venture start-ups. The problem with new businesses is that there is a high possibility of failure. Subsequently, majority of young firms leave the market relatively soon after entering. It is therefore relevant to determine and understand the factors that have an impact on firm survival, as it is the widely used performance measure of the businesses. The next part of the paper is concerned with the firm-based characteristics of fast growing firms. The observations are based on the UK and US comparative study of fast growing enterprises which were conducted in 2008. ‘Business growth is typically defined and measured, using absolute or relative changes in sales, assets, employment, productivity, profits and profit margins (Blackburn et al. 2008). There is no generally accepted definition of fast growth firms, however it is most often defined in terms of having high sales growth rate. The paper is organized as follows: Section 2 provides a review of the literature. In Section 3 differences in firm-based factors between fast growth firms and all other small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are discussed. Section 4 provides conclusion. FIRM SURVIVAL DETERMINANTS Large number of research papers on young firm survival focus on the person specific characteristics such as prior experience, education and motivation for success of the founder of the firm and business specific characteristics as industry, location, age and size of the company. In addition, Van Gelderen, Thurik and Bosma (2006) summarized that ‘start-up efforts differ in terms of the characteristics of the individuals who start the venture, the organization that they create, the environment surrounding the new venture, and the process by which the new venture is started. 2.1 Person Specific Characteristics In research report by Shane and Venkataraman (2000), it is suggested that success of the business could depend on the founders personality attributes or as Shane (2000) noted on the education of the entrepreneur and prior knowledge. Moreover, experienced founders of the young firm are more likely to take right strategic decisions than the ones with no prior experience. These determinants are considered as being essential for the better performance and decrease the probability of death of the firm. Arribas and Vila (2007) suggested that entrepreneurs human capital is a key determinant of the firms survival. Moreover, they came to a conclusion that the larger the number of entrepreneurs founding the company, the higher will be the chances of survival. One interesting feature to note about human capital stock is that initial larger human capital will add value to the firm and decrease the probability of death but the subsequent changes in human capital will have little impact on the firm survival (Geroski, Mata and Portugal, 2007). On the one hand, researchers argue that the human capital relevant to increasing the chances of survival are measured by the prior knowledge of the entrepreneur, level of education, experience in doing business in that industry and the entrepreneurs motivation for prosperity. On the other hand, others contend that the personal determinants are not that influential on the firms survival or death (Wicker and King 1989). Nevertheless, the education of the founder may not have a specific impact on the firms survival or death, but the knowledge gained by learning and working in the specific industry will influence the way how the entrepreneur responds to the challenges of doing business. 2.2 Business Specific Characteristics: industry sector, location, age and size The survival performance of entrepreneurs varies across industrial sectors, as some industries decline, while others expand. ‘There is a negative relationship between industry growth and firm survival, because growing industries are in earlier stages of the industry life cycle when requirements of adjusting to a changing environment, therefore leading to greater risk of failure (Strotmann, 2007). In contrast, there is a positive relationship between the firm survival and industry relevant experience, because it influences entrepreneurs ability to successfully launch the business and compete within that industry. Here, the point is that entrepreneurs with experience in the same industry as their current business will have a more network of industry suppliers and partners and will have a better understanding of the challenges of the industries in which they are going start a business. According to Fertala (2007) not much of attention was given to the regional differences as a determinant of firms survival or failure. Choosing the appropriate location also has an impact on the business processes. The reason why the location plays an important role in the firms survival or failure is that different regions offer different resources for the company and the cultural environment varies across countries. According to the study, entrepreneurs operate their business close to the place where they live (Mueller and Morgan, 1962). Empirical evidence suggests that locating the firm closer to the suppliers, customers and business partners increases the probability of survival. In addition, Strotmann (2007) contends that the risk of firm death is 30% more in urban areas compared to rural regions. The reason for this might be the high level of salaries and intense competition in urban areas. Fontana et al. (2009) stated that ‘coefficients for age at entry and size are all negative and significant, indicating that bigger firms, endowed with better availability of financial capital have a relatively higher probability of surviving. There are number of reasons for this to be the case. Firstly, large firms have an advantage over a small firm in a way that it has more access to finance, e.g. stock markets and debt financing. Moreover, large firms are more diversified than small firms, therefore they have less risk of failure. Falck (2007) summarised that the size of the firm is the best indicator of failure at the firm level and considered to be an overall measure of access to human capital and financial resources. In addition, Shane and Foo (1999) suggested that greater age will increase the probability of survival. This is not surprising, as the studies show that the most of the businesses fail in the early years of their operations. 3. FAST GROWTH FIRMS Barringer, Jones and Neubaum (2004) wrote that there is a limited knowledge on what determinants influence the firm growth. Authors gave a definition of fast growth firms as ‘firms with a 3-year compound annual sales growth rate of 80% or above (Barringer, Jones and Neubaum, 2004). Smallbone, Leigh and North (1995) compared 70 high growth firms with the other 236 surviving companies. Authors assessed these high growth firms on the basis of the following criteria: ‘(1) Rapid growth: i.e. more than doubling sales turnover in real terms over the 1979-90 periods. (2) Significant size: i.e. reaching a minimum sales turnover of  £0.5m. (3) Financial stability: i.e. consistent profitability in the late 1980s (Smallbone et al. 1995). The interesting feature that the authors noted is that fast growth can be attained by the firms with different size, age and industry characteristics. According to this study, the factors that differentiate high growth firms from other SMEs are that best performing firms are paying more attention to their products and markets by investing in RD, focusing on growth through their mission and strategies, opening to new markets and taking strategic decisions that will make the firm more competitive. Similarly, another study conducted i n 2008, compares the growth challenges of UK and US firms proves that, product and market development are key determinants of growth in both countries (Blackburn et al. 2008). Moreover, the study investigates that US firms were able to achieve the targeted growth by operating in US market; in contrast UK firms were involved in exporting to achieve growth. Subsequently, UK firms are subject to expansion barriers compared to US firms, however UK firms are more diversified and have higher survival probabilities in case of economic downturn. In addition, fast growth firms have a stronger commitment to growth and deeper level of customer knowledge than the firms with low performance indicators (Blackburn et al. 2008). Furthermore, authors observe that product innovation is a key determinant of firms growth. They came to that conclusion by interviewing UK and US business owners who reported that product innovation is a primary motivation for new venture start-up. Finally, Sapienza, Autio and Zahra (2003) argue that internationalization increases young firms probability of failure but at the same time increases prospects for growth. Entering the international market is often costly and firm may not survive after doing business in a foreign country. Moreover, it was observed that starting to operate internationally soon after entering the market is very risky. However, some firms decide to internationalize in their first years of their operations in order not to lose the available opportunity (Sapienza, Autio and Zahra, 2003). Finally, the study shows that some entrepreneurs consider failing in one or more start-ups as an experience before succeeding in their business. 4. CONCLUSION Overall, the results of the studies show that entrepreneurs experience, education level, firm location, age, and size of the firm are vital determinants of firm survival. The empirical evidence suggests that while both individual and business characteristics shape young firm survival within the first years after entry, in the long term, business factor such as firm size, which is measured by financial and human capital have little effect on the probability of survival, while other factors still have a considerable impact on the firms performance. By investigating the factors that lead the firms to grow rapidly, researchers can help all firms better understand the determinants associated with firm growth. The result obtained here is that fast growth firms attributes of success which discriminates them from other SMEs are successful RD investments, product innovation, and focusing on growth through their mission and strategies. Taken as a whole, achieving fast growth is a task of management, similar to the other entrepreneurial challenges that they face. Finally, there is a negative relationship between firm survival and internationalization. However, internationalization opens opportunities for growth for businesses and it is the choice of entrepreneurs to enter or not the international market at the early years of their new venture operations in accordance with the opportunities they have.