Thursday, November 28, 2019

Life Cycle Assessment Concepts Implementation And Problems An Environmental Sciences Essay Example

Life Cycle Assessment Concepts Implementation And Problems An Environmental Sciences Essay With the addition in industrialisation and its impact on the Earth, there is an increasing concern for the hereafter of human sort. Wordss like sustainability and sustainable development are being used more often. Sustainability is a multidimensional construct and focuses on the ternary bottom line construct i.e. ecological, societal and economic aims. The purpose was to accomplish sustainable development through the integrating of the environmental dimension into all policy countries and the shared duty among all the defilers, public and private. To accomplish sustainable development ends must be assessed. Since sustainability is a wide construct including ecological, societal and economic ends and efficient and dependable tool is required. Ness et Al. ( 2007 ) see that the intent of a sustainability appraisal is to supply decision-makers with an rating of planetary to local incorporate nature-society systems in short and long term positions in order to help them to find which actions should or should non be taken in an effort to do society more sustainable . Life Cycle Assessment ( LCA ) is a merchandise related tool. It is more specific than other tools as it focuses on the flows related with production and ingestion of goods and services. The end is to measure the ingestion of natural resources and emanation of environmental tonss along the production or ingestion ironss or throughout the life rhythm of a merchandise or service. LCA is the most developed merchandise related tool. We will write a custom essay sample on Life Cycle Assessment Concepts Implementation And Problems An Environmental Sciences specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Life Cycle Assessment Concepts Implementation And Problems An Environmental Sciences specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Life Cycle Assessment Concepts Implementation And Problems An Environmental Sciences specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Harmonizing to Vigon et Al. ( 1993 ) , one of the first LCA surveies was conducted by Harold Smith, undertaking general director for the Douglas Point Nuclear Generating Station, Canada. A subsequently survey, carried out at Coca-Cola by Harry E. And Teastley Jr. , affecting multiple standards on the usage of plastic vs. glass bottles for packing took into history the full life rhythm of the merchandise. The survey revealed that the plastic bottles were less fouling than the glass bottles. These partial consequences raised treatments on the cogency of comparings and led the scientific community to believe of a standardization procedure. Nowadays LCA is standardized through the ISO 14040 series. Life Cycle Assessment ( LCA ) is a technique that is used to measure every impact associated with the phases of a procedure from cradle-to-grave. It is a holistic attack to measuring environmental effects of a merchandise, procedure or activity by looking at the full life rhythm of the merchandise, procedure or activity from the extraction of natural stuffs through to consumer usage. It maps the environmental effects throughout the full life rhythm. Figure 1 LCA is a systematic set of processs for analyzing and roll uping the inputs and end products of stuffs and energy and the associated environmental impacts straight attributable to the operation of a merchandise or service throughout its life rhythm. It can assist in avoiding a narrow mentality on environmental, societal and economic concerns ( the three-base hit bottom line ) . This can be achieved by following the ISO 14040 criterions for LCA and making the followers: Compilation of an stock list of inputs of energy and stuffs and environmental end products Identifying and finding the possible impacts related to the identified inputs and end products Interpreting the consequences in relation to the aims of the survey. The model for LCA is provided by the ISO 14040 series: ISO 14040:1997 on rules and model of LCA, ISO 14041:1999 on the definition of end and range and stock list analysis, ISO 14042:2000 on life rhythm impact appraisal, and ISO 14043:2000 on life rhythm reading. Before the LCA came the planetary modeling surveies and the energy audits of the late sixtiess and early seventiess. They were the precursors of the LCA and attempted to measure the cost of resources and environmental deductions of different forms of human behavior. The extension to these was the LCA and it became critical to back up the development of eco-labelling strategies presently in pattern in many states around the Earth. Before eco-labels can be granted, the presenting authorization demands to be able to measure the fabrication procedure, the ingestion of energy and the waste generated throughout the life rhythm of the merchandise or service and this is where the LCA came into image. A Life Cycle Assessment practician tabulates the environmental exchanges ( natural resources consumed and waste generated ) at every phase in a merchandise or service life rhythm. The life rhythm with its associated stuff and energy flows is called the merchandise system. A LCA can be conducted to bring forth environmental information on the life rhythm of the merchandise and the information can be used to do determinations about alterations that may be implemented in the merchandise system to cut down the environmental impacts. To accurately measure the loads placed on the environment by the industry of a merchandise or service a process must be followed or a procedure must be used. There are two chief phases in the procedure ; the first measure is data aggregation and the 2nd measure is the reading of the informations. LCA is a powerful tool which can assist regulators in explicating environmental policy and statute law, aid makers in analysing their procedures and bettering their merchandises and aid the consumers in doing informed determinations. Like most tools it must be decently used and non misused to supply promotion to a merchandise or service. LCA has a broad scope of applications. Some of the related applications which emerged during the development of LCA are: Internal industrial usage in merchandise development and betterment Internal strategic planning and policy determination support in industry, External industrial usage for selling intents, and Governmental policy devising in the countries of ecolabelling, green procurance and waste direction chances. Scope of LCA Figure 2 The range of LCA is the full life rhythm. It begins with the procurance of natural stuffs and ends with the disposal of the used merchandise. A LCA may be conducted by a house to place where betterments can be made, in environmental footings or it can be intended to supply environmental informations for the populace or to run into authorities ordinances. A recent phenomenon is the usage of LCA to market and advertise merchandises as being environmentally friendly or environmentally superior to other merchandises. The end in carry oning a LCA survey is to compare the full scope of ternary bottom line harm attributable to merchandises and services and to supply information to enable determinations to be made about taking the least onerous one. It provides a method to account for the cascading effects of engineerings used for bring forthing goods and services. It accurately measures the impact of engineering used to present merchandise and services. No affair how environmentally friendly, all merchandises have some impact on the environment. The purpose of LCA is to place which merchandises, processes or services are more harmful ( bring forth more pollution or waste than others and/or use more resources ) . Even for merchandises with a low environmental impact, LCA helps to place the phases in the fabrication procedure or in usage which can do pollution and those which require high stuff or energy input. Analyzing the production procedure in such all right item can besides help companies in placing countries where scarce resources are being used and assist them to replace more sustainable merchandises in their topographic point. It may besides take to increased efficiency and lower cost of production and take constrictions in the fabrication procedure. Phases in the LCA The four distinguishable stages of a LCA, harmonizing to the ISO 14040 and 14044 criterions, are end and range definition, stock list analysis, impact appraisal and reading as shown in figure 3. Figure 3 ISO model for LCA Goal and range definition Since LCA is a clip consuming and expensive procedure, the aims and range of the LCA demand to specify at the beginning in order to do efficient usage of clip and resources. The undermentioned six determinations need to be made at the beginning of the LCA procedure: 1. Specify the end of the undertaking 2. Determine the type of information needed by the determination shapers 3. Determine the degree of specificity 4. Determine how the information should be organized and the consequences displayed 5. Specify the range of the undertaking 6. Determine the land regulations for carry oning the survey In this stage the LCA practician decides and specifies the end and range of the survey in relation to the peculiar application. The aim of the survey is described in footings of a functional unit. The end and range address the overall attack to set up the system boundaries. The system boundaries in bend determine which unit procedures are included in the LCA. The end and range definition stage besides specifies the method used for measuring the possible environmental impacts. Inventory Analysis In the 2nd stage, information is collected and the merchandise is modelled. A description and confirmation of information is besides included. All informations related to the environmental and proficient measures for all relevant unit processes within the system boundaries are encompassed in this phase. To help the procedure of LCA, stock lists and patterning are carried out utilizing a dedicated package bundle, such as SimaPro, GaBi or TEAM. TEAM ( Tools for Environmental Analysis and Management ) is Ecobilian s Life Cycle Assessment package. Team allows the user to construct and utilize a big database and to pattern any system stand foring the operations associated with merchandises, procedures and activities. Team enables to depict any industrial system and to cipher the associated life rhythm stock lists and possible environmental impacts harmonizing to the ISO 14040 series of criterions. SimaPro, the most widely used LCA package, from PRe advisers. It offers parameterized modeling and comes with a big database included. GaBi from PE International offers Life Cycle Assessment harmonizing to ISO 14040/ 14044, design for environment A ; ecodesign, environmental merchandise declarations, merchandise C footmark, resource A ; energy efficiency and H2O footmark computations. To assist LCA practicians understand the environmental impact of stuff flows while bring forthing a stuff, constituent or assembly the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and spouses created the United States Life Cycle Inventory ( LCI ) Database. The LCA package mentioned above and other package analyze every phase of the merchandise s life rhythm based on the informations input by the LCA practician. Thus a LCA is merely every bit valid as its information. This makes it necessary for the LCA practician to hold an extended cognition and entree to the inside informations of the merchandise. The package can besides be used to pattern the implicit in costs and societal impacts. It can besides be designed to measure the life rhythm holistically or based on a specific facet such as waste minimisation. The information must be related to the range and ends defined in the first stage. Datas can be organized in tabular format and some illations can be drawn. The result of the stock list analysis stage is an LCI ( Life Cycle Inventory ) . LCI provides information about all inputs and end products in footings of an simple flow to and from the environment from all unit processes involved in the survey. Impact appraisal In the 3rd stage, the part to impact classs such as planetary heating, acidification, etc. is evaluated. In this the first measure is word picture. Characterization involves ciphering the impact potencies based on the LCI Results. Following this, the consequences are normalized and leaden ( these are voluntary harmonizing to ISO criterions ) . Normalizing involves giving all impacts the same units so that a footing for comparing can be established. Burdening implies attaching a weight factor to each impact class based on the comparative importance. Interpretation The last stage of the LCA is the reading stage. It includes an analysis of the sensitiveness of the information elements, the uncertainness and the major parts. It is the concluding phase where the ends of the survey can be met. It determines the assurance degree of the concluding consequence and involves pass oning them in a just, accurate and complete mode. It starts with the apprehension of the truth of the consequences and guaranting that they meet the ends defined in the first stage. This is done by placing the information elements that contribute significantly to each impact class, finding the sensitiveness and measuring their consistence and completeness. Decisions and recommendations are made based on the readings and an apprehension of the methodological analysis of the LCA and the derivation of consequences. Chapter II: Reappraisal OF LITERATURE There are many different fluctuations of the Life Cycle Assessment: Cradle-to-grave Cradle-to-gate Cradle-to-Cradle Gate-to-gate Cradle-to-gate Well-to-wheel Economic input-output life rhythm appraisal Ecologically-based LCA The assorted analytical tools to carry on life rhythm analysis are: Material Input per Unit of Service ( MIPS ) Environmental Risk Analysis ( ERA ) Material Flow Accounting ( MFA ) Cumulative Energy Requirements Analysis ( CERA ) Environmental Input-Output Analysis ( env, IOA ) Life Cycle Costing ( LCC ) Entire cost accounting ( TCA ) Cost-Benefit Analysis ( CBA ) Integrating Economic Analysis into LCA The differences between LCA and LCC ( Life Cycle Costing ) are: Figure 4 The separation of life rhythm environmental appraisal from economic analysis has several effects: It limits the influence and relevancy of LCA in determination devising. Not incorporating LCA and LCC leads to lost chances in alternate design determinations even when a LCC has been conducted at the same time with an LCA as trade-offs and relationships ca nt be examined. The LCA position and its consequences can hold of import economic relevancy for companies, which may be missed when cost analyses neglect LCA s range and findings. PTLaser and TCAce are two tools available to bridge the spread between LCA and LCC. Figure 5 Schematic of TCAce information flows These tools are assisting companies to break measure their determinations. Examples of LCA Unilever Bros. Ltd. Unilever is a transnational administration holding more than 275,000 employees with mills in 90 states and gross revenues in 150 states. Unilever s environment scheme is Eco-efficiency in the supply concatenation, Eco-innovation in merchandises and services, Sustainable Development Initiatives and Communication. Life Cycle Assessment helps to back up this scheme. Unilever has focused on environmental betterments of its ain procedures. It started using LCA to its merchandise systems in the late 1980s to place countries of important environmental impact, quantify Unilever s part to the entire impact and broaden the focal point of environmental betterments. Some of the merchandise systems studied utilizing LCA are: Frozen veggies Ice Cream Tea Tomato-based sauce Margarine and spreads Laundry merchandises Family cleaners Shower gels Toothpaste Figure 6 The result of the LCA was that Unilever realised that to accomplish important betterments and benefits to the environment they needed a new attack. They engaged in partnerships with the supply concatenation and started programmes to educate consumer. The LCA tool used by Unilever is shown in the figure: Figure 7 Unilever is committed to 3 sustainable development subjects: aˆ? Sustainable Fisheries aˆ? Sustainable Agribusiness aˆ? Clean Water Stewardship To carry on the Overall Business Impact Assessment ( OBIA ) , they performed a LCA of Unilever s Global Business. The function of LCA in sustainable agribusiness was that LCA methodological analysis was applied to each sustainable agribusiness pilot harvest. This provided an apprehension of environmental impacts across agricultural supply ironss, placed the agricultural phase in context with the remainder of supply concatenation and aided in the development of sustainability indexs. LCA in the clean H2O stewardship plan was done by set abouting Water imprint based on OBIA attack and regional appraisal of H2O supplies. It was based on the Life Cycle attack across the supply concatenation. The function of communicating in LCA can be divided into two sections: Internal Communications aˆ? Raising Awareness aˆ? Innovation support External Communiations aˆ? Trade aˆ? Regulators aˆ? European Commission aˆ? Industry aˆ? Corporate Environment Report aˆ? Unilever Internet Site aˆ? Conferences, Presentations aˆ? Brochures, publications The results of LCA for: Individual Merchandises Identified important environmental facets across the life rhythm of merchandises Placed Unilever part in context Aided in Internal communicating and consciousness elevation Provided support for new merchandise launch ( PR ) Increasing consideration of environmental facets in merchandise development/innovation ( ecodesign ) Development of tools to widen usage of LCA to a wider audience Strategic Level Determined extent of Unilever s planetary environmental impact Contributed to the induction of the Sustainable Development undertakings Life rhythm attack is built-in to certain facets of the Sustainable Development undertakings Therefore we can reason that LCA as a tool and construct is a cardinal, built-in constituent of Unilever s environmental scheme. Procter A ; Gamble A Life Cycle Assessment ( LCA ) database for laundry detergents of the Procter A ; Gamble Company ( P A ; G ) was constructed utilizing SimaPro package. The input informations needed to carry on a merchandise LCI came from several different, back uping databases to cover provider ( extraction and fabrication of natural stuffs ) , fabrication of the detergent merchandise, transit, packaging, and usage and disposal phases. Fabrication, packaging and transit phases are representative of European conditions while the usage and disposal phases are state specific and represent how consumers are utilizing a specific merchandise and how wastes are disposed of in their several states. The database was constructed to let Procter A ; Gamble directors to analyze detergent merchandises from a system-wide, functional unit point of position in a consistent, transparent and consistent mode. The figure shows the life rhythm as organized in the SimaPro package. A functional unit of 1000 wash rhythms was assumed. The analysis showed that more than 80 % of the energy ingestion occurs during the consumer usage phase ( chiefly for warming of the H2O ) . Air and solid waste follow the same form, most of these being associated with the energy coevals for the usage phase. More than 98 % of the biological O demand, nevertheless, is associated with the disposal phase even after accounting for remotion during intervention Figure 8 The SimaPro database was customized specifically to carry on life-cycle stock lists and impact appraisals of P A ; G laundry detergents. The building of the database allows a rapid, consistent and crystalline executing of an LCI for P A ; G laundry detergents. It enables the ranking of the life-cycle stages in footings of their parts to a certain emanation or impact class. The analysis presented here clearly demonstrates the qualitative decision that, from an LCA point-of-view, the merchandise usage phase is the most of import one ; most of the emanations and hence most of the environmental impact tonss are driven by how the consumer uses the detergent. Most of these emanations are generated during the production of energy to heat the H2O. Quantitatively, the impact of the consumer usage phase is really sensitive to variableness in consumer wonts every bit good as the features of the local electricity grid. The Dow Chemical Company By 2015 Dow purposes to duplicate the per centum of gross revenues to 10 % of merchandises which are advantaged by sustainable chemical science. Dow has been in LCA since the late 1980 s. It was a cardinal participant in specifying the matter-of-fact scientific footing of LCA. Dow continues to chair the Life Cycle Task Force, which oversees updates to PlasticsEurope eco-profiles and methodological analysis. It has set up an LCA group to supervise LCA undertakings. Major stairss for ISO-compliant LCA at Dow: aˆ? Business demand for LCA identified in combination with the LCA group aˆ? LCA Expert and Business Focal Point identified aˆ? Goal A ; Scope Defined aˆ? Life Cycle Inventory Collected aˆ? Life Cycle Impact Assessment Performed aˆ? Life Cycle Interpretation Conducted aˆ? Report written and Critically Reviewed aˆ? Third-Party ( External ) Report developed Figure 9 Different LCA undertakings conducted by Dow are: Natural Oil Polyols Constructing Insulation Merchandises Sugarcane-based Polyethylene These undertakings led to decrease in green house gas emanations, biodegradable plastics and usage of renewable beginnings of natural stuff. The findings were used to back up the ICCA survey. DuPont As portion of their 2015 Sustainability ends, DuPont is committed to cut downing the environmental impact of their merchandises and procedures along their value ironss. DuPont really performed two separate LCAs 1 for the industry and imagination of Flexographic A ; Gravure image bearers and one for Flexographic A ; Gravure printing. Both LCA surveies took into history all the inputs and end products associated with the chemical sciences, substrates, inks, transit, packaging and other stuffs needed during packaging production that comprise 2 % or more of the sum needed for the concluding merchandise. It besides considered and credited any environmental benefits for all recycled, reused or incinerated stuffs. It did non include laminating or other finishing stairss after the substrate is printed. The measurings and informations were collected from Tradeshops and Printers in the U.S. and Western Europe, the Cyrel fabrication site in Parlin, New Jersey ; and the DuPont Cyrel Customer Technology Centre in Wilmington, Delaware. Data was provided by clients utilizing a series of questionnaires. In add-on, several pieces of equipment were metered during existent production to find energy ingestion. Other informations, like solvent recycling was the consequence of patterning client informations. Figure 10 High degree consequences indicate that Flexographic publishing offers about 50 % nest eggs in non-renewable energy ingestion and nursery gases when compared to Gravure ; and that solvent-free DuPont Cyrel FAST home base processing offers about 30 % nest eggs in nursery gases and 24 % nest eggs in non-renewable energy ingestion when compared to solvent systems. Extra penetrations suggest that where possible home base gage should besides be considered. When lighter gage home bases are specified, impacts are reduced across the full supply concatenation and sustainability is enhanced. To carry on the LCA an nonsubjective and recognized industry confer withing group, Five Winds International LLC, was engaged to take the critical equal reappraisal and O.K. the findings. The Life Cycle Assessments have undergone a critical equal reappraisal and have been given blessing. Concluding edits and panel signatures were completed in September, 2008. The Critical equal reappraisal assured that ISO criterions 14040 and 14044 were followed and that procedures were consistent with those criterions ; that informations aggregation methods were scientifically and technically valid ; that information was appropriate and sensible for the end of the survey ; that readings reflected the restrictions and ends of the survey ; and that the study was crystalline and consistent. The equals came from industry associations ( the FTA in the US ) , academe ( Michigan State School of Packaging ) , the industry ( Colour Resolutions International ) and Sustainability consulting ( Five Winds International ) . Data was strictly and conscientiously gathered over a 12 month period and repeated as needed. Customers and non-customer contacts in the industry provided entree to their sites for informations aggregation or in some instances provided the informations straight. Data was collected in the US and Europe. Consumer Packaged Goods Companies ( CPGs ) and retail merchants have begun to necessitate that their providers provide merchandises that have been made utilizing environmentally sustainable procedures. Some, like Wal-Mart, are necessitating informations back uping sustainability claims, and some similar Unilever are get downing to stipulate the natural stuffs and production procedures for their merchandises. If retail merchants A ; CPG s specify Flexographic printing, lighter gage home bases and Cyrel FAST home base devising when possible, they can cut down upstream energy ingestion and nursery gases, better upstream working conditions, and thrust sustainable solutions and invention globally. Converters/printers can utilize this information to find when to stipulating lighter gage home bases and Cyrel FAST. By making this, they will assist drive efficiencies upstream that can take to higher throughput, reduced non-renewable energy ingestion and nursery gases, reduced waste, faster turnaround, and best-in-class artworks. When Converters combine these additions with other sustainability enterprises, they can present of import betterments to CPG s and Retailers who are going more interested in upstream impacts and are seeking to cut down their overall packaging footmark. Tradeshops need to present sustainability additions to their clients while supplying quality home bases. They can utilize this information to do picks about how to bring forth home bases. By following the most current systems, and promoting the pattern of cut downing home base gage, Tradeshops can extinguish stuffs and stairss, cut down energy and emanations and go through these additions on to their clients. The trade store s ternary bottom line is further enhanced by the increased throughput, faster turnaround, reduced waste and high public presentation. Problem Decision

Monday, November 25, 2019

Comparison between Democracy in Ancient Greece and United States essays

Comparison between Democracy in Ancient Greece and United States essays The Influence of the Greeks on American Democracy Tyranny is the rule of one man to the advantage of the ruler, oligarchy to the advantage of the rich, democracy to the advantage of the poor. -Aristotle Democracy: a form of government that makes political decisions directly exercised by the whole body of citizens, under procedures of majority rule. This type of democracy is know as a direct democracy, however the form of government that citizens exercise the same right not in person but through elected representatives is known as a representative democracy. Today in the United States of America we have a representative democracy in which we appoint representatives through election. The founders of democracy in Athens exercised decisions through a direct democracy in which all male citizens were allowed to have direct influence on the decisions. Although in the United States today we accept democracy as a form of life it had its early beginnings in the city-states of Ancient Greece. The form of government known as democracy had its early roots in Ancient Greece but its influence has a direct connection with the type of government we have today in the United States. The Greek city-states of antiquity did not always live a lifestyle with the cooperation of democracy. The civilizations of Greece passed through many stages of government. In the 8th and 7th centuries the government was known as an oligarchy. An oligarchy is the rule of the city-state by a selected few usually consisting of wealthy landowners. These representatives made decisions based on their own ideals without the consideration of the people. Decisions were made not with the interest of the majority but with the interests of the few. Since the oligarchy was primarily run by wealthy landowners, the interests of the poor were often ignored. However, tensions began to arise between these wealthy landowners which left the majori...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Porter's 5 forces analysis of NEXT Plc Case Study

Porter's 5 forces analysis of NEXT Plc - Case Study Example NEXT Plc is retail chain in Clothing specialising in Men's wear, ladies wear, Sports wear, Leisure wear, Children wear. Underwear Swimwear Footwear watches etc. NEXT products are highly trendy which sells at moderate prices. Clothing is targeted on stylish women and men in the age range 20 to 40. Home shopping and financial services are also provided. NEXT operates through 300 high street shops covering the UK and Ireland and also foreign markets. (http://www. next.co.uk) The clothing market of UK is declining at present. Clothing is generally manufactured by low tech machines with cheap labour spread in third world countries. The industry is facing competition from high-tech machines that can stitch better quality products at faster speed and at lesser cost. Retail shops thrive in the market to sell these clothing. The market trend today is of opening retail chain stores and capturing the market with own favourite brands such as Next, Marks & Spenser, Gap, and Arcadia. These retail chain stores grow big and can afford costly high-tech machines but small retailers can not afford quick change to new technology. Highly exclusive designer boutiques cater to rich segment with exclusive designs. But consumer goods markets mainly thrive on middle class segment and therefore every big retailer concentrates to that market. . Other activities of NEXT include telecommunications software services and property management. Analysis of NEXT plc and its environment ... Environmental Opportunities NEXT Retail accounted for the biggest 69% of revenue in 2000. More than 96% of sales came from the UK market. NEXT is ranked number one in the market in high street category and in providing mail order facility to youth group in 20-40 age. It is very difficult for the competitors to enter into the segment and grab the market share. Environmental Threat : In spite of its well-entrenched position in the market there are some big brands like TESCO which is trying hard to snatch the market share by offering clothes stitched fro the low labour cost areas at dumping prices. Lewis 501 denim product at pound 20 is a burning example. Bargaining power of suppliers: Suppliers in clothing industry are many and this is true for NEXT also. Supplier can be indispensable only when he holds monopolistic status. In case of NEXT's suppliers they don't enjoy such position and can't pull the company for increasing rates or other terms unless it is negotiated and accepted. Bargaining powers of Buyers: Buyers or customers have lots of power to discard a product in the shelf. In the modern world of marketing it is the value creation through brands, promotion, prices tags, product positioning, label, quality and store's image that retain clients. Generally clients don't bargain prices from a good outlet and believe to pay the tag prices accepting the quality of goods therein. NEXT has good image to project and should not expect consumers' reprisal unless the brand loses its value. Threat of new entrants to the industry Small brands are not capable to enter into the clothing chain market to compete with NEXT because of the capital- intensive nature of the modern clothing industry. Big labels do have strength of money, knowledge, expertise and marketing power to challenge NEXT. Donna Karan, Calvin Klein, Tesco, Marks & Spenser or some other brands from US can enter the market comfortable by opening

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Environmental Issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Environmental Issues - Essay Example Rubenstein et al oppose this argument by pointing out that these animals would be introduced into a completely new environment from that of their predecessors, with unpredictable results. Dolan also argues for re-wilding as a means of restoring species’ evolutionary potential. Rubenstein et al rebuff this argument as impractical because both the species being reintroduced and those in the current habitat have evolved very differently from past species (Easton, 2011). According to Dolan, re-wilding boosts conservation efforts. Endangered species from Africa and Asia stand a better chance of survival if protected in North American reserves (Easton, 2011). Rubenstein et al however disagree with this on the basis that diversion of resources away from on-going conservation efforts further reduces these species’ chances of survival (Easton, 2011). Rubenstein et al therefore highlight serious concerns on the viability and practicality of re-wilding. Instead of diverting attent ion and funds towards experimental efforts, I believe it is more productive to focus on current conservation efforts. ISSUE 5: MILITARY TRAINING AND THE ENVIRONMENT The United States military is entrusted with 25 million acres of land for military training purposes (Easton, 2011). There are more than 300 species on these lands, and so far, the military has displayed a conservative approach towards these species, training and conducting its activities in a manner that preserves the integrity of these species, an approach termed ‘working around’ (Easton, 2011). Benedict Cohen argues that environmental concerns hinder the military from achieving its training objectives and renders them satisfactorily unprepared to defend the country. He therefore argues for exemption of the military from strict environmental protection policies on the basis that military activities do not greatly endangered species. Cohen provides assurance that the military will continue to conserve the l and under its stewardship (Easton, 2011). Clark strongly opposes the exemption of the military from environmental regulations, arguing that the military has so far trained satisfactorily while within the limits of environmental policies. She also gives examples of the military’s active environmental conservation by incorporating environmental concerns into its training routine, thus demonstrating that military objectives and environmental conservation are not mutually exclusive, but capable of being integrated. Clark also argues that if limitations are removed, there will be no guarantee that the military will clean up after itself, and irreparable damage may be inflicted on the ecosystem (Easton, 2011) . I believe that no institution should operate under a mandate of zero accountability. The military cannot be expected to adequately police itself as regards environmental conservation, and should therefore be held accountable by regulatory bodies on the impact of its activiti es on the environment. ISSUE 6: CARBON EMISSION RESTRICTIONS The growing realization of the devastating impact of green-house gases emitted by human activities and the subsequent climate change necessitated establishment of controls and regulation of emissions by these industries. The debate over carbon emissions is a result of climate change concerns and the need for human beings to regulate their

Monday, November 18, 2019

Business Ethics and Virtue Ethics Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Business Ethics and Virtue Ethics - Case Study Example The core of virtue ethics is perfecting attributes such as integrity that makes the individual truly ethical (Crisp 87). Virtue ethics requires the existence of a society that supports and nurtures these virtues. Virtue ethics also requires identification of role models in the society or the moral exemplars that disseminate morality or act of benchmarks of moral character in the society. A virtuous individual will try to emulate the moral exemplars in the community (Mizzoni 105). Virtues develop through continuous learning and practice in ethical decision making. According to Aristotle, a person will improve his integrity and character through repeated self-discipline (Crisp 92). Business ethics entails the principles and standards that shape behavior in the business world. Management roles and especially leadership requires an individual to exercise high ethical standards in making decisions ((Hursthouse 36). For instance, the human resource manager should not disclose employee priv ate information like disease history (Hursthouse 29). Managers face many instances of conflict of interest in day to day running of the business. The management is supposed to make ethical decisions that cater for the welfare of all employees. Most business transactions involve elements of trust, fairness and self-control (Hursthouse 63). Virtue ethics can be applied in business ethics to reduce the instances of corruption and fraud. For instance, a virtuous employee who value trustworthy will consider it wrong to receive kickbacks from a supplier of the organization. Other employees will such employee ethical, but they will also consider the society expectations on such behavior. Unethical behavior results to lost business revenues and high costs of operation thus adversely affecting the profitability and return to the stakeholders. Virtuous salespersons will advise the customer on the health risks associated with the product before closing the sale (Darwall 82). Virtues like trust will eliminate the agency costs associated with monitoring contracts and agreements with stakeholders. Empathy will help the business in identifying and meeting customer needs since economic success depends on courteous treatment of the customers (Statman 45). Honesty is a human characteristic that defines a virtuous person. Honest agents will tell the truth and make true promises (Dobson 1). An honest person can easily be trusted by others since he never lie, steal or cheat. Virtue ethics assert that if children are directed to be honest, they must also be taught the prize of truth. Fairness is another ethical virtue that guides ethical decision making. Fairness entails compliance with the accepted standards of conduct and making decisions without discrimination (Darwall 37). According to Fairness approach by Aristotle, favoritism will benefit a section of the society without any justifiable reason (Dobson 3). Another ethical virtue that individuals try to nurture is justice. Aqui nas has defined justice as the consistent will to render everyone his due. Justice entails doing what is right; therefore, the moral agent has an obligation to render justice and respect the other people in the society. Commutative justice serves equality in the society by restitution (Hursthouse 66). For instance, employees should be compensated according to the efforts and time invested in their work. Deceiving customers on quality of goods and demanding a higher price

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Self Esteem and Adolescence

Self Esteem and Adolescence Amber Le Many high school students today graduate and aspire to pursue post-secondary education. One of the many necessary criteria that these students are often required to meet include college entrance exams such as the Scholastic Assessment Test (also known as SAT) or the American College Testing (also known as ACT). These standardized admission tests are taken by high school students where they later receive scores of their performance that determine what range of colleges and universities their scores are capable of satisfying. Today, there are people who oppose to the idea of colleges using these numbers to be one of many benchmarks for determining admissions, as these people do not believe that the numbers that result in taking these standardized test directly reflect upon a students intelligence, but rather their ability to answer questions at a given amount of time. Whatever the belief, these test results are legitimate nonetheless. For some people, these test results narrows down th eir post-secondary paths to limit them, and for others, opportunities are opened up. One can assume that many would prefer the latter result after receiving input on their academic performance, as receiving unsatisfying results is unpleasant for virtually all of us. From this, the question arises of how academic performance, such as these standardized tests, can affect a persons self-esteem. First off, what is self-esteem? In Merriam-Webster, self-esteem is define as, a confidence and satisfaction in oneself. A research from University of California, Davis, elaborates on self-esteem, explaining: Self-esteem is how we value ourself; It is how we perceive our value to the world and how valuable we think we are to others. Self-esteem affects our trust in others, our relationships, our work- nearly every part of our lives. This description of self-esteem describes to us that self-esteem plays an immense role in the outcome of a persons life. A persons self esteem can be affected by many factors that involve in affecting their confidence or satisfaction in oneself. This can be different for many people, as values along with levels of confidence greatly varies from person to person. The general factors include, social relationships, family, school, society, media, feedback, consequences in life, popularity, success, and a persons way of handling things. Self-esteem is important because along with self-awareness, self-esteem is a sine qua non playing a role in a persons ability to realize their own potential and build confidence on themselves. Although there is no mathematical equation to measure exactly how much self-esteem a person has that will result in a specific end product, there are ways to approximate a persons self-esteem, based on questions that narrow down the results to a general answer. The Rosenberg Self Esteem scale is a scale often used in social-science research that involve in a series of questions relating to a persons self esteem. These series of questions allow subjects to answer their questions by agreeing or disagreeing to questions and stating to what degree they agree or disagree. There is then a score at the end of the questionnaire, that shows where that subject self esteem lies. This will help our experiment because we are experimenting to see if there is a change in these self-esteem test results, before and after our subjects have been given test results that please them and test results that do not please them. In such a physically, mentally, and emotionally formative age, adolescents experience and are exposed to many things that affect who they become later in life. These things can both be positive and negative things. At this age, adolescents are exposed to a wide variety of environments that include social, competitive, and academic- all that have the capability of affecting self-esteem. In all reality, any environments we are in are capable of affecting our self-esteem. Nonetheless, being exposed to great motley of these environments greater the likeliness of ones self-esteem of being affected. In social environments, factors such as relationships with friends and families can affect ones self esteem, where good and reliable relationships have greater chances of improving self-esteem, and unhealthy relationships have greater chances of lowering self-esteem. All these apply for the other environments. As stated before, anything that affects the satisfaction of ones self affects self-es teem. In competitive circumstances, one might not be satisfied if they feel as though they failed to perform to their greatest potential, thus causing, though trivial, to become possibly vulnerable of having lower self esteem. Through observation and research, it is possible to believe that self-esteem associates with an adolescents academics and their social skills. The ability for an adolescent to perform well in both environments affects the levels of their self-esteem. Switch it around, and it would also make sense to say that having the deserving amount of self-esteem can affect the way something is done. However, research cannot prove entirely that self-esteem does propose these actions, but it is all left for the individual to do what they believe is correct. Educational and social achievements promote positive self-esteem. which creates the idea of a healthy climate. The act of achieving encourages the desire to continue and to feel motivated. Most schools and communities want their youth to constantly feel this way so that the lack of participation and the struggle to engage should not have to be a problem.   The effects of failure are the opposite and they play a different role in an adole scents way of living. Failure can affect the levels of self-esteem by influencing depressive symptoms among those who do so. Failing also creates mental effects that can affect a persons ability to decide in the long run. These negative effects can continue to discourage the tendency to feel motivated. From these two stances, one   could either try to do better again or quit entirely. Besides the number of accomplishments and failures being made, there are plenty of other factors that can affect ones self esteem level. Many of these factors can be simple things, but can also be complex and affect you for the rest of your life. The factor that tends to influence self-esteem the most are commonly negative. ADD DETAIL. Negative factors happen to be more prominent in the way self-esteem is handled because its harder to get back into the habit of setting goals and achieving them. It would be better to just consider stopping whatever you planned on pursuing. There are personal factors that can help you discover your own identity and make you feel a certain way based off of who you want to be, and there are also environmental factors that can go to the highest extent and urge you to feel a certain way based off of everything that is around you. Personal factors can include ideas that relate towards past childhood, family, and genetics. Depression is a major influence on levels of self-esteem and is the result of not being able to regain that high level of self-esteem. Body image, social experience, performance, and voice are among the common environmental factors most adolescents allow to affect their self-esteem. [[[Luckily, there are many skills and techniques that can improve an individuals level of self-esteem. Some ideas include therapies or practices that can encourage individuals to feel confident in the way that they perform during their daily tasks. The key is to maintain a sustainable level of self-esteem throughout your life so that it is not too high or too low. The right amount of self-esteem will help you in your life, but too much of it can be troublesome. Having too high of a self esteem level does not allow you to healthily challenge yourself and benefit you in your views of life. Characteristics of those who have too high of a self esteem level tend to assign themselves to a superiority, blind themselves from their own faults, and limit themselves to the ability of change and improvement. However, having too low self-esteem isnt something youd want either. It can lead to some dangerous effects.   Having too low of a self-esteem level will put stress on your thoughts, d ecisions, and overall life. There are extreme consequences in promoting a lifestyle of low self-esteem. Some activities that allow you to build and keep your levels of self-esteem include developing new hobbies, exercising, and simple positive thinking. Keep in mind the effect you have towards other individuals who surround you as a close friend, family, or stranger. The way that you interact with another can also influence the way they control their self-esteem level. Low self-esteem is an issue that can extremely affect youth development and social behaviors worldwide.]]] Adolescents are at an age where they arent spending as much of their time at home anymore and they are beginning to become more actively involved throughout their school and community. Because growing up is a huge factor in the form of self-esteem, self-esteem is seen more often in adolescents than seen in adults. Remember that self-esteem can influence decisions made outside of your home and your school. Evidently self-esteem plays a role in specific environments such as social, athletic, and academic. Most importantly, the amount of self-esteem an adolescent has can affect their performance in many different ways. It affects their activity advancement and improvement. These things are important towards their growth and future successes. Will those who have higher self-esteem levels continue to life their life more successfully than those who dont have as much self-esteem? Tons of factors allow an individual to determine what they want to do and how they want to continue feeling. It is important to understand the significance of ones performance; it just so happens that these factors affect it. Works Cited Adolescence and Self-Esteem. (n.d.). Retrieved January 19, 2017, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/surviving-your-childs-adolescence/201009/adolescence-and-self-esteem B. (n.d.). 9 Factors That Affect Self Awareness And Self Esteem. Retrieved January 19, 2017, from http://selfprogress.co.uk/9-factors-that-affect-self-awareness-and-self-esteem/ C., About Chris Youth Expert, Parenting Coach, Editor of Understanding Teenagers. (2016, February 27). Teenagers and Self Esteem: Key Factors à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Understanding Teenagers Blog. Retrieved January 19, 2017, from http://understandingteenagers.com.au/blog/teenagers-and-self-esteem-key-factors/ Factors Affecting Self-Esteem in Teens. (2015, June 27). Retrieved January 19, 2017, f rom http://www.livestrong.com/article/557343-factors-affecting-self-esteem-in-teens/ Raevuori, A., Dick, D. M., Keski-Rahkonen, A., Pulkkinen, L., Rose, R. J., Rissanen, A., . . . Silventoinen, K. (2007, November). Genetic and environmental factors affecting self-esteem from age 14 to 17: a longitudinal study of Finnish twins. Retrieved January 19, 2017, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2084483/

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Horney And Jewel :: essays research papers

For my paper I decided to use Karen Horney’s Social Psychological Viewpoint on the â€Å"Search for Social Security† and compared it with the singer Jewel. I found that Jewel and Horney’s viewpoint went together well. Jewel is someone that has social security and I will give examples of how she got it and how she deals with society. I got my information from an article I read about Jewel talking about the new book she just wrote on herself. The book is called Chasing down the dawn; Jewel describes it as, â€Å" the upward spiral in my life.† Horney emphasized the individuals search for a sense of security in the world as the primary motivational force in personality. In attempting to establish a sense of security, each person develops a particular personality style for coping with the world. Jewels personality style for coping with the world is one of the rules she lives by: â€Å"To live a true to yourself life, to be honest and courageous and know that good things will follow out of that.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Horney assumed that the early relationship between parent and child was extremely important in determining personality in adulthood. Jewel had very good relationships with her parents, even when they divorced when she was only eight years old. She lived with her father for a while, who was a folk singer, in Alaska. They would perform together. Then she went and lived with her mother in California, where they moved into vans parked side by side to save money so Jewel could make music a priority. I think it helped her singing career a lot by the way her parents were so supportive.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are three strategies for achieving social security. They are: Moving toward, against, and away from people. Moving toward people involves believing that if you go along with people and give them what they want, they will give you love and a sense of affection. Out of the three strategies Jewel moves toward people more. When fans and critics say they want to know the â€Å"real Jewel,† she considers it a good thing, because â€Å"That’s what they’re gonna get! I can’t be about trying to hide what’s not perfect about me.† It takes a lot of courage to remain true and authentic to who and what you are everyday. Jewel knows that, from the outside, celebrity makes life look easy.