Ethics Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Ethics Paper - Essay Example While some may regard this as a victory, there are three reasons why ethics does not support the law in the instance in which this nine year old child is returned to her parents after so many years, and there are two schools of ethics, Ends Based and Care based that one might use to solve such a dilemma. The first reason why ethics does not support the law in this particular situation is that problems with attachment can develop if a child is suddenly uprooted from a family that she regards as her own and is placed with people she is unfamiliar with, even if they are her biological parents. This girl has been with her foster parents all of these years, has formed a bond with them, and they have played a major role in her social and emotional development. Now, she is uprooted, and she must go to people she has never met in her entire life to pick up where she left off. Research shows that it is quite traumatic to a child to be uprooted from a comforting environment, where attachments are formed, to be placed in one that is completely unfamiliar. For instance a journal article titled "Expressed emotions, early caregiver-child interaction, and disorders" talks about the importance of attachment and how it is the framework of the child's development.

ETH501, Business Ethics, Mod 3 Session Long Project Essay

ETH501, Business Ethics, Mod 3 Session Long Project - Essay Example One such right is employee privacy. This includes physical and information privacy. No company can violate the employee privacy on the grounds of various ethical frameworks. If we look at testing or surveillance of employees without their consent on GPS or through any other means of technology, we can say that it should be discouraged because it renders more disadvantages than advantages to the society. For example, by tracking you employees through GPS, you are getting certain very private information and some information they might not want to tell you. This strips them of their fundamental right. It might help the firm on reducing the current bottling theft and save them a lot of money. These benefits are only for the firm. If we look at the disadvantages brought about by this surveillance of employees without their consent, they will include costs such as costs for the company, cost for the society and cost for the employee who is being monitored. For the firm, the cost would be the cost of equipment being used. For the society, the cost would be that the money spent on new technology could have been used for the benefits of the employees. For emplo yees, these costs will be explicit, For example, this might give them stress. This might also make them lose their job. However, whether or not the employee’s surveillance is justified or not is debatable. Actually, there are more chances that the employee surveillance done by The Coca-Cola Company through GPS system is justified. A company which is as big as Coca-Cola itself generally looks at the costs they are faced with before taking such decisions and only go with the option if the benefits exceed the costs. Hence, they must deem it as more advantageous and hence decided to go forward with it. However, companies are mostly concerned with their own cost and benefit analysis and they might have

Total Quality Management at Jaguar UK

Total Quality Management at Jaguar UK The desire to improve efficiency and productivity may be considered as the primary motivation for a company in transferring the manufacturing operations offshore. However, experiences of companies that decided to transfer manufacturing offshore reveal that transferring operations offshore could have negative implications to the business, hence could not guarantee efficiency and productivity improvements. Therefore for Jaguar, keeping the manufacturing operations in the UK may be considered more appropriate. It should be noted that the primary market of Jaguar cars is in the UK, whereby keeping manufacturing operations in the UK may be considered more efficient. Furthermore, other factors that were considered in proposing to retain the manufacturing operations the UK include the following: Firstly, the difference in the time zone in the manufacturing site and the distribution zone could affect effective coordination between manufacturing and sales. Secondly, differences in language co uld create barriers to effective coordination between manufacturing and other departments such as marketing, design, and sales among others. Thirdly, transferring manufacturing operations offshore could increase risks, as the initiative require significant investments primarily for building the manufacturing plant and in purchasing equipments. Finally, transferring manufacturing operations offshore could lead to recruitment and training issues, as the company would be required to recruit and train large number of personnel to man the operations in the new plant. Conversely, rather than transferring the operations offshore, the company may instead consider on adopting quality management tools and approaches to improve its efficiency and productivity. The succeeding outlines proposal for implementing quality management at Jaguar-UK. Furthermore, the proposal includes possible quality management tools and methods that the company may use to improve the business in the UK. Proposal for Implementing Total Quality Management at Jaguar-UK This proposal is presented to your office in an attempt to reverse the company managements decision to transfer the manufacturing operations of Jaguar cars in the UK offshore. Assumption is that transferring manufacturing operations offshore could affect the quality and services of the firm. Rather than transferring the manufacturing operations offshore, the company may instead focus on improving performance through Total Quality Management practices and approaches. As claimed by the Chartered Management Institute (2006), which is a distinguished professional accrediting organization in UK, the successful implementation of Total Quality Management (TQM) can lead to improvements in the quality of products and services, reductions in the waste of resources, and overall increase in efficiency and productivity. Furthermore, as a result of improvements in product and services, firms may be able to develop competitive advantage and eventually increase market share (Chartered Management Institute, 2006). More importantly, implementing TQM also helps improve employee motivation, as TQM programs and practices enforce employee participation and empowerment (Chartered Management Institute, 2006). In view of the benefits claimed by the Chartered Management Institute, Jaguar could greatly benefit from introducing TQM in the organization. For organizations that seek to adopt TQM, the outline of activities provided by the Chartered Management Institute could provide valuable insights. Jaguar Cars could adopt the guidelines provided by the Chartered Management Institute. Accordingly, organizations that seek to implement TQM needs to: Firstly, establish a planning team or a steering committee, which would serve as the lead agent that would drive the organization through the changes. In establishing the steering committee, the organization has to ensure that all sectors of the organization are represented. Secondly, assess the need to change, whereby the organization needs to consider its competitive position and at the same time establish key customers and their respective needs. Thirdly, define the vision, whereby the organization needs to draft a vision statement pertaining to customer satisfaction and quality improvement. Next, describe the standard of service, whereby the organization needs to translate the vision in to measurable deliverables. Then, assess how the organization performs as compared to standards, which involves measuring current performance. Afterwards, conduct a review of the current level of wastage, which involves determining the wastage level in the organization. Next, calculate the current level of costs, which involves assessing the cost mechanism in the organization. After that, decide whether to seek accreditation from third party, which include deciding whether to adopt a quality management system. Subsequently, develop a quality strategy, which involves drafting quality goals and objectives based on the assessment of wastage level conducted previously. Next in line, establish an action plan for change, whereby the organization needs to focus on the organizational culture to be able to implement the changes seamlessly. Then, create education and training plans to introduce the organization to the concepts of TQM, including the basic principles, objectives, and benefits d erived from adopting the philosophy. Next, set priorities for the introduction of TQM focus on selecting priority processes for improvement. Finally, determine goals and criteria for success and this involves establishing measures for success. Using the framework provided by the Chartered Management Institute, Jaguars quest to adopting TQM begins with creating a TQM group or unit in the organization, with a TQM Champion to head the group. The TQM group would be responsible in overseeing all TQM-related activities and programs. Afterwards, the next activity is to conduct an internal assessment to determine areas for change or improvement. The next activity is to create a vision that would serve as the guide for all its quality improvement programs. Subsequently, Jaguar needs to establish standards that would serve as internal benchmarks. Afterwards, Jaguar needs to assess current condition with standards to determine gaps. After assessing current condition versus standards, Jaguar may now proceed to assessing levels of wastage and costs. Once Jaguar completed these activities, the company may now decide whether to seek third party accreditation as a way of strengthening its drive towards the adoption of TQM. Other activitie s involved in adopting TQM into the organization include establishing a quality strategy; developing an action plan for change; creating training plan for workers; and determining quality goals and objectives. After introducing TQM in the organization, the company may now implement TQM programs and practices, which could help improve specific systems and processes in the organization. The TQM programs and practices serve as tools in addressing specific problems and issues in the organization. Assumption is that Jaguar would not have difficulty in adopting TQM, as this concept has been widely adopted by manufacturing firms. The TQM concept was adopted by Japanese car manufacturers such as Toyota Motor Corporation, which is a recognized brand in the global car industry. Among the TQM-related concepts and practices introduced by Japanese car manufacturers is the 5S, which is a philosophy that focuses on the importance of good housekeeping, orderliness, standardization, and discipline in the workplace. Originally, 5S stands for five Japanese words: seiri, seiton, seiso, seiketsu, and shitsuke. The English translations of the five words are as follows: sweep, systematize, sanitize, standardize, and self-discipline. Seiri refers to keeping the workplace clean by sorting and taking away unnecessary things and objects that could block movement and increase chances of errors or mistakes. With Seiri, workplaces are kept clean and tidy, thereby allowing workers to move freely, which could contribute to productivity improvement. An example of a practice related to Seiri in the workplace is keeping removing unwanted items or making the workplace clutter-free. It should be noted that a clutter-free workplace could create a more conducive work environment for the workers and in the process promote a positive work environment that fosters productivity. Seiton on the other hand, refers to keeping the workplace well organized and hence more systematic. With Seiton, everything is kept in proper places, hence reducing time spent for retrieving or getting required materials and items. For example, materials and tools are placed in a specific location; hence facilitate quick and efficient retrieval. Another example of a practice under Seiton is keeping frequently used materials and tools at hand, hence limit unnecessary movement that could affect productivity. Generally, Seiton minimizes waste of time relevant to unnecessary movements or actions that could negatively impact efficiency and productivity. Seiso in particular refers to keeping the workplace always clean by encouraging everybody to clean their respective areas. With Seiso all members of the organization take responsibility in keeping their areas clean by wiping dusts, throwing away wastes, and keeping the floors clean. Under Seiso, every member of the organization is encouraged to make it a practice to begin and end their workday with cleaning their workstations. Meanwhile, Seiketsu refers to standardizing clean-up, which includes defining standards through which workers must comply to. A vital initiative under Seiketsu is implementing visual standards to help maintain orderliness and at the same standardize the workplace. Examples of visual standards include color-coding and visual guides to help enforce compliance. Finally, Shitsuke refers to enforcing self-discipline or commitment to maintain and enforce the first four Ss. With Shitsuke, all members of the organization make it habit to keep the workplace clutter-free, organized, and clean, and at the same time comply with standards. The last S is important, as it determines the continuity of the first four Ss. The 5S framework is generally simple yet effective in improving productivity and efficiency in the workplace. In this regard, Jaguar may consider on adopting this simple practice as a means of minimizing wastes and at the same time improving performance. To successfully introduce 5S to the workers, Jaguar may consider on conducting 5S orientations to formally launch the program. All workers will be scheduled for a 5S orientation on a staggered basis in order to ensure the continuity of the production operations. Aside from 5S, another well-known TQM practice is the Six Sigma, which is also termed as TQM on steroids (Heuring, 2004). Six Sigma was first introduced by Motorola, a world-renowned high tech company (Heuring, 2004). The Six Sigma methodology follows this pattern: define, measure, analyze, improve, and control (Heuring, 2004). Motorola and other large companies disclosed achieving huge savings from adopting Six Sigma into the organization. Motorola in particular revealed saving $16 billion over the last twelve years of implementing Six Sigma practices. Dow on the other hand, reported $1.6 billion in savings from adopting Six Sigma. Ford also disclosed saving $1 billion from adopting Six Sigma into the organization. From the experiences of the companies that reaped hugged savings from adopting Six Sigma, Jaguar may also be expected to achieve huge savings from adopting this particular quality management philosophy. Companies that intend to adopt Six Sigma starts by holding an executive summit, which is a two-day seminar that seeks to formally introduce the concept more particularly to the senior management and leaders of the organization. Motorola originally termed the executive summit as leadership jumpstart event (Heuring 2004). The executive summit is usually conducted or facilitated by consulting firms or professionals (i.e., black belts) that specialize in Six Sigma. More importantly, top management also has to express commitment to the initiative, as effective leadership is essential to the successful introduction of the concept to the organization. In addition, focusing more on encouraging workers to support the adoption of Six Sigma is also essential. In this regard, Jaguar may need on communicating the benefits of adopting Six Sigma as a way of motivating workers to participate and support the program. In closing, the decision to transfer manufacturing operations offshore may have some advantages, but there are also disadvantages to consider. In view of the disadvantages, proposal is to retain the manufacturing operations in the UK and instead adopt total quality management in the workplace to improve productivity and efficiency. Adopting TQM into the organization is expected to result to huge improvements and benefits. The decision to adopt TQM into the organization follows a certain process endorsed by a professional accrediting organization. Among the widely adopted TQM concepts and practices are the 5S, which originated from Japanese car manufacturers; and Six Sigma, which was developed by Motorola. Jaguar could expect to reap more benefits from adopting TQM.

The Use of Geographic Information Systems in Real Estate Appraisal Essa

The Use of Geographic Information Systems in Real Estate Appraisal Abstract Appraisers need to show the reasoning behind their value opinions by discussing important spatial relationships and their likely effect on value. Geographic information systems (GIS) can be used to analyze these relationships and to show why a client should select an appraiser who has this level of information. Gilbert Castle has noted that real estate is essentially a game of information arbitrage. The likely winner of the game is the person that takes advantage of computerized analyses. Castle explains that GIS is an attention-getting way of showing what you know.(n1) Of course, larger data sets are used for GIS analysis, not just the minimum "three comps." The visual aids that GIS can generate could also be very useful in litigation, to help explain complex issues to a jury that is relatively unfamiliar with real estate valuation. Clear communication of complex technical issues is the basis of forensic consulting, an emerging field that is expected to grow more rapidly in the future. The need for forensic consulting has been created by rapid changes in technology. The Arden-Guthrie Problem Arden-Guthrie is a neighborhood in San Bernardino, California. A number of fraudulent transactions in that neighborhood inflated the ostensible value of local quadruple properties. The question is, How could a reviewer have used GIS to find the problems caused by the fraudulent sales? Many of the properties in question are located within the block group outlined in red in Figure 1. Other problem properties are located in a block group just south of the outlined area. The larger red area at the top of the map is part of a color-coding system that shows median rents by census block groups. As we can see, renters in this area one-half mile to the north were paying from $913 to $1,001 per month at the time of the 1990 census. This represents the highest rent category for San Bernardino County. Rental data from the 2000 census will be available soon. A reviewer could print out such a map and use it to check quickly for inconsistencies. One obvious inconsistency would be an appraisal that concludes that rents in the highest bracket are indicated for a property that is located in a low-rent area. Census data is relatively inexpensive. Data for the entire country was ava... ... 5. Frank F. DeGiovanni in Gentrification, Displacement and Neighborhood Revitalization, SUNY series on urban public policy, Albany State University of New York Press, c1984 6. Emily DeNitto, A Neighborhood Grows in Brooklyn, Crain’s New York Business, January 1, 2001 7. Margaret E. Dewar, Why State and Local Economic Development Programs Cause so Little Development, in Economic Development Quarterly, Vol. 12 No. 1, Sage Publication, February 1998 8. Slobodan Djajic in Slobodan Djajic, International Migration Trends, Policies and Economic Impact, Routledge, London, New York 2001 9. Greg Donaldson, The Ville : cops and kids in urban America, New York : Ticknor & Fields, 1993 10. Economist, A modest contribution, Survey: Migration, October 2002 Bibliography Economist, A modest contribution, Survey: Migration, October 2002 Eliot Asinof, People vs. Blutcher,, Viking Press Inc. New York, 1970 Emily DeNitto, A Neighborhood Grows in Brooklyn, Crain’s New York Business, January 1, 2001 Frank F. DeGiovanni in Gentrification, Displacement and Neighborhood Revitalization, SUNY series on urban public policy, Albany State University of New York Press, c1984

Group Roles Essay

We take on many roles throughout the day and while most of these tie into our social status, personal duties, expectations and our behaviors they are only one of the few roles we learn about in time. Social roles are used to predict the way an individual acts in a situation and there is a belief that they are the result of a situation. When working in groups, roles exists that are not related to our personality or a result of our behavior. A superior can give them to us or unknowingly we may adopt them. This we have all been doing since youth but most of the time we are so absorbed into the roles we have taken on that we rarely take time to think about them. They have become as automatic as breathing to majority of the workforce. Roles are not to be confused with personality. Dr. Meredith Belbin a researcher and management theorist regards them as clusters of characteristics, of which psychological preference is but one dimension.[1] By understanding theses definitions we can gain a knowledge, that when combined with certain practice exercises, will enable us to see roles working can drastically increase a team’s effectiveness and overall well-being. When developing an understanding of these roles, it is important to keep in mind that your role can change from task to task. In addition, one individual can have traits belonging to several roles just as much as several individuals can share certain roles that. A manager’s responsibility will be the task of making sure that the team is not heavy in more areas then others. GROUP ROLES INCLUDING DEFINITIONS Leader or Facilitator: An individual who enables groups and organizations to work more effectively; to collaborate and achieve synergy.[1] has excellent interpersonal skills, being able to communicate effectively with team members through good listening, verbal and non-verbal communication. This person does not need to have to be an expert but have knowledge of the tasks concept. Shaper: Initiator Energizer The Shaper is a dynamic, outgoing member of the team; they are often argumentative, provocative, they push the group towards agreement and decision-making, keen to remove barriers and embrace challenges.[1] Completer-Finisher Recorder They are never at ease until they have have checked every detail and made sure that everything has been done and nothing overlooked. It is not that they are overly or irritatingly fussy: their obsession is an expression of anxiety. They have a great capacity for follow-through and attention to detail. They are unlikely to start anything that they cannot finish. They are not assertive members of the team, but they maintain a permanent sense of urgency, which they communicate to others to galvanize them into activity [2] Resource Investigator: The Resource Investigator is a strong communicator, good at negotiating with people outside the team and gathering external information and resources. Resource Investigators are curious and sociable in their nature they are open to new ideas and ways of accomplishing tasks. [2] Plant: The Plant is innovative and will suggest new and creative ways of problem solving within the team.. Sometimes the ideas of the Plant may be impracticable due to their highly creative nature – they may ignore known constraints when developing their ideas. Plants are often introverts who may have poor communication skills; they are loners and enjoy working away from the rest of the group. [1] Monitor Evaluator Elaborator Monitor Evaluators are fair and logical observers and judges of what is going on in the team. Since they are good at detaching themselves from bias, they are often the ones to see all available options with the greatest clarity and impartiality. They take a broad view when problem solving, and by moving slowly and analytically, will usually come to the right decision. However, they can become very critical, damping enthusiasm for anything without logical grounds, and they have a hard time inspiring themselves or others to be passionate about their work. As mentioned earlier, there are many definitions and several methods, which have caused some confusion to say the least. Some Information that warrants further discussion regards the sharing of roles as well as multiple roles in a group. I was unable to find any mention of a role that would compromise a group if more and then one person took its position. One thing I did learn that was interesting is an importance in having multiple leaders/facilitators They do not have to posses all the traits of a great or good leader but help in â€Å"moving the company forward† This is a little vague but I still find it interesting and makes sense if you look our Government processes. I am looking at the roles and with understanding of them now I have not found any papers discussing groups missing some of these roles I would imagine there are definitely times that pieces are missing and they would result in negative team traits. Its proven that one person can manage many roles that doesn’t mean that just because one is short that anyone can absorb the responsibility. I find that even though I logically want o put the roles in an order I know look best or we sound I know it’s impossible because when I look at the characteristics of the roles they all have very defined strengths and in some areas it’s absolutely impossible to be strong at more than one thing. I could at least start with the leader but if there’s no completer or evaluator then the task won’t ever leave the leaders hands. Roles that I have participated in are all of the above generally leaning towards leadership if I have knowledge of the task, enough to ask questions and give answers. When I am not interested in the outcome or the object of the task I will usually take on the roles of monitor and the plant stands out to me as well. One that I know I am not interested in ever being in would be the â€Å"Finisher† That is a no brainer for me because without some pushing I will usually not finish the task and be ok with it. 99% of the time I am the leader and it’s usually by choice because nobody steps up or I am volunteered for it and sometimes that’s fun but I don’t always enjoy it, mainly because it becomes expected of me and it has to always be something big and consuming. At work, I am outspoken, enthusiastic, and very driven, when I am home, I tend to take on the roles of plant, monitor, and shaper. There is no problem staying far away from the role of a leader after work. I will and have taken on leadership roles usually when there is more confusion then I can handle. I am finding it  interesting that I choose the roles at home that are somewhat opposite of what I venture into at work. Discussing types of roles, filling roles and understanding the use of roles brings us to situation of underlying issues that can cause conflict. There are several models for roles in groups. These models have differences in definitions, role titles, and amount of roles. There are many arguments on the amount of roles needed to make an effective team; one thing that I have noticed to be universal is the amount of people needed to make an effective team. Managing a logistics company, I learned this fact first hand. We had an open floor for sales and operations, and then we separated the group into two departments, sales being one, carrier management the other; then again, we separated them into teams again for our regions. Together we all worked as a whole and communicated information back and forth all day. Sometimes it was like an amazing tennis match and sometimes it was like the other side just never got there . We were having many issues with one of our sub groups performing to task and another sub group would clean things up if they could. We analyzed the groups and kept asking what made the others work but not this one†¦ the carrier team had five sections with four desks in each section since it fit better that way. All the desks were full except one group had three people this being the problem group. We had factored that in the beginning though and had only delegated them a fair amount of work. We ended up blaming it on poor communication and lack of drive. The problem did not get any better and then we had another member of a team of four go on leave for six weeks. Two weeks later that team began having issues just like the other team of three and then we noticed the similarity between the two. Three people in a group could not perform the tasks as a whole. To make sure we were right we moved people around and made two new teams of three. We sadly realized that the group of three would fall apart because two people always formed an alliance against one every time. This brings me back to the universal number required for a team to work effectively has been noted to be four. By Dr Belbin from that point forward we never allowed a group to fall below the standard four employees for more than a day period . References Management Teams INTL. (n.d.). Team Roles . Retrieved from Teamopoly: http://www.teamopoly.com/cf.htm Wikepedia Team Role Inventories . (2009). Retrieved from Wikepedia : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Team_Role_Inventories

Social Networking Sites

PROJECT SYNOPSIS Project Title: Study on how social networking sites effect lives of people Project Guide: Group: Introduction The social networking sites are gaining a lot of popularity these days with almost all of the educated youth using one or the other such site. These have played a crucial role in bridging boundaries and crossing the seas and enabling them to communicate on a common platform. It has become a popular and a potential mean for them to stay friends with the existing ones and to grow up their social circle at least in terms of acquaintances. The question regarding the safety, privacy and the legal issues have been cropping up all this time. Through this research we try to find out the impact of these networking sites on the personal and professional lives of people using them. It is a very subjective question to answer and is very opinion based and the same is reflected in the research methodology adopted by us. The report is initiated with the definition of the objective followed with the research methodology used along with the research design, sample size, methods used for the purpose of conducting survey. It also incorporates the sampling frame and the data collection procedure. Subsequent to this is the Introduction to the networking sites along with a brief description of the most popular sites. Then the issues of concern which have come up along the way in all these years since these sites gained popularity are discussed. The various issues and concerns of the respondents are also incorporated there. The next part of the research has the literature surveys which are the articles we took up from the published reports. We then analyzed and interpreted the data at length. The last part deals with the suggestions and recommendations that the group has come up with after carefully analyzing and incorporating the opinion of all concerned. Objective of the study In this age of globalization, the world has become too small a place thanks to the electronic media and portals. Communication has become effective as never before thanks to the advent of internet. The social networking sites have also played a crucial role in bridging boundaries and crossing the seas and bringing all people at a common platform where they can meet like minded people or find old friends and communicate with them. It has become a potential mean to relation building and staying in touch with all known. Hence the objective that we wanted to achieve through our research is to: Find out the influence of social networking sites on the personal and professional life of the people- how it affects their relations, what are its uses for each individuals and how have they been influenced by these sites. Methodology The primary methods of data collection that is questionnaire technique was used to collect the data required. Respondents include both male and female. Convenience sampling method has been adopted under the non-probability sampling technique and about 100 samples have been collected for the study. Statistical Tools For Analysis The collected data has been analyzed using percentage analysis and diagrams. LIMITATION OF THE STUDY 1) The study has been conducted over a period of 3 months & respondents have been restricted to 100. CHAPTER SCHEME Chapter I It gives a brief introduction about the study, objective, methodology & limitation of the study. Chapter II This chapter includes the literature review Chapter III It covers the analysis and interpretation of the collected data. Chapter IV It covers the various findings and suggestions of the study along with the conclusion. Social Networking Sites There's Something Missing We communicate with family and friends on Facebook, Myspace, and follow people on Twitter, email, texting, but we never stop to think that there is something that is just not there. Social Networking has become our main source of communication. What ever happened to picking up the phone or going over to your loved one's homes to ask them a question? Instead we send them a message via a social network and wait for a response. We have the ability to see what is going on in the lives of people we would never really talk to face-to-face.Why should it matter what they are doing and why, above all, are we so addicted to it? You may have 1000 friends on Facebook, but how many of those friends would be there for you if you really needed them? It is a lot to think about, especially since social networking rapidly evolved. So what is missing? The sound of the voice, facial expressions, hand gestures, are all things that we use to set the mood of the conversation. Why does any of this even matter? Why Does it Matter?Why does it even matter if you can't hear a persons voice, see the expressions on their face, or see any hand gestures that may be going on, when you are having a conversation with them? One word, confusion. When you conmmunicate through a social network you are not really connected ot dedicated to the conversation you are in. You can't give off any emotion to the other person. Misunderstandings and arguments can easily arise this way. For example, someone in the family passes away. You get a message on Myspace informing you. You send a message back and say I am so sad.You get a message back saying it doesn't seem like you are that sad, while you are posting pictures on your profile. Of course to get your message across you could have said, with a tear in my eye, I will never forget that family member, I loved them so much, now sobbing, but not everyone writes like that. Even if they did, the visual effect would give off a more comfor table feeling. You can't really let anyone know that you are truely there for them if you are not face-to-face. What if someone just needs a hug after a long sentimental conversation? You wouldn't be there to do that.Social networking can be good but we don't need to forget our values that we grew up with, and we don't need to forget to pass them on to our children. How can we Increase Face-to-Face Time? Social Networking can become an addiction. It can be a good source for information or sending mass messages or even keeping in contact, on a regular basis, with people who live far away. Social Networking does take away from interacting with others. Some people like that and it's why they do it. Some people don't like to be face-to-face with others, especially when it isn't the best of times to talk to someone.We should all try to increase our face-to-face time though. Put the phone or computer down and go out for lunch with friends and family and talk about your lives. Doing this k eeps your social life active and lets others know you care enough to give them more than a message. When something important happens speak to someone face-to-face. It will make you feel better faster and you will realize that it will help to see emotion on someone face once in a while. Don't completely cut your real social life out and remember to pass that n to your children and this world gets more technology based everyday.Remember what matters. Pick up a phone and call someone instead of texting them. What Do You Think? Any feedback? I would love to know if people agree or disagree with this. It is a big part of life and some people would agree and some are going to disagree. Feedback on a hub like this will show exactly what this is about. Try not to take any of this the wrong way and see how hard it actually is. Arguments are the worst way of communicating online or in text. You really don't know if the other person is upset or just stating an opinion. Don't let Social Network ing substitute for your real social life Social Networking Sites There's Something Missing We communicate with family and friends on Facebook, Myspace, and follow people on Twitter, email, texting, but we never stop to think that there is something that is just not there. Social Networking has become our main source of communication. What ever happened to picking up the phone or going over to your loved one's homes to ask them a question? Instead we send them a message via a social network and wait for a response. We have the ability to see what is going on in the lives of people we would never really talk to face-to-face.Why should it matter what they are doing and why, above all, are we so addicted to it? You may have 1000 friends on Facebook, but how many of those friends would be there for you if you really needed them? It is a lot to think about, especially since social networking rapidly evolved. So what is missing? The sound of the voice, facial expressions, hand gestures, are all things that we use to set the mood of the conversation. Why does any of this even matter? Why Does it Matter?Why does it even matter if you can't hear a persons voice, see the expressions on their face, or see any hand gestures that may be going on, when you are having a conversation with them? One word, confusion. When you conmmunicate through a social network you are not really connected ot dedicated to the conversation you are in. You can't give off any emotion to the other person. Misunderstandings and arguments can easily arise this way. For example, someone in the family passes away. You get a message on Myspace informing you. You send a message back and say I am so sad.You get a message back saying it doesn't seem like you are that sad, while you are posting pictures on your profile. Of course to get your message across you could have said, with a tear in my eye, I will never forget that family member, I loved them so much, now sobbing, but not everyone writes like that. Even if they did, the visual effect would give off a more comfor table feeling. You can't really let anyone know that you are truely there for them if you are not face-to-face. What if someone just needs a hug after a long sentimental conversation? You wouldn't be there to do that.Social networking can be good but we don't need to forget our values that we grew up with, and we don't need to forget to pass them on to our children. How can we Increase Face-to-Face Time? Social Networking can become an addiction. It can be a good source for information or sending mass messages or even keeping in contact, on a regular basis, with people who live far away. Social Networking does take away from interacting with others. Some people like that and it's why they do it. Some people don't like to be face-to-face with others, especially when it isn't the best of times to talk to someone.We should all try to increase our face-to-face time though. Put the phone or computer down and go out for lunch with friends and family and talk about your lives. Doing this k eeps your social life active and lets others know you care enough to give them more than a message. When something important happens speak to someone face-to-face. It will make you feel better faster and you will realize that it will help to see emotion on someone face once in a while. Don't completely cut your real social life out and remember to pass that n to your children and this world gets more technology based everyday.Remember what matters. Pick up a phone and call someone instead of texting them. What Do You Think? Any feedback? I would love to know if people agree or disagree with this. It is a big part of life and some people would agree and some are going to disagree. Feedback on a hub like this will show exactly what this is about. Try not to take any of this the wrong way and see how hard it actually is. Arguments are the worst way of communicating online or in text. You really don't know if the other person is upset or just stating an opinion. Don't let Social Network ing substitute for your real social life

The 11 Best Architecture Schools for Undergrads

The 11 Best Architecture Schools for Undergrads SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Do you love studying buildings and dream of spending your career designing them? If so, you’re probably wondering where to get the best architecture education. Figuring out which architecture schools are best can be difficult, but we’ve done the hard work and compiled a list of the 11 best undergraduate architecture schools in the United States. Each of these best schools for architecture has a description that explains what makes it an excellent program, and we also include a list of questions to ask yourself to help you decide which is the best architecture school for you. What Is an Architecture School? Why Would You Want to Attend One? For this article, we defined an architecture school as one that offered a Bachelor of Architecture degree (B.Arch), which is the minimum degree required to become an architect. However, there are actually several different architecture degrees, though you will need either a Bachelor or Master of Architecture to work as an architect. The minimum degree to work as an architect is a Bachelor of Architecture. These programs are usually five years (rather than the four years it takes to earn most other undergrad degrees), and by the end of it you’ll have the coursework and experience you need to pass the Architecture Registration Exam and begin work as an architect. Architecture majors learn about architectural theory, construction methodology, drafting, and structural design, among other topics. Some schools also offer Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degrees in Architecture. These four-year programs also teach you about the basics of architecture, but, on their own, they don’t provide enough coursework or work experience for you to begin working as an architect. Some students get these degrees because they want more of a liberal arts education for undergrad, because they want to work in the architecture field but not as an architect, or because they couldn’t get into a Bachelor of Architecture program but want to be well-prepared for a Master of Architecture degree. If you don’t have a Bachelor of Architecture, another way to become an architect is to get a Master of Architecture degree. Master of Architecture programs typically take one to three years, depending on how much background you have in architecture. How Did We Come Up With This List of the Best Schools for Architecture? You should never treat any list of school rankings- including this one- as an absolute truth. Instead, you can use lists as a starting point to learn about schools you may potentially be interested in. To create our ranking of the best schools for architecture, we took four factors into consideration: Resources for Architecture Students:There’s been a lot of innovation in architecture and architectural tools in the past few years, so we gave extra points to schools that kept pace with the current technology and gave students access to cutting-edge architecture programs and resources. Class Options:There are certain core classes every architecture student needs to take, but the best schools provide a wide range of courses beyond these so you have the ability to focus on areas that are of most interest to you. Hands-On Opportunities:Not only is having professional experience under your belt before you graduate a huge boost when you start applying for jobs, it’s required for you to pass your licensing exam. The best schools make it easy for you to get the experience you need, whether that’s requiring an internship as part of the coursework, providing networking opportunities to help you find jobs, and/or including hands-on components in their coursework. Alumni/Prestige:This is a more subjective factor, but a school that is known for having an outstanding architecture program and producing well-known alumni can make it easier for you to get a job after you graduate. The 11 Best Architecture Schools for Undergraduates Here’s our list of the 11 best architecture schools in the US for undergrads. Exact ranking is always a bit subjective, so look at this list as more of a trend from the very best colleges with architecture majors to those that are still really good, rather than trying to figure out why #2 is ranked higher than #3. All of these programs are accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board. #1: Cornell University Cornell’s architecture program is one of the oldest in the United States, which means it has a large network of alumni and research that students can make use of. Well-known architects who graduated from Cornell include Richard Meier (who designed the Getty Center in Los Angeles) and Peter Eisenman (who founded the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies in New York City). Academically, Cornell's architecture students follow the same core architecture curriculum for the first three years, which gives students the comprehensive knowledgethey need while still allowing students to take elective courses from across the university.In their final two years, students concentrate on one of five areas of study, which include:Architecture, Culture, and Society; Architectural Science and Technology; History of Architecture; Architectural Analysis; and Visual Representation in Architecture. The architecture program at Cornell gives students the chance to work and/or study in the program’s NYC and Rome locations in addition to the school’s main campus in Ithaca, New York. Because of the architecture program’s reputation as a top school, students graduating from the program are often in high demand, especially for jobs in New York City, where the school has numerous connections. #2: Rice University Rice is well-known for its top-notch architecture programs, and with a studentto faculty ratio of 5:1, you’re guaranteed personal attention during your studies.Architecture undergrads at Rice enroll in a six-year program. The first four years are spent getting a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture degree. This is a liberal arts degree, and it gives you the opportunity to take classes in a variety of subjects during your first four years. This is great if you want to combine your architecture study with another area, and Rice encourages this with a lot of interdisciplinary study. The architecture school works closely with many other schools and departments at Rice, including business, engineering, and environmental science. After four years, you’ll spend another two years studying exclusively architecture, at the end of which you’ll receive a second degree, a Bachelor of Architecture, which allows you to work as an architect. Students spend one year of this program as paid employees at architecture firms around the world, which is a fantastic way to get experience and make professional connections. #3: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo Cal Poly’s Architecture Department has multipleprograms in architecture, so you can focus on a specific area of interest to you. Its architecture department is one of the biggest in the country, and about one in twenty architects in the US (and one in five in California) graduated from Cal Poly, which means there are tons of alumni connections to be had. That's especially useful because Cal Poly offers a co-operative learning option for sophomore, junior, and senior students that allows them to earn course credit while working a paid job in an architecture-related field! Additionally, Cal Poly offersstudents the option to spend part of a year studying in Europe, Asia, or other cities in the United States. #4: Syracuse University Syracusewas the first school in the country to offer a bachelor of architecture degree, and since then it has established itself as a top architecture school. Due to its reputation, Syracuse's School of Architectureis able to get many well-known architects to give lectures at the school in addition to classes taught by its exemplary faculty. Although located in upstate New York, the School of Architecture has several working and teaching spaces in New York City for students to study the architecture of America’s largest city. There’s also a strong study abroad program, and most students spend at least a semester studying at Syracuse’s centers in Florence or London. #5: University of Notre Dame Notre Dame’s School of Architecture emphasizes both classical architecture and urbanism. Furthermore, all architecture students are required to participate in the school’s Rome Studies Program in Rome where undergrads spend a year learning about classical architecture. In fact, Notre Dame is the only school in the United States to require architecture students to spend part of the program abroad which ensures all students have a more global understanding of architecture. Furthermore, Notre Dame's architecture programs are known for their commitment to fundamentals, so much so thatcomputer-based modeling isn't introduced until students' fourth year of study!That's not to say that the program is stuck in the past. Notre Dame’s architecture school also emphasizes designing new buildings that are sustainable, long-lasting, and contribute to the livability of an area. #6: Virginia Tech Virginia Tech's College of Architecture and Urban Studies is one of the largest architecture schools in the United States. The architecture and urban studies program has over 2,000 students and offers 13 bachelors degrees, including a B.Arch. The school's main campus is in Blacksburg, Virginia, and it also has additional campuses in Alexandria, Virginia, and Riva San Vitale, Switzerland. In their fourth year, B.Arch students have opportunities for off-campus study (which can include classes, internships, or a combination of the two), and the fifth year is spent doing an independentdesign investigation which serves as the basis of the undergrad thesis. st #7: Rhode Island School of Design RISD is widely regarded as one of the top design schools in the world, and its architecture program is similarly well regarded. The school approaches architecture from a unique perspective, too. Because the Rhode Island School of Design is an internationally-renowned fine arts and design school, the architecture department combines avisual and humanities-based education with itsprofessional curriculum.This allows students to approach complex architectural problems with a fresh perspective, and graduates from RISD are well known for their creative problem-solving approaches. #8: Pratt Institute The Pratt Instituteputs a unique stamp on the Bachelor of Architecture degree through its commitment to exploring technological frontiers. Additionally, Pratt offersa variety of courses for concentrated study. It's most unique offering is its Morphology concentration, which studies form through a combination of mathematics,computation, fabrication, construction, and emerging technologies.(How cool is that?) The Pratt Institute prides itself on combining imagination with anethical approach to architecture that creates a new generation of culturally aware, socially responsible architects. #9: University of Texas at Austin The School of Architecture at UT Austin has a large number of resources available for students. These include the Center for Sustainable Development, which studies the environment, economics, and social issues to better design buildings that are both aestheticallypleasing and also have a positive impact on the environment and social equality. There's also libraries, archives, conservation labs, and research spaces on campus for architecture students to use. UT Austin's School of Architecture encourages international experiences, and they offer scholarships for some of the many study abroad programs architecture students can participate in. These range from studying pre-Columbian buildings in Mexico to touring modern infrastructure in Europe. Students must also complete a six-month professional residency to gain work experience before they graduate. #10: University of Southern California Students at USC's School of Architecturehave access to an entire 50,000 square feet of workspace, including classrooms, research spaces, galleries, labs, workshops, and design studios. Every architecture student at USC also has 24/7 access to their own personal workstation where they can work on their projects whenever they want. Many famous architects have graduated from USC including Frank O. Gehry (whose work included the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao), Boris Dramov (who designed the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial), and Paul Revere Williams (who designed the homes of numerous Hollywood celebrities). #11:Cooper Union Cooper Union has been training the nation's top architects for more than 150 years, so students can rest assured that they'll be getting a great education. Cooper Union does this through specializing in art, architecture, and engineering (much like the Rhode Island School of Design specializes in...well,design).Because they focus on a narrow set of interrelated disciplines, Cooper Union offers its students a rigorous, in-depth course of study that teaches architectureas a combination of technical skill, cultural awareness, artistry, and technological advancement. How to Choose the Best Architecture School for You Just because a school has a top-ranked architecture major doesn’t automatically mean it’s the best school for you. If you want to major in architecture, ask yourself the following your questions to ensure you’re applying to the best architecture schools for you. #1: Do They Have the Program You’re Interested In? As stated above, there are several different architecture degrees, and your first step when researching a school should be to make sure they have the one you’re interested in.If you want a Bachelor’s of Architecture so you can start working as an architect right after undergrad, a school that only offers a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture isn’t going to be the best choice for you, no matter how great its program is. #2: Does Their Focus or Specialty Match Yours? Some architecture programs have specialties in areas such as sustainable design, urban design, or classical architecture. They may also have more internship opportunities or alumni in certain cities. Your exact interests don’t absolutely need to match with those of the school you want to attend, but it can make your studies more interesting and tailored to what you want to learn. #3: What Hands-On Opportunities Do They Offer? The best architecture schools offer hands-on learning opportunities for students to really learn what architects do, and you should make sure the opportunities the school you’re interested in offer match with what you want to do. Some schools offer experience in big cities, some have international programs, some require a year-long internship to graduate. Think about what which options seem best to you, and make sure to choose a school that offers what you want. #4: How Do You Like the Rest of the School? Even though you’re an architecture major, you won’t be attending the architecture program in a bubble, so it’s important to learn about the rest of the school. Look into what the dorms are like, what clubs and organizations the school offers, and what things there are to do off-campus. Taking a tour of the school can also help you get a good idea of if the school is right for you. What's Next? What other factors go into choosing a college? If you’re wondering which college you should attend, check out this guide on how to choose! Will you be applying for financial aid? This comprehensive guide takes you through the FAFSA application process, step by step. Liked this list of schools? Check out some of our other best-of-specialty-school lists, including the best engineering schools, best video game design schools, best journalism schools, and best creative writing schools. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Communications Plan Template How to Build Yours In 12 Steps

Communications Plan Template How to Build Yours In 12 Steps What message do you want to communicate to your audience? What do you want your audience to know about your organization? Whats your brands mission and purpose? These questions can leave marketers grasping at straws.   If you cant answer them clearly, though, your communications plan is bound to go off the rails. And thats exactly why weve written this post. Youre about to learn exactly how to create a consistent messaging strategy for your organization. As you go along,  youll learn how to document it all using a simple communication plan template. Plus, youll learn how to execute that plan using your blog, social media, and email marketing. Get Your Free Communication Plan Template + Bonus Calendars To make planning your communications strategy easy, we’ve built this free template. Plus, we’ve also included two calendar templates to keep your execution organized. Here’s what your kit includes: Communication Plan PowerPoint to lay out your entire communications strategy. Marketing Calendar template  to plan all of your content and campaigns. Social Media Calendar template  to schedule all of your social media messages. Download them now, and then let’s get down to work. How To Create A Communications Plan in 12 Steps (Free Template)What Is A Communication Plan For this post, a communication plan is: "A communication plan is a detailed strategy that outlines an organization's target audiences and the messages they need to receive to drive desired business outcomes." What is a communication plan, anyway?12 Steps To Develop A Solid Communication Plan Now that you know what a communication plan is, you can work on building one. The following 12 steps will help you plan a full strategy that you can share with your team. Here's how to develop a communications plan in 12 steps.Step One: Establish Your Mission Statement The first step in your communication planning process is reminding your team of your mission statement. Your mission statement is the end goal that your company wants to fulfill for your customers. Here are a few example mission statements to inspire your own (if you don’t have one yet): Starbucks:  To inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time. :  Organizing the world one marketing calendar at a time. Nike:  To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world. Try using this template to format your mission statement. Our organization exists to provide [benefit], [benefit], and [benefit] through [product or service]. Once you have your mission statement record it in your communication plan template: Do you know your organization's mission statement?Step Two: Identify Your Business Objectives The next step in your process is to identify your business objectives. Business objectives are goals your company or organization needs to hit to be successful. Every goal your team sets needs to contribute back to these objectives. If you’re unaware of what you’re aiming for, you’ll miss every time. Talk to or schedule a meeting with your manager to find these objectives. Once you have them record them in your template: Step Three: Develop Audience Personas The next step is to find your target audience or audiences. These are the people your organization is trying to reach. Therefore, you need to identify who they are and what makes them tick so you can create messages that connect with them. Identify Your Target Audience Before you start developing your audience personas, you need to identify your target audience. Your target audience is the group of people who are most likely to purchase your product or service. Here are a few ways to learn more about your target audiences: Survey current customers to learn more about them.  Try using tools like SurveyMonkey  or Google Forms  to gather data from your audience. Ask demographic style questions  to gather the information you are looking for. Dig into Google Analytics  to learn more about who is currently visiting your website. Search through your competitors  social media followers to see who they appear to be attracting (and compare that to your own followers). Once you’ve gathered the data, you need to create a one to two sentence description about your audience. It could look something like this: Our target audience is made up of professional 20 to 28-year-olds who have just started their first job after graduating from college with a four-year degree. Remember to keep it brief, as you’ll go into more detail later. Record these statements in your communications template: Are you using personas in your communication plan?Develop Your Audience Persona Once you’ve determined the basic information of your target audience, you can use the survey information you collected earlier to create a detailed audience persona. Each persona should contain the basic information about each of your target audiences including: Age Gender Job Title Location Income There’s also space to fill out interests and hobbies of your audiences as well as the problems they are currently facing. Recommended Reading: How To Find Your Target Audience With A Marketing Persona Step Four: Identify Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) To craft effective communication, you need to know your unique selling proposition. What is a USP? According to Entrepreneur, a unique selling proposition is: The factor or consideration presented by a seller as the reason that one product or service is different from and better than that of the competition. Let’s take a look at an example. Casper is an online mattress retailer, and their USP is focused around one simple idea. Since their product is sold directly to the consumer, they can offer lower prices than what you would find if you went to a brick and mortar store.  Unbeatable low cost sets them apart. Big or small, identifying your USP  will make a huge difference in your communication strategy. Work with your team to come up with your USP and record it in your template. What's your unique selling proposition?Step Five: Draft Your Calls To Action Each one of your target audiences will have a call to action. What do you want your audience to do after they have read or heard your message? For example, let’s say your organization is a budgeting program  designed to help people create financial freedom.   Your target audience is ages 20-28, starting their first job and dealing with a   mountain of student loan debt. Your call to action would be to sign up for a free consultation to help them get their loans paid off as soon as possible. You know what you want them to do; now you have to figure out the right phrasing that creates the final push they need to take action. This graphic is packed full of 54 different words that you can include in your CTA: If we go back to our example some CTAs that this company could use are: Discover how to get ahead of your student loan payments and sign up for a free consultation. Register for a free consultation and take advantage of this special offer before it’s gone. These CTAs should identify the action and general messaging your organization needs to communicate to each audience. Record them  in your template. Does your communication plan include clear calls to action?Step Six: Choose Your Channels The next step in your communication plan process is choosing the channels that you’re going to share your message on. Blogging According to Express Writers, featuring a blog  as a key part of your website increases your chance of better search engine rankings by 434%. Blog posts are great for sharing a variety of news including: Company events. Company news. Feel good projects your organization has taken on. How-to content. Updates to products and services. Launches of new products and services. Recommended Reading: How to Create Effective Blog Posts That Convert Like Crazy Email A second channel option to consider is email. According to Imagination, emails usually generate 38 dollars for every 1 dollar spent. That’s a 3,800% return on investment. So how can you use email to spread your message? Some common tactics are: Email Newsletters that keep your audience up to date with your latest content and news. Press Relations:  Need to get a press release out in a hurry? Email is a great way send your press releases out to your press contacts. Sales Offers:  Having a limited time offer to entice your customers to buy from you? Let them know with a quick email blast that is full of message copy that encourages them to buy. Tools like MailChimp, Campaign Monitor, and Wordfly  can help you get started. Social Media If you decide to use social media, ensure that your organization is using the best channels for your purposes. Here’s are some facts to keep in mind about each network. You can also choose your networks based on where your audience would be most active. According to the Pew Research Center, this the most updated audience demographic data as of 2016. Source: pewinternet.org/2016/11/11/social-media-update-2016/ Use this data to see where your target audience is most active. Recommended Reading: How To Automate Your Social Media With And Get Your Time Back Choose your channels and record them in your template. Step Seven: Decide Your Publishing Frequency Now that you have your channels decided, your next step is to determine how often you’re going to publish your content. Each channel has its own set of best practices regarding publishing frequency. Blog Post Publishing Frequency Your blog post publishing frequency will vary a lot depending on your content team’s work span and how often they can write full blog posts. Start small and grow your blog post publishing frequency as you get ahead in your content. As you start to publish your blog posts, refer to this graphic to figure out the optimum days to post your content. Recommended Reading: When Is The Best Time To Publish Blog Posts? Email Send Frequency According to Crazy Egg, if you grow your email list by subscribers, your optimum send frequency is: Source: https://www.crazyegg.com/blog/email-marketing-frequency/ Again remember that these are just suggestions. If your audience wants to hear from you more often, give them what they’re asking for! Recommended Reading: What 10 Studies Say About The Best Time To Send Email Social Media Publishing Frequency For social media, there are two things your communications team should focus on when sending messages; how often to post and when to post. Here’s an infographic on how often you should post to social media according to 14 different studies: Recommended Reading: How Often To Post On Social Media? [Proven Research From 14 Studies] After you’ve determined how often you want to post to each of your social media channels you can move on to deciding when you’re going to post. This is important because posting at the right time helps increase the chance that your audience will see your content in their newsfeed. Check out this infographic on the best times to post on your social media channels: Recommended Reading: What 20 Studies Say About The Best Times To Post On Social Media It’s important to note that you don’t have to follow this publishing schedule exactly. Create one that works for your team and focus on growing it as you become more comfortable posting to the channel. So how do you decide what your initial publishing schedule will be? An example schedule might be: Publish 3 Facebook posts a week. Publish 15 tweets per day. Publish 2 blog posts a week. Send 3 emails a week. This publishing frequency is here to help you get started. If you can’t post as frequency as this schedule suggests, try working your way up to it instead. The main thing to focus on is consistency. Ultimately the schedule that you decide on will depend on you and your team. Once you have figured out your initial publishing schedule, record it in your template. Step Eight: What Messages Do You Need To Deliver? You have your strategy, now comes the fun part, deciding what messages you want to send. Each one of your target audiences has a specific message they need to hear to beat the final hurdle to converting. So how do you figure out what that message is? Each of your audiences experiences a particular problem that would draw them to your product or service. The messages you create for each of your audiences should address: The problem they’re currently facing. The solution your organization offers. The call to action you created in step six. Creating your messages involves a five-step process: Let’s walk through an example of this five step process. Think back to the example of the financial company who’s looking to help students who just graduated with their loans. This is how it should look in your communications plan template. Their target audience would be 20 to 28-year-olds who have just graduated from college and are in their first job. After you have identified your target audience, determine the problem they are facing and the solution your company can offer: Next, create a message your company’s target audience would connect with. Try using this fill in the blank template to start: Are you experiencing [insert problem]? See how [insert company name] can help with [product or service]. [insert the CTA that you came up with in step six.] In your template, it could look something like this. Your next step involves finding the channels that your audience would prefer to receive your message on. For this example, we could assume that 123 Accounting’s target audience would be most receptive to their message coming from a variety of social media channels. Then decide on the frequency that you will send your message out. Finally, take the CTA that you created for your target audience earlier in this post and add it to your messaging matrix. What are the core messages your brand needs to communicate?Step Nine: Determine Your Important Events and Campaign Plans Another critical part of your communication plan is going to be laying out the essential events your team needs to keep track of throughout the year. You’ll also want to start formatting the campaign plans for each of those events. To start take a look at your calendar for the next year. What common recurring events would your audience be interested in? This could be holidays, company events, anniversaries, or recurring sales or promotions. Some common holidays are: Christmas Thanksgiving (In the US) Hanukkah Easter The Fourth of July (In the US) Memorial Day (In the US) Veterans Day (In the US) Labor Day (In the US) President’s Day (In the US) Valentine’s Day Halloween St. Patrick’s Day New Year’s Day Many sales and promotions will fall around the holidays, but there are also some recurring dates to keep in mind: End of quarters (the end of every third month). End of companies fiscal year (this will depend on the organization). Beginning of a new season. End of a new season. Recurring industry conferences. Mark any of these recurring events and holidays in your calendar: Record those recurring dates in your communications plan so your team doesn’t have to flip through a previous calendar. Make sure your communication plan anticipates important events ahead of time.Step Ten: Set Your Communication Goals The next step in your communication process is to set goals that your communications team needs to reach. These goals should relate back to the business objectives you identified earlier in this post. For example, let’s say your business objective is to increase charitable donations by 50%. So a communications goal for your team could be: increase the number of event signups by 75% from last year. Each goal that you create should also be SMART or: S: Specific. M: Measureable. A: Attainable. R: Relevant. T: Timely. Try this fill in the blank template when you’re creating your goals: Our [insert team name] will reach [number] [metric] every [time frame] by [date]. So in practice, it could look something like this: Our communications team will reach 5,000 event trial sign-ups every quarter by December 2018. Once you have your goals you need to determine what metrics you’re going to track. Metrics are data points that show whether or not you are reaching your goals. If you’re looking for blog metrics some common ones are: Unique page views Total pageviews Time spent on site Bounce rate Organic search ranking Backlinks If you’re tracking email metrics, some common data points are: Email opens Number of new subscribers Total subscribers Link clicks Unscribers Finally, here are some common social media metrics your team could track: Impressions Reach Follower total New followers Engagements Once you’ve connected your goals to your metrics, record them in your template. Recommended Reading: How To Set SMART Marketing Goals Step Eleven: Using Your Marketing Calendar to Execute Your Communications Plan You finally have a full communications plan. Now comes the time to execute it. The question is how? That’s where your marketing or content calendar comes in. Using the content calendar template that you downloaded earlier, fill out each one of your events and the length of the campaign it’s related to. It could look something like this: You can add in what days your blog posts, emails and more are publishing: To schedule your social media posts open your social media calendar and use the same color codes to indicate which social media posts are related to each campaign: Do This With You may start to notice you need three, four, five maybe even six tools to get your messages out to your audience. That seems like a lot. What if there was a way you could do it all in one tool? That’s where comes in. With our marketing calendar software, you can: Manage your team’s workflows, plan all your content, and see deadlines in one place. Automate your WordPress and social media publishing schedule (and email scheduling is coming soon). Measure your content + social performance. Plus a whole lot more. Recommended Reading: The Ultimate Guide to Execute your communications plan on one marketing calendar. @will show you how.Step Twelve: Measuring Your Results The very last step in your communication plan is to measure your results. You need to know what you’re doing is working right? This is where you’ll pull the metrics that you created for each one of your goals and start tracking them to see if your efforts are indeed paying off. If you’re going to be tracking blog post metrics, Google Analytics is going to be your best friend. To find the data you need to go Behavior → Site Content → All Pages: There you’ll be able to find all the data on the metrics we mentioned earlier in this post including page views, average time spent on page and bounce rate. Email metric data should be found in your ESP or email service provider tool. Each one will vary a bit on what data they pull and where this is located on the platform. Social metrics actually need to be found and tracked in Google Analytics and the internal analytics that the app gathers. Google Analytics will let you find traffic by going to Acquisition → Social → Network Referrals: From there you’ll be able to see the number of sessions, pageviews and session durations coming from your social media channels. Another way to find your social media data is to go to the in-app analytics of each of your social media channels. Each channel holds its own series of analytics including post reach, post engagement, audience demographics and more.

Baseball WWII

Examines the sport as a popular social patriotic glue. Looks at the decline of players quality and compares it to the game of WWI. Looks at the issues of players military service, attendance and owners views. Baseball was one of the most significant forms of popular culture in the United States at the time of the Second World War. It was, by far, the most popular sport in the country, and its stars were local and, often, national heroes. It was a truly national pastime, as professional teams from the large northeastern and midwestern cities competed with each other, minor league teams drew crowds in small towns all over the country, and radio listeners swelled the number of fans. A great body of popular lore had grown up around the subject, and the identification of baseball and American values had become axiomatic. As with any manifestation of popular culture, baseball both revealed and determined what American society valued most. But, when World War II arrived, it was inevitable that baseball would be hit much harder than other popular culture..

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

EBay - Case Study Example Unlike in the marketplace, eBay provides a market space which is not constrained by time and distance. Through the internet technology buyers and sellers from all over the world meet virtually in order to trade their products with each other. In order to ensure the safety and convenience of the participants in each auction that the company hosts, the company has also designed value-added features and services which adds to the value that the customer receives. Thus, aside from bringing buyer and seller together, eBay also delivers safety to customers by ensuring convenient, fast, and safe online transactions. Alongside the huge advantages of transacting online are the risks shouldered by the participants and challenges for eBay. The hesitance of individuals to trade their products and services through online portals, stems from the fact that unlike in the marketplace, that there is a huge information asymmetry in marketspace both on the credibility of the participants and the quality of the products which are traded. Thus, numerous contracting problems occur including shipped products which are unpaid, goods which do not meet the expectations of the buyer, joy bidders, and fraud. These contracting problems are typical in the nature of eBay's business. Since each of the participant in the market wants to maximize his utility by buying unique goods at the same time paying the least for the products which he thinks have higher value while the seller wants to get the best possible money from his commodities, both could have the intention of outdoing each other because of information asymmetr y. 3. How does eBay address these problems Aside from bringing buyers and sellers together, eBay also enhanced its portal with value-added services and features which eliminate fear and assures each participant of safe, reliable, and convenient transaction. As mentioned in the case, Feedback forum is available for everyone who would like to have a thorough understanding of the credibility of a participant. In order to ensure that buyers are getting their money's worth, each buyer or seller is also provided with "insurance." The company also established SafeHarbor to identify, investigate, and take corrective actions on fraud and other misuse of the company's services. eBay's partnership with i-Escrow provides security to payment made. All of these value added features enhances the value delivered to the company's services. 4. What are the contracting costs of eBay The contracting problems identified above that eBay wants to eliminate pressures the business organization to shell out financial resources in order to provide solutions. As discussed in the previous paragraphs, eBay has been keen in identifying the contracting problems in its system and is committed in eliminating these in order to ensure the satisfaction of auction participants. However, in so doing, it also needs to make particular investments which require financial resources. All of these efforts stems from the company's aim of making trading safe and convenient to virtual buyers and sellers. In order to

Ethos pathos and logos Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Ethos pathos and logos - Essay Example been consuming healthy foods for a long time since my very early childhood so that the audience knows that what I am saying is not just theory but a reflection on my personal life experiences. To establish pathos in the presentation, I would try to make emotional connection with the audience by enriching my speech with gestures that reinforce my ideas, by randomly asking the audience easy questions to keep them engaged with me, including funny pictures wherever possible in the presentation not only to entertain the audience, but also to give them a break now and then, and by sharing with them some experiences of my mom’s friends who have suffered great losses in life because of consuming unhealthy foods. To establish logos in the presentation, I would organize the slides in a way that my speech reflects smoothly point after point as I make it. I shall suggest certain eatables and drinks that can be made available in the cafeteria within the school’s budget so that everybody knows that what I am proposing is practicable and thus not to be taken

The impact of Information Technology on a career Term Paper

The impact of Information Technology on a career - Term Paper Example I also propose that all companies should raise awareness of how information technology in HRM is needed in order to remain competitive. I first examine the current state of how IT is applied in HRM today. HRM today is becoming more influenced by Information Technology, but some companies are still using IT to cover older HR functions that have been in place for many years, and have not made use of best practices by fully utilizing IT. In the article â€Å"An Exploratory Analysis of E-HRM in the Context of HRM Transformation†, the author mentions how the focus for use and investment in IT with HRM has been for a limited number of functions such as basic database and spreadsheet uses, payroll, or other standard administrative functions but overlook better uses of IT such as using technology for corporate strategy (Foster, 3). As mentioned in a publication by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, some traditional ways of measuring employees by HR will always be needed despite the IT system involved, as in the case of personnel performance reviews. Yet, it is shown that the strategies of employee performance do not always match with departmental goals. This is an area that could be corrected through the use of IT. The article mentions that HR does not normally compile hard statistics or data to prove departmental successes, and hence there may be a lack of clear and documented evidence the benefits that IT provides. Also, HRM’s concentration on internal operations can have limiting effects in the way that senior management decides to use scarce IT investments (U.S. Office of Personnel Management, p. 22). In the article â€Å"The Future of Human Resources†, the authors outline how some companies are still in a traditional viewpoint with the role of Human Resources. Several key items mentioned are that the HR department is associated with processing activities (Dattner and Rothenberg, p.5). This would primarily include

Athletes and The Use of Drugs and Performance Enhancing Supplements Research Paper

Athletes and The Use of Drugs and Performance Enhancing Supplements - Research Paper Example Any substance that boosts performance by bringing about alterations in an individual’s behavior, a perception of pain and/or arousal level ought to be considered as performance-enhancing (Kissinger and Miller, 2009). This paper discusses the use of performance enhancement drugs among athletes and holds the position that anything that enhances athletic performance unnaturally should be banned from seeing that it perverts the integrity of competition. Maximizing an individual’s athletic performance abilities is not only arduous, but also a time-consuming undertaking that calls for among others, proper hydration, good nutrition, sufficient sleep, avoidance of supplements, moderate use of alcohol, and quality coaching and practice. Unluckily, in their efforts to attain peak athletic performance levels, some athletes do not rely on natural resources. They instead perceive a need for something that will facilitate and speed up the natural route to an optimal athletic performance. They, therefore, end up giving in to the urge of using performance-enhancing drugs in order to achieve their goal of emerging the very best athlete that they can possibly be. It is important to point out that nearly always, media reports on some alleged incident of the use of performance enhancement drug in the National Football League, National Hockey League, Major League Baseball, or among Olympic track-and-field high profile participants (Kissinger and Miller, 2009).

MGMT499 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

MGMT499 - Essay Example In terms of legal environment, strict environmental legislation results into higher costs for both discount retailers. This factor even encompasses rising awareness amongst customers which increases costs for retailers such as Walmart and Target who follows green movement (Zentes, Morschett & Klein, 2012, pp.102-103). On the other hand social environment comprise of varying income levels of customers which give an opportunity to both the retailers in relation to lowering prices and acquiring large market share. The culture prevailing in Walmart is to work in collaboration and increase efficiency of the overall team. They even focus on reducing overhead expense so that better prices can be offered to customers. The performance rate of Walmart is higher in comparison to other retailers and hence it ranks as topmost retailer across the globe. On the contrary Target has a performance ratio lower than Walmart and occupies second position amongst all discount retailers based in America. Its low performance is due to limited product range being offered in all its retail stores. However the company culture is similar to that of Walmart where team members are considered to be an integral part of the system. The promotion policies of Walmart are such that it gives more emphasis on increasing responsibilities and retaining experienced workers in the system. There were 170,000 promoted by the company in previous year with more benefits and higher pay scale. These policies are based on average performance of employees and impact of their respective performance in growth and success of the company. On the other hand Target has a different set of promotion policies as it focuses on time period which has been spent by an employee with the organization. Promotion in this company is given to those employees who possess more experience in comparison to other individuals. However the promotional benefits are similar to that of Walmart. Walmart is a big retail

Hinduism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 8

Hinduism - Essay Example Although I have always been interested in this subject but never had the time to learn more about it from books. This visit gave me a short course on the history of Hinduism. My expectations were met, and I had a fun learning time. I want to find out more through this interactive way about every topic. I took notes while I was there. They will surely help me in my studies. The hierarchical structure of Hindu Gods surprised me. I was aware that there are many Gods in Hinduism, but ranks and power structures came to me as a surprise. In addition, I was also interested in the use of colors in pictures and statues of Hindu Gods. For instance, blue color is extensively used. Hindus paint their idols (statues) blue or make their paintings and images. Their Gods also transform into other creatures or appear in some other manner than the regular ones. For instance, the Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection has a painting by Catherine Roche (see figure 1) where Vishnu, is painted blue, in the form of a boar and holding Lakshmi on his tusks. The sounds of temple bells and chanting of religious heads were the most prominent sounds. The mood of the gathering was very serious. Some people seemed to be meditating while some were whispering prayers. It was clearly visible how much they believed that their Gods were listening to their prayers. It was evident to see that their religion meant so much to them. They seemed to find comfort in their chanting. My personal reaction to Hindu practices and rituals is very objective. Religions, belief systems, self-esteem, and opinions are very sensitive subjects. They hold very high values for their followers. I observed Hindu practices and paintings as if I am discovering a new culture. Their philosophy of life and their Gods stand different from the Greek mythology. For instance, Hindus worship many idols. There are Gods with different powers and appearances but in the end they are all part

MGMT499 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

MGMT499 - Essay Example In terms of legal environment, strict environmental legislation results into higher costs for both discount retailers. This factor even encompasses rising awareness amongst customers which increases costs for retailers such as Walmart and Target who follows green movement (Zentes, Morschett & Klein, 2012, pp.102-103). On the other hand social environment comprise of varying income levels of customers which give an opportunity to both the retailers in relation to lowering prices and acquiring large market share. The culture prevailing in Walmart is to work in collaboration and increase efficiency of the overall team. They even focus on reducing overhead expense so that better prices can be offered to customers. The performance rate of Walmart is higher in comparison to other retailers and hence it ranks as topmost retailer across the globe. On the contrary Target has a performance ratio lower than Walmart and occupies second position amongst all discount retailers based in America. Its low performance is due to limited product range being offered in all its retail stores. However the company culture is similar to that of Walmart where team members are considered to be an integral part of the system. The promotion policies of Walmart are such that it gives more emphasis on increasing responsibilities and retaining experienced workers in the system. There were 170,000 promoted by the company in previous year with more benefits and higher pay scale. These policies are based on average performance of employees and impact of their respective performance in growth and success of the company. On the other hand Target has a different set of promotion policies as it focuses on time period which has been spent by an employee with the organization. Promotion in this company is given to those employees who possess more experience in comparison to other individuals. However the promotional benefits are similar to that of Walmart. Walmart is a big retail

Gender Identity Essay Example for Free

Gender Identity Essay There are many factors that can determine gender identity. There is continuous research comparing the affect of both biology and environment on gender identity. Gender identity is almost always chromosomal sex although that isnt enough to rule out the affect of environment. Intersexuals are rare individuals who posses the typical external genitalia while possessing ambiguous sexual organs of the other sex. There are also hermaphrodites who possess both testicular and ovarian tissue. These two factors that determine gender identity are caused by hormonal factors in prenatal development. Hermaphrodites usually assume the gender identity of the sex assignment at birth. A sex assignment is the process of determining the sex of a child at birth. Intersexualism has given scientists a chance to compare environment and biology. Intersexualism means a person possesses a whole, either male or female reproductive organs. They also possess internal or external tissue of the other sex. Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia is a form of intersexualism in which a genetic female has internal female sexual structures but masculinized external genitals. Androgen-insensitivity syndrome is a form of intersexualism in which a genetic male is prenatally insensitive to androgens such that his genitals are not normally masculinized. Dominican Republic Syndrome is a form intersexualism in which a genetic enzyme disorder prevents testosterone from masculinizing the external genitalia. CAH is caused by exposure to androgens which are produced naturally through adrenal or mothers may have received synthetic androgens to prevent miscarriage in women who have a family history of miscarriages. Research has been done on CAH and results have shown that girls with CAH act more like a boy. They are more interested in masculine toys such as trucks while girls without are more interested in playing with dolls. Girls with CAH show more aggression in play and tend to have more male friends while girls without CAH play with other girls. There are many kinds of androgen-insensitivity syndrome. One involves a male having a sensitivity to prenatal androgen due to a mutated gene. At birth, their genitals are feminized and can even include a small vagina. This insensitivity causes male internal reproductive organs to remain undevelo ped. Girls can have partial androgen-insensitivity syndrome or complete androgen-insensitivity syndrome. Girls with CAIS develop typical genital external organs but their internal reproductive organs to  not function properly. Girls with PAIS are usually raised as boys but sometimes as girls. Research results show that women with PAIS have no difference in gender identity in comparison to women without although they are born with external masculinized genitalia. Three things that have effected the gender identity of my own are very simple and generic. Of course, I have external male genitalia which in turn makes the perception I have of myself lean more towards being a man. I was raised by mom and only my mom so being the man of the house was always being presented to me because I was also an only child. This masculinized my attitude overall and gave me an alpha male self-esteem at an early age. I played a lot of sports which exposed me to aggressive play and taught me how to play hard. One of my reasons is backed by biology and the other two are backed by environment. This doesnt mean that environment has a larger affect on gender identity but it is the direction I chose to go when analyzing my own factors of determining my gender identity. In conclusion, there is still no real answer when the question is asked: nature or nurture? Gender identity is largely influenced by biology and prenatal androgens but parenting and encouraging by a primary caregiver can influence gender identity greatly. Many factors can determine gender identity and prenatal conditions can cause internal and external differences in genitalia which will affect both sex assignment and gender identity.

Current ethical issue of abortion

Current ethical issue of abortion Abortion in relation to Natural Moral Law and Utilitarian Ethics Aran Cauchi The current ethical issue of abortion is a broad and complex ethical issue which can be approached from many moral and ethical directions. Two such directions can be the deontological Natural Moral Law and the teleological or consequentialist Utilitarian ethics. Abortion, from the Latin aborior, to pass away, is an induced termination of a pregnancy. Historically, as today, an abortion is the focal point of much controversy. The laws governing abortion have changed considerably in the last fifty years to accommodate abortion as an option for a pregnant woman. A landmark US case giving a mother right to wilful abortion occurred in 1973 set in motion by a woman called Jane Roe in Dallas, Texas. Roe wished to terminate her pregnancy, but in Texas at the time, only victims of rape or incest could procure a legal abortion. The case reached the Supreme Court where the judges ruled that abortion was a constitutional right to women, overturning laws in every state which denied abortion to women through medically qualified doctors. Abortion is now legally allowed in many western countries for women. Since the legality of abortions came into effect, much debate has occurred from opposite so called pro-choice and pro-life groups, gathering many argumen ts from both deontological and teleological ethics. Utilitarianismis the idea that themoral worthof an action is determined solely by its contribution to overallutility: that is, its contribution to happiness or pleasure as summed among all people.[1] Utilitarianism places no emphasis on whether an action is right or wrong, right is only so once the pleasure has been decided to outweigh the pain in the circumstances resulting from the decision. Pleasure, in early Utilitarian thinking, was only concerned with the physical, e.g. being well fed. John Stuart Mill later argued that pleasure was also quantifiable in intellectual and spiritual terms. These higher pleasures he argued outweighed the lower pleasures. Mill proposed, for example being well fed, at the expense of a mans spirituality was a lesser pleasure, and in effect, not as right as a spiritually enlightened man who was hungry. The hungry man experiences higher pleasure, as spiritual enlightenment lasts significantly longer than the feeling of being well fed. Consequentialist Utilitarians would argue that abortion is an entirely neutral act. The consequences resulting from the abortion determine the rightness. A specific system of measuring the pleasure against pain can be utilised called Hedonic Calculus. Hedonic Calculus first proposed by Jeremy Bentham, measures pleasure/pain through eight categories: Certainty Duration Extent Intensity Remoteness Richness Purity[2] This calculus subjectively determines if the pain outweighs the pleasure in a scenario of a potential abortion. A mother may need an abortion to save her own life if it is in peril due to her pregnancy, she cannot afford to leave her children motherless. This scenario, shown through Hedonic Calculus allows abortion to be the right choice as 1. There is a high certainty the mother will die, 2. The duration of mourning for the family would be very long as would the duration of risk to her other children, 3. The pain and suffering for her surviving family would be very great and so on. A different scenario in which the mother seeks an abortion so she can go on a holiday would be morally wrong as from categories: 2. the pleasure of a child will last years compared to that of a comparatively short holiday, 4. The intensity of the pleasure of a child is much greater and higher significance as it is emotional and spiritual than a physical and emotional holiday. The taking of a life can be justified in Utilitarianism as there are no standing rules of what is right or wrong for a general scenario, i.e. abortion. Every circumstance is different and warrants a separate evaluation to determine the correct action. Natural law is a branch of deontological ethics, deon meaning duty in Latin. Natural lawor thelaw of natureis a theory that posits the existence of a law whose content is set bynatureand that therefore has validity everywhere.[3] These laws, created by God, are discernible to all peoples and are thought of as moral absolutes, natural moral law theory implies that wediscovermorality we do notinventit,'(J.P. Moreland, What Is Natural Moral Law). It is mans duty to be rational, and as God is rational too, it is rational that humans must love God. Thomas Aquinas, a figurehead for natural moral law proposed five primary precepts and other secondary precepts. The primary precepts proposed where: The continuation of the species through procreation The education of children The desire to live in society The worship of God The preservation of the self These precepts are considered in natural moral law to be the most basic aspirations of all humans. Aquinas believed that all humans wished to do good and follow the precepts but through ignorance to the Natural Moral Law, some could do wrong. Aquinas argued that good ethical decisions could be arrived at by reason alone. Humans have the power of deducing what is good and what is wrong through application of their conscience. Natural Law, being deontological, imposes inalienable rules that cannot be broken. Natural Law can be seen as order provided by nature which exists for a purpose. A common criticism of Utilitarianism would be the difficulty of its real world application. The theory of a decision may be morally sound, but the limitless unexpected permutations prevent proper ethical conduct from occurring once theory is put to practice. The Tribunal of the Holy Office, a catholic authority was once queried on the 4th of May, 1898 as to whether a foetus was allowed to be removed from its womb before natural course did so. The tribunal resolved that there was no exception to natural birth, even inducing premature labour with the intention of saving the babys life. However, if life saving surgery were to be performed on the mother, which would have consequences on the growing foetus, it should not be maintained that the fetal(sic)lifeis thereby directly attacked. Theevilis not made a means to obtain thegoodeffect; for this would be to doevilthatgoodmight come of it.'[4] This fulfils the Natural Law requirement of the act of being good as separate from the concept of doing good. To be morally correct, one must not embark on a course of action which is right purely to obtain an evil or vain end. The right must be to cause neutral or correct consequences. This certainty of rules and moral action allows the system of Natural Law to be an unquestionable authority if placed alongside Utilitarian ethics which are in permanent flux. The Catholic Church supports the notion of ensoulment, where at conception a foetus is given a soul by God. A soul is viewed as a separate form to the physical body, but is linked inextricably until death. The act of abortion goes against the first precept of Natural Law, denying the continuation of the species through abortion. Even if that abortion would lead to saving a life, the authority to kill a foetus does not rest in humans hands. It is inhumane to end the life of a baby, as natural law theory holds;one may never directly intend to kill an innocent human being[5]. After conception, Natural Law argues that the foetus is human so is equal in right to life as its mother. There is no greater worth placed on the mother living than the child as both are considered equal. Utilitarianism would argue against the inflexibility of the rules of Natural Law regarding to the preservation of a childs life. Utilitarians would argue that greater suffering may be caused by the preservation of a foetus life. The mother of the child may be a chronic drug addict, and the chances of the baby growing up disadvantaged are high. It could be argued that the mother may not be fit to care for a child and the child would suffer a hard life, through mal-parenting and possible separation from the mother in later years. A possible course of action would be a wilful abortion by the mother to prevent suffering of a child. The rigidity of Natural Law allows no exceptions to be made, even if the pleasure resulting from an abortion vastly outweighs the pain. This rigidity of laws could cause unnecessary harm to many people. Correct decision making can stem from both deontological and consequentialist ethics. While Natural Moral Law argues that the laws of nature are absolute, Utilitarianism argues that no laws constantly serve the greatest good, and only through flexibility can good be achieved. The primary precepts of Natural Law indicate clearly that abortion is wrong so far as the taking of an innocent life, and interrupting the natural result of procreation. Utilitarianism states that abortion, like all actions is an entirely neutral act until the consequences are evaluated. Both ethical systems allow an opportunity for an individual to formulate an understanding of, and ethically right decision on abortion. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utilitarianism http://tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/abortion-and-ethical-theory/ Natural Law,International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01046b.htm http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_08natlaw.html