Business Article from NY times, Economist, Bloomberg

Business from NY times, Economist, Bloomberg - Article Example The poor performance of the stock market has reduced the returns of investors on their savings and the declining interest rates mean that a large pension pot would be required to generate a certain retirement income. The cost of providing pensions to employees has increased thus the shift to defined contribution plans. According to the article, most employees have a problem with deferred gratifications and only few have the self-control to delay their pensions. Employees have to wait for long period up to 40 years for the pension to pay-off, but the pension pot may not be worth their contributions (Buttonwood 73). According to the author, British Institute and Faculty of Actuaries has examined whether there are possibilities of offering guaranteed pensions in the Defined Contributions market. The article offers a simple method of offering (virtually) guaranteed pension if investors buy the index-linked government bonds since savings are protected against any inflation and government cannot default (Buttonwood 73). However, the returns are low, and thus why most government pension and corporate funds have invested heavily in equities hoping excess returns in equity market will make them make lower contributions. Accordingly, one can hedge against the equity risk by buying derivatives such as a put option that guarantees the derivative holder the option of selling the shares at a set price but over the long term put options will be more expensive that short-term contracts (Buttonwood 73). Other approached of offering the guaranteed pensions in DC market include using complex hedging strategies that rebalance the portfolio to eliminate any substantial losses. This involves using the high returns of equities in a low-risk manner thus reducing the costs of purchasing a guarantee (Buttonwood 73). However, the actuaries have failed in calculating the costs of guarantee, and protection against inflation. From this perspective, pensions are long term

Child Abuse: Long term harms

Child Abuse: Long term harms Parents today dont realize that the harm that they are doing to their children will eventually be passed down from generation to generation; their children are todays abused tomorrows abusers. Obviously, parents or guardians will not understand the impact that is caused to their child until they acknowledging there childs choice in life style. In particular, child abuse is a mistreatment of a child by a parent or guardian, including neglect, beating, and, sexual molestation (Salus). Child abuse has an enormous impact among many families globally because child abuse is a detrimental aspect of a childs life as well as the developmental stages in a childs life, which would cause them to have physical, psychological, or behavioral consequences as they grow. Therefore, the maltreatment and neglect in child abuse is a causative factor in youth suicide, crime, homeless, mental illness, drug and alcohol abuse as well as unemployment in a victims life span (info,†¦.). In particular, there are parents, guardians and even caregivers that would imply that an injury resulting from abuse is accidental because they did not intended to hurt the child. For example, some guardians that discipline there children could be abusing them psychologically or even physically (Asseal). Additionally, people would think that the way they discipline a child is perfectly fine because they want them to learn how to do it the proper way (Bissel). The parental or guardian will always try to make the right choice which would be either to let it go or punish the child. To summarize, people will never know how much the discipline or punishment can lead to in the long run. My expository thesis statement is child abuse is an enormous problem among many families globally because child abuse is a detrimental aspect of a childs life as well as the developmental stages in a childs life, which would cause them to have physical, psychological, or behavioral consequences as they grow . Indeed, many people say that child abuse should be legal because an injury resulting from physical abuse is not accidental the parent or caregiver may not have intended to hurt the child. However, child abuse shouldnt be legalize under any certain circumstance because children can end up with physical, psychological or even behavioral consequences. Initially, child abuse should not be legalized under any circumstance because as children get older they can generate a physical consequence. It is stated that physical abuse is among of the top three largest types of child abuse that affect the children globally. For instance, during 2003 18.9 percent of children were physically abused (Services,†¦). Likewise, more than one-quarter of children who had been in foster care for longer than 12 months had some lasting or recurring health problem (Bissell). As a result it has been shown, in some cases, to cause important regions of the brain to fail to form or grow properly, resulting in impaired development (Bissell). In some cases the physical effects are temporary; however, the pain and suffering they cause a child should not be discounted (Families,..). The immediate physical effects of abuse can be relatively minor like bruises or cuts or severe where there are broken bones, hemorrhage, or even death (Bissell). If this type of a buse can be prevented it should be prevented because every day three out of ten children die. Studies also state that child abuse would affect a childs young development and are prone to physical consequences. Whereas, if the child have extremely abusive guardians the child will tends to end up with physical consequences. In summation, if children have physical consequence due the child abuse, we dont we do more to prevent it? Next child abuse has different consequences such as psychological which affect a childs development mentally. Furthermore, research shows that children that are abuse will have one of the psychological consequences. About 80% of 21 year olds that were abused as children met criteria for at least one psychological consequence (Salus). To illustrate, as many as 80 percent of young adults who had been abused met the diagnostic criteria for at least one psychiatric disorder at age 21 (Salus). In addition, these young adults exhibited many problems, including anxiety, eating disorders, suicide attempts, and posttraumatic stress disorder (service, †¦). The immediate emotional effects of abuse and neglect isolation, fear, and an inability to trust can translate into lifelong consequences, including low self-esteem, depression, and relationship difficulties (Salus). Depression and withdrawal symptoms were common among children as young as 3 who experienced emotional, physical, or enviro nmental neglect (information,†¦). Due to abuse the child can have a dramatic impact on a child when they are young which means as they get older they can develop a psychological consequence. Obviously, children who experience rejection or neglect are more likely to develop antisocial traits as they grow up (PerantalRights.org). Children that have a psychological consequence due to child abuse have problems opening up to people. As a result, of child abuse that leads to psychological consequences is this research worth the cost? For children globally, that have been abused will have behavioral consequences as they grow older. In other words, they will not know how to control the life nor the choices they are making along the way. Due to the abusers, in the long run children that have been abused will more likely appear to have behavioral consequences at a young age and as they get older. Consequently, children who experience child abuse and neglect are 59 percent more likely to be arrested as a juvenile, 28 percent more likely to be arrested as an adult, and 30 percent more likely to commit violent crime (Bissell). In particular, studies have shown that abused and neglected children are at least 25 percent more likely to experience problems such as delinquency, teen pregnancy, low academic achievement, drug use, and mental health problems (Dawkins). Similarly, the possible consequence of child abuse can vary on the circumstance of the childs form of abuse (Familie,†¦). According to a National Institute of Justice study, abused and neglected children were 11 times more likely to be arrested for criminal behavior as a juvenile and 3.1 times more likely to be arrested for one of many forms of violent crime (Asseal). Research consistently reflects an increased likelihood that abused and neglected children will smoke cigarettes, abuse alcohol, or take illicit drugs during their lifetime (Claims†¦). Even though people dont think that a behavioral consequence is possible due to child abuse it is and it will affect the child in a young stage of their life. Therefore, child abuse should be controlled so that children do not have to go through all these ups and down with all their wrong choices. In conclusion, child abuse shouldnt be legalized under any certain circumstance for the reason that children can end up with physical, psychological or even behavioral consequences. Furthermore, child abuse has a great contribution in many families globally, as a result of child abuse which is be a detrimental aspect in a childs life as well as in their developmental stages. Since, child abuse occurs at every socioeconomic level, across ethnic and cultural lines, within all religions and at all levels of education. Taking one simple action and reporting child abuse will help prevent a child from being abuse. As well as giving those whom have been abused hope for a brighter future. However, child abuse does not go away, but 90 percent of those who are abused are preventable. For instance, if a parent would stop and just think for a minute about the consequences that may occur to the child in the long run, they would not think of abusing the child. Therefore, there would be just one le ss child being abused.

Southwest Airlines Essay -- essays research papers fc

I.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Current Situation Following the Deregulation in 1978, a competitive price war ensued among the airline industry as a direct result of the new freedom for airlines to set their own fares as well as route entry and exits. This gave rise to the operating structure of the airlines as it exists today, consisting of the point-to-point system and the hub and spoke system. With this came the change of focus for major airlines to non-stop, cross-country routes in densely populated cities, which, in a regulated environment, would be profitable. This resulted in the obvious outcome of increased competition, thus lowering the average industry prices for non-stop cross country routes which were profitable. This caused operating costs to increase, narrowing the profit margins. During the mid 80’s, acquisition led to eight airlines capturing a disproportionate share of domestic traffic. Due to a recession and increasing fuel prices in the 90’s, bankruptcy and collapse were common to many carriers. As a direct result, new airlines were formed, and now position themselves as low fare, no frill airlines. As a culture, American consumers seem to follow one obvious trend; the need and desire for maximum safety. This trend has seen a rapid rise in the wake of 9/11, and seems to show no sign of a decline. This can be further observed in the form of advanced airport/airline security measures and regulations. In accordance with this, Southwest has always prided themselves on being the safest airline in the industry, adapting to the rapidly changing times. This has helped them soar over competition. A.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Industry 1. Industry Defined and Total Volume   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Southwest exists and operates within the air travel industry in the United States; an industry which has traditionally been based on a point-to-point flight system. However, this industry has been redefined, evolving into a hub-and-spoke system which all airlines have adopted; all except Southwest. Hub-and-spoke flights, called feeder flights, are defined by long-haul, layover flights where consumers stop at a central hub city and can then either continue the flight on the same plane, or transfer onto a different plane flown by the same carrier. The point-to-point system, deployed by Southwest, is non-stop flights, called shuttle flights. Th... ...profit while other airlines dive into the red.† www.post-gazette.com/pg/05020/445078.stm. January 2, 2005. mars.acent.wnec.edu/~achelte/Theresa.htm. Maynard, Micheline. â€Å"Southwest Losing Its Immunity to Labor Conflicts of Airlines.† The New York Times. July 4, 2002. (C1). Okada, Bryon. â€Å"Airline: Wright law still wrong on long-haul flights.† Knight Ridder Tribune News. February 18, 2005. (1-3). â€Å"Sail the Ocean Blue with the Airline Cast and Crew; Customers Can Take a Cruise with their Favorite ‘AIRLINE’ Characters.† PRNewswire, February 14, 2005. Serwer, Andy. â€Å"Southwest Airlines: The hottest Hottest Thing in the Sky.† Fortune: February 23, 2004. â€Å"Southwest Airlines Expands Nonstop Flights Between Houston Hobby and Los Angeles International.† CNNMoney, February 3, 2005. Southwest Airlines Co. http://www.southwest.com. 2005. â€Å"Southwest Airlines Sends Hottest Fares Directly to customers’ Computer Desktops† PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX, February 28, 2005. Training & Development. â€Å"Southwest Airlines charts a high-performance flight.† Alexandria: June 1995. Issue 6. (Vol 49-39). Yahoo! Finance. http://finance.yahoo.com/. 2005.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Wild at Home

Persuasive Speech Outline Topic: Exotic animals do not make good pets Specific Purpose: To convince the audience that even though the baby versions of wild animals are cute, they don't stay that way forever. Therefore wild animals should not be pets. Central Idea: Wild animals should not be kept as pets, because it is bad for us as owners, bad for the animals themselves and even bad for the environment. Introduction Attention Getter: Picture this, you are hiking in the woods and come across a baby bear. There is no sign of it mother and it looks hungry, what would you do?According to the center for veterinary health sciences: the emotional appeal baby animals have on humans will allow you to look past the dangers of the animal and take care of it, possibly even taking it home with you. But when you think about it, would taking home a wild animal be such a good? Topic Introduction: Today I will try to convince you that even though the baby versions of wild animals are cute, they don't stay that way forever. Animals including: Lions, Tigers, Wolves, Bears, Reptiles and non-human primates do indeed grow up, and can possibly become dangerous, therefore should not be kept as pets.Relate the topic to your audience: I'm sure at one moment in your life, you have all wanted a wild animal as a pet. Relate the topic to you as a speaker: I know I did. When I was younger I wanted a baby panda. But, while doing my research for this speech I realize what a bad idea that would have been. If don't believe me, by the end of this speech I will have hopefully convinced you that: Preview your main points: wild animals should not be kept as a pets, by first discussing why it is bad for the animals.Then why it is bad for the owner, and finally why it is bad to the environment in general. Transition Statement: Even though keeping wild animals as pets can be appealing, it is important to remember that keeping a wild animal as a pet is associated with many potential problems, not to men tion legal and ethical issues. Also keeping wild animals as pets requires a great deal of research and preparation, as well as provision of ideal housing and diet as well as medical care (which may be very difficult to find).And if you cannot provide these necessities for the animal it can put the animal in danger. Which brings me to my first main point. Body I. Keeping a wild animal as a pet can be dangerous for the animal a. Most people can't provide the right home for Wild animals i. Wild animals have complex behavioral, social, nutritional and psychological needs. Most people simply cannot meet the needs of wild animals kept as â€Å"pets†. – For Example: Many monkeys, birds, and wild cats, can all travel several miles in a single day. A walk on a leash through the park won't cut it.Transition Statement: Exotic animals, by definition are not domesticated as well as unpredictable. Their behavior may change with seasons or life cycles in ways we don't understand. The y also rarely bond with their owners. Pet primates, big cats, and reptiles have attacked and seriously injured their owners. Which brings me to my next point, of why wild animals are also dangerous to their owners. II. Keeping a wild animal as a pet can also be dangerous to the owner a. You could get hurt. i. Keeping wild animals as pets can be dangerous.They can bite, scratch, attack their owners, and their owner's children and guests. ii. According to livesceince. com there has been 1,610 incidents involving exotic pets and 75 deaths from 1990-2011. iii. Examples from thedailygreen. com: * In 2000 a three year old boy had his arm bitten off by his uncle's â€Å"pet† tiger. b . You could get sick. i. As a dealer of exotic animals put it† If it walks, crawls, slithers, or flies, chances are we sell it here† This is also true with their diseases. ii. Wild animals carry diseases dangerous to humans.Some diseases are not curable and can be fatal. Diseases include rab ies, distemper, herpes viruses, salmonella, polio, tuberculosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and bubonic plague. Wild animals also harbor parasites, such as tape worms, flukes, and protozoa. iii. According to The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service: 90% of all reptiles carry and shed salmonella in their feces or some form of intestinal bacteria that can be transferred to their owners. Transition Statement: Now that you know some of the negative effects on the animal and the owner.I find it is also important to know how owning a wild animal is also dangerous to the environment. III. Having wild animals as pets also have a negative effect on the environment. a. Taking them from the wild can endanger the species. I. According to livehonestly. com: To meet the demands of those who keep exotic animals as pets, dealers often have to take the animals from their native lands. This disrupts the ecosystems from which they are stolen, and can disrupt the ecosystems to which they are taken if they escape or are set loose.II. According to the Association of Zoo and Aquariums: Parrots are the world's most endangered family of birds due to devastation from the international pet trade. The enormous global demand for exotic pets is fueling the illegal capture and trade of millions of birds, mammals and reptiles annually, most of which die while being captured or transported. Transition Statement: On the PETA website, veterinarian and animal behaviorist says that â€Å"people who breed these animals and sell them as pets are playing Russian roulette. † ConclusionLink the conclusion to the introduction: Although wild animals, especially babies, appeal to our human emotions because they are so â€Å"cute†, as adults they can be very destructive and even dangerous to have around. Review the main points and reemphasize your central idea: without proper training you can cause harm to the animals as well as yourself and the environment. Specify desired audience response: i f dogs or cats aren't your thing there are plenty cool and unique animals that you could have as a pet. Memorable concluding statement: The main thing is to leave the wild animals to the professionals.But, if you feel the need to be surrounded by exotic animals there's always the zoo, and it is so much safer that way. Works Cited Owning wild animals statistics. (2011). Retrieved from www. livescience. com The dangers of keeping wild animals. (2013). Retrieved from www. livehonestly. com Wild animal attacks. (2000). Retrieved from www. dailygreen. com Wild animal pets. (2012). Retrieved from www. aspca. org Wild at home. (2013). Retrieved from www. nationalgeographic. com Exotic pets. (2012). Retrieved from www. peta. org

Company Q Social Responsibility Essay

Company Q Social Responsibility Social responsibility is often viewed as an inconvenience that cuts into shareholder profits. An organization that with this outlook on social responsibility is missing a significant opportunity to improve public perception and drive profits. This is clearly the view of company Q. When twice presented with the opportunity to create both social and monetary capital, they failed miserably. This likely contributed to the closure of 2  stores due to low performance. Not only are they harming their stakeholders (the communities in which they operate) but, they are also harming their shareholders by not capitalizing on revenue opportunities. (Ferrell et al., 2013) There are three clear answers to their deficiencies. The first and most obvious is to begin donating the items that are expired to the local food bank as requested. The second is to implement a code of ethics in the corporate guidelines. Lastly, they should be expanding the current selections of healthy and organic foods. If th ese steps are followed, can the Company Q dig itself out of the loss column and see some profits? The answer is yes. Company Q was recently approached by the local food bank, and asked to donate the day old foods that Company Q had been throwing away. Management declined, opting instead to to continue to write the food off as a loss and throw it into the trash. The reason that was cited was concern for fraud and employee theft. This is an example of the company taking the short term bottom line approach. They have completely ignored an opportunity for positive public relations and social capital. Both of which have been shown to have a positive impact on monetary capi- Running Head: Company Q Social Responsibility There are few opportunities that a business is given where the benefits are so obvious with very little capital investment. How does Company Q accomplish this without risking fraud and employee theft. The answer is simple. Management is clearly not showing a commitment to ethical behavior and it has trickled down to the employee level. An organization cannot expect individual ethics to self govern organization ethics. (Ferrell et al., 2013) If Company Q were to draft a corporate code of ethics, there would be clear guideline to follow when it came to employee expectations. In a perfect world company would draft provisions within this code of ethics for positively impacting the communities they operate beyond offering goods and services for sale. This would send a clear message to  employees of expectations give the company a more positive outlook on social responsibility. Thereby, benefiting both stakeholders and shareholders alike. (Ferrell et al., 2013) Company Q has a fiduciary responsibility as well as a social responsibility. Their fiduciary responsibility is to their shareholders. Management has missed out on opportunities to grow the business in market segments that had been previously ignored. It is not often that customers give direct feedback that translates to higher profits. In the case of healthy organic food options being requested by customers, this is the case. Not only have customers stated that they will buy these items, but these are high margin items that will drive profits, and allow them to increase value for their shareholders. At the same time their social responsibility obligations are being fulfilled by offering these healthy foods to customers. Running Head: Company Q Social Responsibility In a time when many small local businesses struggle to compete with large mega corporations such as Wal-Mart, they cannot afford to ignore an option for strengthening their business. Even if it is different than what they have traditionally done. Reference Ferrell, O. (2013). Business Ethics 2009 Update: Ethical Decision Making and Cases [VitalSouce bookshelf version]. Retrieved from http://online.vitalsource.com/books/9781285279985/id/ch2-L1