Vicarious Liability Essays

Vicarious Liability Essays Vicarious Liability Essay Vicarious Liability Essay Seminar 7 Vicarious Liability The problem question deals mainly with the issue of Vicarious Liability and Negligence. In order to advise Jerry one would have to explore the rules of vicarious liability, relevant statute law and case law which may apply. Vicarious liability has been defined as the person who commits a wrong must be an employee and not an independent contractor, the employee must have committed a tort and the tort must have been in the course of employment. The doctrine of ‘vicarious liability’ is a public policy that holds employers liable when a tort is committed by an employee in the course of their employment. This means that a victim of a tort can claim compensation from the employee’s company if it is proven to have been the employee’s fault that the tort occurred. There are three elements to the doctrine of vicarious liability, where the ‘employee and not an independent contractor’, ‘commits a tort’ and ‘in the course of employment’. There are 3 tests to establish whether an individual is an employee or an independent contractor. These are the control test, integration test and the economic reality test, which is also known as the multiple test. In order to determine who is an employee versus who is an independent contractor, this is illustrated the case of Yewens v. Noakes (1880) 6 QBD, were the respondent was a hop merchant and possessed houses which had internal communication throughout, and were used for the purposes of his trade. K lived in the houses in order to take care of them, and he was a clerk and was paid a salary of ? 150 a year. He resided in the houses together with his wife, children, and servant. It was held that K was not ‘a servant or other person’ within Revenue Act 1868 (c 28) s 11 (repealed), and Bramwell LJ stated that â€Å"a servant is a person subject to the command of his master as to the manner in which he shall do his work. This case set out what was known as the ‘Control Test’ by way of stating who was an employee and how that employee was controlled by his master. For example, an employee could be controlled in the way he preformed his duties, such as cutting the vegetables this way, holding the knife that way. However, this test became one where it could no longer control how employees preformed their duties, given that one can direct an employee to do a task, but could no longer command an employee to do it in a certain way due not having the particular skill needed to carry out the task. For example, an employer could direct a doctor to operate on a patient but not be able to control how that operation is preformed given that the employer may not posses that particular skill. The integration test was established in Stevenson v McDonald (1969) and looks at whether the person’s work is an integral part of the business. If they are an integral part of a business, for example a till worker, then they are more likely to be seen as an employee to the courts. If they are not seen as an integral part of the business, for example someone who has come in to fix a till, then they will be seen by the courts as a independent contractor. Lord Denning stated that One feature which seems to run through the instances is that, under a contract of services, a man is employed as part of the business and his work is done as an integral part of the business; whereas, under a contract for services, his work, although done for the business, is not integrated into it but is only accessory to it. This refined the control test in order to determine the differences between being an employee and an independent contractor. The multiple test was applied in the Ready Mixed Concrete Ltd v Minister of Pensions and National Insurance (1968) where it looked at the contractual relationship between the parties. An individual who has a contract of service is more likely to be seen as an employee by the courts whereas an individual who has a contract for services is more likely to be seen as an independent contractor. The courts may also look at the way an individual is paid. If an individual is paid a salary and they incur for tax reductions, then the individual is ore likely to be seen as an employee. If however, the person is paid a lump sum and has to make their own reduction, they are more likely to be seen as an independent contractor. In this case it was held that the driver was an independent contractor. However in the case of Market Investigations Ltd v Minister of Social Security [1969] 2QB173 Cooke J’s judgment was that â€Å"The fundamental test to be applied is this: †Is the person who has engaged himself to perform these services performing them as a person in business on his own account? This was been determined by using a mix of factors: for example, does the employee provide his own equipment and does he hires his own helpers? It also looks at what degree of financial risk he takes and to what degree of responsibility he has. It also takes into account how the employee is paid and whether the employee can work for another. In this case it was held that Mrs Irving was employed under a series of contracts of service and therefore was an employee of the company. Although, Jerry regards Peter as self-employed within his organisation, it would be fair to state that given the control test above, Jerry does have control over Peter by stating that if ever Peter is not available when he wants him he will never employ him again. Peter is free to work for others but does not do so. Therefore the case of Yewens v. Noakes (1880) 6 QBD demonstrates the control that Jerry has over Peter. The Integration Test would also show that Peter could be an integral part of the business given that he does a service rather than offers one. This was made clear in the above case of Stevenson v McDonald (1969) where Lord Denning noted the differences between an employee and an independent contractor. Although this new test sets out the real differences, the old test could still hold some merit if the employee is controlled in such a way as to be a servant rather than an accessory to the business. Therefore, if Peter is an employee rather than an accessory to the business this would be examined by the more modern multiple test. This test looks at other factors which don’t arise in the older tests. The courts would look as to whether Peter used his own equipment and how he is paid as stated above. Peter does not use his own equipment as he does his deliveries on a motorcycle wearing a uniform provided by Jerry. He is also paid a basic weekly wage, or retainer, plus an hourly rate for every hour actually worked. Based on this and the case of Market Investigations Ltd v Minister of Social Security [1969] 2QB173 it would be clear that Peter is in fact employed by Jerry under contracts of service and therefore is an employee of the company. Once it is established that a relationship of employer and employee exists, it is then necessary to establish as to whether a tort has been committed in the course of employment. A test formulated by John William Salmond 100 years ago stated that an employer will be held liable for either a wrongful act they have authorised, or a wrongful and unauthorised mode of an act that was authorised. The courts tend to favor this test as there are no other suitable tests available and the courts usually rely upon precedent, and the facts of each individual case. An illustration of the test is provided by two contrasting cases. In the case of Limpus v London General Omnibus Company where a driver pulled out in front of another rival omnibus, in order to obstruct it. Despite having expressed prohibitions, the employer was found liable. This was classified as an unauthorised act of the employee carrying out his duties, which was driving and not an entirely new activity. Whereas in the case of Beard v London General Omnibus Company, a conductor was employed to collect fares on board the bus and, thinking he was doing the driver a favor, he negligently chose to drive the bus. This was completely outside of his duties as a conductor. Given the above Peter committed the tort of negligence in the course of employment and although the act was unauthorised it was not outside the course of his duties. Therefore Jerry would be vicariously liable to the claimants.

Cactus Hill (USA) - Possible Preclovis Site in Virginia

Cactus Hill (USA) - Possible Preclovis Site in Virginia Cactus Hill (Smithsonian designation 44SX202) is the name of a buried multi-component archaeological site on the coastal plain of the Nottaway River in Sussex County, Virginia. The site has both Archaic and Clovis occupations, but most importantly and once quite controversially, below the Clovis and separated by what appears to be a variably thick (7–20 centimeters or about 3–8 inches) level of sterile sand, is what excavators argue is a Pre-Clovis occupation. Data from the Site Excavators report that the Pre-Clovis level has a stone tool assemblage with heavy percentages of quartzite blades, and pentangular (five-sided) projectile points. Data on the artifacts has yet to be published in detailed peer-reviewed contexts, but even skeptics agree the assemblage includes small polyhedral cores, blade-like flakes, and basally thinned bifacial points.   Numerous projectile points were recovered from the various levels of Cactus Hill, including Middle Archaic Morrow Mountain Points and two classic fluted Clovis points. Two projectile points from what are thought to be Pre-Clovis levels are named Cactus Hill points. Based on the photographs published in Johnson, Cactus Hill points are small point, made from a blade or flake, and pressure flaked. They have slightly concave bases, and parallel to slightly curved side margins. Radiocarbon dates on wood from the Pre-Clovis level range between 15,070 ±70 and 18,250 ±80 RCYBP, calibrated to approximately  18,200–22,000 years ago. Luminescence dates taken on feldspar and quartzite grains in the various levels of the site agree, with some exceptions, with the radiocarbon assays. The luminescence dates suggest that the site stratigraphy is primarily intact and has been little affected by the movement of artifacts down through the sterile sand. Seeking the Perfect Pre-Clovis Site Cactus Hill is still somewhat controversial, in part no doubt because the site was among the earliest to be considered Preclovis in date. The Pre-Clovis occupation was not stratigraphically sealed and artifacts were assigned to Pre-Clovis levels based on their relative elevation in an environment of sand, where bioturbation by animals and insects can easily move artifacts up and down in a profile (see Bocek 1992 for a discussion). Further, some of the luminescence dates on the Pre-Clovis level ranged as young as 10,600 to 10,200 years ago. No features were identified: and, it must be said that the site is just not a perfect context. However, other, completely credible Pre-Clovis sites have been and continue to be identified, and Cactus Hills shortcomings may today be of less significance. Multiple instances of fairly secure preclovis sites in North and South America, particularly in the Pacific Northwest and along the Pacific coast, have made these issues seem less compelling. Further, the Blueberry Hill site in the Nottoway River valley (see Johnson 2012) also reportedly contains cultural levels stratigraphically below Clovis-period occupations. Cactus Hill and Politics Cactus Hill isnt a perfect example of a Pre-Clovis site. While the west coast presence of Pre-Clovis in North America is accepted, the dates are pretty early for an east-coast site. However, the context for the Clovis and Archaic sites also in the sand sheet would be similarly imperfect, except that Clovis and American Archaic occupations are firmly accepted in the region and so no one questions their reality. The arguments concerning when and how people arrived in the Americas are slowly being revised, but the debate will likely continue for some time to come. Cactus Hills status as a credible evidence of preclovis occupation in Virginia remains one of those questions yet to be fully resolved. Sources Feathers JK, Rhodes EJ, Huot S, and MJM. 2006. Luminescence dating of sand deposits related to late Pleistocene human occupation at the Cactus Hill Site, Virginia, USA. Quaternary Geochronology 1(3):167-187.Goebel T. 2013. Archaeological Records: Global expansion 300,000–8000 years ago, Americas. In: Mock SAEJ, editor. Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science (Second Edition). Amsterdam: Elsevier. p 119-134.Goebel T, Waters MR, and O’Rourke DH. 2008. The Late Pleistocene Dispersal of Modern Humans in the Americas. Science 319:1497-1502.Johnson MF. 2012. Cactus Hill, Rubis-Pearsall and Blueberry Hill: one is an accident; two is a coincidence; three is a pattern – predicting old dirt in the Nottoway river valley of Southeastern Virginia, U.S.A. Exeter: University of Exeter.Wagner DP, and McAvoy JM. 2004. Pedoarchaeology of Cactus Hill, a sandy Paleoindian site in southeastern Virginia, U.S.A. Geoarchaeology 19(4):297-322.Wagner DP. 2017. Cactus Hill, Virginia. In: Gilber t AS, editor. Encyclopedia of Geoarchaeology. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands. p 95-95.

RESEARCH METHODS FOR MANAGERS Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

RESEARCH METHODS FOR MANAGERS - Assignment Example The ability to form teams virtually that will operate across the limitations of time, distance and organizational boundaries have proven to be the successful for the organizations. These teams use electronic collaboration technologies and other techniques to lower facility and travelling costs, reduce project schedules and improve decision making communication and time. Since companies are more focused on foreign markets for expanding their base of customer, they are also looking at lowering costs or exacting effectiveness by tapping the foreign labor pool. For this purpose, outsourcing and off- shoring have become very prevalent. The result is that firms are able to achieve substantial cost saving and decrease their time to market when building software solutions, offering services, manufacturing products since additional risks are managed effectively (Gruhn, Volker, Schope & Lothar, 2002, P. 254). Today the management desires to establish international presence by exacting operatin g efficiencies and reducing costs of distributed teams created by mergers, acquisitions, technical specialization and downsizing. Organizations that do not use virtual teams effectively have difficulty in competing in the global, competitive and rapidly changing markets. Those organizations that will succeed in finding ways of working across boundaries like systems, technologies, people and procedure. Literature Review Managing virtual teams can be more complex than managing traditional teams, however. First, virtual teams primarily communicate and collaborate by using technology such as e-mail, groupware, etc. Virtual teams exclusively depend on software and technology tools to collaborate and communication, whereas the teams that are traditional can always abandon technology and software tools in favor of face-to-face communication and collaboration. Secondly, boundaries were crossed by virtual teams in relation to organization, distance, and time. This raises the need of attentio n towards the issues of collaboration and communication

Systems Dvelopment Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Systems Dvelopment Case Study - Essay Example The system also provided the factor of motivation that it was able to identify the cost saving opportunities and prospects for the Pepsi Company. The billing management offered by the project also served as a motivating factor for the company to implement the system. BusinessObjects Corporation was one of the participants involved in the development of the Purchase to Pay System. It was involved for the providence of business intelligence information to Pepsi Co. and also for the storage of the procurement in a well managed and efficient database. The systems development life cycle approach which can be best applied to the Purchase to Pay System of the Pepsi Co. was the iterative approach. Through this approach the prototype of the new project that was to be implemented should be designed for the convenience of the staff of Pepsi and also for the ease of use and should be improved through a number of iterations. For achieving the best system development, the system is improved through iterations in the prototype in this approach. This kind of approach would be helpful for Pepsi to get the best out of the Procurement System that it planned to implement in the company. 5. Assuming that you were responsible for designing and implementing the new procurement system at PepsiCo, what problems and opportunities would you have considered in conducting your initial systems investigation The purcha

Media as the main branch of society that sway Gender Essay Example for Free

Media as the main branch of society that sway Gender Essay In the current era, media had been greatly influencing the society. Through the variety of information and mediums the industry could utilize, seemingly media could create numerous impact in the lives of many people. In the movie Bodyguard which was publicized in 1992 provides one of the most distinct examples which could be highlighted to see the power of the media. In terms of gender topics, media had been the main industry that has the authority to proclaim what should or should not be for various genders in the society. The movie Bodyguard starred the most popular actors during the early 90s such as Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston. Both of these actors have their own image which the masses view of them. Therefore, there is an immediate connotation when it comes to the characters they portray. Kevin Costner is known to be a very good actor who had been acknowledged in many award giving bodies. Whitney Houston on the other hand is a very popular singer who is idolized by many. In the movie, Houston sort of, portrayed herself while Costner captured the role of a masculine, â€Å"only-doing-his-job† body guard who is very much protective of Whitney for the reason that she has a stalker. Houston on the other hand is a famous singer who was being harassed by a stalker. Thus seeing the main personalities, the characters does portray a very â€Å"in-the-box† nuance of what a male and a female should be. Just like in fairytales, the woman must be saved by a man in order for her to get through the evil witches who were often abusing the helpless lead character. In conclusion, media and the concept of media go together. The perspective of the media of what should or should not be is immediately absorbed by the society. Moreover, the movie Bodyguard supports the concept of the typical male and female responsibilities which is practiced by the society. Thus, the media supports this type of perspective of gender which strictly assumes that men are strong and protective while women are vulnerable and weak. References Costner, K. , Kasdan, L. Wilson, J. (Producers). Jackson, M. (Director). (1992). Bodyguard. [Motion Picture]. United States: Warner Brothers.

Organizational Justice and Psychological Contract Essay -- Human Resou

1. Organizational Justice The idea of justice has become noticeable building in the organizational studies. Researchers and practitioners put a great attention to the concepts of justice in the organization because of the potential results from the study. Perceptions of fairness are used as important factors in explaining, predicting and understanding human behavior in organizations (Hartman & Galle Jr., 1999; Martin & Bennett, 1996; Viswesvaran & Ones, 2002). As Colquitt et al. (2001a) explain that a number of studies on organizational justice have shown that fair treatment has a significant effect on the attitudes of individual employees, such as satisfaction and commitment, and individual behavior, such as attendance and citizenship behavior. A number of studies explain that justice plays important role in explaining variance in work attitude and behaviors. Studies shows that application of fair conduct from management deliver a positive message to employees that they can be trusted, thereby reducing the fear of exploitation while enhancing the legitimacy of the actions the organization (Lind, 2001, Tyler and Lind, 1992 and Van den Bos, 2001a). Fair treatments will reduce some uncertainty in the daily work life and makes the situation faced by employees can be predicted and controlled (Lind and Van den Bos, 2002 and Thibaut and Walker, 1975). Just behavior has the potential to bring more meaning of work life (Cropanzano et al, 2001 and Folger, 1998.). a. Definition and Forms of Organizational Justice The concept of organizational justice is a broad, multifaceted construct, encompassing several dimensions. Perceived justice previously discussed in two different perspectives. As Greenberg (1990) give details, that initia... ...1), 137-152. Robinson, S. L., & Morrison, E. W. (1995). Psychological contracts and OCB: The effect of unfulfilled obligations on civic virtue behavior. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 16(3), 289-298. Robinson, S. L., & Rousseau, D. M. (1994a). Violating the psychological contract: Not the exception but the norm. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 15(3), 245-259. Rousseau, D. (1989). Psychological and implied contracts in organizations. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 2(2), 121-139. Rousseau, D. M. (2001). Schema, promise and mutuality: The building blocks of the psychological contract. Journal of Occupational & Organizational Psychology, 74(4), 511. Simons, T., & Roberson, Q. (2003). Why managers should care about fairness: The effects of aggregate justice perceptions on organizational outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(3), 432-443.

Minimum Wage Good or Bad

Minimum Wage Good or Bad Rachel L. Hathaway Professor Myung Han Economic Problems and Issues – ECO 40500816 March 15, 2009 Whether minimum wage is good or bad, has been an ongoing debate since before 1938 when the government set the first federal minimum wage at $0. 25/hr thanks to the Fair Labor Standards Act. The federal minimum wage is currently at $6. 55/hr with yet another increase to come July 24, 2009 to begin the federal minimum wage up to $7. 25/hr. Minimum wage was ideally set to help the working poor to stay out of poverty. Let’s do the math $6. 5* 2080=$13624 per year. 2008 HHS Poverty Guidelines SOURCE: Federal Register, Vol. 73, No. 15, January 23, 2008, pp. 3971–3972 Well, based on the 2008 poverty guidelines if you are a single person you are considered above the poverty line, however, if you are a head of household say a single parent with a child you now fall below the poverty line. It is easy to see that minimum wage will not cut it to make end s meet and provide for just basic needs for food and shelter and the need for child care that you have to have in order to work for the minimum wage of $6. 55/Hr. A hike in minimum wage is fun to talk about, but, in the end, economically speaking, it isn’t a worthy option. Higher wages mean higher costs, which mean higher prices across the board. With a $10 minimum wage, the ninety-nine-cent value menu at Wendy’s becomes the $1. 99 value menu, and so on, so what’s the point? If $7 an hour isn’t supporting your current lifestyle, then you have other options: a) team up with a friend or family member to help cover living expenses, B) change your lifestyle, or C) use that job as the stepping stone it is meant to be in you quest for better opportunities. Shepard, 2008, page 229-230) Ok so the minimum wage is increasing to $7. 25 in July 2009 that will make the annual income a total of $15,080. Congratulation! Single parents working at minimum wage you are now technically above the poverty line, however, you can almost bet on the cost to purchase everyday items to also go up as well. Economically in a mixed market like o urs in the US this is the normal course of things as costs to produce goods or services go up so will the sales price for the goods or ervices will follow suit to compensate for the increased labor cost, i. e. the $0. 70 raise from $6. 55/Hr to $7. 25/Hr come July. I found that even though we have federal minimum wage-state minimum wages vary widely with â€Å"27 states + DC being above the federal minimum, 12 states being equal to federal minimum wage rates, 6 being less than minimum wage, and 5 states do not have a minimum wage rate at all. â€Å"Note: Where Federal and state law have different minimum wage rates the higher standard applies. †Ã¢â‚¬  (WHD, 2008, consolidated table and p. 1) Why do the states vary so? The cost of living of within each state is so different the main logical reasoning. Some states are proactive with their higher wages by linking their increases to the Consumer Price Index in hopes to keep up with inflation. Others are lower but are held to the federal minimum wage anyway. The attempt to at least keep up with inflation is an honorable one however the output effect of inflation seems to keep the wages on the lagging side. You would expect minimum wage workers to typically be teenagers or young adults working their first jobs trying to gain skills and experience. However, many older adults are also filling those minimum wage jobs as while taking away taking away valuable experience needed to move on to higher paying positions. So how do we make more jobs? In our current state of recession in this country and the jobless rate mounting, we should consider placing a freeze on the minimum wage instead of adding to the unemployment rate with the next increase due in July 2009. By holding wages steady businesses are more likely to hire more laborers instead of letting go of laborers due to increase costs. We need all the help we can get to lower or at least slow the unemployment rate. It is estimated that for every one entry level/minimum wage position opening there are now 5 to 7 applicants. Minimum wage, good or bad, it is not helping those it was intending too. References Ehrenreich, B. (2001). Nickel and Dimed. New York: Owl Books Henry Holt and Company, LLC Messerli, J. (2007, December) A 20-Point Plan for Fixing America. Retrieved March 10, 2009 from http://www. balancedpolitics. org/editorial-point_plan. htm Sharp, A. , Register, P. , and Grimes, P. (2008). ECO 405 Economic Problems and Issues third custom edition. USA: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Shepard, A. (2008). Scratch Beginnings. Chapel Hill, NC: SB Press The 2008 HHS Poverty G _uidelines, _One Version of the [U. S. ] Federal Poverty Measure. (2009, February). Retrieved March 13, 2009 from http://aspe. hhs. gov/poverty/08poverty. shtml WHD. _ _(2008, December), Minimum Wage Laws in the States – January 1, 2009, Retrieved February 13, 2009, from http://www. dol. gov/esa/minwage/america. htm Wikipedia. (2009, February), Minimum wage in the United States, Retrieved February 13, 2009, from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Minimum_wage_in theUnited_States Minimum Wage Good or Bad Minimum Wage Good or Bad Rachel L. Hathaway Professor Myung Han Economic Problems and Issues – ECO 40500816 March 15, 2009 Whether minimum wage is good or bad, has been an ongoing debate since before 1938 when the government set the first federal minimum wage at $0. 25/hr thanks to the Fair Labor Standards Act. The federal minimum wage is currently at $6. 55/hr with yet another increase to come July 24, 2009 to begin the federal minimum wage up to $7. 25/hr. Minimum wage was ideally set to help the working poor to stay out of poverty. Let’s do the math $6. 5* 2080=$13624 per year. 2008 HHS Poverty Guidelines SOURCE: Federal Register, Vol. 73, No. 15, January 23, 2008, pp. 3971–3972 Well, based on the 2008 poverty guidelines if you are a single person you are considered above the poverty line, however, if you are a head of household say a single parent with a child you now fall below the poverty line. It is easy to see that minimum wage will not cut it to make end s meet and provide for just basic needs for food and shelter and the need for child care that you have to have in order to work for the minimum wage of $6. 55/Hr. A hike in minimum wage is fun to talk about, but, in the end, economically speaking, it isn’t a worthy option. Higher wages mean higher costs, which mean higher prices across the board. With a $10 minimum wage, the ninety-nine-cent value menu at Wendy’s becomes the $1. 99 value menu, and so on, so what’s the point? If $7 an hour isn’t supporting your current lifestyle, then you have other options: a) team up with a friend or family member to help cover living expenses, B) change your lifestyle, or C) use that job as the stepping stone it is meant to be in you quest for better opportunities. Shepard, 2008, page 229-230) Ok so the minimum wage is increasing to $7. 25 in July 2009 that will make the annual income a total of $15,080. Congratulation! Single parents working at minimum wage you are now technically above the poverty line, however, you can almost bet on the cost to purchase everyday items to also go up as well. Economically in a mixed market like o urs in the US this is the normal course of things as costs to produce goods or services go up so will the sales price for the goods or ervices will follow suit to compensate for the increased labor cost, i. e. the $0. 70 raise from $6. 55/Hr to $7. 25/Hr come July. I found that even though we have federal minimum wage-state minimum wages vary widely with â€Å"27 states + DC being above the federal minimum, 12 states being equal to federal minimum wage rates, 6 being less than minimum wage, and 5 states do not have a minimum wage rate at all. â€Å"Note: Where Federal and state law have different minimum wage rates the higher standard applies. †Ã¢â‚¬  (WHD, 2008, consolidated table and p. 1) Why do the states vary so? The cost of living of within each state is so different the main logical reasoning. Some states are proactive with their higher wages by linking their increases to the Consumer Price Index in hopes to keep up with inflation. Others are lower but are held to the federal minimum wage anyway. The attempt to at least keep up with inflation is an honorable one however the output effect of inflation seems to keep the wages on the lagging side. You would expect minimum wage workers to typically be teenagers or young adults working their first jobs trying to gain skills and experience. However, many older adults are also filling those minimum wage jobs as while taking away taking away valuable experience needed to move on to higher paying positions. So how do we make more jobs? In our current state of recession in this country and the jobless rate mounting, we should consider placing a freeze on the minimum wage instead of adding to the unemployment rate with the next increase due in July 2009. By holding wages steady businesses are more likely to hire more laborers instead of letting go of laborers due to increase costs. We need all the help we can get to lower or at least slow the unemployment rate. It is estimated that for every one entry level/minimum wage position opening there are now 5 to 7 applicants. Minimum wage, good or bad, it is not helping those it was intending too. References Ehrenreich, B. (2001). Nickel and Dimed. New York: Owl Books Henry Holt and Company, LLC Messerli, J. (2007, December) A 20-Point Plan for Fixing America. Retrieved March 10, 2009 from http://www. balancedpolitics. org/editorial-point_plan. htm Sharp, A. , Register, P. , and Grimes, P. (2008). ECO 405 Economic Problems and Issues third custom edition. USA: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Shepard, A. (2008). Scratch Beginnings. Chapel Hill, NC: SB Press The 2008 HHS Poverty G _uidelines, _One Version of the [U. S. ] Federal Poverty Measure. (2009, February). Retrieved March 13, 2009 from http://aspe. hhs. gov/poverty/08poverty. shtml WHD. _ _(2008, December), Minimum Wage Laws in the States – January 1, 2009, Retrieved February 13, 2009, from http://www. dol. gov/esa/minwage/america. htm Wikipedia. (2009, February), Minimum wage in the United States, Retrieved February 13, 2009, from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Minimum_wage_in theUnited_States

Corporate Strategy Analysis Discussion Summary Essay

â€Å"Corporate strategy identifies the set of businesses, markets, or industries in which the organization competes and the distribution of resources among those businesses† (Bateman & Snell, 2011). There are four basic alternatives for corporate strategy. These strategies include concentration, vertical integration, concentric diversification and conglomerate diversification. Every company has their type of corporate strategy that they follow to include Coca-Cola, Xerox, Southwest Airlines, and VF. In 2004 Coca-Colas CEO Neville Isdell agrees to come out of retirement and becomes cokes new chief executive. Coca-Cola’s worse drop in sales at 24% resulted in the return of Neville Isdell (Foust, 2014). With the return of Neville, Coca-Cola agreed to use a corporate strategy of their own (vertical integration) when they bought Glaceau’s vitamin water. Coca-Cola also came out with their coffee cola (Coke Blak) and their green tea (Envigo). The decision to purchase vitamin water was vital to the increase of Coca-Cola’s sales and bring them back into competition with PepsiCo. Coca-Cola is using an aggressive strategy to expand globally with their carbonated and non-carbonated drinks. To this day Coca-Cola is still expanding with their products such as Fuze and Gold Peak tea. Anne Mulcahy began the transformation of Xerox by following a concentrated strategy by focusing on a single industry. She pursed concentrated strategy by first reducing Xerox nearly $18 billion in debt. She accomplished this by cutting billions of dollars through slashing of jobs and selling off divisions. Anne Mulcahy then evaluated alternatives by pouring resources into a consulting division; this made the company more accessible for potential clients and customers. She developed a new business strategic plan, although a risky choice helped the organization seize new opportunities or thwart challenges. She also closed the desk top printers division and moved away from expensive consumer  printers with functions nobody wanted. Xerox took new technology and moved into colored digital printing and started developing high end color commercial printers. Xerox made this decision because the profit margin of color pages was five times that of black and white copies. Xerox used the strategy of concentric diversification by moving into a new business that was related to the company’s core business. Xerox then purchased office Services Company and Image Services for 1.5 billion dollars to demonstrate its new marketable high end color digital printers and copier services. References Bateman,T.S., & Snell, S.A. (2011). Management:Leading & collaborating in a competitive world (9th ed.). New York,NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Foust, D. (2014). Gone Flat. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2004-12-19/gone-flat

How did Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon consolidate their thrones and pacify their kingdoms in the late fifteenth century Essays

How did Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon consolidate their thrones and pacify their kingdoms in the late fifteenth century Essays How did Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon consolidate their thrones and pacify their kingdoms in the late fifteenth century Essay How did Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon consolidate their thrones and pacify their kingdoms in the late fifteenth century Essay The achievements of the Catholic Monarchs, Isabella, Queen of Castile (1474-1504) and Ferdinand, King of Aragon (1479-1516) have long been admired by historians. (www.thehistorychannel.co.uk /classroom/alevel/catholic.htm). When they married in October 1469, it resulted in the instigation of the consolidation of their thrones. The route to unification was not easy for them, they had several difficulties to overcome and it was not actually until five years after Isabella was crowned the queen of Castile that the entire kingdom finally came under her control and the couple became the joint sovereigns of Aragon and Castile. Imperial Spain was born from this Union of the Crowns.To assess how the consolidation of the thrones came about I plan to look in detail to the routes that had to be taken to unite the crowns. Also, once consolidated the way Isabella and Ferdinand managed to pacify the kingdoms.Before 1479 imperial Spain did not exist. The Iberian peninsular c onsisted of Portugal, Castile and Aragon (with three separate crowns).In 1406 Juan II became successor to the throne of Castile. However as a minor, this brought a period of much instability in the kingdom. His son Henry IV succeeded him in 1454. Chroniclers claim that he was incompetent, impotent and unfit to rule (www.thehistorychannel.co.uk/classroom /alevel/catholic.html) and the great nobles liberally exploited his power. With this strength of the nobles, they felt they could question his choice of successor.A group of nobles led by Alfonso Carillo, archbishop of Toledo, supported the rights of Isabella, the half-sister of Henry IV, as successor. Henry agreed to the nobles but only on the condition that she marry the widowed, much her elder, Alfonso V, king of Portugal. However Isabella had plans of her own, in search of allies, to strengthen her position and with the influence of the great nobles pressurising her into the decision, she chose Ferdinand, heir of Aragon, a plan h is father Juan II had been trying to initiate for some time. The matrimonial alliance was sought more eagerly by the Aragonese than by the Castilian branch, as Juan II was faced by revolution not only by Catalonia but also by the expansionist ambitions of Louis XI of France.The couple married in secret on 19 October 1469. As cousins, it became necessary to forge a papal bull which allowed them to marry within the forbidden degrees. Many people were strongly opposed to the marriage including Louis XI who had been hoping to secure Castile by a union between his brother and Isabella. There were also other nobles led by the powerful Mendoza family, who supported as heiress, Henrys infant daughter Juana (born 1463) known as La Beltraneja since it was rumoured that her real sire was Beltran de la Cueva, Duke of Albuquerque.When Henry IV heard of the event he disowned Isabella and recognised Juana as his heir. Nevertheless the kings death in 1474 eased the crisis that Isabella would have t o take to become Queen. Isabella was crowned Queen of castile in Segovia on 13th December 1474, the first step of the five year upward struggle for the throne. In May 1475, encouraged by her adherents, Juana, now married to Alfonso V of Portugal duly claimed the throne. Portuguese troops crossed the frontier into Castile, and risings broke out against Isabella and Ferdinand all through the country. What followed was a genuine civil war with Juana not only backed by Old Castile and most of Andalusia but also had the assistance of the Portuguese troops. Isabella was eventually victorious however with the assistance of Ferdinand who negotiated and used his militaristic skills giving Isabella advantage and maintaining the theory that Juana was not the true daughter of Henry IV. It was a slow process but eventually in 1479 Castile came under Isabellas control. The same year Juan II of Aragon died and Ferdinand and Isabella eventually became the joint sovereign of Castile and Aragon.The U nion of Crowns was regarded as a union of equals although each kingdom preserved its own social, political, and economic realities.. Aragon was an empire in decline while Castiles empire was just beginning to rise under its energetic young queen. Isabella was a devoted Christian and this religious conviction motivated her campaign to expel the Moors and Jews from Spain and spread Christianity to the rest of the world. Ferdinand, on the other hand, focused on Aragons Italian possessions and a series of royal marriages with the other royal houses of Europe.Even so Ferdinand and Isabella worked together to reform Spain. Until Queen Isabellas victory, politically Castile had been in turmoil. During the opening years of the fifteenth century the Castilian kings had become pawns in the hands of the Castilian aristocracy who exercised a great deal of political power as they had gained control over the majority of the land taken from the Moors. They represented only 3 per cent of the popula tion but owned almost 50 per cent of the land in Castile, leaving the remaining land divided between the Crown and the Church. Once Isabella and Ferdinand had firmly pacified the country, they planned to change this. They began restricting the power of the aristocracy by centralising their government and expanding their judicial system. Hence the monarchy was reformed and it was no longer in turmoil and firmly under the Crowns control.This stabilized the monarchys authority enough so that they could then focus on the completion of the reconquest. United, Ferdinand led the forces of Aragon and Castile to triumph thanks to his military and diplomatic skill. He and Isabella walked together in victory through the gates of Granada, the last Muslim place of defense, in Spain 1492. To Isabella this was a very important demonstration of her very strict Catholic faith and inspired the beginning of the Spanish Inquisition. The results included the expulsion of Muslims from the peninsula and t he expulsion of Jews from her kingdoms in order to create a homogeneous population of Christians. That same year, 1492, Isabella sponsored an expedition by Christopher Columbus that located America and signaled the beginning of a new era for Imperial Spain when he discovered America.Although the Monarchy had been unified in the sense of crowns it failed to emerge the kingdoms in the sense of people and in the sense of a national identity. Other than the fact that the two kingdoms would share the same monarchs, but in other respects they carried on leading the same lives. The only difference now would be that they were now partners, not rivals. Throughout their reign, the word Spain, referred to as it had done in medieval times, to the association of all the peoples in the peninsula, and had no specific political meaning and because of its imprecision they never used Spain in their official title calling themselves instead King and Queen of Castile, Leà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½n, Aragon, Sicily an d so on. Beyond the personal union, no attempt was made to change the complete autonomy of Castile and Aragon, and the achievement of a united Spain was never an objective of theirs. Minor improvements such as easing transport of goods between the realms, and decreeing equality between the three principal gold coins of Spain, helped economic exchange. But all the custom barriers that separated the kingdoms remained fully on force, and their institutions were kept separate.Going back to the medieval ages the crowns of Castile and Aragon had evolved in dissimilar ways, had different ideals and distinct institutions. The major differences were Castile was much larger, occupying almost four times that of Aragon and holding almost 80 per cent of the population, castile was essentially a united state with a single government; it had one Cortes, one tax structure, one language and one coinage, all this added to its size and population gave it greater political initiative than Aragon where each realm was governed independently by its own Cortes.With these major distinctions in mind it would and no attempt to change any of them, it is hard to say that Isabella and Ferdinand are the founders of an emergent Spain. It is true that they consolidated the thrones and pacified their kingdoms. But the only real unification was made by the crowns, not by the people. Also it is true that if it wasnt for them, it is likely that there would be no Spain today. If Juana had become sovereign, the world as we know it today may have been very different as it was Isabella who funded Columbus trip to America and without her Spanish America may not exist. They may not have set out to unify Spain but given time that is precisely what has happened. Along with the peace and order they brought, the emergence of Spain they can also take responsibility for.

The Failed Inventions of Thomas Alva Edison

The Failed Inventions of Thomas Alva Edison Thomas Alva Edison held 1,093 patents for different inventions. Many of them, like the lightbulb, the phonograph, and the motion picture camera, were brilliant creations that have a huge influence on our everyday life. However, not everything he created was a success; he also had a few failures. Edison, of course, had a predictably inventive take on the projects that didn’t quite work the way he expected. â€Å"I have not failed 10,000 times, â€Å" he said, â€Å"I’ve successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work.† Electrographic Vote Recorder The inventor’s first patented invention was an electrographic vote recorder to be used by governing bodies. The machine let officials cast their votes and then quickly calculated the tally. To Edison, this was an efficient tool for government. But politicians didn’t share his enthusiasm, apparently fearing the device might limit negotiations and vote trading.   Cement One concept that never took off was Edisons interest in using cement to build things. He formed the Edison Portland Cement Co. in 1899 and made everything from cabinets (for phonographs) to pianos and houses. Unfortunately, at the time, concrete was too expensive and the idea was never accepted. The cement business wasnt a total failure, though. His company was hired to build Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. Talking Pictures From the beginning of the creation of motion pictures, many people tried to combine film and sound to make talking motion pictures. Here you can see to the left an example of an early film attempting to combine sound with pictures made by Edisons assistant, W.K.L. Dickson. By 1895, Edison had created the Kinetophone- a Kinetoscope (peep-hole motion picture viewer) with a phonograph that played inside the cabinet. Sound could be heard through two ear tubes while the viewer watched the images. This creation never really took off, and by 1915 Edison abandoned the idea of sound motion pictures. Talking Doll One invention Edison had was just too far ahead of its time: The Talking Doll. A fill century before Tickle Me Elmo became a talking toy sensation, Edison imported dolls from Germany and inserted tiny phonographs into them. In March 1890, the dolls went on sale.  Customers complained that the dolls were too fragile and when they worked, the recordings sounded awful. The toy bombed. Electric Pen Trying to solve the problem of making copies of the same document in an efficient manner, Edison came up with an electric pen. The device, powered by a battery and small motor, punched small holes through paper to create a stencil of the document you were creating on wax paper and make copies by rolling ink over it.   Unfortunately, the pens weren’t, as we say now, user-friendly. The battery required maintenance, the $30 price tag was steep, and they were noisy. Edison abandoned the project.

Topic Selection and Rationale (Attempt 1 ) Essay

Topic Selection and Rationale (Attempt 1 ) - Essay Example The ability to properly define and/or guarantee protections for unique works or concepts could easily lead to stalemate if the intellectual property is governed domestically yet regulated abroad when doing business in foreign nations. In microeconomics, comparative advantage could explain a potential stalemate when it comes to intellectual property protection. This is when a firm has the ability to produce a work or product at a lower opportunity cost than competition. An opportunity cost is when the highest valued alternative must be sacrificed to select another strategy. If one business operates in a market where there are many competitors, and are able to experience lower cost in the action, competition may be more adamant about protecting their intellectual property as a competitive tool. Because the WTO acts as an agency and forum for these discussions, it is likely that the WTO will become engaged in trying to settle the dispute. A competing company might have very high cost objectives, however they cannot lower their opportunity costs to seek a special project or product innovation. Animosities between the rival companies could cause conflict with the membership of the WTO, based on the high cost of doing business against a competing product able to avoid high opportunity costs. In macroeconomics, inflation could also lead to problems with intellectual property rights disagreements that will ultimately involve the WTO. This is when the price of goods and services rises due to supply, finance, or money supply. Companies that are unable to compete effectively against another company that enjoys comparative advantage may also have inflationary issues arising from the cost of doing business which, in turn, affects overhead costs and production costs. The company could, at the same time, be impacted by inflation associated with international distribution.

The use of art to reveal sexual identity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The use of art to reveal sexual identity - Essay Example Johns' works were also influenced by the works of two gay artists; O'Hara and Crane. By using the style and formats used by these two artists, it reveals his sexual inclination although in an indirect way. There are many similarities between "In memory of my feelings-Frank O'Hara" and "Paintings with two balls." The signature, the full title, and the date are stenciled along the bottom. The artist freights his work with signs of concealment. The inclusion of the name of Frank O'Hara in his art is clear sign that Johns adore the artist. O'Hara was one of the artists that were known to be openly gay. Andy Warhol is seen as the father of the Pop Art movement that rose in popularity towards the end of 1950's and early 1960's. Warhol pieces of art appear to be in agreement with the works of both Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns. Rauschenberg and Johns were also the idols of Warhol, who learnt a lot from them; Warhol even made silkscreen homage for Rauschenberg. "Let us now praise famo us men" was written to express admiration for the artist. "Thirteen most wanted men" by Warhol was a clever reference to the FBI's wish of arresting criminals and also the artist's desire for fellow men. Warhol managed to use that piece of art to demonstrate his support for homosexuality inclination as supported by Rauschenberg and Johns. Andy Warhol was one of the highest paid commercial artists of his time. Despite being a commercial artist, he also produced his own work. Warhol does not hide his sexual identity.