The Impact Of World Demographic Change On The Future Of Business Essay

The Impact Of World Demographic Change On The Future Of Business Operations And Trading Opportunities - Essay Example The paper tells that unprecedented global demographic changes taking place are expected to impact business operations. During the twentieth century â€Å"the global population increased nearly fourfold, growing from 1.5 billion in 1900 to 6 billion in 2000†. Population growth rates increased significantly particularly in the developing world in the first part of the century, reaching a peak in the late 1960s. The swift growth in population was met with a hitherto uncommon response. The increased concerns related to environmental and economic effects of demographic increase motivated the United Nations, bilateral foreign aid agencies, multilateral institutions and private foundations to invest billions of dollars in population programmes. The governments of several developing countries, specifically those in Asia vigourously formulated and implemented policies aimed at slowing population expansion. The emerging evidence indicates that across the globe, population impacts econom ic growth with age structure playing a crucial role. â€Å"As the dependency ratio falls, opportunities for economic growth tend to rise, creating what is now referred to as a â€Å"demographic dividend†. Development in the quality of health care, improvements in health, and the related increase in life expectancy are among the most outstanding demographic changes of the past century. The historical rise in life expectancy reveals reduced infant and child mortality due to public health interventions related to water and sanitation, along with medical interventions such as vaccines and antibiotics. On the other hand, the continued increase in life expectancy since the past few decades particularly in high income countries, is mainly associated with reductions in age-specific death rates at middle and older ages. The declines are related to â€Å"improvements in medical technology, life-style changes, and income growth† (Bloom & Canning 2004, p.4). Globally, life expect ancy rose to more than double the earlier levels, from around 30 years in the year 1900 to 65 years by 2000. It is estimated to rise to 81 years by the end of the 21st century, states Lee (2003). Clark, Ogawa and Mason (2007) reiterate that all developed countries are experiencing rapid aging of the population, and in most countries over 12 percent of the population is over 65 years and older. In Japan, the proportion of the elderly population exceeded the 20 percent level in 2005, and several other developed countries reveal similar statistics. In most parts of the developed world, â€Å"national population projections indicate continued aging, with some countries facing the prospect of actual population decline and a super aging of the population† (Clark et al 2007, p.3). Further, several developing countries particularly in Asia such as China and South Korea, as well as others less economically successful, are now aging rapidly. Those countries that age before attaining ec onomic prosperity will likely face extensive challenges in the future. The association between population growth and the economy has been debated by several scholars and policymakers. As early as 1798, Thomas Malthus put forth that the rate of population growth was held in equilibrium by the rate of economic growth (IMF 2004). While East Asia met the challenges of rapid population growth, â€Å"other demographic changes were creating opportunities for more rapid economic growth†

Business Code of Ethics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Business Code of Ethics - Research Paper Example On the other hand, ethics is more social and more specific than morality and the practical counterpart of it (Stewart, 2011, p. 7). It serves as the guide for the actions and behaviors especially in professions and organizations. In business, it is also very important especially in companies where complex system works together with many people involve. Some actions are not tolerated as those may become detrimental to the individual and to the whole organization. Misbehaviors may destroy the reputation of the business and may affect its sales (Boone and Kurtz, 2011, p. 197). Later on, profits may also decline as a result of losing sales that may lead to more undesirable conditions of the organization. It may not be able to sustain its operations and the management may decide to have massive lay-off to save the company. If it comes to the worst case scenario, the company will close due to bankruptcy. The illustrated possibilities that may happen to the company due to misbehavior only s how how ethics is important to guide each person in his course of actions in his daily life especially during the times he spend in working for the company. It shows how it is important for the management to place some ways of control over the working system of the company to ensure that ethics is followed by the members of the organization and prevent the occurrence of undesirable conditions. Rules and regulations are then presented to the employees as they must know the allowable actions and disallowable actions that are subjected to sanctions. Good performance leads to rewards while misconduct leads to punishment. Standards are also held in place to provide a guide for the employees to follow regarding the level of productivity and performance that they must render. Standards and the rules and regulations are affected by the code of ethics. Since conducting a business is also a profession, it requires a list of norms that people must follow. To make the concept of code of ethics clearer, a specific definition must be given. As said in the preceding sentences, code of ethics is established for certain particular professions to ensure quality services and meet the needs of the clients. The code contains a list of norms that professionals must follow throughout their careers (Marquis and Huston, 2009, p. 77). Therefore, the code defines the identity of the certain profession being practiced while ensuring the values to reflect on the performance. Sometimes code of ethics is called code of conduct as it pertains to the correct or wrong actions and behaviors. In business, it is installed in the company to ensure the top-of-the-line services and products are delivered to the clients as they are important to the profits that drive the operations of the company (Ferrell et. al., 2011, p. 347). Without profits, company will not be sustainable and may eventually close. In making a code of ethics, it requires to have a basis. The basis then for the code of ethics to s ubstantiate is to identify the underlying values. Values are then important not only in adding ease to the lives of people but also bringing a progressive uplift to the society as a whole. It also leads to the enhancement of the quality of lives around the world (Shaikh, 2010, p. 480). Therefore, the code then must consider not only the values and service quality but also the prevailing culture and beliefs in the locality where it operates

Successful Leadership in Management Essay Example for Free

Successful Leadership in Management Essay Successful Leadership in Management = Training Scott Miller Principals of Management Abstract Although leadership and management are two different things, it takes both in order to be a truly good manager. Leadership is described as the process by which an individual exerts influence over other people and inspires, motivates, and directs their activities to help achieve group or organizational goals whereas management is described as the planning, organizing, leading, and controlling of human and other resources to achieve organizational goals efficiently and effectively (Jones George, 2009). Maslow states that â€Å"To understand and motivate people, you must know human nature. † Human nature is the common qualities of all human beings. People behave according to certain principles of human nature (Mazlow, 1986). Managers, in general, have the ability to do one or the other of these things but a good manager will be able to do both successfully. According to Sam Allman, leadership changes the world and management maintains it (Allman, 2009). Sometimes it is not enough to simply manage to make a company succeed and a person can be a leader but they can fail without proper direction. Training is plays an important part for any manager because the more they learn the better they can do their job. Taking a look at both leadership and management may help to improve a manager’s skills and make them a better all around manager. According to Allman, leadership changes the world and management maintains it. Successful Leadership in Management = Training First, we take a good look at leadership, which is considered a critical management skill. A leader needs to be able to inspire their workers to achieve higher levels of teamwork. There are certain things that a leader must know and be able to do. These things do not always come naturally, but are acquired through continual work and study. Good leaders are continually working and studying to improve their leadership skills; they do not rest on their laurels. Unfortunately, according to an article by Bill Joiner, only about ten percent of managers have mastered the level of agility needed for consistently effective leadership in today’s world economy. The leadership reference guide that Mr. Joiner uses in his article shows four levels and three types of agility (Joiner, 2009). Although this is only one perspective of leadership, a lot of work and research was done to obtain the results shown. It suggests that there is still much training needed for about ninety percent of managers in the business community today. A good leader will know how to motivate their employees so that they can get the most out of them. Through positive reinforcement such as positive feedback, incentives, bonuses, or even company events a manager can improve employee morale and production greatly (Jones George, 2009). Since leadership is not always a natural thing for managers, it is important for most major companies to train them. Leadership training can be done through seminars, retreats, workshops, or even motivational speakers. Even those who are in the office and never deal with customers need to deal with co-workers or employees. Now we can take a look at the importance of good management. In every large organization, theres a hierarchy of management that keeps the whole operation running smoothly. As with leadership, there are certain things that a manager must know and be able to do. Management is also a skill that can be learned. Many managers learn their trade on the job. They work their way up the corporate ladder. A manager can be good at planning, organizing, and leading effectively but not efficiently or the other way around. Training sessions or going back to school, help the manager improve their skills so that they may do a better job for their company (Jones ; George, 2009). In my opinion, managers should be like children, always curious to learn something new. As the world of business changes the manager does also. One example of bad management was shown by Avon when their stocks plunged in 2006. At the same time we can show good management by the way that Andrea Jung took action to correct the problems and got Avon back on track (Jones ; George, 2009). Although a company can grow to worldwide proportions, there still needs to be strong management team in place to keep things going with all members around the globe focused on the same organizational goals. This case shows that no matter how large a ompany gets, it needs to train all of its managers to follow the same path toward the company’s overall goals or it could collapse. U. S. businesses now have too many leaders who are detached from the messy process of managing (Mintzberg, 2009). There are many ways to be a successful manager but it all starts and ends with training. Leaders may know how to lead but not know how to manage. The same goes for managers. They may now how to ma nage but have no idea how to lead. The key to great management is to find a balance of both skills. Every manager needs to learn to lead their employees properly to achieve the most efficient and effective organizational goals. Managers need to be able to adapt to any situation without alienating anyone or losing sight of the company’s goals. With more and more companies changing the way they do business it will benefit any manager to become a people person. For years, managers went in to work and barked out orders or directions but today they must have more finesse. They need to know how to act and speak with their employees so that they can get the most out of them. It is my opinion that the best way to do this is to keep the employee happy and that managers can improve their ability to empower others by focusing on their own personal development. These things can be accomplished effectively and efficiently through proper training. As Stanford University emeritus professor James G. March put it: Leadership involves plumbing as well as poetry. Instead of distinguishing leaders from managers, we should encourage all managers to be leaders (Mintzberg, 2009). References Jones, G. , ; George, J. 2009). Contemporary Management, SIXTH edition. Magraw-Hill/Irwin, New York, NY 2009. Allman, S. (October 2009). Leadership vs. Management, Retrieved December 11, 2009, from

Phases Of System Development Life Cycle Information Technology Essay

Phases Of System Development Life Cycle Information Technology Essay System development life cycle means combination of various activities. In other words we can say that various activities put together are referred as system development life cycle. In the System Analysis and Design terminology, the system development life cycle means software development life cycle. Following are the different phases of software development cycle: System study Feasibility study System analysis System design Coding Testing Implementation Maintenance   The different phases of software development life cycle is shown in Fig.29.1 Different phases of Software development Life Cycle PHASES OF SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE Let us now describe the different phases and the related activities of system development life cycle in detail. (a) System Study System study is the first stage of system development life cycle. This gives a clear picture of what actually the physical system is? In practice, the system study is done in two phases. In the first phase, the preliminary survey of the system is done which helps in identifying the scope of the system. The second phase of the system study is more detailed and in-depth study in which the identification of users requirement and the limitations and problems of the present system are studied. After completing the system study, a system proposal is prepared by the System Analyst (who studies the system) and placed before the user. The proposed system contains the findings of the present system and recommendations to overcome the limitations and problems of the present system in the light of the users requirements. To describe the system study phase more analytically, we would say that system study phase passes through the following steps: problem identification and project initiation background analysis inference or findings (b) Feasibility Study On the basis of result of the initial study, feasibility study takes place. The feasibility study is basically the test of the proposed system in the light of its workability, meeting users requirements, effective use of resources and .of course, the cost effectiveness. The main goal of feasibility study is not to solve the problem but to achieve the scope. In the process of feasibility study, the cost and benefits are estimated with greater accuracy. (c) System Analysis Assuming that a new system is to be developed, the next phase is system analysis. Analysis involved a detailed study of the current system, leading to specifications of a new system. Analysis is a detailed study of various operations performed by a system and their relationships within and outside the system. During analysis, data are collected on the available files, decision points and transactions handled by the present system. Interviews, on-site observation and questionnaire are the tools used for system analysis. Using the following steps it becomes easy to draw the exact boundary of the new system under consideration: Keeping in view the problems and new requirements Workout the pros and cons including new areas of the system All procedures, requirements must be analyzed and documented in the form of detailed data flow diagrams (DFDs), data dictionary, logical data structures and miniature specifications. System Analysis also includes sub-dividing of complex process involving the entire system, identification of data store and manual processes. The main points to be discussed in system analysis are: Specification of what the new system is to accomplish based on the user requirements. Functional hierarchy showing the functions to be performed by the new system and their relationship with each other. Function network which are similar to function hierarchy but they highlight those functions which are common to more than one procedure. List of attributes of the entities these are the data items which need to be held about each entity (record) (d) System Design Based on the user requirements and the detailed analysis of a new system, the new system must be designed. This is the phase of system designing. It is a most crucial phase in the development of a system. Normally, the design proceeds in two stages: preliminary or general design Structure or detailed design Preliminary or general design: In the preliminary or general design, the features of the new system are specified. The costs of implementing these features and the benefits to be derived are estimated. If the project is still considered to be feasible, we move to the detailed design stage. Structure or Detailed design: In the detailed design stage, computer oriented work begins in earnest. At this stage, the design of the system becomes more structured. Structure design is a blue print of a computer system solution to a given problem having the same components and inter-relationship among the same components as the original problem. Input, output and processing specifications are drawn up in detail. In the design stage, the programming language and the platform in which the new system will run are also decided. There are several tools and techniques used for designing. These tools and techniques are: Flowchart Data flow diagram (DFDs) Data dictionary Structured English Decision table Decision tree (e) Coding After designing the new system, the whole system is required to be converted into computer understanding language. Coding the new system into computer programming language does this. It is an important stage where the defined procedures are transformed into control specifications by the help of a computer language. This is also called the programming phase in which the programmer converts the program specifications into computer instructions, which we refer as programs. The programs coordinate the data movements and control the entire process in a system. It is generally felt that the programs must be modular in nature. This helps in fast development, maintenance and future change, if required. (f) Testing Before actually implementing the new system into operations, a test run of the system is done removing all the bugs, if any. It is an important phase of a successful system. After codifying the whole programs of the system, a test plan should be developed and run on a given set of test data. The output of the test run should match the expected results. Using the test data following test run are carried out: Unit test System test Unit test: When the programs have been coded and compiled and brought to working conditions, they must be individually tested with the prepared test data. Any undesirable happening must be noted and debugged (error corrections). System Test: After carrying out the unit test for each of the programs of the system and when errors are removed, then system test is done. At this stage the test is done on actual data. The complete system is executed on the actual data. At each stage of the execution, the results or output of the system is analyzed. During the result analysis, it may be found that the outputs are not matching the expected out of the system. In such case, the errors in the particular programs are identified and are fixed and further tested for the expected output. When it is ensured that the system is running error-free, the users are called with their own actual data so that the system could be shown running as per their requirements. (g) Implementation After having the user acceptance of the new system developed, the implementation phase begins. Implementation is the stage of a project during which theory is turned into practice. During this phase, all the programs of the system are loaded onto the users computer. After loading the system, training of the users starts. Main topics of such type of training are: How to execute the package How to enter the data How to process the data (processing details) How to take out the reports After the users are trained about the computerized system, manual working has to shift from manual to computerized working. The following two strategies are followed for running the system: Parallel run: In such run for a certain defined period, both the systems i.e. computerized and manual are executed in parallel. This strategy is helpful because of the following: Manual results can be compared with the results of the computerized system. Failure of the computerized system at the early stage, does not affect the working of the organization, because the manual system continues to work, as it used to do. Pilot run: In this type of run, the new system is installed in parts. Some part of the new system is installed first and executed successfully for considerable time period. When the results are found satisfactory then only other parts are implemented. This strategy builds the confidence and the errors are traced easily. (h) Maintenance Maintenance is necessary to eliminate errors in the system during its working life and to tune the system to any variations in its working environment. It has been seen that there are always some errors found in the system that must be noted and corrected. It also means the review of the system from time to time. The review of the system is done for: knowing the full capabilities of the system knowing the required changes or the additional requirements studying the performance If a major change to a system is needed, a new project may have to be set up to carry out the change. The new project will then proceed through all the above life cycle phases. Task: 4.2 Life Cycle Models Waterfall model Prototyping model Evolutionary model The spiral model Formal development Incremental development Rapid application model V-Shaped model Requirements analysis Definition Integration and Software testing Software dDesign Implementation and unit testing Operation and Maintenance Waterfall Model Figure: 7 This takes the fundamentals process activities of specification, development, validation and evolution and represents them as separate process phase such as requirement specification, software design, implementation and testing and so on. Requirement Analysis and Definition The systems services, constraints and goals are established by consultation with the software users. They are then defined in detail and serve as a software specification. how the current software works and what it does Producing a detailed model in subject terms of what the new software will do and how it will work. Producing a high-level description of new software Software Design The software design process partitions the requirements to either hardware or software system. It establishes overall software architecture. Software design involves identifying and describing the fundamental software system abstraction and their relationships. Implementation and Unit Testing During this stage, the software design is realized as a set of programs or program units. Unit testing involves verifying that each unit meets its specification. Integration and Software Testing The individual program units or programs are integrated and tested as complete software to ensure that the software requirements have been met. After testing, the software system is delivered to the customer. Operation and Maintenance Normally this is the longest life cycle phase. The software is installed and put into practical use. Maintenance involves correcting errors which were not discovered in earlier stages of the life cycle; improving the implementation of the software units and enhancing the softwares services as new requirement are discovered.

The War on Drugs and U.S. Foreign Policy Essay -- American Drug Policy

Introduction The War on Drugs has been a common phrase in the United States for many decades. What exactly does this mean and how does it shape U.S. foreign policy? The War on Drugs can be defined as the systematic and aggressive policy that is determined to undermine and stop the flow of illegal drugs into the United States. This policy is backed by several U.S. institutions including the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), U.S. Army, U.S. Coast Guard, and U.S. Customs. Also, included in this list are the numerous local law enforcement agencies across the country. The U.S. government has instituted the following ways for enforcing its foreign drug policy: interdiction, eradication, legislative reform. Interdiction is the attempt to stop drugs as they are en route to the United States. This remains to be a formidable task; because of the enormous size of the United States, policing its vast borders has proven to be extremely difficult. For example, the United States has over 12,000 miles of shoreline, through 300 ports of legal entry, and over 7,500 miles of border with Canada and Mexico. The jurisdiction of these border points fall under all of the above mentioned agencies and military branches. Herein lays the first problem of foreign policy on drugs, determining which agency/branch has rightful control over which part of the border. The DEA and FBI have overlapping roles in when it comes to enforcing drug policy. Miscommunication often happens when attempting to interdict drugs because of overlapping jurisdiction between two governme nt agencies. According to the Drug Policy Alliance, the United States has spent over $25 billion on s... ...ment with local towns to pinpoint the appropriate crops to be exterminated. Strong legal punishment is needed to deter would be drug traffickers from committing crimes. All of these crucial steps need to be followed in order to start winning the war on drugs. Works Cited http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/basicfax.htm#q7 http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/co.html#Econ http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/intel/02006/#4c http://www.tni.org/drugs/pubs/drugsum.htm http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/02_12_03fuzzy.cfm http://www.drugpolicy.org/global/drugpolicyby/latinamerica/ http://www.drugwarfacts.org/military.htm http://www.drugwar.com/interdiction.shtm http://www.fpif.org/briefs/vol6/v6n22andes.html http://www.globalpolicy.org/empire/intervention/2004/0512colombia.htm http://www.tni.org/drugs/research/airbridg.htm

The Power of Place :: Essays Papers

The Power of Place â€Å"The main thing is to root politics in place. The affinity for home permits a broad reach in the process of coalition building. It allows strange bedfellows to find one another. It allows worldviews to surface and change. It allows politics to remain an exercise in hope. And it allows the unthinkable to happen sometimes.† Allen Thein Durning, This Place on Earth , P.249 The concept of place, home and community is a transnational and trans-community concept. Human places have just recently been given political boundaries. Previously, human boundaries were determined the same way that animal, plant, and ecosystem boundaries were defined. They were defined by ecology and they were defined by geography of region and hemisphere. Tony Hiss Author of The Experience of Place brings to our attention that as humans â€Å"We react, consciously or unconsciously, to the places where we live and work, in ways we scarcely notice or that are only now becoming known to us†¦In short, the places where we spend our time affect the people we are and can become.† Place defines characteristics in both human and extended moral communities. Place is not necessarily specific to gender, race, generation or specie. This understanding and recognition of place is fundamental when thinking about institutionalizing ecological and social responsibility. Because of human and nonhuman connections to specific places including knowledge, experience and community, using a sense of place and permanence as a green transnational multilateral initiative could be a successful step towards green democracy and ecological citizenship. Robyn Eckersley offers the suggestion of a constitutionally entrenched principle that would enhance ecological and social responsibility: the precautionary principle. I suggest connecting localized, place-specific boundaries with the principle. This addition is meant to aid in fostering ecological citizenship, expanding the moral community, and creating a responsible society. This addition would also be meant to unite a transnational issue that all nations could agree upon. This would create a binding multilateral principle that would be thoroughly accepting of specific ecological needs and characteristics of specific places. In short, the big picture of an international perspective needs the resolution of the peculiarities of place that can't be emphasized in a global viewpoint. The second major international environmental conference was held in Rio de Janeiro, in 1992. It was at Rio that the precautionary principle first became known to the public. Called principle 15, the precautionary principle provided that: â€Å"Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation† (p.

Integration versus generic approach Essay

Integration versus Generic Approach Author Note This paper is being submitted on November 17, 2013, HS/100 Introduction to Human services course. Integration versus Generic Approach The integration concept is that which emphasis’s on the integrating of the various human services systems under one organizational or administrative system. In the most basic terms, an integrated service delivery approach serves people better, more efficiently and effectively. Integration calls for people within agencies to be involved and invested in the process of sustainable change. To achieve truly integrated services, organizations must overcome their own interests and look at clients’ needs. (Friedman and Pagan, 2011). Today technology allows human service agencies to have a comprehensive view of client need, giving caseworkers the best information to look at services across programs and to allocate available resources to assist customers. This enables agencies to deploy necessary services quickly in a well-coordinated fashion (Freidman and Pagen, 2011). The generic approach to human services, in part, has integration, but it is generally believed that the existing human services structure is most accurately described as an array of potentially related programs that deliver distinct benefits or services to narrowly defined target populations. These programs are usually separate and distinct, through which money, regulations, and professional norms, and expectations flow. While some overlapping across programs has always existed, each usually operates in a relatively self-contained manner (Corbett and Noyes, 2008). I believe that the integration approach serves our publics best interest. To have all systems and programs come together to see the big picture, to focus on all the problems together, instead of having to go place to place to work on separate issues Unfortunately, a  ready-made definition of service integration does not exist. We have not been able to find a magic threshold that marks the separation of unintegrated service systems from those we would characterize as integrated (Corbett and Noyes, 2008). (Ragan, 2003) states, â€Å"There is no single answer. Based on observations†¦service integration is a combination of strategies that simplifies and facilitates clients’ access to benefits and services. Each site has implemented a distinctive mix of strategies, processes, and partner agencies†.