Case study of CVS

According to the filed work results made by PSI team, we know that approximately one in four scripts experienced a problem at some point in fulfillment process. As we all know, the fulfillment process is critical for the transfer of the customer’s need into reality. An inefficient process would lead to a poor pharmacy service which would depress the recent customer. It’s certainly true that a better fulfillment process could prevent 60%-90% of the customer defection that were due to service.We know come up with solutions to deal with the problems now exist in the CVS fulfillment process. Improvement would never happen until changes are made. On the one hand, CVS should design a more efficient flow chat to reduce the inherent risks and inefficiency during the process. A proper flow chat should start with the analysis of the existing process situation in CVS and find out the bottle neck in the process. On the other hand, from the case, we know that a number of problems co uld occur in the part of Data entry.For example, customers pay the prescription and soon leaving the pharmacy, but the prescription may appear without drugs or the payment will not covered by their insurance. When they come back to pick drugs, they would be give nothing but dissatisfied. If things go on like this, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty will inevitably be effected . In order to reduce the defections in this part, changes should be made . CVS Pharmacy should build a comprehensive information system. The IT system should have enough function to support the operation.The doctor can upload the prescription after diagnosing, then the tech of pharmacy can check the prescription online and finish the remaining work. For the problem of no refill allowed, the IT system which contains prescription guidance by selecting the personal information of the patient in history. For the problem of DUR Hard Stop, IT at CVS should cut down the time for drug review. Since the possibil ity of different drug to drug interaction have the different time, IT system should have the ability to recognized the maximum time for major drug interaction which would absolutely improve the efficiency.Also the customers can login the system to check whether their prescription has been completed to decide when they go to take the drugs. After the above improvement, the most likely part to have problems is the situation at the pickup window at peak period. When customers came after work to pick up the prescriptions, most locations found it difficult to staff this time period simply because pharmacy employees did not want to work then. To address this problem, we feel that we can create some self-dispensary machines, just like ATM, so that the customers can take their prescriptions on the machine by themselves.Because of the establishment of the IT system, there will not be wooden boxes in use. If the system design is too complex, people will feel it is more efficient to use the or iginal method. The results may cause the failure of the changes. In order to prevent backsliding, the system must be easy to use so that both customers and staffs can use it conveniently. Pharmacy Service Initiative can greatly promote the customers’ pickup speed, save time, improve efficiency. Nothing could be better than that to be more attractive to consumers.Faster pickup-rate than other pharmacies can let CVS win more customers, increase customer loyalty, and attract new customers patronizing. Now most people complain about taking drugs,which is not only wasting long time to queue but also having complicated steps. If we can solve this problem, it will be a milepost of pharmaceutical service industry. This is a great opportunity for CVS companies to increase their market share, to defeat the competitor, and to become a leader in pharmacy.The economic benefits it brings to CVS is self-evident. Has the absolute authority is an absolute superiority on the pharmaceutical ind ustry, after that it will be hard to endanger the status and influence of CVS. In addition to economic benefits, the reform also brings many benefits to the internal stability of company. Not only reducing the customers’ complaints and churn rate, but also greatly improving the employee’s satisfaction and reducing turnover rate. These make CVS having more stable and rapid development.

Behavior Modifying Drugs Essay

â€Å"ADHD is a common behavioral disorder that affects an estimated 8% to 10% of people in the United States† (Kutscher). Boys are about three times more likely than girls to be diagnosed with it, though it is not yet understood why. Children with ADHD generally have problems paying attention or concentrating. They cannot seem to follow directions and are easily bored or frustrated with tasks. They also tend to move constantly and are impulsive, not stopping to think before they act. These behaviors are generally common in children. But they occur more often than usual and are more severe in a child with ADHD. These behaviors that are common with ADHD interfere with a child’s ability to function at school and at home. Adults with ADHD may have difficulty with time management, organizational skills, goal setting, and employment. They may also have problems with relationships, self-esteem, and addictions. Doctors may be too quick in diagnosing the patient with ADHD and prescribing them drugs to treat the problem. This is not the best method all the time, as these drugs have proved to be dangerous and sometimes fatal. The use of behavior modifying drugs should be treated only as a last resort after trying other treatments or alternatives for the problem because of the different risks that come along with the drugs. Children may have a problem that needs to be attended too, but drugs should not always be the first option selected. There are a good percentage of the millions of children in the United States, as well as around the world that suffer from ADHD, enough to be attentive to this disorder. For example, the different types of behavioral problems that are associated with the disease is explained: â€Å"Children suffering from behavioral disorders can exhibit behaviors such as distractibility, lack of focus, anxiety, and hostility† (Chittom). This shows how children may have problems in behavior, and how to notice the indications of ADHD. This also proves how children experiencing symptoms of ADHD may be a distraction in an learning environment and or elsewhere. The disorder might be due to biological means. For instance, in â€Å"Counterpoint: The Risks of Behavioral Drugs Outweigh the Benefits,† Lynn-Nore Chittom says, â€Å" Medical providers believe that the disorder is directly linked to the brain’s inability to properly process serotonin or dopamine† (Chittom). This shows how ADHD is actualized in scientific means. This also evinces the point that it could be a genetic disorder passed down generation to generation to children and is unpreventable in a case such as that. When one’s child has ADHD, they might want the quick scapegoat or in fact want to try a cure the problem as best as possible. But, drugs would not always prove to be the best choice for these parents. This could be seen in â€Å"Counterpoint: The Risks of Behavioral Drugs Outweigh the Benefits,† where drugs can cause even more problems: â€Å"These intense behavioral responses to medications intended to resolve issues such as distractibility, hyperactivity, and impulse control may exchange one challenge for another in the children being medicated† (Chittom). This depicts that by using medications to help the children’s problem it could backfire and create a whole new problem, maybe as or even more severe than the original one. What one might obtain from this is that the use of drugs in efforts of helping children with ADHD might be more problematic than the actual issue to start with. The risks of drugs are very high and may be very harmful to the children prescribed them. In many cases, drugs used to treat ADHD have caused more harm than there intended purpose to help the base problem. As a case in point, Lynn-nore Chittom says, â€Å"Research showed that a group of drugs known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) increased both the incidence of suicide and the potential for suicidal thought among children and adolescents†¦ This is of particular concern based on the fact that some students responsible for school shootings in recent years were known to have been subscribed SSRIs† (Chittom). This indicates that children may be harmed or harmful while taking these types of drugs. This also shows how the children’s minds might be manipulated by these drugs and may cause suicidal tendencies. Expanding on this issue: A drug commonly used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity (ADHD) disorder in children, teens and adults has been linked to numerous adverse reactions, including suicide attempts, Health Canada has warned. In its adverse reactions newsletter from July 2008, the health agency warns that Atomoxetine (Strattera), a selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, had been linked to 189 reported adverse reactions as of Dec. 1, 2007. Fifty-five of those included suicide attempts, a designation that encompasses non-accidental overdoses, showing suicidal tendencies and experiencing thoughts of self-harm. Twenty-nine of the patients recovered, three had not by Dec. 31, 2007, and one patient died. Data was not available for the remaining 22 patients. (Kutscher) Among the 55 suicide attempts reported in connection with the drug, 43 were among children b etween the ages of 6 and 17. Twelve were among adults ranging in age from 18 to 45. There are also other concerns that come along with the drugs. For instance, in â€Å"Counterpoint: The Risks of Behavioral Drugs Outweigh the Benefits,† Lynn-Nore Chittom states that in addition to the risks of and medical side effects, children may also experience the psychological and emotional stigma of being told they require medication to be â€Å"normal†, children may develop a low or negative self-esteem from being forced to take pills (Chittom). This is inferring that the children’s self image may be lowered and may train them to be unconfident people in life. This also shows how the children might, over time, become dependent on the drugs rather than developing appropriate life skills. Furthermore, the complications are explicated in â€Å"Counterpoint: The Risks of Behavioral Drugs Outweigh the Benefits,† when Lynn-nore Chittom says that parents, teachers, and doctors may be turning to prescription drugs in an attempt to fix emotional problems by medicating them. This could lead to drug abuse later in life, particularly under the pressures of a college workload, a new job, or other life changes (Chittom). There are different, more suitable methods of treating these children with ADHD. These methods include different therapies and contrivances in succeeding the main goal of helping cure the problem. For instance, these therapies are illustrated: â€Å"Beyond good parenting and teaching strategies, agencies that offer outside help through creative therapies should be employed whenever possible†¦ With the help of play therapy, music therapy, art therapy, language therapy, and cognitive-behavior therapy, children can attempt to reach their potential before medication is prescribed† (Chittom). This demonstrates the different approaches of using more natural cure rather than the drug direction. This also shows how the children can reach their full potential before thinking about medications to give them. Equally important, the parental aspect of this problem could be the answer of leading the children in the right direction. For example, how the children could change with the help and support of parents and elders is described: â€Å"Frequently children with ADHD and autism spectrum disorders are intelligent and creative. Rather than medicating the children to make them â€Å"normal†, parents and teachers should explore ways to learn their strengths and challenge the children to excel in their natural talents† (Chittom). This explains how many children with this disorder are usually very talented and intelligent. This also shows how parents and teachers could positively send their lives in the right direction if they are cooperative and encouraging. Moreover, with the right support, these children will feel more accepted and better about themselves, rather than feeling like they are bad unless they are drugged into normality. Some anti-depressants and other behavior modifying drugs may be of great affectivity for some children if one uses them properly and not excessively. In severe cases, children may be greatly benefitted from medications. These may help them perform in school better and allow their behavior to change into a self-controlled and mannerly people. For example, the affects of the drugs are explained: â€Å"These drugs have been hailed as safe and effective miracle drugs†¦ But, critics argue that SSRIs are often given needlessly† (Lee). This shows how if the drugs are not used excessively and given to the right people that actually are in need of them, they may be very effective. When carefully and responsibly prescribed, the medications currently available to treat ADHD have been shown to be extremely effective in reducing symptoms. For instance, the different benefits is described: â€Å"Children with ADHD who are treated with Ritalin demonstrate a greater ability to concentrate in class, engage in fewer impulsive acts, show improvements in the quantity and the quality of their schoolwork, and are better able to interact socially with others† (Lee). This shows how the children while being helped with the medications may perform better in school. This also suggests that the hostile urges are resolutely decreased as the drugs will calm them down. After all other options have been attempted first, drugs should only be prescribed to the children who have not been affected by the previous treatments. Parents and their children should desperately try together for other methods as to solving their behavior problems before turning to drugs. The first response from parents and teachers should be patience and creative behavioral management. The vital methodology in attempt to help children with ADHD is to first look for natural methods, and in the event of failure to see improvements in the children they may be benefitted by the drugs. The children with the extreme cases of ADHD might not have a natural method suitable for them, but usually it may help in a considerable way. On the whole, patience rather than pills can often be the key to solving behavior problems in many children.

Balanced Scorecard

Since the Market downturn in October 2007, a challenging set of economic events has been rocking the financial services industry and AXA equitable has since experienced major changes to keep the company competitive. A well-developed balanced scorecard is what AXA Equitable needs in order to remain a worldwide leader in the financial services industry. In the past, management have believed that the factors critical to the success of a company were based solely upon financial measures; this is why the Balanced scorecard was developed. The BSC has gained increasing popularity as an effective management tool that aligns employee actions and goals with corporate strategy since first being introduced in 1992 (Davis Albright, 2004). Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton proposed the balanced scorecard (BSC). The Balanced scorecard is a widely recognized tool to support decision making at the strategic management level which improves the satisfaction of the strategic objectives (Kaplan Norton, 1992). The BSC provides feedback on internal business processes, performance, and market conditions in order to review the trategy and future plans and  Large U. S. companies, such as General Electric and Federal Express, and non-profit and public organizations have implemented the BSC approach (Creamer Freun, 2010). According to the module, â€Å"financial measures are inadequate, however, for guiding and evaluating the journey that information age companies must make to create future value through investment in customers, suppliers, employees, processes, technology, and innovation (Baltzan, Phillips, Haag 2010). The balanced scorecard deals with a proposed model that embraces both financial and non-financial aspects to measure performance of an organization in the financial services industry (Wu, Tzeng, Chen, 2009). The  balanced scorecard[pic](BSC) is a multi-criteria evaluation concept that highlights the importance of performance measurement, and it recognizes that performance measurement should be incorporated in both of financial and non-financial measures; it captures not only a firm’s current performance but also the drivers of its future performance (Tseng, 2010). The balanced scorecard would be a positive force for AXA Equitable as it is a vital part of an overall strategy to become and remain an industry leader. Since times can be unsettling and while no company is immune from the challenges of a volatile market, management should strive to identify the factors that are critical to the success of the company. AXA Equitable needs to implement the measures listed on the balanced scorecard to achieve the company’s critical success factors. This will strengthen the company and continually improve AXA Equitable’s ability to manage through turbulent market conditions when necessary. The Balanced scorecard has four main parts. The balanced scorecard is developed along the four well-known perspectives of Financial, Customer, Internal Business Process, and Learning and Growth Performance, which, at any point in time of measurement, characterize the current status and future potential of organizations (Craig Moores, 2010). The financial perspective includes the measure of an organizations financial performance. For instance, it measures revenue growth, shareholder’s value, assets under management, and cash flow. This perspective links the company to its shareholders with main attention to the question: â€Å"How do we look to our shareholders and those with a financial interest in the organization? † Financial goals include achieving profitability, maintaining liquidity and solvency both short term as well as long-term, growth in sales turnover and maximizing wealth of shareholders (Asosheh, Nalchigar, Jamporazmey, 2010). The customer perspective includes the measure of an organizations market share, customer satisfaction, customer retention, customer referrals and value added activities. This is the second external oriented perspective that takes a look at the organization’s customers, who are the crucial factor for financial success generating revenue by buying products and services. The question is: â€Å"How do our customers perceive us in term of products, services, relationships and value-added? † (Asosheh, Nalchigar, Jamporazmey, 2010). The internal process perspective includes the measure of an organizations productivity, research and development, customer complaints and returns, and operational speed. This Measure focuses on the internal processes that will have the greatest impact on customer satisfaction and achieving an organization’s financial objectives. Firms should decide what processes and competencies they must excel at and specify measures for each of them (Asosheh, Nalchigar, Jamporazmey, 2010). The learning and growth perspective includes the measure of an organizations turnover ratio, hiring goals, education and training of new and existing employees, and number of new and improved products or services. This perspective identifies the infrastructure that the organization must build to create long-term growth and improvement. Intense global competition requires that organizations continually improve their capabilities for delivering value to customers and shareholders. Thus the question remains: â€Å"To achieve our future vision, how will we continue to improve and create future value for our stakeholders? † (Asosheh, Nalchigar, Jamporazmey, 2010). The best way to measure AXA Equitable’s financial performance is the shareholders value. This shows the value that the shareholders perceive AXA Equitable to be worth. There is strong evidence that the balanced scorecard is an effective strategic management tool that leads to improved shareholder returns (Crabtree DeBusk, 2008). The primary objective of management should be maximizing its shareholder’s value. Since the turbulent economy, AXA Equitable shareholder value is back on the up rise again. This can be seen with the stock price. AXA Equitable stocks, just like most other companies, were not immune to the highly volatile market conditions; However with the market getting back together, the stock price is gradually rising again. The management decisions at AXA should be geared towards maximizing the wealth of AXA Equitable shareholders, which means increasing the value of shares owned by existing shareholders. A good measure of AXA Equitable’s superiority over its competition would be the ability to generate consistent and high total returns that it gives to its shareholders over time. Major company issues will exist with AXA Equitable if management interests are not aligned with those of shareholders. When managers pursue self-serving behavior rather than the maximization of shareholder wealth, several symptoms may become apparent: low stock returns, below-average operating performance, and suboptimal investment decisions. The likelihood of company problems is higher when managerial incentive systems do not coincide with shareholder wealth maximization (Manry Stangeland 2003). It is very important that AXA Equitable management put the interest of the shareholders first. Research suggests that firms with management that pursues its own interests at the expense of shareholders will perform comparatively worse than firms with management whose interests are aligned with shareholders (Manry Stangeland 2003). When a company like AXA Equitable is able to generate wealth for its shareholders year after year, it is able to differentiate itself from the competition and creates better value for its shareholders. Investors who purchase AXA Equitable shares hope that the returns they get on their investments would be higher than what they could get from putting those funds in a risk-free savings account. This shows that the investors are definitely willing to tolerate more risk of ownership in AXA Equitable because of the chance of making higher returns. Assets under management are a measure of the total market value of client assets with the company. AXA as a whole has 1. 46 trillion dollars in assets under management, making it the 13th largest company in the world. One of the biggest advantages of having assets under management as a critical success factor on the balanced scorecard is that focus on increasing the total value of assets under AXA demands continuous efforts and improvement by the management and employees of AXA. This financial measure is not only obvious to AXA management and employees but also those outside the company, i. e. the public. Ranking organization like Fortune 500, use the figures for assets under management as a financial success measure to rank companies against their competition and industries. Constantly increasing the sale of financial products or services is a very important aspect of a company especially one in the financial services industry. AXA Equitable offers a wide range of financial products and services like fixed income investments, equity investments, individual retirement accounts, education planning accounts, life disability insurance and annuities to its clients. The products or services is used to address their needs and help shape their financial futures. The sale of AXA Equitable’s financial products or services is crucial in measuring the financial success of the company. The product or services sale is exactly how the company makes money and becomes profitable. Employees of AXA Equitable earn production credits after each sale of its products or services. Production Credits are the total amount of compensation that AXA Equitable pays to its employees in form of commission for the sale of its products or services. The total amount of production credits earned by each employee is the best way AXA uses to measure employee performance. The Production credits can also serve as a measure of financial performance that AXA Equitable uses as a requirement for other benefits other than commission for its employees. Benefits such as medical plan eligibility, stock options, stocks appreciation rights, AXA Share plan and AXA Equitable Advantage. AXA Equitable should strive for consistent and positive investment results for its investment portfolios. This is very important to a company that deals with attracting new prospects and retaining existing clients. An AXA Equitable client, for example, with a portfolio with poor investment results will not remain with the company if that client can get better results with other financial companies outside of AXA Equitable. AXA Equitable financial advisors manage the managers. Portfolio managers manage the investment portfolios and financial products inside AXA Equitable. Those managers are in turn, managed by the financial advisors that make these investment portfolios available to the clients. The portfolio managers are responsible for picking the equities and bonds available in each portfolio, making changes and the investment results for the portfolios they handle. Clients can benefit from a professional allocated portfolio of AXA Equitable funds that delivers automatic diversification, risk management benefits, quarterly rebalancing, and consistent investment results. The customer perspective section of he balanced scorecard cannot be effective if customer satisfaction is not the number one focus. The first and most important rule for any company in the financial services industry is that the client is of the utmost priority. Financial advisors should learn to put the interest of their clients first before any other interests. Companies in a service industry should understand that customer satisfaction is a great measure of performance. Banks and other companies that deal with providing financial services to the public must first put more emphasis on customer satisfaction, and then on financial return. These companies must ensure that their customers remain loyal to them and develop new markets to attract new customers (Wu, Tzeng, Chen, 2009). A crucial part of maintaining client satisfaction is understanding the clients and their needs. AXA Equitable and its advisors are responsible for making financial recommendations and providing its clients with financial products and services, and financial education to address their needs and help the clients create the retirement of their dreams. AXA Equitable should take sending out client satisfaction surveys to every client on the anniversary date of purchasing a financial product or service very seriously. This Client Satisfaction Index survey is a true measure of customer satisfaction and has helped the company identify the key drivers of client satisfaction. AXA Equitable uses this survey to get client feedback on their financial products and the level of service that their advisors showed the client throughout the year. Value added activity is an important way a company can separate itself from the competition. Companies in the financial services industry primarily offer financial products or services to their clients. Why would a client want to use AXA Equitable’s products and service versus another financial company like American International Group (AIG)? What can AXA Equitable offer that client that no other company can? For example, every financial advisor is required to provide the clients with a contract after every sale of a financial product or service. This contract usually contains copies of signed forms and prospectus. It is better to hand deliver these contracts instead of mailing it to the clients. AIG, a major competition for AXA Equitable, usually sends out thank you cards and client referral forms after every new sale of the company’s financial product or service. This is very effective because it showed that AIG appreciates the client and their business. Value added activities can be as simple as remembering a customers’ favorite drink. Whatever the activity is, managers must find a way to capitalize upon it, as doing so will enable them to gain a competitive advantage. AIG uses this service-oriented strategy to get additional referrals and establish relationships with their clients. BSC is an effective performance measurement tool in performance improvement, which positively affects service quality (Ghani, Said, Laswad, 2010). Exceeding client expectations is another critical success factor on the balanced scorecard that AXA Equitable and its employees should incorporate. When this strategy is taken seriously and done correctly, the clients are satisfied; they stay with the company longer, purchase additional financial products or services and most importantly, refer others to the company. Customer satisfaction offers an immediate, meaningful and objective feedback about clients’ preferences and expectations (Mihelis, Grigoroudis, Siskos, Politis, Malandrakis, 2001). AXA Equitable has provided several tools like eRelationship ® for its financial advisors for client contact. The eRelationship ® platform is a good way for the advisors to have continuous contact and build strong relationships with their clients all year long. For example, doing the simple things like remembering and sending out birthday cards, wedding anniversary cards, seminars invitations, could go a long way in building and maintaining credibility, trust and satisfaction with the clients. When the financial advisor is compassionate and is always willing to help, the clients can now see the true value of the advisors. AXA Equitable needs to generate clients constantly to be successful in the financial service industry. To be successful in this business, the financial advisors have to constantly be in front of their clients. Activities that drive the success of AXA Equitable financial advisors include prospecting and meeting new clients, number of appointments set, running appointments and appointments closed. AXA Equitable uses to 5-3-1 weekly matrix to guide our advisor activities They will be successful every week if they can have five prospecting visits, run three client appointments and sign up one new client†. Internationale Nederlanden Groep (ING), another major competition in the financial services industry uses a performance management strategy to keep track of employee activities. The financial advisors are required to submit their performance goals, development plans, and action plans at the beginning of every quarter to their managers. At the end of the quarter, performance reviews are conducted by the managers to measure the activities and production of the financial advisor. The balanced scorecard will help enhance communication between the client and the organization to ensure favorable organization performance (Wong, Lam, Chan, 2009). The internal business process perspective measures efficiency and productivity level within the company. During the client appointments, after the recommendations have been presented to the client, how quickly and efficiently can AXA Equitable provide the financial products or services needed to the client? This can be done with a software called eDox ®. eDox ® is an online database software that the financial advisor carries with him to every appointment with clients. eDox ® contains information about every product that AXA Equitable offers to its clients as well as links to products from other companies that AXA Equitable advisors can also offer to its client. Intra-industry trade (IIT) has been central to increasing the variety of products available to consumers (Moshirian, Li, and Sim. 2005). eDox ® also serves as a tool that top management uses to send out memos, journals, sales ideas, and information on new product launches to every employee of the company. When the client agrees to go ahead with the advisors recommendation and get the financial products; all the applications and forms necessary to make the sale can also be found on eDox ®. A continual review and constant improvement of eDox ® would be very important to keep productivity levels high to become an industry leader. AXA Compliance department is faced with the task of keeping AXA Equitable and its financial advisors compliant with the governing rules made by the Security and Exchange Commission. The Security and Exchange Commission set rules, regulations and guidelines that govern all the companies in the financial services industry. The SEC draws up new regulations periodically that sometimes make business very difficult in the financial services industry, for example, the 90-24 transfer rule, which involves more documentation for transfers of funds between one financial companies. Meeting these guidelines and standards set by the Securities and Exchange Commission is important to eliminate client complaints, trading malpractice, and negative internal and external audit for AXA Equitable Growth within a company like AXA Equitable does not always have to mean more profits because it is in the financial services industry. To become a leader in this industry, the financial company would have to hire more financial advisors to acquire more clients, which in turn leads to more productivity within the company. AXA Equitable should set hiring goals for its managers each year that the company expects to be met because an increase in the number of financial advisors every year will cause an increase in the amount of business written in that year. AXA Equitable and other companies in the financial service industry are constantly rolling out new financial products or services to keep pace with market volatility and unlimited client needs. The companies equip these products with better features and benefits to make them more attractive to the clients and stand out from the competition. AXA Equitable should be committed to providing its financial advisors with the resources necessary to build a lifelong career. Companies facing intensive competition also have a greater impetus to find ways to differentiate their products and services from those provided by competitors, this frequently results in a greater number of product and service lines and differentiation sought through increased customization of products and services in order to meet specific customer desires. (Guilding and McManus, 2002). The Learning center at AXA Equitable is set up to train and support new and experienced financial advisors. For example, when a new financial advisor is hired, the advisor is required to take some necessary courses on AXA Advisors Virtual University (AAVU) to learn everything about the company, its policies and financial product or services. American International Group (AIG) is another company that has a similar new employee development strategy. AIG developed a New Branch Employee Orientation Program where new employees receive online orientation sessions that include information about AIG, as well as company policies and benefits. AXA Equitable should require additional sessions for training and development for their financial advisors. These sessions should include experiences and accomplishments of experienced licensed financial advisors to keep the all other financial advisors motivated and knowledgeable about everything going on with the company and the industry as a whole. Introducing a balanced scorecard in an organization and implementing the critical success factors identified on it will not be an easy task. When firms develop a  scorecard they often start with a strategic performance measurement system which includes a set of financial and non-financial measures. Afterwards, the cause and effect relationships between the different (sets of) measures are developed further to translate the firm strategy to operational activities (Wiersma, 2009). AXA Equitable’s Management and employees will have to cultivate a change initiative. The increasing use of balanced scorecards is changing the way top managers run their companies. When envisioning a firm’s future development, they no longer focus chiefly on monetary success indicators in the financial area, Instead balanced scorecard is designed to complement financial measures of past performance with their measures of the drivers of future performance (Asosheh, Nalchigar, Jamporazmey, 2010). Companies need to address issues to help assess competition in their industry. The Balanced Scorecard is generally implemented at the corporate, business unit, and individual level, and also becomes a powerful tool for the directors to monitor the implementation of the corporate strategy.

Post-editing and Translation Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Post-editing and Translation Management - Essay Example Current TM software enables profession or domain-based customization, which limits the scope of substitutions, allowed and, therefore, improves output, especially where formulaic or formal language is required. As such, it would be expected that TM in cases involving legal and official documents can produce more palatable output as compared to less standardized text and conversations. Output quality in TM can also be enhanced through human intervention, such as the unambiguous identification of words that can be considered proper names in the text, which enables more accurate translation (Somers, 2013). The TM process can be described in terms of decoding the source text’s meaning, as well as re-encoding in the target language supported by a complex cognitive operation. Post-editing refers to the process through which machine-generated translations are improved with little manual intervention or labor, and is closely linked to the concept of pre-editing. During translation of the text, it is possible to achieve best results through source text pre-editing, such as through controlled language principles, after which the machine output is post-edited (Somers, 2013). Post-editing is quite different from editing that refers to the improvement of text generated by humans, also known in translation as revision. Text that has been post-edited could be revised afterward in order to ensure that language choice are of the best quality. Post-editing generally involves correction of output from translation, specifically to ensure that the output is of high quality. The degree or extent of post-editing may differ, which is dictated by the translation management criteria, and may either be full post-editing or light post-editing. Light post-editing involves minim al human intervention and is mainly meant to ensure that the output is readable, in which case the post-editor expects that the client only needs the text for inbound reasons (Somers, 2013). Full post-editing, on the other hand, seeks to make a text more stylistically appropriate by achieving improved quality of text for outbound and inbound purposes.

Marketing Channels Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Marketing Channels - Essay Example The factory gate is the point at which the product is fully assembled and ready to be sent to the retailer's distribution center (Factory Gate Pricing 2004). Under FGP, the retailer takes over the primary distribution from the supplier which means the retailer no longer has to pay the cost of transportation that was previously included in the price the supplier charged for product. The retailer buys the product "at the factory gate" and arranges transport. Instead of several separate vehicles making delivery to a central point, one vehicle can make several stops to pick up goods from suppliers in a specific geographical area. Also, goods can be collected at port of entry into the UK which will cost less, and collecting goods at a manufacturing site located outside the UK could create additional savings. FGP has been in use in the UK by a number of grocery retailers and, as stated earlier, offers component costs of product with transportation costs separated. According to Scottish Food and Drink, there is a lack of knowledge about FGP among suppliers, but the majority of those suppliers using FGP have had a positive experience and believe it is here to stay (How Do I 2004). According to them, certain areas need exploration in deciding whether FGP is the right solution. According to Potter (2003), FGP was first introduc... Understanding supply chain costs Having thorough understanding of logistics operations Putting cross-functional teams in place Making top-level commitments between organisations, for instance, CEOs Once these factors have been considered and FGP is put in place, it becomes obvious that transportation costs are a key area of concern. Effect on Supply Chain Partners and Customers According to Potter (2003), FGP was first introduced in the UK by the fashion and automotive sectors in order to establish organisation and optimisation of transport by purchaser to point of delivery. Applying FGP in the UK grocery sector, however, is probably its most complex application. Tesco was the first to implement it, then Sainsbury's, Asda and Carrefour. A Tesco case study realized the following FGP benefits: 1. Reduction in transport miles 2. Reduction in transport costs 3. Supply chain visibility Aware of orders being placed on suppliers Analyses of the extra costs of demand amplification on transport Better use of transport through backloading Higher service levels The more consolidation, the more savings on wider scale Potter, p. 20 Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment: What Is It According to the Grocery Manufacturers association, collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment (CPFR) is a revolutionary business process wherein trading partners use technology and a standard set of business processes for Internet-based collaboration on forecasts and plans for replenishing product (Collaborative Planning 2002, par. 1). Because it is a new process within the industry, intended to develop a collaboration strategy among trading partners, a study was undertaken by GMA outlining basic tenets

Applying Training Concepts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Applying Training Concepts - Essay Example As the business environment has changed, so have the skill requirements. This necessitates identification of training needs analysis. The training strategy is essentially aligned with the business objectives but the situation that Wal-Mart now faces, is more of youth employment. The youth come with their own expectations of the job role and their career progression. Besides, as employee turnover in the retail sector is high, cross-training becomes essential. Now more than 20% of Wal-Mart employees have university degrees. To retain talent and to assure career progression, Wal-Mart needs to identify talent with good skills and potential. The training needs of such employees would differ from mainstream employees. Such employees are sent to the US for specialized training but in Asian countries and particularly in China, Wal-Mart identified that some of the best people could not communicate in English fluently enough to benefit from the training in the US (Trunick, 2006). As the situat ion has changed, organizations would have to reinvent themselves to retain talent. This requires identification of training needs. ... Besides, the employees or the associates, as they are known at Wal-Mart, must have different qualifications for different function areas such as on the sales floor, in logistics and in the back room. Training needs of each individual associate would differ based on the job role. The trainer is responsible to conduct the training needs analysis without which training may be rendered ineffective. TNA is conducted based upon the objectives of the organization and can be conducted at the organization, person or the task level. When all of these are integrated it provides an effective strategy (Leat & Lovell, 1997). The training needs should be best directed to match the organizational needs. In the retail sector organizational effectiveness results from customer satisfaction which in turn depends upon process improvement. Therefore, Wal-Mart would need to explore the organizational climate in addition to the skills resources available. At the task level, the training needs analysis would be based on the demands of the job role. The associate in that particular position would be able to reveal inherent difficulties that may not be readily apparent. At the individual or the person level also TNA would help improve performance and employee development and career progression. TNA is not merely meant to assist employees in their work but to achieve greater proficiency and satisfaction. A typical TNA, according to Chiu, Thompson, Mak and Lo (1999) would aim to answer four related questions: Source: Chiu, Thompson, Mak and Lo (1999) Therefore, to conduct TNA at the organization, person and task level requires gathering information. The first step therefore, at Wal-Mart should be to conduct an initial

Visual analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Visual analysis - Assignment Example Figures that used to be fixed, large, often presented from the front, are at this time of light, becoming elongated proportions; they are often portrayed in the interaction. The style of this period is marked increase of scenic elements, colorful range of complication with the use of color blend. As the era of European history it is marked by numerous milestones - including the strengthening of economic and social liberties of the cities, spiritual revival that led eventually to the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, the Peasants War in Germany, the formation of absolute monarchy (the largest scale it had in France), the beginning of the Age of discoveries, the invention of European printing, the discovery of the heliocentric system in cosmology and etc. The art of that time had showing of the Byzantine trend where the refined ornamentality, subtle artistic language and deep religiosity, emotion, dogmatism, expression and philosophical depth are closely interweaved. LORENZO DI CREDI. MADONNA AND CHILD, XV century. The base for this picture was the iconography of "Madonna: Tenderness". In the picture Christ is drawn to Marys cheek, with his hands around her neck. She lowered her eyes, gently hugging her Son. The cordiality emanating from the divine figures, brings them closer to the viewer, giving him an opportunity to at least partially understand the Heavenly harmony. The trends of the High Renaissance are reflected in this picture: clarity, balance, perfect beauty of forms and tranquility of the spirit which spreads between the figures. All the colors are selected very painstakingly; they are bright but calm and charm the viewer. The di Credis picture is very similar to the work of Raphaels "Madonna of the Meadow". RAPHAEL. MADONNA OF THE MEADOW, 1506. In the composition of this picture we can feel the significant influence of the Michelangelos works. Pyramidal structure of the group of actors reminds the paintings of Leonardo da Vinci. But with

Jeffery Dahmer Case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Jeffery Dahmer Case - Essay Example In September 1987 he killed once again. His second victim was Steven Toumi who he met in a gay bar and indulged in heavy drinking with. Dahmer admits to have no memory of the murder itself but recalls waking up to Toumi being dead and having blood on his mouth. Fourteen year old Jamie Doxtator, a Native American boy, was Dahmer’s third victim. He also marks the establishment of Dahmer’s modus operandi. Dahmer would visit bars in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he would, after thorough observation, pick up young men. Mostly pretending to be a photographer he offered these men money to pose for him and lured them into his apartment. Sometimes he would offer them money to hang-out and watch a movie. Once there he would drug their drinks and strangle them when they were unconscious. John Douglas, a full-time profiler working at the behavioural science division of the FBI in Quantico, defined Dahmer’s signature as one that showed his sadistic sexual satisfaction and contr ol projected by living with his victim’s corpses. Examples of such behaviour were that of necrophilia, cutting up his victims and cannibalizing certain parts like the heart, painting the skulls to keep as souvenirs and storing a victim’s head in his fridge. (Douglas, 1997). Sticking to this developed pattern Dahmer killed 5 more men by the summer of 1988 one of who was a Richard Gurrero, handsome young man of Mexican origin. All these murders took place in Dahmer’s grandmother’s basement.

Pop Culture Advertisement for Lynx Shower Gel Essay

Pop Culture Advertisement for Lynx Shower Gel - Essay Example The product featured is in a small blue bottle with a black lid and its name inscribed in white against black is placed on the bottom in the right side. The caption reads: â€Å"LYNX Shower Gel. Get Dirty.† The setting implies a bathroom and has overtones of kinky sex which is used as an excuse for the Shower Gel product, which is supposed to serve as a sex appeal embellishment. The impact of the advertisement is based solely on its ostensibly clever message through the striking image that begs a second look. However, a deeper analysis will reveal the fallacies on which it depends and tries to communicate. It does not make any attempt to feature the functional advantages the product has over similar products in the market. It takes for granted the new-age notions of advertising for the youth that no information regarding the product’s chemical composition or explanation on why it would be a perfect choice is needed as long as the brand name imposes its power over the customers. Moreover, the advertisement seems to be based on the false assumption that attention from women bothers its prospective customers – men in this case – of all age groups and personal sexual choices. Though it could be assumed that the product aims at the youth as its customers, the advertisement restricts its appeal as it addresses only the heterosexual youth. It a lso assumes that the representation of the female body in an exotic setting catches the eye of all its customers. It could be argued that the popular advertisement culture has, in fact, made the female body a marketing tool, and this advertisement just follows the status quo. But a logical analysis will reveal that it fails to establish a pertinent relationship between the product and the image presented. The intended pun in the caption â€Å"Get Dirty† reiterates the sexual overtone which is already obvious through the image. But the implication is quite ambiguous.  Ã‚  

Research and Analyse an organisation in Business Finance and Law Essay

Research and Analyse an organisation in Business Finance and Law - Essay Example In this context, Barclays Bank operates in 60 countries worldwide with the primary focus on Europe. The institution is among the largest lenders in the world based on the market capitalisation measurements. The core operations of the bank are the investment and retail banking in various parts of the world. However, different forces acting on liberalised economies in most of the European Union nations due to the introduction of Euro and globalisation (Barclays.com, 2015) are influencing investment banking. The Barclays Bank provides services to multinational corporations operating different market models worldwide. The bank plays a great role in the banking sector by financing various government projects in different regions worldwide. Moreover, the bank provides services to individuals and corporations in the emerging economies in Africa, Asia and Europe. The operations of the company comprise of two major business that include the commercial and global retail banking (GRCB) as well as the investment banking and management business (IBIM). The strategy of the organisation aims at enhancing growth by diversification of their profit base. In addition, the organisations approach focuses on benefiting the customers through time and market-based growth. The management strategy of the Bank is its primary driver in the world banking industry (Rao, Rao and Sivaramakrishna, 2008). The strategy of the Barclays Bank is to provide a complete portfolio of services in various countries in the world. In addition, the strategy entails different concepts of providing a wide range of opportunities in order to facilitate growth by enhancing its market share and diversifying its products. Furthermore, the banks strategies encompass three primary concepts that include invest, learn and grow. The success of the bank is also facilitated by the ambition of the group to be one of the major

Civil War Position Paper Essay Example for Free

Civil War Position Paper Essay The American Civil War almost tore early America and its population apart. Still today people debate weather slavery was the primary cause for the war. In this paper I will explain why I believe slavery was not the primary cause of the American Civil War. Also I will point out many other factors that may have played a bigger role in the cause of the Civil War. Southern states believed STRONGLY in states’ rights. States’ rights are the belief that one should be loyal to their state instead of the country as a whole, also they believed that states should be able to make their own laws to their liking without having to answer to the country. This alone created tension between the southern states and the northern states for northern states felt that the constitution clearly stated that states can create laws as long as they do not conflict with the laws of the country. In addition to the tension between the north and south congress placed a tax on goods bought outside of the country otherwise known as tariffs. In 1828 and 1832, congress raised tariffs higher and higher. These taxes were hated by the southern states for they did not have many factories unlike they’re northern counterparts, and thus they paid tariffs more often. In one instance a southern state refused to pay the tariff nullifying the tax congress had placed this event known as the nullification crisis drove the wedge between the north and south further The bloody fighting between northern and southern voters in Kansas was another step in the path of the civil war. Due to the popular sovereignty act suggested by Senator Stephen Douglas the people where able to vote on whether that territory would’ve been a free state or a slave state, this caused voters from both the north and the south to pour into these states hoping to tip the scale in their favor in doing this conflict between the two erupted as homes were burned and people were murdered. In conclusion I do not believe that slavery was the primary cause of the civil war. My reason for thinking this is because of all the events that the country had to push though on top of slavery. For starters states rights, tariffs, nullification crisis, the Kansas Nebraska act, and the bleeding Kansas scare all played a bigger part in the cause of the civil war rather then slavery.

Roe Vs. Wade Essay Example for Free

Roe Vs. Wade Essay Roe v. Wade is a United States Supreme Court case in the year 1973 that resulted in a landmark verdict regarding abortion. According to the Roe decision, most laws against abortion in the United States violated one of the most important fundamental constitutional right – right to privacy. The verdict overturned all state and federal laws banning or restricting abortion that were found to be incompatible or inconsistent with its holding. Roe Vs Wade case raised huge controversies. It is considered to be is one of the most controversial and politically significant cases in the history of U. S. Supreme Court. It gathered huge historical significance. The central verdict that came out of the Roe Vs Wade case made abortion permissible for any cause that a women shows, up until the point at which fetus becomes viable or potentially able to survive outside the mother’s womb. The Court’s verdict also permitted abortion after viability for those cases, where abortion becomes necessary to protect a woman’s health. The Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade was incorrect legally and constitutionally.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Roe Vs Wade decision prompted huge debate on several issues regarding abortion on a national level. Debated issues include whether abortion should be illegal; if abortion is deemed to be illegal, then to what extent it should be illegal; who has the authority to decide whether or not abortion is illegal; what kind of methods the Supreme Court should use in constitutional settlement; and what should be the role of religious, or moral views in area of politics. Many people expressed their dissents on the verdict of Roe Vs Wade case. For example, associate justice Byron R. White gave vigorous dissenting opinion over the Court’s decision. What he suggested is that although one might agree with the court’s values and priorities, there is no constitutional justification for imposing such an order of priorities on the people and legislatures of the states.[1]   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Roe Vs Wade has been criticized immensely on various grounds. One of the major criticisms is that inviolability and personhood have not been satisfactorily recognized. The argument of some of the pro- life supporter is that life begins the moment mother conceives, therefore, the fetus should be provided legal protection. Other pro-life supporter’s argument is that, when there is lack of exact knowledge of when life begins, the best thing to do is just to avoid the risk of doing harm. The decision is also criticized on the ground that the decision has no constitutional foundation. The supporters of the decision, however, challenge this criticism by arguing that the decision has a valid constitutional foundation, and the justification of it could be found in the constitution, not in the articles referenced in the decision. In spite of having been criticized so much against its decision, the Supreme Court, however, struck down numerous restraints on abortion imposed by states in a long series of cases stretching from the mid 1970s to the late of 1980’s. Legal basis of the criticism   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Roe Vs Wade is more of a legal issue rather than a moral and religious one on the public ground, even if moral and religious values are strongly related to the question. Therefore, if Roe vs. Wade is to be defeated and revoked, it has to be examined on a solid juridical ground and have has to show that the decision has violated a basic legal principle, bound up in the Constitution of the United States. Therefore, a clear idea about the whole history of jurisprudence of America comes to our help in examining legal justification of the Roe Vs wade decision.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The abortion issue, on legal ground, is not actually a right to life issue; it is in fact a right not-to-be-killed issue. The Right not-to-be-killed is part of a larger right- the right of dominion. It is the law of dominion that is the basis of all constitutional government states. The law states that as a human being, one has dominion over his or her total person, as well as the free exercise of that dominion, a right given to him by the very Law of Nature. This law guarantees the right to dominion in any constitutional state. The purpose of all human law is to protect this right, to defend it whenever denied or ignored by any action of government or someone else. When one talks about liberty, he or she actually speak of his or her freedom to the right of dominion over his or her person, in his or her beginnings as a human being and in those stages of human growth by which he or she emerges into the human community. A human being emerges in the human community by the process of conception, i.e. conception is the starting point of one’s existence in the human community. One person has dominion over his or her person from the very first moment of his or her existence, and in the initial stages of growth, when one cannot exercise that dominion by himself or herself, it is kept in trust by his or her parents and by the law.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Roe vs. Wade, however, has given another human being, basically one’s mother, and rights over one’s personhood in the embryonic moment, a right that permits the termination of his or her existence. Roe vs. Wade has actually placed the right of dominion over the unborn human being in the hands of the mother, and it has been done under the claim of the right to privacy. Consequently, Roe Vs Wade decision has provided mothers with the right to destroy the life of the unborn. The right of dominion, however, belongs to a human being from the very first moment of his or her existence as mentioned earlier. The function of law and the parent is only to protect this right. That is the bottom line of the legal challenge to Roe vs. Wade. The Supreme Court gave its verdict unlawfully in granting to a woman the right of dominion over her unborn child. That dominion belongs lawfully only to the unborn child.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Embryonic Law, then, has been set up upon the Law of Dominion, the basic law of every Western system of jurisprudence and this Law states. This acts as the basis of any legal confrontation to Roe vs. Wade. It is on this ground that the debate over abortion takes place. The debate is not a Catholic or religious issue, but a human and legal one. Some viewpoints on Roe Vs Wade:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   While some reporters and journalists may argue that abortion has not been identified as murder by the law and therefore such an opinion is entirely based on the fact that whatever court decides is to be accepted or taken for granted and that is the sole law. According to Frank Morriss, â€Å"It is the same philosophy that dominates the present U.S. Supreme Court, and contradicts the philosophy that declares that all men possess certain unalienable rights given by their Creator.†[2]   Morriss also argues as follows:   Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"What is democratic about the majority of a nine-person court declaring the killing of the unborn not to be murder, or in fact not to be illegal in any way at all? Those in authority being answerable to nothing but their own intellects and will is not democratic; it is a dictatorship of the arbitrary. Mere opinion, whether that of a legislature, or the majority of a court bench, or in fact of the populace as a whole cannot determine right or wrong, truth or nontruth, justice or injustice.†[3]   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Some views, as upheld by Stevens Clifford says that the verdict was one sided –â€Å"The abortion issue is a national dispute, a dispute between those who oppose abortion and the members of the NARAL, the National Organization of Women and Planned Parenthood. At this point in adjudicating the dispute, only one side of the issue has really been heard, the views of those who support abortion. The only history of the question that has been examined, or even aired, is the history of the abortion laws, with an erroneous conclusion drawn from those laws.†   Ã‚  Ã‚   The annual March for Life rally in January 2008 took place stood against the least restrictive abortion laws of the Supreme Court. According to the President of the rally, Nellie Gray, referred to the judgment as the genocide pre-born and said, â€Å"We have a genocide because, after 35 years, it’s estimated that 48 million pre-born children have been killed†¦ So we’re coming together at the nation’s capital once more to petition Congress to enact legislation to stop the genocide here.[4] However the establishment media does not talk much about these marches.   Ã‚  Ã‚   After the verdict on the Roe v Wade case, the federal court has not decided in favor of pro-life friendly decisions and such decisions have been ‘virtually nonexistent’. John A. Boehner, representative of Ohio and the minority leader of Republican House commented, â€Å"I applaud the court for its ruling today. My hope is that it sets the stage for further progress in the fight to ensure our nations laws respect the sanctity of unborn human life.[5] Analysis of Catholics’ standpoint:   Ã‚  Ã‚   From the very moment of its initiation, it was subject to many controversies. This controversy or debate led to the evolution of two groups, namely, pro choice and pro life. The pro-choice movement extended huge support to abortion and regards that it is morally permissible. On the other hand, the pro-life movement denies the access to abortion and regards it as morally wrong. Over the time both the movement gathered their supporters and often move to the court to attain legal approval. Following these two movements even the world seems to be divided into two groups. For instance, in Canada, abortion is permissible while in Nicaragua it is strictly illegal. Some of the nations even took a midway like USA where abortion is legal but it is constrained by certain restrictions as well as certain circumstances. Though the debate on abortion encompasses issues on political consensus, infiltration of privacy, religious and ethical issues. However the ethical debate on the permissibility of abortion has been most important with most number of opposite thinkers.   Ã‚  Ã‚   According to Natural Law, five primary precepts and corresponding secondary precepts may be drawn. Abortion is not supported by two of the primary postulates Continuation of human species through reproduction (implies no abortion, contraception or homosexuality) and self preservation and preservation of the innocent (implies no abortion).[6] On the basis of Kant’s deontological moral theory it may be claimed that a person should act according to his or her duty irrespective of the consequences. In this case, we may therefore say that it is the mother’s duty to give birth to the child irrespective of what consequences she might have to endure. Thus, sticking to her duty the mother should not deviate from childbirth and hence should avoid abortion.[7] This would certainly support he Catholics’ standpoint and their activities and involvement are appreciable in dealing with the case of abortion. Their activities have brought about mass awareness and at least those who are true to their religion and roots shall certainly be averse to abortion and also assist the Catholics in their sincere efforts. Although some of the Greek philosophers like Plato and Aristotle commended abortion, the Pythagoreans criticized it and the clause of the Hippocratic Oath would help support it. The Oath states: â€Å"I will give no deadly medicine to anyone if asked, nor suggest any such counsel; and in like manner I will not give to a woman a pessary to produce abortion† and â€Å"I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody if asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect. Similarly, I will not give to a woman an abortive remedy.†[8]   Ã‚  Ã‚   The court argued on the basis of the term ‘person’ used in the 14th constitutional amendment. This may be stated as follows: â€Å"All this, together with our observation, supra, that throughout the major portion of the 19th century prevailing legal abortion practices were far freer than they are today, persuades us that the word â€Å"person,† as used in the Fourteenth Amendment, does not include the unborn.†[9]   Ã‚  Ã‚   Interestingly, if we agree with Warren’s definition of personhood then we have to disqualify two kinds of born human beings as ‘person’, namely, reversibly comatose patients and human infants. Both of them, like fetus are bereft of any of the characteristics mentioned by Warren. Warren moves further to justify her claim when she justifies even infanticide as morally acceptable under certain circumstances such as severe physical disability or in order to save the lives of a group of other infants.[10] At this point it is clear that Warren is suffering from severe complexities coming out of her thoughts. First of all, if the patients in coma especially those who are reversible, may come back to normal life as it has been seen in several medical case histories. Then, justifying his death will be the other name of killing. Miracle does happen and it is not that rare to ignore. In America, a patient in coma responded after more than 30 years. If he had denied the right to life at the very moment when he underwent the coma, then it would be denying life a chance to prove itself that it is stronger than death. Similarly, with the enormous advancement of medical science, even most severe of the physical disabilities can be cured or a supportive system can be provided so that the concerned infant, even with his disabilities, can perform most of the normal works. In a very recent issue in India, a two-year-old girl child who was attached with a parasitic twin underwent a twenty-seven hour operation to be freed from her additional outgrowths and after the operation, she is alive and seems to be behaving normally. Following Warren, if she would have been provided with a â€Å"justified medical death sentence† even with the consent of her parents, it could not be termed anything less than killing. Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Abortion can never be morally acceptable and it may be termed as the other name of killing. However, under certain circumstances abortion is a necessity. Therefore we may say that the decision of the Supreme Court is both legally and constitutionally incorrect. Often, after conceiving due to several complexities, the condition of the mother’s health deteriorates to that extent that moving forward with that pregnancy may only result in the death of the pregnant woman. In such a case an abortion could save the life of that woman. In case of forced pregnancy that may be out of rape, the woman must be given the liberty to choose abortion as she has been forced to carry that baby. In conclusion, we may say that a fetus is a seed of life, yet to flourish and see the lights of the sun. It has not come at its own will and the people involved knew at some point that it might happen. We cannot offer life and so we do not have the right to take it away. Moral or ethical justification of abortion seems to be a ‘Reverie of Poor Susan’ that can never be accepted under any justification. The catholic protests and the rallies have succeeded to some extent in awakening the consciousness of the media and the mass.    References 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"Abortion and Ethical Theory† (2008), retrieved on May 29, 2008, from: http://www.tutor2u.net/newsmanager/templates/?a=775z=62 Clifford, S. (2008) â€Å"ROE v. WADE: the Catholic Dilemma†, retrieved on May 29, 2008 from: http://www.priestsforlife.org/government/stevens4.htm Clifford, S. (2008) â€Å"The Rights Of The Unborn†, retrieved on March 24, 2008 from: http://www.priestsforlife.org/government/therightsoftheunborn.htm#basis Mass, W. (2007), â€Å"Supreme Court Upholds Partial-Birth Abortion Ban†, retrieved on May 29, 2008 from: http://thenewamerican.com/node/3526 Morriss, F.(2008) â€Å"Court Rulings Cannot Negate the Law of God†, retrieved on May 29, 2008 from: http://www.catholicculture.org/library/view.cfm?recnum=3122 Newman, A.(2008) â€Å"March for Life in D.C. Gets little Media Coverage†, The New American, retrieved on May 29, 2008 from: http://thenewamerican.com/node/6955   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Supplemental Notes on Kant†, (1999), retrieved on March 25, 2008 from: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/ebarnes/205/205-sup-kant.htm Sungenis, R.A. (1993) â€Å"Abortion: The Reasons We Should be Against It: A Critique of the 1973 Supreme Court Decision, Catholic Apologetics International†, retrieved on March 25, 2008 from: http://www.catholicintl.com/epologetics/articles/pastoral/1973.htm â€Å"U.S. Supreme Court: Doe V. Bolton, 410 U.S. 179† (1973), Find Law, retrieved on March 24, 2008 from: http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=USvol=410invol=179 Warren, M.A. (1973), â€Å"On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion†. Thomas A. Mappes, David DeGrazia Biomedical Ethics, McGraw-Hill [1] â€Å"U.S. Supreme Court: Doe V. Bolton, 410 U.S. 179 (1973)†, Find Law, http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=USvol=410invol=179 (March 24, 2008) [2] Morriss, Frank. â€Å"Court Rulings Cannot Negate the Law of God†, 2008, http://www.catholicculture.org/library/view.cfm?recnum=3122 (March 24, 2008) [3] Morriss, Frank. â€Å"Court Rulings Cannot Negate the Law of God†, 2008, http://www.catholicculture.org/library/view.cfm?recnum=3122 (March 24, 2008) [4] Newman, Alex. â€Å"March for Life in D.C. Gets little Media Coverage†, The New American, 2008, http://thenewamerican.com/node/6955 (March 24, 2008) [5] Mass, Warren, â€Å"Supreme Court Upholds Partial-Birth Abortion Ban†, retrieved on March 24, 2008 from: http://thenewamerican.com/node/3526 [6] â€Å"Abortion and Ethical Theory†, http://www.tutor2u.net/newsmanager/templates/?a=775z=62 (March 24, 2008) [7] Supplemental Notes on Kant, 1999, http://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/ebarnes/205/205-sup-kant.htm (March 24, 2008) [8] Sungenis, Robert A. Abortion: The Reasons We Should be Against It: A Critique of the 1973 Supreme Court Decision, Catholic Apologetics International, 1993, http://www.catholicintl.com/epologetics/articles/pastoral/1973.htm (March 25, 2008) [9] Sungenis, Robert A. Abortion: The Reasons We Should be Against It: A Critique of the 1973 Supreme Court Decision, Catholic Apologetics International, 1993, http://www.catholicintl.com/epologetics/articles/pastoral/1973.htm (March 25, 2008) [10] Warren, Mary Ann, â€Å"On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion†. Thomas A. Mappes, David DeGrazia Biomedical Ethics, McGraw-Hill, 1973.

Truman Doctrine And The Marshall Plan History Essay

Truman Doctrine And The Marshall Plan History Essay On the eve of their victory in World War Two, the leaders of the so-called Big Three nations (Winston Churchill from Britain, Joseph Stalin, from the Soviet Union, and Franklin Roosevelt from the United States) met to negotiate the post-war administration of the vast European territories liberated from Nazi occupation and the captured territories of the Axis nations themselves. The two meetings at Potsdam and Yalta were actually the second and third (respectively) following the first of the Big Three meetings at Teheran in 1943. At the time of the final meeting at Yalta, all three leaders expressed genuine optimism that a peaceful and fair collaboration that had begun of necessity in their combined effort to defeat Hitler could last beyond the war years and into a prolonged period of international peace thereafter (Alterman, 2004). However, there were fundamental conflicting interests and concerns that had begun to develop even before the conclusion of the war. Both the United States and the Soviet Union had already begun to view one another as rivals in Europe, both for territory captured from the Germans as well as for the technological spoils of war, such as German aviation and ballistic rocket technology in particular (Roberts, 2000). During the last year of the war, the Western Allies had feared that Stalin would continue his advance well into central and western Europe and all the way to the Mediterranean (Alterman, 2004). To a large degree, those fears were unfounded as Soviet troops halted after occupying the Baltic States and territories in Germany, Poland and the Balkans (Alterman, 2004). Nevertheless, the Soviet Union did also exert continual pressure elsewhere, particularly in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Greece, and Turkey. When Britain could no longer afford to support the needs of Greece and Turkey, the U.S. stepped up and in 1947, announced a broad approach to providing economic support to those regions (and others believed by the Truman administration to be potentially at risk of Soviet domination) economically in what came to be referred to as the Truman Doctrine (Gaddis, 1997; Judge Langdon,). That same year, U.S. Secretary of State, General George C. Marshall, introduced an even broader approach, that came to be called the Marshall Plan which included all of the mechanism outlined in the Truman Doctrine, in addition to a comprehensive fight against hunger, desperation, poverty, and chaos and whose aims included the revival of a working economy across the European continent but also in all the nations of the world ( Gaddis, 1997; Judge Langdon,). In fact, the principal motivation for this plan was a policy analysis authored by George C. Kennan, counselor in the U.S. embassy in Moscow entitled The Sources of Soviet Conduct (Roberts, 2000). That analysis led directly to the adoption of a containment policy by the Truman administration (and subsequent U.S. presidential administrations designed expressly to oppose perceive Soviet expansionist aims everywhere in the world (Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005; Roberts, 2000). Throughout the Cold War, the official position of the U.S. was that its policies with respect to the U.S.S.R. were strictly defensive and designed, of absolute necessity, to prevent the global domination sought by Soviet Communist leaders (Alterman, 2004; Gaddis, 1997; Judge Langdon, ; McNamara, 1995). In truth, the U.S. policies to oppose Soviet Communist expansion and the imposition of Communism beyond Soviet borders were not unfairly viewed by the U.S.S.R. as an expansionist attempt to export and impose Western Democracy beyond U.S. borders. The Deterioration of Relations between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. after 1945 Even before the end of World War II, the provisions of the February 1945 Yalta Conference set in motion conflicting priorities and zones of occupation that helped trigger the eventual deterioration of the wartime alliance between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union (Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005). Specifically, the agreement left Britain, France, and the United States in charge of Western Germany, Italy, and Japan while the Soviets controlled Eastern Germany, Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary. By comparison, the territory controlled by the Western Allies was much more valuable in terms of its economic potential than that held by the Soviet Union. The same was largely true in connection with the relative economic potential of Western and Eastern Germany. Under the terms of the Yalta Agreement, the Western Allies administered what later became West Germany and the U.S.S.R. controlled what later became East Germany. Even the capital city of Berlin was divided into zones o f occupation; within a few years, the geographical layout of Berlin and the shared occupation between the Western Allies and the U.S.S.R. would trigger a prolonged crisis as well (Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005). Although perceived by the West as being stubborn and acting out of a specific motivation to dominate Europe, Stalin expressed genuine confusion over the inability or unwillingness of the Western Allies to appreciate the importance of Eastern Europe from the Soviet perspective, particularly with respect to Poland (Alterman, 2004; Judge Langdon, ). Recent and not so recent history demonstrated full well the vulnerability of the Soviet Union to hostile invasion through Poland. Moreover, Stalins liberation of Poland from the Nazis had cost the Soviet Union as many as 20 million dead, making it the costliest war campaign in the entire history of warfare, by far. From the Russian point of view, Poland should rightfully have remained under Russian control for those two specific reasons alone (Alterman, 2004; Judge Langdon, ). In other respects, the Western Allies may have been right to question Stalins motives. During the war, both Churchill and Stalin had sent troops to occupy portions of Iran to prevent their rich oil fields from falling into the hands of the Nazis (Alterman, 2004; Roberts, 2000). Already at Yalta, Stalin had begun demanding oil concessions as a condition of removing Russian troops from Iran. Likewise, Stalin had insisted that Turkey permit the Russian Navy permanent unrestricted passage from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean through the Dardanelles. Stalin yielded on both accounts only after the U.S. expressed its intentions to back Iran and after the U.S. sent its own Naval warships to the region. Nevertheless, U.S. foreign policy thereafter would reflect the growing fears over such incidents that Stalin expressly intended to capitalize on any perceived weakness on the part of the West to oppose Communist grabs for global territories and resources (Roberts, 2000). The Importance of Kennans The Sources of Soviet Conduct In 1946, the U.S. State Department received a very long telegram from George C. Kennan, counselor in the U.S. embassy in Moscow, detailing his analysis of what he called The Sources of Soviet Conduct (Gaddis, 1997; Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005; Judge Langdon, ; Roberts, 2000). Among other conclusions, Kennan wrote that the Soviet Union was eternally committed to global expansionism and to the spread of Communist ideology at all costs. Kennan warned that the Soviet Union would never stop probing non-Communist societies for weaknesses and that the Western democracies had no other choice but to remain vigilante in their opposition to Communism lest is spread throughout the entire world to the extent efforts toward that end were not opposed appropriately by the West (Gaddis, 1997; Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005; Judge Langdon, ; Roberts, 2000). Kennan concluded that what would be necessary and appropriate to prevent Communist expansionism from dominating the word would be a comprehensive policy of global containment of any efforts toward that end by the Western democracies (Gaddis, 1997; Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005; Judge Langdon, ; Roberts, 2000). At approximately the same time, also in 1946, Winston Churchill delivered his infamous Iron Curtain speech in which he warned of the same danger with respect to the European continent and advocated a strong opposition on the part of the Western democracies. (Gaddis, 1997; Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005; Judge Langdon, ; Roberts, 2000; Westad, ). In principle, this containment strategy would be adopted by the West, most immediately in the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan. The Truman Doctrine By 1947, Greece was in the midst of internal warfare between the government and Communist rebels (Alter, 2004; Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005; Roberts, 2000). Britain had been funding the counterrevolutionaries but eventually announced that it could no longer do so for economic reasons. The U.S. administration argued to Congress (and to the American people) that the fall of Greece to Communism would lead inevitably to the subsequent fall of Italy, France, and the entire Middle East to Communism as well (Gaddis, 1997; Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005; Judge Langdon, ; Roberts, 2000). Truman succeeded in obtaining congressional authorization for $400 million to fund anti-Communist rebels in both Greece and Turkey as well. This was the first implementation of what came be known as the Truman Doctrine, according to which It must be the policy of the United States to support free people who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pres sures. Truman went on to say that this support from the U.S. should be primarily through economic and financial aid, which is essential to economic stability and orderly political process (Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005). Officially, the Truman Doctrine focused on economic assistance to the needy populations of the struggling nations; unofficially, the real purpose of the Truman Doctrine was to fund anti-Communist forces and virtually any related effort to undermine Soviet attempts to spread Communism anywhere in the world. While being promoted primarily as a humanitarian gesture, the principal purpose of the Truman Doctrine and the reason for its existence was to oppose Soviet Communism (Gaddis, 1997). To be fair, there were reasons that the West was right to be so concerned about Soviet Communist expansion but there were also reasons that, with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, the West in general and the U.S. in particular overreacted in implementing the Truman Doctrine. The Western Allies had only recently learned a very difficult lesson after failing to respond appropriately to the rise of Nazism throughout the 1930s and to the expansionist aggression demonstrated by Hitler for years before the outbreak of World War II. Undoubtedly, that was foremost on the minds of Churchill and Truman and everyone else in foreign policy-making positions in the post-war era (Alterman, 2004; Roberts, 2000). The Soviets were hardly innocent either. In addition to the attempted exertion of influence in Iran over the removal of their troops and over control over shipping lanes in the Dardanelles, they also aggressively supported Communist revolutions anywhere they could in Eastern Europe, particular ly in Bulgaria and Romania in connection with Communist takeovers and in Poland by helping to eliminate the last source of political opposition to Communism (Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005). On the other hand, and again, in retrospect with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, the Western Democracies were also somewhat blind to apparent signs of Soviet restraint and concessions to the West. After initially insisting on shared control over defeated Japan, the Soviet Union eventually accepted exclusive American control over that nation (Gaddis, 1997; Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005; Judge Langdon, ; Roberts, 2000). Likewise, they withdrew their troops from Manchuria, allowed free elections in Hungary and Czechoslovakia and a neutral democratic Finnish government, and they also withdrew significant numbers of their forces that had been assembled in Eastern Europe since the end of the War (Gaddis, 1997; Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005). It may be unfair to re-evaluate tensions of the time with the benefit of historical records available today (including those pertaining to Stalin that only became available after the collapse of Communist Russia). However, objectively, and with the benefit of hindsight, it would seem that a more measured and objective response on the part of the U.S. and her allies in the post-war years other than the full implementation of the Truman Doctrine might have allowed for a much less costly and potentially dangerous outcome than a four-decade-long Cold War with the Soviet Union. The Marshall Plan One of the major initiatives implemented within the general framework of the Truman Doctrine was General George C. Marshalls European Recovery Plan, which quickly became known as the Marshall Plan (Gaddis, 1997; Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005; Judge Langdon, ; Roberts, 2000). In principle, the Marshall Plan aimed to do the same thing (i.e. contain Soviet Communism from global expansion) although through incentivizing cooperation and conciliation on the part of foreign nations in return for U.S. economic assistance. It was, in essence, a tremendous carrot instead of a stick-based approach to encouraging foreign nations to implement democratic governments and to reject Communist overtures (Roberts, 2000). The U.S. even invited the Soviet Union to participate but they refused, believing (probably correctly, given the overall objective of the Truman Doctrine) that the terms in connection with which Soviet participation was being welcomed would have undermined Soviet control over the Eastern European countries under Soviet influence (Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005; Judge Langdon, ). Two years later, the Soviet Union would create Comecon, their own plan for an Eastern European Mutual Economic Assistance organization. The Marshall Plan was an unparalleled success in Western Europe: it facilitated infrastructure recovery in war-torn countries; it enabled economic growth while simultaneously reducing class conflict. More importantly, from the U.S. perspective, it established an economic dependency for U.S. goods and industrial machinery and for the U.S. goods, services, and labor to support it (Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005). Certainly, the Marshall Plan was a more humane approach to expanding U.S. influence and discouraging Communist tendencies among Western European populations than the Soviet Union had employed in Eastern Europe. However, its fundamental purpose was much more similar. Moreover, the U.S. was guilty of the same degree of meddling in the domestic affairs of sovereign nations as was the Soviet Union, albeit through much more peaceful means that relied upon the carrot rather than the stick. Nevertheless, from the point of view of exporting its own political ideology to other nations, the U.S. was actually engaged in the same business as the Communists that the West continually portrayed as expansionist (Hunt, 1987; LeFeber, 1994; McDougall, 1997). For example, because of the dependence of Italy on American foreign economic aid and supplies of goods and services, the U.S. was able to convince the Christian Democrats to oust the Communist Party out of it governing coalition. In fact, General Marshall personally warned the Italians that continued economic aide was directly dependent on the Communists not succeeding in the elections of 1948. At the same time, the U.S. State Department recruited Italian relatives in the U.S. and Italian-American organizations in the U.S. to influence Italian political outcomes as much as possible (Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005; LeFeber, 1994; Hunt, 1987; McDougall, 1997). Ultimately, the U.S. cannot claim to have meddled or micromanaged Western European political affairs any less than their Communist counterparts in Moscow. While there is a strong argument that the methods chosen by Moscow were less humane, it would be a fiction to suggest that the Soviet Union exported Communism and was expansionist while the U.S. merely supported political self-determination and opposed the imposition of political ideology from abroad. Certainly, from the Soviet perspective, Washington was engaged in very similar processes that differed much more in their means than in what they hoped to achieve. Moreover, whereas the U.S. had the choice between brutality and economic pressure and incentivization, the U.S.S.R. had no such choice, at least not that could have competed against the economic and industrial strength of the U.S. Conclusion Throughout the Cold War, the predominant view in the Western hemisphere was that the Soviet Union was continually engaged in an aggressive campaign to export Communism while the West, led by the U.S. was merely resisting that expansion by supporting the freedom and self-determination of those nations that would otherwise have been at the mercy of Communist takeover. In reality, the U.S. was no less aggressive in exporting Democracy, although it had the economic means to do so much more gently and humanely, and by inviting membership in their democratic vision rather than by coercion and brutality. However, in terms of precipitating what became a four-decade-long Cold War between East and West, the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, and the policy of containment first articulated and promoted by George Kennan in 1946 were no less responsible than Soviet expansionism through intimidation and force. The Cold War eventually resulted in the collapse of the Soviet Union by virtue of the strength of the U.S. economy and industrial capacity. However, it was really only a matter of luck and restraint on the part of Soviet leaders that prevented the Cold War from suddenly becoming anything but cold particularly in connection with the Bay of Pigs fiasco and the Cuban Missile Crisis. In both cases, Soviet forces were armed with tactical battlefield nuclear weapons and authorized to use them on U.S. forces. Ironically, those facts only became public as a direct function of the fall of the Soviet Union and the doctrine of Glasnost instituted as a result (Gaddis, 1997; Judge Langdon, ). The Cold War grew out of a combination of factors and was probably not as inevitable or as much the result of aggressive Soviet expansionism as is widely believed in the West. To be sure, its roots were partly the result of the paranoid personality of Joseph Stalin. Similarly, the U.S.S.R. had given the Western Allies reason for concern over Stalins intentions in the Middle East (and elsewhere) even before the end of the war. The historical record suggests that at the time of the final Big Three meeting at Yalta, Stalin genuinely hoped for a collaborative and cooperative relationship with the American and British governments. On the other hand, even during those most hopeful of times, Soviet spies were busily at work successfully and thoroughly infiltrating the Top-Secret U.S. Manhattan Project at Los Alamos. However, the relative insensitivity of Western leaders to appreciate the legitimate historical basis and geographical realities facing the Soviet Union, especially in Eastern Europe is equally to blame. To a much greater degree than is often acknowledged by Western historians, the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan were, in fact, less about achieving the specific objectives laid out publicly as their fundamental purpose than they were about implementing a global containment strategy designed expressly to counter perceived Soviet expansionism. It is likely that but for paranoia and overreaction on both sides, the legitimate geopolitical concerns of both the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. could have been negotiated more successfully and at far less cost to both sides. In that regard, the long-term effects and consequences of the American foreign policy approach with respect to the U.S.S.R. that was outlined and established by the Truman Doctrine and by the Marshall Plan within the first few years after the cessation of World War Two hostilities would have to be considered as responsible for the development of the Cold War as Soviet Communist expansionism.

Social Work :: Graduate College Admissions Essays

Social Work    It was the shrill ringing of my pager that jarred me out of the deep sleep I had been enjoying. The clock beside my bed read 3:30 as I fumbled around in the dark, reaching for the insistent pager. As I saw the code that flashed on its tiny screen, my heart sank. I thought of the sleet that had been falling as I had fallen asleep a few hours before, and of the warmth of my cozy bed. The very last thing I wanted to do at that moment was to get up and go out in the cold. Unfortunately, there was little choice; I was the only Crisis Companion available during the week between Christmas and New Year. Within a few minutes, I was dressed and en route to the hospital to pick up a woman and her small children, on the run from an abusive husband, and take them to our shelter several miles out of town. As both a hotline operator and Crisis Companion for a community organization called Avalon, I had been trained to be an active listener, crisis counselor, and advocate for survivors of domestic v iolence and sexual assault. I thought of all the training I had received, as well as the passion which had driven and encouraged my work with Avalon, as I neared the emergency room of the hospital and prepared to meet my newest clients.    Every 15 seconds a woman is battered. 1 in 3 women and 1 in 10 men will be sexually assaulted during their lifetimes. 4 women in the United States are killed every day by their husbands or male partners. When I first heard these statistics in a Women's Studies course my Freshman year, I was astounded and thoroughly incensed. The more I read, the more committed I became to doing something which would bring about a positive change for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. It was then that I learned about and began working with Avalon, which was active on campus and in the community. Through its outreach programs, Avalon is dedicated to educating the community about the issues of sexual assault and domestic violence. It also offers a shelter, as well as advocacy and education, to survivors and their families.    As a volunteer for Avalon I have answered a crisis hotline, acted as a court advocate, helped clients apply for food stamps, and been on call in the hospital to work with women and children.

Responses to Persecution :: Jews Judaism Religion Suffering Essays

Responses to Persecution Jews are no strangers to suffering. Throughout the ages, many others have also been victims to unspeakable cruelty, but the judgement of Winston Churchill is almost certainly the definitive description of the uniqueness of the Holocaust: "The Final Solution is probably the greatest, most horrible crime ever committed in the whole history of the world." Holocaust scholar Deborah Lipstadt points out two reasons why the German program of genocide remains in a class by itself as an example of evil: "It was the only time in recorded history that a state tried to destroy an entire people, regardless of an individual's age, sex, location, profession, or belief. And it is the only instance in which the perpetrators conducted this genocide for no ostensible material, territorial, or political gain." In fact, the Holocaust remains incomprehensible. But that is all the more reason why it must at the very least be remembered. Hitler played heavily on the anti-Semitism already rooted within his people. He resurrected ideas that a previous king of Germany, Frederick the Great, had introduced. There were distinct categories of human beings. Essentially, the Germans were Aryans, and everyone else was sub-human. Hitler took these ideas and embellished them. He blamed the Jews for "two great wounds upon humanity: "Circumcision of the Body and for the conscience of the soul.† As Hitler gained popularity, his hatred of Jews spread and became a rallying cry. The Nazi propaganda paper, Der Sturmer, revived the "Blood Libels." The church would warn their constituents: "Watch your children 6-7 weeks before Passover†¦ Everyone knows that just before Passover Jews need the blood of a Christian child, maybe, to mix in with their Matzah." The attitude taught to the children was, "Just as one poisonous mushroom can poison a whole family, one Jew can poison a whole town or a whole country!" Der Sturmer was running contests encouraging German children to write in. One little girl wrote, "People are so bothered by the way we’re treating the Jews. They can’t understand it, because they are God’s creatures. But cockroaches are also God’s creatures, and we destroy them." Words can create an attitude. If a person says something loud enough and often enough, he creates a climate. And under that climate, all sorts of things can happen. This was one of the was the Jews where terribly and horrifically persecuted.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The German scientific community got on the bandwagon with scientific presentations.