Fashion Cycle

What is the fashion cycle? Fashion cycle – a period of time or life span during which the fashion exists, moving through the five stages from introduction through obsolescence. – When a customer purchases and wears a certain style, that style is considered accepted. The acceptance leads to the style becoming a fashion! Fashions do not always survive from year to year GOAL: The ability to gauge the timeliness or occurrence at the right time, of a fashion is critical in the development and marketing of fashion products. Stages of the Fashion Cycle Fashion moves through different stages during its cycle of existence.Not only design but special features also go through a cycle such as color, texture, and fabric Introduction Stage Designs first previewed during fashion weeks at the major design centers New styles, colors, or textures are introduced – begin an upward slope Limited number of people accept them Fashion leaders wear the styles Offered at high prices and p roduced in small quantities. Rise Stage Manufacturers who copy designer clothes will reproduce the styles as apparel that costs less by using less expensive fabrics or minimal detail. In the initial incline, fashions are accepted by more people because they can afford hem.Mass Production reduces the price of the fashion, and more sales result Peak Stage Top of the hill Fashion is at its most popular and accepted stage. Mass production but prices are not necessarily low, prices vary at this stage It can survive longer if the fashion becomes a classic. Updating or adding new details of design, color, or texture to the look can keep it in the peak stage. Decline Stage Consumer demand is decreasing, going down the slope. Fashion items available have saturated the market. People do not want to pay a high price. Fashion retailers mark down the rice of merchandise.Obsolescence Stage The end of the fashion cycle, the bottom of the hill Consumers are no longer interested in the fashion and f ind new looks. Price of the fashion product may be low at this point, but consumers may not buy the product. Fashion-cycle Life Span All fashions follow the life-cycle pattern, but it varies with each fashion. Very difficult for fashion marketers to predict the life span The length of time is determined by the consumer's willingness to accept the fashion. Fashion Movement Fashion movement – the ongoing motion of fashions moving through the cushion cycle.Economic and social factors influence consumer interest in fashion. New fibers and fabrics Advertising techniques can cause consumers to change in fashion. Budget Fashion for Bargain Hunters Budget brands include Joe Fresh, Walter, and Sellers, as well as Maroons and Old Navy. These stores have done a good Job of challenging the fashion cycle and offer fashion that would be classified more at the peak area of the cycle. However, before Jumping into a budget buy keep in mind the quality aspect, budget items aren't always made o f the nicest fabrics or constructed ell, so don't buy anything budget that you want to last.Moderate Fashion for the Masses Moderate falls under the beginning of the name brand category, stores that offer at the Moderate price point have seemed to explode on the scene recently, possibly in an attempt to appeal to a wider market. This category is a little harder to define and usually includes stores like the Gap, RAW & Co, and Smart Set; They carry fashion that is appealing to a mass market, they feature fashions in the â€Å"peak† section and basics. The quality in this category improves somewhat but not greatly from some of the Budget lines.These stores are definitely popular as they are affordable to a wide variety of consumers, and don't come with the stigma of being a budget retailer. Better Merchandise for the Brand-conscious Better merchandise falls into the peak section of the fashion cycle but can also be found in the fashion forward Rise section; items here are begin ning to enter higher fashion. Garments are constructed with more natural fibers, more attention has been paid to the fit, and garment details like buttons, beads, and special stitching are of a better quality.Lines of this nature pour ore money into advertising and have a high value for brand identity, lines like Lactose, Jones New York and Lucky Brand Shares fall into this category. People spend money on these lines based on a mixture of brand loyalty and prestige, they have cost the consumer a more than average amount of money for the item and the tag says it all. Bridge Apparel for Lovers of Contemporary Designer Labels Bridge apparel is another booming section of the fashion industry; it is the attainable designer merchandise that keeps on trend.Usually provide the quality, style and cut of a designer item without the couture price tag. This fashion includes designer merchandise that couture labels have created in the form of secondary lines which mimic their current collections at a smaller price, by way of using less expensive materials and add ones. Lines of this category include Marc By Marc Jacobs, DENY, Ralph Lauren Classics, and Perry Ellis Portfolio.Other designers who don't produce couture can also fit into this category, they directly produce garments to the requirements of this section and they include labels like lisle, By Malone Berger, and Tara Jargon. These designers can be classified as â€Å"Contemporary' their lines are not serially categorized by their price point but by their fashion forward nature. This class of fashion is aimed at women who are style conscious and are looking for high quality apparel; contemporary lines are a combination of classic and trend making them wearable for years to come.Quality is still a priority in these lines, and the cut of the garment is at its best form in terms of standard sizing. Silhouettes, color palettes and general styling reflect their couture counterparts in these collections and while they ma y not be the original couture pieces, they are more functional and wearable for everyday life. Designer Haute Couture Fashion – the Creme De la Creme Designer Couture is every woman's dream; it comes with a certain prestige due to its limited availability and the limited amount of people who can afford it.Designer merchandise is carefully constructed of the finest materials and provides the wearer with a custom fitted, high quality investment garment that is sure to last them a lifetime (providing they don't fluctuate in size). However; these pieces come with a hefty price tag that can soar upwards of hundreds of thousands of dollars, and maintaining a constant body size for the rest of your life is an almost impossible task. Designers of this category include YES, Christian Dior, Christian Laconic, and Viviane Westwood to name a few.So realistically we can admire their designs from afar and wait until the â€Å"trickle down effect† takes over the ready to wear collect ions. Leading the Fashion Way Fashion leaders – the trendsetters, or individuals who are the first to wear new styles, after which the fashion is adopted by the general public. May be high profile people who get media attention. Used to be royalty or the very wealthy, but now they are media celebrities. Theories of FashionMovement Trickle-Down Theory Trickle-Up Theory Trickle-Across Theory Each theory focuses on a different set of fashion leaders Trickle-Down Theory A hypothesis that states the movement of fashion starts at the top with consumers of higher socioeconomic status and moves down to the general public. The oldest and most accepted theory of fashion change Trickle-Up Theory A hypothesis that states the movement of fashion starts with consumers on lower-income levels ad then moves to consumers with higher incomes. Athletic Apparel Style – during the sass and sass Hair Style – â€Å"Beetles†, Punk StyleTrickle-Across Theory A hypothesis stating t hat fashion acceptance begins among several socioeconomic classes at the same time, because there are fashion leaders in all groups. Elements of Design When you describe something you see, you use words that tell about the lines, shapes, colors, textures, and spaces. Line Lines can be horizontal, vertical, dotted, gig-gag, curved, straight, diagonal, bold, or fine. Lines can show direction, lead the eye, outline an object, divide a space, and communicate a feeling or emotion. Shape Shapes are made by connecting lines. Circle, square, triangle, and freedom are words used to identify shapes.Look at the objects around you and describe their basic shapes. Are they one shape, or are they a combination of many shapes? After doing this several times, you will begin to understand what shape really is. Line creates two dimensional or flat shapes. When shapes are three dimensional, we call them forms. A circle is a shape; a ball is a form. A square is a shape; a cube is a form. A drawing is a flat shape; a sculpture is a three-dimensional form. Color Color is described with the words hue, value, and intensity. Hue refers to the name of the color?red or blue, for example. Value tells the lightness or darkness of a hue.Intensity refers to the brightness or dullness of a hue. You can use a color wheel and learn how colors work together. Texture Texture is the surface quality of an item. It's how something feels when touched, or looks like it would feel if touched. Sandpaper is rough. Velvet is smooth. A drawing of a tree stump could show rough outer bark and a smooth inner surface. Search for ways to add texture to your projects. Texture adds variety and interest. Space Space refers to the area that a shape or form occupies. It also refers to the background against which we see the shape or form. Space can be defined as positive and negative.The positive space of a design is the filled space in the design?often it is the shapes that make up the design. Negative space is th e background. The negative space in design is as important as the positive area. Rhythm You have felt rhythm in music. Rhythm is also a part of things you see. It allows the eye to move from one part of a design to another part. Rhythm can be created by: Repeating a color, shape, texture, line, or space when designing. Varying the size of objects, shapes, or lines in sequence (small to large). Using a progression of colors from tints to shades (light blue to dark lull). Ђ Shifting from one hue to a neighboring hue (yellow to yellow-orange to orange to red-orange to red). Principles of Design Some combinations of design elements (line, shape, color, texture, and space) work better than others. Here are some guidelines to help you understand why some combinations work and others do not work as well. These guidelines?rhythm, proportion, emphasis, balance, and unity? are the principles of design. Proportion Proportion refers to the relationship between one part of a design and anoth er part or to the whole design. It is a comparison of sizes, shapes, and quantities.For example, the relationship between the vertical and horizontal measurements of a wall hanging may be pleasing because the unequal lengths produce an interesting contrast. Emphasis Every design needs an accent?a point of interest. Emphasis is the quality that draws your attention to a certain part of a design first. There are several ways to create emphasis: Use a contrasting color. Use a different or unusual line. Make a shape very large or very small. Use a different shape. Use plain background space. Balance Balance gives a feeling of stability. There are three types of balance.Symmetrical, or formal balance, is the simplest kind. An item that is symmetrically balanced is the same on both sides. Our bodies are an example of formal balance. If you draw an imaginary line from your head to your toes dividing your body in half, you will be pretty much the same on both sides. Designs that have a radi al balance have a center point. A tire, pizza, and a daisy flower are all examples of design with radial balance. When you look through a kaleidoscope, everything you see has a radial balance. Asymmetrical balance creates a feeling of equal weight on both sides, even though the sides do not look the same.Asymmetrical designs also are called informal designs because they suggest movement and spontaneity. Asymmetrical balance is the hardest type of balance to achieve and often takes experimenting or moving elements around until balance is achieved. Unity When things look right together, you have created unity or harmony. Lines and shapes that repeat each other show unity (curved lines with curved shapes). Colors that have a common hue are harmonious. Textures that have a similar feel add to unity. But too much uniformity sometimes can be boring. At the same time, too much variety destroys unity.

Electronic Health Records Essay

Introduction Electronic health records (also known as ‘e-notes’) have commonly replaced the conventional paper records used in medical facilities. This discussion describes how electronic health records have provided a solution to a range of health care procedures, have offered cost savings and benefits, and still have greater potential for improvement through future efforts. Overall, this discussion documents the progress and demands for further convenience in regards to electronic health records, presenting concepts, statistics, and recent analyses published by authorities on the topic. Through this, it is evident that electronic health notes still have shortcomings that are commonly noted and targeted, but as they have solved many more problems inherent in previous systems, they are the ideal path for development and improvement in this area. Electronic Health Records Since the development of electronic health records, healthcare managers have been able to reach numerous solutions to previous problems in their systems; this has included improved capacities to record and store the clinical and demographic information patients, the capacity to observe or manage the results of laboratory tests, the capacity to give prescriptions, improved ease of managing billing data, and improved facilitation of analysis for clinical decisions. These improvements reveal the nature of challenges and demands relevant to operations using the previous form of records (paper), with electronic health records being substantially more organized, convenient, and manageable. According to Al-Ubaydli (70), the use of paper records â€Å"had several implications. On the one hand, writing on paper fast and easy, so it fits well with clinical workflow. On the other hand, notes are only useful to the person who reads them, no to the one who writes them. When writing, speed and brevity are essential as there are always more patients to visit and care for. But for the reader, speed means illegible handwriting and brevity means incomplete notes. This leads clinicians to ask patients questions to which the answers already exist in the notes† (Al-Ubaydli 70). Moreover, as the author pointed out, paper is more difficult to transfer or copy, leading to it ultimately becoming easiest to keep the records confined to one central place. With this, they cannot move as easily as the patient, and the chore of copying tended to result in the patients being without a complete set of easily accessible records. Meanwhile, there are substantial space and cost requirements associated with storing paper records. The development of computer hardware, software, and improved data storage techniques eventually led to the development of efficient and effective software capable of storing patient data in secure databases, further allowing all data to be stored in a size-efficient manner that could also be easily transmitted. With the development of the internet, patient files could even be stored and transmitted online, providing an ideal backup for databases while improving the capacity for patients to have complete record sets sent to a range of facilities. The general motivation for creating these electronic health records was to address the problems inherent in the paper records, with the most convenient aspect being the cost-effective nature of storage and transmission; the nature of this being a virtually free cost and nearly instantaneous transmission made the desire and changes especially significant. Moreover, electronic health records would allow users to improve the capacity for users to index, sort, and search through records faster than the time demanded to sort through the paper files manually (Al-Ubaydli 70). An additional benefit is the reduced potential for illegible notes, as the nature of the systems means that all data is entered in using clear computerized text characters. As mentioned, similar to the nature of demands and problems evident in the paper records, there are now demands for improving aspects of the electronic records. However, these problems can be addressed through improved organization, software, and other means that does not demand a drastic change in mediums, as was required to address the problems of the paper records. Al-Ubaydli (71) reported that electronic health records â€Å"must include checks and balances to audit and control access. Second, the user interfaces for adding to the records must become easier to that they fit better into clinical workflow and allow clinicians to do more in less time. Speech recognition continues to improve, and the designers of templates continue to innovate.† The author further points out that similar to the improved search engines of the internet (first challenging and then drastically improved with developments like Google), electronic health records can be similarly improved without restructuring comparable to restructuring paper records. Other researchers have analyzed the nature of electronic health records, further elaborating on the nature of solutions and remaining demands. DeVoe et al. (351) pointed out that the clear and detailed recording of all received and recommended services should be considered the most vital aspect of health records, which is most effectively addressed through electronic records rather than paper records. This further assists with insurance aspects, as the detailed and accurate aspects of recording services can improve coordination with claims and related demands. DeVoe et al. (352) further asserted that electronic health records have the potential to assist researchers and policy makers with overcoming prior restrictions in examining services provided in CHCs. Meanwhile, Hoffman and Podgurski (425) reported on the growth of health care and pharmaceutical costs, frequency of unnecessary medical procedures, evoked healthcare reforms, and critical roles of records in all of these processes. With this, comparative effectiveness research (CER) has commonly been coupled with electronic health records to show that many expensive procedures have had less desirable outcomes for comparable conditions that less expensive ones, pointing out the nature of some health care facilities and physicians. Meanwhile, however, some have argued that CER is likely to lead to limited patient choices, improper rationing of health care, homogenized care, and potentially refusal of needed treatments (Hoffman and Podgurski 425). Congress allocated $1.1 billion to CER through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, which included other aspects of improving and restructuring facilities. Soon it became evident that a unique application of CER could allow physicians to improve their decisions regarding treatment, as when coupled with electronic health records, physicians could conduct computer inquiries across a large database of patient records. Naturally, this would provide a valuable supplement to the patient’s history and literature. Hoffman and Podgurski (425) recommended that software be designed to summarize findings of queries by presenting the most relevant outcomes of patients with the most comparable conditions, while records be developed and stored in a manner which facilitates this. Thus, personalized comparison of treatment effectiveness or PCTE could become a phrase more common than CER in the future. Conclusion Electronic health care records have solved many of the problems that could not be effectively addressed through developments in the paper systems, with major improvements in the capacity to copy and transfer records, cost of storage, and clarity of information. Although this has led to implications for security and excessive copying, databases have been developed to improve the concerns in these areas. Moreover, researchers have proposed additional improvements in development as well as use, with records having the potential to serve as an informal accessible databank, thereby improving understanding and decision making. Works Cited Al-Ubaydli, Mohammad. Personal Health Records: A Guide for Clinicians. John Wiley & Sons: New York, NY, 2011. DeVoe, Jennifer, Rachel Gold, Patti McIntire, Jon Puro, and Susan Chauvie. â€Å"Electronic Health Records vs Medicaid Claims: Completeness of Diabetes Preventive Care Data in Community Health Centers.† Annals of Family Medicine 9.4 (2011): 351-358. Hoffman, Sharona and Andy Podgurski. â€Å"Improving Health Care Outcomes through Personalized Comparisons of Treatment Effectiveness Based on Electronic Health Records.† Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics 39.3 (2011): 425-436.

Pros and Cons in Fox Hunting

In this paper I will discuss the issues surrounding foxhunting. I will mention the pros and the cons and then I will decide if fox hunting should be criminalized. I will begin with the pros. Just a little intro on foxhunting and what it is. In Britain mostly England foxhunting is a popular sport. Hunters set out on horse back following hounds witch are following the scent of foxes. When the hounds find the fox they rip it apart and the hunters watch this happen and then go off to find more foxes. The foxhunters generally wear coats of bright scarlet, called pinks. The members of the club support the hunt, and the Master of Fox Hounds (MFH) usually maintains it. Some of the pro points of fox hunting are, the fox is a pest and its population needs to be controlled. Farmers are concerned and agree with this. Responsible fox management includes maintaining a healthy population at a level, which it can grow without threatening livestock or other wildlife. Fox hunting is the most natural method of management: by its nature it takes out the old sick and injured foxes. Fox hunting does not just help control fox numbers, landowners with an interest in fox hunting plant and maintain coverts, woodlands and copses for the benefit of all wildlife. If it wasn't for fox hunting they would over populate and they would eventually have to be caught and be shot or gassed. Foxes cause significant lamb, piglets, and poultry losses. Scientific estimates vary from 0. 5% to 5. %; even at 2% the cost to a typical farmer with 1500 lambs and piglets is worth over $2200. Without control the percentage would increase considerably. If there was a ban on fox hunting 15,000 people whose jobs directly depended on fox hunting would be out of work, some 14,000 foxhounds would have no future, as these working pack hounds would not make suitable pets. The species is not endangered Now on to the cons of the subject, the official foxhunting season begins on November 1st and continues through April. Some hunts even go into May. Fox cubs are usually born in March, which means that a pregnant and nursing vixen (female fox) are hunted and killed by hounds. Incidents of vixens being killed and unborn cubs being scattered around by the hounds at a kill, these have been recorded on film. There are also several recorded instances of hounds attacking small pet dogs and cats which, although fatally savaged survived the initial attack, further evidence that the hounds do not kill their prey instantly. Generally people see it as a cruel blood sport that should be banned. Many have argued that if fox hunting is banned jobs will be lost, however this is unlikely to happen because labor and other resources associated with fox hunting would be reinvested in other enterprises and activities. Drag and bloodhound hunts represent a cruelty-free alternative to mounted fox hunting. Drag hunting involves riding horses across open country in pursuit of a scent left by a human, either running on foot or trailed on scented â€Å"drag† from a horse. Bloodhound hunts differ from drag hunts in that there are fewer hounds and the hounds chase a human quarry (e. . a local athlete), rather than dragged artificial scent. Because of this few, if any jobs would be lost if the people that were involved in fox hunting chose to participate in either of these activities. A ban would also increase the availability of resources previously used by hunting to other rural business. For example, horse stables could be converted to living accommodation or office space. Overall, it would appear that a ban on fox hunting is unlikely to have any significant negative effect on rural employment. Existing evidence suggests that many jobs will be saved or created by a switch to drag or bloodhound hunting, and by the growth of new activities. Now for my conclusion if fox hunting should be criminalized, both sides have good arguments but I am against foxhunting because there are other methods of getting rid of the fox. From the research I have done I noticed that the hunters don†t just go after the fox because there is too much of them, but they also get a rush out of it. That†s why there are drag hunting and bloodhound hunts. A survey was done by 1000 farmers and they found that support for fox and drag/bloodhound hunting was fairly similar. 56% of farmers would not allow drag/bloodhound hunting on their land, compared to 48% opposed to foxhunting. Based on these findings, the league against cruel sports extrapolated that as many as 60 000 farmers in the UK, covering up to 7. 5 million hectares of land, would allow drag hunts on their land. Jobs would not be lost because the people and the hounds can transfer to drag hunting. I believe that a ban on foxhunting would be beneficial toward the economy and a new era would begin.

Intellectual Property Rights that Would Best Protect the New Idea Coursework

Intellectual Property Rights that Would Best Protect the New Idea - Coursework Example The term Intellectual property is a legal concept that provides exclusive rights to the owners of the property to insure some ‘intangible ‘ objects that are often over looked or taken for granted. Some of them are works of artistic importance, important scientific discoveries, musical and literary assets and so on. Trade secrets, patent, copyrights, trademarks are such examples. If one has to reason the need for these particular rights one can decipher that the intellectual property rights showers some ‘financial incentives’ to the owners of these exclusive property to create something that could be treasured for years to come. In this regard one could cite reference to the Interflora, Inc. & Anr v Marks & Spencer Plc & Anr for using advertising marks patented without approval as well as the case of Dame Vivienne Westwood O.B.E. v Anthony Edward Knight wherein the claimant Dame V Westwood succeeded to claim compensation for violation trademarks and copyright illegally. Some of the key advantages for the Innovation that Akil have made and then we would analyze it special significance and importance in the light of contributing to Intellectual Property rights. First, Akil has good domain knowledge since he has been working in a watch company for quite some time. This mean that he has a thorough understanding of the mechanics of a watch, how it is manufactured, what are the key components, how are the parts intricate together to make the finished products etc. The second key advantage that Akil has is his passion for a particular sport, running. As an enthusiast in sports himself he could readily understand the needs and requirements of a sportsman and how a new innovative gadget can become a ‘must-have’ accessory that could make his life more enjoyable and simple. Every sportsman especially a runner is time-bound and in order to capture the number of leaps and the time taken, a stop watch is an absolute must. The new scientific innovatio n that Akil proposes to make would be a watch which would accommodate all the functions of a stopwatch in sports. Not only this, the new watch, iRunner would be equipped with a MP3 player too. This would indeed unburden the runner to carry a separate MP3 player while engaged in the sport activity. So over all Akil’s innovative watch; iRunner has a good advantage and appeal in the sports market. In order to understand the relevance and significance of Intellectual property rights protection, one need to know the particular subjects that could be termed as intellectual property. The term usually refers to a subject which is the creation of ‘mind or intellect.’ To understand how and in what ways Akil’s new innovative ‘iRunner’ could possibly find ways to be listed amongst the Intellectual Property one needs to understand the basic concept of Intellectual property protection rights i.e. Patent right. The word patent primarily means some privileged rights that are granted for an innovative scientific innovation that successfully caters to render possibly solutions to some needs by providing some ‘technical solution ‘to a concern. This also means that in order to seek for protection for an innovation under patent rights certain obligations has to be fulfilled as legal requirements. The main protection that IP patent rights provide is to protection the owners of the innovation over a limited period of time which is commonly for a period of 20 years. Thus within that time frame the owners of the Intellectual Property is granted protection which is legally sanctioned. To be protected under patent laws attests that the particular innovation could not be made commercially available that means to be sold or distributed elsewhere without any formal consent of the owners of the Intellectual Property. These rights are, primarily protected and enforced by

A Model for the Allocation of Value in Western and Eastern Art Markets Dissertation

A Model for the Allocation of Value in Western and Eastern Art Markets - Dissertation Example In contrast, Western art generally refers to the European style of artwork, and is less culturally diverse than Eastern artwork and draws less on myth. A significant portion of European art, particularly older art, is connected to the Christian religion, with depictions of Jesus, Mary and of angels. Modern Western artwork is often more abstract. The development of prices for artworks by artists in China can be tracked effectively and accurately using the research methodology proposed for both indigenous Chinese artists represented in local markets and also for global or Western artists imported to collections. This allows the determination of how traditional Eastern artwork fares in the Eastern art market compared to how Western artwork performs in the same market. The economical and sociological systems which drive the operation of the contemporary art market in China can be reviewed on a percentage of GDP or on a per capita basis in respect to the Western markets, allowing direct c omparison between the two. This allows it to be determined whether one form of art is traded more frequently or valued more highly in the Eastern market compared to the Western, indicating differences between the markets. 9 The Assignment of Value 13 For any commodity or service, value must be assigned to it in order for it to be bought and sold in the general market. It is not simple to assign value to art, as its worth comes from a wide variety of sources, and is not always predictable. The question of value is fundamental for art as a discipline and as an object. Art is created not simply because of the desire of the artist to create, but also as a method of communication, or through a desire to earn an income. As a consequence, the meaning of the work is important and... This dissertation outlines art as a large part of culture and tradition worldwide, but the definitions and approaches to art can vary significantly depending on the artist as well as the culture that they derive their inspiration from. In particular, artistic inspiration and art form can be divided into two broad categories, Eastern and Western art. These definitions are based on global location of the style and inspiration for the artist, although the artist themselves may not be from this global area. Western art can be defined as art that is created in the styles that are generally accepted in European countries, although it may be created anywhere in the world. Traditionally, Western art consisted primarily of paintings and sculptures, often of religious icons, although there was the development of other artistic styles such as impressionist and abstract art during the history of Western art. Current Western art also includes styles such as modern art, which is often very abstrac t, and performance art. In contrast, Eastern art is often more traditional and takes greater inspiration from local religion, practices, history, myth and legend. When interpreting art from Eastern cultures, it is important not to do so through the lens of Western art history and values, as this presents a risk of cultural imperialism or bias. The consequence of this may be the marginalization of traditional artistic expression, such as art through handicrafts, folk art, or kitsch, which are often not regarded as art from the traditional Western viewpoint.

Operations of Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Operations of Management - Essay Example Management also leads to better organization of resources, resulting in higher output and sales. Apparently, the firm will drift and eventually fail and the business cannot succeed without the much-needed management. The basic roles of management involve planning, organizing, coordinating, commanding and controlling. Management involves taking risks and requires critical decision-making regarding strategic, tactical or operation matters. Operations Management: Operations management is a branch of management which deals with supervising, designing, and redesigning business operations when producing goods and services. Its main purpose is to be as productive efficient as possible by using as little resources needed for the production of goods and services. It is responsible for being effective in meeting customer requirements. The process of converting inputs into outputs comes under operations management. (Borrington, Stimpson. 2006) Operations management helps to increase the substan ce of value-added activities in any process of the business. But for optimal enterprise performance, a business must co-align these value-adding activities with possible marketing opportunity. It is mainly concerned with the technical functions of a business like the development, production and manufacturing of goods and services. ... It has to decide upon the best marketing mix for each and every product and make sure that this is put into effect. It will keep records of the sales of each product/service so that decisions can be made about extensions strategies or taking products off the market. A business will fail without effective marketing. The marketing managers have an important role in meeting customer requirements. Organization: Unilever. Introduction: Unilever is a giant multinational with its headquarters in London, and operating companies in many countries of the world for example Switzerland, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and India, to name a few. It was first established in 1930 when Lever Brothers of UK and Margarine Unie of Netherlands merged. Since then it is providing consumers with the best of hygiene, personal care and nutrition products all over the world. The Marketing Department: In Unilever most of the decisions are made by the Upper Management and they make decisions regarding the market ing of their products like advertising and promotion. It has such a vast size because of the fact that it is a multinational, that organizing is probably the most critical of all functions of its management. It is important that their employees are motivated and inspired to work efficiently and make sure that all departments are working according to their goals and instructions assigned to them. All the progress has to be evaluated to increase the output and results and overcome any conflicts and problems. The role of marketing managers: The marketing manager of all Unilever companies has to perform many interpersonal roles of which, liaison is the most important. He has to act as a leader and an

Reflection On Entrepreneurship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Reflection On Entrepreneurship - Essay Example The situation that was in the offing was a creation of six group members. The aim of the group in implementation of the entrepreneurship experimental learning was to look into all the available social avenues to search for an entrepreneur and have him/her respond to their questionnaire. The main issue about the interview was to try and get knowledge of his ability and how he has managed to succeed in the competitive business world. The method of searching for an entrepreneur was to be open and given the high availability of the social networks, all the group members were hopeful of a useful choice being found. Actions That Were Implemented As stated, the choice of an entrepreneur is not an easy task because in most cases the people who are known are the executives and management teams and individuals. These only take part in the implementation of the procedures but they are usually not part of the original team that initiates the project. The cosmopolitan lived offered a wide variety of choices of entrepreneurs that were to be interviewed. An e-mail was sent to an entrepreneur in the cosmopolitan and it was easy to get through since he responded confirming the acceptance of his time. This opportunity was good because the business was well known to all the town members. The entrepreneur was Mr Oren, the entrepreneur behind the existence of MoYou Organization, a company that is associated with creation and development of beauty products. The arrangement was that there was need to meet over a tea break since as an entrepreneur, time was a paramount issue to him. In view of this, and

Enterprise entrepreneurial management Assignment

Enterprise entrepreneurial management - Assignment Example The business planning process – a critical appraisal The typical business planning process may be actually helpful as it aims to convey objectives and missions of the organization to its employees. But, there are several researchers who argue that the entrepreneur should rely on his experience and intuitions rather than waste time on the business planning process. This is because researchers argue that planning may not be successful in the uncertain conditions surrounding the formation of business (Delmar & Shane 2003). Moreover, each component of the business planning process has its own setbacks. Let us analyze each component and find out in what way a business plan can pose as a hindrance. Generating an idea The basic step of a business planning process is to generate an idea. A new venture has to first ascertain the product or the service which it will provide. Most organizations come out with new ideas for a product or a service depending on the data collected from potent ial and current customers. This kind of customer focused process is solely dependent on the information given by customers. However the response given by these people has limitation with reference to the environment and current experience. Hence there may be a discrepancy in the idea generated (Lilien et al. 2002). This may pose as a severe hindrance for the business plan. Moreover, there are other constraints like generation of funds for the new venture. Many business plans may never be formulated due to limitations in the form of competition, technology, lack of funds etc. Strategic goals and objectives The second step in a business plan is to formulate the strategies or tactics which are to be used in order to attain goals and objectives. Strategies may be short term and long term. These are plans which must be followed in order to attain final objectives. However, the very purpose of strategic planning is defeated in today’s changing environment. Due to the uncertainties in market conditions, entrepreneurs may be more successful if they go by their intuitions and experience, rather than going by previously formulated strategic objectives (Mintzberg 1994). Another problem which is ensued in setting objectives is that most plans are formulated outside the business planning process. Also entrepreneurs need to set realistic and achievable goals. It may be very easy to set strategic objectives but very difficult to implement these objectives to the middle and lower management. Most entrepreneurs do not give attention to the fact that the pre determined goals they are setting may be rigid, extremely rational, bureaucratic and dysfunctional at times. Hence, the formulation of potential strategic objectives may not hold true during the implementation process (Shrader, Taylor & Dalton 1984). This is one reason why the strategic objectives should be flexible and top executives need to change it depending on the changing market situations. Market research and analysis The third step in a business plan is to formulate a market plan which takes into account the market promotion and advertisement

Article Critique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Article Critique - Essay Example According to the article, the effectiveness of the public relations in schools raises the persistence and achievement of students. The achievement of students is influenced by the involvement of parents in school, and the schools that encourage high level of involvement of parents perform better as compared to their counterparts. When parents remain unaware of the behavior of their children in school, they find it difficult to ensure whether their children are performing well in schools. With the involvement of parents in schools, the students feel responsible and the parents are able to keep track of the progress of the students in schools. Thus, an effective balance is created through public relations in schools. The author has used numerous secondary sources in order to add concreteness in the article. The author provides this information in the literature review part of the article and the sources of the information are also provided. Thus, it can be said that the information pro vided in the article can be relied upon and the sources used by the author are authentic. Schools that depends only on teachers are limited to the knowledge base that are brought by the teachers, however schools that utilize public relations and bring people from different aspects of the society in classrooms enrich the knowledge base of students. ... Parents from working-class or lower-class tend to turn over the responsibility for their children’s education to the school completely. The involvement of parents in schools may mobilize and create resources that are not generated otherwise. The resources like the knowledge of local traditions and customs that could be useful to students are held by the community and the faculty at schools may lack this knowledge. Therefore, by using public relations, schools can involve the representatives of the community in the system of education and enrich the education experience of the students. With the involvement in schools, parents would be able to understand what resources are necessary for the improvement of the education of their children thus parents would be able to help the schools in pooling the resources. The close contact of teachers with the families of the students will also help the teachers understand the background of the students and in this manner the teachers will b etter understand the students’ behavior. The article highlights one of the main issues with public relations in schools, that is, the power relations. The minority parents are not involved in the schools therefore they do not have their say with regard to the improvement of the educational system at schools. The opinion of the powerful parents is given more importance therefore their opinion dominates over the opinion of the minority parents. This is one of the problems with the public relations in schools. The article also highlights that schools do not provide opportunities for empowering students in the society. The traditional curriculum focuses mainly on the transmission of knowledge but not on development of the personality of the students. The public relations in schools can be

George W. Bush and Darth Vader Essay Example for Free

George W. Bush and Darth Vader Essay More often than not when comparing two characters, whether one be real and the other fictional, we come up with both similarities and differences between them. Seldom however do these similarities and differences between a fictional character and a person from the real world become so glaring that such comparison consequentially provide a substantial realization. One of such seldom case is the comparison of George W. Bush and Darth Vader. This paper will venture on comparing both characters and at the end provide a realization of such comparison. The two mentioned personalities need no introduction hearing these names will immediately give us an image of them in our heads. George W. Bush is the current president of the United States. Darth Vader on the other hand is the popular character in the Star Wars movies. On first instance it may seem that a comparison between these two personalities is absurd. This paper however will show us that such comparison is not without realization. It is submitted that on rare occasions seemingly trivial things such as comparison of Bush and Vader can in fact provide us with a realization far better than any other concept we have. To outline this paper will proceed on first stressing the similarities of both characters, then proceed with its differences and eventually state the realizations made through the conclusion Their Similarities Leaders The most obvious similarity between Vader and Bush is that they are both leaders. Leaders in their own respect Bush lead a nation and Vader leads an army. More worth noting in this similarity is not only the fact that both are leaders but the fact that both have the same way of leading. Vader and Bush exercise an attitude of strength in leadership that they do not think of casualties they however have the end in mind. Like the war in Iraq started by George W. Bush he was fearless in proceeding with such war even if he knew what it would cost. His ratings of popularity went down and the economy of his nation went down with it. Whenever one comes to war inevitably lives are put on the line. Bush was not hesitant in outing young military soldier’s lives on the line in order for him to achieve his goal and win his war on Iraq. The same ideology is shared by Darth Vader. Darth Vader always has a goal or a mission to accomplish. The ruthless use of his army to achieve his directives are clearly gleaned within his personality. In this type of leading we find the similarity between George W. Bush and Darth Vader. They both seem to share the ideology that making sacrifices in order to achieve a goal is necessary. They also have utter disregard for the cost and the consequences as long as they achieve this goal this is their way of leading. This is the kind of leading we see in the Star Wars Movies by Darth Vader and the kind of leading we see in America by George W. Bush. It is therefore submitted that because they have the same kind of ideology of leadership the result of their leadership hypothetically are the same. The end of Darth Vader has already been seen this type of leadership resulted in failure. The present administration of Bush has not yet ended but the seeming similarity of leadership ideology with Darth Vader can provide us with a reasonable conclusion that the administration of Bush will end in failure. The Saga Journal as proof of Vader’s leadership provides: â€Å"George Lucas has succeeded in creating one of the greatest cautionary tales for the aspiring leader in his portrayal of Darth Vader’s devastating reign of terror. Darth Vader embodies traits that make most contemporary leadership scholars cringe. † (Cited in: Michelle Drum, The Saga Journal) Perceived as Villains Another similarity between these two personalities is that many of us perceive them as villains. Villains in their own right majority of the people see both George W. Bush and Darth Vader as villains. Darth Vader very much like George W. Bush were not always perceived as Villains. They were first considered as heroes. George W. Bush could not have been president if the people did not think of him as a hero. He won the election two times. This is only proof that before George W. Bush was perceived as a villain he was considered as a hero. The same is true for Darth Vader. Darth Vader was not immediately Darth Vader before his transition to such character. He was the young and promising Anakin Skywalker his views were moral and he had a good sense of justice. This however changed because of the circumstances as provided in the movie. This only means that sometimes the famous quote in the batman movie might be true sometimes we see ourselves a hero long enough to become the villain. This is the similar circumstance of both Bush and Vader. In one of the articles of the National News it provided the perception of Bush being a villain as it said: â€Å"According to an Associated Press-AOL News poll, President Bush is both the number one villain and the number one hero of 2006. † (cited in: Two Sided Coin for Bush: Villain and Hero By Cathy Gill) Powerful The final similarity this paper will provide from all the similarities of these two characters is their power. There is no doubt that both George W. Bush and Darth Vader are very much powerful in every sense of the word. George W. Bush being the President of the United States of America and Darth Vader being the leader of the imperial army. Vader being perceived as powerful in an article in USA Today as it said â€Å"Not only is Vader powerful, hes sexy, says David Prowse, who appears as Vader in the first three films and has made thousands of appearances as Vader in costume. † (Cited in: Breathing Life into Vader by Mike Snider) Their Differences Their Rise to Power Though it is granted that both George Bush and Darth Vader are powerful they however differ in the manner of their rise to power. Darth Vader used pure brute force in order to be the leader of the imperial army. He had to lean to the dark side in order to achieve this goal. George Bush on the other hand rose into power through the mandate of the American people. Bush rose into power because of his will and the will of the people. Darth Vader on the other hand had to search and conquer this power by himself. This difference in their rise of power gives us an insight on how they held this power. Darth Vader could hold his power until he wished to abandon it. Bush on the other hand is bound by the limits of mandate given to him. He can only have the power of being a chief executive according to the period of time given to him. This gives us an insight on why Bush tries his best to stay in power while Vader needlessly and calmly enjoys his power. This is because Vader’s power is not bound by any limits. Vader Quick on His Feet, Bush Not so Much Darth Vader even as a youngster known to be Anakin Skywalker has always been quick on his feet. His reflexes during his time were comparable to no one. Bush on the other hand has admitted that he might not be as quick on his feet than most people. This is reflected on the way Darth Vader and President Bush makes decisions. Darth Vader is ruthless and quick on making decisions. President Bush has apparently a considerable amount of thinking time before he can make a decision. This spells a very different effect of their leadership. Darth Vader being quick on his feet can easily command his subordinates and they follow him without question. The delay on the decision making however of President Bush spells a different story because of such his subordinates may not follow him right away and might even question his decisions. Bush Democracy, Vader Dictatorship The most important difference between these two personalities however lie in the fact that Bush leads through a democratic structure while Vader in every sense of the word is a dictator. This brings us to the question which kind of structure is more effective is it the democratic structure or the dictatorship? Dictatorship brings obedience, order and an unquestionable authority. Democracy however gives freedom for every individual. It is submitted that both structures have their advantages and disadvantages. It is further submitted however that ruling a democratic structure like the task of President Bush is much more difficult than ruling in a dictatorship like Darth Vader. In an article in the LA Times President Bush advocated this democracy as the article said: â€Å"President Bush made good Thursday on his inaugural vow to push for democracy around the world. † (Cited in: Bush Democracy Vows May Take Time to Bear Fruit by: Sonni Efron) Conclusion The similarities and the differences between the two personalities having been discussed we now proceed to the realizations this paper has to offer. George Bush and Darth Vader are two very different personalities. In fact one lives in the real world while one finds existence in a fictional movie. They are both leaders, they are both powerful and they are both perceived by many as leaders. On the other hand they differ on their rise to power, quickness in decisions and the structure where they lead. The most important thing we have to realize out of this comparison is the simple fact that Darth Vader’s story has already been told while George Bush’s story is still unraveling. This only means that we can learn from what happened to Darth Vader and necessarily imbue it with the unraveling of the story of George Bush. This will give us a reasonable conclusion on how George Bush’s story will end. The relevance of knowing how George Bush’s story will end is that if we are aware of the end then we can prepare for this end that we foresee. Works Cited †¢ Michelle Drum, The Saga Journal †¢ Two Sided Coin for Bush: Villain and Hero By Cathy Gill, December 29, 2006 †¢ Breathing Life into Vader by Mike Snider, April 22, 2005 †¢ Bush Democracy Vows May Take Time to Bear Fruit by: Sonni Efron, February 25, 2005

Information Technology and Animation

Information Technology and Animation Introduction: Information technology (IT) plays a key role in creating knowledge [1] and supporting management towards decision making[2] and Visualization tools are computer applications that produce graphical representations that aid decision making. Visualization tools are used in IT based decision support systems (DSS) like the simple spreadsheets to complex computer-based systems like business intelligence system, enterprise resource management and reporting system, knowledge management systems, and expert systems; to help decision makers to solve structured ,unstructured and semi structured problems. In the digital era, decision makers have access to large amount of digital data which can be used by visual analytics software to support decision making. Well structured problem has clear path to solution but for solving ill structured problem, external representation of the data and the problem can reduce the effort in reaching an accurate solution[3]. Chief economist of Google Inc predicts th at need for data visualization will be growing rapidly in the next few years. He writes. â€Å"the ability to take data—to be able to understand it, to process it, to extract value from it, to visualize it, to communicate it—that’s going to be a hugely important skill in the next decade. because now we really do have essentially free and ubiquitous data. So the complimentary scarce factor is the ability to understand that data and extract value from it†¦ Managers need to be able to access and understand the data themselves [4]. Independent researchers have predicted high future demand for visualization tools. Gartners research reports that in spite of global recession businesses are interested in investing in business intelligence (BI) platforms that are expanding their capabilities towards advanced data visualization, scorecards and interactive dashboards. It predicts BI market’s compound annual growth rate (CAGR) through 2012 to be 7.0% for stand-alone BI platforms ([5]. Review of the literature on computer graphics as decision aid reports that the format in which data is presented to decision makers is critical to provide information for making decision[6]. As per the dual coding theory, cognition consists of two sub systems: Visual and Verbal[7-9]. The theory specifies that when information is represented visually, the recall is easier and the human brain can process changes in shape, color and motion parallely. As per the Central Capacity theory humans have limited working memory [10] and visualization of data (e.g. chart, diagram, graph) activates the visual component of the short-term working memory (visual working memory) to hold the visual objects for immediate attention. Both the theory recommend visual data representation to provide information to the users for making decisions as visual information is easier to store and recall. Visualization aids in perceptual information processing to identify exceptions, trends, patterns, relationship in the data (clusters, associations, causality etc), detect outliers and to summarize data perceptually [11]. Many complex business decision making need insight and insight is a sudden discovery of a solution to a problem which results in a subjectively catastrophic experience[12]. As competition in the knowledge economy gets fiercer, organizations are constantly trying to get new insights to gain competitive advantage. Effective visualization tools acts as external aids that supports thinking and building insight by providing graphs that represent information primarily through position, shape, color, size, location, movement and symbols, and that viewers decode that information by taking it in, organizing it, analyzing it and detecting patterns and structures perceptually[13]. Human brain is a powerful pattern-finding engine and effective graph make behavioral patterns, tem poral trends, correlations, clusters, gaps, and outliers visible in seconds and data graphics should amplify cognition and complement what humans do well[14]. Effective visualization tools are of great importance in supporting decision making as it amplifies cognition, perceptual information processing and facilitates knowledge generation. When visualization tools are inadequate decision making performance is impaired. A review of literature on computer graphics as decision aids has demonstrated that decision performance is effected by information presentation format[6]. Compared to static graph (SG) , Dynamic Graph (DG) facilitates in faster retrieval and recall of information [15, 16], information comprehension [16] required for decision making. One author writes â€Å"If learners are in control of the speed of animation and can view and review, stop and start, zoom in and out, and change orientation of parts and wholes of the animation at will, then the problems of veridical perception can be alleviated† [17]. However the use of dynamic interactive graph has increased in business decision making, its impact on decision making has not been explored extensively in the IS field. Both the IS literature and Accounting literature has emphasized the need for studying the role of presentation format in the efficiency and effectiveness of decision-makers’ decision quality in order to provid e empirical evidence on the effect of presentation format on decision quality [18] [19]. Previous research so far in the IS domain has extensively studied 2D, 3D graph, combining 2D-3D graph and animation with low data volume that are easily comprehensible in tables or graph. Gaining insight from high volume of business data can be challenging because the high density of the data makes it difficult to view all the data at once. On a typical computer screen the high volume data cannot be seen at once, the data has to be sliced to visually represent it on screen. A study done on functional mechanisms of online product presentation and its effect on online shopping reported that interactivity of product presentations is a design feature that influence (1) the efficacy of the presentations; (2) consumers’ perceptions of the diagnosticity of websites, their perceptions of the compatibility between online shopping and physical shopping, and their shopping enjoyment derived from a particular online shopping experience jointly influence consumers’ attitudes toward shopping at a website; and (3) both consumers’ attitudes toward products and their attitudes toward shopping at a website contribute to their intentions to purchase the products displayed on the website[20].Thus Interactive display has a positive influence on decision making thus the first objective of this study is extend the work done in the past by studying whether the use of display which has bother interactivity and is dynamic impacts decision making, including reducing information overload when dealing with high volume of data. While indicating a positive l effect from the use of DID, on the basis of the theory of Cognitive Fit, which identifies that better performance results when the external representation corresponds to the nature of the task to be accomplished [21] this study argues that it is most effective when the qualities of the display corresponds to the salient features of the task. On Time is also an important component of information load[21] where informa tion load is the volume of the data to be processed over the unit of time available for the task. The second objective of this study is to examine weather and how the effect of visualization tools on decision taking may be contingent on the time constraints- available time available for information processing. A prior study on 2D graph Vs table to examine the joints effects of presentation format and color on decision accuracy and efficiency under different time constraints [22] concluded that under low time constraints (15 min), tabular reports are better for accurate decision making and 2D graphs are better for faster processing. The combination of Table and graph were better than graph alone for decision accuracy. Under High time constraint (5 min)s color coding led to improved decision making. Decision makers are sometimes pressed for time which can result in information overload, which is the point at which information processing demands exceed the information processing capacity of the individual. This study investigates the moderating effect of time constraints on DID effe ctiveness on decision making in terms of the quality of the decision that the decision makers are able to make. This study uses the term High Time constraint (HTC) task to characterize the task that needs to completed in an environment when the decision makers are under time pressure and to distinguish it from Low time constraint (LTC) task where the decision makers are not under any time pressure to complete the decision making task. Next section contains the review of past work on DID and decision making done to arrive at the hypothesis on the overall impact of DID on decision making. The subsequent section presents a review of the previous litreature on the theory of Cognitive Fit which provides the foundation for our theories on the relationship between different task types and DID. Then the different task types with time constraints is explained along with the prediction about the moderating effects of task type on decision making. The research method for the proposed research is explained including the measurement of independent and dependent variables and the experimental design. Finally this paper concludes with the significance of this proposed study to both researchers and practioners. Theory and Hypothesis. The research model developed for this proposed study is shown in figure 1. The figure illustrates that DID enhances decision making. The effect of DID is more pronounced when the task is less time critical where the decision makers are not pressed for time and the effect of DID is limited when the task is time critical. The hypotheses supported by theory are developed below. Dynamic Interactive Display Businesses today are commonly using Dashboards, which is a combination of visualization tools that provide summarized and details reports of current status and alerts and creates situational awareness. The array of visualization tools that available today includes Tree Maps, [23], Node-Link diagram /Network diagram[24], Parallel coordinate Graph [25], Spark lines- Integrates text, and chart [26],Motion chart[27]. The present study focuses on visualization tools that provide dynamic and interactive display (DID) because in the recent time there has been staggering advances in visualization tools that are interactive and dynamic to support taking decisions and solving information-intensive problems in business. The DID chosen for this study is Google’s Motion Chart, which is a flash based visualization tool that delivers dynamic chart with high level of interactivity for multidimensional data[28]. Motion charts are dynamic. The graph is said to dynamic when the graph consists of series of single frames, each showing incremental changes in the position, brightness, shape, color of the variables; shown in a sequence which give the illusion of movement[29, 30]. Graph Dynamism consist of two types of change : position or form [31, 32]. Translation change refers to change in position (from one location to another) and transformation change refers to the change in form ( in size, shape, color, brightness)[33]. Motion chart reflect both translation change and transformation change. It is dynamic as it has several indicators which show incremental change in color, location and shape over time. Graphical excellence consists of complex ideas communicated with clarity, precision and efficiency and are accurately perceived [14]. Animations are often not clear and complex or efficient ( too fast) to be accurately perceived and judicious use of interactivity may overcome this disadvantage [17]. Motion Chart provide high level of interactivity (i.e., the extent to which users can manipulate and transform the form and content of the graph in real time[34]. Interactivity is achieved when the users can control the speed of animation and can view and review, stop and start, can transform (change the way representation is rendered, such as zooming, panning or resizing), or manipulate (control the parameters during the process of image generation, i.e. filtering, visually encoding the variables based on color, shape). Decision Making Previous study on online shopping website has indicated that dynamic , interactive presentation of information has a positive effect on the shopping decisions ( intend to purchase, revisit the shopping website) of the consumers [20]. Decision making includes problem solving[2]. Problem solving involves mentally working to overcome obstacles that stand in reaching a goal and arriving at the solution to the problem involves identifying the problem, defining and representing the problem, formulating the strategy , organizing and reorganizing information, allocating resources, monitoring and evaluation[3]. Prior research has indicated that (1) task type, (2) individual characteristics, and (3) information presentation format have effects on cognitive processing for making decisions [6]. Decision accuracy, problem comprehension and satisfaction will be used to measure decision making performance. Decision accuracy is probably the most commonly used criterion for measuring decision making performance [22, 35-48]. It is suggested that compared to DG, Dynamic Interactive Graph should facilitate performance [49]. Therefore, this study proposes that DID can enable decision makers to be more accurate when evaluating high volume of data than Dynamic Display. H1. Compared to Dynamic Display, DID increases users Decision Accuracy Research in the Management field has not examined different types of visuals and its effect on graph comprehension in detail[6]. The effect of x-y and y-z relationship encoding on the time to comprehend information was studied with respect to2D and 3D line graph [50]. As per Pinker’s theory of Graph Comprehension[51], different types of display are suited for extracting different classes of information, primarily because of two contrasting types of encoding mechanisms governing the graph comprehension process: (1) automatic conceptual message lookup processes and bottom up processing, and (2) inferential and top-down encoding processes. Simplified Flow diagram of the graph comprehension process is shown in Figure 2. Automatic conceptual message lookup is the acquisition of information using the bottom-up encoding processes where the required information is obtained from the graph easily from the graph by means of salient cues. For example the theory indicated that that trend in a line graph is encoded via the bottom-up encoding processes because the human eye can automatically extract the change perceptually. On the contrary, information that are encoded via the inferential and top-down encoding process , needs execution of deliberate and capacity-limited computations that requires effort and use of both short-term and long-term memory processing. Fulfilling comprehension tasks, such as making inferences and drawing conclusions about the data in the graph and selecting and organizing the information from the graph, requires integration of the retrieved and encoded new information. This study proposes that more scan and search operations are needed to visually locate and organize the new informa tion represented in the dynamic graph for both conceptual message lookup process and inferential process. The DID possesses interactivity and hence retrieving the information from the graph will be easier for the users by manipulating the data using overview, zoom, filter features of the display. Therefore, in response to the comprehension task, DID will be better than dynamic display. H2a. Compared to Dynamic Display, DID increases users graph comprehension for automatic conceptual message lookup process H2b Compared to Dynamic Display, DID increases users graph comprehension for inferential and top-down encoding process Next from the perspective of affective dimension, users form positive, neutral or negative attitude towards the perceived usefulness of the visualization tool in decision making. The study predicts that DID with interactivity and dynamic display of the multi dimensional data affects decision maker’s attitude regarding perceived usefulness of the tool more significantly in favor of the tool than dynamic graph. H3 Users attitude towards the perceived usefulness of the DID display differ from their attitude towards the perceived usefulness of the dynamic display. Theory of Cognitive Fit and Time constraints The theory of Cognitive Fit suggest that a match between External representation and users’ tasks is important for the realization of positive results from the display format [52]. While DID generally influences decision making, the degree to which DID affects decision making varies contingent upon the task types being examined. Decision makers may be faced with different types of tasks. Tasks for Problem solving can be retrieval, Communication of facts, Comparison of alternatives, Trend analysis, Recognition and recall, Problem finding, Problem comprehension and Problem solving[36]. When time in money decision makers have to make decisions fast and thus decision task can be time critical. In prior studies terms ‘‘time pressure’’ and ‘‘time constraint’’ are most commonly used interchangeably [53]. Prior research so far has not investigated the time-constraint tasks that are best supported by DID. For this study High Time Cons traint (HTC) tasks are those that force the decision makers to perform under high time pressure. It is different from Low time-constraint (LTC) task for which the decision makers are not under any time pressure to perform. These types of task types moderate the degree to which DDI affects decision making. Research suggests for HTC task , decision makers accelerated their processing, are more selective in processing and instead of evaluating one alternative at a time (depth based) the decision makers concentrate on attribute based ( breadth wide) pattern of processing[54]. Dynamic Interactive display (DID) have features that lets the users manipulate the data and retrieve details on demand but DID are complex because it provides access to several layers of data which the users can slice and dice. Therefore when DID is used with HTC task , decision makers are unable to accelerate processing as the complexity of the graph makes the users experience information overload , which affects their performance negatively. However when DID is applied to LTC task, then the interactivity is useful because access to several layers of information and availability of time lets the decision makers process information in depth. Thus DID for HTC task does not contribute as much to decision making accuracy, problem comprehension and perceived usefulness as it does for LTC task. H4. Increases in Decision accuracy, effected by DID, are more significant for LTC task than HTC task. H5a. Increases in users graph comprehension for automatic conceptual message lookup process, effected by DID, are more significant for LTC task than HTC task. H5b. Increases in graph comprehension for inferential and top-down encoding process, effected by DID, are more significant for LTC task than HTC task. H6. The impacts of DID on perceived usefulness towards decision making are more significant for LTC task than HTC task. Research Method The proposed study will employ a controlled laboratory experiment to empirically test the effects of DID on Decision making and the moderating effect of time-dependent task types to achieve a high degree of internal validity [55]. To simulate experimental display close to real experiences and to increase the generalizability of the findings, instead of developing a prototype of DID , we selected Motion Chart owned by Google Inc for the visualization tool to produce DID . Motion chart is a commercial product used in business. Experimental Design For this proposed study a within-subject factor along with a between-subject factor, 2X2 factorial design will be used. The within-subject factor, Display format, will have two levels: DID and Dynamic Graph. The between-subject factor, Task Type will have two levels: HTC and LTC (Refer fig 2). The within-subject design for the presentation format will enable control over individual differences like spatial ability[56], cognitive style, comprehension abilities, which could confound the results [6] and also economize on the number of participants required for this study. Fig 2 2X2 Factorial Design Because display format was a within-subject factor, different task type were employed for each display format. The different task will have the same difficulty level so that this study can control for difference in task difficulty to have an effect on decision performance. Different task will control for the learning effect that could happen by repeatedly making the same type of decision with same task using different display format under different time dependent task. The participants might not use the interactive features provided in the DID even though it is provided to them. To control for that, the task assigned to DID will require manipulation of the data to arrive at the correct solution and the participants with the correct result will be rewarded with Bonus gift certificate to motivate them to use the interactive features of DID to arrive at the optimum result. Prior use and practice with a display format has an effect on performance [57] hence to control for that this study will allow participants to have experience with the visualization tool by giving them a brief 15 mins hands on training with the product. As discussed earlier this study uses the term First, the pretest will be conducted with a pilot group that will be demographically similar to the experiment participants to determine the average time required by the subject to reach the optimum solution. Based on this average time the two limits will be chosen to arrive at the High time constraint and low time constraint condition. HTC task is a financial decision making task that will be given to the subjects which involve both bottom up encoding and inferential processing under the High Time constraint in an environment when the decision makers are under time pressure. When there is insufficient time to complete a task, decision performance becomes unpredictable[58] and to control for that the subjects in the HTC treatment will be given a time limit which will be close to the average time required to reach the optimum solution so that they get sufficient time. Low time constraint (LTC) task is a different financial decision making task that will be given to the subjects which involves both bottom up encoding and inferential processing where the decision makers are not under any time pressure to complete the decision making task. Half of the participants were assigned to Dynamic graph with HCT task and DID with LCT task and the other half in reverse order. Participants were assigned randomly to each condition to reduce potential extraneous effects in the experiment. Participants For the main experiment the participation will be voluntary and the subjects will be selected from the pool of graduate and undergraduate students taking courses in finance, economics or business in a large university. To motivate the subjects to participate in this study they will be offered gift certificates. to encourage their participation in the experiment. The participants will have to fill out a standard form about their demographics, if they have experience with Motion charts, number of years at the university. For the results to have external validity, this study proposes to conduct the experiment with handful of executives from the industry who are entrusted with the task of decision making to increase the generalizability of results. Measurements The study will use the decision accuracy to measure the decision quality of the decision making performance. As discussed earlier this is a common measure used to measure decision making performance. To measure the problem comprehension this study will employ a validated comprehension study which has been used in prior studies on effects of information formats [59, 60]. To measure perceived usefulness of the display this study will use the validated survey used in prior studies to predict system usage [61]. Data Analysis Cronbach’s Alpha will be used to assess the reliability of the constructs. A repeated measure ANOVA will be run to analyze the effects of information display on decision making. Separate t-test will be conducted to compare the mean difference between DID and dynamic display for each of the task type to examine the nature of interaction effects. Significance of this Research The proposed study can contribute to both theory and practice. By a controlled laboratory experiment , it will empirically test the impact of Dynamic Interactive Display (DID) in decision making performance for high volume of data. Although DID today are available in a number of areas like accounting and finance (Electronic financial statements using XBRL eXtensible Business Reporting Language), geography (E.g. Active Maps), education (E.g. web based active textbook with animated interactive figures), medicine (E.g. Medical imaging), architecture (Floor plan, building plan) but the review of the literature suggests that the impact of DID has not been explored intensively in the IS field. This proposed study aims to provide empirical test of the theory of Cognitive Fit, in supporting that the impact of IT is limited which is contingent on whether a particular IT application, such as DID, is a good match with the requirement of processing high volume of data to complete a given task. The current study provides useful guidelines for design and use of dense, interactive visualizations towards effective business decision making. If Business want to want to improve decision making performance with high volume of data they can do it with DID. However, because there are so many visualization tools available for use that it is difficult to select the one that is useful for decision making under different time pressure. This proposed study will provide guideline for the usefulness of use DID for HTC and LTC task. These suggestions might help the decision makers and Visualization tool to enjoy the benefits of DID for the appropriate time-dependent task. The proposed study in crucial to understand whether DID has positive effects on decision making and if yes then under what conditions. Interaction can becomes become a powerful tool where users need to filter and zoom on subset of data. There might be information overload and the users might feel lost in the data. There can be added cost in giving access to several levels of data. We also need to understand if providing interactive display is appropriate for tasks which need to be completed under high time pressure and requires processing of high volume of data. This proposed study attempts to imply that DID might not be usable for all decision making context and it is important to understand when it is the most appropriate and use it accordingly to support decision making. References: 1. Shneiderman, B., Creating creativity: user interfaces for supporting innovation. ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (TOCHI), 2000. 7(1): p. 114-138. 2. Todd, P. and I. Benbasat, The impact of information technology on decision making: A cognitive perspective. Framing the domains of IT management—Projecting the future through the past, 2000. 3. Yahaya, A., Problem Solving. unspecified. 4. DeSanctis, G., COMPUTER GRAPHICS AS DECISION AIDS: DIRECTIONS FOR RESEARCH*. Decision Sciences, 1984. 15(4): p. 463-487. 5. Paivio, A., Dual coding theory: Retrospect and current status. Canadian Journal of psychology, 1991. 45(3): p. 255-287. 6. Sadoski, M. and A. Paivio, Imagery and text: A dual coding theory of reading and writing. 2001: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 7. Paivio, A., Mental representations. 1986: Clarendon Press Oxford [Oxfordshire. 8. Kahneman, D., Attention and effort. 1973: Prentice-Hall Englewood Cliffs, NJ. 9. Carpenter, P. and P. Shah, A model of the perce ptual and conceptual processes in graph comprehension. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY APPLIED, 1998. 4: p. 75-100. 10. Weisberg, R., Metacognition and insight during problem solving: Comment on Metcalfe. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 1992. 18(2): p. 426-431. 11. Cleveland, W. and R. McGill, Graphical perception: Theory, experimentation, and application to the development of graphical methods. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 1984: p. 531-554. 12. Tufte, E., The visual display of quantitative information. 1983. Envisioning information, 1990. 13. Rieber, L. and M. Boyce, The effects of computer animation on adult learning and retrieval tasks. Journal of Computer Based Instruction, 1990. 17(2): p. 46-52. 14. Morrison, J. and D. Vogel, The impacts of presentation visuals on persuasion. Information Management, 1998. 33(3): p. 125-135. 15. Tversky, B., J. Morrison, and M. Betrancourt, Animation: can it facilitate? International J ournal of Human Computer Studies, 2002. 57(4): p. 247-262. 16. Abdolmohammadi, M., J. Harris, and K. Smith, Government financial reporting on the Internet: The potential revolutionary effects of XBRL. Journal of Government Financial Management, 2002. 51(2): p. 24-31. 17. Debreceny, R. and G. Gray, The production and use of semantically rich accounting reports on the Internet: XML and XBRL. International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, 2001. 2(1): p. 47-74. 18. Vessey, I. and D. Galletta, Cognitive fit: An empirical study of information acquisition. Information Systems Research, 1991. 2(1): p. 63. 19. Eppler, M. and J. Mengis, The concept of information overload: A review of literature from organization science, accounting, marketing, MIS, and related disciplines. The Information Society, 2004. 20(5): p. 325-344. 20. Shneiderman, B., Tree visualization with tree-maps: 2-d space-filling approach. ACM Transactions on graphics (TOG), 1992. 11(1): p. 92-99. 21. Atallah, G., et al., Next Generation Network Management Technology. 1994. 22. Inselberg, A., et al. Parallel coordinates: a tool for visualizing multi-dimensionalgeometry. 1990. 23. Tufte, E., Sparklines: Intense, Simple, Word-sized Graphics. 2004, May. 24. Rosling, H., A. Rosling-Ronnlund, and O. Rosling. New software brings statistics beyond the eye. 25. Roncarelli, R., The Computer animation dictionary. 1989: Springer New York. 26. Sundberg, P., Animation in CALL: Learning to think in the fourth dimension. Paper Presentation CALICO, 1998. 98. 27. Lowe, R., Selectivity in diagrams: Reading beyond the lines. Educational Psychology, 1994. 14(4): p. 467-491. 28. Lowe, R., Animation and learning: selective processing of information in dynamic graphics. Learning and Instruction, 2003. 13(2): p. 157-176. 29. Lowe, R., Extracting information from an animation during complex visual processing. European Journal of the Psychology of Education, 1999. 14: p. 225-244. 30. Kiousis, S., Interactivity: A concep t explication. new media society, 2002. 4(3): p. 355. 31. Jiang, Z. and I. Benbasat, Research Note Investigating the Influence of the Functional Mechanisms of Online Product Presentations. Information Systems Research, 2007. 18(4): p. 454. 32. 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Defining And Understanding Discrimination Philosophy Essay

Defining And Understanding Discrimination Philosophy Essay Some forms of discrimination are unlawful under the act of law and some examples include Title VII of the Civil Rights Act as well as the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. But does it mean that acts of discrimination prohibited under the law are unethical and those that are not prohibited are ethical? If it is asymmetrical, where do we draw the line between acceptable and unacceptable discrimination, and whether or not it is ethical? To answer these doubts, the various principles and rules of Mills, Kant, Rawls, Aristotle, Confucius and Nozick will be explored and applied. Consequently, a stand on whether each of them is for or against discrimination of working mothers will be reached. Discrimination is no longer confined to the minorities. Gender discrimination in the workplace refers to situations in which an employer treats an individual or group of employees differently, based on their gender. This form of discrimination is chosen because such discrimination is a prevalent issue given that 66 million, which makes up 46.8 percent of the total U.S. labour force, comprises of women.  [ii]  Further, workplace discrimination may occur at any or all of these stages  [iii]   hiring, screening, promotion, compensation and discharge.  [iv]  In particular, discrimination against working mothers will be the focus. Utilitarianism is based on consequences and outcomes where the greatest happiness principle is used to determine the morality of ones actions. Utilitarianism can be broken down into Act Utilitarianism and Rule Utilitarianism. Act Utilitarianism Under Act Utilitarianism, the decision is based on the consequences of a particular act and the case Denise Batt vs Palmece Ltd, t/a Comfort Inn, will be used. From the companys perspective, one of the reasons for its act of discrimination was that they needed a manager on the premise five days a week. However, when Denise went on sick leave for 3 months and a further 3 month on part time basis due to a burst appendix, no problems arose during the arrangements since there were reliable management systems in place. Hence, Denises absence during her maternity leave would not have caused much of a disruption to the company. In fact, it was when the company promoted her replacement to the position Denise was holding, that caused confusion among the staff. Further, by discriminating, the company lost a competent employee which is evident from Denises consistently good performance, her being held as a role model of good practice as well as the hotel which she managed winning hotel of the y ear within the group. In addition, the company departed from their normal procedures of job applications and this may result in them not selecting the most suitable candidate for the job. Further, as a result of the discrimination, the company had to compensate Denise. As such, there does not seem to be much pleasures arising from the discrimination. To determine the general happiness, the company has to take into account the happiness and pain of other parties and this includes Denises pleasures and pains. The pain Denise may have suffered as a consequence of discrimination include the loss of self-development opportunity, skills turning obsolete and deterioration of health while being able to focus her attention to care and nurture her children without the distractions of work would constitute the pleasure. In Denises case, the stress from such discrimination contributed to health problems. Further, the fact that she fought hard to keep her job by compromising and offering to work part-time showed that the job is of great importance to her. Also, she has been excelling at work and it is likely that she derives satisfaction from such achievements and consequently, higher pleasures. Hence, the pains of losing her job due to discrimination are likely to outweigh the pleasures. Taking into account the overall pains and pleasures of the company and Denise, under Act Utilitarianism, the decision will be against discrimination since it does not provide greatest overall happiness. (change company to name) Rule Utilitarianism Although a decision is reached under act utilitarianism, there is still a need to consider the big picture using Rule Utilitarianism to determine the long-term economic and societal impacts of discrimination. Firstly, the economic implications of discrimination on a corporation are determined. Discrimination against working mothers will not only affect the work attitude of working mothers but women in general. This is because for the majority of women, going through pregnancy and childbirth is a natural cycle and hence, they take such discrimination seriously because they will be the ones affected at a certain point in the future. This will lead to a loss of morale amongst women which negatively affects loyalty and efficiency. Further, discrimination lead to a loss of productivity since the competencies of mothers like Denise are not maximised. In a finding, it is shown that an increase in gender wage gap leads to a decrease in income per capital.  [v]  As such, discrimination has _____ economic implications on corporations. Further, the corporation may also expose itself to unnecessary law suits resulting in reputation loss which may further reduce its future profitability. Hence, wh en the corporation evaluates employees based on merits, it is most efficient way because they have the appropriate skills, competencies and knowledge and thus, promote productivity.  [vi]  which promote welfare. society, such overall goods and benefits would be extended to society leading to the progress of improvement of society.> substantiation (welfare promoted). On the other hand, there is no doubt that qualifications, skills and competencies are arguably the most important criteria for employee selection. However, as globalisations impact and effect becomes widespread, the importance and significance of cultural and social diversity is elevated. Such diversity leads to the injection of new and innovative ideas which is crucial in the ever-changing and fast-paced society. The benefits of diversity are evident in the study Impact of Diversity on Students: A Preliminary Review of the Research Literature where diversity was increasingly related to satisfaction, academic success, and cognitive development of all students.  [vii]  Hence, such beneficial effects are likely to spill-over to corporations when such students enter the workforce and improve company performance. Further, applying diversity directly to the workforce should yield similar or even multiplier effects especially in the present environment where multinational corporations, global operations and the influx of foreign talents are aplenty. Hence, discrimination, or rather, positive discrimination namely affirmative action yields economic rewards. Societal implications of discrimination Although discrimination has a negative connotation attached to it, it may not be that bad of a thing because it is shown that discrimination leads to an indirect increase in fertility.  [viii]  This is positive to societies, especially developed countries, which face the problem of greying population due to low birth rates. However, discrimination may lead to another trend especially for women who place great importance on their careers where they may postpone pregnancies, decide to not have a child, or turn to abortion in order to avoid the route to discrimination of a working mother. Also, there are societal costs of discrimination such as where more than  £30bn worth of talent is wasted due to the inequalities suffered by working women and disabled people, as reflected by the Equal Opportunities Commission.  [ix]  However, there may be greater social costs of discrimination. According to an ILO study, besides the wastage of human talent and resources due to the widening socioeconomic inequality at the workplace, it can have potentially devastating effects on political stability and social cohesion.  [x]  (EDIT) However, a positive consequence in one society may have a negative consequence in another. For instance, discrimination increases fertility rate which is beneficial for developed countries but not beneficial for developing societies facing overpopulation. Hence, the consequence of an action will vary as the contexts changes. In the context of a developed society, although the focus is on discrimination of working women, this has implications on all women because it is a cycle and taking into account the proportion of women in the workforce, and that women belong to different races, religions and cultures, the effect of discrimination on cultural and social diversity is huge. Further, with technology and globalisation taking on an increasingly larger role in the functioning of businesses and societies, the benefits of meritocracy diminishes relative to diversity. Hence, under rule utilitarianism, a stand for discrimination is reached. There is a conflict between the decisions of act and rule utilitarianism. In the case of Denise, discrimination would bring more pain than pleasure. However, in the long run, if the company discriminates, it will bring about more pleasure than pain. Also, there is a need to consider the duration of expected benefits and costs when deciding on the overall goodness of a decision. For instance, short term profitability should not be pursued at the expense of long term political stability. Hence, the pains of discrimination are disastrous while there are tremendous pleasures brought about by affirmative action. Hence, the decision is based on rule utilitarianism which concludes that discrimination should not be performed since the overall pain outweighs the pleasures and instead, affirmative action leads to greatest happiness. This is support by utilization analysis which remedies the disparate impact of unrepresented or excluded positions leading to better utilization and an increase in general welfare. Rawls Principles of Justice Under Rawls Justice as fairness, behind the veil of ignorance, a rational and self-interested person has no knowledge of his future race, gender, religion and status. A maximin approach will be used to efficiently distribute the various social goods using Rawls two Principles of Justice. The moral actor will select the way that is advantageous for him and since he will not want to belong to a group that is discriminated against, he will conclude that discrimination is unjust, be it against gender, working mothers, race, religion or age. Principle of Equal Liberty (egalitarian) Under the Principle of Equal Liberty, each person is to have an equal right to liberties and this includes but is not limited to freedom of speech, freedom of association and rights and liberties under the act of law. As Rawls quotes: liberty can be restricted only for the sake of liberty  [xi]  Such restriction is possible because not all liberties are on par and hence, certain liberties may be restricted in order to achieve greater overall liberties. Applying the principle, when an employer discriminates against working mothers to increase economic productivity and growth, the principle is violated because they are restricting liberty for the sake of an economic gain. Going by Rawls Principle of Liberty, liberty should not be traded for socio-economic advantages. As such, discrimination would be unjust. Difference Principle (distributive justice) The difference principle conveys a socialist approach where responsibilities and burdens should be distributed according to needs.  [xii]  In the workplace, working mothers may not necessarily be the least advantaged or the ones most in need because they are many other groups who have suffered a greater extent of discrimination or injustice such as African Americans or the blacks who may not even have an opportunity at a job to begin with. Hence, compared to working mothers, they are in a worse position. Hence, the difference principle is not applicable because one should start helping the least advantaged. If benefits were to accrue to working mothers, this will improve their position but at the same time, increase the disparity between working mothers and the least advantaged. This would go against the difference principle and hence, it is not applicable. Fair Equality of Opportunity Principle Equality of opportunity is the key issue surrounding discrimination because it directly leads to unequal opportunities. According to a study done by the University of Chicago, mothers are 44 percent less likely to be hired than women without children.  [xiii]  Adding on, according to a study of gender equality in the workplace, mothers are offered lower salaries and are perceived to be less committed compared to women without children even though they are equally qualified.  [xiv]  Hence, it is evident that discrimination leads to unequal opportunities. Rawls would thus be against discrimination since it violates the Fair Equality of Opportunity Principle. Rawls stand seems firmly against discrimination of working mothers as well as discrimination in general. In reality however, not everyone is equal. There are still people suffering from the unjust consequences of past injustice and inequality. Hence, even in the absence of discrimination such as in a system of meritocracy, this group of people have already lost the ability to compete at equal standing since they have been disadvantaged in terms of the opportunity to education or poverty and hence, are not as qualified. As such, there cannot be equal opportunity to being with. Thus, in order to achieve Rawls two principles of justice Equal Liberty and Equal Opportunity, some form of discrimination is required. This is done through affirmative action which aids in levelling the playing field and helps to restore the areas where such groups were excluded or underrepresented.  [xv]  Hence, even though Rawls is against discrimination, this suggest that he is for affirmative action, a positive form of discrimination It can be argued though, that it is a form of compensatory justice, and although the privileged group were not the ones who practiced discrimination, nonetheless, they still benefited from it and hence, it is only fair that they return them and hence, justifiable. do not add to the stand Or add to Aristotle compensatory and disctrimutive. Nozicks Entitlement Theory Applying Nozicks Entitlement theory, when discrimination occurs, the rights of those discriminated against are taken away by unjust means and hence, there is unjust original acquisition leading to unjust transfer. Oppression, rights and liberties being taken away, loss of ability to compete and psychological injuries are some of the many examples which unjust actions are exercised. As such, the Principle of Rectification comes into play. However, the principle does not take into account the damage that has been done on top of whatever that was unjustly acquired, and such damage are often unquantifiable. Hence, Nozick does not have a stand on discrimination because he is of the view is that as long as the act of discrimination is undone, it is just It does not matter whether or not sufficient compensation is provided. Kants Categorical Imperatives Kant takes a deontological approach and believes that one should act based on moral duties rather than on inclinations, interests and consequences. There are two Kantian Categorical Imperatives Principle of Universality and Principle of Humanity. Principle of Universality Under the Principle of Universality, we have to determine the relevant maxim which we at the same time, will that it should become a universal law. Assume a maxim of the employer: I should be allowed to discriminate against working mothers even though they are equally or more competent than other condidates. This maxim supports workplace discrimination based on pregnancy or childbirth. If this were to be applied universally, the economy will be filled with unsuitable employees leading to a decline in productivity, efficiency and effectiveness. Further, given that one is intrinsically incentive-driven by nature,  [xvi]  women will no longer be motivated at work since they are not rewarded based on job related performance. If the extent of discrimination escalates, it may even result in social unrest and hostility. Discrimination will prevail, but only at the expense of social peace and meritocracy. Consequently, this will lead to a less efficient and productive society which a rat ional employer will not want as a universal law. Even if one were to argue that a society can function normally with discrimination from the Indian caste system, Principle of Humanity The Principle of Humanity states that one should treat people as a means to an end, and not simply as a means. Employers, by their acts of discrimination against individual employees, such as in Denises case, are be treating them as a means to their ends where the employee is a profit-making tool for the companys end of deriving profits. Accordingly, both categorical imperatives are not fulfilled and hence, to Kant, discrimination would be unethical and morally impermissible. Further, discrimination goes against Kantian specific duties of developing ones talents and capacities as well as showing benevolence towards others. Aristotle Virtues Aristotle focuses on achieving human happiness good life. Such good life is possible only for persons who practice virtuous activities. Examples of virtues include respectfulness, fairness, justice and compassion which lie in the mean. Discrimination against working mothers goes against the virtues of compassion, fairness, benevolence and hence, Aristotle is against discrimination since it is not virtuous. To achieve good life, one has to do the best thing a person can do with his life. To do so, there has to be a goal or objective. During Aristotles time, women were primarily responsible for childcare and domestic duties. According to the social theory, sex-based division of labour constrains and reinforces gender stereotypes of women as being emotionally expressive, nurturing and caring.  [xvii]  While men, being providers of the family, were portrayed as dominant and aggressive. Division of labour along sexual lines was most efficient and led to overall societal well-being. Discrimination based on sexual lines or status was common and seen as the best and most efficient way of allocating duties then. Hence, Aristotle is for discrimination. Do what you do best However, in modern society, such discrimination is less apparent and visible although still present. According to Edward O. Wilson of Harvard University, females tend to be higher than males in empathy, verbal skills and social skills.  [xviii]  Hence, women are better at certain jobs such as personal relations, administration, counselling and human resource as compared to men. However, since women are known to beest at childcare and domestic roles, according to Aristotle, that is what women should be doing. As such, even though women may be better than men in the abovementioned areas, the job goes to the men. Hence, Aristotle supports discrimination. In addition, depending on the purpose of the job, discrimination is against supported. For instance, if the job is to achieve uniformity in race, discrimination is allowed in order to achieve it. division of labor along sexual lines is most efficient and best promotes the general welfare because the natural (nurturing, sensitive, emotional) abilities of women suit them best to childcare and the natural (aggressive, competitive, rational) abilities of men suit them best to exercise authority and control over business and financial matters. (Which is in line with Confucius Ethics) Distributive Justice: Equal Work = Equal Reward Applying Aristotles distributive justice of equal work for equal reward, if working mothers work as much as other employees, they should receive an amount of compensation equal to the rest. Hence, Aristotle is against discrimination since it would be unjust under his principle of distributive justice. Compensatory Justice Aristotle supports compensatory justice as he is of the view that victims who have been wronged should be compensated. Hence, working mothers who have been denied equal pay or opportunity should be compensated accordingly. Extending Aristotles concept of compensatory justice to discrimination in general, he will be for affirmative action since certain injustice and past wrongs can only be amended through affirmative action. Equality consists in the same treatment of similar persons As Aristotle quoted, Equality consists in the same treatment of similar persons. The case Bliss v. Canada supports Aristotles view. According to Aristotle, even though working mothers are discriminated, so long as all working mothers are treated similarly, it is just and equal. This is despite the fact that working mothers also being to the bigger group of women yet working mothers are subjected to different treatment from other women which accords to discrimination. Hence, Aristotle is for discrimination. Doctrine of Voluntary Choice If discrimination is involuntary, such as unintentional discrimination or due to compulsion, the discrimination should not be adjudge as not virtuous or immoral. Confucius