Toy Central Corporation Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Toy Central Corporation - Case Study Example People with variety of roles, such as those who formulate and implement policies and those monitor systems are accountable for the success or failure of the process. The findings from interim audit procedures conducted in July and August 2007 reveals that the controls over the purchase and payments systems are managed efficiently. However, the delayed production to satisfy the enormous demand during 2006 holiday selling season had also created a lag in the smooth running of the business. Though a fair quantity of this product was sold out for Valentine’s Day 2007, rest of them was returned to TCC for a full refund. This created an adverse situation within the firm in managing the inventory. But it does not sound nice to go into the holiday season selling with the same stock again. This control issues must be looked into by the management. The physical environment in which companies conduct their business continues to change dramatically, and it requires the firms to make chang es in their policies. Economic factors, advances in technology, and increasing global competition are some of the elements that force the management into greater challenges to control and manage liquidity while increasing sales (Preparing for internal control reporting, 2002). TCC executive have been putting efforts to boost the sales in September, the month that is â€Å"quiet before the storm† by negotiating with the Fathom Studios to obtain the right to produce the plastic-cast of the movie Delgo. Even though TCC had accrued $500,000 of sales revenue in September 2007 as expected while making the agreement, it had a delay in reaching the objectives. There was a delay in reaching the final licensing agreement which in turn delayed the final completion of the character toys. In the same way, TCC had invested nearly $150,000 in creating state-of-the-art software tools to develop Linux games. This decision seems to be a wrong one and shows the weakness of the control over fina ncial reporting of the firm. On the other hand, the companies who hold the intellectual property rights to produce popular games currently produce consoles and computers that run on Windows based software. Therefore, investing too much on developing games for Linux based consoles may not bring the expected return over the investment. Most of the disbursements made by TCC were for purchase and of raw materials from suppliers in Taiwan. Though all items were properly accounted, there was inaccuracy in the accounts. One item seemed unusual in comparison to the sample. The transaction involved a $10,000 payment to the International Transport Union, requisitioned by TCC’s VP-Operations and approved by the CFO. The VP explains that the payment was â€Å"a gesture of support for U.S. transport workers—a gesture we believe is important these days, as transport workers believe they are significantly underpaid and talking about organizing work stoppage and strikes† (Earle y &Philips, 2008). Though it was a non-operating expense, it shows a too much expense on the non-productive functions. The TCC’s management had fallen short in making correct financial analysis and preparing effective financial reporting. The findings of the interim report reveal that the retailers dramatically reduced the quantity of toys that they were willing to undertake in 2006 and sustained it through 2007. This reduction in the supply had intensified competition among all manufacturers of consumer

Personal Ethics Statement Essay Example for Free

Personal Ethics Statement Essay Ethics is a branch of philosophy, which address various issues that regards to morality and the general human behavior in society (Vendemiati 2004). Ethics identifies whether something is good or bad, ignoble or noble, just or unjust, or whether acts of people should be classified as being vices or virtues. Being ethical entails a number of integrated moral aspects that revolves around the common moral law of doing good and avoiding what is evil. Personal Ethics Statement Based on my personal experience and learned life lessons, being ethical means having the correct moral standards and practices that guide ones behaviors and the actions taken in life thus making one to be able to constantly do what is right and avoid evil. Being ethical therefore means having the right thought, always being positive in life, and ensuring that one has the right attitude that would guide in ensuring that immoral behaviors that could harm other people’s lives either directly or indirectly are avoided at all cost. Ethics also involve individuals being able to accept the wrong things they do and be willing to change for the better. Being ethical, according to me, therefore involve being morally upright, having the morally accepted life values, and having the desire to serve other people through ones best use of mind, body, and spirit without being coerced to do so. Based on my life experience and the studies that I have previously conducted, I have come to learn that though religion is a vital aspect of the common moral law, being ethical involves more that being good to oneself. The life experience has also made me to understand the fact that ethics involves being in a position to be submissive to the higher authority and ensuring that one avoids doing what is immoral. The fact that people who do not harm other people physically, morally, or socially get to be appreciated and loved by others elaborates what being ethical really means – being good (Mackie 1990). Previously, I have been making ethical decisions based on the teachings I have received from my parents and teachers and through copying the positive aspects of my friends and other people around me. I have always strived to ensure that the decisions I make in life do not contravene the common moral law and other governing rules and regulations in society. This involves being just and ensuring that I make decisions that would have a long term benefits and enhance the common good of all humanity. My core believes and values are that all people are equal and that we all deserve to be treated equally by being accorded the respect we deserve as human beings. I also strongly believe that the decisions we make in life should constantly be guided by the common moral law of doing good and avoiding evil rather than our self interest. Since I always strive to ensure that I accord other people fair treatment and mutual respect, I always expect to receive similar fair treatment and to be appreciated for the good things I do. Furthermore, I do not expect favors from other people but rather expect to be corrected whenever I do wrong. For instance, whenever I do favor to other people such as giving them medication when they fall seek, I always expect to be thanked and not to be given a token in return. This is illustrated by the fact that whenever my neighbors and friends are in need of food or tuition fees, I have always strived to ensure that I share with them the food I have or help them get the money, if I can, and I do not demand repayment to be made. Conclusion According to Mackie (1990), ethical standards are crucial in reinforcing the practice of the morally upright behaviors and acts in society. Courage is important for people to constantly act in an ethical way. Good personal and interpersonal leadership and management skills help individuals to make morally upright decisions without thinking of one’s self interest. For instance, treating customers with respect and wide acceptance improve business performance. References Vendemiati, A. (2004). In First Person, The outline of Ethics, The general perspective, Rome, The Urbaniana, The University Press. Mackie, L. J. (1990). Ethics: The Invention of the Wrong and the Right. London, Penguin. ISBN: 0-14-013558-8.

Bus Rapid Transit: A Sustainable Approach to Mass Transit Essay

Bus Rapid Transit: A Sustainable Approach to Mass Transit Transportation accounts for about 25% of fossil fuel consumption. One way to decrease the negative environmental effects of burning fossil fuels (e.g. smog and global warming) is to improve mass transit. An efficient mass transit system speeds travel time, cuts travel costs, and makes service more reliable. Consequently, it discourages the use of private vehicles, reducing fossil fuel consumption and emissions. A type of mass transit that has proven to be environmentally and socially successful in many cities across the world is Bus Rapid Transit. BRT uses a variety of a variety of innovative system designs and technologies to achieve to the aforementioned qualities of an efficient mass transit system. The innovative system designs and technologies include: lane priority, signal priority, vehicle design, stop location, fare collection, rider appeal, and land use policy. Lane priority gives buses exclusive use of lanes to increase travel time. There are three types of priority lanes: curbside, median, and contraflow. Curbside bus lanes are usually effective during peak hours in peak directions; otherwise the lane is reserved for parking and deliveries. Since bus stops are in this lane, buses do not waste time remerging with traffic. Double curbside bus lanes allow them to pass one another, such as Madison Avenue in New York City. Median lanes are those located in the middle two lanes of traffic, usually separated from all other traffic by a raised curb. Median lanes are only appropriate for wide boulevards because space is needed to build the passenger platforms. Even though median lanes are less likely to be congested than curbside lanes, some di... ...a2.html; provides a case study of the transit system in Curitiba, Brazil. 2. http://www.solutions-site.org/default.htm; provides a case study of the transit system in Curitiba, Brazil including a history and schematic maps of the city. 3. http://www.atlanticplanners.org/whatnew/conf99/curitiba.htm; an overview of the success of the BRT system in Curitiba, Brazil, provides links for more information on the city’s BRT system. 4. http://www.fta.dot.gov/brt/index.html; an overview of the elements that comprise a BRT system, case studies of Curitiba, Miami, Orlando, and Vancouver are included. 5. http://www.lightrailnow.org/facts/fa_cur02.htm; offers criticisms of implementing a BRT system in Detroit, MI. 6. http://www.iea.org/public/studies/bus.htm#tables; offers a .PDF to a table (2.4) comparing a traditional bus transit system to a BRT one.

An Analysis of Touching Bottom by Kari Strutt

â€Å"Touching Bottom† In the story, â€Å"Touching Bottom† by Kari Strut, the theme is to not give even when one hits rock bottom. This is demonstrated in the story when, Ian is drowning in the ocean because the current is dragging him down and he is unable to swim due to a cramp development in his leg. Saving Ian is very challenging for the narrator because at one point Ian is struggling to keep his head above water and while doing so he accidental pushes the narrator below, deep in to the ocean and now she is having difficulty breathing and striving to survive.In order to save herself from drowning, the narrator pushes herself further down into the ocean and realizes that the bottom was not actually as far as she had assumed. After she resurfaces, the narrator has to swim with Ian on top of her to get him back to safety all while fighting against a current. At one moment the narrator thought she could not continue and she asks Ian to swim for himself but he is unable to do so. At that moment she feels like she has hit rock bottom because she Is not able to swim much longer due to her aching joints and emerging injuries such as; big bleeding welts on her arms and back, and a plundered shoulder.Throughout the course of this life changing experience the narrator has to watch her much older husband flirt with another woman on the beach without caring about their life threatening situation. However, she has a flashback, that motivates her to keep swimming to save her step son and eventually she finds a human willing to lend her his board to help bring Ian back to shore. In conclusion, while struggling to stay alive and rescue Ian, the narrator felt that she had hit rock bottom at the beach and In life but she fought through It all and moved.

Child Marriage Research Paper Essay

Child Marriage: Why is the Act Performed Throughout Countries Around the World? According to the International Center for Research on Women, â€Å"if present child marriage trends continue, more than 142 million girls worldwide will be forced to marry adult men during the next decade-the equivalent of 38,000 girls every day.† Child marriage is defined as marriage before the age of eighteen (International Center for Research on Women, 2012). This marriage is usually forced and comes as a shock to the young girl. Any day, at anytime, a young girl can be taken from her home, sold, married off, and forced to live a life full of threats, violence, and abuse. When I first heard of child marriage I assumed that it happens in countries that aren’t that well off, whom are still living in poverty. I was taken aback when I found out that child marriage is a practice affecting women all over the world: Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and in some communities in Europe and the America ns (Worden, 2010). I want to find out all the usual questions one would ask about a problem in the world today: how, when, who, where, and WHY does child marriage even happen in all of these countries?! After researching these questions in depth, amongst a few of these countries I want to look into what child marriage may have in common in these different countries. In Afghanistan, statistics show that an estimate of 67 percent of all marriages are forced and approximately 57 percent of girls are married before the age of 16. (The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, 2010). Child marriage occurs in Afghanistan despite certain laws that have been made, due to culture and traditions, protection of the child, and economic problems families may face. Child marriage has been part of Afghan culture for thousands of years, and trying to rid a country of a culture event angers a lot of the people living in Afghanistan. Child marriage is known to be apart of Afghan culture as a form of protection. W hen one tries to put an end to child marriage in Afghanistan, the Afghans view this as going against the culture and traditions of the community (Yousef, 2013). Parents of a young girl, believe they are doing the right thing by selling, giving away, or exchanging their child because they know she will be clothed, fed, and sheltered from the violence and sexual abuse that the country of Afghanistan is faced with. Under Afghanistans  constitution, the minimum age for females is 16, but in rural and urban areas the tradition of marrying off daughters while young in order to receive money remains common among the poor. (Irinnews.org) Families living in poverty is one of the reasons child marriage is so high in Afghanistan. Some Afghan families can’t afford to take care of their children once they are born, so their best solution is marrying off their daughters. They view this as â€Å"if she gets married, she will have something for herself†. (Yousef, 2013) As if child marriage isn’t a problem already, a huge problem arises once the marriage is in effect. The problem that arises is childbirth in young girls who aren’t mature enough to carry a child to full term. This results in the baby not making it to full term, or the young girl dying while trying to give birth. In Afghanistan, it is said that every hour, two women die while giving birth- the highest maternal mortality rate in Asia. (Irinnews.org) This all comes as a shock to me as I read that â€Å"most harmful practices are crimes under Afghan law and inconsistent with Sharia law†. Under Islam, marriage is said to be a mutual contractual agreement and consent is required by both the woman and the man for a marriage to be valid. The marriage of girls before the age of sixteen, is against Afghan law. (Gangon, 140) So why are all these marriages occurring?! Well, it is said that â€Å"the police and judiciary in Afghanistan often fail to enforce laws that respect women’s rights, and tend to take a selective rather than impartial approach to administering justic e†. (Gagnon,142) Even some community and religious leaders are prolonging the issue of child marriage because they are uneducated, without any training on women’s rights. Child marriage: a â€Å"practice that robs millions of girls of their childhood, their rights, and their dignity† (Hedayat, 2011). This a quote from Girls Not Brides global initiative that launched in Africa, and made it’s way over to India. Statistics show that 40% of the world’s child marriages take place in India (Hedayat, 2011). Even though child marriages are illegal in India, priests still conduct child weddings, and guests still attend with happiness and excitement. The legality doesn’t seem to affect the people in India, even though one would be charged with a fine of Rs100,000 ($1,600 in US currency) for not preventing or stopping a child marriage. These marriages are still being performed in India, more or less â€Å"secretly†. Child marriages are supported by villages in India, so when these marriages are performed,  nobody informs the police. A difference between India and Afghanistans child marriages, is that once the young couple gets certified as husband and wife, they don’t end up living with each other until they are older (Around 15 or 16). It seems to me in India child marriage is opposed by the Indian government, and largely tolerated by the families, and young girls of India. One young girl says: â€Å"Had I been married later, I’d have learned to read and write† (Hedayat, 2011). The young girls are expressing that one of the biggest struggles with child marriage, is not being able to receive an education. If I was forced into marriage at any age before 16, I’m not even sure I would have the emotional stability to even think about an education because I would be traumatized. This culture shock really intrigued me. The main reason why child marriages are being performed throughout India, is directly similar to Afghanistan. The two main reasons are due to culture, and parents wanting their daughter to be better provided for by an older man, because they can’t provide the type of life they want for their daughter. Which absolutely makes no sense to me! Yes, they maybe getting all the necessary essentials to be surviving, but these young girls are barely even living when they have to suffer through the traumatizing effects of being a child bride. Of course, many young girls in India also are forced into having a baby, resulting in deaths of the young girls and their soon to be child. In India, out of every 1,000 children born due to child marriage, 31 die before they are one year old (Resource Centre for Participatory Development Studies, 2011). These statistics make me cringe, because in reality so many young girls and newborn babies deaths can be stopped, if this horrible acceptable view of child marriage is put to an end. When researching child marriage in Africa, statistics showed that 42% of girls were married before turning 18 (PBS, 2010). As I was reading an article, I came across a horrid sentence that literally broke my heart. I read that in Africa, parents â€Å"consider their daughters second-class citizens and see them as potential sources of income.† (Kamba, 2013). In Central and West Africa, 2 out of every 5 girls are married before they reach the age of eighteen (Kamba, 2013). According to Kambas article, child marriages are being performed in Africa due to parents wanting to protect their young girls from pre-marital sex and unwanted pregnancy, â€Å"which tarnish a family’s honour and  may diminish the value of a future dowry.† South Sudan is known to have the world’s highest mo rtality rate, â€Å"with about 2,054 deaths per 100,000 live births.† The young women having these babies, also don’t have a good chance in living, where as one in seven girls die due to pregnancy at such a young age (Kamba, 2013). Just like Afghanistan, and India, traditional practices play a huge part of why child marriage is still performed in Africa. Child marriage is engraved in Africa as an â€Å"ancient tradition†. Even though tradition plays a huge role on child marriage, the economic struggle of Africa also comes into play. Child marriage can be blamed on â€Å"the country’s poorly-defined and contradictory laws as well as the government’s weak execution and enforcement of them† (Kamba, 2013). Overall, I can find some sense into child marriage being blamed on the government’s weak enforcement, because if the country is facing economic difficulties, how can they have enough money and support to have a strong forceful government? After researching Afghanistan, India, and Africa, I wanted to see if child marriage is performed throughout the European and American nations. European and American nations don’t deal with as much poverty as these other countries do, which made me curious to find out if child marriage is actually performed in these nations. I did some research, and even though there isn’t much on the internet of child marriage in European and American nations, I came across a few sources. In Europe child marriage is practiced in Georgia (rate of 17%), Turkey (rate of 14%), and Ukraine (rate of 10%). Ten percent of young children marry before the age of eighteen in Britain and France (United Nations Population Fund, 2012). According to Dr. Lisa Dana, child marriages are most common in the Southern part of the United States, because laws on marriage are more lenient there. In the United States, statistics found that 8.9% of children were married off young, which is dramatically lower than the other countries that I’ve researched. All but two states in the United States require both the members of a partnership to be at least eighteen years of age or older to be allowed to marry without parental consent (Strat, 2011). I was surprised with how little information on child marriage I came across while researching Europe and Latin/Northern America. I came to the conclusion that a lot of child marriages aren’t reported from these nations, or as sad as it is, it doesn’t happen that  often because these countries aren’t in severe poverty. So, after researching all these different countries, I asked myself two questions: Why does child marriage even happen and are there common reasons of why this is happening throughout the world? I came to the conclusion that child marriage is practiced due to culture/tradition, poverty, security, and failure for authorities to enforce laws. Throughout all these countries, besides the European nations, I found that these four main factors play a common role in why child marriage happens. Culture and tradition is definitely the main reason why child marriage is prevalent in these countries. Culture places strong social pressures on families to conform to everything the culture expects. If families decided to go against tradition, they face the consequences of facing disapproval or family shame. (Equality Now 2010). Culture plays a huge roll in families from these countries, and it is purely unacceptable to go against the culture that you’re from. Poverty is another reason why child marriage happens. Families that can’t afford to raise a child due to low income, look at the child as an economic burden (United Nations Population Fund 2012). If the girls aren’t seen as a burden, they are â€Å"valued as capital for their exchange value in terms of goods, money, or livestock† (Equality Now, 2010). How horrific! I can’t even imagine the emotional insecurities these young girls face when being bargained off to random men who are much older than them. Security also plays a big role on why child marriage occurs around the world. Many of these countries don’t have a secure home base for their children to be safe. Parents want their child to have a safe future, so they turn to child marriage as a secure base. This goes back on the poverty aspect, if parents can’t afford to take care of their daughter, they sell her off to a man whom can. Even though he really isn’t â€Å"taking care â€Å" of her. In my opinion the child would have a â€Å"safer future† if she just stayed with her family, because she doesn’t have the risk of being abused, or dying due to young pregnancy. Lastly, failure to enforce laws that have been made for women, and the issue of child marriage plays a huge roll on why child marriage is still occurring to this day. In most of these countries, there are laws that don’t allow marriage until the age of eighteen, and many laws that are protecting women. Some families aren’t aware that they are breaking the law, while others just don’t care to stop because nobody is strictly enforcing these laws. â€Å"In some  countries early marriage is so prevalent, prosecutions are seldom brought†(United Nations Population Fund, 2012). If authorities went into these countries, and tried to pin point exactly where child marriage is happening, even in the â€Å"secret villages†, and prosecuted the individuals performing in this act, we might see lower statistics. â€Å"According to the Convetion on Elimination on All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)- marriage before the age of 18 shouldn’t be allowed since children don’t have the ‘full maturity and capacity to act’ (United Nations Population Fund, 2012). I couldn’t even imagine being forced into a marriage at a age where I am barely able to read and write. Marriage is ones personal decision, not a forceful requirement. How could anyone force their two year old child into wedlock and ten years down the road force the child out of their home? The concept of child marriage makes me sick to my stomach and leaves me with an uneasy feeling. I am infatuated with children, and the thoughts and images that run through my mind about child marriage, utterly break my heart. Whether the concept of child marriage is due to culture/tradition, poverty, security, or failure for authorities to enforce laws, there is really no excuse for this act being performed! Young girls deserve to be educated and grow to be the best possible women they can in the future. Every girl, deserves the opportunity to reach their full potential. Child marriage needs to be put to an around the world, but what can you do? The most important action to take in order to stop child marriage, is to educate and empower girls. â€Å"Education is one of the most powerful tools to delay the age at which girls marry as school attendance helps shift norms around child marriage† (Girls Not Brides, 2013). I encourage each and every girl to educate another women they know about child marriage. Do research, find answers, make your voices heard. One thing you can do is sign UK’s Take the Vow petition. As I was researching, I came across this petition that is urging the UK’s government to take action and early and forced marriage around the world (United Nations Population Fund, 2012). You can take this vow, just like I have, and the world could just be one step closer to the world ban of child marriage. Works Cited â€Å"Child Marrriage: Facts, Causes and Consequences.† About.com Middle East Issues. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. â€Å"Child Marriage in America:a Health Risk.† BabyCenter Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. â€Å"Child Marriage in the United States and Its Association With Mental Health in Women.† Child Marriage in the United States and Its Association With Mental Health in Women. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. â€Å"Early and Forced Marriage – Facts, Figures and What You Can Do.† Early and Forced Marriage. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. Gagnon, George. The Unfinished Revolution: Voices from the Global Fight for Women’s Rights. Ed. Minky Worden. New York: Seven Stories, 2012. Print. Hedayat, Nel. â€Å"What Is It like to Be a Child Bride?† BBC News. BBC, 10 Apr. 2011. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. â€Å"How Can We End Child Marriage?† Girls Not Brides How Can We End Child Marriage Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. â€Å"Humanitarian News and Analysis.† IRINnews. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. â€Å"Navigating Interracial Borders: Black-White Couples and Their Social Worlds [Paperback].† Navigating Interracial Borders: Black-White Couples and Their Social Worlds: Erica Chito Childs: 9780813535869: Amazon.com: Books. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. Ryan, Rebecca M. â€Å"Martial Birth and Early Child Outcomes: The Moderating Influence of Marriage Propensity.† 83.3 (2012): 1085-101. Meriam Library. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. â€Å"The Dangers of Child Marriage in India.† ChildFund International. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. Wondie, Yemataw. â€Å"Early Marriage, Rape, Child Prostitution, and Related Factors Determining the Psychosocial Effects Severity of Child Sexual Abuse in Ethiopia.† Journal of Child Sexual Abuse (2011): n. pag. Meriam Library. Web.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Mills Paper Company

Strengths and Weaknesses of Mills Paper Company Strengths One of the strengths of the company’s appraisal system is the motivation and encouragement effect it has on employees. Since the objectives to be achieved are set prior to beginning of the employment, the employee is able to use them as a driving force while doing his job.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Strengths and Weaknesses of Mills Paper Company specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Thus, the strength of the method is manifested by the fact that employees are motivated with the knowledge that they will be rewarded if they achieve the set goals. This also is an advantage to the company since in the long term it will end up achieving its targets and goals (Kantola, Armstrong Conley, 2003). The appraisal method applied by Mills Company also aids the company to identify under performers and eliminate them. An employee like Carpenter who is always showed such poor performance might not have been id entified had it not been for the appraisal method. With the appraisal method, the company was able to know that Carpenter was not achieving the objectives set for him. This is an advantage to both the company and the employee since any possible losses by the company are minimized. On the other hand, the employee is able to note his or her weak points and find ways of improving on them (Smither, 1998). The appraisal method also facilitates employee growth and development. The Mills Company sets and outlines the expectations and objectives of positions into an agreement before commencement of employment. This can be a growth and development factor as it helps employees strive to reach their full potential. This is a positive implication for both the employee and employer since the former develops professionally while the latter succeeds in its general plan and objectives. Weaknesses In my opinion, one of the main weaknesses the approach has is discouragement of employees. While some o ther employees might be encouraged to work more and more to achieve their goals, others like Carpenter might just end up being discouraged due the unpleasant experience of having to be supervised always and being forced to work hard to achieve set objectives. This is due to the fact that some employees just like dong their job at their own peace and pleasure, which is very harmful to the company’s performance. Discouragement can also be very harmful to the company because with discouraged employees the company is sure to have poor performance, just like the case in Mills Company.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In my opinion, the company’s approach might also have created a stressful environment for some of the employees, like Carpenter. With every time being reminded that he still wasn’t improving in his work and having a negative report being produced about him every time and again might also have contributed to his poor performance. Mill Company’s approach is subject to biasness to the fact that it is based on human assessment. Take for example Carpenter’s supervisors, Henry and Crane. The two, with no other consultation, prepared all Carpenter’s reports and assessments. Though not necessary, the supervisors might just have been biased towards Carpenter. This is a very serious weakness of the system since it can lead to lay off innocent employees. The approach is also time consuming and tedious, a feature that reduces its effectiveness. Take for example when Carpenter was being recruited in the company. A lot of time was spent while Carpenter and his supervisor then, Henry Castagnera, agreed on the objectives and performance metrics of Carpenter’s position. When carpenter was demoted to a lower position, still more time was spent while forming his new objectives and performance standard s. A lot of time is also required to assess the employee’s performance and write down his report. This can also be very costly to the company due to the many meetings that have to be held to assess the employee’s performance (Aguinis, 2012). Yes I do agree with Lance Amato’s observation that carpenter should have terminated earlier. This is because according to the record, carpenter never made any improvement since he joined the company. He was just so poor in his work. Note that not even once did he get a positive remark from his supervisors. In my opinion, it was just out of pity that the company continued employing him while he was generating no good service to the company. This is because though pardoned many times and not terminated, Carpenter still made no improvement. In my opinion, since the company was keeping all his records, it should have studied his performance from the start and noted how his graph was moving. After noting that it was just a fallin g graph, Carpenter should have been given just one opportunity to make an improvement failure of which he should have been terminated immediately. Probably had he been dismissed earlier the company could have been saved from experiencing some losses and poor performance, though we are not told that such occurred (Smither, 1998).Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Strengths and Weaknesses of Mills Paper Company specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More I think that Carpenter will not prevail in his charges against Mills. This is because the charges that he filed are null, void, and do not hold according to the legislation relevant for performance appraisals (Aguinis, 2012). To begin with, he claims unfair performance appraisal. This is not true since Mills appraisal was formulated according to the Civil Rights Act of 1991, which states that proper appraisals should be documented, and there should be a consistent application of performance standards. His claim of age discrimination will also not succeed because Carpenter was not discriminated by Mills in any way. The Age Discrimination Employment Act states that for this claim to succeed, an employee must have been discriminated because of his/her age with respect to any term of employment. Such include, hiring, firing promotion, layoff, and benefits among others. None of these happened to carpenter, thus all are false allegations. His claim on negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress will fail because there might have been emotional distress inflicted. It might as well have been self-inflicted since the same appraisal system was being used on all other employees and such complains had not been raised by any other employee. The only Carpenters claim that might succeed against Mills is that of lack of an appeal process for employees against the appraisal approach. Take for example in the case of Bob crane, the second supervisor of Carp enter. He just formulated the objectives on his own and brought them to carpenter. In my opinion, Carpenter should have also been given a chance to contest the objectives, which he thought were too difficult for him to achieve. Elements of a legally defensible performance appraisal system A legally defensible performance appraisal should be in writing and should contain the specific procedures to be followed. It must also specify the documentation to be used and the specific instructions for supervisors. There should be proper training for the supervisors on how to evaluate and administer the system. An objective should be established and standardized forms of related groups of employees should be used. The system should also be thoroughly communicated to employees and be given to them formally at least every once in a year. Finally, the system should be reviewed periodically to ensure it is right and up to date. References Aguinis, H. (2012). Performance Management. Boston: Pearson .Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Kantola, S., Armstrong, T. Conley, J. (2003). Performance appraisals: getting results. London: Kantola Productions, Smither, J. W. (1998). Performance Appraisal: state of the art in practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1998.

Free Essays on The Discovery of What It Means to Be an American

Truth In Distance In his essay, â€Å"The Discovery of What It Means to Be an American†, James Baldwin writes about how he personally came about discovering his true identity. One of the first things he says is, â€Å"I left America because I doubted my ability to survive the fury of the color problem here. I wanted to prevent myself from becoming†¦ merely a negro writer. I wanted to find in what way the specialness of my experience could be made to connect me with other people instead of dividing me from them† (Baldwin 46). Baldwin thinks he hates America. I think that he is instead blinded by the constant discrimination he faced growing up in 1950’s New York. During all those years he just listened, and he was never taught how to deal with it all. When he realizes that putting distance between himself and the country he hates is a good idea, then he has started the road to recovery. At this point he is about to undergo a big psychological change, much like I’ve been doing during these past six months. I think that this change I have made, while a good distance away from home, is similar to the one Baldwin experienced before discovering his identity. Baldwin couldn’t take the growing racial tensions in 1950’s America. â€Å"I was as isolated from negroes as I was from whites, which is what happens when a negro begins, at bottom, to believe what white people say about him† (46). He left for France in hopes of finding inspiration in a less discriminating place. I think that if he had remained in America, the country that he thought he hated, then it would destroy him before realized the deeper attachment he had to his country. I think there is an important lesson right here: You’ve got to live for the moment, otherwise you’ll never know what big opportunities you could miss. Baldwin says, â€Å"I found my experience was shared by every American writer I knew in Paris. Like me they had been divorced from the... Free Essays on The Discovery of What It Means to Be an American Free Essays on The Discovery of What It Means to Be an American Truth In Distance In his essay, â€Å"The Discovery of What It Means to Be an American†, James Baldwin writes about how he personally came about discovering his true identity. One of the first things he says is, â€Å"I left America because I doubted my ability to survive the fury of the color problem here. I wanted to prevent myself from becoming†¦ merely a negro writer. I wanted to find in what way the specialness of my experience could be made to connect me with other people instead of dividing me from them† (Baldwin 46). Baldwin thinks he hates America. I think that he is instead blinded by the constant discrimination he faced growing up in 1950’s New York. During all those years he just listened, and he was never taught how to deal with it all. When he realizes that putting distance between himself and the country he hates is a good idea, then he has started the road to recovery. At this point he is about to undergo a big psychological change, much like I’ve been doing during these past six months. I think that this change I have made, while a good distance away from home, is similar to the one Baldwin experienced before discovering his identity. Baldwin couldn’t take the growing racial tensions in 1950’s America. â€Å"I was as isolated from negroes as I was from whites, which is what happens when a negro begins, at bottom, to believe what white people say about him† (46). He left for France in hopes of finding inspiration in a less discriminating place. I think that if he had remained in America, the country that he thought he hated, then it would destroy him before realized the deeper attachment he had to his country. I think there is an important lesson right here: You’ve got to live for the moment, otherwise you’ll never know what big opportunities you could miss. Baldwin says, â€Å"I found my experience was shared by every American writer I knew in Paris. Like me they had been divorced from the...

Interview with a Dancer - Listening Comprehension

Interview with a Dancer - Listening Comprehension You will hear a man interviewing a famous ballet dancer. Write down the answers to the questions he asks. You will hear the listening twice for the gist. After you have finished, look below for the answers.   Click on this ballet dancer listening quiz to begin.   How long did she live in Hungary?Where was she born?Why wasnt she born in a hospital?What kind of day was her birthday?Was she born in 1930?Did her parents leave Hungary with her?What did her father do?What did her mother do?Why did her mother travel a lot?When did she begin to dance?Where did she study dance?Where did she go after Budapest?Why did she leave her first husband?Which country was her second husband from?How many husbands has she had? Instructions: You will hear a man interviewing a famous dancer. Write down the answers to the questions he asks. You will hear the listening twice. After you have finished, click on the arrow to see if you have answered correctly. (changed to answers below) Transcript:   Interviewer: Well, thank you very much for agreeing to come to this interview.Dancer: Oh, its my pleasure.   Interviewer: Well, its a pleasure for me as well. Right, well there are lots of questions Id like to ask you, but first of all, can you tell me something about your early life? I believe you are from Eastern Europe, arent you?Dancer: Yes, thats right. I ... I was born in Hungary, and I lived there for all of my childhood. In fact, I lived in Hungary for twenty-two years.   Interviewer: I believe theres a rather strange story that Ive heard about your birth.Dancer: Yes, in fact I was born on a boat because ... because my mother needed to go to the hospital, and we lived on a lake. And so she was on the boat going to the hospital, but she was too late.   Interviewer: Oh, so when your mother went to hospital she went by boat.Dancer: Yes. Thats right.   Interviewer: Oh, and you arrived?Dancer: Yes, on a beautiful spring day in fact. It was the twenty-first of April that I arrived in. Well, around 1930 I can tell you, but I wont be more specific than that.   Interviewer: And, uh, your family? Your parents?Dancer: Yes, well my mother and father remained in Hungary. They didnt come away with me, and my father was a history professor at the university.  He wasnt very famous. But, on the other hand, my mother was quite famous. She was a pianist. Interviewer: Oh.Dancer: She played lots of concerts in Hungary. She travelled around a lot.   Interviewer: So music was ... because your mother was a pianist, music was very important for you.Dancer: Yes, in fact.   Interviewer: From very early.Dancer: Yes, I danced when my mother played the piano.   Interviewer: Yes.Dancer: Right.   Interviewer: And did you, when did you really realize that you wanted to dance? Was it at school?Dancer: Well, I was very, very young. I did all of my school studies in Budapest. And I studied dancing there in Budapest with my family. And then I came to America. And I got married when I was very, very young. I had an American husband. And he died very young, and then I married another man who was from Canada. And then my third husband was French.   Quiz Answers She lived in Hungary for twenty-two years.She was born on a boat on a lake in Hungary.They lived on a lake and her mother was late to the hospital.She was born on a spring day.She was born around 1930, but the date is not exact.Her parents did not leave Hungary with her.Her father was a professor at university.Her mother was a pianist.Her mother travelled to play in concerts.She began to dance very young when her mother played the piano.She studied dance in Budapest.She went to America after Budapest.She left her husband because he died.Her second husband was from Canada.She has had three husbands.

Week4A4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Week4A4 - Essay Example Confidentiality will allow the authorized user to access the company information. Integrity will allow the safe transmission of data and information from the sender to the receiver. In this business scenario, the focus is on safe relay of company information such as emails and safe consumer transaction over the internet such as online purchases. Availability deals with the timely and secure access of requested information to the company and customer (Habiyaremye, 2011). All these three components are interlinked together in a system. Systems are vulnerable to threats and vulnerabilities. A vulnerability is defined as a weakness in the system which is not necessarily known by the user and the attacker. A threat is a possible attack directed to the system. However, the system is not necessarily vulnerable. Our website will be made invulnerable to threats through preventive measures that will be provided below. Because a system cannot be 100% secure, we anticipate building a security system that will address all the security issues as and guarantee safe transaction. In order to attain this, we categorise security features into four and deal with them separately. A standard client server model contains three components; the server system, the network and the client system. In order to secure the transaction between the client and the business, we are going to use the firewall in our internal systems. A firewall is a combination of softwares and hardwares that allow only external trusted users to bypass a protected network. By installing a firewall, unwanted users and programmes are prevented from accessing the system. We shall employ demilitarized zone technology using two firewalls, the outer and the inner firewall. The outer firewall will contain open ports that will allow incoming and outgoing HTTP requests. The shoppers browser will thus be allowed to communicate

English as a Second Language Course Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

English as a Second Language Course - Essay Example Reading activities are aimed at increasing reading comprehension, developing vocabulary and research skills. Writing activities are aimed at developing accuracy in written information through simple compositions and accomplishing forms. The course consists of 12 modules. According to Chamut (1995), cognitive language learning fosters school achievement of students who are learning through the medium of a second language. Non-native English speakers face problems in learning academic subjects which use English as the medium of instruction. Due to the widespread use of English worldwide, language courses in English have become part of the academic curriculum in most countries. However, the English course in these situations take on the nature of a foreign language course and fails to really develop language proficiency skills in terms of comprehension, vocabulary and research skills due to limited usage of the language in everyday life. The instructional problem that arises therefore, is how to build on the existing language knowledge of English and implement a training strategy that hones English literacy skills allowing the participants to develop the ability to use oral and written English for daily needs, develop basic conversation skills and voca bulary, and use simple sentence patterns. The training is base... The instructional problem relates to a cognitive domain performance issues that can be solved by training. The goal of instructional programs is to build knowledge and skills that can be re-used for later learning or in various life situations, such as career. ESL training to help improve academic performance specifically addresses the problem of cognitive domain performance, maximizing the student's cognitive processes that will result in learning and minimizing those that disrupt learning (Clark & Harrelson 2002). Training in English as a second language is suitable for computer and web-based training because the learner can think, respond and give feedback on the subject, a stimulating environment can be presented where the learner can learn at his own pace, the learner can take the course at his convenience without any expense of time or travel, it can be made accessible to a wide audience, it can be conveniently used by the physically challenged, and content can be easily updated (seo 2007). The tutorial method of teaching present situations and questions, suggest ideas that coincide with the topic being studied, and force students to come up with their own solutions. The instructor's in the tutorial atmosphere is to pose constructive questions that will lead the students in the right direction. Such a scenario can easily be implemented in ESL W/CBT because the computer or instruction software can untiringly assume the role of the tutorial instructor. In face-to-face teacher-student interactions, the tutorial method may pose problems because it is time consuming and may require multiple instructors for different levels of learners (Angiono

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome - Research Paper Example Alcohol consumption is the main factor in a fetus developing fetal alcohol syndrome. When a pregnant woman drinks alcohol, the alcohol enters the bloodstream and reaches the fetus by crossing the placenta; anything that enters the woman’s body is passed along to the fetus, and alcohol is no different. However, fetuses are unable to metabolize alcohol as quickly as adults, thus making the fetus’s blood alcohol concentration higher than that of the mother and more difficult to get rid of (Ulleland, 1972). Adults are able to rid themselves of alcohol within an hour for each beverage, yet fetuses do not have the ability to do so, so the alcohol sticks with them longer, often cause irreversible damage. Alcohol interferes with the oxygen being delivered to the unborn baby. It is common that babies face mental, behavioral and physical diseases and deformities when they are being denied the oxygen that they need to develop fully and healthily. This lack of oxygen greatly affects the nutrition of the baby’s developing tissues, organs, and brain, often causing babies with fetal alcohol syndrome to be born premature or with a variety of diseases or deformities. Due to science and technology, a fetus still in the womb can be pre-diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome based on certain signs and symptoms; unfortunately, properly diagnosing the baby can only take place after the child has been born. The first major sign is a mother that drinks regularly while pregnant. Through ultrasounds and by listening to the heartbeat of the fetus, a doctor can determine if the fetus is already facing difficulties and complications due to the intake of alcohol. Unfortunately, many of the signs and symptoms are made known after the baby has been born.   Babies often face growth deficiency, being excessively under average height and weight compared to babies born without the syndrome.  

Customer Service Standard Setting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Customer Service Standard Setting - Essay Example There have been many issues regarding the pipelines and other accessories that are used to transfer water throughout the city. The problem concerned is that the customer service centers have not been adequate enough to effectively fulfill the requirements of the general public. For this reason I am just not targeting any company instead I will target upon the entire water industry and propose a method that would enable them to make up better decisions using CBA(Cost Benefit Analysis) and the customer preference theory. An important and decisive factor that defines the end of a pipeline's functional life is the customer service standards that are in place. If customers are reluctant to accept any disturbances in water supply then the functional life of the pipeline is much shorter than that for a pipeline whose customers are ready to accept interruptions coupled with failures and the following repair of these failures. This methodology was based upon the procedure of Choice Modeling. Even as still a non-market technique, this technique is considered the state of the art in this area, and is a noteworthy improvement on approaches such as dependent valuation that are subject to context effects that is misrepresentation due to the way in which the questions are asked. Through the use of choice modeling and by questioning a statistically convincing number of customers and dealing with different subsets of this number with delicately varied choices, it is feasible to quantify customers' willingness to pay for various attributes. By classifying attributes valued by customers and their readiness to pay for them, the benefits side of the equation is complete. On the other side of this equation, of course, are costs. Also there is a need to develop an understanding of the social costs associated with water service provision. These comprise the cost of traffic disruption due to pipeline, repairs, failures or replacement (like road blocks occur when such construction or renovation takes place), and the loss to business just because of water service disturbances. These costs can be considerable depending on the conditions and should not be overlooked. Amusingly, these social costs amount high at both very rigid standards and very liberal ones, as social costs are accounted when pipes are often replaced to achieve the higher standard. In this methodology we need to consequently examine through various survey questions and focus groups about the attributes of disturbances of which the customers are most concerned. The questionnaire may include the SSI questions, and various other questions highlighting the attributes of water service. The detail of the results can be reported in the technical report. For the purposes of this report, the following can be stated as the method would show how the respondents coped up with the interruptions; the involved person generally could cope with short disturbances, and the components of such nuisances that are deemed to be important are: Time length of the interruption; Whether they are notified of the interruptions; What day the interruptions happened at what time and Finally, the number of interruptions per year This methodology should undergo identification of the interrupti

Gender Bias In Coaching Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Gender Bias In Coaching - Research Paper Example And there are generalizations. â€Å"Females don’t make good coaches† is one of those generalizations. Because there are not enough coaches in sports, it is generally taken that women are not good coaches. The common perception and the common language create a gender bias for women coaches. People are still not treated equal, same with women, and more with women coaches, no matter what kind of sports. Men have this stereotypical bias that they are stronger than women, physically and mentally. All this is grounded in men’s belief systems, that is why it is very difficult to be a coach, even though the male coach is for a feminine sport. We have been living in a patriarchal society since the beginning of time. It has always been that way and, perhaps, may not change rapidly – the way society will deal with women and women coaches and the way people consider gender. What is perceived is different – or the opposite – as compared to what is writte n; the law is not always followed, but what people think is what is being observed and done. And what is right – that men are far more superior than women and that they should have more in law and in benefits? Person (2010) says that there is the traditional wisdom that women are only for feminine sports like gymnastics or cheerleading and that they should not engage in ‘high physical contact’ sports and activities. A law was passed in 1972, known as Title IX of the Educational Amendments, which granted women rights to play in all sports. Title IX protects the rights of students and employees from discrimination based on gender. Person (2010) indicated that while Title IX provides equal opportunity for women in sports, it does not provide equal opportunity in specific sports. For example, while there is no women equivalent for American football, women are provided options to consider other sports like volleyball or hockey which, according to Person, does not mean equality as ‘options do not mean equal’. Women coaches for feminine sports are also discriminated. Another stereotyping is that female coaches are lesbians. This is clear gender bias. There are even some women who think that way. So, it is no surprise that men have that perception and feeling. People look at the outside appearance and not the qualities of the job the person has been hired. Since the woman coach is seen that way, it would be hard for administrators and supervisors to give them benefits or raise their salaries. B. Men coaches are paid higher than women coaches If people were given the chance of evading the truth or playing with the law, they would do this in artistic and creative ways. I thought that, as regards the university and the students’ sports world, people should be concerned of improving their skills and pursuing excellence in their talents. But later I realized, after reading about women and equality, that there’s much to be done aside from pursuing excellence. Laws promoting equality have been perfected, but their implementation has been ignored. Despite the provision of Title IX for equality between men and women coaches, the fact remains that men coaches are paid much more than women. According to Tyler (2012), schools and universities tried to play it around Title IX by showing that the pay for coaches of women’

Customer Service Standard Setting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Customer Service Standard Setting - Essay Example There have been many issues regarding the pipelines and other accessories that are used to transfer water throughout the city. The problem concerned is that the customer service centers have not been adequate enough to effectively fulfill the requirements of the general public. For this reason I am just not targeting any company instead I will target upon the entire water industry and propose a method that would enable them to make up better decisions using CBA(Cost Benefit Analysis) and the customer preference theory. An important and decisive factor that defines the end of a pipeline's functional life is the customer service standards that are in place. If customers are reluctant to accept any disturbances in water supply then the functional life of the pipeline is much shorter than that for a pipeline whose customers are ready to accept interruptions coupled with failures and the following repair of these failures. This methodology was based upon the procedure of Choice Modeling. Even as still a non-market technique, this technique is considered the state of the art in this area, and is a noteworthy improvement on approaches such as dependent valuation that are subject to context effects that is misrepresentation due to the way in which the questions are asked. Through the use of choice modeling and by questioning a statistically convincing number of customers and dealing with different subsets of this number with delicately varied choices, it is feasible to quantify customers' willingness to pay for various attributes. By classifying attributes valued by customers and their readiness to pay for them, the benefits side of the equation is complete. On the other side of this equation, of course, are costs. Also there is a need to develop an understanding of the social costs associated with water service provision. These comprise the cost of traffic disruption due to pipeline, repairs, failures or replacement (like road blocks occur when such construction or renovation takes place), and the loss to business just because of water service disturbances. These costs can be considerable depending on the conditions and should not be overlooked. Amusingly, these social costs amount high at both very rigid standards and very liberal ones, as social costs are accounted when pipes are often replaced to achieve the higher standard. In this methodology we need to consequently examine through various survey questions and focus groups about the attributes of disturbances of which the customers are most concerned. The questionnaire may include the SSI questions, and various other questions highlighting the attributes of water service. The detail of the results can be reported in the technical report. For the purposes of this report, the following can be stated as the method would show how the respondents coped up with the interruptions; the involved person generally could cope with short disturbances, and the components of such nuisances that are deemed to be important are: Time length of the interruption; Whether they are notified of the interruptions; What day the interruptions happened at what time and Finally, the number of interruptions per year This methodology should undergo identification of the interrupti

Constitutional position of the subcarphatian Rus in the first CSFR Essay

Constitutional position of the subcarphatian Rus in the first CSFR between 1918 and 1938 - Essay Example The proposal to join the Carpathia Rus as a whole into the Czechoslovak state came from President Wilson. The Central National Council adopted this plan and sanctioned it in 1919 and sought to effect it in the Czechoslovak Constitution of 1920. This constitution granted autonomy to the new province. However, this autonomy was only on paper and not in reality. The central government was unwilling to grant full autonomy until much later in 1938 in the Munich Agreement (Hurny 2012). While the treaty of Saint Germain required that minority rights be protected, the Czechoslovak Constitution gave only Ruthenians constitutional autonomy. The reality, however, is that legislative and judicial operations in the Carpathian Rus were run from Prague by the Central government. To justify this breach of the supposed democracy, the Czech government argued that the province lacked required judicial and legislative structures and could not, therefore, be fully independent. This was compounded by the fact that Carpathia Ruthenia was the least economically productive region in the country. It was also the least populated of the provinces. For Ruthenians, the autonomy pledged by the Czechoslovak Republic and provided for by the Constitution of 1920 was not implemented for two decades. The issue became the subject of discontent. This situation only improved in 1938 after the Munich

Early Childhood Trauma Lives on in Adulthood Essay Example for Free

Early Childhood Trauma Lives on in Adulthood Essay Abused children eventually become problem adults who are a burden to society. Recent studies reveal the significance of parenting in the cross-generational transmission of aggressive or problem behavior up to three continuous generations. Stable evidence has long recognized and documented the negative effects of aggressive or harsh and inconsistent parenting and identified the need for interventions that would foster better parenting skills. These new findings provide the direct link between the incidence of child abuse and the emergence of problem behavior later in life. Child abuse may be physical, emotional, sexual or through neglect. Child Protective agencies received and investigated three million reports of maltreatment of close to four million children in 1999, 54% of which were due to neglect. But because most of the victims were too young and too afraid to speak out, these agencies believed that the actual incidence was greater than reported. While it occurred in all social, ethnic and income groups, child abuse was most common among poor, under-educated and dysfunctional families and committed mostly by parents themselves who were young, unmarried or separated, lonely and coping with life’s stresses but not criminal or psychotic. Un-addressed incidence of child abuse increases the risk of criminality, academic failure and failed social relationships in later life. Present literature presents conclusive findings that parent-toddler relationship directly affects the toddler’s problem behavior, with deviant or aggressive maternal behavioral attitudes crossing and spanning three continuous generations from grandmother to the child . A study offers significant evidence that angry, aggressive parenting strongly influences the development of aggressive behavior in adolescence through social learning and often results in unsatisfactory romantic and marital relationships and conditions. Findings also show that financial distress and improper parenting produce problem behavior n children and that poor or injurious maternal attitudes lead to it. Antisocial and violent behavior in children and adults is also seen as the consequence of birth complications and certain biological factors when combined with a negative home atmosphere. Family relationships strongly affect a child’s self-esteem and the impact often remains through life. Collusion among siblings also contributed to the development of faulty behavior in children who were abused at home. Boys were more affected by peer rejection and girls, by low academic performance Abused preschoolers often came from low-income families and exhibited at least one antisocial behavior each day in class. Most of these children were African-American who suffered from guilt and self-blame but most mothers of both problem and non-problem children viewed their children in similar ways . Popular myths conduce to wrong beliefs and must be guided by scientific knowledge. And despite much knowledge and effort, there remains the need for consistent and thorough mechanisms that will confront the issue and arrest the causes or conditions in preschool age right at the family and in the community. Subjects and participants in the studies included parents of children with problem behavior, adolescent parents, grandmothers of problem children, other family members with a target child at high risk for sibling collusion, mothers of non-problem children, respondents to 39 studies of biosocial interactions, demographic sub-groups (such as African-Americans) and normative samples of preschoolers exhibiting antisocial behavior. Child mistreatment or abuse can be physical, emotional, sexual or in the form of neglect. Neglect was the most common type and the perpetrators were mostly parents who themselves were abused as children. Irritable and aggressive parenting led children to grow up into unstable, under-controlled adolescents and adults with troubled relationships, families and parenting in later life. This type of parenting passed from the first to the third generations through the behaviors of the children who learned and engendered them mainly from their mothers’ own behaviors. This antisocial behavior that began from home increased the risk of criminality, academic failure and social relationship problems. Financial stress had a strong impact on parenting quality that transmitted antisocial behavior from generation to generation Four studies directly showed and reinforced earlier findings of this intergeneration transmission, demonstrated by preschoolers at least once daily in class. These preschoolers came mostly from low-income families, most boys influenced by peer rejection and most girls, by low academic performance. Sibling collusion and biosocial factors aggravated and reinforced the formation of antisocial behavior from children who were abused. Mistreated African-American children experienced more guilt and self-blame than Caucasian children. Common beliefs about children’s misbehavior also clashed with scientific knowledge. All conditions pointed to the need for adequate mechanisms of early intervention that would consistently and thoroughly address the problem or question at the crucial preschool age of children . Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment or neglect of a child. About half of all cases of child abuse involve neglect, committed most often by the child’s own parents, other family members and caretakers, such as teachers, babysitters, other children or even strangers. Once viewed as a minor social problem, child abuse caught closer notice from the media, law enforcers and professionals and, since then, figures began to go up. But authorities claimed that actual figures could only be higher than these, because abuses on children were more often hidden and the victims were too young and too afraid to report the crime. Child protective agencies investigated three million reports on the mistreatment of nearly four million children in 1999 and found that 54% of these were cases of neglect. They also discovered that a child was often a victim of more than one form of abuse, that it occurred more in low-income than high-income families with little education, among young mothers, single-parent families and in families where the parents were alcohol or drug-dependent. Investigations revealed that 90% of these parents, however, were neither criminal nor mentally unstable, but were lonely, young, single parents with unwanted pregnancies. Some or many of them were themselves abused as children, but statistics show that most abused children did not grow up to become abusive parents. Behavioral experts pointed to the lack of parenting skills, unrealistic expectations of children’s behavior and capabilities, social isolation and family conflicts as additional factors that contribute to child abuse, which they perceived as the parents’ coping response to their situation. The agencies’ 1999 investigations showed that 75% of perpetrators were the parents themselves and those involved in the care of these children. Physical abuse is the deliberate bodily injury on a child, most often a male (Black 2004). Earlier studies showed that 24% of all confirmed cases of child abuse were physical. The abuse is sexual if the child has not yet attained the age of legal consent and the abuse is performed for the sexual gratification of the abuser. The act may include sexual touching, intercourse, exposure of sexual organs or viewing pornography. In many sexual child abuse cases, the abuser was not a stranger or related to the child and one in five was under the age of legal consent himself or herself (Black). Reports also said that 20-25% of the cases were female and 10-15% were male who were sexually violated by age 18 (Black). Emotional abuse, on the other hand, consists of acts of rejection, ignoring, criticizing, isolation, or terrorizing of a child, which results in his or her loss of self-esteem. These are verbal assaults, which reject, belittle or use a child as a â€Å"scapegoat. † Emotional abuse is the least reported because it often accompanies the other types and the hardest to prove And neglect is the failure to provide for the child’s basic needs, whether physical, emotional or the lack of sustenance. Neglect accounted for 52% of all investigated reports of child abuse in 1996. Abusive parents physically afflict their child when they lose control even for normal actions like crying or a change in diapers. Non-abusive parents may at times get angry or upset, but remain genuinely loving, in contrast with abusive parents who harbor deep-seated hostility towards the child. Physical abuse can be suspected with the common signs, such as burns, bruises, bone or skull fractures. Death from physical abuse, such as the shaken baby syndrome, was among the leading causes for children less than a year old. Studies revealed that physical abuse changed children’s behavior in many ways. Psychological experts maintained that sexual abuse constituted sexual arousal in a child and the child’s willingness to act on it, conditioned by alcohol, drugs or the misconception that there was nothing wrong about the act. There were greater chances of sexual abuse if the child was developmentally disabled or vulnerable some way. This type of abuse was often discovered when genital or anal injuries or abnormalities, including the presence of sexually transmitted disease, were noticed in a child. Behavioral signs included anxiety, poor school performance, suicidal tendencies or attempts, excessive masturbation and an unusually sexualized behavior often gave sexual abuse away. Emotional abuse was often detected with the loss of self-esteem, sleep disturbance, headache or stomach ache, school absenteeism and leaving home. Neglect develops from a parent’s negative feeling towards a child or the parent may truly care but is unable to provide for the child’s needs because of the parent’s depression, drug dependence, mental handicap or other problems. Findings said that neglected children did not receive sufficient nourishment or emotional and mental stimulation and this lack hampered their normal physical, social, emotional and mental development. Underweight, delayed language skills and emotional instability were among the consequences. Doctors, social workers, other professionals, child welfare agencies and the police conducted physical and psychological examinations and interviews of abused children. Reporting to the authorities, treating the child’s injuries and protecting him or her from further harm were primary measures in child abuse cases. These authorities could then evaluate if moving the child to another willing and qualified relative or a foster family would be in the best interests of the child, whether long or short-term Further investigation could reveal that the child’s siblings were abuse victims themselves, as reports found that about 20% of siblings were child abuse victims themselves. These children wre observed to perform poorly in school, develop antisocial personality or behavior, or turn to drugs or alcohol, try suicide or become emotionally unstable in adulthood. Parents’ mistreatment or abuse of their own children leads these children to form antisocial or problem behavior as adolescents and as adults. Previous and recent studies presented substantial evidence that angry, abusive and aggressive parental behavior spill over to these children up to three generations through social learning. These behaviors, therefore, directly influence the different social behaviors and relationships of their children in adolescence and adulthood. Parents’ anger, hostility or emotional support essentially determines if a child will be a supportive or rejecting adolescent. Hostility towards parents and an adolescent conclusively predicts problematic romantic and family relationships later in his or her life. These latter studies also demonstrated that parenting in the first generation directly affected the bond between parents and child, one of the most important human bonds in life. This study offered evidence of intergenerational continuity wherein aggression in youth is often followed by aggressive parenting. That kind of parenting, in turn, appears to contribution to aggression in children. This particular study expounded on the utter significance of parenting in the intergenerational transmission of antisocial or problem behavior. It also explained how normative approval of aggression, aggressive fantasies and verbal aggression maintain aggressive behavior through time. Still another study focused on the transmission of problem behavior from parents to toddlers, its appearance in preschool and how it affects academic performance. It found that the characteristics of parent-child relationships tended to continue or replicate themselves across generations. It showed that a grandmother or mother who was cold or dissatisfied exercised inappropriate control, which was characterized by conflict. This behavior model was copied by adolescent children who repeated it towards their own. The study added that the kind of behavior the grandmother towards the parent increased the probability of impulsiveness, rebelliousness, irresponsibility and other psychological problems in adolescent and the eventual parent-child relationship. This last study likewise explained how hostile maternal behaviors go through a cycle of intergenerational continuity. It suggested that aspects of parent-child relationships passed from generation to generation. They, thus, served as direct models of behavior and indirectly influenced the development of personality traits, which characterized the relationship. Parent-child relationship was an important mediator between the parents’ characteristics and those of the child. The study suggested that reducing the risk of transmission in the first two generations would reduce the risk between the next two. The search for the connection between early childhood trauma or child abuse and the development of problem behavior later in life brought to light significant evidence of social and biological processes, which appeared to predispose children to antisocial behavior. This included of birth complications, a negative home environment of violence, hormones, neurotransmitters, toxins and drugs as having an impact on the development of problem behavior when the home environment or relationship reinforced their biologic effect. Still another study examined the level of intergenerational transmission and how financial distress and the parenting style affected the transmission. From interrogations and observations, it found that antisocial behavior of both parents had similar impact on their children and that parents who were more consistent and warm had lower development levels of antisocial behavior in their children. Fathers’ antisocial behaviors and mothers’ parenting had the strongest effects on children’s latter development of problem behavior and improper parenting style. Parallel studies discovered that preschoolers from economically disadvantaged families had a higher risk of developing antisocial behavior. The studies on preschool respondents said that 30% of those with misbehavior belonged to lower economic classes as compared to only 3% to 6% in higher economic classes. The preschoolers from lower economic classes also tended to develop lower or slower language ability levels and poorer social skills. They also developed bad temper and temperament, which would become worse when their families confronted financial stressors and limited resources. # BIBLIOGRAPHY Black, B. (2004). Child abuse. 4 pages. Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health: Thomas Gale Brook, J. S. , Whiteman, M. , Zheng, L. (2002). Intergenerational transmission of risks for problem behavior. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology: Plenum Publishing Corporation Conger, R. D. , Neppi, T. , Kim, K. J. and Scaramilla, L. (2003). 20 pages. Angry and aggressive behavior across three generations: a prospective longitudinal study of parents and children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. Plenum Publishing Corporation Dubow, E. F. (2003). Theoretical and methodical considerations in cross- generational research on parenting and child aggressive behavior. 10 pages. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. Plenum Publishing Corporation. Fiorello, C. A. (2001). Common myths of children’s behavior. 4 pages. Skeptical Inquirer: Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal Fox, L. (2002). Early intervention, positive behavior support, and transition to school. 31 pages. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders. Pro-Ed, Inc. Lewin, L, Davis, B. and Hops, H. (999). Childhood social predictors of adolescent antisocial behavior: gender differences in predictive accuracy and efficacy. 20 pages. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. Plenum Publishing Corporation. Qi, C. H and Kaiser, A. (2003). Behavior problems of preschool children from low-income families. 82 pages. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education: Pro-Ed, Inc Raine, A. (2002). Biosocial studies of antisocial and violent behavior in children and adults. 20 pages. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology: Plenum Publishing Corpora

Effects of Tobacco Advertising Ban on Formula One

Effects of Tobacco Advertising Ban on Formula One The effects on Formula One of the European directive banning tobacco advertising and associated sponsorship. Abstract In this piece we set out to try to determine the effects on the Formula One organisation that would be brought about by the European Unions ban on tobacco advertising. We investigate the issues by firstly attempting to establish whether Formula One tobacco advertising actually does pose a threat to health. We then look at the actual evolution of the European Unions ban on tobacco advertising with the various responses that the FIA and Formula One management have made and contrast that to the actual actions which we can see that they have taken. An examination of the actual amounts of money involved helps to put into perspective the difficulties faced by the Formula One management in trying to deal with the potential losses of revenue from an advertising ban. We try to analyse the political issues that are relevant to the decisions that the FIA have to make and also examine the mechanisms that they have used to try to influence them. Finally, having examined and quantified these issues, we outline the impact of the European Unions ban on tobacco advertising an the effects that it has had, and probably will have, on Formula One racing. Introduction Formula One racing is a major player on the world’s sporting stage. It is considered both glamorous and exciting. As such it is watched and followed by millions of people across the globe. Because of this popularity it enjoys huge influence in our collective consciousness. Over the last 37 years it has courted controversy by balancing the enormous advertising revenue it receives for tobacco products against the various ethical and health considerations that are obviously consequent on that decision. The history of tobacco advertising and Formula One stems from the original decision in 1968 for Gold Leaf to sponsor the Lotus 49, in return for prominent displays of its logo. The so-called â€Å"fag packet on wheels† achieved a certain notoriety in the press and in doing so generated far more positive publicity and awareness than the tobacco company could ever have dreamed of. We do not know what the value of this original sponsorship was in financial terms but in terms of the publicity generated, the value was colossal. This comparatively modest beginning started 45 years of controversy which is still both raging, and indeed possibly gathering momentum even today. The implications of that first black and gold logo appearing on the side of a racing car would be the precursor of the selling of colosally valuable real-estate (in terms of car panels, driver’s overalls and helmets) that would shape decisions as basic as just where and when Formula One Grand Prix races were held – if they were to be held at all – as Canada, Germany, Belgium France and Austria have all found to their cost. It has involved the governments of most of the Formula One participating countries. It has involved the European Union in making legislation specifically tailored to tackle the Formula One problem, and it has involved Formula One making public pronouncemen ts while clearly pursuing an alternative agenda behind the scenes. It has nearly brought down Tony Blair’s government and certainly has left a very unpleasant stain on his reputation and credibility. (see on) In this piece we are going to try to evaluate the effects of the impending ban on tobacco advertising in all sports imposed by the European Union, particularly in its relevance to Formula One. The first question that we have to consider is â€Å"Why all the fuss?† Just why is the European Union getting involved in an ostensibly minor issue which, on the face of it is only relevant to a small proportion of the sports-following public? Is advertising on Formula One cars a real threat to the Public Health? The issue of whether smoking is a personal health risk has been so well rehearsed over the recent few decades that it scarcely needs repeating here. Some factors are undoubtedly relevant to our considerations however. Smoking trends have varied greatly over the past few decades. The actual prevalence of smoking has declined, as far as the general population is concerned, by about 40% since 1960 (CDC 1993) As far as the UK is concerned, this diminishing trend has actually levelled out over the last 15 yrs. (Dobson et al. 1998). It is particularly relevant to our considerations here that, with specific reference to the adolescent and young adult fraction of the population, the actual trends in cigarette consumption has actually increased (Nelson et al. 1995) (NCHS 1995). The age range which has the current highest prevalence of smokers is the 20-24yr. age group where 42% of men and 39% of women report regular smoking (NCHS 1995). Many other studies have produced consistent and corroborating results, so we can have a considerable confidence in their validity. The peak incidence of smoking is generally found to be at about 21 yrs. (Paavola et al 2004) which contrasts to the peak age for alcohol intake which occurs at about 28yrs. The relevance of these points will become clear later on in our considerations. One interesting, and possibly very relevant observation, that also came from this same study, was the fact that the incidence of smoking correlated highly with individuals who watched large amounts of television. There is possibly a link here as Formula One is clearly a prime time occupant of some television channels. Also of relevance to our considerations here, is the study by Van Den Bree (2004) who found that the single biggest predictor of smoking and drinking in the adolescent years was the endorsement of that particular activity by the teenager’s peer group. There is little doubt that one of the major attractions of Formula One is the aspirational qualities that it appears to possess. Fifty years ago the aspiring teenager typically wanted to be a train driver. One could argue that a similar reverential status is now held by the racing driver who is perceived as glamorous, skilled and dashing and risking his life in his chosen career – all qualities that are commonly perceived as worthy of adoption in a peer-group scenario. The thrust of this section is to try to establish the evidence to support the view that by sponsoring Formula One, the tobacco companies do pose a threat to the public health. There seems little doubt that the young adult (being the largest smoking group) and the adolescent (being the most impressionable group) are the two most important and potentially profitable targets for the tobacco companies in their advertising campaigns. (Teague 1973) This has been clearly demonstrated in the wake of some very prominent lawsuits in the USA. As a result of these lawsuits a number of tobacco company documents were ordered to be released into the public domain. (Phelps 1998) (Schwartz 1998) these confirmed beyond a shadow of doubt that the tobacco companies were deliberately targeting the young adult and adolescent market in order to try to create a brand loyalty and they were using Formula One as a suitable medium (For reasons already outlined) to do it. Three examples are given here from the documents released at the trial 1957: A Philip Morris Executive writes that Hitting the youth can be more efficient even though the cost to reach them is higher, because they are willing to experiment, they have more influence over others in their age group than they will later in life, and they are far more loyal to their starting brand . 1971: An internal RJ Reynolds document outlines that the lower age limit for the profile of young smokers is to remain at 14. (Pioneer press 1998) 1973: Claude Teague, Assistant Chief in RD at RJ Reynolds, writes a paper: Some Thoughts About New Brands of Cigarettes for the Youth Market; At the outset it should be said that we are presently, and I believe unfairly, constrained from directly promoting cigarettes to the youth market if our company is to survive and prosper, over the long term we must get our share of the youth market. 1974 Claude Teague also said in a memo to other executives: Importance of Younger Adult Smokers Why, then, are younger adult smokers important to RJR? Younger adult smokers are the only source of replacement smokers. Repeated government studies (Appendix B) have shown that: à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ · Less than one-third of smokers (31 percent) start after 18. à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ · Only 5 percent of smokers start after age 24. Thus, todays younger adult smoking behavior will largely determine the trend of industry volume over the next several decades. If younger adults turn away from smoking, the industry must decline, just as a population which does not give birth will eventually dwindle. In such an environment, a positive RJR sales trend would require disproportionate share gains and/or steep price increases (which could depress volume) (Schwartz 1998) The whole area is clearly targeted at the young adult population – which is the best represented at a typical Formula One meeting. Formula One sponsorship is clearly therefore a very important asset to the tobacco advertising industry. (Phelps 1998) The whole area of tobacco advertising being attached to Formula One is primarily to raise brand awareness, reinforcing the brand image and (hopefully) increasing the market share of the product. By association of the particular tobacco product with the image of Formula One that we have described it is hoped that the product will be perceived as â€Å"Cool, glamorous and exciting† ( Cornwell et al 1998) (Irwin et al. 1994) In a document which we shall comment on further later in this piece, the FIA (World motor Sport Council) commissioned a report (December 1998) to look at the evidence to support this view. The key findings in this report can be summarised as follows: that the tobacco companies were driven by an obsessive need to recruit young smokers to satisfy their market demands which required vast numbers of new smoking recruits in the UK alone they need 300 new smokers a day and that for decades tobacco companies marketed their products to young people, including to children too young to purchase the products legally that this obsession with new, young smokers is evident in companies market research on teenagers, some as young as 12-, 13- and 14- years old and in one instance as young as five years old that studies showed that the majority of smokers start using tobacco while in their teenage years, and that hardly anyone starts smoking in their twenties but that those who started at around the ages of 12 or 13 years old often want to quit by the age of 16, concerned that smoking was damaging their ability to participate in sports. Knowing this, the tobacco companies sought to lure and addict children to cigarettes before the desire to stop grew strong, and sought sponsorship deals with sport to counteract any concerns they may have about the health dangers of smoking that tobacco companies knew that lifelong brand preferences are formed in the early teenage years and that increased visibility for their products could shape these preferences that sponsorship of Formula One is the jewel in tobaccos crown it is the pinnacle of successful, glamour-laden global events with a massive potential to reach the young through both the televised events and the spin-off merchandise. This evidence seems self explanatory. There is clear benefit for the tobacco companies to promote their goods to the young on the basis that they are the most susceptible to their advertising and that once smoking they are likely to continue. Their strategy is to present smoking as an acceptable pastime endorsed by a glamorous high profile sport that effectively negates the plentiful and contrary messages that smoking is bad for sporting performance. There is further evidence to support this view. A survey of adolescent boys (Smee 1992) found that the boys who had stated that their favourite broadcast sport was Formula One, were more likely to name Marlborough and Camel cigarettes (brands associated with Formula One) than any other brand and were also more likely to have begun smoking within the following year (Andrews Franke 1991). This same survey also found that in the age range of 12-13yr old UK boys, only 7% smoked, this proportion rose to 13% in those boys who said that their favourite sport was Formula One. Further, and extremely important retrospective studies, looked at the effects of removal of tobacco advertising in the four countries France, New Zealand, Finland and Germany between the years of 1975 and 1993 and they found that the cigarette consumption (per capita of the population) had fallen from between 14 37%. It follows from the evidence presented so far, that we can reasonably conclude that tobacco advertising associated with Formula One racing does form a threat to the Public Health. It poses a threat to the impressionable youth who may well wish to emulate their peer group by appearing â€Å"Cool, sophisticated and glamorous† which is exactly the inference that tobacco advertising seeks to imply by associating itself with the â€Å"cool, sophisticated and glamorous† sport of Formula One motor racing. There is no reasonable doubt that tobacco smoking is a major deterrent to health. It clearly follows from this argument that the policy currently pursued by Formula One is having a deleterious impact on the Public Health on a global scale (See on) How much money is involved? The whole issue of Formula One advertising only really became an issue of public concern and debate when the whole area of tobacco advertising on terrestrial television became a censorship issue. This occurred in the UK in 1965, the USA in 1971 and Canada in 1972. It has since occurred in the vast majority of western countries although it has to be noted that a significant proportion of the far east (where Formula One racing is now starting to spread) there still is no effective curtailment of any type of tobacco advertisements in any of the differing forms of media. The tobacco advertisers therefore had to turn to other mechanisms for getting their products into the public consciousness and sponsoring major sporting event that were to be broadcast seemed the way forward for them. (Ledwith 1984) (Stoner 1992). Formula One has a virtual monopoly of the broadcasting rights to their races worldwide and they have the ability to dictate a great deal of exactly what (and how) we, as the viewing public, see their races One study on the subject discovered that Marlboro managed to obtain nearly 3.5 hours of â€Å"In-focus† exposure during the 15 races of the 1989 Formula One season. (Blum 1991) The same report stated that during the same season the name Marlboro was either seen or mentioned 5933 times. To equate that to a financial basis, between 1997 and 1999 the tobacco companies collectively managed to achieve 169 hours of advertising exposure in the USA alone which equates to about $411 million in advertising value. (Siegel 2001) To put this figure into perspective it should be noted that tobacco companies themselves are seldom the only sponsor of a team or an event. In Formula One the running costs are enormous. We can quote the figures for the 2001 season for the top three teams as Ferrari at $284.4 million; McLaren at $274.6 million and BAR Honda at $194.5 million. (Formula 1 Magazine 2001) The actual spending of the money is harder to quantify in terms of figures but a fairly accurate estimate is thought to be that Philip Morris (Marlboro) in its sponsorship of Ferrari spends $23 million on Michael Schumacher’s salary and a further $65 million for the privilege of having their logo placed strategically on the car and the overalls and helmets of the drivers (Saward 2001) (Donaldson 2001) Similar orders of money are spent on the other teams Reemtsma (West) sponsors the McLaren team spending $37 million to have their brand name prominently displayed( Saward 2001). British American tobacco who are the prime sponsors of BAR invested about $47 million during the 2000 season (Donaldson 2001) The collective total of tobacco sponsorship money invested in Formula One in the 2000 season was thought to be $250 million (Grange 2001) Despite all that we have outlined above, it is not only the exposure at race-day that is important to the tobacco advertisers, but there is also the visibility obtained by all of the â€Å"third party† pictures and co-sponsors. The tobacco product attains an added prestige boost when seen in the company of other high prestige products. A classic example of this came when Philip Morris (Tobacco) was a co-sponsor of a Formula One team along with TAG Heuer watches which provide the time keeping at Formula One races. TAG Heuer place a lot of newsprint and poster adverts and these show the Philip Morris logo on the Formula One car which, if it were advertising tobacco, would be prohibited but as it is purporting to advertise watches it bypasses this particular restriction. In just the same way Benson Hedges share sponsorship of the Honda BAR and Jordan teams so Benson Hedges gain significant visibility through Honda advertising. This kind of relationship is quite risky from a Public Relations point of view (Both from the co-sponsor perspective as well as from the Formula One racing team’s viewpoint). Again if we consider the impact that the withdrawal of tobacco advertising revenue would have from Formula One then we should consider the recent case of TAG Heuer and Reemtsma (Makers of West cigarettes) the fall out from which did nobody any favours. In June 2001 the premier French newspaper Le Monde raised an objection to a TAG Heuer advertisement which prominently displayed a Formula One carbohydrate with an equally prominent West logo displayed upon it. (Anon En France 2001) TAG Heuer was accused of violating French laws regarding tobacco advertising. It did manage to successfully defend itself by asserting that as an official sponsor of McLaren it was contractually required to use official team images. It was a situation that did not bring any particularly favourable publicity to any of the protagonists. Certainly none to TAG Heuer or West and it did not show Formula One in a particularly favourable light either. (Anon Tag Heuer 2001) Although the financial impact of tobacco advertising on Formula One racing is quite clear from these figures There is also the converse argument which we have not considered yet. The sponsorship agreement locks in a sponsor for a certain finite period of time for a certain fee. But these agreements also impel the sponsors to utilise the racing team’s photographs and other images on any piece of promotional material that links them with the sport. This represents another, less well publicised impact that withdrawing tobacco advertising sponsorship would have on Formula One. It is curious that high prestige brands such as Hewlett-Packard and TAG Heuer find themselves locked into a sponsorship agreement with products that, on the face of it, you would not expect to share a particular brand image. The value of tobacco advertising to Formula One, or indeed the value of Formula One to tobacco advertising, can hardly be understated. It is only when one considers the absolute magnitude of the sums of money involved that one can fully appreciate the difficulties that Formula One would face if the tobacco advertisers were stopped from continuing their sponsorship of the industry. Despite their posturing and public statements, one can begin to understand the enormous cash vacuum that would be left if Formula One voluntarily detached itself from the tobacco industry The evolution of the current tobacco ban by the European Union The European Union’s Directive on the banning of tobacco advertising in print, radio advertising and event sponsorship by tobacco companies is due to come into force on July 31st 2005. This is the culmination of a prolonged multifaceted campaign from many sources and has many potential ramifications for both the sport and its followers. We will highlight some of the important events in the evolution of this Directive. The Directive was originally published in 1997 with the intention that it would come into force in 2005 In November 1997 The then Health Secretary Frank Dobson announced on Radio while being interviewed by John Humphries, that the government would ban all sports sponsorship by tobacco companies In March 1998 the FIA announced at the Australian grand Prix of that year that it was going to ban tobacco advertising from 2002. That would have been four years ahead of the time that it would have been required to do so by the European Unions ban on tobacco advertising. This was the so-called Melbourne Declaration. The Melbourne Declaration was a timely statement put out by the FIA as a result of pressure form the world’s media after the European Unions ban on tobacco advertising was first mooted. In essence it said that: â€Å"if presented with evidence of a direct link between tobacco advertising / sponsorship and smoking, it would act to eliminate tobacco advertising / sponsorship from Formula One†. It went on to discuss its stance of agreeing to take a responsible look at the issues involved after being presented with evidence form the British Government and other agencies and said that it was discussing the issue with the World Health Organisation (Hills 1996). It set the date of 2002 as it happened to be the date of the expiry of the Concorde Agreement between the teams and the FIA. It also stated that such a ban would apply to all Grands Prix whether in the European Community or not. By way of a reply to this, and other pressure from various Governments and pressure groups the Chairman of the FIA (Mr Max Mosley) published another document at a press conference at the Monaco Grand Prix in May 1998 which outlined the proposed mechanism for examining the evidence. One could be forgiven for suggesting that the FIA was playing for time, as there appears to be a dilution of their Melbourne Declaration, the date of 2002 is replaced with a reference to the date of the European Unions ban on tobacco advertising in 2006. â€Å"To remind you, we said that if convincing evidence were to be offered to show that the promotion of tobacco through Formula 1 racing is responsible for persuading people who would not otherwise smoke to take up the habit, then we the FIA would ourselves eliminate it before 2006. We have received a certain amount of evidence to this effect, and we are now considering the best way to evaluate that evidence. Rather than leaving the final judgement to myself, or the FIA generally, we are looking into the possibility of raising a formal inquiry, under the direction of an independent assessor, to study the evidence that has been offered.† In July 1998, ASH (action on smoking and health) wrote to Mr Mosley, who was the chairman of the FIA, to ask that Formula One should place a voluntary ban on tobacco advertising. It points out the evidence gained from documents used in various tobacco trials in the USA, that tobacco firms were targeting Formula One racing as a suitable outlet for their advertising with the â€Å"specific intent and rationale† to market cigarettes to the young. The thrust of the letter was to ask the FIA to consider the health risks that it was running by accepting the $300 million that the industry was paid in total during that year as tobacco advertising revenue. ASH asked the FIA to consider appointing an independent assessor to evaluate the evidence that tobacco advertising was a risk to health and to â€Å"take the necessary steps to end tobacco sponsorship of Formula One in 2002. â€Å" In December 1998 the FIA issued another Document in the form of a communiquà © in response to pressure for a decision from various quarters. It purports to be reasonable as it concedes that there will never be absolute proof that tobacco advertising in Formula One is responsible for young people starting to smoke. They commit themselves to an assessment on the â€Å"balance of probabilities† – he same test that is applied in a civil court of law. The FIA also states that it has not yet appointed an independent assessor. By July 1999 the FIA were still prevaricating and had not made any significant progress towards making a decision. ASH sent the FIA a well publicised and open letter in which they rehearse the rationale for the various options of decision, pointing to the fact that the balance of probabilities – although undoubtedly giving the answer that ASH wanted was not the best approach and they suggested that, in these circumstances, a precautionary approach would be appropriate. The main question facing the FIA assessment is therefore, given the very serious consequences and the authoritative views from Governments, the World Bank and others, how much evidence is needed to justify action? As in all disputes, a test of evidence is required. The FIA has asked for clear and convincing evidence but the level of conviction required to justify action is not stated. There are three possible tests: balance of probabilities basis the same test used in civil legal action. In this case the assessor would decide if it was more likely than not that tobacco advertising through Formula One increased smoking. beyond reasonable doubt basis the test used in criminal legal action. The danger with using beyond reasonable doubt is that the FIA could continue to act as if there was no relationship between advertising and increased smoking, when in fact the evidence suggested it was more likely than not that there is a link and more likely than not that lives would be lost. precautionary approach the approach increasingly used in regulation where the consequences of being wrong are serious and the evidence is complex to establish. With this approach those claiming that tobacco promotion in Formula One does not increase overall consumption would be required to make their case beyond reasonable doubt. In our view, the precautionary approach is the right way to assess the evidence. The great danger posed by smoking, and the obvious common sense idea that advertising influences teenagers and increases smoking suggests that the evidence should be evaluated to give the benefit of doubt to evidence suggesting harm. The situation is still far from clear as a fax from the Turkish National Committee on Tobacco and Health shows. Turkey has applied to have its own Formula One fixture. It is clear that the Formula One owners have put pressure on the Turkish Government as this fax shows. The Turkish Government had previously enacted a legal ban on all tobacco advertising in sports in 1996, so in order to host its own Grand Prix with tobacco advertising, it had to rush through legislation to make Formula One exempt from its own legislation. The public outcry was such that it subsequently had to withdraw this exemption and its application would have to proceed in the face of the prospect of a tobacco-advertising-free race. It is interesting to note that the FIA replied to this messeage with a totally unambiguous statement: â€Å"We always obey the law in each country we visit. In most countries, the laws are decided by elected representatives, as you say. In some countries tobacco sponsorship is allowed. In others it is not. We would not attempt to hold a Formula One race in a country where it is not allowed. The two exceptions are France and the UK, where respectively a law and a voluntary agreement are of long standing and the cars have raced without sponsorship for many years. We have ourselves voted a complete ban on tobacco sponsorship in motor sport from 1 October 2006.† The FIA clearly would not consider having a race where tobacco advertising was not allowed, but it again commits itself to the implementation of a complete ban in 2006 although it has to be said that the language of the letter strongly implies that it is a voluntary arrangement rather than one that is forced upon them by the European Unions ban on tobacco advertising Political consequences Soon after this exchange the matter took on a completely unexpected turn of events with the embroilment of the UK Labour party in the whole debacle. Both before and after the last election, the Labour Government had made manifesto promises that it would ban both tobacco advertising and tobacco sponsorship from sports in general. After a private meeting between the Prime Minister, Bernie Ecclestone and Max Mosley, the government subsequently backtracked, and announced that it had agreed that Formula One specifically was exempted from the ban as it was so heavily dependent on tobacco advertising revenue that to ban the revenue would effectively mean that the sport would be starved of cash. The move was also justified on the grounds that British employment would also be hard hit. Because Formula One is largely based in the UK, and a great deal of British technology is involved in the sport, it was argued that a ban on tobacco advertising would result in the sport leaving the UK with the loss of 50,000 jobs. They also pointed out that this would not help the anti-smoking campaigns as the sport would then move to tracks in Eastern Europe and the Far East where advertising was not banned. We should observe at this point that this statement completely ignored the contents of the Melbourne Declaration in which the sport had agreed to a voluntary ban in any event. On the face of it therefore, these arguments did not seem to be totally convincing. This was compounded by the fact that other prominent politicians such as the European Commissioner for social affairs Padraig Flynn argued against this stance by saying that Formula One leaving the UK would not cost anything like 50,000 jobs and also the market place, being what it was, new sponsors would be queuing up to take therefore place of the tobacco companies. The significance of this posturing came into the public consciousness with the hugely embarrassing revelation the Bernie Ecclestone (effectively the boss of Formula One ) had made a donation to the Labour Party of  £1 million just before the last election. It was also the case that Mr. Mosley had made a number of smaller donations as well. It later emerged that the Prime Minister had known about these donations when he had his private meeting with Mr Ecclestone and Mr Mosley. It is a well known fact that it is extremely difficult to get a private meeting with the Prime Minister in normal circumstances. The actual timing of these events is worth a closer examination, The spin-offs from this payment were obviously large as, a short time after the donation was made Frank Dobson (as we have already recorded) was paving the way for a way out for the Formula One industry He is quoted as saying â€Å"We recognise that sports are heavily dependent on tobacco sponsorship. We do not wish to harm these sports. We will therefore give them time to help reduce their dependency on tobacco† The mechanics of the negotiation seem transparent if we consider (with the benefit of hindsight) that the donation was made in August, by October 14 Dobson had sent a memo to Tony Blair advising him that there should be a comparatively longer transition period for Formula One than for other sports and two days after that was Mr Blair’s meeting with Mr Eccles