Ethical Implications Of Layoffs And Downsizing

Ethical Implications Of Layoffs And Downsizing The business world has been facing a tough and complex market environment in the recent years. As the economy swings down, majority of firms try find themselves is try to cut some costs and increase profit to survive in the market for long-period. One of the easiest ways to cut cost is through reducing staff and layoff jobs. The elimination of jobs will certainly reduce some expenses like salary expenses, payroll costs as well as human resources costs and so on. leading to increase additional funds for any potential investment that the firm could face to upturn profit. Likely firms could use such strategy like reducing staff and facing no legal action or policy violation, which leads to presents many ethical problems between stakeholders and firms (Baston, Blake Neff, 2007). Its important to understand ethics because it keeps people away from doing whats wrong. If an individuals have no ethics, they would do the wrong thing whenever they believe it benefit them as long as they get away. For example, a person will keep stealing as long as no one is watching him. Similar to business ethics, if a business operates in ethical manners, that will indeed increase the value of a business. For example, if a firm follows the code of ethics in every day decision, it will increase expectations of a social community to ward a firm and customers would like to keep trading with a business and that of course will lead to increase sales of goods/services or both. Ethics is the study of how people try to live their lives according to a standard of right or wrong behaviour-in both how we think and behave toward others and how we could like them to think and behave toward us (Ghillyer, 2008, p. 51). In most situations ethical choices are clear cut that the person can easily decide what is right or wrong thing to do based on ethical principles. Also try to treat others as we would like to be treated; as its expressed by The Golden Rule Do unto others as you would have them do unto you (Ghillyer, 2008, p. 7). However, people choices could also be challenged when they face situation when two or more moral values are in conflict which its known as Ethical dilemma A situation in which there is no obvious right or wrong decision, but rather a right or right answer (Ghillyer, 2008, p. 9). Meaning there is no obvious right or wrong answer, but both right answers. Leaving an equally one right choice undone, others likely to suffer something bad after the choice is made, contradicting a personal ethical principle in making that choice and abandoning an ethical value of a community or society in making that choice (Ghillyer, 2008, p. 9). As it is shown in the case provided The Layoff Alice is facing an ethical dilemma, whether to tell her friend about the Layoff or to stay loyal to her boss and the company. This essay will domnstright the ethical dilemma that Alice is facing, following the process for making moral decision and relevant ethical theories. In the Layoff Case study; Alice is facing an Ethical Dilemma because they are two moral values in conflict. The two values are telling the truth or stay loyal. Here in this situation, if Alice tells the truth to her friend, it would mean that shes being disloyal to her boss and to the company that has treated her so well for such long time, but at the same time she still loyal to her friend by informing him about the layoff before purchasing the house leading to have financial problems on the future. Or on the other hand, if Alice wont tell her friend about the Layoff and know that her friend will purchase a house, it would mean that she still loyal to her boss and the company. Alice must weigh the loyalty to her friend against the loyalty her boss and the company to make her decision. There is no guidance or direct way to solve an ethical dilemma and making the right ethical decision, like the situation Alice is facing. However what Alice needs to do for solving her dilemma is to take some real step as guideline for evaluating and determining the ethical decision. That decision must be logical, based on facts and should be accepted by moral principles. In other words, if moral decision or conclusion is defensible, then it must be supported by defensible moral principles, together with relevant facts. (Shaw et al, 2009, p.28). First step in moral decision making is to determine the facts of the situation. Its important to gather facts and information before jumping to conclusion. Alice should gather as much information that will help her relating to her dilemma. For example, she may find out whats the company legal requirement on informing workers about Layoff. Also she may gather enough information to determine how long it would take these 200 workers to find new jobs. Second step is to identify the ethical issues involved. Its important that, Alice shouldnt jump to conclusion before identifying the ethical issues that related to her dilemma. In this case, one professional ethical issue has to do with rights of both the workers and the company. Alice should define the workers legal right to know about the plant closing in advance. The other ethical issue has to deal with companys right to keep the information private. Furthermore, Alice must determine the obligation for her company toward its workers in t his regard. At more personal level, there are the ethical issues related to principles such as honesty, loyalty and promise keeping. In the context of ethical decision making, the next step is to identifying all stakeholders all of those individuals or groups, who have a stake in the particular decision or action (Trevino Nelson, 2010, p.54). Alice should identify the stakeholders that will be affected by her decision before jumping to conclusion, and how they are been affected. First Alice should consider the stakeholders that will be affected immediately by closing down the plant for example, Alice, the workers and Alices boss. Then she should consider on large scale for example, local community and social responsibility. Imagine if the plant is located in small town; fairness to the entire community becomes an important ethical issue. Shouldnt the community have as much time as possible to plan for the impact for shutting down the plant? After identify all stakeholders, the following step is to compare and weigh the alternative theory. Here we will use to two theories, consequentialist and Non- consequentialist theory. The consequentialist theory focuses on the result of the decision or action and its divided into Egoism and Utilitarianism (Shaw et al, 2009, p.58). To keep the Layoff information completely from the affected workers would fall under Ethical Egoism approach. Egoism An Act is morally right if and only if, it best promotes an agents long-term interests (Shaw et al, 2009, p.59). Here morality is linked with self-interest, meaning no basic duty to assist others but sometimes by pursuing long-term self-interest actions may be contrary to the person immediate interest, but beneficial in the long-term. For example, Alice wont tell her friend about closing down the plant because she may be interested in her position in the company for the future, so Alice wont breach confdality of the company. Utilitarianism is the second approach in the consequentialist theory We should always act to produce the greatest possible balance of good over bad for everyone affected by our actions (Shaw et al, 2009, p.64). Here the ethical decision aiming to maximas good and minimise harms. A utilitarian would approach an ethical dilemma by identifying all stakeholders in a particular situation as well as the actions and their consequences (harms and/or benefit) for each. Here in this case, if Alice tells her friend about the layoff, her friend and other workers might be benefit by getting informed about the situation earlier, especially, one of the workers is purchasing a house in a following week. On the other hand, if Alice wont tell the workers about the layoff to protect her company by keeping informations to herself. Alice and her family will be benefited first by keeping her job because she is still loyal to her company; also the company is benefited as there is no rumours going around ab out closing down the plant which indeed it will prevent several future crises. The Non- consequentialist is different than consequentialist theory. This theory is often formulated in such a way that the rightness of an action consists in its conformity to a moral rule or command. The Non- consequentialist is divided into three approaches: Kant, Duty of care and Virtue ethics. (Shaw et al, 2009, p.58) Kant Gives firms standards, but doesnt depend on result. Add a humanistic element into moral decision making (Shaw et al, 2009, p.71). This theory held that the actual action should be based only on duty and good will, then our actions will result moral judgment regarding the consequence of that action. In this case, if Alice thinks that her duty to her friend is more important than the company, then indeed she will inform her friend about the layoff anyway even if her job in the line. Or the other way around, Alice might consider her duty to protect the company is way too important than inform her friend and the workers bout the layoff. Duty of care focus on duties rather than consequences Decisions are made based on whats right on boar, abstract universal ethical principles or values such as honesty, promise keeping, fairness, loyalty, justice, responsibility, comparison and respect for human beings and property (Trevino Nelson, 2010, p.42). Regarding to this approach, there might be some certain moral values that are binding, regardless of the consequences if the actions or decision are good. Therefore some actions would be considered wrong even if the results of the actions were good. For example, if Alice doesnt tell her friend about the loyal, it would result positive sign to the company. However it would be wrong action as Alice is not loyally to her friend by keeping the information away. Virtue ethics focuses more on the quality of the moral actor (the person) rather than the moral act itself (actions taken). Here, the issue is not whats the right thing to do? Or whos benefiting the most? The issue here is the person whose acting is considered to be morally good character such as honest, loyalty integrity etc. In this case, Alice decision will be based on here moral character that will make her happy the most. If telling the truth will make Alice happier than being loyal to her company, it means Alice will inform her friend about the layoff regarding what are the consequences later. However if being loyal makes Alice more happy, then she wont inform her friend about any changes at work even though her friend is purchasing a house next week, because being loyal to her company means her more than telling the truth to her friend. Finally, the last step in moral decision making is to make a decision. In any ethical dilemma, there is no right or wrong answer but both rights as it mentioned before. However the person whos making decision must gather all facts, consider all the potincol harm and benefit to all stakeholders that will be affected by the action. Also must determine the ethical value of the person that makes the action. Thus, no company is immune to problems. The companies that survive are the ones that can spot ethical issues and correct them before they become problems. My advice to Alice to manage the layoff is trying as much as possible to let not spread the rumours around work. Instead Alice should openly discuss the layoff situation between the company and the workers though meetings and try to explain that the company is facing low down in the market and the layoff is their last potion. Alice should convince her company about the social responsibility toward workers by trying to find similar jobs for those who are their job in the line. . As a result, it will attract positive image to the company by handling the layoff in such ethical way

Compare and contrast any two love poems you have read, discussing their themes, their use of language and their appeal to an audience

The aims of this essay are to look at two love poems by two different authors and to show how they are similar and in what ways different. The two poems I will be looking at are â€Å"The Passionate Shepherd to His Love† by Christopher Marlowe and â€Å"The Bait† by John Donne. The first by Marlowe for the most part, seems to deal with the joy of new-found love and seems to dwell on the positive aspects of romance and passion. The second poem by Donne by contrast is less romantic in tone than Marlowe's poem. Here Donne talks about sex, seduction and sadness; often using very suggestive images and challenging the idealised view of love. Marlowe's poem is set in a pastoral setting and the word ‘shepherd' in the title is an image and this word itself tells us it is in a pastoral setting. In the first stanza of Marlowe's poem it says in the first two opening lines: â€Å"Come live with me and be my love And we will all the pleasures prove† He, the narrator tries to persuade his mistress by being very forthright and by being very bold, telling her what he is going to give her. However, in Donne's poem, which is parody of Marlowe's, Donne has the same two opening lines but the last two of the first stanza are very different. â€Å"†¦Of golden sands, and crystal brooks With silken lines, and silver hooks.† The difference here is that Donne says that we will go to the countryside but instead of looking at valleys, mountains and hills which is what Marlowe says, he and his mistress will have a lot of fun. In Marlowe's poem he says, â€Å"And I will make thee beds of roes And a thousand fragrant poises, A cap of flowers, and a kirtle Embroided all with the leaves of myrtle;† What Marlowe means is that, not only will he take her into the countryside but he will dress her like the country side meaning flowers. But Donne says, â€Å"There will the river whispering run Warm'd by thy eyes, more than the sun; And there th'enamour'd fish will stay, Begging themselves they may betray† Donne is trying to say that she will get in the water and her eyes alone will warm the water more than the sun, which is an example of hyperbole. He says that when she does get in the water and baith, the fish will nibble. This creates a raunchier image, also it brings in the element of physical contact. In the next stanza Marlowe then says, â€Å"A gown made of finest wool Which from our pretty lambs we pull† This suggests that not only will he protect her but also he will provide her with wealth in an attempt to influence her decision. In Donne's the approach is different. In the fourth stanza Donne says, â€Å"If thou, to be seen be'st loth, By sun or moon, thou darken'st both† Donne's message, which he is trying to put across, is that the sun and moon are bright, but you are brighter. As you can see Marlowe's way of wooing her is very different to Donne's way. Marlowe has a flattering approach whereas Donne makes his point very clear in the start of the poem, which is come to bed with me. Marlowe ends his poem with a very interesting stanza. In the first two lines of this stanza he says, â€Å"The shepherd's swains shall dance and sing For thy delight each may morning† Hw is trying to say to her that he will get all his friends to dance for her and that if all these things do matter to her, she should come and live with him: â€Å"If these delights thy mind may move, Then live with me and be my love.† But when Donne ends his poem, he says, â€Å"For thee, thou need'st no such deceit For though thyself art thine own bait† He says that you are not just able to catch the fish but you are also able to catch the fish but you are also able to attract them referring to her beauty. To end the poem Donne says, Donne says, â€Å"That fish, that is not catch'd thereby Alas, is wiser far than I.† What Donne is trying to say is that any fish that is not caught by her beauty, is cleverer than him. From this it is clear that he is love sick. It is very clear that Marlowe's approach is innocent and evokes idyllic images. Donne is much more down to earth and realistic using words like â€Å"coarse† and â€Å"bold† and â€Å"slimy†. His poem is therefore more sensuous, suggestive. Marlowe employs language, which maintains the sense of innocent beauty. He uses words like â€Å"pretty†, â€Å"purest†, â€Å"fragrant†, and â€Å"finest†. The rhyme scheme in both poems is very strong to make a good argument because in their own ways they are both out to woo the woman and also to show their passion and determination. Also in Donne's poem he is very precise and thorough about what he says, getting to the point very quickly. Donne uses the same rhyme scheme as Marlowe but to different affect. This is underpinned by his use of words that would not normally be associated with love poems such as â€Å"treacherously†, â€Å"traitors†, â€Å"strangling† and â€Å"deceit†. We have analysed two very different poems yet we have demonstrated that there exist many points of contact. Ultimately, the poems are both about love and this theme blinds them most closely. No two love poems are alike, but this only serves to illustrate the many-faceted nature of love itself.

Cause and Effects of One’s Appearence

Certain things that can make an individual one-of-a-kind could be tattoos, piercings and dreadlocks just to name a few, such as is mentioned in Dreadlocked by Veronica Chambers and Drugs, Sports, Body Image and G. I. Joe by Natalie Angier. One’s appearance can reveal insight into a person’s lifestyle and life choices. People can define themselves and their personalities to others by making themselves appear unique There are many reasons as to the way people put themselves together and why they project themselves the way they do. One major motive tends to be trends. A trend is something that is popular at a given time and is constantly changing. In today’s society following these trends can allow a person to gain acceptance into a certain peer group. Keeping up with trends however, can make a person’s appearance change quite frequently. Another major factor in one’s appearance is culture. Different cultures have different rules and guidelines that can greatly restrict or require certain appearances. For example, in the Hindu religion it is part of their culture to wear a bindi which is a piece of body jewelry that is worn in the center of a women’s forehead after they marry. In places such as Cambodia and Thailand it is part of their culture to have certain tattoos, such as the yantra tattoo which is believed to protect against evil and to increase luck. These tattoos and body jewelry define one’s appearance in a strong way. Lastly, a major element of one’s appearance is emotions. Emotional reasons affect an individual’s appearance in multiple ways such as clothing, tattoos, piercings and hairstyles. All of those little factors can express a person’s mood in such huge ways. A certain form of this could be a tattoo of something or someone meaningful chosen for an emotional reason such as a loss or even a sense of pride. For every motive however, there is an outcome, whether it be positive or negative. A major negative effect in today’s society tends to be stereotyping and bullying. A stereotype is a commonly held public belief about specific social groups, or types of individuals. These stereotypes can lead to judging an individual based on their appearance. By stereotyping a person you can not only misjudge them but you can also hurt their feelings. An example of stereotyping is given in Dreadlocked by Veronica Chambers – â€Å"But over the last eight years my dreadlocks have conferred upon me the following roles: rebel child, Rasta mama, Nubian princess, drug dealer, unemployed artist, rock star, world-famous comedienne, and nature chick. None of which is true. † This demonstrates how being quick to judge someone is erroneous and cruel. An outcome of one’s appearance can be a change in a person’s self-esteem. An example of a change in self-esteem for one’s appearance is piercings. If a girl gets her belly button pierced it can result in her feeling more confident about herself and her body. Another example is also going to an extreme to get a certain body type that one thinks will change their self-esteem. As stated in Drugs, Sports, Body Image and G. I. Joe by Natalie Angier â€Å"†¦ planting in boys’ minds a template for a he-man’s body that cannot be attained without engaging in obsessive behaviors to build muscle and strip off fat, and then augmenting those efforts through the consumption like human growth hormone, and anabolic steroids†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Finally, another negative consequence that can result from a person’s appearance is career limitation. Having a certain hairstyle, piercing, or visible tattoos can jeopardize a career. For example, many jobs require a neat, clean cut look such as a tie and suit for men, and dress pants with a blouse, skirt, or dress for women. In wearing these career-oriented clothes many employers prefer their employees not to have any visible tattoos or piercings, as well as a neat put together hairstyle. By not meeting those requirements a lot of employers will turn away a job applicant. In a world like today’s where self-expression is often encouraged, but at the same time rejected, an individual’s appearance has an impact on multiple factors in their life. People use their appearance to project their lifestyle and choices, but this can have a negative influence outside of their culture or peer groups. Not every person with dreadlocks is a pot smoking Rastafarian, but people erroneously connect the two. Conversely people shouldn’t think they have to fit a stereotype of what a â€Å"model† person should look like.

My Relationship With Daniel Has Been A Unique Experience

Many individuals search for love all their lives, whereas others seem to constantly fall in and out of love. We can love a myriad of things, but the love between two humans is quite unique and very special. Love is difficult to defined since not everyone experiences it the same; what I think love is, another person may not see it as love but as infatuation, and vice versa. I believe that I have found love and my relationship with Daniel has been a unique experience. There are facets that are important aspects in the success of a relationship such as the Beginning of the relationship, the way we communicate closeness, how we self-disclose, the manner in which we handle conflict and the maintenance strategies of the relationship. I have my own ideal of how love should be and how my partner ought to be, is this setting myself for failure if my next relationship and partner do not meet those standards? Or should I keep my standards and not settle for less until I find it? After being hurt so many times before I decided to marry someone who I was not really in love with. The reason behind this was that I wanted to be in charge of my emotions and not be devastated if things didn’t work out. Once that relationship ended, I realized that by me not fully investing my feelings, it subsequently led me to not care, nor work for its success. I decided that in my next relationship I wanted to be with someone whom I was truly crazy about and to try my absolute best. Daniel was in Key WestShow MoreRelatedKisses From Katie Character Analysis1251 Words   |  6 Pages Kisses From Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption, co-written by Beth Clark. Katie’s nonfiction memoir speaks passionately about her move to Uganda: here she strengthened her relationship with Jesus, adopted thirteen little Ugandan girls, started a nonprofit ministry, and so much more. 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