The idea of carrying capacity

‘By the end of the 21st century, human population growth may exceed Earth's carrying capacity'. Discuss. The thought of transporting capacity is non a new one. Transporting capacity is the maximal population size that the environment can back up without impairment ( McGraw-Hill, 2002 ) . The first thought of transporting capacity applied to natural beings was introduced in the 1980 ‘s so the construct that the Earth is a ship with merely adequate nutrient and resources to be able to prolong a finite population is non new ( Sayre 2007 ) . The population of Earth presently stands at around 6.8 billion and is expected to make 7 billion by the twelvemonth 2011. In merely 12 old ages, the population of Earth has risen by about 1 billion after a population of 6 billion was reached in 1999 ( Unknown 2009 ) . Population has been projected ; and estimated to make 9.4 billion by 2050. ( Ehrlich.P, A 2009 ) . The rate at which population is increasing causes a turning concern with the transporting capacity of the planet and whether or non the planet will be able to prolong the population. Worlds have already put strain on the environment and an increasing population puts an ever-growing strain on the environment. Human and environmental alterations that need to be considered such as clime alteration and over-consumption, new industrializing states such as India and China. Countries with rapid population growing are already happening it difficult to better, or even maintain the wellness of their people and their economic systems. ( MacKenzie 1994 ) . There are many people who believe in Ester Boserup ‘s position that human invention and inventiveness will predominate and get the better of any jobs that pose a menace to mankind. There have been many technological progresss, which has allowed for increased output of harvests, one such progress is the innovation by Fritz Haber in 1909, the N repairing procedure known as the Haber-Bosch procedure ( Matthews 2005 ) . This procedure has helped feed many 1000000s and saved them from decease and famishment ( Bhagwati 1996 ) . Many other technological progresss such as one from Norm Borlaug where he devised a system to speed up the genteelness of disease-resistant wheat and crush the root rust fungus in Mexico ( MacKenzie 2009 ) . The additions have non been without cost: dirt quality has been damaged, harvests like bananas have become less genetically diverse, rare strains of animate being have been pushed near to extinction, and home grounds have been destroyed. Increasing demand for meat besides puts force per unit area on agribusiness ( Marshall 2009 ) . However factors such as clime alteration that may take to lifting temperatures, which is accelerated by our over ingestion doing monolithic sums of pollution and usage of valuable resources is of great concern to the universes transporting capacity and even with the progresss in engineering that worlds succeeded in the hereafter still looks inexorable. The six most widely adult harvests in the universe are wheat, rice, maize, soya beans, barley and sorghum. Result suggest that outputs of corn, cotton and soya bean bead by approximately 0.6 per cent for each â€Å" degree-day † spent above 29 & A ; deg ; C. At present, agricultural parts across the US spend an norm of 57 degree-days above 29 & A ; deg ; C during the turning season. A turning season could lift to 413 degree-days by the terminal of the century ( Barley 2009 ) . Equally early as 2020 several states in Africa are likely to see a decrease in harvest outputs by up to 50 % . Droughts in Kenya have become 4 times more common in the last 25 old ages. In 2009, Kenya has had its 3rd failed crop in a row. ( Alagiah 2009 ) Overfishing of the universe ‘s oceans has besides led to great harm, doing population clangs in many species although in recent old ages, fish farms have become more widespread and they cut down the load on wild fish but have jobs of their ain with get awaying fish, inordinate nutrient ingestion, infective viruses and louse infestations ( Barley 2009 ) The job of increasing population makes the state of affairs much more hard to pull off. It may be possible that human invention and inventiveness will get the better of any troubles that mankind faces, although it does look that the bound of the planets transporting capacity is near to making it ‘s peak ; with consuming militias of minerals, oil, agricultural outputs and loss of biodiversity and that along with environmental alterations in the universe it will be hard for the full planet and that transporting capacity is a topic that needs careful consideration today.Alagiah. G ( 2009 ) . BBC Future of Food [ Television ]Barley.S ( 2009 ) . Climate tipping point defined for US harvest outputs [ Online ] . Available: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.newscientist.com/article/dn17680-climate-tipping-point-defined-for-us-crop-yields.html [ Accessed ]Bhagwati.K ( 1994 ) . No Clean Hands [ Online ] Available: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.newscientist.com/article/mg14920116.10 0-no-clean-hands.html [ Accessed: 24/01/2010 ]Ehrlich.P, Ehrlich.A ( 2009 ) . Population: Enough of us now [ Online ] . Available: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327271.500-population-enough-of-us-now.html [ Accessed:23/01/2009 ]MacKenzie.D ( 1994 ) . Will tomorrow ‘s kids hunger? The People job [ Online ] . Available: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.newscientist.com/article/mg14319413.600-will-tomorrows-children-starve-the-people-problem.html [ Accessed:24/01/2010 ]Mackenzie.D ( 2009 ) . Norm Borlaug: the adult male who fed the universe [ Online ] . Available: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.newscientist.com/article/dn17778-norm-borlaug-the-man-who-fed-the-world.html [ Accessed: 25/01/2010 ]Marshall. M ( 2009 ) . Instantaneous Expert: Food and Drink [ Online ] . Available: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.newscientist.com/article/dn17140-instant-expert-food-and-drink.html [ Accessed: 25/01/2010 ]Matthews.R ( 2005 ) . The existent Dr Fa ustus? [ Online ] . Available: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.newscientist.com/article/mg18725172.600-the-real-dr-faustus.html [ Accessed 23/01/2010 ]McGraw-Hill ( 2002 ) . Dictionary of Environmental Science. McGraw-Hill. United States.Sayre.N ( 2007 ) . Transporting Capacity: Genesis, History and Conceptual Flaws [ Online ] . Available: hypertext transfer protocol: //globetrotter.berkeley.edu/GreenGovernance/ColloqPapers/Sayre2007.pdf [ Accessed 23/01/2010 ]Unknown ( 2009 ) . 2009 World Population Data Sheet [ Online ] . Available: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.prb.org/Publications/Datasheets/2009/2009wpds.aspx [ Accessed: 23/01/2010 ]

Of mice and men †dreams Essay

Many of the characters in ‘of mice and men’ have dreams. What are their dreams and how near are any of them to achieving what they want? Steinbeck wrote Of Mice and Men in 1937 during the Great Depression in America. He came from California and the farmland and the ranches around Salinas, where the novel is set. The novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ is based on the realistic view on America, by Steinbeck allowing dreams to fail, because in the real world dreams do not always come true. He also wanted the novel to seem real so it would have been unrealistic to show people succeeding and achieving the American dream. Steinbeck was writing during the Great Depression and wanted to show that the Great Depression was an era when people’s lives were most difficult. The depression was between 1929-1933. It all started from ‘Black Thursday’ when 13 million shares were sold on 24th October 1929. This lead to the ‘Wall Street Crash’ when shares fell and Americans were doing anything they could to sell their shares as it was affecting their savings. Even people who didn’t have shares were affected as many banks went bankrupt, as people could not pay back their loans. This all added to the depression which left 25% of Americans unemployed, people were forced to travel around to look for work and many were homeless with no welfare. Steinbeck chooses to focus on two migrant workers, Lennie and George. At the start of the novel, they are about to start work in a ranch near Soledad. They are victims of the economic situation. George spends most his life looking after Lennie and dealing with Lennie’s actions. Lennie is mentally challenged so he needs someone to look after him. George manages to get a job for Lennie and himself. Luckily Lennie is very strong which is helpful for his work at the ranch. However he doesn’t know his own strength, which causes several incidents in the novel. George is a ‘smart little guy’ who has a dream but Lennie holds him back. A number of the characters in the novel have dreams. Thinking about their dreams gives Lennie and George a goal to aim for. The dream is also a form of escape, of avoiding the reality of their lives. They are not happy with their lives. George and Lennie’s dream is that one day they will own their farm with a cow, a pig and some rabbits for Lennie, â€Å"we could live off the fatta the lan’†¦ an’ have rabbits!† mentions by Lennie. George says to Lennie that they’ll â€Å"have a big vegetable patch and a rabbit-hutch and chickens. And when it rains in winter† they’ll â€Å"just say the hell with going to work.† But there is a very little chance to succeed their dream together as Lennie gets caught up in many incidents. One important incident, which ruined Lennie’s chance for achieving his dream, is when he accidentally kills Curley’s wife. Not being aware of his own strength he strangled Curley’s Wife without knowing he is hurting her. When she died and everyone else found out, Curley went after Lennie to kill him. Instead George, Lennie’s only companion, shot dead Lennie straight after having another conservation about their dream. Lennie arguably achieves his dream towards the end – mentally. When the others found George and Lennie, Slim says, â€Å"come on, George. Me an’ you’ll go in an’ gat a drink.† This shows hope for a new friendship for George and Slim and even higher hopes for achieving his dream. This tells us Steinbeck did not let George’s dream totally fail. George dreamt for independence, security, stability and freedom, which he succeeded when Lennie died. Curley’s wife’s dream was to become an actress. She wanted to be ‘in the pictures’ but thinks her mother stole a letter from a director asking her to come to Hollywood. Instead she married Curley to get back at her mother although she didn’t actually love him. She mentioned in the novel what she wanted, â€Å"an’ I coulda sat in them big hotels, an’ had pitchers took of me†¦an’ all them nice clothes they wear. Because the guy said I was a natural.† She often says the phrases ‘ I coulda’, ‘I woulda’ and ‘I shoulda.’ Steinbeck chooses these words for her as she often thinks it is too late to do or have done something, meaning she has no hope for her dream. Because she married Curley, a controlling man, she ended up with someone she didn’t love and feels lonely and trapped, as she has nobody to talk to about her thoughts and feelings. This is because there are only men on the ranch and Curley would not have allowed it. She also dreams for friendship and not being abandoned. Just before her death she does achieve a glimpse of this part of her dream when she talks to Lennie about her thoughts and feelings. She gets to tell him what she wanted in life and how she feels in her life. Steinbeck does not allow her dream to totally fail, as she is able to talk to someone and does not feel lonely. She also would probably feel happier that she has died, as she does not have to face Curley and his controlling actions anymore, ‘And the meanness and the plannings and the discontent and the ache for attention were all gone from her face.’ Candy’s dream in the novel is to be wanted and to have friends. He does however foster some friendships with the men on the ranch. Candy thinks he is ‘useless’ because he can’t work anymore like his dog. His only companion was his old dog, but his dog gets shot as he is too old and smelly to live with for the men sharing a room with Candy. This was a very tragic time for him as his dog was the main part of his life. Candy suffers ageism, which drags him down. He constantly tries to make friendships, â€Å"s’pose I went in with you guy’s† – â€Å"how’d that be?† He also experiences pessimism just like many of the other characters in the novel. Candy wants to be useful and admired. He does not want his age to take over him and wants people to see the inside instead of focusing on the outside of him. Slim says, â€Å"†¦ I wisht somebody’d shoot me if get old an’ a cripple† when referring to Candy’s old dog which makes him feel old and useless. He wants his own land but would rather prefer friendship. Steinbeck makes him fail when Lennie dies because Lennie was the strongest friendship he had in the novel. Now Lennie has died Candy’s friendship with him fades out. Crooks is a character who most likely suffers the most. In Steinbeck’s words he is a ‘Negro’, which is a very difficult position to be because at that time there was a lot of racism towards blacks. His dream is to be treated equally just like the rest of the men in the ranch, to have friends and to be accepted for his color. The ‘stable-buck’s’ dream is very much like Candy’s because they dream for similar things. Steinbeck shows Crooks is not accepted, as he is not allowed into the bunkhouse because of his color. Like Steinbeck he is cynical and knows that his dream is most likely to fail. Crooks has a sarcastic and bitter tone to his voice, â€Å"you talk about it a hell of a lot, but you won’t get no land.† He talks like this because he wants other to feel the cruelty he is going through. In the novel there is a point when Crooks feels happier and is a little closer to his dream, ‘Crooks’ face lighted with p leasure in his torture.† This made him feel in control for once. He loses his hope when Curley’s wife drags him back down again; â€Å"well you keep your place, then Nigger. I could get you strung up on a tree so it ain’t even funny!† this brings out a cruel part of Curley’s wife and makes us feel sympathetic for Crooks. This sympathy follows our partial dislike for him after he becomes cruel. He makes fun out of Lennie, â€Å"a guy can talk to you an’ be sure you wont go blabbin.† He is tragically well aware of his place on the ranch, â€Å"if I say something, why, it’s just a nigger saying it†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Momentarily he believes he will achieve both his dreams – live with the others (George, Lennie and Candy). This is how crooks and candy join Lennie and George’s dream, as they have dreamt they will live with them on their land. Crooks gives up on the dream. Steinbeck has allowed him to fail because Crooks is cynical and knows that achieving the American dream is extremely unlikely to happen in the American society. In conclusion dreams are important to these characters because it means they have a goal to aim for in their lives. The point Steinbeck is making is that in the realistic world dreams do not always succeed and wanted to show how futile the American dream was. He represents the prejudiced nature of the American society in the novel. He is critical of this because he knows these were the boundaries that stopped Americans from achieving their dream. Readers respected him for his honesty. There is hope offered to the reader for George as Slim offers physical and mental support at the end giving us an idea that a friendship can begin. The title ‘Of Mice and Men’ represents small people (mice) and big people (men) in the terms of status positions. Steinbeck’s purpose for writing the novel was to show the American dream and the reality of it.

Online Classes vs. Traditional Classes

Online classes and traditional classes are both great ways to receive an education during college. They both strive for the same purpose, which is to help the students reach their goals during their college careers. Although both class settings are great, they do differ in some ways. The three major differences between these classes are the pace of the classes, the student/teacher interaction, and the success rates. The pace of the class affects how much information the student receives throughout the course.Traditional classes often take a slower pace rather than online classes only because online classes have more assignments compared to a traditional class setting. In traditional classes, the students have the luxury to receive the assignment, have time for the teacher to thoroughly discuss the assignment, and have additional time to complete the assignment. On the other hand, students that take part in online classes get a brief, but also detailed description of the assignment an d are given a due date to complete the task by.The student/ teacher interaction also plays an important role in between these two class settings. Students in a traditional class setting have the ability to listen to the teacher talk about a lesson, ask any questions that they may have, and take part and watch any demonstrations. Online classes however, may be able to achieve the same things as the traditional classes, but do not get the full effect of the lesson. Teachers also may be able to explain things better in person to person contact, rather than going through a computer to try to solve any questions or concerns that the student may have.The final major difference between these two are the success rates of the classes. Students have a higher risk of failing and/or withdrawing a course taking it online rather than in a traditional class setting. For example, In 2005, the student success statistics for online classes were slightly lower than that of the traditional classes. Stu dents in online classes often procrastinate and put off the assignment where in a traditional classes they would be more obligated to complete the work they are given on time rather than put it of until a different time or day.Also, some students often could be distracted from their work and tests by things in their environment at home, where as in a traditional classroom the teachers try to minimize the risk of a distraction as much as they possibly can. Although both classes have pros, they also have cons that go with each of them. Online classes basically enable the student to teach themselves with minimum guidance from the teacher and traditional classes enable the student to learn from the teacher. It mostly depends on what is better for the student and how the student is interested in learning.

Workforce Effectiveness (Interview Technique) Essay

Workforce Effectiveness (Interview Technique) - Essay Example Patton (1987) has recommended that such questions should be neutral and clear to the employee, they must be open ended and demonstrate sensitivity to the subject of the interview. The cognitive interview techniques aims to improve communication during an interview, through enhancing recall of past events and the context in which they occurred. This method also allows an interviewer to assess when confabulation is used, i.e, stating something that is not strictly true. Memon et al (1997) have examined the application of the cognitive technique in the context of police work where interviewing witnesses was concerned and found it efficacious in enhancing accurate recall of past events. Lindberg et al (2003) have compared three different investigative techniques used with young children. The first of these was a step wise interview process, in which questions became progressively more difficult. The second method employed a play situation and interviewed the children by asking them questions as they played. The last method was a modified structured interview in which the interviewers were provided an information packet that highlighted the importance of the resea rch and included instructions on how to build rapport with the children together with guidelines on specific kinds of questions that could be asked. The last method was found to be the best. In view of the above, it appears that the method of semi structured interview may be the best in gaining a picture of the candidates for the Executive assistant position and their abilities. While a set of prior questions can be prepared before hand, some questions can be open ended, allowing the candidate to expand on any aspect that the interview wishes to know more about. The interview will include questions about the candidate’s academic qualifications and the grades that were earned. A set of questions on job history can

Philosophy subject Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Philosophy subject - Essay Example The question this scenario presents us students with is whether or not this boy is responsible for his actions. There are many philosophers that have very different answers to this troubling question. For purposes of this exam, I focus on Susan Wolf. Susan Wolf, the author of "Sanity and the Metaphysics of Responsibility," takes Frankfurt's views one step further, combining them with those views of Taylor and Watson. She puts forth the "Deep-Self View"(53), which basically stated, says that there is a deep self, which governs our actions and is influenced by our environment. This deep-self view allows for victims of brainwashing and persons with disorders like kleptomania to not be held responsible for their actions, even though they could have second-order desires about them. The reason for this is that these people's "wills are not governed by their deep selves, but by forces external to and independent from them"(53). Wolf separates desires "determined foreign to oneself from desires which are determined by one's self,"(54) or deep-self. This view allows for some determinism, while also providing a vehicle for a freedom of the will. However, Wolf admits that the deep-self view needs further revision for it to be feasible. The deep-self view would hold someone responsible of their actions every time their deep-self determines a desire not controlled by some external or foreign source. However, Wolf's example of JoJo, the son of a cruel dictator, shows that although JoJo's deep-self may truly want to do what is obviously wrong, he cannot be held responsible for his actions because of his upbringing. This idea is not reconcilable with Wolf's deep-self view at first. However, Wolf adds an addendum to her original hypothesis; namely, that the deep-self view holds true only if the individual is sane. The definition of sanity that Wolf uses the M'Naughten Rule, which states: "a person is sane if (1) he knows what he is doing, and (2) he knows that what he is doing is, as the case may be, right or wrong."(55). If a person were insane, i.e. did not have a grasp of the difference between right and wrong, then they would not be held responsible for their actions. By modifying the deep-self view in this manner, the case of JoJo is reconcilable with the deep-self view in that JoJo does not have an understanding of what is right or wrong, and therefore need not be held responsible for his actions. Wolf then summarizes her view by saying that "in order to be responsible for our actions, the sane deep-self view analyzes what is necessary in order to be responsible for our selves as (1) the ability to evaluate ourselves sensibly and accurately, and (2) the ability to transform ourselves insofar as our evaluation tells us to do so."(57) Thus, Wolf's idea of responsibility is dependent upon our ability to understand the difference between right and wrong and our ability to evaluate and change our deep-selves over time. When applying Wolf's sane deep-self theory to the case about the twelve year-old killer stated above, Wolf would most likely argue that the boy was responsible for h

IMC Report for Tourism in Gold Coast City in Australia Assignment

IMC Report for Tourism in Gold Coast City in Australia - Assignment Example The intention of this study is the tourism industry as one of the world’s largest and fastest growing industries. The industry is growing fast courtesy of globalization and advanced technology among other factors. The Australian tourism is therefore party of the world’s larger tourism industry that is rapidly growing. The industry contributes a large portion to the Australian economy. For instance, the inbound tourism industry that involves traveling and staying in places outside their usual environment plays a vital role in the Australian economy. The industry contributes to the Australian economy through various ways such as provision of employment and tourism revenues among other ways. Various tourist attractions in Australia are distributed in various states and cities. The Gold Coast City is one of the major cities of Australia that has numerous tourist attractions and hosts many tourists throughout the year. The city is located in Queensland. The population of the city was approximated at 540,000 people in 2010 making the second populous city in State. The city is well known for its tourist attractions such as the sub tropical climate that is characterized by sunny conditions that attract tourists. Other tourist attractions include attractive beaches that are used for surfing, canal and waterway system, nightlife and the rainforest that is close to the hinterland. These tourist attractions are important in attracting tourists from both within Australia and outside Australia to the City. The revenue from tourism is important for the State Economy and the larger Australian GDP. (Tourism Forecasting Committee, 2006). In spite of the revenue collected from tourist attractions found in the Gold Coast City, the attractions are not well exploited in order to reap maximum benefits. This report examines the integrated Marketing Communication strategies that could be used to maximize the benefits from tourism in the Gold Coast City of Australia. The r eport outlines the IMC strategies and marketing strategies that could sell tourism to a new domestic target market, given that it is the highest tourism revenue earner for the city and the country. 2.0 The Australian Tourism Industry The tourism industry in Australia has been growing over time. According to Instinct and Reason (2006), the number of tourists fell by 1% in 2003. However, the number increased in 2004 to 4.77 and in to 5.45 in 2008. The Australian tourism industry grew in 2009

Gender Equality Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Gender Equality - Research Paper Example The progression of women’s rights has been to open up their lives so that instead of being legally dependant, they could live a public life, own both land and their own person, and to have equal opportunities within the work place and the corporate world in order to be able to provide sufficiently for that autonomy. With the passing of this initiative, the opportunities for women will be addressed and assessed, furthering the goals of women’s rights to equality in society. Until very recently society has had a very distinct view on the roles of men and women, creating separate spheres in which their worlds evolved. Labor was divided by what was deemed appropriate for men and what was appropriate for women. The behaviors within society that were defined by these roles were thought of as normal, while deviating from these roles was considered abnormal behavior (Smith and Kornblum, 2008, p. 336). Roles for men and women were divided according to the sociological need that was present. However, as the nineteenth century came to a close, and the twentieth century was born, great and unique historical changes were occurring that would begin the transition towards equality for women. At the turn of the 19th century to the 20th century, women’s suffrage was a hot topic, creating a movement that revolutionized the political landscape of the United States. However, it was not within the search for the right to vote that women first applied their influences and power in order to create social change in the United States. During the abolitionist movements of the mid 19th century, it was the actions of a great many women that supported the freedom of slaves (Adams, 2003, p.12). By the end of the century, the power of women to move sociological considerations was well established and the new cause took form of political voice. For most of history, the roles that were applied to the genders were suspected to be defined biologically. Therefore, the way

Kaizen Process Improvement Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Kaizen Process Improvement Assignment - Essay Example ? Q3: In what ways did the team engage or not engage in Kaizen as the game progressed? We successfully identified some wastes and dealt with them. We were also constantly reflecting on our work for problems and incorporating changes throughout the process. We failed to evaluate the entire value stream though: the team should have identified the value that the product was supposed to generate for the ‘customer’. In this scenario, the goal was to have the most number of planes in the bucket, rather than quality of the planes. Thus, the first thing that the team should have argued on, before round three, was that the customer wanted quantity. It did not matter if the creases of the plane were fine enough, or the nose of the plane was sharp enough – ‘the customer’ wanted more planes in the bucket. There ended up being too much undelivered goods by way of wasted planes on the floor, rather than bucket. ? Q4: If we continued, what would your suggestions be for new process improvements for the team? Look at the entire value stream.

HRM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

HRM - Essay Example Most experts say that making proper job descriptions is a good starting point for companies like Crystal Waters Winery. The second phase revolves around effective retention, which involves adequate training where the employees are given room for personal growth and development. Training also has to follow a proper procedure otherwise training may become redundant and the company may not benefit from the training program (Fink, 1992). Crystal Water Winery has to understand that in order to remain competitive in the industry it will have to make a significant investment into its human capital. However, Jacques Terblanche has to ensure that investment is made in the right things. Introduction Crystal Waters Winery is expanding its operations and it wants to be able handle the additional workload that comes with this increase. To effectively manage all this, Crystal Waters Winery will have to hire more people in the HR, management, marketing and viticulture departments. However, they wil l have to go through various steps before actually hiring individuals. This process is known as Human Resource Planning. A human resource plan is a systematic process of matching the interests, skills and talents of individual community members with the long-term goals and economic opportunities in the community. The human resource plan brings out the long term strategic perspective of the organization and how it wishes to expand upon its repertoire within the relevant thick of things. It takes a keen look at the ways and means through which hiring mechanisms could be established and the numerous ways through which the organizational charter is manifested by the employees themselves. Among the various aspects that are covered by human resource planning the most important ones are: Determining the numbers to be employed at the new department/location Determining the functions of the current workforce Retention/promotion of current staff Removing any redundant functions / employees Fu ture outlook Human Resource Planning is important for every company when they want to be proactive and want to manage their human resources to take advantage of any opportunity in the future. The companies understand the organizational fluidity around skills held by the people. One of the major limitations of HRP is that it requires extensive information of the external labor market, data about current employees and how resources work in the organization. Crystal Waters Winery needs to understand the exact duties need that to be incorporated into the company’s operations and where it will get the human capital from. Through HRP Jacques Terblanche wants to find out how he can improve the performance of his company in the long run without drastically impacting profitability or sales. Demand planning is an integral starting point where the company must anticipate future demand for their product (Bertucci, 2006). Only if the demand is sustainable then it should start hiring new e mployees, if however the demand is declining then the management must focus on improvement and streamlining of the business processes. Job Analysis A good starting point for Jacques Terblanche would be to create an effective Job Analysis for all the positions for which he will be hiring. Job analysis is the study of competencies, and the emerging emphasis on considering other work-related about the work itself, the worker, the organization, and the

Chemistry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 9

Chemistry - Essay Example From this simple story we can see the different states of matter obtained and the different phase changes which occur to matter. Matter is anything that occupies space and has a mass. Matter exists in different states which include: solids, liquids, gases, plasmas and Bose-Einstein condensates. According to the kinetic theory of matter, all matter is made of atoms or molecules which have a motion energy which we perceive as temperature. Atoms and molecules are constantly in motion and the more the energy the matter has the more the molecular movement and consequently a higher temperature. The amount of energy in atoms and molecules influences the intermolecular forces holding them such as hydrogen bonds and van der Waals forces and thus the state of matter of a substance. Solids are formed as a result of strong attractive forces which hold the atoms or molecules together. These forces are far much stronger than the forces which are trying to force the atoms apart and thus the individual atoms and molecules are fixed in a position. The atoms and molecules however retain their motion which becomes limited to just vibration. When John was exercising and holding the exercise bikes and rowing machines the amount of energy created during training increases the temperature of the solids (exercise bikes e. t. c.) thus increasing the amount of vibration but because the molecules are locked in place the solids retain a fixed shape and volume. When the temperature of solids increases the movement of individual molecules can increase and will change into liquid. The liquids are normally formed when the energy of a body in solid state increases leading to the breakdown of the forces maintaining its rigid state. Mary’s ice cream for example sometimes turns into liquid as she admires John doing his exercises and forgets her ice cream. As a result of this the molecules in liquids can move past one another although they remain relatively

Research Artical Critical Review Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Research Artical Critical Review - Assignment Example The article is very informative as it breaks down to the gender that mostly affected, hence indicating the then sport that had numerous casualties. He deemed this would help the athletes practice safely without any endangering themselves. Since article helps maximize the health protection of the athletes and facilitate in reduction of the costs involved in managing injuries as well as illnesses. The study also aimed at ascertaining chances of an illness or an injury occurring repeatedly throughout the games (Engretsen et al 2013). To achieve this, the author utilized both qualitative and quantitative as it involved the assembly of illness and injuries surveillance system for multisport events for the study (Engretsen et al 2013). This involved collection of data from the polyclinics and the national Olympic campaigns as stated earlier and conducting comparisons. Based on the article’s arguments, Engretsen et al (2013) information they have relayed is extremely critical in aiding international Olympic committee tasked with encouraging and supporting the health of the athletes. I like the manner in which authors has taken time to conduct a study on the health of the athletes. It is factual to state if their health is affected, then the Olympic Games would be grievously affected (Engretsen et al 2013). Authors have also evaluated lasting as well as short effects and pinpointed areas of concern such as the geographical conditions that could greviously affect athletes. This confirms authors’ focus and straight-forwardness evident by the way, they uphold heightened confidentiality, which is an indispensable ethic (Engretsen et al 2013). Conversely, authors’ reliance was only on two sources to conduct the study poses a heightened likelihood of erring besides missing some aspects. Authors’ could employ a third and fourth body for comparisons and better judgments when making a conclusion (Engretsen

Violence undermines Essay Example for Free

Violence undermines Essay Violence undermines the democratic reforms and the basic human rights implementation as it is the greatest threat to public safety in South America. Gun violence rose sharply especially after the internal armed struggles as well as the emergence of drug trafficking in the late 1970s and 80s. So far, Columbia is the only country that is engaged in a declared conflict in South America. Major causes of violence are the socio economic inequalities, corruption and easy availability of small and light guns and weapons. There are incidences of small arms proliferation and misuse in South America. Most of these small arms are produced in Brazil and Argentina. (countrystudies. us). Some states like Bolivia and Paraguay exercise laxity in terms of firearms regulation and this promotes or rather facilitates violence in the region. Weak border control as well as the constant failure to implement the existing legal procedures or instruments also perpetuates the violence instances in South America. There is increased illicit trafficking of illegal weapons which are used to practice criminality. Continued insecurity among the public necessitates the demand and the use of weapons in the society. The information that is available concerning the arms trade in most South American countries is quite unreliable making it difficult to develop programs that would be effective in ensuring public safety by the civil societies. The issue of weapons remains quite unpopular on the political agendas despite the serious implications they cause to the countries in question. (americas. irc-online. org). All in all there emerged increased efforts through campaigns to reduce the rates of demand that people have on firearms as well as advocacy ensured to promote the tightening and adherence of gun laws to reduce the flow of guns in the region. Effective research should be encouraged to ensure that the acquisition of correct data on gender victimization as well as routes that ensure illegal trafficking of drugs and other weapons are collected. More efforts need to be channeled into harmonizing gun laws in the region. There should be increased awareness regarding the risks that are involved or associated with firearms usage and possessions. Public gun destruction and the monitoring of the flow of weapons should also be encouraged as an effort to reduce violence. (www. iansa. org). Colombia’s political system is known for its long history on party politics, fair and regular elections as well as its adherence to the respect for political and civil rights. The major political parties are the liberals and the conservatives who compete and alternate as the governing party. Despite its increased popularity for democracy, Colombia is well known for its high instances of political violence. It is amazing how Colombian is capable of producing hospitable people who are dynamic and intelligent yet it also harbors a lot of violence. Peace is a rare but also a very precious commodity that is lacking in Colombia. Conservatives versus liberal political violence saw the once peaceful parts of Colombia soaked in blood. From 1899 to 1902 approximately 100,000 Colombians lost their lives due to inter party strife that lasted for over 1000 days. The La Violencia, another inter party war from 1948 to 1966 saw the death of approximately 200,000 Colombians. Guerilla warfare also saw the loss of lives of at least 70,000 lives in 1984. The violence entailed the left wing insurgence and terrorism, narcoterrorism and the right wing paramilitary activities. Since 1948 incidence that involved the death of Jorge Gaitan through an assassination as well as the loss of 2,000 lives Colombia was constitutionally authorized as a state of siege or estatuto de seguridad. It had to deal appropriately with its civil disturbances, rates of insurgence as well as terrorism. Jorge Gaitan was a liberal leader and a populist and he was against the Colombian Oligarch. His assassination resulted into a revolt that saw the death of many people. The revolt was known as El Bogotazo and it graduated into La Violencia. The state persecuted many people necessitating the liberal and the communists to hide in the remote areas that seemed inaccessible so as to resist the current predicament. This lasted for more than a decade and most of them regrouped to form FARC in 1966. Its main aim was to act as the armed wing of the communist party. Liberals in FARC created a distinction between it and other guerillas in South America. In the 60’s the combined liberal and communist guerillas were able to come together in liberated zones to form independent republics like the Marquetalia. They needed to defend or protect themselves from the rich land owners who had marginalized them and took their land forcing them away from fertile agricultural lands. Colombian guerillas were formed to act as self defense against violence from those who were in power. (americas. irc-online. org). May 1984 had much significance in Colombian history. The signing of a peace agreement by the president Betancourt led to a ceasefire as well as the creation of Unidad Patriotica (UP) that made it possible for all to participate in elections. Efforts of the UP were however curbed by the joint actions of drug dealers, paramilitaries as well as part of the state members or officials. They joined efforts and killed thousands of UP sympathizers and leaders. In 1986 there was a peace process where M-19, EPL, PRT and Quintin Lame Armed Movement as well as FARC and ERN formed the Simon Bolivar Coalition. However on the day that a constitutional assembly was to be convened as part of the peace process the army launched an offensive against the legendary Green House which was the secretariat of the guerilla group. In 1986 under president Andres Pastrana there was the creation of a new peace process. It ensured that there was the creation of a 40,000 km2 demilitarized zone. However this lasted for only 4 years as intensive accusation that FARC participated in drug trafficking and the forceful recruitment of minors saw its coming to a halt. President Pastrana in the meantime was negotiating the Plan Colombia which was geared towards empowering or strengthening the state to win the conflict. After the year 2000 when under Uribe’s rule or leadership the situation seemed to move from bad to worse. FARC was forced to retreat and it lost many of its members as well as the military and political initiative. It acquired most of its financing from drugs trade, extortion and kidnapping as well as through cattle rustling from the land owners. This means that to effectively survive they used criminal activities that entailed violence. According to Amnesty International, FARC is accused of violating many human rights. The average Colombians have in most cases had the perception that the wars and consistent conflicts are geared to benefit the rich and powerful in the society at their expense. (www. globalsecurity. or). FARC portrays itself as a revolutionary and popular organization but in the real sense it is surrounded by lack of decency and some countries view it as a terrorist organization that violates human rights and abuses women and hostages. The political violence has taken different perspectives in the sense that it has taken an ideological as well as an economical approach. Violence in the 50’s was to fight against the party’s in power but it later took a different perspective as both the left as well as the right wing groups were involved. A study conducted in 1988 by Columbian academic elites showed that it was quite clear that the Columbian government was losing focus in the fight against the rampant violence in the country. They had studied the killings that had been conducted by drug smugglers, guerilla wars and death squads. They noted that addressing one of the above mentioned issues in exclusion with the others would not see or rather result into the end of violence. They advocated for an all inclusive approach in ensuring that there was efficiency in eradicating violence. Important scholars worth mentioning include Robert H Dix and he attributed the violence trends to the political system that was elitist in nature. Traditional elites compete violently and with a lot of bitterness so as to control the government through liberal as well as the conservative parties. The parties rarely cooperate especially if there is no evidence that the upper class seems threatened. The Colombia Christian parties be they democratic, social democratic or Marxist proved to be weak and in most cases insignificant. However the constitutional amendments and the evolution of Columbia political culture saw to it that the government system was not only highly centralized but also elitist in nature. ( countrystudies. us). Control over the political system was done by the elites at the expense of the middle class, labor as well as the peasants’ classes. The existence of guerilla in the 1980s was a clear indication that the Colombia politics is elitist in nature. Guerilla insurgence in Colombia is the major problem in the country’s political system. The legitimacy problem could be reflected or seen in mass political apathy and increase the rates of voter absenteeism and decreased instances of voter identification with traditional parties as well as the increased urban swing vote. However to preserve and ensure stability, gradual changes were incorporated in the political system. This was more evident in the holding of the first direct and popular mayoral elections in the late 80’s. During this period there was a wide gap between the rich and the poor and the Colombian government failed to be competent enough to solve the issue amicably. The leftist guerilla groups had their leadership, structure and activities well known but on the contrast the rightist activities remains unclear regardless of the fact that it is known to be well organized and active. Almost all of the parties involved in the Columbian politics face violence or threats to violence. They include the elected officials, mayors and other politicians. Threats were also sent to priests, academicians, lawyers and even artists. Most people were threatened after denouncing the rightist campaigns but for others there were no clear motives behind threats. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC) is known for its threats to municipal authorities. According to Gilberto Toro who heads the Colombian Federation of Municipalities approximately half of the total number of majors in the country receive threats from FARC. Tens of mayors and councilmen are assassinated across the country. The insecurity problem affects the manner in which business is conducted in the region as most business men opt to locate their premises near the capital centers where it seems safer or more secure and this hinders diversification. (Osterling J,1989). There are also many instances of unlawful and extra judicial killings. Politically motivated killings remain considerably high and most of them are not committed by state actors. However there are members of the state who or security officers who commit unlawful killings continuously for instance according to the Center for investigation and Popular Research there were responsible for 92 cases of intentional homicides in the first six months of 2001. Paramilitary forces are responsible for many politically motivated and unlawful killings. Such incidences are more prominent in areas where there is minimal or complete absence of a strong government and where their ideologies are refuted through guerillas. People who are most targeted by the paramilitaries include journalists, human rights activists, labor leaders, community activists, local politicians as well as indigenous leaders and all who seem to side with the guerillas. Journalists that seemed to challenge drug barons received threats or were killed. Again as most judges were intimidated or terrorized, gave up gearing their efforts in ensuring that the law was followed to the letter. Without the appropriate measures being taken by the criminal justice system the dug mobsters operated with ease. They intimidated the society in such a manner that the criminal justice system only acts as a toothless dog in fighting crime. Membership in the left wing or leftist political organizations ensures that individuals are killed, threatened or even harassed by the paramilitaries. Family members of known guerillas are also attacked. As the guerillas attack the military they are attacked together with their relatives and those who sympathize with them. FARC was against the election of president Uribe as the president and they conducted massive threats to many locally elected officials an act that saw the resignation of over 390 mayors across the country. City council members as well as municipal workers also resigned due to this. Some mayors were obligated on how to carry out their duties through phone calls as well as through the use of messengers from different departments that seemed secure. Although there are high incidences of insecurity and violence surrounding the Colombian politics there are high numbers of candidates who show their interests in politics. (www. acs-onweb). The conservative Roman Catholic has some significant role in the Colombian politics especially regarding the election of the president and also in political socialization of the Colombians. During Alvaro Uribe’s reign there were strict measures in fighting against drug trade and guerillas which resulted into intensive conflicts among the Colombian neighbors. The wide economic gap is evident from the fact that approximately 20% of the total population controls the Colombian economy and this attribute to the intensified conflicts in the region. The violence affects all people in the nation regardless of their racial, social, economical as well as political orientation. (Jorge Osterling, 1989). Although increased rate of violence have been subsiding since 2002, there are still constant attacks that against civilians and most parts of the country remain under guerilla influence. Conflicts are between the government and the non governmental forces. Uncontrolled violence in Colombia affects the country’s democratic institutions. There was well documented evidence that some army officers participated in the rightist death squads. Armed forces were accused of torturing suspected guerillas as well as killing innocent peasants. The rightist objectives were to drive other members out of the political arena forcing them to abandon the democratic struggle as well as to boycott the municipal elections. Rebel movements waged war against the police and army units. Violence then was linked to elections where some were not pleased with the fact that mayors were not to be appointed by the central government but would be elected through elections. Negotiations during the reign of president Belisario brought about the idea that through negotiations the crisis would be settled. It was supported by many as the constant wars had become tiresome. It was therefore agreed that the guerilla ought to join the country’s democracy. However there was need that all the relevant parties to be committed especially the government. As the insecurity rates worsened politicians and most senior officials were forced to use bullet proof vehicles and had heavily armed guards. More security officers were assigned the role of personal protection. This led to there having fewer officers to carryout effective investigations which is an important part in the criminal justice system. The paramilitary phenomenon has taken charge of the state enforcing their rule through bribery co-optation of politicians as well as many incidences of violence. Inefficiency in the fight against such groups is evident in the sense that even after showing their commitment through ceasefires it is still clear that the killings persist. A clear example is the United Self Defense of Colombia in 2002 which continued to kill those it perceived as its enemies. (americas. irc-online. or). As an effort to search for relevant measures to solve the current situation Colombia justice and peace law tried to ensure that justice prevailed and through it paramilitaries were to be sentenced up to eight years if they were found guilty. They were also expected to surrender all the possessions they had acquired illegally. Demobilization was backed up by many as a tool of ensuring that democracy and peace prevailed in the region. However this did not prove to be a sufficient way as the paramilitary kept influencing the country’s politics. In 2003 in Magdalena, Trino Correa became the governor and his opponents had been forced to pull out through paramilitary threats. He was later arrested in 2007 on alleged links with paramilitaries. The March 2006 congressional elections were also faced with much paramilitary intimidation and this saw the entry of several pro-AUC into the legislature. It is estimated that approximately 10 to 20% of the elected senators had paramilitary connections. It also became clear that the paramilitary still exerted much influence and this was revealed by a computer that disclosed how Jorge the AUC commander had authorized the murder of 558 Colombians in the Caribbean department of Atlantico a region where the paramilitary ceasefires were supposed to be in effect. Jorge had also used peasants as his fighters and had bribed the police to continue with the drug trafficking business. He had worked with local politicians and assisted them realize their electoral prospects. This scandal was very embarrassing to the president. (www. unhcr. org). Relatives of state leaders were also linked with paramilitary organizations. Senator Alvaro Araujo, a brother to the foreign minister was arrested on allegations that he had conspired with the AUC in kidnapping a political rival before the 2002 elections. This led to the resignation of the foreign minister. A president’s cousin, Mario Uribe was also accused of having dealings with the paramilitaries He was also a leader of the Colombia democratica a party they had co founded with the president. Some members of this party were accused of involvement with paramilitaries and some like Garcia Alvaro were accused of having orchestrated a massacre in 2000 as well as murder of an electoral official in 1997. (www. colombiajournal. org). To date there is clear indication that there is the existence of a sinister and anti democratic relationship between criminals and the country’s elected representatives. The crisis is a clear indication of the deep sense of the powerlessness that is prevailing.It is evident that violence affects or rather influences politics in South America and more so in Colombia. References: Global Security. Colombia. Retrieved on 9th April 2008 from http://www. globalsecurity. org/military/world/colombia/colombia_politics. htm Michael Walker. The Bush Administration’s Hollow Commitment to Colombian Democracy. Retrieved on 9th April 2008 from http://www. colombiajournal. org/colombia271. htm Raul Zibechi. 2008. Americas Program Special Report Military Crisis in South America: The Results of Plan Colombia. Retrieved on 9th April 2008 from http://americas. irc-online. org/am/5107 History of violence. Retrieved on 9th April 2008 from http://www. acs-onweb. de/hd/content/pres_c2_the_media_and_the_internet/history. htm South America. Retrieved on 9th April 2008 from http://www. iansa. org/regions/samerica/samerica. htm U. S. Library of Congress. Government and Politics. Retrieved on 9th April 2008 from http://countrystudies. us/colombia/78. htm UNHCR. Background on political violence in Colombia Retrieved on 9th April 2008 from http://www. unhcr. org/home/RSDCOI/414eef214. html

Stryker Corporation Business Analysis

Stryker Corporation Business Analysis Introduction The purpose of this project is to analyze an established company. The report will provide brief background of the company and its culture, critical analysis of a venture and its key people, core business model and business opportunities. The reader will be able to see the analysis of the most recent entrepreneurial thing that company did and major issues within the organization. In conclusion there will be a methodical critic from an entrepreneurial prospective provided that leads to the possible solutions for future. Company Description Stryker Corporation is a medical technology business that develops and manufactures medical implants, surgical technologies, emergency medical and patient handling equipment as well as execution beds of the death penalized people. They make their best effort by cooperating with their customers to run effective healthcare method and bring healthy lives back to the patients. They do not just make a product, but they also provide service to help people. Stryker is broadly based all round the world and is divided into numerous decentralized operational units, each performing as a detached entity: Stryker Biotech, Stryker Canada, Stryker Communications, Stryker Craniomaxillofacial, Stryker Development, Stryker Endoscopy, Stryker Imaging, Stryker Japan, Stryker Latin America, Stryker MedSurg, Stryker Orthopaedics and Stryker Spine. Venture is built on sustainability, creating a long-term contribution in responsible manner to patients, suppliers and buyers, communities, corporate governance and stakeholders. Its products, locations and service contributions are diverse; hence there are different types of motions within medical business that fully outline their social responsible behavior. Stryker was founded by Dr. Homer Stryker in 1941, an orthopedic doctor that investigated and designed new mechanisms. His inventions led Stryker to slowly integrate into the business and starting to gain capital Stryker was at the level of a small but well-built company. One invention after another and Stryker capitalized more assets that gave a lift to expansion and in 1964 the name of the company was changed to Stryker Corporation. Characteristics of the business opportunities In the middle of 19th century it was relatively easy to enter medical industry due to minimal amount of competition, thus nowadays analyzing Five Forces Approach it is barely impossible to do so, regarding the fact that rivalry among existing firms is too high. Company started operating in 1940s, before the beginning of World War 2, in their pre-mature stage of development Stryker has had a big boom in their demand. Dr. Homer Stryker was in the right place, at the right time. Concerning ventures clearly defined opportunity, it can be stated that Stryker was never eager to gain a pot, he was interested in improving peoples lives, thus taking risks. It can be clearly seen from a quote made by Ronda Stryker, Dr.Homers granddaughter: My grandpa was innovative and took risks. He was always trying to improve what he had and cared more about helping people than he cared about the money he made (Stryker, 2009). In the last century it was a great opportunity to start medical business that was weakly developed and unexamined, taking into consideration the fact that you would be willing to spend a lot of your capital on Research and development to progress. Core business model Next part describes Strykers core business model by using the business model canvas which clearly states the main points which should be included in a Business Model. Key Partners: The main partners of Stryker Corp. are mainly the employees since they are the ones selling the products. The company attaches a major importance to the close relationship between employees and clients. The main objectives for the employees is to understand the clients needs and to provide them with what they want, but also since the employee is so closely related to the guest he is also the one being innovative by suggesting new ideas in order to totally fulfill clients demand. The clients represent key partners as well. They are mainly independent hospitals and surgery centers. Stryker Corp. works with these healthcare centers in order for them to help patients in the most efficient way. Competitors are also among the key partners. There are major and smaller competitors. Of course Stryker Corp. has an advantage since it was one of the first movers in this industry and it is always focusing on improving quality, service and innovation. Stryker Corp. has very strong established network with its suppliers. Company pays a lot of attention on maintaining these relationships in order to ensure smooth running of business. Key Activities: The main activity of Stryker Corp. is sales of medical equipment such as hospital beds, operating room devices and medical devices. The company has a very strong sales force since their employees work on commission, which highly motivates them to perform better. Stryker Corp. states that their sales approach is focusing on personal relationships with individual decision makers. The company also attaches an importance on marketing and Research and development activities, since the main aim of the business is to always be innovative and to come up with new products and communicate those products effectively to their customers. In order to do so, Stryker has participated in advertisement campaigns over the past few years. Company also provides its customers with a very detailed website. Another key activity is maintaining close relationship between the employee and the customer that helps them retain most of these customers and make sure that the world of healthcare is aware of what Stryker Corp. is providing. Key resources: Here, once again, the main resource of the company is its employees. For Stryker Corp. it is important to hire people who share the same vision as to improve patients lives as well as clinical efficiency and effectiveness. The company makes sure to provide them with a safe working environment, strong benefits, services compensation and personal growth opportunities. Stryker has received the Gallup workplace Award which ranks them at the top working places on the world (Stryker, 2009). Another key resource for the company is its knowledge and innovation. Over the past year Stryker Corp. has spent a considerable amount into research and development in order to always come up with the latest technology and the most performing products. Other key resources are assets of the company, its technology, products and capital resources. One of the most important resources is the brand of the venture. All of the resources are required to deliver the value proposition to the target group. Value Proposition: Stryker Corp. focuses on having the highest quality standards in order to offer the best products to its customers. The following are the factors that Stryker relies on: product quality, performance criteria and price. Company wants to offer the top products in the and also the service that goes with it. In order to do so, employees receive special training programs that help them understand clients needs and demands and how to be able to fulfill them is the most efficient way. The design of products has to be made to reduce risks, enhance health and safety, but also to able the doctors to work faster and be more efficient. As mentioned above for Stryker Corp. value of its product is one of the main factors they focus on. Customer Relationship: Compared to other companies, Stryker Corp. has a very close relationship with their customers. This is done to understand them better and to be able to offer them what they are looking for. By having such a close relation clients feel special and they become loyal to the company. As the CEO, Mr. Macmillan mentioned, We dont just make products, we make products and we provide services that help people (Stryker, 2009). In this industry the relation between customers and business is of a high importance, since together they can create more advanced products which will contribute in healthy lives of millions of people worldwide. Customer Segments: Stryker Corp.s target market is known to be the medical professionals and healthcare providers that represent a very high scale demand. That is why the company is operating all around the world to stay the number one provider of medical and healthcare devices. Channels: Stryker operates through twelve manufacturing and distributions divisions with over 15,000 employees in 120 countries. Stryker has a decentralized system, with its headquarters in the U.S. and several offices around the world, which allows the company to make faster decisions about products and strategies. There is a direct communication between the company, suppliers and customers to make sure to provide them with fast and efficient services. Revenue Streams: Stryker Corp.s main revenues are from its sales of medical devices. As mentioned before, the company is divided into several departments the one with the highest revenue being orthopedics. The company itself had sales of 6.7 billion dollars in 2008, with an annual sales growth of 21%. Stryker is traded on the NYSE, it is one of the fortune 400 companies in the world and top 50 Company in the Business Week. Cost Structure: The main costs of Stryker Corp. are mainly allocated in the Research and development segment. Company decided to invest mainly in this segment since it always wants to be the leading healthcare provider and it is highly important to keep up with the technology and to always try to improve the healthcare system. Innovation, risk-taking and pro-activity of the venture and its key people Stryker Corp. is committed to the product quality and highly values innovation. Innovation is the essence of companys dedication to their clients. Research and development teams are working closely with the customers in order to understand their needs better and improve the products. The important part of innovation process is the feedback from people that is conducted periodically. The Stryker Global Technology Center is a core division that is working to boost the innovation to reduce costs while increasing quality. The key person in this area is Ray Umber, Ph.D., business development manager at Stryker. He came up with several innovative ideas that led Stryker to the top place in certain industry segments and now he giving others an opportunity to learn from his experience through training and practice (Stryker , 2009). From the time when the company was established it is obvious that risk-taking is a big part of all operations. Initial risks are connected directly to the risky nature of the industry. One of the most recent examples of risk-taking was the decision to change the vision of the company after many years of operating. There are also risks associated with decisions of expanding the business through acquisitions, joint ventures and partnerships. Over the time line of Stryker Corp. it is evident how pro-active the venture is. Acquisitions play a big role in companys expansion. Stryker Corp. strategically grows into related industries to increase its products offering and get access to new resources and technologies. Over last year company acquired numerous ventures that are important investments for future success. This is also a high risk, since acquisitions require big amount of capital expenditures. Based on the financial situation in the world due to the 2008 crisis, such decisions can be seen as risky. However, Stryker orients on long-term strategy where these acquisitions are important. Proactive programs are also taking place on the smaller level inside the company. Last year, Stryker Corp. presented the program Proactive Distributor Selling that gives managers the opportunity and capacity to better develop, manage, and coach distributor relationships to maximize sales training results (n.a., 2009). Proactive approach is seen throughout all divisions of the company, from supply chains, manufacturing to sales. Company is adapting changes all the time with a goal of improving operations and value of the business. The present CEO of Stryker Corp., Stephen MacMillan is a perfect example of a proactive leader. He leads the company through a change time, explains the reasons and future moves, motivates people to adapt and react to these changes. Traits and characteristics associated of the companys key people There are three key people throughout the history of Stryker Corp.: three CEOs who led the company to the success and who had different traits and characteristics, which makes them successful entrepreneurs. First person who deserves an acknowledgement is the first CEO, Dr. Homer Stryker. He was the one who started the company being driven by his passion and interest in improving patients care. He was a very innovative person, many of his ideas became standards in the industry of medical equipment nowadays. During his work as a surgeon he encountered few problems and difficulties that he saw as opportunities for improvement. One of the main reasons of his success and success of his product was the fact that he was doing what he liked, what he was passionate about. He believed that his inventions will change the medical practice in a better way. He knew how to look at his business from customers perspective, therefore his products were always a match of their needs. Due to his achievements Stryker Corp. grew and became an international producer of medical equipment and surgical products. Second remarkable person is John Brown. His time as the CEO of a company was notable by quite different achievements than his predecessor. John Brown was a risk-taker, he made decisions to decentralize the company after many years being centralized. He saw big future for Stryker Corp. and this step was necessary at the time. He was a good planner who knew how to motivate people by giving them empowerment and responsibilities. Under his management members of the sales team got possibilities to get involved into creation of innovative products due to their good knowledge of customers. His 20% forever rule led the company to the new heights. John Brown built up the competitive advantage for Stryker Corp. that still serves the company. He had an ability to foresee, to manage company wisely, he kept the company going towards success. One of the key people in the company today and the example of successful entrepreneur is Stephen MacMillan, the present CEO of Stryker Corp. He wants to move the company further and expand its operating field. He is passionate about raising the level and often exceeds his own ambitious goals. As well as John Brown he took a risky decision of changing the vision of the company. This is a fundamental change that takes a lot of hard work to ensure success. For Stephen MacMillan, its all about coaching his team to stay ahead of the pack (Much, 2006). He has a great ability to motivate people, to manage companys resources wisely, plan everything one step ahead. He creates a positive image for Stryker Corp., gets involved in companys affairs and builds solid reputation for himself and company as a whole. Companys culture, values, vision and mission Stryker Corp. is the global leader in medical technology industry with the long history of success and strongly established culture. Success of the venture lays in discipline, stamina, ability to recognize the opportunities in the market, move quickly and adapt to current changes. Furthermore, culture differs from company to company and it is usually established naturally. Every time when people come together with the shared purpose culture is created. Stryker Corp.s culture was changing throughout the past, different set of values and incentives were created for employees, with aim to increase the overall financial performance of the company and bring back the benefits to patients, shareholders, community and its employees. Today they are focused on innovation, improving the quality of the products in order to build up trust and integrity. According to their mission statement: What matters most to us and to our customers is quality innovation and cost. Those are three areas how we are delivering for today and investing in future (Stryker, 2009). Companys strong financial and leadership position put the expectation for its products even higher and according to that company has to find the way to exceed customer expectations. Moreover, one of the core values and components in the Stryker Corp.s culture is sustainability. Organization believes in making differences by partnering with their customers and providing them effective healthcare system in order to improve health of their patients. It has built up strong believes and attitudes with their employees that present the essence for their future expansion. According to Striker Corp. they do not just make products our technologies, solutions and services are focused on improving the peoples life (Stryker, 2009). They strive to develop and manufacture products that could sustain the environment and its resou rces. With being sustainable in such a demanding and vigilant industry where the space to make mistake is highly minimized, companys sustainable commitment and responsibility is placed on the highest level. One of the key values is being Social Responsible Corporation in everything what business does. Venture acts as corporate citizen with strong commitment to the patient care by producing the safe products, high quality instrumentation and implants, seeking to minimize the negative effect on the environment, supporting the humanitarian missions and improving quality of life for patients. Building up the trust with customers and patients is everything what social responsibility is. Moreover, vision statement that presents the power tool to retain people with constant shared values was changing in the past with Stryker Corp. as well. Today Stryker Corp. emphasizes on ethics and their vision is: producing products which improve the lives of patients, providing employees with a challenging and rewarding work environment, supporting the communities in which we operate, and generating exceptional returns for our shareholders (Stryker , 2009). Stryker Corp. is not just profit oriented as it used to be before. Now the essential part of its success is the fact that company became more efficient and sociable responsible. Stryker is everything what entrepreneurship is. It was found by Dr. Homer Stryker and his innovative idea that enabled Stryker to be become what it is today, the leader in medical technology. Stryker Corp. involves sense of innovation and constant risk taking that is associated on the daily basis since it is operating in a very sensible environment. Evaluation of failures Stryker Corp. is a strong believer in ethics and bringing the special spirit within its people to compete, make changes and win over the long term. Because of their strong reputation in such sensitive industry, where one mistake or product defect could leave undesired consequences on their image and brand, failures are not tolerated. Taking the case of Surgical Navigation System, where there was a reasonable probability that a product could cause health problems or even create consequences leading to death, Stryker Corp. recalled the product and stopped its usage. This gave the company bad publicity, but it responded fast by pulling out all products from the market and arranging repair for all of them. Very important fact is that in this case Stryker Corp. assumed its responsibility and closely cooperated with public, special control agencies and auditors. After this company became even more cautious and increased safety and security measurements in order to minimize the risks and pr event negative impacts that can decrease their performance in a demanding and competitive market. Recent entrepreneurial thing Apart from the fundamental change of the companys vision that was discussed earlier, one of the main changes, which happened within Stryker Corp. in 2009, was that the Stryker legend, John W. Brown, retired from the board of directors. As mentioned previously he was one of the biggest influences towards the growth of the company. With his retirement the company decided to hire two more directors to replace his position in the board. One of the new members, Mr. Howard Lance is a former chairman, President and CEO of Harris Corporation, which based its operations mainly on telecommunications. The reason for this recruitment was to use his experience and knowledge within the Hong Kong market, where he has lived and worked since Strykers 2010 goal was to expand in the Chinese market. The second gentleman, Mr. Srikant Datar is a former professor of Harvard Business School, who already brings new perspectives towards the team, especially towards the emerging markets. However, mainly his responsibility will lie in bringing new entrepreneurial ideas towards the bio-tech field of the company. The reason this recruitment is the most entrepreneurial thing the company did in the past year is because it will bring a new perspective and help the company grow stronger in the years ahead. Since the company is currently facing consequences of the economic crisis something entrepreneurial had to be organized in order for the company to differentiate from the competition and persuade to their goal of being number one in the medical industry. Idea of hiring a former telecommunication CEO might not seem much related to the medical industry, but from an entrepreneurial side of view it brings new ideas and risks, which will lead the company towards growth. Major problem in the venture The major problem area not for Stryker Corp. only, but also for majority of organizations around the world, is the crisis. Looking at previous years, Stryker has always had a significant growth rate, even in 2007 and 2008. In 2009, however, it changed. Stryker only managed a growth rate of 0.1% in sales and 4% in earnings per share. As Mr. MacMillan states in the 2009 annual report, Clearly, this is not the kind of revenue and earnings growth our shareholders have historically expected from us, and we will never be satisfied with delivering results like these (Stryker, 2009), indicating that these numbers are not up to the satisfaction level in order to meet their goals. On the other hand he also states that 2009 felt more like a boxing match. We went toe-to-toe with a volatile global economy, rolled with some marketplace punches, moved quickly and battled back (Stryker, 2009). Here he is describing how tough the year was for the company in terms of keeping it up to the level expecte d by the shareholders. The crisis itself is the major problem. But within the crisis, sub-problems are found such as the fact that it leaves the market place in an unstable condition, where customers are afraid to buy products. The most common solution is to produce more effectively and lower the costs. Stryker Corp. did just that. The problem was that the quality decreased. The FDA (Food Drug Administration) has through the years become stricter in regulating the medical industry and this affected Stryker Corp. by receiving three warning letters upon their quality on products. The complaints mainly address their biotech and hip implant sector. Company was also accused for falsified hospital documentation, which is not just a quality problem, but becomes a PR problem. Competition is also a major indicator in the problem of reducing your costs. The medical industry is highly competitive industry, especially when it comes to innovations that increase quality and safety. Innovations, on the other hand, requi re big capital expenditures. To stay competitive Stryker Corp. had to further invest in this sector. The last problem in the year 2009 is that Stryker Corp. has some elements of a decentralized company (recent organization is hybrid between centralized and decentralized structure), which makes it difficult to carry out the same plan towards fighting the crisis in all operating countries. Possible solution and evaluation The next step in the problem analysis is to identify possible solutions towards the problem in order to achieve better results in 2010. The suggestions are listed below: Keep the operations as they are, since the market will grow by itself in 2010. Increase expenses on improving the quality Decrease production costs in order to decrease price Fully centralize the company Invest more in innovations to improve competitive advantage Hire a consultant, who can ensure the quality of the products being produced Increase PR spending to increase the companys image In order to find best-match solution, all of them need to be evaluated. The first point can be good, if their market analyst is correct. On the other hand, the market is unpredictable in most cases, therefore, the company would undertake a risk by following this statement of growth. Thus, first option is not a valid solution to the problem. Second possible solution based on the fact that quality was the major sub-problem that arose from the crisis and it is vital to ensure both PR and customer loyalty. Therefore, this option should be considered. Next alternative outlines a theory that is a must do to any companys future success. Decreasing production cost should always be a big part in order to achieve economies of scale, but decreasing that should not be a reason for decreasing the price, because once the recession will come to an end, the company will benefit more from not having changed the price. Solution number 4 is an absolute no-go solution. A major change such a centralizing the company in the times of crisis will just bring more trouble and confusion then there is already. In addition, if the communication is strong, the decision making towards changes in the market will be perceived much faster in a decentralized company or hybrid. Alternative number 5 is probably not the best solution in this case. In the times of crisis there is no need to further increase spending on innovations and most likely that competitors will not do it either since every company is trying to manage their expenses wisely. However, it does not mean that innovation segment must be neglected since it is one of the key elements in this industry. The most reasonable solution is number 6 in terms of sustaining the quality of the products produced and redistributed. It is always helpful to have someone from outside the company to give opinions upon the products and basic operations. Last alternative would also not contribute towards the major challenge of fighting the crisis, since it would mean more expenditure, which indirectly contributes to growth. To finalize upon the options analyzed above, the recommendation for Stryker Corp. would be to hire a consultant and continuously try to decrease costs. The consultant would ensure higher quality and ultimately increase in companys image since fewer customers would have complaints upon the products. In addition, with consultants help, reduced number or no warning letters from the FDA can be achieved. In order to come back to the growth expected by shareholders, our recommendation is to continuously decrease costs and thereby achieve economies of scale. Conclusion Stryker Corp. is a major company in the worlds medical device industry and not an individual business anymore, as it is seen from entrepreneurial perspective. However, its key people and their activities are remarkable from this point of view. This venture has an organized structure, clear goals and objectives that drive company towards continuous growth. Based on evaluation of core business model and major problems that Stryker Corp. has today, there are still many business opportunities that can be undertaken and recommendations provided will contribute in the future success.

Comparison of Democracy Models

Comparison of Democracy Models Write an essay that compares and contrasts the different versions of democracy discussed in class (and in Hudson)—protective, developmental, pluralistic, and participatory? Which best describes American politics today? Which is most preferable? Why? According to William E. Hudson, there are four major models that emerge from modern conceptions of democracy: Protective, Developmental, Pluralistic, and Participatory Democracy. The Protective model advocates democratic institutions because they can provide protection for individual liberties and control of property in a society where people are self-interested and acquisitive. This model will give way to a utilitarian society where there is the greatest good for the greatest number. The Developmental model believes democratic politics is best for allowing all people with â€Å"civic virtue† to overcome their selfishness, unlike the Protective model, and promote the well-being of all of society. While the citizens are passive in the Protective model, the Developmental model encourage â€Å"good citizen† to actively participation in politics to better themselves and their government. However, social scientists view the Developmental model as a democratic ideal that is much different from reality. The average citizen are observed to be apathetic and uninformed about politics while only the political elites participate in government. This give rise to the Pluralist model which, like the Protective, sees human nature as inherently selfish and would defer the day-to-day governance to the elites. Pluralists give the leaders of interest groups the role of representing the average citizens in policymaking. Because both models assume that political leaders, the elites, should make most of the decisions, they are labeled the elitist models of democracy. In response to the Pluralist view, the Participatory model suggests that political apathy is the result of the lack of opportunities for significant participation rather than a natural inclination. People are apathetic because social and political institutions encourage apathy in an authoritarian manner. Much like the Developmental model in many respects, it sees people as capable of civic virtue and encourages active participation in political affairs. The two models differ from each other on their view on economic inequality. The Developmental model does not view this as a barrier, whereas the Participatory focus on the importance of economic equality as a requirement for meaningful political democracy. American politics today would be best described as a Pluralistic democracy. It has the lowest voter turnout of any democracy. People are clearly apathetic and focused on their private concerns to care about the day-to-day governance. For the most part, politics is the matter of political elites like interest groups each representing its members by lobbying for laws and reform bill. However, this has led to a society ruled by a few elites with the majority of the nation’s wealth and have significant leverage in political matters. A more preferable model to strive for is the Participatory model. Much of the apathy in American politics is due to the notion that the people feel powerless. People feel that their contribution and participate in government will not amount to much. The citizens have no direct say in government with the exception of representative of the House. Every member of the executive and judicial branch as well as the Senate are not directly elected by the people. The complicated system of separation of power and checks and balances were purposefully designed by the Framers to slow the governing process for the sake of preventing tyranny. Consequently, whether the people participated or not, a policy will still take a tremendous amount of time to go through as the political parties in each governmental branch fight over partisanship rather than the merit of the policy. As explained by proponents of the model, there is also a lack of opportunities for participation especially when people are mo re and more caught up in their career. The Election Day is arbitrarily put on a Tuesday when, with the exception of a few states, many people have to go to work. What does the game â€Å"star power† tell us about power? How did the Framers of the Constitution incorporate such ideas into the Constitution? The Star Power game demonstrate the notion of absolute power corrupts absolutely. The game starts out with a very social atmosphere as the players trade chips with each other. However, when the ability to govern the other groups, and dictate the rules, is given to the â€Å"upper-class† Square group, the atmosphere changed. Inevitably, the Square members, the elites, begin to create oppressive rules that are favorable to them to remain in power and are restricting to the other two groups. Although the other group can suggest rules, the Square have no obligation to adopt any of it unless it is favorable to them. This create a different class system for the participants: those in power and those who are powerless. It is important to note that if any other participant in the lower- and middle-class groups, the Circle and the Triangle, that would be promoted to Square will succumb to the same temptation of infinite power. Who is Steve Rocco? How did he get elected to school board? What—if anything—does his election say is broken in our political system, and what can be done to fix it? Steve Rocco is an American who was formerly an elected board member of the Orange Unified School District in Orange in 2004. Strangely enough, despite being elected, nobody seems to know anything about Rocco then. Even the board members and news reporters could not get through to him during his candidacy. He also did not campaign or have a candidate statement, and he was supposedly a teacher according to the candidacy form. However, he managed to win the election against an opponent who actively campaigned. He did not make any public appearance during this period and some people speculated that he would not show up to the board meetings. Rocco did, in fact, show up to meetings with inappropriate speeches and inappropriate behaviors which enraged other members present. A petition to recall him failed to gather enough signatures and he remained on the board. This event raises several key issues with the political system. First of which is the people’s lack of care and involvement in the political system. The fact that Steve Rocco did not campaign or make any public appearance during the candidacy should have raised an alarm. This may be an isolated incident of failure in the system but the root cause is present even in major elections. Most people are already so removed from politics that voter turnout has been on a decline. Those who does cast a ballot in an election often do so based on familiarity of names or other attribute. In the case of presidential election, the large majority vote based on partisanship. That is to say a person who is affiliated to the Democratic Party will most likely vote for a Democratic candidate. Further on the topic of voting, smaller elections, like the one that got Steve Rocco elected, are often placed towards end of the very lengthy ballot. Voters suffer from ballot fatigue and will only complete the first part of a ballot. Those who actually do reach the end will often do it with less care assuming they even have a slight notion of what they are voting for. As a case in point, many people said they thought it was more appropriate to vote for Steve Rocco because he claimed to be a teacher as oppose to his opponent who is a park ranger. Most people would immediately blame the people who voted for Rocco as ignorant among other accusation. The common people are apathetic about participating in the political system except those who have a very large stake in the matter. Although they are not entirely wrong, there are other factors to consider. One issue raised by this event was the failure of watchdog journalism, or any other watchdog organization for that matter. As aforementioned, no one knew a thing about Steve Rocco when he was elected. This is not limited to the common folk of Orange County but also the journalists and reporters. In this case, no matter how involved one may be in the election, there is simply not enough information available to make an informed decision on the matter. Another issue is how Steve Rocco managed to become a candidate in the first place. Clearly, the requirements for candidacy is not sufficient because it only required the name and occupation of the candidate. What is more worrying is the fact that Steve Rocco falsely claimed he is a teacher and shows that the people organizing the election never bothered to do a background check on the candidates. There are no quick and easy fix for the political system. To start, the people and organizations involved like the media should have the duty to seek and provide all the relevant information for the people. How can people be expected to make informed decisions when there are no information to seek? How does the separation of powers, according to Hudson, undermine democracy? Do you think there are too many â€Å"checks† in our system of government? Too few? What types of constitutional reforms does he suggest? According to Hudson, the founders’ preoccupation with safeguarding liberty caused them to create a system that undermined two other key democratic values. To prevent majority tyranny, they created a structure that lacks responsiveness to political majorities. This is done by putting democratic passions through excessive checks and balances of the separated branches of government. Second, the separation of powers divided responsibility and made it impossible to hold elected officials accountable for their actions. Accountability is crucial to representative democracy especially when the representatives make laws that are not in their constituents’ best interests. This cannot be done when separation of power obscures who is responsible for governmental conduct and inhibit responsiveness to public interests. What are the pros and cons of having major policy decisions made by majority rule? Do you think the decisions such as whether to build or build an airport at Toro, go to war in Iraq, or define marriage (Proposition 8) should be made by majority rule? What do Greenberg and Page feel about the capacity of average people to govern themselves? Do you agree or disagree? Majority rule is one of the key concepts that people associate with the word â€Å"democracy† in the United States. The Framers’ concern and fear of majority tyranny was one of the reason for the system separation of powers. They saw the common people as uninformed and lack the knowledge to make the right decision for everyone. The system does not distinguish the tyrannical majorities from those that are not. It simply creates a series of roadblocks which allows the interests of the minority to prevent change that a democratic majority support. A democratic majority rule can be good in distributing the decision-making power to many people who have a stake in the outcome. Essentially, it gives way to change that are beneficial to the largest number of people based on their democratic vote. As people see that they each have the equal power to change their own life and those of others, they will naturally become more attentive to politics and spur discussions that will bet ter society. Under an autocratic system, the opinion of the majority does not matter as their supreme leader makes all the important decisions and seek only obedience. In a democracy that inhibit majority rule, it is no different. Instead of a single supreme leader, it could be a sufficiently large interest groups funded by wealthy individuals and creates an executive minority rule. Interest groups today like the NRA or AARP are extremely influential in making public policy and are among the biggest lobbies in Washington. Under majority rule, everyone can become part of the decision-making process which deter tyrannical rule of the few elites. This is especially true in America as top 20 percent control 80 percent of the wealth, and will continue to stretch their lead by funding political candidates who are willing to represent their interest. For a time leading up to the Iraq War, most people were hesitant to use military force and continued to oppose the war when it began. Nevertheless, majority rule is not safe from abuse as feared by the Founding Fathers and the Framers of the Constitution. After all, one of the weakness of majority rule is that it does not require a consensus to make a decision. After the September 11th attack, the public was very emotional and supported the war in Afghanistan. Minority racial groups became targets of hostility as a result as well. The issue arise as to whether people should be allowed to make important decisions when they are so easily manipulated by emotion. Moreover, a majority rule does not guarantee the protection against influences from elites. The period known as the Red Scare led to mass hysteria of anti-communist sentiment as a result of Senator McCarthy’s speeches. Although there have been instances of majority tyranny, they are few and far between. Regardless, Greenberg and Page still feels that the average people do not have the capacity to govern themselves. They see that the citizens do not care about politics, are uninformed on most matters, and unstable in their views. As a result, the citizens are not ready for self-governance and should not be allowed to determine what government does. Greenberg and Page also note that, under alternative system from majority rule, the rights of the minorities are also not guaranteed. Opinion What aspects of the Constitution inhibit majority rule? Why did the Framer’s incorporate these constraints into the Constitution? In the Constitution, the Framers designed a framework for a government of separated powers and checks and balances. The government has its executive, legislative, and judicial powers divided into separate branches, each with a unique set of powers and a role in the affairs of the others. This is to prevent any one branch from becoming too powerful. This system has many potential for conflict between the branches of government. It was intentionally designed this way by the Framers to slow the governing process and inhibit majority rule. Many of them also believed that the people should not rule directly but through multiple layers of elected representatives serving as barriers to majority rule which they thought would lead to bad outcomes. The citizens of the United States have no direct say in government with the exception of electing members of Congress. The first and most obvious inhibitor on majority rule is the process to elect a president. Every member of the executive and judicial branch are not directly elected by the people. This include the President of the United States who is elected by the Electoral College, not the people. Even if candidates tie in number of votes or fail to receive the majority from the Electoral College the decision will go to the House of Representative. This was seen in the election of John Quincy Adams and George W. Bush where neither win the popular vote but were elected president by the House and the Electoral College, respectively. Another aspect of the Constitution that inhibit majority rule is the Amendment process which requires a supermajority vote: two thirds from both houses of Congress and three fourths of the state legislatures. It cannot be done by a simple popular majority vote nor does it require a popular vote. This inhibit majority rule because in the case of the Senate and the state legislature, each state is equally represented. This is particularly disproportionate as only a few states like California and Texas already constitute nearly a quarter of the population but only get 5% representation. The supermajority vote is also present in the checks and balances system. Unlike the prior examples, majority rule of the people and the government can be inhibited by the checks and balances system. Assume that public outcry has managed to influence both houses of Congress to pass a new law. The President have the power to veto the bill, which can be overridden by a two thirds vote in each house and signing it into law. At this point, the Supreme Court can deem the law unconstitutional and overturn the new law, or the president can issue a signing statements saying he cannot carry out the law. The Framers create a constitution by which the people only rule indirectly and deliberation serves as barriers to majority opinion. The framework of government established by the Framers was designed to inhibit majority rule. Of the three branches of government, they only made a part of one of them, the House of Representative, subject to election from direct vote of the people. It was not until the 17th Amendment that Senators were subjected to election by direct vote. On the topic of Amendments, suffrage was not granted to blacks, women, Native Americans, or 18-year-old until much later. One reason why it took so long was because the Framers created an amending process that was exceedingly complicated. They designed a system in which political elites are insulated from majority opinion to deliberate on their own.