Socio-Geographic Factors

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Classes within the National Council on the Aging (NCoA)

The identified classes in the organization include Domination class, Hegemony class and Resistance class. In the domination class, there are systems of religion, culture, politics, economic or social aspects which often have their taciturnity aspects rhyming with their public facets. In determining perceptible cultural domination or even authentic political domination, one has to be keen on figuring out what exactly should be unearthed from apparent, communal behavior and conduct within the organization Scott (1990).

Within the organization, those who are repressed or dominated may give the impression of acknowledging their own domination (Freire, 1970). However, they do always query on it behind the scenes. Open interactions between those who are being oppressed and those who dominate on them, so termed as organizational transcription, in a depiction of the observable feature or qualities as far as power or protocol relations are concerned in the organization. Like for the case of the organization, Scott (1990) demonstrates the account of authority which goes in secrecy and hidden away from those in power as hidden transcript. Within the organization, those who are being repressed as well as the influential ones adhere to the decorum of power relations. On the other hand, those who dominate are overconfident upon which the subsidiaries are self-effacing and put back as well.

The concept of hegemony domination as developed by Gramsci (1971), for social array is also evident in the organization whereby the subsidiaries are compelled to abide by supremacy through internalization of the expectations as well as giving in to the ordinary and customary procedure of the organization. Social order in the organization attempts to establish its sole uncertainty which more or less appears to be customary as well as repression. Therefore, all the parties involved in the organization seem to welcome the prevalent protocols. Their uninfluenced conformation is oppressing even though they are not anticipating of the same.

There is an aspect of resistance class whereby hegemony comes in as an implication of a dominant dogma which in a way is preventive to resistance as regards the organizational setting. Through this, there can be a surety that power will be transited to the persons involved in the organization (Gramsci, 1971; Lobel et al., 1999). This follows the fact that the lesser placed individuals always foretell when those above them are dominating. Where there is a genuine open class system in the organization, flexibility in individual performances as well as in the status of establishing respective positions by ranking. Classes are mostly attached to wealth rather than levels of income.

Several socio-cultural distinctions are generated from stratification of social and economic models as well as provisions and circulation of prosperity, power and stature. The organizational hierarchy in vesting of affluence and power seem to be rebellious to rivalry and transition. These values are generally connected to open social settings whereupon the focus is to suppress any pertinent privileges. The work value in this context is that there is self-consciousness. There are also social distinctions with respect to ethnicity, region, religion, occupational placement or race. However, equality is acknowledged as regards backgrounds and roles since it is viewed as an open society thereby any competent persons can direct their individual efforts at work (Bourdieu, 1977).

Individual accomplishment as well as self competence is also some of the strong values resented. This causes class backgrounds to impact on potentials for gaining of success. Even with equality held by the organization’s policies and regulations, it does apply to both men and women. But then, this is not the case when it comes to the poor and the rich even if there were supposed to be equality between them. Apart from that, there is authorization by the penal code for privileged treatment for a section of the members of the organization for example those who have attained university degrees. For some cases, there is social identification on the basis of family connections and class backgrounds in regard to what really the members view as of worth and value. Furthermore, family ties are also attached to the preferable ranking as well as settings thereby the place for which a given family occupies and the structure of their membership is attributed to contribution towards individual affluence (Bibby, 1997).

Work Values Displayed By the Classes

The values of these classes are that they facilitate mobility and ensure there is personal accomplishment. Furthermore, they help acquire merit in establishing of positions as far as ranking is concerned in the organization. Being socially aligned, individual status would be attained through ascertaining that their personal inputs are applied with regard to the organization’s work ideologies. Wealth is regarded pf essence and it is mainly based on income generation.

Ranking is valued and it grants advantages in a number of aspects as regards the day-to-day social life systems. In this case, these classes accord immediate attention to the social protocols attached to the places occupied by the varied individuals in the organization. They also take a concern into the minority issues as well as inferiority differences amongst the members in the organization. Bourdieu (1977) observed that with these classes, policies and principles of the organization are actually not equally applicable though they apply differentially as per the social classifications. Therefore, from the classes come a reflection of social equality and uncensored culture specific to the organization. One other value that surfaces in line with this is the sense of identity following what the organization initiates and thereby emerging individual identity as well.

Socio-cultural identity originates from the activities being engaged in the organization. This is featured as the individuals in the organization form part of the social network connecting them in the operations being involved in.

How the Organization Is Affected By Geographic Mobility

Geographic mobility has significant implications to organizations as well as their management. As people transit from a given place to another, they potentially allow for gaps for other forms of organizations to crop up. The organization either adds onto its membership or loses as per the constitution of the inclinational trends of the individuals who participate in the geographic mobility. Rodgers and Rodgers, (2000) noted that there are some individuals who sustain their ties with the organizations though. Other relocate and still, there are those who give up.

The scope of geographical movement is exhibited as the most prominent and generates both direct and indirect impacts with regard to the levels of participation. Geographic mobility cause massive effects upon the organization. The effects are influential within the organization to as long as the organization is existent. However, geographic mobility is also capable of causing poor labor mobility within organizations. Movements within the national boundaries by individuals may help in preserving the organizational initiatives. But then, it is evident that specialized training and earnings prevent people from moving out of their present placing. This is potentially suitable in ensuring that there is sustainability within the organization (Bourdieu, 1977).

Socially and geographically, the organizations display mobility following their inability to restore their populations. This is due to the fact that there is high rate of mortality in the environments within which they are located. Therefore, to sustain their populations there have to be existence of high immigration trends which should likewise be even higher were it that there would be increases in population. With observable growths as well as developments that take place at a wider scale, there are normally more shifts into such environments (Bibby, 1997).

The trends in the recruitments portray the organizational size whereupon a bigger percentage of the population regarded is sourced from the immediate environs while a few are from places far off the location of the organization. When the organization is large, the diversity of the immigrants that represented in it also becomes larger. Moreover, those who come from far off regions seemingly are minimal yet quite varied as compared to those who come from the immediate surroundings of the given organization.

Generally, geographic mobility as regards any organization may be widely due to a number of reasons such as social hardships especially higher costs of living as is evident with the lower strata regions (Bibby, 1997). This can be a possible influence to part of the organization’s population who are particularly affected to move out for other accommodative regions and/or organizations. The poor members are generally very mobile as they are ever searching for better provisions in life. Furthermore, such are the groups that are mostly affected by the social injustices such as crime. Following such, establishment of prisons are witnessed. Reason for this is that potential of a population harboring criminals, people susceptible to venereal diseases and those termed as dangerous are high.

There are concerns as to the inactive mobile populations following their probability to cause disorder in the organization. However, the states are to blame for creating much of the mobility. Freire (1970) noted that this comes in as a result of intentional expulsions, religious as well as political resolutions by the government which in most cases trigger emigrations. Disputes are one of the causal agents of geographic mobility in an organizational setting since some of the persons involved attempt to embrace fleeing from ravages that may come out of the same.

Geographic mobility in the context of organizations has some impacts that are linked to economic development as well. Population movements may be varying from a region to another, but it is of great essence when it comes to economic development of organization. But then, such movements are distinctly dependent on individual preferences. The set of connections plays a significant part when it does come to personal decision on the basis of migration (Freire, 1970).

Regional Variations in the Organization

There are variations based on social and economic stratification. This is also in the context of socio-cultural concerns arising from civilization. It thus defines the characteristics of the organization as aligned to power and wealth as well as effluence between different representative groups in both the social and class settings. All the strata consist of both males and females whereby the elites are honored to have access of the resources which are deemed valuable (Lobel et al., 1999; Freire, 1970). The subordinates on the other hand are not privileged since the elites have almost full control of production means in the organization. This therefore sounds as the elites have the ownership as the ordinary personalities are left without efficient access to the relevant resources.

Such variations characterize population movements which in turn threaten regional connections. That is, following mobility, there are incidents of persistent transitions as regards the organization. Most of the movements are of wider scope and rarely random movements are witnessed. These variations are at times influenced by the prevailing attractions as compared to the organization and in some cases due to the locally accessible information as well as interactions by the already migrants. Apart from these, there also exists religious mobility similar to occupational migration trends. Therefore, these variations generate ties between the migrants through interchange of relevant information.

The Impacts of Changing Family Definitions on the Management of the Organization

Work in the organization has stressful effects on family binds. A good example is the case of child care which in itself is an expensive scheme and it does compete with job requirements. Consequently, there has been reduction in the capacity of nuclear family set-ups with many couples preferring a single child to two. Families comprising children and working parents constitute quite a few numbers of households and this has a greater potential of adversely effecting work in organization in the future; there will be a lapse in sufficiency of people to employ in a number of organizations (Bibby, 1997; Miller et al., 1995). Family role as pertains to child care is quite involving since children need to be attended to yet their mothers or both their parents have to report for their respective workplaces. This renders child care be vast in terms of household characteristics as featured economically, ethnically as well as regionally.

Though there is mutual connection between families and work domains, there is normally an aspect of inter-role disputes between the two. Taking part in family chores as a mandatory role is normally made cumbersome by virtue of organizational work as a role in itself. Such are conflicting and essential both to the organization and the persons involved (Freire, 1970). They link adversaries as far as work and family is interconnected. Consequently, individual performance in the organization is affected as well.

Any observable differences are mostly experienced when family issues find their place in the work system. Such can be responsibilities aligned to home care, young children in a given family, interpersonal and domestic differences within the family and lack of support from family members.

Chinese Foreign Policy

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China is a country that is well known for its unique and enduring rich culture. Having maintained its culture and continuous history for more than four thousand years makes amongst the worlds oldest civilizations. Being the most populace country in the world China holds a population capacity of around 1.3 billion people having Beijing as its capital city. It has been a source of many major inventions and also founded the first written language systems.

For more than six thousand years China was ruled by hereditary monarchies also known as dynasties until 1911 when the Qing dynasty ended that regime. Despite the fact that dynasties maintained large societies they missed the industrial revolution leading to decline in productivity. By the beginning of the 19thcentury major political and governance issues started cropping in leading to internal weakness, imperialism, conflicts and civil wars resulting to overthrowing of imperial rule. The tremendous growth and revolutions that have recently taken place in China have led to its transformation, leaving a lot to be desired by developing nations. It has grown from a dynasty to an industrial country and finally a technology state.

The year 1949 marked a major step for China after serious conflicts arose creating a civil war that led to the splitting of China into two states. The PRC or peoples republic of china took control over the main land in China and the territories that were self governments for instance Hong Kong and Makau. The other one was ROC or republic of china, which had been established in 1912 in the mainland of China and is commonly referred to as Taiwan. It has control over Taiwan Island, Pratas island group, Matsu, Pnghu and other outlying islands. By 1950 changes had started to be noticed between the two states. There was change to economic policies in Taiwan for instance leading to rapid industrialization and as a result growth. In 1970’s four modernization principles were introduced to mainland China enabling industry, technology and defense to thrive. Agriculture also improved raising the living standards of citizens as food was in plenty. For a long time China had been a poor country made up of rural peasants. Stability had not also set in and thus humiliation and internal turmoil was evident amongst citizens. But on implementation of these measures change has been gradual as in the improvement of political and economic structures are visible. Politics in China has collaboratively stabilized because of the efforts given by leaders alongside the cooperation of citizens who are the work force of any nation.

Outstanding territorial issues

While the entire world cannot help admiring and fixing their eyes on China’s booming economic developments characterized by its famished appetite for energy, some cluttered diplomatic issues seem to be dangling on a loose end in form of territorial disputes. The neighbors who border this Asian giant are not very happy because there has been trespassing into boundaries leaving them tampered. Though the world has highly publicized the issue of Beijing’s claims over Taiwan, China itself is entangled in not less than thirteen unresolved land issues. The fact that its military capacity has also increased may just be another cause for war to break out. There is a high likelihood for military conflict over the issue as it has been witnessed amongst many world powers in the past. Many efforts by China to diplomatically address these issues have not yielded positive results up to now. It is important to note the fact that many unresolved border disputes normally involve potential energy reserves. This implies that China may be prompted to use military force so as to resolve those issues which are not only strategic but also have economic interest.

US and China

China has had to endure frictions from other world powers like US. The recent one arose concerning trade spats over issues like cars, steel, poultry and Hollywood films. Being the World biggest importers and exporters would mean that the impact will be severe. US-China relationship when placed in historical context can be compared to the tensions that existed in 1980s between Washington and Tokyo (US and Europe) causing devastating economic crisis such as unemployment. Of importance is going back to the international trade bodies and following the rules that are used for settling legal disputes.

 

China’s economy, trade and rights.

Economically China is the worlds fastest growing, since attaining its economic liberty in 1978, PRC’s investment together with export increased its economy to be 90 times bigger. Since then it has also become the world second largest GDP which sums to 34.06 trillion Yuan or (US$4.99 trillion). Chinese economy can only be described as spectacular. The PRC is also ranked amongst the most visited countries in the world holding 50.9 million inbound international visitors from last years reports. The question of what has made it so successful is answered by, it manufacturing products as a low-cost that is easily accessible to the producer. This factor alone cannot prevail as combination of cheap labor, high productivity, good Policies implemented by the government, swift infrastructure, continuous inventions, growth and improvement of technology and skill or know how.

All citizens are entitled to equal human rights and access to the resources endowed.

Tea Party

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Tea party is a term that has been used by the American politicians to define the changes that they desire to see in the government. It was first experienced in 1773 and later in 2009. The reform movements were formed after people expressed their dissatisfaction on how the government of the day was handling issues that related to economic policies, taxes and the likes. It was a strategy aimed at ensuring that there is balance between economic growth and people’s contributions towards development. There were reported cases of overspending where by the government was not able to handle some of the development projects and emergency issues in the land. When such a situation happened, the taxpayer had to pay for it by being deducted huge amounts in the name of taxes (Watson 98). This was reflected on the high prices that were charged on products and huge expenses in service provision. Despite the huge taxes that the people were forced to pay, there was no substantial development that was experienced. This suggested to the people that the government lacked a good planning and management strategy that will ensure that citizens acquired goods and services at reasonable costs.

Tyrannical government and we the people government

There have been various tea party protests in various countries for example USA. This was in an effort of freeing the Americans from tyrannical government.  The tea party members understand and see some of the dangers of a tyrannical government as seen in most of the African countries for example Zimbabwe.  Americans have however adopted “we the people government” which does indicate that the US government is truly and emphatically people’s government and not a states league.

Tea party 1773

The Boston tea party of 1773 was derived from its literal meaning ‘tea’. Tea was the main agenda of the issues that were facing both the people and the government. It was during these years that tea was viewed as a very important commodity. A cup of tea meant a lot to the people of those days that they would do anything to have it. Tea was mainly imported from India who had found a good market in America. 1773 was a year after America had gone through a number of transitions. There were a number of wars that had caused a lot of drain on the economy. The government was hence looking for an urgent means that will enhance the economic healing process. It was just after the colonial rule and the government-needed funds that would facilitate its independence. Taxes were introduced where by the citizens in the colonies were required to pay a certain amount to the government (Thomas 67). The people did not welcome this new strategy. This caused a lot of resistance that prompted the government to look for an alternative means. Tea being an important commodity of the time, and the fact that people would do anything to ensure that they had a sip, the government decided to impose tax on tea that was being imported to the country.

The issue of imposing levies on tea that was being brought to the port displeased the Indians who had to incur extra costs. They had to substitute the costs by selling it at a higher rate, which did not really work well for them. They also decided to boycott the taxes by demanding that it be allowed free entry considering the costs that they incurred while transporting it. The government did not agree to this and demanded that they either pay the taxes or not bring the tea to the land. This decision would not only hurt the Indians that transported the tea but also the people that had been so much used to the beverage. There was hence a rift between the two parties which made them question much about why they were being exposed to the pressure. The problem of paying tax was because the colonies are the one s who suffered the most. They were obliged to pay the taxes yet they claimed to have nothing to do with the government. The taxation issue was hence seen to be an exploitative measure to the colonies that did not support the government (C, J, 120). The tax laws were also considered to be unfair considering that they target specific individuals and were imposed on certain terms and conditions.

Tea party 2009

The tea party of 2009 was almost similar to that of 1773; the difference is however on the fact that tea was not the center of the complaints but the reforms that were taking place in the country (Hart 57). Every new government comes in with reforms that are aimed at bringing change to the economy. America was one of the countries that went through an economic crisis between 2006 and 2007. Many companies were shut down due to recession as a number of employees were laid off. This was one of the strategies that were used to minimize on expenditures and at the same time manage the crisis. This was related to poor governance where the government seemed unprepared for the changes they took place. People had suffered enough and were looking forward to a government that will deliver them out of the crisis (Labaree 16). When a new government came into place, there was a lot of optimism that what the nation had been long waiting for will now be accomplished. There was need for economic reforms to be adapted to put the situation under check. Since the government needed funds to implement the policies, there was no alternative but to impose extra taxes on the people.

Considering the economic crisis that the masses were trying to recover from, they were not ready to pay extra cash to the government to facilitate the development projects. Some of the laws that were initiated by the federal government included, Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, this was aimed at initiating programs and adapting a mechanism that would ensure that the economy is stable (Ayers 153). There was also the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 that was aimed at recovering the economy of America, which was being faced with certain lows. There were also numerous healthcare reform beliefs to boost the economical health of the people. For the acts to be effective, then the government had to increase tax. This with some other reasons lead to the formation of the tea party. It should be noted that the tea party had no central leader but was formed by individual local groups that felt the strain was much on them (Gizzi 67). They raised concern over the issues of government spending and the high taxes that they had to pay. The size of the government was also too large for ant the people felt that they could manage with a smaller one. They wanted the federal government to consider reducing on their taxes.

Supporters of the tea party movement have had a number of issues on the Obama government. One of them is their involvement with the Muslim countries. The United States is a Christian nation and a strong supporter of Christianity. The involvement of the government in the affairs of the Muslim nations is hence causing many worries among some citizens. This is also so considering the efforts of the country to fight terrorism that is dominant in the Muslim countries. They feel that such involvement will tamper with the fight against terrorism. There is also the issue of gay and lesbianism where a big percentage of the tea party members disapprove it. The government has laid down policies that allow gay and lesbian marriage (O’Hara, 74). A survey was also carried out which proved that gay and lesbian couples had too much political power. The point at which the arguments were raised signifies that the majority of the tea party movement of 2009 is staunch Christian believers who are fighting for the spirituality of the nation. They feel that the government is leading the entire nation contrary to the Christian principles that they profess. In supporting the Muslim nation and giving political powers to the gay and lesbian societies, they feel that there will be a moral degradation on the nation.

In the just concluded midterm November elections a key player was the Nationwide Tea Party Coalition, which was formed in partnership with the John Bolton, a former US Ambassador to the United Nations. Initially Bolton had established the Election-Day-Tea Party as a project, with objectives of promoting participation and awareness for the November 2 2010 midterm elections. The company was mainly against the Obama administration blaming of the tyranny and the many economic problems facing Americans today. In fact, they had fifty seats races presently occupied by Congress members who advocated for the Obama agenda. Ambassador John Bolton was quoted in the media saying that, “… Election Day Tea Party is a great way for US citizens to participate in a productive, substantial way, no matter where you were in the great land of Americas.” This in itself meant that the Obama administration had no values and the national love of freedom and there was too much fear of tyranny. In fact, their campaigns revolved around the idea that Obama was out of touch with the people who elected him to power, therefore the tea party movement wanted to correct this. To them the American dream was no way and the soft heart Obama was giving Muslim nations was driving the nation to dictatorial regimes like in Iran and Pakistan.

By concentrating on the fifty seats in the House of Representatives, the tea party founders had an idea that it was the only way to start the reverse process of bring the country back to the American declaration of independence principles of a free nation, fiscal responsibility, and respect of the constitution.

Effects of music therapy on Alzheimer’s patients

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Alzheimer’s is a common disease that affects the brains of mainly the elderly people that leads to progressive memory loss and reasoning ability that was discovered by Alois Alzheimer in 1906( Martinez).  According to Cannobio, the disease which mostly attacks people between the ages of 40-90 does not have a specific cause but the damage it causes to some areas of the brain lead to progressive and irreversible loss of thinking capabilities of the brain (Cannobio, 2006). The thought process of these patients gets tampered with hence their social and work life is affected. The condition of patients with this disease is bound to worsen because the brain cells loose their functioning capability and ultimately die.

Rothfeld and Romaine state that some changes in the biological and chemical processes in the brain as a person grows old allow deposits of proteins which in turn lead to development of this condition (Glenn, Rothfeld & Romaine, 2005). These proteins which they identity as Tangles and plagues are protein structures that cause the death of the brain cells for they kill and destroy and nerve cells. As people grow, so do these structures. A patient with Alzheimer’s condition, their protein structures rapidly increases which causes blockage of the communication being relayed by the brain and hence the nerve cell activities are distracted eventually. Most often, an individual will experience confusion and problems in remembering things while at times there are those who think slowly. If such symptoms are detected, an individual is supposed to visit the physician who will check the cells of the brain which is malfunctioning.

This disease though irreversible and incurable can be controlled through the use of music therapy (Jeong, 2008) .The aim of this research is to evaluate the reasons as to why these patients need music therapy. This condition has no treatment or cure, but several measures can be used to prevent or rather delay the inception of the condition.

The kind of music listened to by the patients should be one that makes them feel relaxed and at home. The fast kind of music listened to be young adults is not very common to this therapy since it is considered noisy and unorganized. The kind of music induced to the systems of these patients will either worsen or improve their conditions. In order to come up with credible facts on the issue research would also be done in a care facility for patients with the disease. It is expected that the findings of this research would be helpful to patients with the condition and further people will adopt the use of music therapy to help patients with the condition.

Organisational management

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Organizational and people management is crucial in any organization if goals have to be achieved.  Organizations have embraced various management and leadership skills in a bid to remain competitive and ensure that their goals are achieved. Besides achieving these goals, there are other aspects that are supposed to be looked at, in order to ensure the personnel is working in accordance to the organizations objectives. Due to the complexity of organizations, these issues have to be carefully put into consideration. Managing the complex levels of any organization must therefore, be a key competency of top management in any organization. (Martha, Aulrich and Amman, 2007, p.4). These range from employees emotional intelligence, motivation, conflict management, managing change and even empowering the employees. It is also important to be keen on the effectiveness and efficiency of the available systems, in order to ensure the organization uses maximum resources and reaps maximum benefits. This paper seeks to understand the above concepts in relation to a given case study.

Leadership styles

            Leadership styles vary from organization to another. These include; the autocratic leadership Style whereby the manager retains a lot of power and authority to make decisions. There is no consultation involved when major decisions are not being made nor are the opinions and inputs of others sought.  This is type of leadership is considered the most traditional. Employees are given orders without explanations and are in return allowed to obey them. Bureaucratic leadership style is characterized by the management follows laid out policies and procedures. This is style is more of an enforcement and if any thing is not in the set out rules then consultation has to be done. Management in this system is usually referred to a leadership ‘by the book’. Democratic leadership style also known as the participative style, allows for employees to participate in the decision making process. The management in this kind of leadership keeps the employees informed about the on goings in the organization, and are also involved in the problem solving processes. The manager consults the employees to get their opinion on various issues.Laissez-faire leadership style is more of a ‘hands off’ type of leadership, where there is little or no leadership or direction given to the employees. Employees enjoy as much freedom as possible and also determine their goals, resolve problems and even make important decisions. This type of leadership is practical where the employees are highly skilled educated and experienced. In the above case study leadership is more of Laissez-Faire whereby there is no direction. The management meets but instead of discussing issues the president presents his suggestions which are not questioned. This explains why no one is ready to listen to Jason. In this organization the bureaucratic and democratic styles could be considered in order to ensure the managers have a say but at the same time laid out procedures are followed.

Managerial skills

           Managerial skills are skills that every manager needs to posses in order to perform their duties and activities that are associated with the managerial position. The key managerial skills are technical skills, human skills and conceptual skills. Technical skills include specialised skills which are professionally in nature such as engineering, accounting among others. These are skills that are specifically learnt in a school setting. These are skills essential at lower levels of management. A human skill entails the ability for the manager to be able to work and deal with other people in the organisation both in an individual and group setting. This is a very crucial skill considering most of the time the manager deals with people directly. These are skills essential at the at all levels management. Conceptual skills are skills that enable a manager to conceptualize complex situations, and be able to come up with viable ideas and solutions.  Conceptual skills are essential if the manager will be able identify opportunities, identify problem areas and understand how to run the organisation. These are skills essential at the top levels of management. Other management skills include communication skills which helps one to effectively communicate with others .These  include listening and presentation skills, effectiveness skills  are key in  maintaining  high standards through setting standards, priorities and  reviewing operations. Interpersonal skills these are essential when working with people who are diverse and from different cultures, interpersonal skills entail networking with other organisations, coaching and even mentoring. Negotiation skills also fall under this category. In the above case study, most of these skills are lacking .For instance, the president’s conceptual skills are poor and that why his ideas are being called ‘idiotic’ and stupid’. The management’s negotiation skills are also very poor in that they are not willing to challenge the authority. Michael’s effectiveness skills are also very poor in that instead of facing the predicament before him, he is ready to sweep it under the carpet rather than confront or even discuss it.

Conflict management

 Can be defined as the process of identifying and solving conflicts in a fair and efficient way. There are various styles of managing conflict ranging from use of force, whereby the manager or owner uses their position to make decisions regarding the impending conflict regardless of how the employees feel about it. Such a decision if final and not up for discussion. Accommodation is whereby the employees are allowed to make decisions without taking into consideration if it’s the best decision, or how it makes the managers feel. In compromising, a solution is come up with and this solution is meant to make both parties happy, but without giving in to any of the sides. Avoiding as a conflict management style is whereby one completely ignores the conflict or the issue at hand. Any steps to eliminate the conflict are also avoided.  When embracing collaboration the manager or owner sits down with those involved, listen to both sides and try to come up with solutions. If this is not possible they try to come up with the best solution possible. Salami notes that, in a case where force and avoiding methods are used employees react by withholding their behaviour. When collaboration compromising and accommodation methods are used to resolve conflicts, the employees tend to reciprocate to this kind of leadership and perform more. (Salami, 2010, p.78)

In the above case study, collaboration is the best conflict management style that could have worked. For instance, Patrick would have sat down with part of the management, maybe two or three individuals discussed the issues and then presented them to the larger group of managers and directors. This way he would present a more professional face.

Empowerment

         In this context empowerment refers to the practice of sharing information, power and also rewarding employees. This is with the aim of encouraging them to make important decisions and also solve problems and even initiate new programmes in order to improve performance and service delivery. When an employee is empowered they are offered the right skills, resources, authority and rewards and they are also motivated. In return they are expected to be responsible and accountable. In this case study its clear that the employees are empowered considering that Michael is so concerned about his department and has taken responsibility to the extent of protecting this department from any negativity. However this empowerment is also limited in that they have to depend on the president’s suggestions rather than make their own decisions and present them to the president which makes them more accountable.

Motivation

     Refers to the  factors both  intrinsic or extrinsic  that stimulates the  desire  and  energy that enables the employees to  be  interested in their job and the roles they are given  continually  and also  persist  with the aim of achieving their  goals. Motivation could be as a result of ones personal needs, rewards and incentives, and even individual expectations. In the above case study its evident that  there is no motivation  the fact that only Jason was willing to fight, to ensure that  his department  doesn’t go down presents a case of a don’t care attitude ,whereby the managers were not motivated enough to be ready to stand  for what they believed is right.

Efficiency and Effectiveness

 Efficiency refers to the comparison between an out put be it a product or an activity and what can be achieved with the same resources. Efficiency refers to doing something right, in the right manner with the aim of getting the maximum output while using minimum resources. Effectiveness on the other hand refers to the extent to which an activity manages to achieve the function which it was supposed to. While efficiency focuses on the processes involved in getting the final output, effectiveness focused more on the final output rather than the process. In the above case study it is evident that the top management is not keen on efficiency and the available information can not ascertain if effectiveness has been achieved. This is because despite the fact that Jason has raised his concerns, no one is willing to listen to him. At the same time, he is supposed to deliver in his department.

Change management

          Refers to a set of processes employed by an organization, to ensure that there are significant changes implemented in an organization in a systematic and controlled manner, in order to effect organizational change. The goal of the organizational change is to ensure that the members receive it with minimum resistance. According to Kim (Kim, 2004, p.82), change in itself is always associated with anxiety, fear and tension and even resistance. If organizations do not take some time to lay the ground work, there must be a degree of resistance to change.

If there is minimal resistance, the transformation brought about by the change will be effective and orderly.The ADKAR Model identifies five stages which have to be realized for change to be fully implemented. These include; creating awareness of the impending change and why it is necessary, having the desire and motivation to change, having the knowledge on how to implement the change, having the means and the ability to change through skills and behaviour in addition to reinforcement or support that will enhance the change, to ensure that they don’t revert back to the older systems.

In the above case, it is evident that the management was aware of the importance of change but lacked the desire to change. Considering Jason lasted for only three months, this means that his new ideas were not welcome and that is why he didn’t manage to convince his boss and also his peers and therefore had to quit.

Emotional intelligence

         This refers to an individual’s ability, capacity or skill to identify, evaluate and control emotions of oneself and even others. According to Salami, individuals with high emotional intelligence are able to process the situation and seek for adaptive strategies of coping with unfair treatment in the organization, by assertively seeking coping strategies, and assertively seeking fair treatment from their employers rather than seeking maladaptive coping strategies. (Salami, 2010, p. 79).It is evident that Jason has this trait, in that he had to practice how to answer the president. Michael is also emotionally intelligent in that he knows the repercussions of emotional outbursts and that’s why he strategies on how to behave in the meeting. However this emotional intelligence is used in a negative way. Michael should use his emotional intelligence not only to avoid hurting the president but also putting into consideration the well being of the organization.

From the above case study there are various things that Jason did right, first practicing respectful ways of responding to the questions; this way respect and professionalism is maintained among the top leadership. Giving an honest answer to the president without being offensive; this  is because  Jason was  keen enough as outlined in the case study , and  his main  reason was that  that the  presidents suggestions would have a negative  impact on the division. Trying to convince his boss and his peers that the presidents ideas were based on faulty assumptions; this is a clear indication that he made effort to salvage the situation and therefore he cannot be blamed in future.

        There are several things that he should do or should have done differently; Jason should have used the answers he had practiced as a way of showing respect to the president and also create and avenue for more suggestions. He would have gone ahead to present the correct position to the managers.

In future Jason should not postpone important decisions like deciding to talk and try to influence the boss later. This discussion would have had a better impact if it was done before the meeting and not afterwards. Leaving the company after three months; usually this is not usually the best step to take as it is like running from a problem rather than solving it. Even though we are not informed if he met with the president, Jason would have had such a meeting first and tried to give his suggestions before quitting.

          Some of the things Patrick include; asking the managers opinions; this indicates that Patrick was ready to hear others opinions about his suggestions. Agreeing to the managers meeting which was to give a later feedback; this presents him as a person who is willing to listen to others and not dictator.

Things that Patrick should do or would have done differently include: Consulting; Patrick should change his management style to that of consulting before making his suggestions to the managers and directors.  This way he will maintain authority and respect as every one would take him seriously and his suggestions would not carry such connotations as ‘idiotic’ ‘stupid among others. He should also carry out do a thorough research to ascertain why his authority is not questioned. The fact that there was silence when Jason answered him should raise a red flag that all is not well. Under normal circumstances a managers’ meeting should be live with discussions and arguments and not silence whereby only the president speaks.

Michael was right by intervening, after Jason told the president that his suggestions were not practical. This was a very quick way of intervening and probably it salvaged a bad situation.

Michael should do or would have done several things differently; Michael appears as a selfish boss who only wants the best for ‘his department and himself’ at the expense of other employees. In this case we could say he blackmailed Jason. He would have left Jason to be himself and present his case the way he feels appropriate as long as he didn’t not paint the president as ignorant or act in a disrespectful way. Being the director of the Organizational Development and Training Department ,Michael should have consulted with the president  first  with suggestions on how the organization  can  be developed instead of waiting  for the president  to present what is referred in the case study as ‘ idiotic’ or ‘ultimately stupid’ suggestions.

Two additional major issues in this case are ;employee intimidation and  fear; The fact that Jason could not be able to convince his boss or peers that the assumptions that the president had made were not right just shows  how reluctant the employees are to challenge the management. Such issues could be addressed by creating a new environment, whereby employees are able to discuss their ideas   about the organizations. Other avenues such as having suggestion boxes where by they express their views anonymously should also be encouraged.

The other major problem is that of consultation.  For Jason’s immediate boss Michael to request him   not to reject the presidents suggestions, this shows that there is no consultation in this company. The president  should have sat down  with the senior management  first, presented his  ideas and suggestions, request  for the suggestions of others and at long last make the general presentations to the company management. The president Mr. Patrick also made the presentation without consultation and in the end not every one was happy.

The additional information needed regards the organizational management, leadership and the communication strategies adopted by the organization. This is in regard to how the organization is run, who the managers are, their authority and the style of leadership that they have adopted. There are also signs of the employees being disgruntled and also having a don’t care attitude. It is important to understand of Organizational Development and Training Department is the same as the human resource department and if it is responsible for personnel needs. This is because in  situations where employees are well taken care of, there is a sense of ownership  and therefore they can not  sit back and watch the company  they feel affiliated to go down the drain. This department also takes care of communication and if they have effective strategies then such humiliating acts should not be occurring.

Other additional questions that should be asked include:

  1. Was the senior management report presented to the president?
  2. What was his reaction?
  3. Was Jason’s position factual?
  4. If it was factual, why were Jason’s peers not convinced by his position?
  5.  During other meetings, are the opinions of the management incorporated in the final report.
  6. If no what has the top management done about it.
  7. Did Jason share his plans for leaving the company with the management?
  8. What was their reaction?

The above case study is a case of many aspects of organizational management that are not going right. The management should review their system to ensure that employee needs are reviewed in order to encourage more openness.  The organization should also review the management styles in order to come up with an effective system.

History of Drug and Steroid Use in Sports

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Drugs and steroids in particular have been used in various sporting occasions by sports personalities so as to realize remarkable performances in sporting activities. Drugs can be of adverse impacts on even for the safest ones. They potentially can cause negative effects both in human health and their well being as well if wrongly used. In the early games, the Greeks integrated sports into their lifestyle just as religious and cultural alignment is viewed in the society (Tyrrell 36). Sports were therefore placed as important for developing varied sectors including economy and politics. Sports later achieved a higher status in the social setting amongst the Greeks. This made sports be highly regarded in the society leading to awarding of best performers which later resulted into the categories of highly paid sporting personalities.

Victory in sports was highly valued and would earn millions of dollars alongside other rewards like villas, exemptions from revenue returns and also deferment from occupational duties such as for the cases of armed services. Tyrrell (38) confirms that this led to sports becoming a full time profession as well as being a commercial activity.

As the Australian Sports Drug Agency discovered:

Professionalism and commercialism ultimately led to corruption. Bribing and cheating became commonplace, and competitors of this period were reputedly willing to ingest any preparation which might enhance their performance, including extracts of mushrooms and plant seeds. In addition to political interference, one of the significant reasons for the dissolution of the ancient Olympic Games was the use of drugs. (5)

The elevated status of sport would result into more engagement in drugs among the Romans too whereby horses were fed with mixtures of varied drugs to hasten their pace. This trend continued even into the Christian era when drinking and dancing was very associated with celebrations during sports. The use of performance enhancing drugs and steroids continued to be persistent with a number of sports personalities especially among the athletes (ASDA 6). This followed the perception by many that steroid would grant them the chance to overcome pressures that came with their participation in sports, hence make them win, perform outstandingly and maintain a good reputation and image in sports.

In the present age, many sports personalities engage drugs to relieve stress and to keep along with good feeling as instilled by steroids and other drugs. On the same note, players do prefer to clear out bad feelings and depressions that come with incidences of losing a game by using drugs like steroid.

The Negative Effects of Using Drugs

Any drug has adverse or negative effects associated with it. These effects are diverse and relative to the kind of drug being abused. It is advisable that players of any given game be aware of the risks associated with using drugs.

It is also very important for the people engaging in sports to keep themselves physically fit and healthy but this should not be sacrificed for drugs. Drugs have been known to derail the IQ competency and withdrawing the attitude of excelling in a number of activities, sports included thereby affecting performance in the following ways.

Tampering with performance

Like many other drugs, steroids have the greatest potential to not only tamper with but also hamper the performance in any sporting activities. A greater percentage of drugs actually have with them effects that are long lasting especially in the brain and in the human body (Wagner 2061). By using them, one had to involve opinions and physical capabilities both of which rendered a person indulge in a number of activities most of which were not of any value but to damage on their reputations.

Steroid abuse was also noted to weaken an individual’s health, diminish their physical impressions and derailed their motivational being (Smith and Perry 224). They further mutilate the manner in which people make decisions therefore resulting into risky conducts, behaviors and resolutions. These would further directly condense both physical and rational productivity and performance of the persons who were involved in consuming them.

Experiences of drug-related setbacks

In addition to these, steroid use especially upon addiction have been known since time memorial to harbor a number of risks and problems related to legal requirements, accidental incidences like traffic accidents, getting into injuries that are not called for and unexpected, and engaging oneself in behaviors and conducts that have potential of causing and/or spreading diseases for example sexually transmitted diseases and infections (Wagner 2063).

Impairment of the Development of life skills

With drug use, there has also been the historical burden that comes in as one who engages in drugs has high chances of developing life skills impairment. This has displayed itself with varied problems as well as interferences in the normal life skills development processes for example in resolution of differences and conflicts, handling of stress, getting to the bottom of problems and making decisions or setting goals.

Ruining of physical, Spiritual and emotional development

Like any other normal being, a sports person possesses a sense of liability, independence, accountability and purpose. These could only be achieved and be sustained without engagement in drugs. The use of steroids and many other drugs have been known to derail normal mental development, interrupts the proper of moral and spiritual growth, interferes with the capability to solve ordinary problems and how to cope with tension and above all, drug use interferes with one’s ability to mutually interact with and get along other people (Tschirgi 34).

Drugs affect games

Like any other drug, steroids have had severe effects on sporting activities since they greatly mutilate coordination in the game and interfere with the players’ ability to deliver while in the game. Since sports were typically designed for fun and for exercising through a way of competition, drug implications affect them negatively. Wagner (2061) discovered that this is due to the potential of drugs to minimize the players’ competencies, pace, muscular strength and lung capacity as well as increasing the chances of inflicting injuries. Moreover, drugs impart weak performances among the players.

Drugs Impinge On Team Spirit

Drug use violates the competitive willingness of any given team as it denies them the spirit of togetherness, commitment and concentration while at the same time making the players lose trust and energy. Through these, drugs negatively affect the performance of any given team as well as the players’ spirit and solidarity with regard to their morale (Smith and Perry 224).

Examples of Steroid Abuse in the Past

            Historically, there have been many instances of steroid abuse by prominent sports personalities to increase and enhance their performance. In particular, bodybuilders and athletes use steroid to build their muscle mass even though it is meant for treatment purposes (Smith and Perry 224). In 1988 during the Seoul Olympics, Ben Johnson tested positive for steroid but was later stripped of the Gold medal he had won for breaking a world record. Steroids have affected some male sports personalities by shrinking their testicles, reducing sperm quantity, causing infertility, hairlessness breast development and increasing their risks for attracting prostrate cancer (Tschirgi 33). For women, facial hair has been witnessed to develop, baldness, reversing the menstrual system as well as deepening of their voices.

However, there are other instances when positive outcomes have been realized from the use of steroids for example leanness, increased strength, aggressiveness, enhanced sex drive and higher rates of recovery (Wagner 2060). But still, the negative effects surpass the positive ones. In fact, for the case of athletes, most of the persons who used steroids could not really involve themselves as real athletes.

The Difficulties of Coming Off Of Drugs

Most of these drugs have been proved to be addictive therefore making them difficult to come off of. Mentally, the mind of the drugs abusers got hooked onto the drugs. This resulted into development of a high level of psychological craving for the drugs in talk in almost all the activities done by the drug addict (Smith and Perry 225). Steroids also tend to deviate people’s minds on how to manage oneself without the involvement of the drugs as they make one regard them as playing an essential role in his or her.

Consistent uses of some of the drugs have led to development of strong habitual dependence whereby one would develop a habit that was difficult to leave. This was because when one stopped using them, they would suffer from intense fatigue, paranoia as well as anxiety, situations that can only be handled by competent professionals (Smith and Perry 226). A good example is steroids which is highly stimulant and makes one become psychologically addicted to its buzz effects. It would be quite challenging when it came to withdrawing from using it as it causes depression, anxiety, exhaustion and problems in sleeping. Like for the case of ecstasy, it would make people feel washed out for even more than just a day.

Some of the drugs are hallucinogenic and have had the potential of adversely affecting the abuser’s psychological welfare even though they may not have had any physical complications when it came to withdrawing from using them, because psychologically, one would find it difficult to do without them (Romanowski et al 25). Some also like heroin have been physically and psychologically addictive and have rendered the body to long for more of them regularly in order to function normally due to decreased tolerance to the drugs themselves.

Long Term Ramifications and Health Problems

Abuse of drugs like steroids have been known to negatively affect social being, especially the family units since those who used them most of the time became quite hostile while at the same time they suffered great impairment in the ways they made decisions. Wagner (2063), noted that this led to much suffering within their social and relationship lines. Furthermore, drug abusers fail to lay down good examples for the younger people.

Marijuana has with it a number of cancerous effects and complications in the respiratory and immune systems which are long lasting in the body of the user. There have been cases where the lungs have also been affected by development of breathing difficulties, coughing as well as wheezing while breathing. These have in most cases accompanied by chest colds and translate later into adverse lung infections such as pneumonia.

The chemical components of various drugs for example steroids have given them a potential of damaging cells and body tissues which are useful in disease prevention and this renders the immune system weak and further increase chances of diseases. Tschirgi (33) observed that cocaine have been known to cause irritability and paranoia psychosis. Being addictive, such drugs generate high levels of physical tolerance, and physical and psychological dependence, all of which are compulsive in use and abuse. This further affected the brains as well.

With development of physical dependence, one’s body has been bound to adapt to the presence the drugs.

The Popularity of Steroids within Different Sports

Annually, there have been many athletes and swimmers who are caught with drugs such as steroids so as to boost their performance in sports. In fact, it has become a common trend amongst the cyclists as well as most of them have tested positive for the banned drugs in urine sample tests (Romanowski et al 24). It has also become a recurrence in news following the involvements and accusations of a many sporting figures being complicated in scandals related to steroids.

However, for the athletes who engaged in drug abuse, using steroids and/or hormonal substances is a long term health risk as these substances have ended up developing even more dangers and complications in their health (Tschirgi 32).

The use of steroids have been high especially among the young athletes as they are look forward to attain personal satisfaction which they deem could earn them the glory to brag around. This follows the fact that they are eyeing the achievements of the pursuit of their vision (Wagner 2064). But then, bodybuilders, women in particular, have been found to be persistently in abuse of steroids along with several other performance enhancing drugs. Consequently, most of them suffer from dietary disorders and a number of body image disorders.

Blake Tyrrell gives an instance of steroid use in the case of baseball on one of the baseball players:

It is no secret what’s going on in baseball, at least half the guys are using steroids. They talk about it. They joke about it with each other. The guys who want to protect themselves or their image by lying have that right. Me? I’m at the point in my career where I’ve done just about every bad thing you can do. I try to walk with my head up. I don’t have to hold my tongue..(p. 36)

 

In conclusion, it is evident that drug abuse in sports is a trend that begun well in the past. Since drug use come with complications, they only need to be engaged when there is necessity and upon prescription by a qualified practitioner. Meanwhile, sports personalities should be made aware of the adversaries that result from abuse of drugs.

Toxic Chemicals

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Secondhand smoke is given off by a tobacco product that is burning and also includes the smoke exhaled by the person smoking. It contains more than 50 chemicals that are reported to cause cancer in animals or humans. People are exposed to second hand smoke in various settings for example in cars, homes, workplaces and public places for example restaurants, bars as well as recreational settings. In USA, most secondhand smoke is gotten from cigars, cigarettes, pipes as well as other numerous tobacco products.

Discussion

Secondhand smoke exposures are usually measured by testing the chemicals in the tobacco smoke as well as indoor air for the nicotine. Exposures can also be tested through measuring the levels of cotinine in the nonsmokers’ saliva, blood or urine.  Cotinine, nicotine, carbon monoxide as well as other related chemicals have always been found in body fluids of the nonsmokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke. Among all the 4,000 chemicals which have been identified in tobacco smoke, around 250 are detrimental for example carbon monoxide, ammonia and hydrogen cyanide (National Toxicology Program, 2005).

Nicotine and cigarette smoke are among the most studied toxicants. When tobacco smoke is inhaled,  nicotine enters the body and is absorbed into the bloodstream from the lungs (National Toxicology Program, 2005). Upon absorption, nicotine is broken down into cotinine, a metabolite which serves as the biomarker for ETS exposure in people who are non-smokers (National Toxicology Program, 2005). Cotinine reflects exposure to tobacco smoke for a period of at least two days.  Some of the toxic chemicals found in secondhand tobacco smoke include benzene, arsenic, cadmium, ethylene oxide, nickel, vinyl chloride, nickel, polonium-210 among others.  Formaldehyde, toluene and benzolpyrene are other toxic chemicals found in secondhand smoke which are suspected to cause cancer.  There are various factors which affect the chemicals to be found in secondhand smoke. These include, the type of tobacco, the chemicals added to the tobacco, the method in which the tobacco product was smoked and the material in which the cigar or cigarette is wrapped in (National Cancer Institute, 2004).

Consumer exposure and vulnerability assessment

The US National Toxicology Program, The US Surgeon General, The Environmental Protection Agency and the International Agency for Research on Cancer have classified second hand smoke as a cancer-causing agent in humans (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2006). Secondhand smoke causes lung cancer in adults who do not smoke. It is estimated that up to 3000 lung cancer deaths occur due to secondhand smoking. The Surgeon General approximates that living with a smoker leads to an increased risk of developing lung cancer in non-smoker by about 20-30% (International Agency for Research on Cancer, 2002).

Secondhand smoke is usually associated with premature deaths and diseases in children as well as the nonsmoking adults.  Exposures to the tobacco smoke usually irritate the airways and do have a harmful effect on the blood vessels and person’s heart. It also increases risks of heart diseases by approximately 25 to around 30% (Sergio, 2003, pp. 186). In USA, secondhand smoke causes around 46,000 heart diseases and deaths annually (Michael, 2006, pp. 40). Children who are exposed to tobacco smoke are also at increased risk of ear infections, sudden deaths, pneumonia, colds, bronchitis as well as asthma. It usually slows the growth of their lungs hence causing them to wheeze, cough and always feel breathless.

Risk assessment

There is basically no any safe level of exposures to smoke as even the low levels can be quite harmful. The only way in which the nonsmokers can be protected from smokers is to fully eliminate smoking in all the indoor spaces and cleaning the ambiance. Ventilating of the buildings can also be helpful though it can not eliminate the exposures to smoke.

Nicotine is among the most harmful, addictive and available drugs globally ((Mokdad, AH, et al, 2004, pp. 1238).  Though it is responsible for approximately 440, 000 deaths annually, tobacco related products and cigarettes products are locally available in the stores, liquor store and the supermarket (Mokdad, AH, et al, 2004, pp. 1238). Nicotine is as addictive as cocaine and heroine and over time a person becomes emotionally and physically dependent on, addictive to, nicotine.

Any lit cigarette can release more than 4,000 divergent chemicals of which 50 of them are carcinogens (Great Britain, parliament, House of commons & Health committee, 2005 pp. 8).  Between the year 1964 and 2004, cigarette smoking caused approximately twelve million deaths, including 4.1 million cancer deaths , 5.5 million cardiovascular diseases deaths, 1.1 respiratory diseases deaths and 94,000 deaths of infants which was related to mothers smoking while pregnant (Buka & Niaura,  2003, pp. 1978-1984).

Cigarette smoking does account for approximately 1/3 of all the cancers including 90% of the lung cancer cases (National Cancer Institute, 2004). The smokeless tobacco for example chewing snuff and tobacco increases risks of cancer and most especially oral cancer. Use of tobacco causes lung diseases for example emphysema, stroke, vascular diseases, heart attack as well as aneurysm. In addition to that, it has also been linked to cases of cataracts as well as leukemia (National center for chronic disease prevention and health promotion, 2004). Basically, the adults who smoke usually die 14 years earlier as compared to the nonsmokers (National center for chronic disease prevention and health promotion, 2008).

Though nicotine is quite toxic and addictive, if it is ingested in very high doses, it usually des not cause cancer rather it is the chemicals that are responsible for severe effects of tobacco use. Tobacco smoke is usually a very complex mixture of various chemicals for example tar, cyanide, carbon monoxide, ammonia and formaldehyde. They increase the chances of various diseases. Most of the pregnant women who do smoke are at increased risks of miscarriage, premature infants, stillborn and infants with reduced birthweight.  Maternal smoking can also be associated with behavioral and learning problems in children and they may end up being addicted.

Plan of action

Tobacco smoke causes both chronic and acute diseases and hence screening of the patients for tobacco use as well as offering them a smoking cessation can be a cost saving preventive strategy.

Research has shown that the smokers must deal with psychological as well as physical dependence in order to be fully successful at staying out and quitting. Exposures to tobacco smoke causes various symptoms for example post nasal drip, congestion, headache, shortness of breath, coughing, sneezing, runny nose, watery eyes among others. Also, people who live in smoky environments on daily basis are likely to experience some constant infections in their respiratory systems for example bronchitis and sinusitis.

There have been various laws that have been passed which are meant to restrict smoking in all the public places. For example the federal law has banned smoking on the domestic airline flights, trains as well as interstate buses. Smoking has also been banned in various federal owned buildings. For example, the Pro-Children Act of the year 1994 has prohibited smoking in the facilities which offer federally funded service to the children.

Tobacco addiction is usually a chronic disease which requires numerous attempts in order to quit. Though some of the smokers do quit without any help, others usually need assistance. Both medication and behavioral interventions can help the smokers a great deal to quit though combination of counseling and medication can be quite effective. Varenicline and Bupropion are the two FDA approved non nicotine medications which effectually increase the rates of long term abstinence. Bupropion is usually used in smoking cessation while varenicline  withdraws the symptoms and also blocks the nicotine effects incase the people résumé to smoking.

Conclusion

Tobacco use causes both acute and chronic diseases. It is responsible for causing strokes, heart attacks, cancer, pulmonary diseases, emphysema and others.  It causes millions of deaths annually and has a great negative economical and social impact. Exposures to the environmental tobacco use and smoke are a major preventable cause of a significant mortality and morbidity.  Prevention of tobacco use in adults and children as well as reducing the nonsmokers’ exposures to tobacco smoke are important public health aims for the society. Communities therefore need to come up with a comprehensive strategy of reducing exposures to tobacco smoke, reduce the use of tobacco and increase on cessation of tobacco use. Improvements in all these categories will reduce tobacco related diseases, mortality and morbidity. The government should come up with firm laws and ban the use of tobacco as this will help the smokers to quit. Choosing of rational interventions which have shown to work in the past and matching it with the needs of the people are logical steps of establishing a comprehensive program. There should also be community education on health, social and economic effects of tobacco use as these will motivate people to modify on their smoking habits in order to reduce exposures to all the nonsmokers.  The agencies should also increase the price of all tobacco products through legislation at the national level in order to raise these products’ taxes. In addition to that, there should be also mass media campaigns  to inform the children as well as the adolescents to remain completely tobacco free. The healthcare providers should also offer counseling to tobacco patients and provide clinical therapies for example nicotine replacement.

American- Peruvian Relations

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Peru is a country in South America and is the third largest.  It gained its independence in the year 1821 and gained a constitutional in 1993.The relationship between Peru and America began way back in the 19th century. A few years after Peru the American government, began to see Peru as a democratic state.  This relationship was based on economic growth and democracy, value of human rights and the war on illegal drugs. (Bruce St. John. Foreign Policy of Peru, 1999. p.214)

Discussion

In the 1990s, the need to fight illegal drug trafficking arose.  And due to their strong bilateral relations, this became a matter of urgency strengthening their relationship.  The relationship had been good for a long time until it was threatened when the former president Alberto Fujimori was re-elected in 2000 that was however overcome when an interim government was formed under Alehandro Toledo the following year.  Peru tried its best to improve its ties with America and they have been good since then. Peru benefits a lot from this relationship in various ways. Such as foreign aid, investments from America aimed at improving their economy and also support in the issue of illegal drugs. Though other people do not feel like the war on drugs in Peru is being dealt with appropriately, other issues like those of trading and investing have improved. The relations between the two countries have placed Peru in the map of the world’s economy. Trading and investing has improved over the years, but other policies such as the war on drugs (narcotics) and democracy have been on the decrease.”(Cynthia McClintock).

When Peru approved of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the relationship became even better. American investors increased in Peru and the economy has grown tremendously. To date there are stills strong ties even between the presidents of both countries. President Obama said that, he thought that Peru had been a success over the years in its democracy and economic growth. He added that his relationship with the Peruvian president was personal and it would grow as the relationship of both countries has grown over time.

Though the two countries have been in partnership for a long time. Other countries are also gaining interest in Peru. For example china has shown a lot of interests in Peru and it being one of the major exporters to Peru, it wants to invest a large some of money in Peru In order to become the leading foreign investor drawing a lot of public support to them than to the United States of America.

Even with this, America and Peru are bound by the United States Peru Trade Promotion Agreement which was signed by President Bush in 2007. This was faced with some challenges when some democrats were not for it stating that it did not cater for the needs of the poor and middle class in both Peru and America. They stated that it also did not look at ways to protect the environment.

It was clear that the George Bush and Bill Clinton administration were more interested in the fight of illegal drugs in Peru than Peru its self. There was a time George Bush cut off the supply of aid to Peru due to their disorganization and lack of democracy which had been caused by Alberto Fujimori. This led the country to high inflation. This was done in order for Peru to get its house in order. After they did that and the USPTPA was signed, the economy of Peru began to improve and the poverty level that was very high began to decrease. This proves that the relation of both countries is quite beneficial.

Prescription Drug Importation in the United States

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The increased expenditure on prescribed drugs has prompted both the US government and the consumers to look into alternative ways to reduce this spending.  It has also been confirmed that prescription drugs are very cheap in other countries due to price control. This has prompted proposals to import these drugs from other countries and selling them in the United States through a legalized system .This is seen as a long term solution to the escalating drug prices in the United States.  This proposal to import prescription drugs caused a heated debate in the country. The congress argued that patients should be able to access the prescription drugs in addition to life saving products any time they need them. This, they argued would be made possible if the country imported prescribed drugs from other countries. They saw their proposal as a part of a wider effort to reform the U.S. healthcare system, in large part, by cutting unnecessary costs. The proposal was by Sen. Byron Dorgan, who was trying to amend the healthcare bill. However, his proposal was rejected. The amendment would have allowed the wholesalers and retailers and other drug distributors, including pharmacies, to import products from Australia, Canada, Europe, Japan and New Zealand. In these countries, drugs are far mush cheaper that in the United States as a result of price control.  According to Sen. Dorgan. “The American people are charged the highest prices in the world. They want congress to stand up for their interests and do something about it.”
According to the supporters of the new legislation The United States spends $2.5 trillion on health care every year. Drug importation could therefore cut the country’s health spending by $80 billion. This proposal was however objected to when concerns were expressed over the assurance of safety and quality of the imported drugs. According to Sen. Thomas Carper one of the objectors of the new law, “Senator Dorgan’s amendment could potentially allow unsafe, counterfeited drugs into the United States, contaminating our drug supply. Sen. Dorgan who proposed the new law felt that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) could ensure safety of the drugs. ‘ My amendment includes strong safeguards to prohibit drug counterfeiting and other practices that would put the consumer at risk,” in embracing the FDA he added that, ‘It applies only to FDA-approved prescription drugs produced in FDA-approved plants from countries with comparable safety standards.’
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) evaluated several proposals and concluded that the reduction of drug prices would be still small. This, in addition to other negative impacts of importing prescribed drugs form the basis of this paper. This paper seeks to look at the various problems associated with legislation of the law that will allow importation of prescribed drugs and some of the solutions to this problem.

Importation of prescription drugs in the US, will put the citizen’s life at risk, as patients would be exposed to unsafe and ineffective drugs. Most of these drugs may not meet the high standards that have been set up by the (FDA).FDA’s standards have made the US prescription drug market be recognized as the safest in the world. Most of these drugs have been found to be dangerous to the users. This is because, they are usually exposed to very high temperatures which make degradation fast, packed in an improper manner, or even ineffective. This is especially under the circumstances where the drugs are completely destroyed in instances where they are diluted in order to alter the quantity, concentrated or even adulterated with other dangerous products. This is already a common occurrence and legalization of importation will further increase the entry of unsafe drugs in the country. This eventually will lead to availability of unsafe and ineffective drugs to the United States consumers. This therefore translates to increased risks posed by the consumers of these drugs due to the low standards.

The wholesale importation will also endanger the consumers in the country as these drugs will be flooded in the market and not only the few individuals who voluntarily obtain their drugs from other foreign countries outside the United States. According to Young, despite the fact that consumers in the U.S. are faced with high prices for prescription drugs, they should rely more on prescription drug discount cards rather than risk the many counterfeited and low standard drugs in the market (Young 233).

Another serious threat by importation is disruption on continued innovation in the bio technology industry. This will be an inconvenience to the patients who rely on this industry’s medical advancement that treat most life threatening illnesses. Research has shown that it is very easy for patients to attain the biological medicines though the internet, and even other dubious means since they are readily available. These drugs are usually cheaper than those produced in the country. The biotechnology industry will continue struggling as competition with the cheaper the foreign markets deepens.

        Besides the adverse effect on the innovative industry, the intellectual property rights will also be eroded causing a double tragedy to the industry that uses intellectual property rights as its backbone. This will have a very negative impact on the countries trade policies. Under the current laws foreign manufacturers are not allowed to enjoy full rights on their products which are marketed in the US. With the new importation legislation, foreign manufacturers will be allowed to enforce their patents without violating the patent laws even when they are competing with the U.S. FDA approved drugs. This in addition will have a very negative impact on the local companies which own very little except for the intellectual property rights.

         Counterfeiters and other criminals will also use their means to ensure that counterfeit drugs find their way in the market.  With importation, Counterfeiters will find a leeway in shopping versions of the approved drugs which might be dangerous to the consumers. This way unapproved and counterfeited products which are dangerous and substandard will find their way in the US market. This can be confirmed by the various testimonies from the FDA that the country’s prescription drugs supply is already riddled with attacks from threats which are increasingly sophisticated.

The arguments that this importation could also be cost saving has also been disapproved by report by the Congressional Budget Office. The congress found out that   in instances where an individual is filling a prescription from a foreign, they might save cost where only one patient is involved, but in the case where the entire health system is involved this cost effectiveness may not be achieved. This can be linked to the safety aspect where the individual will be in a position to make specific confirmation on what they are purchasing by traveling to that country. According Brink(Brink 54) the elderly in the unites states travel to Canada and Mexico to purchase more affordable prescription drugs  Wholesale importation however is very different from personal importation described above. This is because in wholesale importation, foreign drugs will  find a way of intermingling with  the other  products that are safe which have gone through the FDA system and have been approved as safe and effective by its gold standardized   process of approval.

Legalizing prescription drugs importation also makes the FDA unviable and also makes its value and contribution in approving the safety of drugs questionable. This is because the recently introduced registration on importation requires that all manufacturers of prescription drugs must submit a FDA application even if they already have   foreign approved drugs as long as the approval is non FDA.  This approval requires that the manufacturers differentiate between the foreign made drugs and products and those made in the US. In essence this legislation gives the authority to FDA to reject the manufacturer’s application technically. However, the clear message that the legislation sends out there is that the FDA should approve these applications. After approval FDA will be required to publish these notices and applications. With increased public pressure that is driving this legislation, it will be very difficult for the FDA to disapprove any of these applications. This is way the FDA will be forced to approve products that have not undergone the same safety and efficacy tests as those in the US giving the imported drugs an edge. This way the imported drugs will have circumvented the FDA approval process making its validity and appropriateness questionable. Practically, the FDA is not in a position to carry out the numerous requirements in addition to examining the voluminous paperwork under a new importation program. This is because the system is already bad and corrupted.  For instance, it is not possible for the FDA to register, monitor and regulate importers and exporters. This is in addition to ensuring that all the incoming drugs and products are prescribed properly in addition to inspecting the incoming parcels, products and other facilities in order to enhance and ensure product safety. Recognizing the infeasibility of these requirements those who are most probably going to benefit are criminals, counterfeiters, smugglers, and others whose are after making quick money regardless of  whether these drugs are safe or not. The US drug supply system which has been recognized as the safest in the world will end up being compromised. (Charatan 1443).

Besides the above threats of prescription the importation is also going to hurt the US economy. The biotechnology industry is a very thriving one and force to reckon with in the US economy. This is because the industry offers many employment opportunities   to the citizens and is also a very thriving base when it comes to paying taxes. The industry is very key in numerous states such as California, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, North Carolina, among others. The importation legislation eventually will hamper economic growth from the taxes that the industries pay to the government. In addition it will also hinder development of treatment and cures which is one of its mandates. This means that a positive economic growth and public health will be compromised.

Solutions

         The fact that the country’s biotechnology industry produces medicine that is unique and not easily susceptible to counterfeiting should be embraced .The congress for instance, has for a long time embraced the uniqueness and sensitivity of the products produced by this industry. It is important to note that most of these imported drugs which are especially the biologics are easily adulterated and even counterfeited to levels that are undetectable. However, many of the medicines from the United States biotechnology industry are not easily administered by a patient safely, and therefore there is need for supervision during administration from an approved health care provider. This way, these products are hard to counterfeit since they are not available in the local pharmacies or as out patient prescriptions. This would ensure that consumers are protected.

The government should also ensure that all its citizens are insured and also assist those in need when purchasing prescription drugs. This will play a great role in ensuring that citizens afford medical care and also access to safe a drugs. The Medicare system is also a good plan, in that it is going to ensure that the beneficiaries are assisted when it comes to purchasing prescription drug and other related products. Lueck and Fuhrmans, observes that the new Medicare prescription drug benefit program has led to a scramble for health insurance.(Lueck and Fuhrmans A3) .Such a program guarantees safe drugs for its beneficiaries. The Medicare discount card so far has played a big role in protecting citizens from harmful drugs.

The importation is not just that of drugs but also importation of price controls.  Foreign governments impose pricing restrictions arbitrarily. This global trend issue must be addressed, since it is through such restrictions that consumers and companies are forced to subsidize their health care. Eventually this leads to an increase in the cost of drugs. This is in addition to the fact that, these restrictions and price controls hinder and discourage innovation

The Prescription drug importation legislation in addition is going to erode intellectual property rights.  The government should therefore put into considering the fact that some companies place their entire value on the existence of intellectual property rights, either to a material or a means to achieve a specific activity.  Failure by the government to protect patent rights which encourage innovation ends up discouraging investment and even efficient innovation.

Conclusion

       From the above findings, it is evident that importation of these drugs will have more negative than positive effects. This will harm the economy, the pharmaceutical companies and eventually the consumers who will not only buy the drugs at higher prices but will also be exposed to drugs of very poor quality. There is no doubt that incursions into trade policy, intellectual property protection, and economic incentives for U.S. business – all of which are part of this legislation will have unintended consequences. The benefits of a free-market economy for U.S. Although this legislation is aimed at providing patients with lower priced prescription drugs this move has been criticized in that it neither may nor guarantee any cost savings.  Economists and the Congressional Budget Office have dismissed the assumptions that this new law will save costs. This is because there many substantial costs that will be incurred by the middle men in addition to those associated to the pharmaceutical Industry and eventually these costs will be passed to the consumers who are the patients.

Homeopathy

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The popularity of CAM modalities has seen them become part of the curriculum in health profession schools. One of the most commonly used CAM modalities is homeopathic treatment. Homeopathy is a treatment modality whose basis is the principle that an illness can be cured by administering a drug which is highly diluted; this drug in higher concentrations should be able to produce symptoms which are the same as the ailment (Shelton, 2004).

 

The mantra for homeopathy thus is ‘like cures like’. Homeopathic remedies are generally so dilute that they actually do not have any molecules of the original medication. Homeopathy is based on vitalist philosophy which explains disease as originating from disturbances in life force or vital force. These disturbances present as unique symptoms. Homeopathy holds that the vital force can react to and adapt to external and internal causes: the law of susceptibility (Shelton, 2004). This law has the implication that a negative state of mind has the potential to attract disease entities referred to as miasms (Shelton, 2004). These invade the body and produce disease symptoms. Hahneman, the man associated with the origins of homeopathy however rejects the notion that disease occurs as a separate entity. He asserts that disease is part of the ‘living whole ‘ (Hahneman, 1833).

 

Origins of Homeopathy

This alternative form of medicine was proposed by Samule Hahnemann, a German physician. Homeopaths also use certain aspects of the psychological and physical state of the patient when recommending remedies (Shelton, 2004). Hahnemann’s ‘law of similars’ is based on his observations of working with a cinchona bark used for treating malaria. He claims that the experience of ingesting the cinchona bark produced effects similar to those of malaria symptoms and from this he inference that cure proceeds from similarity (Shelton, 2004). Further experiments with other curative substances led Hahneman to conceive the law of simialrs. However this law remains an unproven assertion and not really a law of nature (Shelton, 2004).

 

Remedy in homeopathy refers to substances which are prepared following a certain procedure and which are used to treat patient (Shelton, 2004). This is different from the conventional use of the word in modern medicine. In describing remedies, two types of references are used: repertoires and Materica medica (Shelton, 2004). Repertoires refer to the index of disease symptoms which are associated with certain symptoms; the Materica medica is the collection of pictures of drugs that are associated with a particular pattern of symptoms.

 

Therapeutic usefulness

In achieving better personal health, homeopathy has been one of the most effective CAM modalities as it has helped in the management of my asthma. The homeopathic treatment is used together with conventional medicine and has resulted in lower treatment costs as well as a greater feeling of general wellbeing. This is because homeopathy as described by Hahneman involves the incorporation of adequate exercise and good nutrition as a way of achieving optimum health. Additonally, the proposition on disease being in some cases attributable to a negative state of mind has also helped in fashioning my lifestyle such that I focus on stress reduction, good nutrition and physical exercise to maintain general body health.

 

Evidence in support of the usefulness and effectiveness of homeopathy has been illustrated by other investigators. For instance, in a meta-analysis of six trials, homeopathic treatments were found to have encouraging evidence in the reduction of side effects following cancer therapy (Milazo, Rusell and Ernst, 2006). Other areas in which homeopathy has been used as a treatment modality includes:  induction of labor, osteoarthritis, migraines and asthma (McCarney, Linde and Lasserson, 2004; McCarney et al, 2003; Smith and Smith, 2003).

 

Benefits for specific populations with particular health concerns

Homeopathy has been reported to have therapeutic applications in the child-bearing cycle ranging from the treatment and prevention of miscarriage, cystitis, anaemia, vaginitis, digestion complaints, pain in the pelvic region, postpartum bleeding, postpartum complications, varicosities, failure to dilate, initiation of labor and retained placenta (Kliger and Lee, 2004). A review by the Cocharane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group Trials Register, and the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register found that there was insufficient evidence to recommend caulophyllum, a popular homeopathic remedy for the induction of labor. The review compared the use of homeopathy in randomized controlled trials for the induction or maturation of labor with placebo treatment or other methods (Kliger and Lee, 2004).

 

The conclusions arrived at regarding efficacious use of homeopathy in problems related to pregnancy are not easy to reach due to the difficulties in methodology which arise when comparing conventional medical interventions with homeopathic interventions. Some of these challenges include the lack of research designs that would consider the differences in theory and practice between conventional medicine and homeopathy. Thus even though the Cochrane Review may not have found sufficient evidence to support the use of homeopathy for pregnancy related problems, there still remains some room for further investigation.  Patients receiving treatment for cancer form a large group of the patient population that has benefited from homeopathic medicine. Most of these patients use homeopathy to manage the side effects brought about by their cancer treatment. Some of the side effects addressed using homeopathic medicine includes stomatitis and dermatitis.

 

Efficacy and safety issues in homeopathy

Most people who use homeopathic medicine use it to complement conventional medicine; this is especially the case with cancer patients. This is because cancer treatments have been known to cause morbidity. Patients receiving treatment thus use homeopathic medicines to help alleviate the side effects of cancer medications. In a review of studies to find out the efficacy of homeopathic treatments for alleviation of cancer treatment side effects, two studies showed benefit: one showed that the topical calendula was superior to trolamine in prevention of dermatitis induced by radiotherapy while another study showed that Traumeel S was superior to mouthwash in preventing chemotherapy induced stomatitis (Kassab et al, 2009).

 

Other studies gave positive results albeit there was an unclear risk for bias while other four studies in the review gave negative results. From the review, there were no serious adverse effects that could be attributed to the use of homeopathic medicine (Kassab et al, 2009). In recommending homeopathy as a treatment modality, the NAACM recommends that the client who is using alternative treatment methods should provide a list of these medications to their healthcare giver so that the healthcare giver can advise accordingly as to whether there could be any potential adverse reactions from the combination of conventional medicines with homeopathic medicines.

 

Homeopathy and research

Homeopathy has received much criticism since its inception. Generally, the methodological research base in homeopathy is low with weaknesses in reporting, design, sample sizes and selection bias. The efficacy of homeopathy remains largely unsupported by weight from research findings of modern science. Homeopathy uses extreme dilutions which leave no original material in the final remedy. There has been a modern mechanism proposed by homeopaths but most scientists consider this implausible because short-range order in water remains for a period of about a picosecond (Texeira, 2007). Most of the pharmacological effect in the absence of the active drug ingredient is generally inconsistent with the conventional dose-response relationship seen in modern-day drugs. This leaves only a placebo effect to explain the efficacy of homeopathy (Texeira, 2007). The water memory explanation runs contrary to the laws of physics and chemistry.

 

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) points out that homeopathy is controversial due to some of its key concepts being inconsistent with the laws of science. However, the NAACM also points to the anecdotal and observational evidence of the efficacy of homeopathy and argues that it should not be rejected because of the inability of science to explain how it works (NCCAM, 2010).

 

Cultural/Religious Implications

Homeopathy has been part of Asian and Indian cultures for some time and is thus acceptable to these cultures. The Catholic Church has however distanced itself from the practice of homeopathy. Some homeopath practitioners incorporate religious beliefs into their practice but homeopathy does not require that someone follow a particular religion in order to practice it. It is a secular practice.

 

Possibility decrease/increase healthcare costs

A cost benefit analysis of homeopathic versus conventional therapy in respiratory disease found homeopathic medicine to be significantly lower than conventional pharmacological therapy (Rossi et al, 2009). The study was an observational study which was carried out on patients to identify the cost of conventional medicinal products in a year preceding appointment at the Homeopathic clinic. These were compared to first and second year following homeopathic treatment. The costs for patients who were affected by chronic asthma, acute recurrent respiratory infections and allergic complaints were found to be reduced in comparison to the costs for conventional drugs (Rossi et al, 2009).  The cheaper cost of homeopathic medicine may perhaps present an avenue for further investigation into the efficacy of homeopathic medicine so that it can confidently be presented as an option for accessible healthcare to the patient. The fact that it is fairly inexpensive is a factor in its favor for its use as a complementary alternative since it does not increase the cost of health care by much.

 

Potential for homeopathy in the delivery of healthcare

The criticism leveled at homeopathy has significantly lowered its chances for inclusion into the delivery of healthcare. It has met with much resistance as practitioners point out ethical and safety issues in the practice of homeopathy. One of the most commonly cited concerns over homeopathic medicine is the case of patients failing to receive proper treatment for easily diagnosable diseases and diseases that can be managed with conventional medicine. Several patients are reported to have died as a result of this.  There have also been reports of homeopaths advising patients against immunization, against the use of anti-malarial drugs and generally against the use of conventional medicine.

 

While the concerns maybe legitimate in the cases presented by critics, the benefits of homeopathy are also very real, making it a treatment modality worth investigating further. In a review by Steven Pray, the author recommends the inclusion of a course in unproven therapies and medications in which the ethical dilemmas in recommendation of such products can be discussed. The course should also include teachings on the point of divergence between complementary alternative modalities and conventional medicine (Pray, 2006). Edzar Ernst, a professor of Complementary Medicine who also used to practice homeopathy expresses concern over ethics violation by the failure of practitioners to provide consumers with the relevant and necessary information regarding the nature of homeopathic products (Baum and Ernst, 2009).  He emphasizes on the need for honesty even as people are let to make their own choices regarding the use of homeopathic medicines.

 

The response to homeopathy has been mixed with some conventional health practitioners maintaining an open mind about its use while others have blatantly rejected and dismissed it as a potential treatment modality to some of the illnesses affecting the American population.