Medmira Case Essay Example for Free

Medmira Case Essay MedMira Case Course: Marketing Planning What changes in the environment made it possible to consider the launch of an OTC Aids Test? Be specific. MedMira is known by developing and manufacturing quality diagnostics to prevent and control the spread of infectious diseases. All tests used a flow-through membrane technology and were fast and easy to use. Medmira was distributing rapid HIV tests in Canada, United States, South Africa, Latin America and China, and selling them to hospitals, pharmacies and aid groups. One of the focuses of MedMira was to expand to Over-the-Counter market as there happened some changes that made it possible to consider this attempt: New infections were happening and about 3.1 million people were dying from HIV. This adds a higher preoccupation to the government and specialists on the health sector and pressure to arrange a solution. During the 80’s, there were few available treatment and when people knew they had the virus they would see it as a death sentence. Nowadays this idea is disappearing as technology is more advanced, it is a â€Å"more manageable illness† and there is an increase of information available about HIV. Due to legal approval of the tests, MedMira was able to distribute rapid HIV tests in Canada, United States, China and European Union. This is a step closer of entering the OTC market. Rapid testing was expected to grow between 20 to 30 per cent of the market. This expected growth was also related to a higher approval by governments as there were changes in the society acceptance and technological improvements on this area. Comparison factor as Medmira’s first rapid HIV test for OTC, Miracare, had a big success in China and this could happen in the rest of the world. Due to this accomplishment, international demand for this product has increased. Prepare a SWOT analysis for MedMira Aids Test. The following SWOT analysis contains the most significant and strategically important internal and external conditions that MedMira faces. The Internal is divided into strengths and weakness and the external is divided into opportunities and threats: Internal Strengths: -HIV test market leader -Easy use Weakness: -Ethical concerns -Cannibalization of revealing G2 External Opportunities: -Partnership with HA -Open door for testing other diseases -Growing rapid test market Threats: -Ethical concerns -Possible partnership of HA with competitors -Entry costs MedMira has some internal strengths by being a HIV test market leader, specially selling to hospitals, and suitable for at-home use. The Aids test is also easier to use and faster on getting the results relative to the competition, result of this was a higher international recognition. Relative to weakness aspects, there are some ethical concerns such as the possibility of testing without another person’s authorization that is a negative aspect. Apart from this, in case MedMira is able to enter the OTC market, there is a possibility of cannibalizing the sales of Reveal G2 to laboratories and hospitals, as the products would be considered as â€Å"substitutes† as they practically have the same objective. One of the opportunities is the partnership with Home Access and develop a revised  version of HA’s Consumer Advocate System. This partnership would eliminate the ethical concerns MedMira couldn’t address and would also help to remain competitiveness, build a barrier to entry of other firms on the phone support system and reduce courier costs. Another opportunity is if MedMira could enter the OTC market, it would be an open door for rapid tests of other infectious diseases that are worth millions. For last, the development of the rapid test market is a favorable trend to higher sales and profits, which is seen as a good opportunity. If Home Access, which possesses a patent on phone support system, joins with one of the competitors, MedMira will eventually lose competitiveness with this partnership, being one of the main threats. For last, entry costs on the OTC market are high and it is not clear if the company could afford the expansion at this moment. To conclude this analysis, the partnership would have a positive impact in the society. Because if consumers are able to buy rapid tests, this could prompt people to be tested earlier in a faster, easier and more accessible way, which would reduce the instances of transmission.

Supernatural in Shakespeares Macbeth - Witches as Heroines :: GCSE English Literature Coursework

The Witches as the Heroines of Macbeth Traditionally, the witches of Shakespeare's Macbeth have been treated as symbolic manifestations of the potential for evil. Many students and critics of Macbeth enjoy blaming the witches, along with Lady Macbeth, for Macbeth's downfall. Regardless, it may be argued that the witches are the heroines of the play. One eminent modern literary critic, Terry Eagleton, has addressed the issue of the witches as heroines directly: To any unprejudiced reader--which would seem to exclude Shakespeare himself, his contemporary audiences and almost all literary critics--it is surely clear that positive value in Macbeth lies with the three witches. The witches are the heroines of the piece, however little the play itself recognizes the fact, and however much the critics may have set out to defame them. (William Shakespeare, p. 2) For Eagleton, the social reality of the witches matters. They are outcasts, much like feminists they live on the fringe of society in a female community, at odds with the male world of "civilization," which values military butchery. The fact that they are female and associated with the natural world beyond the aristocratic oppression in the castles indicates that they are excluded others. Their equality in a female community declares their opposition to the masculine power of the militaristic society. They have no direct power, but they have become expert at manipulating or appealing to the self-destructive contradictions of their military oppressors. They can see Macbeth's destruction as a victory of a sort: one more viciously individualistic, aggressive male oppressor has gone under. This suggestion is not entirely serious (Eagleton observes that the play does not recognize the issue he is calling attention to), but it underscores a key point in the tragic experience of Macbeth, its connection to a willed repudiation of the deep mysterious heart of life, the place where sexuality and the unconscious hold sway. This aspect of life is commonly associated with and hence symbolized by women, for complex reasons which there is not time to go into here (but which would seem to be intimately bound up with women's sexuality and fertility, contacts with the irrational centres of life which men do not understand and commonly fear). In seeking to stamp his own willed vision of the future onto life, the tragic hero rejects a more direct acquaintance with or acceptance of life's mystery.

O How Human Resource Management Has Developed in the Past Few Years to Become an Integral Part of Our Organizations?

Essay Question: How Human Resource Management has developed in the past few years to become an integral part of our organizations? Major Field of Study: Human Resource Management. Human Resource Management has developed in the past few years to become an integral part of our organization. According to Armstrong, Michael (2006), â€Å"The terms â€Å"Human Resource Management† (HRM) and â€Å"human resources† (HR) have largely replaced the term â€Å"personnel management† (PM) as a description of the processes involved in managing people in organizations. In simple words PM means to describe activities that are necessary in the recruiting of a workforce, providing its members with payroll and benefits, and administrating their work-life needs. Torrington and hall (1987 p. 49) define PM as â€Å"a series of activities which: first enable working people and their employing organizations to agree about the objectives and nature of their working relationship and, secondly, ensures that the agreement is fulfilled† and Miller (1987 p. 52) suggests that HRM relates to â€Å"†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. those decisions and actions which concern the management of employees at all levels in the business and which are related to the implementation of strategies directed towards creating and sustaining competitive advantage†. The early debate about HRM was conducted largely because of the absence of any data about actual practice. In recent years though much more information, both from large-scale surveys and from detailed case studies has becom e available. The growing body of research that seeks to examine the impact of HRM policies and practices on organizational outcome has come to a common solution saying that when individuals effectively implement these policies and practices, they provide significant economic benefit to the company. In order to learn the skills to practice good HRM in the workforce, it is integrated with many known courses of today’s date. Let’s take an example about one of the key functions of HRM, namely staffing. A person with a high level of understanding in HRM may be able to hire, recruit and train the best employees. Ensure they are high performers and deal with performance issues better, and most importantly is able to approach management in such a way that motivate an individual person to contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the business. Some other functions of HRM include learning about managing your approach to employee benefits and compensation, employee records and personnel policies. â€Å"_An organization is nothing without human resources. It is a lot of factories, expensive equipment and some impressive bank balances† (Low & Mourel, 1986). _The number of organizations around the world recognizing HRM as an integral part of their success is increasing every day. One of the main reasons for this is because when employers are hiring managers, one of the qualities they look for is if the employee has a high skill level in HRM. HRM is management, but management is more than HRM. Management normally includes marketing, budgetary control, production, operations control, finance and development. Because the purpose of HRM is to improve the productive contribution of people, it is intimately related to these aspects of management. All managers are involved in managing people and the management of an organization’s human resource. And because of this HRM is becoming an area which is regularly researched and developed further. Having done a course on HRM or even as a part of a course is becoming a necessary skill. Whether or not HRM is a profession has been questioned a lot (Jenks, July-Aug. ). What is not in question is that HR managers should be professional in terms of their qualifications and performance (Chruden and Sherman, 1984). The debate about HRM was conducted in the early days about the lack of research material on the subject is quickly turning into a thing of the past. More and more institutions are offering a course about HRM, and more and more people are learning from it. In order to be a good manager the HRM skills are required more in today’s date. Hardly a week goes by without the publication of another book on HRM. There are numerous handbooks, textbooks, encyclopedias, research and casebooks about HRM Businesses are getting globalised which means that as a manager of a department you may have communicate and manage people from lots of different cultures. Your duties may involve promotion, downsizing and performance reviews. You will have to do these with people from many different cultures, and to do these tasks you will require a higher understanding of HRM, which all in turn will lead to the organizations progress and profit. References Armstrong, Michael (2006). A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice (10th ed. ) J. M. Jenks, ‘Let’s stop professionalizing’, Personnel Journal, vol 37, no. 3 July-Aug H. J. Chruden and J. W. Sherman, Managing Human Resources, 7th edition, 1984, p. 13 Peter S. Low, Mark P. Mourell, Stephen P. Robbins, Managing Human Resources, , 1986, p. 2, chapter 1 Bachelor Of International Hospitality Management (2009), Retrieved September 1, 2009, from http://www. aut. ac. nz/study-at-aut/study-areas/hospitality–tourism/qualifications/undergraduate-courses/bachelor-of-international-hospitality-management-human-resources

Cause and Effects of Drug Use in High Schools

Cause and Effects of Drug use in High schools The use of drug is becoming prevalence in today’s society. Drug abuse is referred to as intake of drugs by over does of the prescribed drug given by medical personnel or taking drugs on an individual’s personal interest or influence by some groups of people. Indeed, the term drug abuse is used to indicate excessiveness and frequent consumption of drugs regardless of whether an individual is depending on it or not. Drug abuse is chemical substances that exert mood-altering effects on the brain and which are capable of producing addiction.They are abused for the feelings they produce. Drug use commonly begins in high school, usually with nicotine from cigarettes. The first cause is simple curiosity. Many teens have heard about drugs can be fun, can make a person feel and act different, and they are curious to experience them for themselves. Peer group influence is also one of the causes. The type of friend individual associate and relate with could lead one to partake in drug abuse. Young people take drugs to feel cool and impress their friends. Some teens will do whatever their friends do, just to fit in and follow the crowd.They don’t want to be the only one not doing something; even it is something dangerous. Another reason young people take drugs is to escape their reality. Maybe their home life is not happy, maybe they have a boring job, or under lots of pressure in high school. In this case, they take drugs to get away that unhappy reality. They can feel a little braver, stronger, smarter, more beautiful or more important. Of course this doesn’t last long, but that doesn’t matter. For the brief time that the drugs are taking affect, the user can forget about the problems, responsibilities and limitations of everyday life, and escape to a fantasy world.This is why they are so attractive to young people and despite their dangers. However, drug abuse can lead to drug dependence. I t can damage the systems in the body, lead to nervous problem, and causes other health hazards. Internal organs could be equally affected by drug and substance abuse. The symptoms are increase heart and breathing rates and blood pressure, and decrease appetite. Side-effects can include sweating, dry mouth, blurred vision, insomnia, and dizziness. In addition users can feel restless, anxious and moody, become excitable and have a false sense of power and security.Moreover, complaints of indiscipline in the school are mostly because of drug abuse. Drug abuse could also causes mental illness with the consequence of drop-out of school. It could cause decline in the societal moral and cultural values. The violent tendencies are also associated with drug abuse. According to those, abuse of drugs affects a person's physical or emotional conditions, even both. Drug abuse can lead to poor performance of the students in the schools. Since majority of drug abuse among youths start in high scho ols, the facilities can have early detection and prevention by teach students the effect of drug use. Word count: 504

Influential Identity essays

Influential Identity essays Living in a prejudiced country, moving back and forth from slow country life; Arkansas, to a fast pace society; St. Louis, being pregnant at 16 are some of the many problems Maya faced with as an African American teenager. The book, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou is an autobiography, which portrays Mayas life as an African American teenager and gives us an insight on southern life during the 1930s. The book is a recollection of her childhood years with Bailey, grandmother Henderson momma, and her friend Louise Kendrick and how their personalities influenced her to beget her own identity. The first of the three characters is Louis Kendrick. Louis was Maya's first friend. Maya describes her as: "Her face, which was long and dark chocolate brown, had a thin sheet of sadness over it, as light but as permanent as the viewing gauze on a coffin. And her eyes, which I thought her best feature, shifted quickly as if what they sought had just a second before eluded her. She had come near and the spotted light through the trees fell on her face. I had never noticed before, but she looked exactly like Bailey. Her hair was "good" more straight than kinky and her features had the regularity of objects placed by a careful hand". (pg.140) Louis, according to Mayas description is the total opposite of Maya. When Maya and Louis first meet each other they are shy, however as they get to know each other they became best friends. She says "In daring to challenge the unknown with me, she became my first friend" (page 142). Louis influenced Maya greatly as she gave her a chance to be a girl. On page 142 Maya says: " Since all the other children spoke Pig Latin, we were superior because Tut was hard to speak and even hard to understand. At last I began to comprehend what girls giggled about. Louise would rattle a few sentences to me in the unintelligible Tu ...

War of 1812 Overview - Aftermath

War of 1812 Overview - Aftermath 1814: Advances in the North A Capital Burned | War of 1812: 101 Efforts for Peace As the war raged, President James Madison worked to bring it to a peaceful conclusion. Hesitant about going to war in the first place, Madison instructed his chargà © d’affaires in London, Jonathan Russell, to seek reconciliation with the British a week after war was declared in 1812. Russell was ordered to seek a peace that only required the British to repeal the Orders in Council and halt impressment. Presenting this to the British foreign minister, Lord Castlereagh, Russell was rebuffed as they were unwilling to move on the latter issue. There was little progress on the peace front until early 1813 when Czar Alexander I of Russia offered to mediate an end to hostilities. Having turned back Napoleon, he was eager benefit from trade with both Great Britain and the United States. Alexander also sought to befriend the United States as a check against British power. Upon learning of the czars offer, Madison accepted and dispatched a peace delegation consisting of John Quincy Adams, James Bayard, and Albert Gallatin. The Russian offer was declined by the British who claimed that the matters in question were internal to the belligerents and not of international concern. Progress was finally achieved later that year following the Allied victory at the Battle of Leipzig. With Napoleon defeated, Castlereagh offered to open direct negotiations with the United States. Madison accepted on January 5, 1814, and added Henry Clay and Jonathan Russell to the delegation. Traveling first to Goteborg, Sweden, they then headed south to Ghent, Belgium where the talks were to take place. Moving slowly, the British did not appoint a commission until May and their representatives did not depart for Ghent until August 2. Unrest on the Home Front As the fighting continued, those in New England and the South grew tired of the war. Never a great supporter of the conflict, New Englands coast was raided with impunity and its economy on the verge of collapse as the Royal Navy swept American shipping from the seas. South of the Chesapeake, commodity prices plummeted as farmers and plantation owners were unable to export cotton, wheat, and tobacco. Only in Pennsylvania, New York, and the West was there any degree of prosperity though this was largely related federal expenditures relating to the war effort. This spending led to resentment in New England and the South, as well as precipitated a financial crisis in Washington. Taking office in late 1814, Treasury Secretary Alexander Dallas forecasted a $12 million revenue shortfall for that year and predicted a $40 million shortfall for 1815. Efforts were made to cover the difference through loans and issuing treasury notes. For those who wished to continue the war, there was a genuine concern that there would not be funds to do so. During the course of the conflict, the national debt had ballooned from $45 million in 1812 to $127 million in 1815. While this angered Federalists who had opposed the war initially, it also worked to undermine Madisons support among his own Republicans. The Hartford Convention The unrest sweeping parts of the country came to a head in New England in late 1814. Angered over the federal governments inability to protect its coasts and its unwillingness to reimburse states for doing so themselves, the Massachusetts legislature called for a regional convention to discuss the issues and weigh whether the solution was something as radical as secession from the United States. This proposition was accepted by Connecticut which offered to host the meeting in Hartford. While Rhode Island agreed to send a delegation, New Hampshire and Vermont refused to officially sanction the meeting and sent representatives in an unofficial capacity. A largely moderate group, they convened in Hartford on December 15. Though their discussions were largely limited to a states right to nullify legislation that adversely affected its citizens and issues related to states preempting federal collection of taxes, the group badly erred by holding its meetings in secret. This led to wild speculation regarding its proceedings. When the group released its report on January 6, 1815, both Republicans and Federalists were relieved to see that it was largely a list of recommended constitutional amendments that were designed to prevent foreign conflicts in the future. This relief quickly evaporated as people came to consider the what ifs of the convention. As a result, those involved quickly became and associated with terms such as treason and disunion. As many were Federalists, the party became similarly tainted effectively ending it as a national force. Emissaries from the convention made it as far as Baltimore before learning of the wars end. The Treaty of Ghent While the American delegation contained several rising stars, the British group was less glamorous and consisted of admiralty lawyer William Adams, Admiral Lord Gambier, and Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies Henry Goulburn. Due to the proximity of Ghent to London, the three were kept on a short leash by Castlereagh and Goulburns superior, Lord Bathurst. As the negotiations moved forward, the Americans pressed for an elimination of impressment while the British desired a Native American buffer state between the Great Lakes and the Ohio River. While the British refused to even discuss impressment, the Americans flatly refused to consider ceding territory back to the Native Americans. 1814: Advances in the North A Capital Burned | War of 1812: 101 1814: Advances in the North A Capital Burned | War of 1812: 101 As the two sides sparred, the American position was weakened by the burning of Washington. With the deteriorating financial situation, war weariness at home, and concerns over future British military successes, the Americans became more willing to deal. Similarly, with fighting and negotiations at a stalemate, Castlereagh consulted the Duke of Wellington, who had turned down command in Canada, for advice. As the British held no meaningful American territory, he recommended a return to status quo ante bellum and an immediate end to the war. With talks at the Congress of Vienna breaking down as a rift opened between Britain and Russia, Castlereagh became eager to end the conflict in North America to focus on European matters. Renewing the talks, both sides ultimately agreed to a return to status quo ante bellum. Several minor territorial and border issues were set aside for future resolution and the two sides signed the Treaty of Ghent on December 24, 1814. The treaty included no mention of impressment or a Native American state. Copies of the treaty were prepared and sent to London and Washington for ratification. The Battle of New Orleans The British plan for 1814 called for three major offensives with one coming from Canada, another striking at Washington, and the third hitting New Orleans. While the thrust from Canada was defeated at the Battle of Plattsburgh, the offensive in the Chesapeake region saw some success before being halted at Fort McHenry. A veteran of the latter campaign, Vice Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane moved south that fall for the attack on New Orleans. Having embarked 8,000-9,000 men, under the command of Major General Edward Pakenham, Cochranes fleet arrived off Lake Borgne on December 12. In New Orleans, the defense of city was tasked to Major General Andrew Jackson, commanding the Seventh Military District, and Commodore Daniel Patterson who oversaw the US Navys forces in the region. Working frantically, Jackson assembled around 4,000 men which included the 7th US Infantry, a variety of militia, Jean Lafittes Baratarian pirates, as well as free black and Native American troops. Assuming a strong defensive position along the river, Jackson prepared to receive Pakenhams assault. With both sides unaware that peace had been concluded, the British general moved against the Americans on January 8, 1815. In a series of attacks, the British were repulsed and Pakenham killed. The signature American land victory of the war, the Battle of New Orleans forced the British to withdraw and re-embark. Moving east, they contemplated an attack on Mobile, but learned of the wars end before it could move forward. The Second War of Independence While the British government had speedily ratified the Treaty of Ghent on December 28, 1814, it took much longer for word to reach across the Atlantic. News of the treaty arrived in New York on February 11, a week after the city learned of Jacksons triumph. Adding to the spirit of celebration, the news that the war had ended quickly spread throughout the country. Receiving a copy of the treaty, the US Senate ratified it by a 35-0 vote on February 16 to officially bring the war to a close. Once the relief of peace had worn off, the war was viewed in the United States as a victory. This belief was propelled by victories such as New Orleans, Plattsburgh, and Lake Erie as well as by the fact that the nation had successfully resisted the power of the British Empire. Success in this second war of independence helped forge a new national consciousness and ushered in the Era of Good Feelings in American politics. Having gone to war for its national rights, the United States never again was refused proper treatment as an independent nation. Conversely, the war was also viewed as victory in Canada where the residents took pride in having successfully defended their land from American invasion attempts. In Britain, little thought was given to the conflict especially as the spectre of Napoleon rose again in March 1815. While the war is noew generally viewed as stalemate between the principal combatants, the Native Americans exited the conflict as losers. Effectively forced out of the Northwest Territory and large tracts of the Southeast, their hope for a state of their own vanished with the end of the war. 1814: Advances in the North A Capital Burned | War of 1812: 101

Black Theology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Black Theology - Essay Example In the midst of this turbulent period, a relatively unknown theologian from a rural town in Arkansas emerged to confront the abstract and irrelevant definitions of white mainstream theology and to speak to the social conditions of black Americans. James Cone has been called "the father" of black theology, "the leading exponent of black theology," and the "premier black theologian" (Burrow, 1993, p. 1). Grenz and Olson (1992, p. 206) acknowledge, "Cone was able to emerge as an important voice for the new Black theology in part because he shared the plight of Blacks through his upbringing in the South. This qualified him to understand their feelings and speak on their behalf. At the same time, his voice was significant because he had obtained the academic credentials necessary to gain a hearing in the largely White-dominated theological circle." Cone wrote the first systematic treatment of black theology. His books, articles, and lectures launched black liberation theology into the national and international theological arena. As Hopkins (2002, p. 16) argues, "I believe he was the first person in the history of the United States to position liberation of the poor as the central and foundational preaching and teaching of Jesus And Cone was one of two people in the world to first write books on liberation theology." To better contextualise this assessment, it would be pertinent to point out that Hopkins (2002, p. 14) defines black liberation theology as "the name given to a movement created by a group of African American pastors in the late 1960s who felt that the gospel of Jesus Christ had a positive message for black people." Arguably, there were three historic events that provided the context for the formation of black theology as a movement: (1) the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, associated with Martin Luth er King Jr., (2) the publication of Joseph Washington's book, Black Religion: The Negro and Christianity in the United States (1964), and (3) the rise of the black power movement, strongly influenced by Malcolm X's philosophy of black nationalism (Burrow, 1993). In the 1960s, the notoriety of the civil rights movement emerged under the leadership and direction of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He confronted racism and discrimination using a social-oriented theology and a nonviolent method of protest. His pastoral concern and academic training gave a theological and biblical voice to the debilitating implications of racial oppression. Second, Joseph Washington's (1964) book Black Religion was one of the major writings to argue that black religion is not identical to white Protestantism or any other expression of Euro-American Christianity. "Rejecting the thesis of earlier studies that viewed Black religion as one aspect of the broader category of North American Protestantism, Washington asserted that it was actually a distinctive phenomenon in North American religious life" (Grenz and Olson, 1992, p. 204). Finally, with the influence of Malcolm X, phrases like "black nationalism," "black pride," and "black power" emerged to raise black consciousn ess and reclaim black identity in American society. The three historical benchmarks - the civil rights movement, Black Religion, and the black power movement -provided the conte