Plato and Aristotle are some of the most important figures in the development of philosophy of education (Morgan 43). Although Plato taught and inspired Aristotle, their views on education show a number of differences. Arguably, Plato and Aristotle’s views of education differ in that Aristotle considers education as a ‘virtue by itself’ that every person must obtain in order to have ‘happiness and goodness in life’, while Plato advocates for a ‘good education for the elites’.
Plato’s views of education are found in his descriptions of an ideal ‘Republic’. In the ‘Republic’, Plato argues that an individual is well served when he is a subject of a ‘just’ society (Morgan 78). He considers education as a ‘virtue’ whose aim is to provide a ‘sound body’ with a ‘sound mind’. He believes that education must start early in life.
Therefore, he considers children as ‘wards of the state’. He argues that children must be removed from parental care early in life and instead be brought up as ‘wards of the state’. Then, Plato advocates for differentiating the children according to their future endeavors and roles in the society. Under the care of the state, the children should be distinguished according to how they fit into social ‘castes’.
Those fitting the highest caste must obtain the highest level of education to ensure that they assume the roles of ‘guardians of the state’ (Morgan 92). According to Plato, good education is holistic. It should include both formal and informal training. He advocates for inclusion of physical discipline, facts, handcraft, arts, and music in the education system.
Plato believed in the virtue of selective public education. For instance, according to his views, a child’s capacity in achieving education and talents are not hereditary.
He argues that all children, regardless of their social class, have the capacity to get education and talents and join a higher social caste. However, Plato advocates for providing ‘the highest level’ of education to those children who are more suitable to become future guardians of the state. This means that he advocates for training a ‘small group’ of children who then proceed to be the elite class.
In Plato’s virtue of education, elementary education is confined to children below the age of 18. Those between 19 and 20 years must undergo vigorous military training before proceeding to get higher education. According to Plato’s views of education and society, elementary education has an important role in making the soul of an individual ‘responsive to the environment’. In addition, he argues that higher education helps the soul in its search for the truth.
On the contrary, Aristotle’s views of education are based on purposefulness. He believes that education is a virtue that every person in a society must obtain. He views education as a way of attaining ‘goodness and happiness’ in life. Increased teaching, training, and experience can help one achieve ‘goodness of intellect’.
While Plato believed that the state has the role of educating small children, Aristotle believes that parents had the largest responsibility in early childhood education. The state comes in once the child has grown up from early to middle and late childhood.
Although Aristotle, like Plato, emphasized on ‘gymnastic’ as a form of education, he believes that one of the role of this form of training is to develop a ‘spirit of sportsmanship’ and therefore develop ‘good habits’ in a child.
Finally, Aristotle differed with Plato in that he believed in both inductive and deductive methods of teaching, arguing that both are logical procedures in a subjective and objective training.
Work Cited
Morgan, Michael. Classics of Moral and Political Theory. New York: Hackett publishing company Inc, 2005. Print.
Virgil D. Hawkins, on behalf of himself and others
Similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. The BOARD OF CONTROL OF FLORIDA,
A body corporate,
No. 643.
Facts of the Case
The case began in April 1948
The plaintiff was a black student who had applied to be admitted to the University of Florida’s College of Law
The University’s governing body (the Board of Control) rejected his application on constitutional grounds that non-white students were not allowed into the University
A 9-year legal battle then ensued
He ultimately lost the case
History of the Case
In 1950, in the State ex rel Hawkins v. Board of Control of Florida, the Court agreed with Hawkins
His rights to attend a Florida, public law school were upheld
But it maintained that the state of Florida has observed this
It created a public law school (Florida A &M) exclusively for blacks.
The Court ruled that since he had an option of attending this institution, the University of Florida’s law school was under no obligation to admit him.
Facts and Legal Questions
Were the plaintiff’s rights to education violated?
Did the plaintiff have an option other than UF law school?
What was the implication of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling?
What reasons did the Florida Supreme Court give for failing to admit Hawkins?
Did Hawkins finally become an attorney?
The Ruling
The Court agreed with the Board
It ruled that Florida A&M met all the state requirements to offer law education
Its legal education would help the plaintiff.
The Court argued that the establishment of the Florida A&M ensured that Hawkins’ right to pursue legal education was adequately provided for
Florida A&M admitted non-white students
The U.S. Supreme Court
Borrowed from the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka case
The U.S. Supreme Court ruling of 1954
It declared the education doctrine of “separate but equal” unconstitutional
It breached the constitutional clause of equal protection by segregating educational amenities (Hawkins v. Board, n.d).
Public schools were hence ordered to admit racially diverse students without any discrimination.
The Florida Supreme Court
Acknowledged the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling
Florida Supreme Court instructed that Hawkins should be admitted to the UF law.
But there were delays
Issues of parents’ concerns arose
Contempt
No Admission
Hawkins was not admitted
The “danger of serious public mischief.”
Justice B.K Roberts argued that admitting Hawkins to the UF law school would cause parents to withdraw their children from the institution.
His black skin still played against him
U.S. Supreme Court ruling disobeyed
Laws and Legal Actions Taken
Another ruling in 1958,
The Court should grant Hawkins a hearing
UF should be prohibited from implementing their white persons only policy,
It also found that Hawkins lacked the required qualifications to enter into the UF law school (Paulson & Hawkes, 1984).
Bar Examinations
Later in 1976, in Re Florida Board of Bar Examiners case,
Special permission was granted by the Supreme Court
Hawkins allowed admission to the Florida Bar
On the grounds of his state diploma (State Ex Rel. Hawkins v. Board of Control, n.d).
Concurring Opinions from the Judges
Five judges concurred
Chief Justice Terrell was one of them
Concurred that segregation was a normal phenomenon
Under the laws of natural theory
It practiced since time immemorial, even during the ancient times of Egyptian segregation of the Jews.
Dissenting Opinions from the Judges
Two justices dissented and sided with the U.S Supreme Court’s ruling
They disagreed with their 5 colleagues,
Justice Roberts argued that the U.S. Supreme Court violated the judges’ oath
of “supporting, protecting, and defending the federal constitution.”
Justice Hobson noted that it was paramount to obey the federal law and the U.S Supreme Court’s decision.
Dignity is an integral concept in nursing because it determines the quality of care. In healthcare, dignity means offering care that supports an individual’s self-respect, understanding their capabilities, and does not cause harm (Simões & Sapeta, 2019). When people are treated with kindness, it raises their value and self-worth while preserving their dignity. Mutual respect and dignity are crucial concepts because they put theories into action. In the case scenario, Martha is not treated with the dignity she deserves. Due to security issues, the carer comes at 7 p.m. instead of 10 p.m. to help her get to bed. The ethical concepts that explain Martha’s case are beneficence, non-maleficence, code of ethics, autonomy, the principle of human rights, duty of care, and distributive justice. This paper will address ethical concepts, how to achieve effective communication, and reflect on the case scenario.
Ethical Concepts
Beneficence
The principle of beneficence is among the most important ethical concepts that guide healthcare operations. According to Beach & Sugarman (2019), beneficence is based on the idea that providers should act to benefit patients, remove conditions that can cause harm, and help those who are disabled. The concept calls for healthcare providers to act to benefit a patient and promote their welfare. Considering the case of Martha, the carers were not acting at her benefit when they were coming at 7 p.m. rather than 10 p.m. to take her to bed. The carer’s action may contribute to Martha’s physical and emotional harm. Based on this principle, the carers are supposed to ensure that Martha is taken to bed at the appropriate time, 10 p.m. As a result, beneficence ensures that a patient’s well-being and interests are considered during care.
Non-maleficence
The principle of non-maleficence gives healthcare providers the mandate of not harming their patients. Elton (2021) posits that the principle supports moral rules like do not kill, do not offend, do not cause pain or suffering, and do not deprive others of experiencing the goodness of life. In this case, the actions of Martha’s carers are against this principle because they cause suffering and deprive her of the ability to experience a normal life. To meet Martha’s needs, the home care organization’s management should solve the security issue that prevents the carers from coming at 10 p.m. to support her to bed. For example, the manager can hire security personnel to accompany the carers to the area. The manager of the organization can also consider having a carer who can stay with Martha and provide the services.
Autonomy
The principle of autonomy implies that patients have the right to make their own decision. It ensures that patients have all of the information they need to make an informed decision about their medical care. According to Johnstone (2019), autonomy is an ethical principle that shows that healthcare providers should have no say in the patient’s decision. In the provided case, Martha’s decision is for the carers to come and support her entering bed at 10 p.m. and not 7 p.m. The carers violated this principle by not respecting the decision of the patient. To mitigate this situation, the management of the home care organization should strive to make sure that a patient’s decision is respected and valued. As a result, Martha’s decision to be taken to bed at 10 p.m. should be taken seriously and followed.
Principle of Human Rights
Fundamental human rights should apply to all people, regardless of gender, color, or disability. Every human has the right to a quality living for themselves and their family, including food, clothing, shelter, medical care, other essential social services, and the right to safety (Wettstein et al., 2019). Martha has the right to live a comfortable life, while the carers have a right to security. These rights should not be deprived because they can affect an individual’s normal life. The management should balance by ensuring that Martha is supported to bed at 10 p.m. and carers are also secured. From the case, the carers’ security issue is the reason they come at 7 p.m. and not 10 p.m. Therefore, the rights of every party should be considered during care.
Duty of care
Duty of care is an important aspect of care, and many providers consider it a crucial part of their profession. A provider’s moral obligation is to safeguard others from harm during care. According to Græger & Leira (2019), a duty of care is breached when a provider fails to act reasonably to prevent unforeseeable harm to their client. This ethical concept appears to be antagonistic in Martha’s case because the carers are forcing her to sleep at 7 p.m. against her will. The actions of the carers are causing psychological harm to Martha. To mitigate the situation, the organization’s managers should create a culture where the safety of patients is a priority. As a result, they should ensure that all the actions and decisions of healthcare providers protect the patients from harm.
Nurses’ Code of Ethics
A code of ethics is an important ethical concept that guides nurses’ operations in practice. The first provision of the code of ethics requires nurses to retain the patient’s dignity during their interaction and treatment (Poorchangizi et al., 2019). The nurse must treat the patient with compassion and care, regardless of personal differences. In addition, the nurse must treat all patients equally regardless of their condition or illness. However, in the case scenario, the carers failed to uphold the dignity of Martha because she was disabled. The carers action was influenced by the fact that Martha could not help herself in the situation. Therefore, the carers should be informed that it is their mandate to ensure that the patient is regaining as much power as possible while still acknowledging the patient’s desire for self-determination.
The second provision of the code of ethics incorporates the idea that the nurses’ first concern is the patient. They must seek to directly advance the patient’s best interests in all circumstances. A nurse may have a conflict of interest with the patient’s family, another healthcare professional, or the patient’s health insurance company (Olson & Stokes, 2016). For instance, some providers encourage nurses to minimize expenses or take actions, not in the patient’s best interests. As shown in Martha’s case, the carer’s actions were against the patient’s interest. The carers acted based on their interest because they were more concerned about their security. The managers should make the carers understand that the patients should be their first concern to mitigate the situation. Thus, the provision presents a notion that patients are supposed to be a priority of healthcare providers during care.
The fourth provision of the code of ethics shows that nurses are accountable and responsible for their actions. They are obligated to ensure that their actions and decisions protect and promote patients’ health (Olson & Stokes, 2016). In the case study, despite the complaints by Martha, the carers were still coming at 7 p.m. Based on this code, the carers are responsible for any psychological harm caused to Martha due to their actions and decisions. The managers of home care organizations should ensure that carers understand that they are responsible for their actions. They are supposed to refrain from decisions that might emotionally or physically harm their patients. This means that they should make informed decisions with their patients in mind.
Distributive Justice
Distributive justice is concerned with the distribution of resources within a community. According to Shaibu et al. (2021), distributive justice presumes that services should be offered fairly. Equal labor should result in equal outcomes in terms of products obtained or the ability to obtain goods for all individuals. Distributive justice does not exist when equal labor fails to achieve equal outcomes. Martha could not get adequate care in the case study because healthcare staff do not work late at night and are unsure of their safety. The manager of a home care organization should ensure that every patient gets adequate care. Healthcare services should be distributed fairly to all patients regardless of their location, gender, and disabled.
Effective Communication and Interpersonal Skills
Communication is an important tool for the effective delivery of healthcare services. Methangkool et al. (2019) define communication as the transfer of messages or expressions of emotion or feelings from one person to another. Effective communication entails the proper delivery of information appropriately and with clarity. This means that the recipient should be able to understand exactly what is being said. During care, healthcare providers need to master the art of listening attentively to patients and responding effectively. In addition, interpersonal skills are seen as an effective form of communication. There are several ways the staff can maintain effective communication to deliver the best care to Martha. Therefore, adopting the right communication strategy is important in providing quality care.
The first way of attaining effective communication is having open and transparent communication with the patient. People who engage in open communication freely share open, honest, constant, and reliable information (Mertens et al., 2019). Employees who communicate openly and assertively share their views, sentiments, emotions, and plans. This enables health providers to build trust with patients and make them feel valued. For example, in this case, the carers should clearly explain to Martha why they are unable to offer their services at 10 p.m. With open communication, Martha should be able to understand and work together with the carers to develop a suitable strategy. As a result, having transparent communication enhances trust and improves collaboration.
The second strategy one can use is developing an approachable attitude. Most of the communication is non-verbal, and using the right words means nothing if the body language says otherwise (Mertens et al., 2019). As a result, it is integral for the staff to be conscious of their attitude, especially when communicating with patients. A friendly and positive attitude determines how another person reads the message and reacts. For example, when the carer explains to Martha positively that security in the area is why they do not work late at night, she may understand the situation. This will eliminate misunderstandings between the staff of the home care organization and Martha. Therefore, a positive attitude plays an integral in fostering effective communication.
The third strategy an individual can use is accepting feedback and responding promptly. Feedback is an essential component of communication since it enables a speaker to evaluate the efficiency of their message (Tate & Frame, 2019). It is the final component or link in the communication chain. Martha’s numerous concerns demonstrate that she was not receiving any response to the matter. It is impossible to finish the communication process without feedback. It is an important aspect of the communication process. For example, communication was incomplete in the case scenario because Martha could not get appropriate feedback. The staff needs to cultivate a culture of giving objective feedback to the patient. They should explain why they are not acting as per request of Martha. As a result, the problem was not solved in the long run, leading to a frustrated Martha.
The fourth way is for a provider to attain effective communication is by keeping patients updated regularly. Effective communication is achieved when patients are frequently informed about aspects that concern them during care (Tate & Frame, 2019). In addition, patients are likely to feel more connected to the healthcare organization when they are updated on what is happening, especially on matters that touch on their services. For instance, Martha should have been told that the carer was not working late due to security issues. Therefore, patients have the right to be informed about anything that affects their health.
To maintain effective communication, the staff in the case study should adopt a two-way communication model. In the workplace, feedback is critical for generating results, with the primary goal of strengthening progress toward company goals (Methangkool et al., 2019). However, when the staff provides feedback, he or she makes the mistake of turning it into a one-way conversation. In this case, patients are not allowed to express their opinions or concerns. Encouraging two-way feedback is a hallmark of effective communication and will enable the patient to self-evaluate. It is also important for the staff to provide comprehensive comments to a patient to improve team communication. In addition, the staff can use his or her task management system to keep a written record of feedback, which can help improve overall communication and productivity. As a result, effective communication can be achieved when the staff adopts two-way communication.
The staff can foster a positive relationship with the patient to maintain effective communication. Communication in positive relationships helps individuals convey to someone else what they are going through and their requirements. The act of speaking not only aids in meeting their wants but also aids in keeping them linked in the relationship (Methangkool et al., 2019). A good relationship with the patient creates a culture of sharing anything, including problems. When a staff has a positive relationship with a patient, they are more likely to be cautious about the words they use. In addition, a positive relationship enables one to make a clear message for the other person to hear effectively and understand what it means. It enables communicators to adopt a good tone and share positive feelings during communication. As a result, a good relationship between staff and patients is important in maintaining effective communication.
A provider can also integrate compassion with communication to achieve effective communication. Compassionate communication is the ability to share one’s views and ideas with another person while empathizing with their pain and worry (Tate & Frame, 2019). It entails active listening as well as comprehension of verbal and nonverbal communication cues. Although compassionate communication has always been important in medicine, the increasing emphasis on patient-centered treatment has revealed its importance. For example, the staff can be empathetic when communicating with the patient. During care, the staff should adopt compassionate communication to ensure that a patient’s interest is considered. As a result, being compassionate enables staff to communicate with a patient effectively.
One can incorporate a patient’s dignity into communication by responding effectively and timely. To achieve effective communication in care, dignified and respect-based communication is vital (Tate & Frame, 2019). An individual should have the opportunity to say what they prefer, and staff should have a good understanding of the person they are assisting. In addition, a healthcare provider must learn new techniques to communicate with patients who have special needs, such as being disabled. Finally, the staff should make sure that they feel valued and respected. For example, it was very easy for Martha to feel devalued when her complaints were not being taken seriously in the case. Thus, communication becomes effective when the staff incorporates respect and value for every human being regardless of their situation.
Reflection Part
The case of Martha has enabled me to learn the significance of treating patients with dignity and respect regardless of their situation. I learned that every health professional should uphold dignity as a core value because it affects the provision of quality care. According to Simões and Sapeta (2019), dignity is considered a multifaceted concept. Each human being is treated as an individual who should be treated with respect, retain their autonomy, respect their privacy, and exercise their right to choose. As a medical provider, I learned important lessons from this case, especially about how one should deal with patients. For example, Martha should have been treated with dignity regardless of her situation. Therefore, the case study has contributed to my learning, self-development, and practice in understanding dignity and respect.
Contribution to My Learning
As a healthcare, I have learned the value of applying ethical concepts during practice. Ethical values are universal rules of conduct that provide a practical basis for identifying what actions, intentions, and motives are valued. I discovered their significance by applying various ethical principles to Martha’s case. For example, the principle of benevolence presents the notion that providers should act to benefit patients, get rid of situations that can cause harm, and assist individuals with a disability. In addition, the case revealed to me that human rights should be incorporated into practice to enhance quality care. As a result, ethical or moral concepts help providers make informed decisions during care.
In addition, I learned the significance of integrating compassion and respect with communication during care. Compassionate communication is defined as the ability to express one’s thoughts and ideas with another person while empathizing with their sorrow and anxiety. This concept requires attentive listening as well as understanding verbal and nonverbal communication cues. When healthcare providers respect a patient, they will be obliged to share any information affecting their well-being. For example, in this case, if the carer respected and valued Martha, he or she should have explained to her the reason for not coming at 10 p.m. Therefore, the situation in the case showed me that a combination of moral conduct and communication is integral for quality care.
Self-development
From the case scenario, I discovered that I needed to work on my personality. I am supposed to work on my communication skills. I have to be a good listener, communicate clearly through speech and writing, respond to patients regularly, and adopt a positive attitude during care. I also require flexible thinking to make appropriate decisions and find solutions to patients’ problems. In this case, the carer needed flexible thinking to respond to Martha’s situation effectively. For example, the carer should have devised another strategy rather than coming at 10 p.m. against Martha’s wish and interest. In addition, I need to constantly learn all the ethical concepts to allow me to make appropriate decisions. I should also adopt a culture where a patient becomes my top priority during care.
Conclusion
For healthcare providers to provide quality care, they must understand the concept of dignity and respect for patients. In healthcare, dignity refers to providing care that promotes an individual’s self-esteem, recognizes their skills, and does not damage them. When people are treated with respect, it raises their value and self-worth while maintaining their dignity. Mutual respect and dignity are crucial concepts because they implement theories and policies. In this scenario, Martha is not treated with the respect she is due as a human being. The caregiver arrives at 7 p.m. rather than 10 p.m. to assist her in getting to bed. Beneficence, non-maleficence, code of ethics, and autonomy are ethical notions that describe the situations in the case.
References
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Græger, N., & Leira, H. (Eds.). (2019). The Duty of Care in International Relations: Protecting Citizens Beyond the Border. Routledge.
Johnstone, M. J. (2019). Bioethics: a nursing perspective (7th ed.). Elsevier Health Sciences.
Mertens, F., De Gendt, A., Deveugele, M., Van Hecke, A., & Pype, P. (2019). Interprofessional collaboration within fluid teams: Community nurses’ experiences with palliative home care. Journal of clinical nursing, 28(19-20), 3680-3690. Web.
Methangkool, E., Tollinche, L., Sparling, J., & Agarwala, A. V. (2019). Communication: is there a standard handover technique to transfer patient care? International anesthesiology clinics, 57(3), 35. Web.
Poorchangizi, B., Borhani, F., Abbaszadeh, A., Mirzaee, M., & Farokhzadian, J. (2019). Professional values of nurses and nursing students: A comparative study. BMC medical education, 19(1), 1-7. Web.
Simões, Â., & Sapeta, P. (2019). The concept of dignity in nursing care: A theoretical analysis of the ethics of care. Revista Bioética, 27, 244-252. Web.
Tate, P., & Frame, F. (2019). The doctor’s communication handbook. CRC Press.
Wettstein, F., Giuliani, E., Santangelo, G. D., & Stahl, G. K. (2019). International business and human rights: A research agenda. Journal of World Business, 54(1), 54-65. Web.
A professional is someone that must adhere to the highest standards of his profession. A high-level of professionalism does not only ensure quality output but also safety in the workplace and the sustainability of the operation because the professional will not do anything that would put the firm in a compromising position and negatively affect the reputation of his co-workers and even his or her employers.
The same applies to a pharmacist who works in an environment where he or she has access to drugs and other medical paraphernalia that can be used to help people or harm their health. A pharmacist must be mindful of three core values: advocacy, integrity, and respect.
A pharmacist must have an advocacy. A pharmacist is not another professional working behind a counter and dispensing drugs to customers. A pharmacist must believe in something and use that belief as inspiration for his or her actions. The pharmacist’s advocacy can be a guiding light that would enable the pharmacist to appreciate his or her role in this world beyond the repetitive aspect of the job.
In his or her spare time it is this advocacy that would guide in choosing the activities that can help promote responsibility among consumers. One of which is the advocacy to help people understand that it is wrong to abuse prescription medication and to exploit any loopholes in the system to abuse drugs that can be bought over the counter.
A pharmacist must have integrity in order to make the correct decision in times when he or she is in an ethical dilemma. Consider for instance if a relative approaches a pharmacist in order to buy a particular drug that requires prescription and yet this particular relative would like to buy this drug without any prescription in hand.
A pharmacist that does not have integrity would easily give in and sell the drugs to a relative or a friend.
More importantly, integrity is needed in this profession because a pharmacist is knowledgeable about some of the most intimate details of people. Just one look at the prescription medication the pharmacist already has an idea about the illness of the person and in this is the type of information that must be safeguarded in order to protect the privacy of the customers.
Respect is the final attribute that a successful pharmacist should possess. Respect means that a pharmacist does not only see people as mere customers – a means to earn a living. A pharmacist must look at customers as human beings that may or may not be in a personal crisis.
Consider for instance the woman who is buying medication to treat his son’s illness or the man who comes in to buy medicine for a cancer that is in remission. Thus, the people who comes to buy medicine has to be treated with respect, the pharmacist must be sensitive to what he says or do not knowing the kind of pain and suffering that a customer may have been going through at that time.
Conclusion
Advocacy, integrity, and respect are some of the major qualities that a professional must possess. When it comes to a pharmacist these three core values are indispensable. These core values can become a major part of a moral compass that would not only ensure success for the pharmacist but also guide him or her to stay in the right path.
These three core values enable a pharmacist to serve others while maintaining an environment that is safe and yet readily accessible for people needing help in perhaps the most difficult times of their lives.
Children should always obey their parents and adults at home and their teachers at school. They should never disrespect them or talk to them rudely and calmly listen to whatever they say. Children need to be tolerant towards their younger brothers and sisters and respectful towards older siblings. They should also treat their relatives and friends with the same respect. Children also need to learn to respect the things around them, like the environment and the animals. Children must never torture an animal just because they can. They should love them and if possible even feed them. They must always remember that just like them, animals have also been created by God and have equal rights to be on this planet. Children also need to learn how to appreciate nature since they are also a part of it. Children should never lie to anyone, be it their parents, friends, teachers, or other relatives. They should always tell the truth and not be afraid of the consequences. They need to understand that if they lie, even once then their parents or teachers will never be able to trust them ever again. Children need to thank God and their parents for everything that they have including good clothes, proper food, their education, books, and thus, for their entire life.
Children must attend school every day and pay attention in their classes if they want to soar ahead in life. They must never be late for school or unwilling to attend school. They should carefully listen to the teachings of their educators since it will help them in their examination too. Children must properly plan their lessons every day and try hard to come 1st in their class. Children need to realize that failure is not the end of everything. If they fail once in life, and not only in their examinations, they should understand that it was because they did not try their very best. So, for the next time, they should completely seize the opportunity and prepare themselves to the best of their capacity. Children must never fight with anybody, be it their classmates, siblings, or parents. They should not get involved in any bad habits like gambling or smoking and need to immediately give up all of their bad company since it will only hurt their own future.
Children must never speak in a vulgar manner with anybody or abuse them physically or verbally. This not only includes their human company but also animals. They need to be kind to everyone around them, love them and speak pleasantly and gently with them so as not to hurt anyone’s feelings. Children must play only when they do have to study and must never waste time doing something unnecessary. Children must always accompany their parents to the temples and worship wholeheartedly in front of the Gods. They must have both faith in God and confidence in themselves. Children should never hate anyone and always show kindness to everyone. They must help their parents with the house chores as much as they can. Children should always go to bed early and get up early in the morning so that they can get ready to go to school in time. They should not watch TV a lot and if possible should read a lot of books.
One day a teacher asked the students in class, “If there are any saps in here, will you please stand up?” After a moment of silence, one student stood up. The teacher asked him with a sneer, “Now then sir, why on earth do you believe you are a sap?” “Well, in fact, I don’t,” he responded, “but I hate to see you standing alone like this.” This funny experience which happened one day at the lecture on philosophy has already become an anecdote. It shows what may happen if free speech on campus is not actually based on mutual respect among all the participants of the educational process. Thus, there is no doubt that there should be limits set to establish healthy habits of free speech on campus. And I believe this standard is, first of all, a due respect among everybody. Reciprocal respect among the students and teachers should be a firm foundation for free speech on campus.
It is sad to say that many students and teachers abuse their right of free speech using it to offend, discriminate or hurt the others. In addition, they may spread false things about the other individuals or groups. However, such use of one’s right for freedom of speech contradicts basic notions which support this fragile harmony among people in our diversified reality. Therefore, academic setting should have limits of free speech allowed in it; otherwise, there will be numerous problems. Often, the participants of educational process come from the most varied cultures and backgrounds. This may lead to the most serious problems in their relationships which, in turn, may destruct them from educational process and thus, affect the very purpose of the person’s participation in it. So the importance is great in establishing reasonable limits of free speech on campus which are based on due respect to every participant of the education process, reasonableness and rationality.
Speaking about the proper limits of free speech in an academic setting, it should be stated that there must be some free speech rules developed and accepted in every educational establishment. First of all, every person is to understand that offensive speech is by no means allowed on campus. It causes conflicts and deprives the participants of the educational process of their joy and courage in accomplishing their academic tasks. So, I believe the set of rules concerning the free speech limits should feature such important categories as the necessity to respect cultural, national, political and religious peculiarities of every student and teacher, the need to respect the peculiarities of each person’s perception of the world and the importance to respect every individual’s personal beliefs and principles. In addition, this set should include restrictions on any speech that stimulates hatred or violence among any people participating in the educational process. All in all, hate speech is something that free speech on campus must never be about. What important details can be mentioned when it comes to hate speech and its definition?
Hate speech is any hurtful or abusive speech that causes violence and hatred among people on the reason of their ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, religious beliefs, political preferences and any other personal world perception peculiarities. Such speech only leads to damage and pain; it has no connection with the basic human values of respect, tolerance and liberality. When it comes to hate speech, I believe there is not even use to talk about the basic human right of freedom of speech and it’s violated by banning this sort of abusive speech. Speech is what makes a human being different from animals, what elevates a human being to the high position of the apex of all creation. Using speech to offend the living being equal to you has nothing in common with the elevated notion of the basic human right of freedom of speech.
Moreover, educational establishments are the places where students are trained to become a part of the world’s society. In case the notion of free speech on campus will be misinterpreted and evil ones will use their free speech policy to hurt others, what sad consequences this will lead to? Initially, this will be the hurt feelings, oppression and violence among the students, but further on, who knows what may happen. How did it happen that the saddest conflicts in the history of humanity started? What hate speech has in common with such evils as fascism, terrorism and many more? What if wise people including ingenious politicians and diplomats would not use their free speech to overcome the effects of hate speech?
Concluding on the information related above, it should be stated that free speech on campus should, by all means, reflect due respect among all the participants of the educational process. Thus, the anecdote mentioned at the beginning of the paper would have a very different interpretation and its prototype would never have happened in reality as the teacher would be more selective in addressing his students with questions and the students would be more careful with their sayings addressing somebody’s dignity.
This article is titled “New Respect is bestowed on Fiscal Policy” and it reveals how the fiscal policies of major economies have featured in the recession era. The article appears in the online publication of “The New York Times” and it is authored by a renowned business reporter. According to the article, the economic outlook of many developed countries is about to enter a period of uncertainty. The author of the article notes that unlike in the past, most countries are not afraid of experimenting with their fiscal policies.
Furthermore, the experimental fiscal policies that have been adopted by the world’s major economies have ushered in a period of unpredictable economic outcomes. The article also explores some of the fiscal policies that have been “used around the world since the 2008 economic crisis” (Kaletsky, 2014). Most of these ‘crunch time’ fiscal policies have revealed that governments’ decisions regarding public spending and tax rates have the biggest impacts on economic revival.
The author of this article also notes that after the 2008 economic crisis, most countries came up with fiscal policies that defied “rhetorical predictions of politicians and central bankers” (Kaletsky, 2014). The article indicates that when formulating fiscal policy, the decision to reduce public spending has always yielded negative results. On the other hand, countries that are going through a financial crisis benefit more if they ignore deficits in their economies.
Increased government borrowing has also emerged as a viable tool for dealing with economic recessions. The article concludes by noting that previously, it was assumed that Keynesian monetary policies were enough when dealing with economic crises. However, fiscal policies have emerged as the tools of choice when balancing global economic anomalies.
This article is closely connected to several economic principles and subjects including taxation, fiscal policy, government spending, and public debt. However, the author of the article explores how government spending is used as a tool of effecting fiscal policy. The article notes that fiscal policy is emerging as the most effective tool of dealing with any economic crisis. Nevertheless, the issue of government spending versus public spending is explored in detail by the author.
For instance, the article cites the examples of countries such as Britain, Japan, and the United States and their attempts to stabilize their economies by reducing public borrowing (Kaletsky, 2014). The article indicates that reducing public spending led these countries into bigger financial problems. Most economic theories present different opinions on the effectiveness of government or public borrowing during recessions.
Nevertheless, since 2008 it has become clear that fiscal policies have become broad enough to encompass various economic theories. Furthermore, modern fiscal policies have to be considerate of the private sector. In times of recession, the private sector does not always conform to the government’s fiscal policy. The effects of import and export markets also feature heavily in fiscal policy formulation. The article explores all possible angles of a government’s fiscal policy.
The issue of interest rates and fiscal policy is also highlighted by the article. According to the author, using interest rates to formulate fiscal policy is no longer viable because the rates are dropping to near zero. Consequently, it would not be possible for the government to adjust these rates further down as part of its fiscal policy.
The article presents an issue that is relatively new to the world of economics. Since the 2008 recession, some economic theories and principles have been greatly challenged. For example, the recession has put the fiscal policy burden on governments whilst other economic players such as central banks have assumed background roles. After 2008, the world witnessed the use of untested fiscal policies.
For example, the Japanese government has responded to the threat of a recession by coming up with a policy that seeks to “increase consumption tax” (Kaletsky, 2014). This radical move defies traditional fiscal policies. Consequently, the role of ‘the economist’ in the current economic climate has been redefined greatly. For example, economists are forced to disregard historical economic solutions and adopt creative solutions.
During the 2008 economic meltdown, countries that used past experiences to solve their current problems mostly failed. On the other hand, countries that embraced new and untested strategies achieved considerable success during the recession. The author of this article is keen to cover all possible angles of global fiscal policies. Nevertheless, the article should have delved into the future and explored the post recession economic climate.
At the beginning of the article, the author notes that it is difficult to predict the future of global economy. However, the article should have provided a glimpse of the future global economy. The reasoning behind this argument is that the article begins by exploring past economic events such as the 2008 economic crisis.
Therefore, it is justifiable to speculate how the post recession world will look like. In my view, the post recession world will not conform to any generic fiscal policies. Instead, fiscal deficits will require both internal and external stimulations.
Social harmony is a process of achieving peaceful coexistence between different parts of society. It is typically expressed through promoting love, peace, trust, admiration, respect, and equity upon everyone in society while pushing against discrimination based on gender, color, race, age, weight, and origin (Falcao, 2021). The US has come a long way to achieve a semblance of social harmony, having abandoned or pushed aside slavery, making ways to achieve gender equality, and opening up borders (Falcao, 2021). Nevertheless, there is still plenty of room for improvement. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate cultural acceptance in the US in connection to respect and provide means of increasing respect for other cultures.
Cultural Acceptance in the US
Cultural acceptance in the US has made a way from being a melting pot of cultures, where foreign ideas and beliefs were molded to adhere to the dominant European white paradigm, to respecting diversity. The most predominant cultures in the US are six, including Asian-American, Black-American, European-American, Hispanic, Indigenous, and Middle Eastern (Brookfield, 2018). European-American culture was and is the most dominant culture, though its influence dwindled over the years (Falcao, 2021). Black, Hispanic, Asian, and indigenous cultures have been increasingly celebrated and acknowledged in the US.
Middle-Eastern culture, at the same time, remains somewhat of a pariah among others due to its strong perceived association with tragedies that happened in modern US history. These include the 9/11 attacks, Boston bombings, and the recent retreat from Afghanistan, among others (Falcao, 2021). People identifying as Muslims face much disrespect in the US.
Causes for Loss of Respect
One of the major causes for the loss of respect between different US cultures lies in the fact that some cultures are different in significant ways that are not acceptable to others. While the ‘melting pot’ paradigm was discarded, a certain degree of assimilation is required to generate respect (Anker & Afdal, 2018). From a psychological standpoint, for individuals to respect their differences, they need to have enough in common (Brookfield, 2018). For example, Middle-Eastern cultures have strong religious influences, the tenets of which often clash with women’s rights. Treating women in the US the same way it is done in the Middle East can result in a loss of respect.
Other causes of disrespect are often tied to long-term relationships between different cultures. For example, Black and Hispanic cultures were suppressed by White European culture for a long time, and disrespecting it became a means of self-defense (Falcao, 2021). Likewise, the disrespect shown is being returned, resulting in a circle of disrespect. From a psychological perspective, such a circle is incredibly difficult to break because all sides feel justified in not giving respect to others, either for past or present misgivings (Brookfield, 2018).
Ways to Improve Respect for Other Cultures
Improving respect for other cultures requires breaking the cycle of disrespect currently in place. It is a long and time-consuming process, which requires all cultures to show respect to others. If only the dominant culture gives way and dedicates itself to respecting others while the rest do not reciprocate, it may result in a relapse and continuation of age-long feuds (Anker & Afdal, 2018). This can be seen in the US throughout the past half a decade, where representatives of European-American culture largely rallied behind Donald Trump, despite the country having a history of progressivism beforehand (Falcao, 2021). From a psychological perspective, harmony and unity can be achieved when all cultures adopt a degree of similarity to one another (common values) and put past grievances behind to advance into the future (Brookfield, 2018).
Conclusions
The US has come a long way in respecting different cultures and improving interactions between them. Still, parity is a long way away since European-American culture maintains a dominating position. Respect is a psychological phenomenon based on familiarity and willingness to accept differences. In order to achieve it, representatives of different cultures must find common ground and move on.
References
Anker, T., & Afdal, G. (2018). Relocating respect and tolerance: A practice approach in empirical philosophy. Journal of Moral Education, 47(1), 48-62.
Brookfield, K. (2018). ‘Building respect and changing cultures in the university community’: An account of research in progress. IMPact: The University of Lincoln Journal of Higher Education Research, 1(1), 1-14.
Falcão, G. (2021). Tradition and Innovation. CRC Press.
The organizations Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) had a long co-existence in the Boston health care market. Both the organizations have built up a good reputation and have solid accomplishments to add up to their credits. In many respects, both the organizations can be considered as rivals competing for patients, physicians, students and education programs, research funding, and clinical acumen. Even though the organizations have competing interests, one common aspect among them is the respect that each one carried for the other. Both of them recognized their strengths and differences. The interesting point in the merger of the two organizations is that the members of the two organizations had schooled together and had some existing collaborative arrangements for clinical, research, or educational programs. In December 1993, the two organizations united into one under the name and style of MGH/Brigham Health Care System Inc. After the lapse of a certain period of time, in 1994, the Boards of BWH and MGH accorded their approval to designate the MGH/Brigham Health Care System Inc as to the sole member of the corporation and renamed the organization as Partners Health Care System Inc. (PHCS).
Organizational Structure
There exists a number of ways in which collaboration between two organizations can be formed. One of the configurations is to form total integration of the two organizations to form an altogether new entity being a holding company. Under this concept, the two organizations retain their original identity. But they merge the support systems and the like to garner more negotiating power and efficiencies. This is the method adopted in the formation of Partners Health Care System Inc. With this concept, it was possible for both BWH and MGH to retain their original identity. Education and research programs were consolidated as the only consolidation of them would make sense. In order to accumulate more financial gains, support services were consolidated since such a move would provide more gains. The capital and operating budget processes were also consolidated to make them uniform, and all the information systems were made consistent in both organizations.
Clinical Integration
In any health care collaboration, clinical integration is considered to be a linchpin by many of the leading experts in the field. According to Boston Consulting Group (1994), when the consultants are brought to any newly merged organization, their advice would be to make a complete clinical integration as well as the consolidation of all respective support services. But in the case of PHCS, the organizational leaders did not go in for the option to integrate the clinical services. They had decided to integrate only a few programs. The programs were decided based on strong and defendable reasons only. Therefore PHCS decided to have a selective approach to clinical integration, and both the organization decided to retain complete clinical services at their respective sites. However, they decided to share the best practices at all sites for bringing improvement in clinical efficiency. However, the decision to remain selective was also made due to the reason that it was believed that both the organizations would remain stronger only when they remain clinically complete and distinct.
Change Management
Greiner (1998) observes that it is for any management to consciously introduce a planned structure so that the organization is prepared for continued growth during the initial periods when the organization is in an evolutionary stage. It is also vitally important that the management should possess the characters of self-awareness and strong interpersonal skills that enable the management to communicate the vision and the compelling need for change to the organizational members. The success of PHCS depended on the evolutionary approach is adopted. The transition committee appointed at the time of the merger of both the organization worked on structuring the organization that would enable efficient change management. The recommendations of the committee were further refined by the managers and other functional leaders. The organizations capitalized on the presence of internal competitiveness to encourage people to work together. This has made many of the leaders of BWH and MGH choose to remain employed within PHCS or BWG, or MGH. In a nutshell, PHCS leadership has successfully addressed Gulati’s success factors and Mattessich Murray-Close et al.’s twenty success factors. Apart from achieving these success factors, the actions of PHCS leaders seem to correspond with the eight leadership process of Kotter.
Financial Analysis
The financial health of PHCS, BWH, and MGH has shown continuous improvements throughout the period of transition. Each organization has performed well in terms of financials by producing revenues in excess of expenses as well as better income from operations. The organizations have performed satisfactorily even during the difficult years in the health care industry, which had become more competitive in the post-collaboration times. The following table indicates the financial performance of the organizations. The audited financial results for PHCS, BWH, and MGH show the following results:
Excess (Deficit) of Revenue over Expenses
Details
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
PHCS
81,598
72,396
89,988
52,184
36,463
123,443
83,544
BWH
33,429
25,723
31,807
19,287
14,502
17,959
15,901
MGH
25,215
43,041
65,162
49,859
9,061
89,597
59,492
Income (Loss) from Operations
Details
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
PHCS
13,512
5,773
21,173
(20,480)
(57,498)
1,359
47,970
BWH
8,101
3,228
8,871
6,647
(9,637)
5,214
20,214
MGH
12,019
20,388
43,772
36,031
3,024
49,352
43,722
Graphs: Created by Author
Conclusion
The reason behind PHCS choosing to follow a holding company approach is that the leaders at PHCS were aware of the power of the physicians, and they made a careful analysis of the costs and benefits of their decision. Their decision followed the observations of the Boston Consulting Group report, which contains an analysis of the economic areas of opportunity. The opportunities were found to be attractive with the consolidation of administrative operations. On the other hand, the consolidation of clinical services and support showed only moderate opportunities. It can be observed from the financial performance of PHCS that the holding company approach was the appropriate one to accomplish the goals of merger with the least amount of disruption. With this decision, the professional staff may not have any direct threat. Moreover, this approach also accomplishes the financial goals of the collaboration to be viewed as one entity from a managed care perspective. At the same time, the consumer would view them as separate organizations, which is ideal from a marketing point of view.
References
Greiner, L. E. “Evolution and Revolution as Organizations Grow” Harvard Business Review (1998): 3-11.
Gulati, R. (1998). “Alliances and Networks” Strategic Management Journal 19(4): 293-317.
Kotter, J. P. (1995). “Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail.” Harvard Business Review.
Mattessich, P. W., M. Murray-Close, et al. (2001). Collaboration: What Makes It Work: A Review of Research Literature on Factors Influencing Successful Collaboration St. Paul, Amherst H. Wilder Foundation.
Modern Office Suppliers is a new start-up in the company in Fujairah. This company is planning on offering a wide range of computer and office supplies to the business community. The company’s main office will be based in Fujairah and the management wants to open three stores throughout the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It also wants to create an online presence, so that UAE companies can buy their supplies online. The company founder has been strongly influenced by Staples, a US office supply store, and Amazon, an online store.
Project Proposal
Research Background
Marketing research is a well-discussed area. It an area on which many scholarly articles have been written. One approach which has been dominantly used, and which will be used in this research, in studying marketing, especially in regard to new start-ups, is by closely examining the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) of existing companies in the product area where a company is to be introduced. Carrying out of a SWOT analysis is a well-discussed area. In this paper, the SWOT analysis of Staples and Amazon will be carried out as Modern Office Suppliers is planning to operate in the manner that these two companies operate.
Research Objectives
The research objectives of this research project are:
To research both Staples and Amazon and perform SWOT analyses on these two.
To perform a SWOT analysis for Modern Office Suppliers based on the current business and economic climate in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
To write two questionnaires with the first questionnaire dealing with the products that will be dealt with in the physical store and the second questionnaire dealing with products that should be sold online.
To prepare an action plan
Research Methodology
The research will use primary and secondary resources. Secondary resources will be gathered from the internet. Reliable websites, scholarly journal articles, and books will be used. Primary data will be obtained through the use of questionnaires. There will be two sets of questionnaires with each set being given to at least 30 persons. Therefore is expected that at least 60 different views will be obtained through the questionnaires.
Action Plan
The action plan will depend on the finding of the project from both the primary and secondary research findings. Generally, the action plan will make a systematic recommendation on how Modern Office Suppliers will go about engaging in the UAE market. The vital recommendation will be made in regard to the physical stores as well as the online stores. The recommendation will also include a step-wise introduction of the three physical stores that the company wishes to start all over UAE.
Literature Review
Staples
Staples is known for selling office equipment and associated services. The company provides office equipment as well as expertise in services related to offices. It was founded in 1986 and has been steadily growing since then. It has a strong presence in 26 countries around the world. It is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts (Stemberg, 1996).
SWOT Analysis
Strength
The company has many branches in many countries. It operates in 26 countries around the world. This ensures that it has a wide market to supply (Staples, 2013).
It has entered into contracts with other partners. Currently, it has over 88, 000 associates worldwide. These associates ensure that the company products are all over and therefore greatly increase the coverage of the company (Staples, 2013).
It has a great public image (Staples, 2013). Because of this, it is easy for the company to enter new markets with less resistance and competition from already existing companies.
It has a strong financial backbone. Its yearly sales sum up to $25 billion (Staples, 2013). With this financial muscle, it is easy for it to expand and undertake aggressive sales promotion campaigns which will go a long way in the enlargement of its market share.
It has both physical and online stores. This ensures that it is able to take advantage of either side. Its website is quite interactive and easy to navigate through (Staples, 2013). This ensures that any online client visiting the websites is not put off and probably ends up making a purchase.
The company specializes in all office equipment and office related functions. It, therefore, acts as a single-stop shop for all the office requirements. This helps to save clients’ time and therefore increases the popularity of the store.
Weaknesses
Staples forms joint ventures with local companies that are well versed with the local market dynamics: for instance, it is in a joint venture with Pantaloon Retail. In this manner, it is able to increase and diversify its market share. However, in case of such a joint breakdown, Staples will not be in any position to enjoy such markets.
The company has formed contracts with so many associates. The company has to share some of the profits of its products with these associates thereby reducing its profits.
Opportunities
Staples has an international market, a good reputation, and financial stability. These can help the company to increase its operations to cover even larger areas. Its reputation enables the company to enter foreign markets in the confidence of succeeding.
It can take advantage of emerging markets where office equipment companies may take time to be started.
Threats
As the company keeps on growing fast, it is likely to fall into diseconomies of large scale operations. This may happen if the company opens up stores in localities where demand for office products is low.
International and local competition against Staples cannot be ignored. Companies such as Amazon pose formidable competition to Staples. Start-ups, for instance, ABC Company, may also be preferred in their localities over international companies such as Staples.
Amazon
Amazon is a multinational company which is headquartered in Seattle, Washington (Amazon, 2013). It is a renowned online retailer, actually the world’s biggest. The merchandise on sale through this store is quite varied. This store started operating in 1995 (Stane, 2012).
Strength
Amazon has built its name in online retailing. It is the most renowned online retail business and as a result, many people opt for it whenever they want to make purchases online (Van Ullen & Germain, 2002).
It has a wide distribution network of warehouses all over the world. This network makes it easy for the company to distribute products quickly to different parts of the world (Van Ullen & Germain, 2002).
It has rich diversified merchandise. Customers can almost get everything they want (Van Ullen & Germain, 2002).
Online businesses reduce some overheads compared to their physical store counterparts.
Weaknesses
Emerging online businesses specializing in a specific line of goods may take some of the markets from Amazon which seems to sell everything with no specialization.
There is a likelihood the company is affected by the diseconomies of large scale operation. This is a cause especially due to the breakdowns experienced in customer service (Chang, 2012).
Opportunities
The company offers merchandise that customers want.
The company is stable financially and can expand more to cover even larger areas.
Threats
Amazon prices are lower than most retailers (Arar, Larkin, & Bouman, 2007). In case there is a prize-lowering competition, Amazon may be forced to lower its prices further which may lead to losses.
Competition from other stores that combine the physical and online sell points is high. For instance, eBay has online stores as well as brick-and-mortar stores. With eBay, it is faster to get a product ordered as it can be easily picked from the physical store once it is ordered (Neely, 2008).
Online business is easy to enter. The company, therefore, is not completely insulated against the competition.
Methodology
Wise choice of a methodology is important in ensuring that the objectives of a research project are met (Raymond, 1992). For this project, the methodology chosen is that of obtaining information from both primary and secondary sources of information. Two companies, Staples and Amazon, will be studied and will act as case studies for this project. Staples is a physical store and the insights obtained from studying it will be implemented in the running of the physical stores of ABC Company. On the other hand, Amazon’s operation insights will also greatly influence the manner in which Modern Office Suppliers will run its online stores.
Primary information will be obtained through the use of questionnaires. There will be two types of questionnaires developed and a total of at least 60 persons are expected to be involved in filling the questionnaires. The views obtained from the questionnaires are likely to help in shedding light on the opportunities or threats that the new startup is likely to be confronted with. Secondary data will be retrieved from reliable websites, scholarly articles, and books. The currency of the secondary sources used will also be closely observed to ensure that only current views and facts which depict the current situation are presented. The company websites for Staples and Amazon will also be used as secondary sources of information.
Data Analysis
The information obtained from the questionnaires sent out was mostly words. As the questionnaires sought to find out the products which would be most preferred to be sold in the physical and online stores, the answers were in words. There were few calculations to obtain percentages for easy analysis. The copies of the questionnaires are attached in the appendices. The following sections are detailed discussions of the questionnaires.
Questionnaire One
This questionnaire was to find out the products that should be sold in the physical stores. 90 questionnaires were sent and only 37 were returned, that is, a return percentage of 41 percent.
Question one: This question sought to identify the main supplies of office equipment.
Farook International Stationery 68 %.
Al Gurg Stationery (AGS) 25 %.
Others 7 %.
These answers show that Farook International is highly recognized in the UAE. This is probably because it is has a strong presence and it has branches all over the country.
Question two: The second question sought to find out if office supplies companies enter into contracts with the clients they serve.
Yes 20 %.
No 80 %.
The implication here is that companies do not closely engage their clients. This is an area where Modern Office Suppliers can take advantage of.
Question three: Sought to find out whether the clients buy their office supplies with information storage devices at the same time.
Yes 70 %.
No 30 %.
Question four: This sought to find out the inclusion of toner cartridges with the office supplies.
Yes 80%.
No 20%.
Question five: This was to find out the problems that clients encountered in physical stores.
Yes 30 %.
No 70 %.
Question six: This was seeking an explanation to the answer given in question five, specifically, if the answer was yes.
The general views were that some stores did not have what the clients were looking for and some did not have specific lines of items that customers required.
Questionnaire two
The second questionnaire was to collect information that could in making the Modern Office Suppliers online store more strategic and in a position to address client needs more directly.
Question one: This question sought to find out the percentage of those who make online orders for their office supplies. Out of the 90 questionnaires that were sent out 44 were returned slightly below a 50 % return rate.
Yes 40 %.
No 60 %.
It is clearly a huge percentage of clients make their way to the physical stores showing that the online market is still wide.
Question two: This question was to find out the willingness of clients to use online services in the purchase of their office supplies.
Yes 56 %.
No 44 %.
Question three: This was to get the number of end-users required for training on the online application. One user was predominantly chosen.
Question four: This was testing on the frequency of use of credit cards to make purchases.
Yes 89 %.
No 11 %.
Question five: The answers were as follows.
Yes 10 %.
No 90 %.
It seems people do not like associating their credit cards with signing contracts.
Question six: The answers were as follows.
Yes 15 %.
No 85 %.
SWOT Analysis of ABC Company
From the data analysis above, the SWOT analysis for Modern Office Suppliers can be easily developed. The information collected from the questionnaires is helpful in determining the marketability of the products that the company wants to start selling.
Strength
Modern Office Suppliers is a new startup and therefore is quite flexible. It will be very easy to change the operations of the company to address the emerging needs of the customers. This might not be the case for the big companies which have specific ways of operating.
Weakness
Modern Office Suppliers is new and young and has no affiliation with the giants in the UAE market. As a result, it would take some time to pick up and get a portion of the market from the big and well-established companies.
Opportunities
The United Arab Emirates is relatively well off the country and starting a business in this region is likely to kick off well.
The startup has many role models including Staples and Amazon whose operation modes can be used to shape the operations of the startup.
As established through the views given in the questionnaires, there is a good market for office equipment in the United Arab Emirates.
Since the client has probably not swelled up, the management team has the chance of ensuring that the few clients are managed well so as to create a cutting edge image of the company.
Expanding Modern Office Suppliers to cover the whole of UAE as per the plans of the management will help the company to capture a wide market. Since it is planning to offer online services as well, the three outlets planned to be opened can serve as outlets thus it will be possible to reach all customers all over the UAE.
Threat
There are established office supply companies operating in the UAE. They include Al Gurg Stationery (AGS) which was started in 1982. AGS has over 6,000 branded products and operates both physical and online stores. Another well-established company in this line of business is Farook International Stationery which was started in 1980 and has grown to own 3 factories and with over 350 employees.
Action Plan/Recommendation
It has to be noted that Modern Office Suppliers is engaging in a line of business that is highly competitive. Within the context of the UAE, there are many established office supply companies. Modern Office Suppliers will probably not have easy entry into this market. The following is a recommended action plan which the company can use to grease its entry into the UAE market.
The action I: Aggressive Marketing Campaign
The company must engage in an aggressive marketing campaign to announce its presence. The campaign does not necessarily have to be expensive and can make use of social interaction networks such as Facebook, Twitter, etc. An interactive website is a must for an online business to be successful. Modern Office Suppliers therefore must engage a creative web design to develop an interactive company website. For the physical stores, it is recommended that they are decorated to give them a unique outlook. Nice physical appearances are important in luring people to shops.
Action II: Quality Service
The company should ensure that every single client attended to is fully satisfied. Word of mouth and refers are very important for a startup in creating a client base.
Action III: Sensibility and Flexibility
ABC management should be very sensitive to the client’s needs. Equally, it should be flexible to accommodate these needs. Sensitivity to customer needs and flexibility to accommodate them will endear the company to the customers. This is very important taking into consideration that the company is competing against established companies.
Conclusion
This report has discussed the way forward for ABC Company. The company is a startup in the UAE and wishes to engage in supplying office equipment through physical stores as well as online. It has been pointed out that the competition in the UAE is stiff taking into consideration that there are well-established office supply stores in this region. It has been suggested that the company should start slowly and pick up gradually through referrals. In order to achieve this, the company should engage in aggressive market campaigns, offer quality services, and be sensible to customer demands. The physical appearances of the physical stores should be pleasing and as well the website for the online store should be interactive.
Neely, D. (2008). Haul And Pull Up: History, Mento And The Ebay Age. Caribbean Studies, 36(2), 95-120.
Raymond, J. C. (1992). Population Estimation and Projection: Methods for Marketing, Demographic, and Planning Personnel. New York, NY: Greenwood Publishing Group.
Stane, A. (2012). A Brief Introduction to Amazon.com Inc., Its Founder, Key Executive and Main Products. New York, NY: Greenwood Publishing Group.
Staples. (2013). Corporate Profile. Staples. Web.
Stemberg, T. S. (1996). Staples for Success: From Business Plan to Billion-Dollar Business in Just a Decade. New Jersey, NJ: Cengage Learning.
Van Ullen, M. K., & Germain, C. (2002). Business as Usual: Amazon.com and the Academic Library. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 28(5), 319.
Appendices
Office supply questionnaire I
Name of Agency:
Contact Person:
Mailing Address:
E-mail Address:
Phone Number:
Fax:
What is your current office supply vendor?
Farook International Stationery
Al Gurg Stationery (AGS)
Others
Are you under a contract with any office supply vendor?
Yes
No
Do you include data processing supplies with your office supply ordering (CDs, flush disks etc)?
Yes
No
Do you include toner cartridges with your office supply ordering?
Yes
No
Do you specific problems with the current stores from which you buy your office supplies?
Yes
No
If yes, briefly explain.
Office supply questionnaire II
Name of Agency:
Contact Person:
Mailing Address:
E-mail Address:
Phone Number:
Fax:
Do you currently order your office supplies on-line?
Yes
No
If not would you be willing to do so under a new contract?
Yes
No
If yes how many end-users would require training on-line ordering system?
Do you currently process payment using a credit card?
Yes
No
If not, would you be willing to do so under a new contract?
