The Meaning of Life free essay sample

I believe the meaning of life is to give life a meaning. Throughout my entire life, I have wondered what the purpose is. Why am I and every other human being even on this planet in the first place? That brings me to my next question. Is there a God? If there is, why did he put us here? Any Christian asked will say our sole purpose is to serve God. First of all, what does that even mean? And second, I must ask why? Why would a supernatural being place us strategically on this planet strictly to serve him? That sounds pretty selfish to me. There has to be something more. Something concrete. Something greater. How could there not be? All my life I have worked hard to succeed. I have challenged myself and fought to do better than my best. Why? I asked myself. Why stress so much when I’m only going to die in the end? Pessimistic, I know. We will write a custom essay sample on The Meaning of Life or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Finally, I thought, maybe the meaning of life doesn’t have to be so complex. Maybe the meaning of life is whatever we want it to be. Maybe the meaning of life is to give life a meaning. I do what I do because I want to do it. It’s that simple. I do it because it means something to me. Everyone adds their own meaning to life. The meaning of life is never universal. The meaning of life is never complex. The meaning of life is actually quite simple to think about. Many people help the needy. Others play sports. Both activities add meaning to those lives involved. Purposes change, but the overall meaning of life will always stay the same. The meaning of life is simply to give life a meaning. This I believe. The Meaning Of Life free essay sample â€Å"The Meaning of Life† is an excerpt from Richard Taylor’s book Good and Evil: A New Direction, with this book Mr. Taylor was thought to have adopted a radical subjectivist view of ethics. In this excerpt he explains why existence and life is meaningless and he sheds light into the meaning of life. Throughout his explanations Richard uses an example from an ancient Greek myth. The myth is about Sisyphus a Greek man who offended the gods and was sentenced to roll a large stone up a hill for all of eternity. We will write a custom essay sample on The Meaning of Life or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Richard starts his explanation of the â€Å"Meaningless of Existence† with the toils of Sisyphus. Sisyphus is forced to roll a stone up a hill, when it is near the top the stone will roll back down and he is forced to roll it up again, only to have it fall once more to be rolled up again and again for all of eternity. It is Sisyphus’ punishment that we will focus on. Sisyphus is the picture of a â€Å"meaningless, pointless toil of a meaningless existence that is absolutely never redeemed†(Taylor, Richard). He has lost all purpose in life except to roll a stone; it is a never ending nightmare that he will never awaken from. Taylor gives other examples of meaningless tasks, a relay styles race with a precious gem transported back and forth in a never ending cycle, and a digging hole only to be refilled with the same earth. The points to all this is that all these tasks are pointless and without meaning. The story could be different and Sisyphus can have meaning if he circumstance were different, if Sisyphus rolled stone to the top and all the stone accumulated into a wonderful and enduring temple, he would have some meaning to his labors. If the gods as an after thought made it so that Sisyphus’ only will and desire was to roll stone, then Sisyphus would perhaps take enjoyment in his task. This change in his perception does not change his task at hand; it only changes his perspective. His is still condemned to an eternity of meaningless and pointless labor. Therefore the existence of Sisyphus is meaningless, the labor that he performs leads him nowhere, and everything that he does is in vain. The world would be the same with or without his presence. The next section deals with the meaningless of life, he begins this section by explaining what meaningless and meaningfulness is: â€Å"Meaningless is essentially endless pointless and meaningfulness is therefore the opposite. †(Taylor, Richard) for this section he cites ugly blind worms in a New Zealand cave. These worms have the soul purpose of waiting, feeding, transforming into winged adults only living a day or two, mating, laying eggs and finally dying. This example shows us the meaning of life, an endless cycle that accumulates to nothing, and the â€Å"point of living is evidently nothing but life itself. † (Taylor, Richard) We as humans differ form this only a little. We have goals that we work for; once they are completed we set off after another goal, all this work goes to family and home, only to beget others who will follow in the same foot steps in a cycle. Even though we are stuck in a cycle of endless meaningless toil we look to religion, universal justice, brotherhood or any sort of ever lasting good that we may aim for. The last part of this excerpt is the â€Å"meaning of life† we return to the story of Sisyphus who in this example has completed his beautiful tower and is now faced with eternal boredom, before he was faced with the nightmare of pointless activity now he is faced with the hell of eternal absence and boredom. This leads into his explanation that the meaning to our lives is â€Å"our own wills, our deep interest is what we find ourselves doing†(Taylor, Richard). Even though our existence is short and our toils fade we can hold memories of the past. The point of living is to continue what we are doing because giving up and doing nothing would be no salvation. The resolution to this excerpt is that we live life because our will is to live and build castles for our children so they can build castles for theirs. This question of living has puzzled philosophers for centuries, I have also come across this question, with my reasoning I could not figure it out, for if, great philosophers couldn’t then how could I? Mr. Taylor’s views are interesting and some of what he says does make sense. The myth of Sisyphus is the focal point of Richard Taylor’s reasoning the meaning of life; he explains Sisyphus eternal punishment in detail. Richard also gives other scenarios of Sisyphus’ task, if his labors accumulated into a beautiful tower or if he was some how made to enjoy rolling stones. I agree that in a way all ours lives are like that of Sisyphus’ toil. A cycle of endless toil, we work towards our little goals and glimpse of happiness, which are sure to fade over time. The meaningless of life is explained in the second section; Richard uses two insects to show the meaningless of life, the glow worms and the cicadas. Richard states that there is no meaning to life because it is an endless cycle of pointless and meaningless events. At the moment our goals may seem a great deal of importance in our lives but in the end all our toils are pointless and meaningless in the end. I understand this point in his explanation but I disagree, I think a person can find meaning in every ting they do. It is true that this meaning doesn’t last forever but the pleasure we take from everyday life and experience is well worth it. I don’t believe that everything is meaningless in life just because we all die in the end. I believe that it’s not the end of ones life that is important; it’s the journey that one takes through life. It is the accumulation of everyday happiness that makes our lives worthwhile. There is an old saying that the end of a journey is not important, it is the lessons we learn along the journey that counts. In the last section of the excerpt is the meaning of life, Richards explains that we live life because of our own will. I also agree with this, living life with a purpose and a will is much better compared to living a life of doing nothing and boredom because we know it eventually ends. I have very optimistic views of human life; I believe that everyone’s life has a meaning and a purpose. If a person is dying of cancer and has only a few months left, but a doctor performs an operation and saves him, he will have meaning to live again and he will cherish the rest of his life, sure he will die eventually but presently he will be grateful to live and he will give the doctor a reason to continue what he is doing. In my opinion the reason we live is for experience, we live to learn and experience new things. Like that old saying about the journey and the end, it is the process of the journey that is important. We live life not thinking about our deaths, we live it for the experiences that each day brings.

Leon Walras essays

Leon Walras essays What is the role of money in Walras' general equilibrium and what determines the demand for it? Leon Walras is considered by many as the founder of the modern theory of general economic equilibrium. Money and its valuation is an important element in his Elements of Pure Economics of 1874. Money can be defined most basically as one type of circulating capital; the other is circulating physical capital. In this short essay, both the role of money in Walras' general equilibrium and how the demand for money is determined will be treated. Walras asserted that circulating physical capital yields utility according to its service of availability, that is, to the degree that it is readily available. Money likewise provides a service of availability as the commodity that physical capital is destined to purchase, and it yields the same amount of utility as physical capital. The service of availability that money provides and consequently its utility is, in my opinion, the essence of Walras' theory of money. Although he assigned other roles to the use of money as a medium of exchange and as an element of production for entrepreneurs, these roles are encompassed by service of availability. By yielding services of availability, money does improve utility and therefore must be placed in the consumer's utility function. Walras treated money as analogous to capital. Capital, he recognized, is not a regular commodity. It is not desired for itself, but is rather a facilitator of 'intertemporal' production and thus allocation. It is demanded insofar as it provides this service. [Capital goods] are demanded because of the land-services, labour and capital-services they render, or better, because of the rent, wages and interest which these services yield (267). Similarly, money is not desired for itself. It rather provides a stream of services in the form of overcoming transaction costs or permitting the temporal break-up of purchases and sale...

The University of Pennsylvania Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The University of Pennsylvania - Essay Example I also respect the University of Pennsylvania’s philosophy in education which is concerned with the preparation of dental students in many roles of dental practitioners such as; â€Å"scientist, clinician, artist, teacher, engineer, and business manager.† I believe this philosophy will allow me to receive an all encompassing education in dentistry which will provide me with the background needed to succeed in dentistry and achieve my goals as a health professional. The wide network of the institution reflects its commitment to reach and provide a quality health care to the surrounding community at large as well as provide an opportunity to the students to be compassionate with the patients, develop leadership skills and professionalism while at the same time building up creativity and love in a just way. It serves as a center for training students to become outstanding dentists who can influence the community with goodwill, passion and commitment.The institution also em braces and encourages an environment of discovery and promotes a global view of dentistry which is increasingly important for dental practitioners. Since the 21st century, there have been various technical developments in every field and the dentistry field has also benefitted from this advancement in technology. The students at this institution are given the opportunity of doing research and the results of various researches have helped America to be a force to reckon with in giving good oral health to its citizens.

Business Ethics and Virtue Ethics 3 SLP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Business Ethics and Virtue Ethics 3 SLP - Essay Example It is also seen in the fair representation of divergent views by respecting both merits and demerits. It encompasses such aspects as impartiality, fidelity and equity. Justice can always be viewed in various dimensions. In the context of harmony, justice refers to receiving an equivalent share depending on the efforts we place on an undertaking. In this respect justice is seen as a way of mitigating any misunderstanding that might arise out of inappropriate allocations. In another respect, justice emerges as a divine command that drives the conduct of humanity (Jost & Wuerth, 2011). For instance, killing somebody is wrong and should therefore be punished. It is therefore one of the moral principles that is normally intended to enhance peace and coexistence in the world. In virtue ethics, justice in this respect is quite important as a way of promoting the highest morals and principles (Gavai, 2010). In essence all the theories of justice advocate the fact that everyone should actuall y receive what they deserve in life. For instance things like wealth and social status should always be distributed in a way that matches the respective merits of individuals. More importantly, the distribution of wealth should always match the overall contribution of an individual to the social good (Hooft, 2006). The concept of justice is normally closely associated with an element of fairness in dealings. It connotes the impartial distribution of resources in a way that limits any cases of dissatisfaction. In this regard, everyone should have the liberty to enjoy all the basic rights accorded to humanity. Kindness is also one of the most important aspects in virtue ethics and refers to the condition of being kind and characterized by charitable and good behavior (Michalos, 2011). It is also seen as a way of showing concern and disposition for others. While kindness is essentially a virtue, it is normally recognized as a value in the context of religions and cultures. In any case, acts of kindness normally benefit both the receivers and the givers. To the giver, it is more about feeling a sense of contentment and relaxation out of doing well to others (Hendry, 2004). In most cases kindness is seen as the ability and willingness of helping someone in need not in return for anything. The basic concept here is the need to help the other person. Kindness as a virtue is certainly very important in all aspects of life. The element of being kind can greatly enable somebody to achieve a lot of respect and mileage in many situations. In this case, kindness is always encouraged in most cultures and religions as a ways of enhancing peace, harmony and coexistence among the various societies and communities in the world (Crisp & Slote, 2004). Honesty is also part of the moral character that is normally encouraged and highly regarded in life. The aspect of being honest connotes the attributes of integrity and truthfulness as opposed to deceit and telling lies. In this cas e, honesty encompasses straightforwardness without such aspects like theft or cheating. It is a way of encouraging people to always tell the truth since it is one of the ways of avoiding many vices in life. In an organizational setup, the element of virtue ethics is certainly very important in promoting business ethics and enhancing the proper coordination of

ENG Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

ENG - Essay Example A speech community can also develop from sharing lifestyles, hobbies and interests. People are often members of more than one speech community as they traverse from childhood to adulthood. Multiplexity is a degree of the types of relationships among members in a community. It is an important aspect of speech communities derivative from observing the ways in which persons are related. Each of these communities has their identity, culture, rules of membership that an individual has to adapt to. This essay seeks to identify a person’s journey across and between speech communities from childhood to adulthood. At childhood, a child is born to a speech community, the family. It is the basic speech community that the child has to adapt to their rules of membership, language and cultures. The family members share a language pattern that the child must adapt to. From the brothers, sisters and parents a child develops this language. The child grows up learning the language pattern the f amily members teaches them. The family dictates the speech norms, and as a child, the individual grows knowing that this is the language pattern they have to follow. The network strength in this community is based on family ties. The strength is strong since the family has a close-knit nature. The family has a low multiplexity level since it includes members with bloodily ties. After the family, the child starts attending school. At this stage, the child witnesses many speech communities. This depends on their characters and the activities they participate in school. In class, there exists a speech community between the teacher, the pupil and fellow pupils. In this community, the members use a formal language pattern with simple vocabularies. The members also have formal ties that relate to the curricular. This speech community has a specific language pattern that all the members have to adhere to. The density of the network strength is loose between the pupils and the teacher. Howe ver, between the students, they share a strong network density. Multiplexity level in this community is regular in the sense that the teacher may be one of the pupil’s parent and a relative to a fellow student. At school, the individual develops a friendship with peers either in class or during extracurricular activities. This friendship is based on sharing a common interest and hobbies. The friendship develops into a speech community where a group of friends shares the same language pattern. The social network in this community is dense since the members share ideas and interactions at a regular basis (Wardhaugh 120). Multiplexity is also common since, in this friendship circles, the members can be related. In this community, there exists a speech norm that each member enjoys and understands. Although the members differ in personal characteristics, they share the same hobbies and interest. For instance, it is common that members of this speech share the same genre of music. This community can be from adolescence to early teenhood. From teen hood to adulthood, the individual meets up a new speech community. This is usually in institutions of higher learning. The first speech community is in class depending on the course the person is studying. This speech community is different from junior and senior school. At this stage, the vocabulary is complex, and the language is very formal. There exists a mutual relationship between the lecture or professors and

Why Governments Regulate The Health Care Industry Economics Essay

Why Governments Regulate The Health Care Industry Economics Essay In the first part of the essay we define market failure and look at the model of perfect market, we then compare this with health care market and find out the causes or factors that results in failure in the health care market. In the second part we will look at the ways governments in four different countries have intervened to ensure that the causes of the market failure are corrected. Market failure can defined as a situation whereby there is a failure to achieve an efficient allocation of resources within the market economy. A fundamental problem with the concept of market failure, as economists occasionally recognize, is that it describes a situation that exists everywhere (Nelson, 1987; Dahlman, 1979). There are different kinds of market that exist in the society with the perfect market and monopoly at the extremes and the others in between this spectrum. Perfect Market The perfect market model also referred to as a perfect competition is the most important model because it serves a benchmark from which other kinds of market can be viewed. The main objective of any firm in the market is to maximise profit and the price of the goods and services are determined by market forces. The perfect market is based on the following assumptions; There is full information, The transactions are impersonal, There are no barriers to entry or exit, There are many buyer and sellers, and they cannot influence the market price, The products are homogenous which means that the buyers cannot differentiate between products. Finally the goods are private goods. Why is health care market different? The first reason for this is that health care is a public good which is different from a private good as seen in the perfect market model, public good has two features, non-rivalrous which means that the use of it by one person does not stop another from benefitting from it, and it is non-excludable this means it will difficult to prevent people from enjoying the benefits. With public good there is what is known as a free-rider problem people will not pay for them because others are willing to pay for them. The nature of public goods poses a problem for the market because the private sector will not make a profit from their provision since everyone can enjoy it whether they pay or not. Health care is also a public good and under provision of it also leads to market failure. Health care is also a merit good that society values and believes that people should have them because consumption is believed to generate positive externalities-this will be discussed in the next paragraph as we ll as other causes of market failure. Causes of market failure in health care 1. Externalities Externalities also referred to as third-party effects occur when others are affected by the transaction arising from the production and consumption of health care for which the costs or benefits are not taken into account.The core of the argument against market failure analysis is derived from the study of transactions. (Zerbe et al p7).Whenever there is a transaction externalities are known to occur which leads to transaction costs. This is defined as the resources necessary to transfer, establish and maintain property rights. The property rights was developed by R H Coase where he stated that individuals form firms to reduce transaction costs. Externalities may arise in different ways and they may be either positive (beneficial) or negative (harmful), and can be during production or consumption. Examples of negative externality is smoking which results in external costs on a third party passive smoking and also alcohol ingestion can lead to antisocial behaviour. Vaccination agains t infectious diseases is a form of positive externality where an individual is certain of protection by the consumption of another person. An example of external cost of production is via pollution from an industry and external benefits of production is the patent rights given to firm that discovered a new drug, stopping all other firms from copying the products. When there are externalities in health care this will not lead to a perfect market hence market failure will occur. The externalities discussed so far can be referred to as selfishly motivated. There is externality referred to as caring externality which occurs when individuals get personal satisfaction from knowing that a person is getting the health care they need. Externalities are around us every day but they are not taken into account whenever there is a transaction, this is because property rights are not well defined. Health care is not owned by anyone so therefore there is economic incentive to protect it and the on ly way the property rights can be well defined and protected will be through government regulation e.g. by banning smoking in public places and also making vaccinations compulsory. Even with government legislation it is difficult to achieve this. (Zerbe,1976,1980;Medema and Zerbe,1999a),in a world in which property rights are fully specified and in which transaction costs are zero, the allocation of resources will be efficient. This kind of world does not exist, this is an indication that market failure will always occur. 2. Imperfect information Economics is concerned with the efficient use of limited productive resources for the purpose of attaining the maximum satisfaction of our material wants (Jackson and McConnell, 1985, p3), this involves transacting parties utilising these resources to meet and satisfy their wants. This is based on the assumption that the parties have full information about the goods and services being bought or sold and also about each other. These assumptions describe a market where there is perfect information (Stiglitz, 1993).In the health care there is imperfect information and/or information asymmetry. Information asymmetry can be defined (using the acquisition of health insurance as a classical example) as situation whereby client that wants to get a health insurance has more detailed information about himself than the insurance company. Imperfect information is the case of a physician who has more knowledge than patients. The uncertainty of illness and the cost of it when it arises is one the principal reasons for taking health insurance. Two problems arise whenever there is insurance cover; these are adverse selection and moral hazard. Information asymmetry and adverse selection was first described by George Akerlof in his article, The market for lemons: Quality, Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism. Adverse selection is often referred to as a hidden information problem in a market, where for example sellers may know more about a product than a customer. (Estrin and Laidler). During the 1980s, when HIV/AIDS was first discovered insurance companies suffered from adverse selection as a lot on individuals with this disease took increased insurance cover without disclosing their status. This led to the suggestion that genetic testing should be used for individuals who may wish to acquire health insurance.The concept moral hazard was first defined by the French economist Dreze in 1961 (Mooney 1994, p 135), but it is often described as a hidden action because it results in be havioural changes in patients once their expected losses are covered by health insurance. Ehrlich and Becker (1972) distinguished between ex ante and ex post moral hazard. The former occur in a healthy state when individuals can engage in preventive care such as regular exercises and good eating habits and the latter when the individual is ill, but since the health be it taxation or other forms of health insurance which allows a subsidise price or free at the point of use, there is a greater demand by the patient than it will be if the patient was to pay all the costs. Donaldson and Gerard (1993, p 31), comments,thus, the market fails to transmit efficient price signals to consumers. Donaldson and Gerrard (1993) identified two types of provider moral hazard. They identify moral hazard by doctors who are identifiable actors in the health care system and also moral hazard by hospitals. Doctors are known to act on behalf of the patients both as the demander and supplier of services and do not account for the cost. First on the supply side they are the provider of health care and on the demand side there is information asymmetry. There are different reimbursement which affects doctors attitudes and two that affects the patients attitudes ( charges to patients, private practice).Provider moral hazard occurs most commonly with the fee-for-service (FFS) reimbursement doctors are paid on the quantity of services; more services will result in a higher income. Therefore there is a financial incentive for physicians to provide care in excess of what the patients may require if they had full information. There is not much literature on hospital moral hazard so this can be a n area for future development. 3. Imperfect competition The perfect market provide the best means of making sure that the economy is efficient by encouraging firms to compete and also creating choice. These conditions for efficiency serve as a benchmark to help identify sources of allocative inefficiency referred to as market failures. But in the real world the perfect market does not exist as Hausman argued, when taken literally, the notion of market failure is of little relevance, because perfectly competitive equilibrium, the benchmark against which market fail, does not obtain. Despite this the competitive market have been used on the assumptions on which it was formed, as Amelia Fletcher, Director of Markets and Policies Initiatives commented, Competition is a rivalrous process, in which firms compete effectively to give the consumers a better deal. The question is that is this obtainable in health care with the uncertainty that surrounds ill health? The first problem here is the limited information has about the outcomes and benefit s of various medical treatments. Individuals rarely have the same illness over time so there is little opportunity to acquire information and even on those with long standing chronic illness like diabetes who may have information. The changing world of advanced technologies means that there will be information disparities. Oligopoly is the dominant market model in health care and McPake and Normand (2008, p 141) noted, the key feature of an oligopoly is that the decision made by one firm depends on the decision made by other firms, i.e. there is a high degree of interdependence between firms. Thus there may be incentives for hospitals to collude which results in adverse outcomes for the society. It is generally accepted that competition works best when there is excess capacity, but in health care there is excess demand. 4. Inequality and poverty An individual ability to purchase health care depends upon his income to a large extent. In standard economic theory its the ability and willingness to pay that determines how resources are maximally utilised but this does not happen in the real world as we have noted from previous sections in this essay. Goodwin (2005) commented that, hospitals make demand and other raw materials from suppliers with the expectation that the final products will be bought by consumers-the demand by consumers are those backed by the consumers ability to pay. So what is important in a perfect market is effective demand i.e., there is distribution of resources to meet the basic human needs. Therefore if for example few wealthy people desire a particular commodity and many poor people lack money to purchase basic health needs then the market will be stimulated to create those commodities for the rich, hence the market will fail. Government intervention and regulation of health care market From our discussion it can be seen that intervention is necessary to counteract the causes of market failure as well as the consequences such as adverse selection and moral hazard. Boadway and Wildasin (1984, p 61) suggest that, while typically the remedy for market failure due to public goods is for the public sector to provide the good, the remedy for externalities is often to provide incentives to the private sector to produce the correct amount. We will examined detailed evidence from four countries: the United Kingdom (UK), the United States of America (USA),France and Finland to ascertain how they intervene and regulate their health care systems. Methods of government intervention 1. State provision One of the main ways of solving market failure is through public funding of the health service. In the UK, France and Finland hospitals are funded through taxes but in UK it is through general taxation while France and Finland use a social insurance system. This system ensures universal coverage for the population, prevents exploitation of patients by monopoly of providers. The main problem is the issue moral hazard which is more common in publicly tax funded system in UK than the social insurance system of Finland and France. In the UK the issue of moral hazard is controlled by using gatekeepers, waiting lists, waiting times. In France and Finland price mechanism is used to deter moral hazard. Compared to the USA where it is more of private insurance, co-payments, deductibles and medical savings account schemes have been used as ways of reducing moral hazard. Donaldson and Gerard (1993, p 72) argued that, even the US health care system recognises the shortcomings of a total reliance upon market forces. The main form of government regulation there is in the form of insurance schemes for elderly people (Medicare) and indigent people (Medicaid). But in the USA, adverse selection is very common and it also occurs in UK but to a lesser extent, but this is almost non-existent in the social insurance system (France and Finland). 2. Taxation and subsidies Imperfections in the market lead to inefficient allocation of resources and this leads to negative or positive externalities. Taxation is used to discourage certain behaviours like monopolising and overpricing and subsidies can help to reduce the cost of paying for merit goods like health care. Governments in all four countries for example in order to reduce the negative externalities caused by smoking introduced taxes for the purchase for cigarettes and also legislate that companies should advertise the dangers of smoking on the pack of cigarettes sold.Antirust legislation are passed in all four countries e.g. law prohibiting the formation of monopolies and preventing imperfect competition. 3. Regulation Dolan and Olsen (2002), commented that there is constant pressure for more spending in most health services around the world, therefore policy makers have to impose regulatory measures on the providers of services to achieve efficient allocation of the resources. Regulation can be through price control, quality control e.t.c. Regulation of pharmaceuticals is one area where most of government intervention occur, for example in the UK, the National Institute of Clinical Excellence(NICE) issues guidelines on which drugs are approved and can also be used. Also sets a ceiling on how much the cost should be but one main disadvantage is that it can exclude the use of new and effective treatment because of the costs. In USA there is the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) which also a regulatory body. In France there is the Agence Francaise de Securite Sanitaire des Produits de Sante (AFSSAPS), and in Finland the National Agency for Medicines. 4. Cost benefit analysis Government intervention must take into account the cost benefit analysis, if the benefits are more than the costs. Then the government should collect taxes and provide the good. Government failure Government failure can occur when mechanisms put in place to improve the market failure worsens the situation and lead to inefficiency and inequity in the health care and also create distortion. The following can result in government failure; 1. Inefficiency of State provision In all four countries political self interest can lead to inefficiency and worsen the market failure already present because politicians can design policies to retain power rather than maximise efficiency. In France and Finland the taxation is usually higher and results in more expenditure and in the UK the citizens do not know how much is been used for health care and other sectors of the economy. 2. Changes in government policies In the USA insurance firms can find it difficult to plan without knowledge of taxes, subsidies e.t.c and this will lead to inefficiency. 3.Free markets usually leads to more efficient provision of health care(USA as an example) which allows the law of demand and supply to determine how the market works 4. Lack of incentives Undesirable incentives usually create inefficiencies, for example in France where doctors are paid by salary in some hospitals this will lead to inefficiency. 5. Lack of information Government can lack information just as much as the market because most times the government do not know what kind of health care the consumer really needs and provides this based on the information they have and may not even know the full costs/benefits of the policy. 6. Bureaucracy Most times procedures of the government are usually cumbersome and this cuts across all the four countries. Governments respond more slowly to changes and also the time it takes from planning to implementation may cause policies to be ineffective. Conclusion Market failure is known to exist in all market economy and the health market is not an exception. It has been shown that there reasons why health care market may not work efficiently, thereby necessitating government intervention. Health care is a public good and coupled with the externalities and information gaps are causes of market failure which requires correction but a sufficient justification for government intervention. Intervention is known to be costly, so therefore for it to be effective a cost-benefit analysis to suggest it is worthwhile needs to undertaken to avoid government failure which lead to market failure in itself.

John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath and William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury :: essays papers

John Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath, and William Faulkner’s novel, The Sound and the Fury Throughout history, many devastating economic, social, and environmental changes have occurred causing people to rise and overcome immense odds. In the 1930s, The Great Depression and the Dustbowl Disaster, a drought with horrific dust storms turning once-fertile agricultural lands of mid-America into virtual wastelands, forced thousands of destitute farmers to pack their families and belongings into their cars in search of agricultural work in central California. Years of degradation stemming from the end of slavery beginning at the conclusion of the Civil War destructed the old southern aristocratic families. These different external influences impact on the characters is seen in John Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath, and William Faulkner’s novel, The Sound and the Fury. Steinbeck illustrates and advocates drastic external changes in the economy and life style of the downtrodden migrants, as he follows the Joad family from Oklahoma to California. Faul kner depicts the decline of the aristocratic south through the eyes of the Compson children. The external changes, The Great Depression and the Dustbowl, affected the Joads economically and emotionally. By economic standards the Joads were poor before the Dust Bowl. However, they believed they had economic value and importance by working their own 40 acres of land. â€Å"Grampa took up the land, and he had to kill the Indians and drive them away. And Pa was born here†¦ Then a bad year came and he had to borrow a little money. An’ we was born here. And Pa had to borrow money. The bank owned the land then, but we stayed and we got a little bit of what we raised†(Steinbeck 45). Losing the farm, being forced to leave their home in a search of work, meant the loss of their social values. To the Joads, value and life importance rest in working the land and this ideology of the past made their emotional adjustment to being a wondering, an â€Å"Okie,† even more difficult. "The moving, questing people were migrants now. Those families which had li ved on a little piece of land, who had lived and died on forty acres, had now the whole West to rove in. And they scampered about, looking for work; and the highways were streams of people, and the ditch banks were lines of people.

Extended Marketing Mix Essay

Launched on 3rd of October 2009 by the McLaren’s Group which has been a name with great passion towards improvement of motor sports in Sri Lanka, Speed  Drome (Pvt) Ltd. is every Pro/Go-karter’s heaven on earth. Located amidst green pasture in close proximity to the parliament complex and Buddhadasa play ground in Battaramulla, Speedrome is a fully equipped and professionally fitted race track which includes 19 go-karts, computerized timing and scoring systems, professionally trained staff, designated spectator areas and air-conditioned VIP gallery, all for the sake of providing their customers with the best experience that they can offer. Go-karting may be Speed Drome’s main product but they haven’t stopped there as far as the entertainment aspect is concerned, with a sports bar and a luxurious lounge. These two additional services are provided for customers to host parties or any corporate events. Speed Drome also has taken an initiative in providing a swimming pool to cater to discerning corporate executives and high profile lifestyles. As for the little kids, Speed Drome has taken the liberty of creating a kiddies race track as well. To put it simply, Speed Drome aims to be not only an attraction for Pro/Go-kart lovers everywhere but also to provide the entire family with leisure activities and entertainment. Speed Drome has gained much popularity ever since its launch, with an exhibition kart race in which the participation of Yoshitha Rajapaksa, Aravinda De Silva the former cricketer who is a keen fan of motor cars along with the lady racer S.A. Lakshika and Jackson Anthony were noted. Karting championships such as â€Å"Speed Drome All Island Karting Championship Rounds 1-3 † show off exactly what Speed Drome is all about as many professional formula one drivers take part in these competitions exhibiting the real skill involved in Go/Pro-karting, while attracting even more potential customers and leading to other karting championships. Finally the major plus point for Speed Drome is the fact that it is the one and only Go/Pro-Karting facility in Sri Lanka as yet and with its added assets Speed Drome’s future seems very fruitful with all the necessary standards being maintained. The Extended Marketing mix 1. Product In a service organization, the product is referred to the service being delivered to the consumer which is intangible, inseparable, variable and perishable. The speed Drome (Pvt) Ltd. (Appendix 1) offers a variety of  services which can be explained in terms of entertainment, leisure and experience. Their main focus is on providing their customers with the experience of real Pro-Kart racing (Appendix 2) and in addition to that other entertainment and leisure services are also provided such as the Kiddies track, (Appendix 3) the sports bar (Appendix 4) and the swimming pool (Appendix 5) along with the Luxurious Lounge (Appendix 6). The nature of the service in terms of: Intangibility: True services are intangible. Therefore when you leave Speed Drome there is only one memory or the experience that remains, which is riding a pro-kart at the only available place in Sri Lanka. Some elements are tangible such as the karts used, the swim pool etc., but the core benefit of the purchase is not, and that is the sheer experience of riding a pro-kart and feeling its speed. Inseparability: The service provided by Speed Drome is inseparable as the physical presence of a customer is essential in this service. However, with the help of its physical resources the overall service takes place when only the consumer that is the person interested in riding a pro-kart meets the service provider. Perishability: Karting or any other service provided by the company must be consumed when offered. It cannot be produced now for consumption at a later stage / time nor can they be held or stocked because the value of this service exists at the point when it is required. Variability: This service is highly variable because Speed Drome is the only service provider for kart racing in Sri Lanka currently. It has its very own standardized quality which cannot be competed with another form of entertainment service, as it provides a unique and an incomparable experience. The above mentioned characteristics define the services they provide which attract youngsters and veteran drivers alike. 2. Price Pricing is one of the most important marketing mix decisions and it is the only marketing mix variable that generates revenues. Speed Drome (Pvt) Ltd. is a profit and cost oriented organization. Their main objectives are to: * Maximize their profits, * Achieve a target return on investment, * Recover investment costs over a particular time period And to, * Generate volume so as to drive down costs. Speed Drome doesn’t pursue the status quo or sales oriented objectives as it is the only organization specializes in this certain industry in Sri Lanka. Due to the same reason Speed Drome follows the price skimming strategy. Their prices for all the services are relatively high (even though they don’t have competitors in the same industry) compared to the other entertainment forms in the market. This is due to the service quality, image and to prevent competitors enter the market easily. The following are the current prices attached to the services being provided by Speed Drome: * Pro-Karting/ Go-Karting (10 minutes) – Rs. 750 * Happy Hours Karting (every Tuesday 3pm-8pm) – Rs. 500 * Swimming pool charges (unlimited) per person – Rs. 450 * Membership Benefits: * Membership free Rs.15000 * Rs. 750 tickets for Rs.500 * Kart trainer amount Rs.1500 for Rs.1000 * Members can use pool free, additional guest with members charged only Rs. 250 each * 10% discount for corporate package with fully use of pool and entertainment area. Additionally the race fees, special event fees and training programme fees are charged. 3. Place The place part of the marketing mix is where the customer receives the service or where the service is located. Speed Drome is Located in close proximity to the Parliament Complex and Bhuddhadasa Play Ground, in Battaramulla. It has situated itself around major cities such as Colombo, Rajagiriya, Nugegoda and Pitakotte which are all highly residential areas have all been thought out very carefully by Speed Drome management prior to construction. This is to boost their target market which is basically the upper class of community because although the cost for riding a Go-Kart (which is something very rare to do in Sri Lanka) seems reasonable as far as the cost for maintaining the Karts and equipment needed go, Unfortunately  though for the majority of Sri Lankan’s the price to pay for such an experience is highly unreasonable. The area in which the Arena (or facility) has been built on is extremely large and compliments the Track very well and to add to this the lush scenery surrounding the Speed Drome gives this track a unique feel to it. Speed Dome’s location has one more major benefit which is that it’s just a drive away not only from the cities surrounding it but also from other major cities in the district like Colombo and Dehiwala etc. Over all the decision to build Speed Drome where it is an extremely well thought and strategic move which has shown and is yet to keep bringing in results. 4. Promotion Promotions have become a critical factor in the service marketing mix. Services are easy to be duplicated and hence it is generally the brand which sets a service apart from its counterpart. As mentioned under the topic ‘Place’ Speed Drome’s marketing mix carters to a selected segment, which is known as Niche marketing. Its service is all about providing entertainment for those who desire the ‘need for speed’. What better way to communicate about this sheer experience which can be gained at only one place in Sri Lanka other than promoting the service? The obvious competitive advantages Speed Drome possesses are: * Service Differentiation The only facility that provides karting experience in Sri Lanka. * Image Differentiation Karts which are only available at Speed Drome in Sri Lanka and the unique logo itself distinguish the service provided. How Speed Drome gets through to the customer The main objective of Speed Drome is to make the potential customers well aware about their new service. Hence the following methods are mainly used to promote their service- * Weekly offered special karting hours * ‘Happy Hours’ Every Tuesday from 3pm-8pm (Rs.750 tickets at Rs.500) (Appendix 7) * Karting competitions * Thank God its Race Day Competition (Appendix 8) * All Island Karting Championship (Appendix 9,10) * Exhibition kart races of celebrities (Appendix 11) * Publications * News Paper advertisements Ex: Daily Mirror, Sunday Times, Sunday Observer * Magazines Ex: Things to do in Colombo, Esteem, Hi etc. * Online Advertising * Social network groups Ex: The official Facebook Group with latest updates. Twitter etc.

Free Essays on Equality

Equality: Why We Can’t Get There Racial and economic equality in the United States is impossible. Starting with slavery, moving to Jim Crow and culminating with hate crimes and racial profiling, there has been a continuous stream of factors preventing the realization of an equal American society. While it is true that great strides have been made to correct the social and political inaccuracies, the harsh reality is that all these attempts are futile. Practices such as affirmative action and equal opportunity programs, are effective at leveling the playing field, however, they will never be able to make it completely equal. White privilege and its social consequences represent one of the main reasons why equality is unattainable. Ideally, the destruction of white privilege and the belief systems that support it could result in the formation of an equal nation. However, human beings have no available means to destroy this demon, and hope exists only in the attempts at minimizing the damage to our country. Furth ermore, natural inclinations towards competition make inequality unavoidable. White privilege is a system that amasses to whites' greater wealth and resources. It also lends them access to a higher quality of justice, services, and capital than other racial groups. Simultaneously, white privilege has resulted in impoverishment and injustice for the vast majority of racial minorities. White privilege is more than a set of attitudes or individual opinions; it is a comprehensive framework of policies, practices, institutions, and cultural norms that influence every aspect of American society. Being white constitutes a powerful asset in the United States and globally. Using William Ryan’s theories on equality, white privilege represents a major discrepancy in his â€Å"Fair Play† perspective. If, as he sees it, individuals are all afforded the same rights with regard to â€Å"pursuing happiness,† then it is inevitabl... Free Essays on Equality Free Essays on Equality Is the promotion of equality by political means either desirable or possible? Throughout history the issue of equality among individuals has been a divisive and controversial topic. Many individuals have lost their lives in an attempt to secure equality for themselves and their family. Once considered a radical and extreme political view, today equality is generally accepted by the masses as necessary component to a free and fair society. In contemporary times the problems with equality arise in its application and the government’s role in the promotion of equality. Coupled with the three different forms of equality and it is easy to see why the issue of equality continues to be heavily debated by political leaders. In order to accurately understand contemporary discussions about the application of equality by political means we must first identify the three forms of equality. Formal equality, equality of opportunity, and equality of outcome are the three forms of equality that dominate modern debate. Formal equality centers around the belief that men are equal simply because they are men. Equality of opportunity is the equal starting point for individuals. Equality of opportunity is more concerned with the initial conditions of individuals than their final standing in society. Lastly, equality of outcome attempts to determine outcomes so that everybody’s status is equal. Many have argued that equality is such a vital element of society that it is necessary for the government to become involved the promotion of equality. With formal equality it is a difficult task for formal equality to be promoted my political means. Formal equality is based on inalienable rights that are given to every human being. I question how effective politics can be in promoting a form of equality that is so limited by its own definition. I suppose one may argue that the constitution of a state could be one way to promote formal equalit... Free Essays on Equality Equality: Why We Can’t Get There Racial and economic equality in the United States is impossible. Starting with slavery, moving to Jim Crow and culminating with hate crimes and racial profiling, there has been a continuous stream of factors preventing the realization of an equal American society. While it is true that great strides have been made to correct the social and political inaccuracies, the harsh reality is that all these attempts are futile. Practices such as affirmative action and equal opportunity programs, are effective at leveling the playing field, however, they will never be able to make it completely equal. White privilege and its social consequences represent one of the main reasons why equality is unattainable. Ideally, the destruction of white privilege and the belief systems that support it could result in the formation of an equal nation. However, human beings have no available means to destroy this demon, and hope exists only in the attempts at minimizing the damage to our country. Furth ermore, natural inclinations towards competition make inequality unavoidable. White privilege is a system that amasses to whites' greater wealth and resources. It also lends them access to a higher quality of justice, services, and capital than other racial groups. Simultaneously, white privilege has resulted in impoverishment and injustice for the vast majority of racial minorities. White privilege is more than a set of attitudes or individual opinions; it is a comprehensive framework of policies, practices, institutions, and cultural norms that influence every aspect of American society. Being white constitutes a powerful asset in the United States and globally. Using William Ryan’s theories on equality, white privilege represents a major discrepancy in his â€Å"Fair Play† perspective. If, as he sees it, individuals are all afforded the same rights with regard to â€Å"pursuing happiness,† then it is inevitabl... Free Essays on Equality Throughout time, we, as humans, have come up with a myriad of ways to discriminate against one another. As we go along we find something we don’t like about a certain group of individuals, we segregate them and shun them publicly, then after a while someone disagrees with what is happening, and eventually we slowly change our laws to accept and protect this group. Race, skin color, religious beliefs, economical status, national origin, people with disabilities, all different ways we have originally thought were things to spurn and reject, and then decide to make our equals. Most recently, homosexuality has become yet another way for us to discriminate. Can we see a trend forming? The current matter at hand is whether gays should be allowed to be married and have the same rights and privileges as a heterosexual married couple. â€Å"Under a 1996 law, the federal government does not recognize gay marriages,† (MSNBC). Though this is federal law, changes can be made by individual states. The state of Vermont has made a law that recognizes same-sex civil unions. â€Å"The key difference between civil unions and marriage is that benefits from civil unions would stop at the Massachusetts border while rights from marriage would extend across the country - giving gay couples equality under federal laws for taxes, health and retirement benefits, among other areas,† (MSNBC). On Tuesday, the highest court in the state of Massachusetts ruled that same-sex couples are allowed to wed, but would not issue them a marriage license. â€Å"The Supreme Judicial Court’s 4-3 ruling ordered the Legislature to come up with a solution within 180 days,† (M SNBC). It seems when you are being discriminated against, everywhere you turn, and one thing just lead to another and you really can’t get anywhere. It turns out that only in some states it is illegal to reject a couple for housing if they cannot provide a marriage license. This is not a law that was cr...

Free Essays on Discourses

Chapter I: The Various Kinds of Government, and the Ways By Which They Are Established. Machiavelli begins The Prince with a crucial distinction of political categories. There are, he writes, only two ways in which a state can be organized: as a republic, or as a monarchy. After making this distinction, Machiavelli immediately, without a pause or comment, simply drops the discussion of the â€Å"republic.† This doesn’t mean that Machiavelli doesn’t like republics republics, after all, are the subject of his other major work of political theory, The Discourses. Rather than accuse Machiavelli of anti-democratic bias, we should note that in this particular book, which meant to describe the proper conduct of a prince, any discussion of princeless republics would be entirely irrelevant. After bracketing the idea of a republic, then, Machiavelli moves on to divide the category of â€Å"monarchy† into further sub-categories. Monarchies, he writes, can be either hereditary and governed by the same family for generations, or recently founded. Again, Machiavelli follows one division with another. Leaving aside hereditary monarchies for the moment, he distinguishes two different kinds of recently founded monarchies – those which are entirely new, and those which are new annexations of territory added onto pre-existing hereditary monarchies. As we might expect, within this latter category (the annexed state), there are also two subcategories: Machiavelli points out that some annexed states were previously subject to another ruler, and some were formerly free. And finally, there is yet another kind of subcategory within annexed states: those which were conquered by a prince in war, and those which simply fall to him through luck or skill. Chapter II: Of Hereditary Monarchies This chapter begins with Machiavelli’s apology for not discussing republics in this book – in what seems to be an explicit reference to D... Free Essays on Discourses Free Essays on Discourses Chapter I: The Various Kinds of Government, and the Ways By Which They Are Established. Machiavelli begins The Prince with a crucial distinction of political categories. There are, he writes, only two ways in which a state can be organized: as a republic, or as a monarchy. After making this distinction, Machiavelli immediately, without a pause or comment, simply drops the discussion of the â€Å"republic.† This doesn’t mean that Machiavelli doesn’t like republics republics, after all, are the subject of his other major work of political theory, The Discourses. Rather than accuse Machiavelli of anti-democratic bias, we should note that in this particular book, which meant to describe the proper conduct of a prince, any discussion of princeless republics would be entirely irrelevant. After bracketing the idea of a republic, then, Machiavelli moves on to divide the category of â€Å"monarchy† into further sub-categories. Monarchies, he writes, can be either hereditary and governed by the same family for generations, or recently founded. Again, Machiavelli follows one division with another. Leaving aside hereditary monarchies for the moment, he distinguishes two different kinds of recently founded monarchies – those which are entirely new, and those which are new annexations of territory added onto pre-existing hereditary monarchies. As we might expect, within this latter category (the annexed state), there are also two subcategories: Machiavelli points out that some annexed states were previously subject to another ruler, and some were formerly free. And finally, there is yet another kind of subcategory within annexed states: those which were conquered by a prince in war, and those which simply fall to him through luck or skill. Chapter II: Of Hereditary Monarchies This chapter begins with Machiavelli’s apology for not discussing republics in this book – in what seems to be an explicit reference to D...

Usefulness of Cognitive Theories of Motivation Essay

Usefulness of Cognitive Theories of Motivation - Essay Example Observations made by economists indicate that entrepreneurial activities are deemed to be supreme sources of technological innovations hence it is important to understand the influence of regional culture on entrepreneurship activities. Recent surveys on entrepreneurship reveal that Wales has been doing quite well. This success is associated with regional focus on entrepreneurship behavior and development (Aldrich, 2000). Theories - These are set of statements devised to elaborate a phenomenon which has been reviewed more than once. The phenomena should be one that has been universally accepted and can be used to predict occurrence of natural phenomena. According to Aldrich (2000), success of entrepreneurs depends on their willingness to become what they want. In the pursuit of entrepreneurial opportunities, individual willingness is essential during decision-making upon discovery of these opportunities. This aspect matters a great deal when an individual is pursuing resources and wh en designing mechanisms to be used in exploiting the discovered opportunities. Human motivations should accompany willingness for the entrepreneurial activities to be effected. Cognitive theories of motivation are very useful during decision making and it influences the way one undertakes the enterprising process. They affect locus of control i.e. individuals’ beliefs that their actions affect the outcomes (Aldrich, 2000). These theories help individuals to explore entrepreneurial related phenomena.

Strategy in Action Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Strategy in Action - Essay Example Based on the situations that face the managements, it is essential for the managers to emulate an organizational style that effectively meets the needs of their company. Some of the notable organizational styles includes pre-bureaucratic, bureaucratic, functional, divisional and post-bureaucratic. Strategic management on the other hand, involves systematic collection of all the processes undertaken by a firm and aligning them with the vision and the mission of an organization. This aim of this paper is to indicate that organizational structure must be considered as part of strategic management. According to Nag et al (2007) there are three major processes that are involved in strategy formation. These include situation and competitor analysis, setting objectives and implementing the objectives. After a strategy is formed, it undergoes evaluation process that involves all the aspects of a strategy the affect an organization. Additionally, the suitability and the feasibility of the str ategy are determined by use of the available or new human resources. During the stage of strategic implementation, three key steps are involved. The first one is organizing. Organizing entails making organizational as well as functional changes to ensure that factors that will led to the success of a strategy are put on board. The second step is resourcing. During the resourcing stage, the management comes up with the budget and the capital expenditure as well as the human resources responsible for overseeing the implementation of the strategy. Organizational strategy entails the plan that indicates how an organization will utilize the available resources to achieve the preset goals. It is vital to note that for any firm to be successful, it should come up with a vision and mission as well as objectives that are smart, measurable, accurate, realistic and timely. For any company to achieve its plans, it is essential for managers to ensure that both the structure and the strategy are combined together. Most importantly, any strategy that is undertaken by an organization must be divided into smaller tasks that are allocated to each of the employees based on their skills and the experience. In the contemporary business atmosphere, most of the firms aim at improving efficiency, creating synergy, enhancing strong team work and reducing the total organization costs by revising their structures. Even though this is achievable in most cases, it is not always possible (Heckscher and Donnellon, 1994). As earlier mentioned, for any strategy to be implemented, it should be evaluated. Companies that lack skilled personnel to undertake strategic implementation and evaluation have an option of hiring qualified personnel to undertake the process. Alternatively, the managers can hire the services of consultants who are experts in the filed of strategic management and leadership. In the two scenarios, there must be changes in the structure of human resources department to avoid conflict of goals. Connection between a strategy and structure Essentially, organizational structure is not the organization chart that depicts the flow of authority but it entails the people, position, technology and procedures that make up the organization. Most importantly, a structure indicates how all pieces and the procedures works or does not work together. This implies that it is vital for the structure to be