Case Study from Employment Law Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

From Employment Law - Case Study Example 312). In the case study, there are very serious violations of the law that are evident. In the first scenario, Paul faces direct sex discrimination, work place harassment and victimization. Under the Equality Act 2010 S11, sex is a protected characteristic for both male and the female. Under section 13(1) of the same act, it is unlawful to treat an individual unfairly on the grounds of sex. Such act amounts to direct sex discrimination. Paul in this case faces direct sex discrimination. This is evident in that Paul’s boss is never interested in training him for the job he was doing. Most banks of the world do train their employees before they start working because banking jobs are very demanding. Paul is further harassed by his boss. She shouts at him and down talks him in front of the customers. Shouting and use of abusive words in workplaces is a form of work place harassment (Swarnalatha, 2013, p. 2). Harassment and victimization in the place of work carries the same weight as d iscrimination. However, in some cases, work place harassment and victimization are not prohibited by the law no matter how abusive they can be. In such cases therefore, the employees are protected by the Trade Unions. Under the Trade Unions and Labor Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, the trade unions are adequately defined and equipped with adequate powers to protect the employees from any form of workplace harassment, victimization and any form of discrimination. Also, under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations Act 2006 S1 (246), the right to continuity in employments is well covered in the Act and therefore Paul has a right to go back to work. On the other hand, Amy is directly discriminated. Under the Equality Act 2010 S11, Religion is yet another protected characteristic. It is against the law to discriminate a

Consensual Relationship Agreements Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Consensual Relationship Agreements - Case Study Example Some people believe that workplace romantic relationships should be allowed and that employers should never try to inhibit them. Others, on the other hand, believe that these relationships should be inhibited and that the employees should not be allowed to express their feelings and emotions at work because this interferes with proper workplace ethics (Cohen, 2009). Consensual relationship agreement is a process that has been suggested for managing workplace relationships. A consensual relationship agreement is like a relationship contract where two individuals sign an agreement that explicitly reveals their personal and romantic relationships. As they sign the agreement, they agree to be in the relationship willingly and that their relationship will not affect their professionalism in the workplace. Advantages Consensual relationship agreements are extremely useful both to employees and the organization. Having employees sign this kind of agreement will be useful in making sure that any personal relationships in the workplace are well managed (Hellriegel, 2007). Employees will be sure that if the relationship takes a different course that it was meant, they will not be victimized by their partners by being sued for sexual harassment. A consensual relationship agreement will also help the employees to be sober about their professionalism and be able to separate their personal and professional life. Moreover, signing a consensual relationship agreement will be a better way of aiding the employees in having a relationship that they are not ashamed of and that has a better foundation. Consensual relationship agreements are no more of privacy intrusion than a marriage contract, especially considering that there is nothing for employees to be shameful about if their relationship is open and not based on negative foundations such as immorality or cheating other existing spouses. Employees can also benefit from the consensual relationship agreement because it will pro tect them from getting into relationships with people who are not serious about the relationship. All these factors indicate that the workplace will be improved and that the negative effects that come from personal relationships in the workplace will not be a problem. Argument Against Consensual relationship agreements also have negative impacts. For one reason, the use of consensual relationship agreements assumes that the relationships have a starting point. It is not easy to determine when and where a romantic relationship starts so that the parties involved can decide to sign the contract. While the whole idea of consensual relationship agreements is good because it is meant to make the workplace a better place and avoid confusions in the workplace, its implementation can only remain to be elusive. Studies show that employees resent being micromanaged even from a professional point of view, let alone from a personal point of view. Telling employees that they have to sign a contr act or an agreement in order for them to have a personal relationship is not as practical as it is theoretical. The spirit of consensual relationship agreements may be good, but how to implement is the problem. The other issue with consensual relationship agreements is that it fails to consider that relationships are volatile and always shifting. For instance, two people in a

The Doctrine Of Double Effect

The Doctrine Of Double Effect The Doctrine of Double Effect The principle of double effect also called the doctrine of double effect normally applied in the medicine, palliative care and war fields is always invoked in order to explain the permission to carry out an action that can cause serious harm. The harm in this case may include the death in human beings as a result of the side effects otherwise with the aim of promoting some good. This doctrine affirms that at times it may be permissible to cause harm as side effect to arrive at a desirable result. However it becomes necessary to understand that it is not permissible to cause such harm so as to arrive at the same good end Thomas Aquinas coined this principle during his discussion of the permissibility of self defense. Aquinas observed that nothing hinders one act from having two effects only one of which is intended whereas the other is besides the intention. There are four conditions tied to the application of this principle: The act must be morally good or else indifferent. In other words the good result should be achievable apart from the bad one The good effect must be derived from the action immediately just as the bad effect. This implies that the desirable or good effect is produced directly by the action not by the bad effect. The good effect should be proved sufficiently desirable as compensation for allowing the bad effect The agent who in this case may be the practitioner of the principle should not positively will the bad effect but may permit it. In other words the bad effect here is considered as an indirectly voluntary happening. Administering a vaccine for example will definitely save many lives. However a few people get sick and even die from the vaccines side effects. The vaccine manufacturer and agent who administer the vaccine are morally discharged. This is because lives are saved because of the vaccination and not as a result of the fatalities resulting from the side effects. The fatalities as a result of the vaccine do not advance any objectives of the agents and therefore is not intended as a means to an end. The number of lives saved by the vaccine is much greater than the numbers who die from the side effects satisfying the proportionality condition legitimizing this principle. In order to understand if this principle provides a sound basis to make a distinction between intentional and unintentional actions for which we are morally responsible or not we need to summarize the conditions under which the principle of double effect would be considered ethically legitimate and these are that: The act being performed is not itself morally evil. Using the vaccine example we can point out that the manufacturers or administrators of the same (agents) are not performing a morally evil act. The good effect in this case of the vaccine example is to save lives and is not as a result of the evil effect the fatalities resulting from the vaccines side effects. Only the good effects in this case the saving of lives through body immunity enhancement by the vaccine is directly intended, the bad effects which would be the death due to side effects of the vaccine is not intended but tolerated or unavoidable. There is due proportion between good which is the total number of people who benefit by boosting their immunity through the vaccine and the bad effects which is the small proportion of people who succumb to the vaccines side effects. Considering palliative care and medical cases this principle provides a sound basis for making a distinction. According to Dr. Taboada we have to understand that a moral act does not merely consist of a physical performance. There is the moral species of the act that we must consider as well. The moral species of the act can be analyzed by asking the question what are you doing? An appropriate answer that can be backed by this principle of double effect would reveal an intrinsic intentionality of the moral act. Using the case of palliative care where an agent such as a doctor uses morphine to relieve pain in terminally ill patients to elaborate this fact we would have a more accurate answer to the moral species act question what are you doing ? as relieving pain. This answer reveals the intrinsic intentionality of the moral act. Dr. Taboada further points out that ethical experiences are determined by the moral species of the act which in essence is the kind of act we perform. There can be proved a relationship between an agents motivation and the moral character of the given action. Therefore the intrinsic intentionality of the act itself and the intention of the agent are not the same thing as elaborated by Dr. Taboada and hence they must be carefully distinguished. Further still ethical character of our actions do not primarily depend on motivation or intention of the agent as such but on the moral species of the action performed. Thus the principle of double effect intends to secure this distinction as a necessary condition for ethical legitimacy to be established and our actions respected. Therefore in carrying out actions that can easily invoke a moral debate it is necessary to clearly understand the doctrine of double effect and legitimize each of these actions based on the conditions that have suggested by Michael Walzer. In order to legitimize the action to take we may also consider the Sulmasy test especially so if this action is confined within the medical field. Daniel Sulmasy in this test challenges the medical practitioners to ask themselves this question if the patient were not to die after my actions would I feel that I had failed to accomplish what I had set out to do? The problems that arise from the principle of double effect can effectively be handled while considering the contributions of people like Dr. Taboada who points out that an actions anatomy which distinguishes the action from the intention must be always considered. This draws us to a very important conclusion that will require the application of the doctrine of double effect to effectively ad dress that is the distinguishing of intrinsic intentionality of an act and the intention of the agent. With this in mind we can effectively conclude that the principle of double effect provides a sound basis for making a distinction between intentional effects of our actions for which we are morally responsible and the unintentional effects of the actions for which we are not morally responsible.

Depression Essay -- essays research papers

Depression Consider this: Elizabeth Wurtzel has struggled with depression throughout her life. She has a history of suicide attempts, self-mutilations, and serious mood swings. She took numerous antidepressants and medications in an attempt to regulate her irregular behavior. She quit using the medications due to the multiple side effects the drugs had on her. The result was chaos; after Elizabeth quit taking her medication her body experienced episodes of withdrawal. Despite her continued attempts to combat her illness, she experienced nervous breakdowns and alienation from her friends and family. Elizabeth Wurtzel reluctantly went back to taking medication despite the potentially serious side effects of taking so many drugs (Kim 46). â€Å" In the news, on the streets, and in neighborhoods, individuals are confronted with a variety of social problems†(Kim 7). A person may watch a loved one battle cancer, suspect a friend of having bulimia, or he/she may struggle daily with depression (Kim 7). The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that as many as 17 million Americans each year suffer from depression. About one in twenty-five of these sufferers is under the age of 18, and one in seven women will experience depression in her lifetime. The illness strikes regardless of age, gender, class, culture, or ethnic background (Kim 9). The occurrence and distribution of depression in a population may be related to a variety of factors. Such factors include a wide range of possibilities such as sex, age, living in the town, living in the country, nutrition, marital status, socioeconomic background, and genetic factors (Winokur 18). â€Å"Many people who are depressed do not seek treatment either because the y are unaware that their condition can be helped or because they are all too aware of the stigma and shame associated with depression†(Kim 9). Discovering and analyzing the complexities of issues that are associated with depression is a necessity in the goal of obtaining a comprehensive understanding of depression and of those who suffer from the disease (Kim 13). In order to completely understand the illness of depression, people should understand what the disease is, what factors cause the disease, and the how disease is treated. â€Å"Feelings of hopelessness, sadness, or discouragement occasionally tug at us all† (Kim 13), but those feelings eventually fade away. Th... ... therapists a depression patient decides to see, the first step in getting help â€Å" is to find a suitable therapist to guide the patient through the process† (Kim 87) of recovery. In conclusion, depression is a psychological â€Å"condition of general emotional dejection and withdrawal† (Webster 311). Depression affects people both mentally and physically (Kim 14). In order for a person to enter the realm of depression different biological, psychological, and sociological risk factors must exist (Kim 89). The severity of the depression experienced by a person is predispositioned by the severity of the risk factors experienced by that person. Even the most severe cases of depression can be treated with the help of professionals. Psychiatrists can prescribe drugs and biological means of treatment (Kim 90); psychologists offer psychotherapy as a means of help (Kim 90). â€Å"It is (also) important to look at what is happening in life from a perspective that does not turn everyday problems into overwhelming ones.........Remember that everyone has bad days. The trick is to take them in stride. Research tells us that people who don’t catastrophize are less likely to become depressed† (Robbins 180).

The Selfish Giant

The Selfish giant â€Å"The giant was a selfish giant,† says the story â€Å"The selfish giant† written by Oscar Wilde from Ireland, who wanted to bring forth a special moral which has been a serious topic for many centuries, and no less these days than ever before. He uses many characteristics of fairytales to create a conscious fairytale about the problem that is to this day the reason why the world is the way it is. Therefore I am going to write an analysis of his work on what the moral is, and what messages that was sent through the fairytale, as well as looking at the means he used to write the story. First of all there is a question of symbols. Oscar Wilde used many symbols which are things we associate with other themes or feelings to create an atmosphere in the fairytale all together. A special example of this is the giant itself, because why didn't Oscar Wilde use a normal person? Or mayhap a wealthy old man for that matter? Many have heard the expression swollen. When a person is swollen, he is egotistical and self centred. He doesn't care about anyone else. Therefore, Oscar has pictured the giant's inner feelings with the outer appearance. Other symbols are also present, like the great wall, which at first means exactly what it is supposed to, keeping people outside of the wall. That wall represents the giant's heart. First the wall is sealed tight; no one is coming in or out. The giant is at first satisfied with the arrangement, with no one to bother him, but after a long time he feels lonely, and the wall around his hear finds a crack. This is where the children sneak in, and melts the giant's heart. Last of the examples of symbols there is the little boy who couldn't reach the branches of the tree. It is a test to give the giant the opportunity to do something nice, and he takes it. This little child is, as we get to know indirectly at the end, Jesus Christ. His hands bled, and the giant wished to avenge the little child. The child however dismisses the pledge, and says that it is the wounds of love, as Jesus died for all of human kind according to the bible. The giant had then grown old and feeble, and were on the verge of his lifespan. Therefore he got the reward for his kindness to children, by being allowed into heaven by Jesus himself. Oscar Wilde draws elements from other religions than Christianity as well, Buddhism for example, where he uses the Karma concept. â€Å"What goes around, comes around,† which means that if you are nice, you will be rewarded, and if you are bad you will be punished. That forwards me to my second point, about personification. When the giant was selfish, the powers of nature had a role of its own to play in the story. The different aspects of nature were given the ability to do humanlike feats, like talking, sleeping and dancing. Almost move at their own free will. For example when the giant was selfish, and closed up his garden. The winter and cold moved in to his life without leaving. The North wind was dancing, and said that they should invite the hail. This is something the forces of nature wouldn't do outside human imagination, but it puts a picture of nature having a life of its own. The flowers wouldn't come out of the ground because it felt sad for the children. The trees as well, bent as low as they could for the little boy who was too tiny for the tree climbing. As if trees could bend on their own free will. That makes nature a part of the judge of who is good and who is bad in this world. Throughout the whole story, there is different judges which indirectly or even directly determine who is the bad guy and who is the good guy. Where Jesus is one of the judges, nature is one of the judges and the children are judges. The part about nature judging men originates from ancient Celtic folklore where people sacrificed to the spirits of nature which had a will of their own. Thirdly, there are the elements of fairy tales. In fairytales there are almost always supernatural creatures, and in this one is no exception. There are two in â€Å"the selfish giant,† the giant himself and the Cornish ogre. The ogre himself is a symbol, because in folklore, the ogre is a bad creature who eats children. Therefore there are hints that the giant might have been influenced by the ogre on his travels, becoming even worse than he was before as the wall was not built until he came back from his trip, and he didn't seem to have that idea before. Other elements from fairytales are the number seven. The number seven appear when the selfish giant had been out travelling for seven years. There is however not much more reference to other numbers that is worth mentioning. Another element that is widely spread within fairytales is the personification which has been explained at the previous paragraph, where animals and inanimate objects get the abilities of a human. Last of all, there is the moral subject. Throughout the entire story you get the impression of what the moral is, and that is â€Å"what goes around comes around. In the beginning you can read that the giant was selfish, and that means that he cared only about himself. He did naught for others, and he did not get anything in return. He seemed content with this at first, but when he got lonely, and the winter wouldn't leg go we wished that he had done something good. When the children came, his heart melted and he wanted to help them. However, when he approached them, they ran away. That is a message that if you are a jer k, then everyone will think you are a jerk, no matter your intentions. However, when he helped the child, the other children understood they could trust him. He turned, and decided to play with them instead of chasing them away. In this he got rewarded more than once. Because he got both his summer and spring back, he got many friends to play with, and he ascended to heaven after he died. This underlines the moral that if you do good, then good will come to you. I conclude with an agreement with the moral, that good is reaped if you sow it, and that good is what is best for mankind. I really liked the story because I agree with the moral of the story, and it is a well written story as well. Oscar Wilde has used great elements in his story that brings it to life, and makes it interesting to read. It is very touching as well, because it requires a lot to make me cry. There is a joyful sadness about it all that makes you unsure if you are crying tears of joy, or of sadness. The part where he dies is kind of sad, because he dies. However, when it also confirms that he goes to a better place.

Gucci’s Closest Competitor

CRITICALLY CONTRAST THE KEY ELEMENT OF GUCCI’S MARKETING STRATEGY TO ITS CLOSEST COMPETITOR. JUSTIFY WHY YOU HAVE CHOSEN THIS COMPANY AS GUCCI’S CLOSEST COMPETITORS Gucci is one of the most powerful leaders in luxury fashion market. Gucci is founded by Guccio Gucci in 1921 in Florence, Italy. Now, Gucci is the part of Gucci Group and Pinault Printemps Recloute (PPR). The globalization of the fashion environment and boost in the western economies transform Gucci from a small Italian company in to large luxury fashion brand in global level. In 1980s, Gucci had lost its appeal and became a tacky brand and was also in deep financial crisis. But Tom Ford raised Gucci from dead and found out the company’s leading status and maintains their customer loyalty. He created Gucci’s image as: sleek, sexy, and daring. And, Frida Giannini the new creative director of Gucci after Tom Ford changed the image of Gucci from sexy to sensuality. There are two sides to a brand like Gucci: the glamorous, very fashionable side but also with its roots and heritage of 90yrs history and artisans working for Gucci. (Frida Giannini , The Times, sept 5, 2009) For the Gucci’s rebirth marketing mix plays a vital role. The concept of 4Ps or the marketing mix is to explain the relationship of product, price, promotion and place with in the brand/business. The marketing mix is set of marketing tools that the firm uses to pursue its marketing objectives in the target market. So, this theory proposes that all brands/business need the right product, sell that product at right price, in the right place, using the most suitable promotion. Basically brands use this concept to attract their target consumer to match their needs and demands. Out of these 4Ps product is main focused area of marketing mix because the product is combination of tangible and intangible offer that a brand sells to customer to make money. Product addresses the need of consumer. The product has to have the right features like: it must look good and work well. â€Å"When well designed, good-quality product is at the root of the marketing campaign it often adds a degree of authenticity and sincerity to the marketing strategy. † (Gary Aspden – Adidas) For example: consumer needs to fit in with the peer group and the problem of how best to do this is solved by wearing particular brand’s trendy product. Mastering Fashion Marketing, Tim Jackson, 2008). As mentioned earlier that product is the main element of the marketing mix and in that product category footwear is the main focused area. â€Å"Shoes are always the most important thing because they are who you are. They change the way you walk, the way you move. † – Tom Ford The market for the footwear category is United Kingdom. The reason behind choosing this market is that the United Kingdom footwear market, the value of this market is reached a record high of over ? bn in 2008. The UK is one of Europe’s leading footwear markets, accounting for nearly 19% of the European footwear sales. PRODUCTSGUCCIPRADACHANELLouis Vuitton Women’s wear Men’s wear Shoes Hand Bags Jewellery Fragrance Watches Eye wear Beauty products X Hats Tie Scarves Based on the above mentioned table Gucci's competitors are Prada, Chanel and Louis Vuitton. The reasons behind taking only these brands are these four brands are very popular in luxury market all over the world. So, through this table get the basic idea of the product wise comparison in these four brands. All the four brands have almost similar products but the personality is different. Gucci is much more similar to Prada in terms of brand image and product comparison. The brand image of Gucci and Prada is very seductive, powerful, accomplished, sexy and chic. Where as Chanel and Louis Vuitton have very smart, classic, sophisticated and mature personality. In terms of prices Gucci and Prada go hand in hand while Louis Vuitton and Chanel are quite expensive as compare to Gucci and Prada. While comparing the brand value of these brands and the ranking of Top 100 Brands Louis Vuitton stands on 17th rank with the brand value of $21,120millions, Gucci stands on 45th rank with the brand value of $3530 millions, Chanel stands on 60th rank with the brand value of $6040 millions and Prada stands on 91th rank with the brand value of $3530 millions. So, as comparing the brand value and rank of top 100 brands Chanel will be the closest competitor of Gucci. But, here the comparison is based on the product so, Prada will the Gucci’s closest competitor because as per the product line and brand image Prada is Gucci’s closest competitor. GucciPrada As, mentioned earlier in the product line Prada is the closest competitor of Gucci. Here, the images from Prada and Gucci men’s footwear collection of Spring Summer 2010. The design of the product is similar, shape of the shoes is also similar, and material they used is also same. The cut detail of the outside counter of the shoes is also similar. From the top view both the shoes look very similar The stitching detail is similar but Gucci gave dark color piping on the toe cap and gave same color stitching where as Prada gave contrast color stitching detailing which is quite noticeable. The colors of these shoes are different Gucci used Bordeaux color in suede material which gives very dull look while Prada used same material in Red color which gives very bright and smart look. Prada also gave a logo on side of the shoe whereas Gucci gave green, red and green color web stripe. The detailing on the tongue of the shoes is also different Gucci gave zig zag look on the edge which gave a rough look though its finished where Prada gave very finished look stitching which give very sophisticated look. The lining of the both the shoes are also similar in terms of color and leather in sole logo. The color of the sole is also similar but detailing is different Gucci gave their own brand logo detailing on the rubber sole where as Prada used nice detailing on drive sole. The price of Gucci’s shoes is $530 where as Prada shoes cost around $557. Good design and color and with affordable price Prada is better than Gucci in this comparison. Gucci Prada This advertising campaign is for Autumn Winter 2009/10 for Prada and Gucci for the footwear collection. In both the advertising campaign both the brand focused only on the product. Gucci’s products are very shiny and glamorous which represents very urban, beautiful, young and chic look. Where as Prada shoes are inspired by Trojan helmet/headgear which gives very stylish and cool look and more focus on product detailing. Gucci ( Gucci’s store display window is very basic with perfume bottle shape with yellow light and hand bag shape with pink light and back drop is decorated with Gucci logo. In the display Gucci display bags and shoes together. The ambience and the light effect give very rich look to Gucci’s display window. In the display window Gucci only displayed their basic and classic bag and shoes. Whereas Gucci’s image is very sensuous, sleek and sexy, but through this window display Gucci can not convey its brand image. But, the light effect, ambience and product complement each other. But this display does not Whereas Prada’s window display is totally opposite to Gucci’s window display. Prada give more focus on their product in the display window. Prada used six silver mannequins to display their footwear and which gave very trendy look. Even the color of footwear is very nice and eye catchy when it put on those silver mannequins. The placement of the mannequins is also very nice, they displayed 3 mannequins in the right direction and rest of 3 mannequins they just flip it so that the product can highlight more. And they used white lights for the display. So, through this window display Prada convey their brand image which very trendy, smart, sexy and sensuous. Thus, to conclude we can say that Prada is Gucci’s closest competitors. The reason behind this is Prada offer almost all the product which Gucci offers and the brand image of Gucci and Prada is same which is very sexy, sleek, sensuous and smart. In product line in the same season Gucci and Prada offers almost similar shoes but Prada’s shoes are very smart and trendy where as Gucci’s shoes give very dull look. So, from that comparison Gucci is not able to maintain their brand image where as Prada’s shoes are simple but Prada maintain their brand image which is very smart. While comparing the advertising campaign and the store display window, Prada and Gucci go hand in hand in terms of convey the message through advertising campaign and also highlight their image through store ambience. But Gucci has 278 stores all around the world where as Prada have 128 stores around the world. So, globally Gucci is more famous than Prada. The brand value of Gucci is more than Prada. Reference: Websites: http://bwnt. businessweek. com/interactive_reports/best_global_brands_2009/index. asp? sortCol=rankid=1=2=50 http://www. stanforddaily. com/2009/03/06/milan-fashion-week-sexes-out/ http://www. researchandmarkets. com/research/34a553/footwear_market_re Books: Journals: Images: Prada Display: http://williamyan. com/blog/2009/7/24/retail-prada-window-display-in-soho. html) Gucci display: http://www. bobbintalk. com/2009/11/window-shopping-gucci. html