Monday, September 30, 2019

Psychiatry and Deinstitutionalization Essay

There is an agreement that about 2.8% of the US adult population suffers from severe mental illness. The most severely disabled have been forgotten not only by society, but by most mental health advocates, policy experts and care providers. Deinstitutionalization is the name given to the policy of moving severely mentally ill patients out of large state institutions and then closing the institutions as a whole or partially. Deinstitutionalization is a multifunctional process to be viewed in a parallel way with the existing unmet socioeconomical needs of the persons to be discharged in the community and the development of a system of care alternatives (Mechanic 1990, Madianos 2002). The goal of deinstitutionalization is that people who suffer day to day with mental illness could lead a more normal life than living day to day in an institution. The movement was designed to avoid inadequate hospitals, promote socialization, and to reduce the cost of treatment. Many problems developed from this policy. The discharged individuals from public psychiatric hospitals were not ensured the medication and rehabilitation services necessary for them to live independently within the community. Many of the mentally ill patients were left homeless in the streets. Some of the discharged patients displayed unpredictable and violent behaviors and lacked direction within the community. A multitude of mentally ill patients ended up incarcerated or sent to emergency rooms. This placed a huge burden on the jail systems. Communities were not the only ones to suffer. Those who suffered with mental illness were the ones who were ultimately affected. The stereotypes attached to mental illness were enough for some to not get the appropriate help that they needed. Often times, the communities would not get involved, discarding those who suffer with mental illness. Commonly, those with mental disorders do not have the means or abilities to take care of themselves, re lying heavily on state or local centers for help. If the centers are not there to help, where are they to go? Because of deinstitutionalization, there are those, who live on the streets, are put in jails, or are left to fight for their lives alone. In the United States in the nineteenth century, hospitals were built to house and care for people with chronic illness, and mental health care was a local responsibility. Individual states assumed primary responsibilities for mental hospitals beginning in 1890. In the first part of the twentieth century many patients received custodial care in state hospitals. Custodial care means care in which the patient is watched and protected, but a cure is not sought. After the National Institutes of Mental Health was founded, new psychiatric medications were developed and introduced into state mental hospitals beginning in 1955. The new medicines brought hope. President John F. Kennedy’s 1963 Community Mental Health Centers Act promoted and sped up the trend toward deinstitutionalization with the establishment of a network of community health centers. In the 1960s, when Medicare and Medicaid were introduced, the federal government took on a share of responsibility for mental health care costs. That trend continued into the 1970s with the placement of the Supplemental Security Income program in 1974. State governments promoted and helped accelerate deinstitutionalization, especially of the elderly. Deinstitutionalization is directly linked with the state and the financial support of the program. In several countries the shift from the welfare state to the caused dramatic negative impact in the organization of the delivery of effective and adequate mental health care for the unstable low class mentally ill individuals. As hospitalization costs increased, both the federal and state governments were motiv ated to find less expensive alternatives to hospitalization. The 1965 amendments to Social Security shifted about 50 percent of the mental health care costs from states to the federal government. This motivated the government to promote deinstitutionalization. In the 1980s, managed care systems started to review the use of inpatient hospital care for patients that suffered with mental health issues. Public frustration along with concern and private health insurance policies created financial bonuses to admit fewer people to hospitals and to discharge inpatients quicker, limit the length of patient stays in the hospital, or to produce less costly forms of patient care. Deinstitutionalization also describes the adjustment process that those with mental illnesses are removed from the effects of living in a mental health facility. Since people may become accustomed to institutional environments, they sometimes act and behave like they are still living within the institution; therefore, adjusting to life outside of an institution can be very diffic ult. Deinstitutionalization gives those living with mental illness the chance to regain freedom. With the assistance of social workers and through psychiatric therapy, former inpatients can adjust to everyday life outside of institutional walls. This aspect of deinstitutionalization promotes recovery for the many that have been put into different group homes and those who have been made homeless. A number of factors led to an increase in homelessness, including macroeconomic shifts, but researchers also saw a change related to deinstitutionalization. Studies from the late 1980s indicated that one-third to one-half of homeless people had severe psychiatric disorders, often co-occurring with substance abuse. The homeless mentally ill represented an immediate challenge to the mental health field in the 1980s. Those homeless who have histories of being institutionalized stand as reminders of the cons of deinstitutionalization. Mentally ill homeless persons who never have been treated often speak of unfulfilled promises of community-based care after deinstitutionalization. Homelessness and mental illness are social problems, very similar in some ways, but very different respectively. Patients were often discharged without sufficient preparation or support. A greater number of people with mental disorders became homeless or went to prison. Widespread homelessness occurred in some states in the USA. There are now about one million homeless chronically mentally ill persons in all the major cities of USA. Much has been learned during the era of deinstitutionalization. Many of the homeless mentally ill feel alienated from both society and the mental health system, that they are fearful and suspicious, and that they do not want to give up what they see as their own personal sense of independence, living on the streets where they have to answer to no one. They may be too severely mentally ill and disorganized to respond to any efforts of help. They may not want a mentally ill identity, may not wish to or are not able to give up their isolated life-style and their independence, and may not wish to acknowledge their dependency. Community services that developed included housing with full or partial supervision in the community. Costs have been reported to be as costly as inpatient hospitalization. Although reports show that deinstitutionalization has been positive for the majority of patients, it also has been ineffective in many ways. Expectations of community care have not been met. It was expected that community care would lead to social integration. Many discharged patients remain without work, have limited social contacts and often live in sheltered environments. New community services were often unable to meet the diverse needs. Services in the community sometimes isolated the mentally ill within a new â€Å"ghetto†. Families can play a very important role in the care of those who would typically be placed in long-term treatment centers. However, many mentally ill people lack any such help due to the extent of their conditions. The majority of those who would be under continuous care in long-stay psychiatric hospitals are paranoid and delusional to the point that they refuse help and do not believe they need it, which makes it difficult to treat them. Some other studies pointed out the harmful effect on mental health from other situations related to economy, such as unemployment, community’s economic hardship and social disruption as well as criminality and violence. Moving mentally ill persons to community living leads to various concerns and fears, from both the individuals themselves and the members of the community. Many community members fear that the mentally ill persons will be violent. Despite common perceptions by the public and media that people with mental disorders released into the community are more likely to be dangerous and violent, a study showed that they were not more likely to commit a violent crime more than those in the neighborhoods. The study was taken in a neighborhood where substance abuse and crime was usually high. The aggression and violence that does occur is usually within family settings rather than between strangers. Despite the constant movement toward deinstitutionalization and the closing of institutions, deinstitutionalization continues to be a controversial topic in many different states. Many have researched and examined the pros and cons along with the relative risks and benefits associated with institutional and community living. Many studies have examined changes in adaptive or challenging behavior associated with being moved from an institution to a community setting. Summaries of the research indicated that, overall, adaptive behavior were almost always found to get better with movement to a community living environment from institutions, and that parents who were often opposed to deinstitutionalization were almost always satisfied with the results of the move to the community after it occurred (Larson & Lakin, 1989; Larson & Lakin, 1991). A recent study showed that certain behavior skills found that self-care skills and communication skills, academic skills, social skills, community living skills, and physical development improved significantly with deinstitutionalization (Lynch, Kellow & Willson, 1997). It becomes apparent that deinstitutionalized persons with serious mental illness in many places across the world are subject to a plethora of health and social problems and are facing significant difficulties in the process of accessing health care services. In the USA people with severe mental illness due to their social class and financial stability, are subject to underfunded health d mental health care systems. While attempting to properly care for mentally ill persons, the health care system is trying to overcome a wide range of obstacles, such as lack of reimbursement for health education and family support, inadequate and under skilled case of management services, poor coordination and communication between services and lack of treatment for co-occurring psychiatric and substance abuse disorders. Last but not least, deinstitutionalization was often linked with the community’s reaction and negative attitudes, prejudice, stereotypes, stigma and discrimination against the community placement of persons with serious mental illness (Matschinger and Angermeyer 2004). However, stigma and negative attitudes can always be changed if people are willing to change their beliefs and if appropriate and effective community mental health care efforts are made in regards to helping persons living day to day with mental illness. Deinstitutionalization was not only attempted in the USA but it was attempted in countries such as Italy, Greece, Spain, and other Eastern countries. In those countries deinstitutionalization was shown to be successful when psychiatric reform was a priority and was completed with an effective system of community based services and sufficient financial care. This means that the very complex process of deinstitutionalization is a step by step multidimensional process. Deinstitutionalization attempts to focus on the individual’s life needs, including the continuance of treatment, health and mental health care, housing, employment, education and a community support system that works. If family exists and is involved in the life of the mentally ill person, the state eliminates the burden of care. â€Å"The final goal is the community autonomous tenure of the suffering individual and his/her integration, in a status of full social and clinical recovery (Matschinger and Angermeyer 2004). Works Cited Bachrach LL. 1976. Deinstitutionalization: An analytical review and sociological review. Rockville M.D. National Institute of Mental Health.Dowdall, George. â€Å"Mental Hospitals and Deinstitutionalization.† Handbook of the Sociology of Mental Health, edited by C. Aneshensel and J. Phelan. New York: Kluwer Academic. 1999. Grob, Gerald. â€Å"Government and Mental Health Policy: A Structural Analysis.† Milbank Quarterly 72, no. 3 (1994): 471-500. Hollingshead A.B. and Redlich F. 1958. Social class and mental illness. New York: J. Wiley Redick, Richard, Michael Witkin, Joanne Atay, and others. â€Å"Highlights of Organized Mental Health Services in 1992 and Major National and State Trends.† Chapter 13 in Mental Health, United States, 1996, edited by Ronald Mandersheid and Mary Anne Sonnenschein. Washington DC: US-GPO, US-DHHS, 1996. Scheid, Teresa and Allan Horwitz. â€Å"Mental Health Systems and Policy.† Handbook for the Study of Mental Health. New York: Cambridge University Press. 1999. Schlesinger, Mark and Bradford Gray. â€Å"Institutional Change and Its Consequences for the Delivery of Mental Health Services.† Handbook of the Sociology of Mental Health, edited by C. Aneshensel and J. Phelan. New York: Kluwer Academic. 1999. Scull, Andrew. Social Order/Mental Disorder. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989. Witkin, Michael, Joanne Atay, Ronald Manderscheid, and others. â€Å"Highlights of Organized Mental Health Services in 1994 and Major National and State Trends.† Chapter 13 in Mental Health, United States, 1998, edited by Ronald Mandersheid and Marilyn Henderson. Washington DC: US-GPO, US-DHHS Pub. No. (SMA)99-3285, 1998.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Outsourcing and Company

What is Outsourcing? Outsourcing  is the  contracting  out of an internal  business process  to a third party organization. The practice of contracting a business process out to a third party rather than staffing it internally is common in the modern economy. The term â€Å"outsourcing† became popular in the  United States  near the turn of the 21st century. Outsourcing sometimes involves transferring employees and assets from one firm to another but not always. The definition of outsourcing includes both foreign and domestic contracting,  and sometimes includes  offshoring, which means relocating a business function to another country.Financial savings from lower international labor rates is a big motivation for outsourcing/offshoring. The opposite of outsourcing is called  insourcing, which entails bringing processes handled by third party firms in-house, and is sometimes accomplished via  vertical integration. However, a business can provide a contract service to another business without necessarily insourcing that business process. Advantages of Outsourcing : Outsourcing creates opportunities for a company to focus on lowering costs and improving the efficient allocation of resources within a company.Outsourcing allows a company to redirect its attention to its own competencies and hire outside resources to handle other tasks. For example, Jobs in the mid-west can often consist of phone tech support. However since it is even cheaper to pay people in India then support this community with jobs, it will send its jobs to India, another country which is an example of outsourcing. So outsourcing allows a firm to reduce costs and concentrate its resources on the things It does best while gaining access to expertise it may not have.Companies outsource primarily to cut costs. But today, it is not only about cutting cost but also about reaping the advantages of strategic outsourcing such as accessing skilled expertise, saving time, cutti ng cost, concentrating on networking, business growth and core competencies ,reducing overhead, flexible staffing, and increasing efficiency, reducing turnaround time and eventually generating more profit. 1. Accessing Skilled Expertise : One of the primary advantages of outsourcing is to get access to skilled expertise.This skill set may not be a core competency of a company’s business, but to allow on focusing on the core mission in providing a high quality product and service to its customer what makes sense is handing over the task to people who can perform it better. Moreover, as a double whammy, a company not only spends less on employee trainings and saves precious man-hours but cuts costs as well. 2. Saving time : When running a business, companies soon discover which skills they possess are strong, weak and non-existent.Rather than using their time and money to learn several new skills, they can simply outsource to someone who is already proficient. Perhaps they have other things in life besides business to focus on. Companies may want to spend the extra time outsourcing because it gives companies to learn a new skill such as public speaking, a new language, accounting, or some other subject. 3. Cutting Costs and Saving BIG! : Maintaining an infrastructure can be an extra burden for some businesses, which outsourcing can remove.Outsourcing business requirements to a trusted vendor can help companies to save on the capital expenditure, time, and extra efforts of their personnel. Additionally, companies are no longer committed to invest on employee training, or purchasing expensive software, or investing in latest technologies. All these help the companies to get higher returns in the longer run. For example, A small doctor's office that wants to accept a variety of insurance plans. One part-time person could not keep up with all the different providers and rules. Outsource to a firm specializing in medical billing. . Concentrating on Business Gr owth, Networking and Core Competencies : Workload increases with additional non-core functions and the quality of any company’s core activities suffers as the business grows. Outsourcing in such scenario to a third party plays an important role by allowing company’s key resources to focus on primary business tasks. Because of saving time and energy with outsourcing, companies can focus on growing their business. They can meet with important clients, attend seminars, find potential partners and network as well as tend to the management of the business.Companies can outsource their weakest areas to those who are already strong in them. 5. Reducing overhead : Overhead costs of performing a particular back-office function are extremely high. Paying wages to full-time employees can severely eat into your profits. It’s common for new start-ups to maximize savings by outsourcing to developing countries. People there, who are highly skilled, often work for only a few do llars per hour. It may seem low , but it’s often good money for them. Lower overheads from not having full-time employees may give the company competitive edge and mean the difference between success and failure. . Increasing in-house efficiency : After companies allocate tasks to their outsourcing partner, they share the workload of the companies’ employees. This allows the companies to develop their internal task force and use them more efficiently. 7. Staffing Flexibility : Outsourcing certain independent tasks, allows any company’s business to maintain a financial flexibility when there is an uncertainty in demand. The company can scale up or down comfortably. At a much lower cost, outsourcing provides additional benefit of running business in full throttle even during off season and holiday months.Example: An accounting department that is short-handed during tax season and auditing periods. Outsourcing these functions can provide the additional resources fo r a fixed period of time at a consistent cost. 8. Continuity & Risk Management : Periods of high employee turnover will add uncertainty and inconsistency to the operations. Outsourcing will provided a level of continuity to the company while reducing the risk that a substandard level of operation would bring to the company. Example: The human resource manager is on an extended medical leave and the two administrative assistants leave for new jobs in a very short period of time.Outsourcing the human resource function would reduce the risk and allow the company to keep operating. 9. Giving A Company’s Business A Competitive Edge : The ultimate benefit of outsourcing is that it helps the companies gain a competitive edge in the market. Through strategic outsourcing to an outsourcing partner, the companies are not only providing their customers with best-of breed services, but increasing their productivity while managing their in-house resources intelligently. Outsourcing can hel p them surpass competitors who have not yet realized the benefits of outsourcing. 10.Seeing An Overall Increase In The Company’s Business : Outsourcing shows an increase in company’s productivity, customer loyalty, level of quality, business value, profits, and much more. How will the changing face of education impact the supply chain? As you evaluate your choices and decisions in  outsourcing  different components of your operations, you will need to consider the advantages of outsourcing. When done for the right reasons, outsourcing will actually help your company grow and save money. There are other advantages of outsourcing that go beyond money. Here are the top seven advantages of outsourcing. . Focus On Core Activities In rapid growth periods, the back-office operations of a company will expand also. This expansion may start to consume resources (human and financial) at the expense of the core activities that have made your company successful. Outsourcing tho se activities will allow refocusing on those business activities that are important without sacrificing quality or service in the back-office. Example: A company lands a large contract that will significantly increase the volume of purchasing in a very short period of time; Outsource purchasing. 2. Cost And Efficiency SavingsBack-office functions that are complicated in nature, but the size of your company is preventing you from performing it at a consistent and reasonable cost, is another advantage of outsourcing. Example: A small doctor's office that wants to accept a variety of insurance plans. One part-time person could not keep up with all the different providers and rules. Outsource to a firm specializing in medical billing. 3. Reduced Overhead Overhead costs of performing a particular back-office function are extremely high. Consider outsourcing those functions which can be moved easily.Example: Growth has resulted in an increased need for office space. The current location i s very expensive and there is no room to expand. Outsource some simple operations in order to reduce the need for office space. For example, outbound telemarketing or data entry. 4. Operational Control Operations whose costs are running out of control must be considered for outsourcing. Departments that may have evolved over time into uncontrolled and poorly managed areas are prime motivators for outsourcing. In addition, an outsourcing company can bring better management skills to your company than what would otherwise be available.Example: An information technology department that has too many projects, not enough people and a budget that far exceeds their contribution to the organization. A contracted outsourcing agreement will force management to prioritize their requests and bring control back to that area. 5. Staffing Flexibility Outsourcing will allow operations that have seasonal or cyclical demands to bring in additional resources when you need them and release them when yo u're done. Example: An accounting department that is short-handed during tax season and auditing periods.Outsourcing these functions can provide the additional resources for a fixed period of time at a consistent cost. 6. Continuity & Risk Management Periods of high employee turnover will add uncertainty and inconsistency to the operations. Outsourcing will provided a level of continuity to the company while reducing the risk that a substandard level of operation would bring to the company. Example: The human resource manager is on an extended medical leave and the two administrative assistants leave for new jobs in a very short period of time. Outsourcing the human resource function would reduce the risk and allow the company to keep operating. . Develop Internal Staff A large project needs to be undertaken that requires skills that your staff does not possess. On-site outsourcing of the project will bring people with the skills you need into your company. Your people can work alon gside of them to acquire the new skill set. Example: A company needs to embark on a replacement/upgrade project on a variety of custom built equipment. Your engineers do not have the skills required to design new and upgraded equipment. Outsourcing this project and requiring the outsourced engineers to work on-site will allow your engineers to acquire a new skill set.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Business of Sorzal Distributors is not a common one

In spite these facts, Sorzal Distributors is a reputable dealer. Its main products include â€Å"authentic southwestern jewelry and pottery, and pre-Columbian artifacts from Peru and Venezuel† (Case Study, n.d.). Gross Sales of the company is about $12 millions and increased at a rate of 20% per year. â€Å"Is that the direction that the market is going?† It is known fact that effective marketing depends upon effective marketing system employed by a company and its strategy. Such factors as globalization of markets, economic integration and increased competition forced Sorzal Distributors to find new ways to compete. It is one of the most important infrastructure requirements, which is essential for the expansion of opportunities and plays an important role in making the competitive positioning. Sorzal Distributors has a chance to â€Å"add $1 million in additional sales† (Case Study, n.d.) contracting with a mass-merchandise department store chain. In spite of great benefits proposed by this contract, the company will be faced with a threat to become a â€Å"replicas retailer† and, probably, will have a negative impact on company’s brand image as a dealer of unique authentic artifacts. It is not an easy decision to make, but before signing the contract the company should answer the question â€Å"Is that the direction that the market is going?† (Case Study, n.d.) Changing Environment Sorzal Distributors operates in a simple and static environment. Firms operating in a relatively simple and static environment can generally rely on management strategies that are based on historical data. The strength of Sorzal Distributors is that it’s goods obtained a very competitive position on the market. The brand has a hard core of loyal supporters. It sells lines of products to satisfy the needs of wide audience through â€Å"specialty shops, firm-sponsored showings, and a few exclusive department stores† (Case Study, n.d.). Another strength is that Sorzal Distributors is an exclusive suppler of South American and African artifacts. Obtaining strong market position, Sorzal Distributors has maintained high-speed growth through product mix and new product lines. The opportunity of the company is the nature of business and loyalty of customers. As it is mentioned: â€Å"consumer tastes are changing from the modern and abstract to the more concrete† like Sorzal’s producrs (Case Study, n.d.). The opportunities of Sorzal include: high potential to growth and profitability of the company; promotion to other divisions; increased revenue from success in national market. In spite opportunities, recent changes threaten the business. Political-legal forces allocate power and provide constraining and protect ­ing laws and regulations. Primarily, political changes in Africa resulted in stricter legislation which prohibits â€Å"exportation of certain artifacts† (Case Study, n.d.). Another threat is increased competition which include the threat of entry by new competitors, the intensity of rivalry among existing competitors, and pressure from substitute products, primarily replicates. Recent years, the number of competitors increased from 5 to 11, and, according to David Olsen, â€Å"bargaining position of Sorzal has eroded† (Case Study, n.d.). The company â€Å"has watched our gross margin slip in recent years due to aggressive competitive bidding by others† (Case Study, n.d.). The weakness of the company is changing economic situation which requires new forms of strategy in order to compete on the limited and narrow market of artifacts. Limited destitution is also a weakness of the company. New Strategy In order to solve these problems and sustain competitive position, Sorzal should accept a competition strategy, instead of a competitive advantage. It is possible to admit that market of artifact is really needed low quality replicates such as produced and sold by Sorzal competitors. Nevertheless, this marketing strategy is not acceptable for Sorzal, which obtains a strong market position as a reputable dealer of   authentic southwestern jewelry and pottery Competition strategy will take place on a price and a non-price basis, and will help Sorzal to compete on the national market. Price competition involves businesses trying to undercut each other’s prices; this will, in turn, be dependent upon their ability to reduce their costs of production. Brand image and loyalty of customers should be the main criteria for Sorzal. This strategy will help to stay on top nationally and sustain competitive position as an exclusive distributor of South American and African artifacts. Marketing strategy based on the non-price competition should take form of branding, advertising, promotion, and additional services to customers (Johnson, Scholes, 1998). An alternative policy for Sorzal is to accept replicates distribution strategy. On the one hand, this strategy will help to add additional sales, but on the other hand, it will have a very negative impact on the company’s reputation. This strategy does not help to compete on the market for a long time, and increase the threat of substitution. The best solution for Sorzal is mass advertising campaign and opening new exclusive stores in order to attracted potential customers.   In relation to minor competitors, Sorzal should provide comparable buyer value but perform the activities more efficiently so as to attain a cost advantage, or perform the activities in a unique way which raises the value to the con ­sumer and thus allows them to command a premium price. If Sorzal follows its present say strategy (as an exclusive distributor of authntic artifacts), it will sustain its dominant position as a top brand, while expanding its operations and becomes a main player in the market. Nevertheless, flexibility is the most important infrastructure requirement, which is essential for the expansion of opportunities, and plays an important role in making and breaking the competitive positioning. References Case Study: Sorzal Distributors. N.d. Available Johnson, G., Scholes, K. Exploring Corporate Strategy. Hemel Hempstead: Prentice Hall. 1998. Business of Sorzal Distributors is not a common one In spite these facts, Sorzal Distributors is a reputable dealer. Its main products include â€Å"authentic southwestern jewelry and pottery, and pre-Columbian artifacts from Peru and Venezuel† (Case Study, n.d.). Gross Sales of the company is about $12 millions and increased at a rate of 20% per year. â€Å"Is that the direction that the market is going?† It is known fact that effective marketing depends upon effective marketing system employed by a company and its strategy. Such factors as globalization of markets, economic integration and increased competition forced Sorzal Distributors to find new ways to compete. It is one of the most important infrastructure requirements, which is essential for the expansion of opportunities and plays an important role in making the competitive positioning. Sorzal Distributors has a chance to â€Å"add $1 million in additional sales† (Case Study, n.d.) contracting with a mass-merchandise department store chain. In spite of great benefits proposed by this contract, the company will be faced with a threat to become a â€Å"replicas retailer† and, probably, will have a negative impact on company’s brand image as a dealer of unique authentic artifacts. It is not an easy decision to make, but before signing the contract the company should answer the question â€Å"Is that the direction that the market is going?† (Case Study, n.d.) Changing Environment Sorzal Distributors operates in a simple and static environment. Firms operating in a relatively simple and static environment can generally rely on management strategies that are based on historical data. The strength of Sorzal Distributors is that it’s goods obtained a very competitive position on the market. The brand has a hard core of loyal supporters. It sells lines of products to satisfy the needs of wide audience through â€Å"specialty shops, firm-sponsored showings, and a few exclusive department stores† (Case Study, n.d.). Another strength is that Sorzal Distributors is an exclusive suppler of South American and African artifacts. Obtaining strong market position, Sorzal Distributors has maintained high-speed growth through product mix and new product lines. The opportunity of the company is the nature of business and loyalty of customers. As it is mentioned: â€Å"consumer tastes are changing from the modern and abstract to the more concrete† like Sorzal’s producrs (Case Study, n.d.). The opportunities of Sorzal include: high potential to growth and profitability of the company; promotion to other divisions; increased revenue from success in national market. In spite opportunities, recent changes threaten the business. Political-legal forces allocate power and provide constraining and protect ­ing laws and regulations. Primarily, political changes in Africa resulted in stricter legislation which prohibits â€Å"exportation of certain artifacts† (Case Study, n.d.). Another threat is increased competition which include the threat of entry by new competitors, the intensity of rivalry among existing competitors, and pressure from substitute products, primarily replicates. Recent years, the number of competitors increased from 5 to 11, and, according to David Olsen, â€Å"bargaining position of Sorzal has eroded† (Case Study, n.d.). The company â€Å"has watched our gross margin slip in recent years due to aggressive competitive bidding by others† (Case Study, n.d.). The weakness of the company is changing economic situation which requires new forms of strategy in order to compete on the limited and narrow market of artifacts. Limited destitution is also a weakness of the company. New Strategy In order to solve these problems and sustain competitive position, Sorzal should accept a competition strategy, instead of a competitive advantage. It is possible to admit that market of artifact is really needed low quality replicates such as produced and sold by Sorzal competitors. Nevertheless, this marketing strategy is not acceptable for Sorzal, which obtains a strong market position as a reputable dealer of   authentic southwestern jewelry and pottery Competition strategy will take place on a price and a non-price basis, and will help Sorzal to compete on the national market. Price competition involves businesses trying to undercut each other’s prices; this will, in turn, be dependent upon their ability to reduce their costs of production. Brand image and loyalty of customers should be the main criteria for Sorzal. This strategy will help to stay on top nationally and sustain competitive position as an exclusive distributor of South American and African artifacts. Marketing strategy based on the non-price competition should take form of branding, advertising, promotion, and additional services to customers (Johnson, Scholes, 1998). An alternative policy for Sorzal is to accept replicates distribution strategy. On the one hand, this strategy will help to add additional sales, but on the other hand, it will have a very negative impact on the company’s reputation. This strategy does not help to compete on the market for a long time, and increase the threat of substitution. The best solution for Sorzal is mass advertising campaign and opening new exclusive stores in order to attracted potential customers.   In relation to minor competitors, Sorzal should provide comparable buyer value but perform the activities more efficiently so as to attain a cost advantage, or perform the activities in a unique way which raises the value to the con ­sumer and thus allows them to command a premium price. If Sorzal follows its present say strategy (as an exclusive distributor of authntic artifacts), it will sustain its dominant position as a top brand, while expanding its operations and becomes a main player in the market. Nevertheless, flexibility is the most important infrastructure requirement, which is essential for the expansion of opportunities, and plays an important role in making and breaking the competitive positioning. References Case Study: Sorzal Distributors. N.d. Available Johnson, G., Scholes, K. Exploring Corporate Strategy. Hemel Hempstead: Prentice Hall. 1998.

Friday, September 27, 2019

2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

2 - Essay Example The court primarily deals with cases of serious criminal offences like murder, rape and robbery. Some cases are transferred from the magistrates’ court and others are appeal against the sentences of the magistrate courts. The case is put in front of the judge and the jury by the prosecution lawyer and thereafter the trial begins. In the presence of the victim and the defendant, the respective lawyers present their version supported by witnesses to the criminal act. After hearing both the sides, the jury discusses the main points amongst themselves and comes to certain result which is then communicated to the judge, with all relevant information that helped reach to that conclusion. This verdict is then announced by the judge to both the parties giving relevant legal clauses under which the judgement is reached. The punishment is either announced on the same day or some later day as fixed by the presiding judge. The Prosecution barrister is the one who starts the criminal proceedings on behalf of the victim, against the person who is supposed to have committed or perpetrated the crime and explains to the court what the defendant is accused of. He is responsible to the court to prove his case with supportive evidences. The Defendant barrister on the other hand, acts on behalf of the person who is accused of the said offence or crime. His main responsibility is to show to the court that prosecution’s arguments are not good enough to prove his client guilty and that there may be other explanations also. He does so by pointing out at the probable flaws of the evidences produced. The Jury is very important part of the court proceedings. The jury consists of twelve members who hear the case of the two parties without any biases. The two main parties, the victim and the defendant are both unknown to the jury members and that is the main reason that they can collectively come to some concrete judgement

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Research Paper on Cheating Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

On Cheating - Research Paper Example Academic cheating involves a student representing someone’s work as their own. Academic cheating involves several aspects such as sharing another student’s work, purchasing a test questions or term paper in advance or paying a colleague or another person to do the work on one’s behalf. Academic cheating is an institutional, as well as societal vice that is unethical, therefore, requiring being discouraged vehemently, until it has been wholly eradicated society. Studies done on cheating among college students have found numerous factors associated as to why students cheat in tests and exams. They include, cheating being considered as a college norm, colleges lacking an honor code, penalties for cheating that are not severe, low faculty policies supporting academic integrity, minute chance of being caught; incidence is advanced at larger, less selective institutions. Furthermore, influencers such students cheating because others are doing it, faculty administration tend not to care, no acknowledged rules or rules are vague and heavy workloads instigate cheating in institutions (Fleming, 1). Previously, in colleges it was the students who were struggling in class that were notorious in cheating. However in recent times even the above average students as well as some exemplary students have been caught in the webs of cheating. This is facilitated by, poor concentration during lectures, or skiving classes, which entails that most students miss content that will be  helpful, in their examinations or tests. The struggling students cheat to at least gate grades that will allow them advance to the nest levels. They do not trust themselves enough to tackle the examination questions on their own brains thus depend on cheating as a means of elevating their grades. Such students often do not put any effort in grasping concepts as they are over dependent on cheating. This affects their normal lives, as they become cheeky, and lie as often as they can, to get themselves out of situations they always end up being untrustworthy members of society. Currently most college students are exposed to life full of freedom that they were not exposed to while in high school and other levels of education. In college, most students are independent and caretakers of themselves. They did not have their parents looking after them as when they were young. Some students are exposed to the joys and delights of college life that they easily overlook their main reason of being at college. Such students engage in college fun ignoring their studies, thus, when examination time reaches they are caught unprepared resorting to cheating so as pass their exam (Carey, 1). In the contemporary college life, cheating no longer has the stigmas it used to have previously. It has become a norm and accepted as part of way of doing examinations. Less disapproval coupled with increased lenience from some college departments has necessitated the rise of college cheating . Students in contemporary colleges are secretive as they are not open to report their fellow students, who cheat in exams. They have accepted those who cheat as part of their faction thus making it difficult to do away with the calamity of cheating. Since the cheating, students form a community, and bond with their colleagues; they are able to get away with cheating. Their fellow student

Innovation and Global Strategy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Innovation and Global Strategy - Assignment Example Different alternatives have been proposed by scholars that help in achieving reconciliation between exploitation and exploration at the operational level (Blarr, 2012). Yet, there is no such literature that provides a concise and clear understanding of the phenomenon how organizations develop ambidexterity capability. In this paper is has been studied how organizations use the processes of exploitation and exploration. This study leads to the discussion of how a balance can be practically achieved between the two strategies. Overview of ambidexterity Organizational ambidexterity is a term that refers to the ability of an organization to manage its business efficiently in the current business scenario and become adaptive to the changing environment so as to cope with the change in demand with time (Andriopoulos and Lewis, 2009). In the literal meaning of the term, ambidexterity is the skill of using the left as well as the right hand equally. In business terms, ambidexterity is the sk ill that all organizations need to develop to become successful in the competitive business world. Organizational ambidexterity allows the firms to use the skills of exploitation as well as exploration equally (Wang and Rafiq, 2009; Mom, Bosch and Volberda, 2009). Several terms are related to the development of ambidextrous organization. These aspects are organizational design, knowledge base of the organization and capability to learn, organizational adaptation, technological innovation and strategic management (Dyer and Nobeoka, 2000). Use of exploration and exploitation are two most relevant methods that allow an organization to improve its knowledge base and make new innovations in future. While a company innovates, it is imperative that it is capable of maintaining its stability (He and Wong, 2004). This implies that an ambidextrous organization should be able to exploit its current advantages and facilities and further develop upon them (Kortmann, 2012; Li, 2013). Different al ternatives are provided by various scholars that help to realize the process of simultaneous reconciliation between exploitation and exploration at the operational level within a firm. However, it has not been understood fully how organizations build their ambidexterity capability (Judge and Blocker, 2008). Exploitation & Exploration Exploration and exploitation are two concepts that are explained in terms of proximity of the knowledge that the company seeks. Exploitation activities help to locally search for knowledge that is familiar to the organization and is mature due to long history of work on this field. Exploration, on the other hand, refers to the search for such knowledge that is â€Å"unfamiliar, distant and remote† (Cantarello, Martini and Nosella, 2012, p. 29). Exploration Exploration includes various things like risk taking, bringing variation in knowledge, experimenting, building novelty and flexibility, discovering new methods, selection of the best method and its legitimisation. This process is radical and often tends to break the

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Project Keep Placement Stabilization Research Paper

Project Keep Placement Stabilization - Research Paper Example Due to the nature of this intervention, the statistical collection of data and facts associated with child abuse and neglect becomes difficult. To determine how much it would cost to resolve it through the various stages of the model that could be required. The well-being of the child is important. Although when parents usually the women take in alcohol and seems not to be abusive and not dependent or addicted to drinking. It is still possible the conditions under which she drinks may still put the child welfare at risk. A child welfare worker should be concerned about the nature of parent exposure to alcohol and drug use. As noted by The American Psychological Association, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV/DSM-IV-TR) that a woman should not take in more than seven drinks within a week or three drinks at a time. Child safety is an important issue in our society and factors that may bring about polluting or exposing the child welfare at risk are not lightly taken. Children are meant to be around adult so as to caution and comfort them in their growing years. Children are good observers and adult should be more caution what they do in their presence. This is part of protecting child welfare. But more often than not, parents or adults under the influence of alcohol and drug might not be able to control their misbehavior triggered from substance use and this usually has a lifespan effect on children. Significantly, the child welfare worker should be more concerned with the case of child neglect and abuse by identifying the factors of drug abuse and alcohol exposure. Child welfare worker should be able to support parent influenced by these factors to obtain adequate treatment in the understanding of the recovery concept in the view of child safety.  

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

The development and acquisition of language over the span of lifetime Essay - 1

The development and acquisition of language over the span of lifetime - Essay Example Language acquisition in human beings is evident during infancy most probably at four months. At this time the babies start to discriminate speech sounds and uses babbling which commonly comes from their mothers. They use preverbal Communication which involves gestures and vocalization to make their intents known. The way they acquire this type of language skills is universal and therefore the syntax process takes place slowly as they develop1. The syntactic development of the child is explained using two theories or approaches. The first one includes Nativist theory which argues that children have an innate language acquisition device (LAD). It assumes that LAD is a small area in the brain which has a collection of syntactic rules for all the languages that he or she may be interacting with. The theory notes that the environment alone gives communication full of errors and therefore the device provides the child with novel ability to construct sentences using learned vocabulary. Ther efore because of possession of this LAD they are able to learn any language without the interference of the incomplete information from the environment. The second theory known as the empiricist opposes the fist theory. It argues that there is enough information that can develop the linguistic domain of a child and not LAD.Empiricist believes that brain process is sufficient enough for language development in babies. For a child to acquire language fast, then engagement with environment more often is needed in order to stimulate the rate of development.

Monday, September 23, 2019

Non-profit organizations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Non-profit organizations - Essay Example The problem in human health that arose from the disaster is a major concern worth analysis and discussion. The health deterioration in the coastal region and the island is an issue of concern because the earthquake destroyed the sewage system. The lack of a proper sewage system has triggered the outbreak of waterborne diseases such as cholera in the country. Therefore, there is a need to intervene and restore the order as fast as possible. Restoring the system will help reduce the deaths that are occurring in the region because of cholera. GoodLife’s vision is built towards making the lives of people in the country better and enjoyable. We, therefore, establish our camp on regions enduring difficulties due to lack of adequate resources or government intervention. Moreover, the organization intervened in the situation being led by the following principles that form our vision. Considering these objective principles, the vision of the GoodLife is clear. Our ambition is to work with the community and to recuperate their life. Our long time goals are to lead non-governmental organisation in providing help to the needy communities in the country. Our position to the vision statement is driven by credible research that moves the community to enquire about their problem. The organization analyze problem and outline the possible measures that can be used to remedy it. Our specific objective in this mission to solve the problem of the sewage system in the coastal region and the Mentawai Islands. Our specific objectives aims are disconnecting the main cause of cholera in the country. Goodlife aims to reconstruct the sewerage system and build new toilets and latrines. The communities have experienced the problem of sewerage with little support from the government. There are a number of activities that are to be carried out in order to hit our objectives. Goodlife seek qualified contractors to be involved in the construction of waterways. This canal will ensure

Saturday, September 21, 2019

McDonalds Marketing Plan Essay Example for Free

McDonalds Marketing Plan Essay I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY McDonald’s Philippines is a subsidiary of the Filipino-owned Golden Arches Development Corporation. The first Filipino McDonald’s to open for business was in the Morayta university districts in Manila during 1981. These days McDonald’s is operating over 150 restaurants throughout the islands of the Philippines. Being a 100% Filipino-owned franchise allows McDonald’s Philippines to be more agile and take quicker actions, making them an even more competitive force in the Filipino fast-food market. It is one of the leading fast-food chains internationally as well as in the Philippines, with a rapidly developing consumer brand and growing customer base. . It is a place for family togetherness organized around a common love of the traditional food. Its operating system is characterized by focusing on uniformity for consistent quality, the formation of partner relationship with its franchises and supplier to improve operating system innovatively and last but not least the introduction of new products. With its steady drive for improvement and consistently high quality, McDonald’s revolutionized the entire supply chain. Instead of regimenting its supplier and franchisees, McDonald’s expected commitment from them in terms of adherence and experimentation. The implemented, smooth operating chain of suppliers, McDonald’s corporate management and franchisees balances each other, creates an entrepreneurial spirit that added value, innovation, economics of scale, the bargaining power for advertising and purchasing, as well as new product and process ideas to the company. Additionally, all involved parties maintained a collective emphasis on disciplined quality standards. As years passed by, McDonald’s needed to adapt to industry changes by accomplishing some process design innovations in fruitful collaboration with its suppliers and franchisees. In this context, McDonald’s improved the chain’s chicken and fries’ quality and consistency by switching from raw to frozen delivered fries as well as the productivity of employee. Another major process enhancement was the introduction of the breakfast at McDonald’s. In this way, the corporation expanded its operating hours since it had to pay for rent, utilities and insurance 24 hours a day, anyways. The generation of a totally new business came along with the nice side effect that it again distinguishes itself from its competitors. This marketing plan is used in outlining the product, pricing, and distribution and promotion strategies to be implemented and executed during this time. It proposes a revitalization of the McDonald’s philosophy so as to focus on the quality of products and services for customer’s value and a healthy lifestyle, healthy eating habits, smart choices and education. The plan also outlines the structural issues that may arise during its implementation and execution, tactical initiatives to turn strategy into action. II. CHALLENGE Problem: Before, the company use grilled direct system. Which becomes the problem of the company because the customer always complaining about the quality of the product like chicken mcdo, when it is served to the customers it is not crispy because it stays longer in the warming bin, and also the patty of the burger, it is not juicy because it is not hot. The access of McDelivery to the call center is another problem of McDonalds because some times the information about on the location of the customer is wrong. Solution: Now a day the McDonald’s uses the Made for You (MFY) system. †¢ Food is made or prepared to actual customer demand, providing each and every burger only when it is needed just in time (JIT). †¢ It standardizes assembly of all sandwiches to one or two at a time. †¢ Requires minimal Human Decisions Making. †¢ It requires Behavioral change ⠝â€" Quality ⠝â€" Complete waste ⠝â€" Equipment ⠝â€" Standard procedure III. SITUATION ANALYSIS Company Analysis †¢ Goals – Develop a solution to improve kitchen layouts, people positioning and operational procedures for a better guest experience. In simple terms: our goal is to have a happy and satisfied customer. †¢ Focus – the company should focus on products and services. McDonald’s is a customer-oriented company that strives to offer Filipinos a combination of great tasting, quality food productions at value prices with excellent service. †¢ Values – Customer – driven, Malasakit, Integrity, Teamwork and Excellent. †¢ Strengths ⠝â€" Quality of the product, services and cleanliness of the store. ⠝â€" The service of the company is fast and accurate, and we believe that taking good care of our customers is the first vital step toward effective sales building. ⠝â€" Patents and Trademark ⠝â€" Branding such as through the use of logos, colours, slogan and other images. A key part of the McDonald’s brand is its ‘M’ logo otherwise known as ‘The Golden Arches’. †¢ Weaknesses ⠝â€" The competitors like Jollibee, Mang Inasal, Burger King etc. ⠝â€" Lack of cooperation between the management and in the crews. †¢ Market Shares – McDonald’s has captured more than 40% share of the hamburger market in the Philippines. Customer Analysis †¢ Number – 30% is ages 60 and above, 20% is ages 1-15, 50% is ages 16 and above. This is the percentage of customer who are eating at the McDonald’s everyday especially during breakfast, lunch, and dinner. †¢ Type – Class B C †¢ Value Drivers – a part from our product and services. McDonald’s gives back to the community through the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC). RMHC supports children’s development and well being through Bahay Bulilit and Bright Minds Read (BMR). Every happy meal purchase gives 50 centavos to RMHC. †¢ Decision process – The customer have a lot of decision making it is base of what they needs and wants, also the customer decide to buy a discounted product like in coupon and the mcsaver meals. Competitor Analysis †¢ Market Position No. 1 (Jollibee) No. 2 (McDonald’s) †¢ Strengths Lasang Pinoy Raw materials are environment friendly †¢ Weaknesses Jollibee has a poor service †¢ Market shares – Jollibee has captured more than 52% share of the hamburger market in the Philippines. SWOT ANALYSIS Strength †¢ Risk diversity †¢ Large market share †¢ Strong supply chain †¢ Promoting ethical conduct †¢ Competitive fast-food chain †¢ Attentive and friendly staff/crew’s †¢ Rigorous food safety standards †¢ Good reputation among customer †¢ Decentralized yet connected system †¢ Strong brand name, image and reputation †¢ Strong financial and performance and position †¢ Affordable prices and high quality products †¢ Nutritional information available on packaging †¢ Strong global presence and performance in the global marketplace †¢ Specialized training for managers known as the Hamburger University †¢ McDonalds Plan to Win focuses on people, product, place, price and promotion Weaknesses †¢ Unhealthy food image †¢ High staff turnover including top management †¢ Customer losses due to fierce competition †¢ Lack of access to the best natural resources †¢ Lack of access to key distribution channel Opportunities †¢ Growing health trends among consumers †¢ Joint ventures with retailers †¢ Consolidation of retailers likely, so better locations for franchisees †¢ Respond to social changes by innovation with in healthier lifestyle foods †¢ Strengthen its value proposition and offering, to encourage customers who visit coffee shops into McDonalds †¢ The new â€Å"formats†, Mccafe, having wi-fi internet links should help in attracting segments. Also installing children’s play-parks and its focus on educating consumers about health, fitness. †¢ International expansion into emerging market’s of other country †¢ Growth of the fast-food industry †¢ Low cost menu that will attract the customers †¢ Providing many promotional activities Threats †¢ Health professionals and consumer activists accuse McDonald’s of contributing to the country health issue of high cholesterol, heart attacks, diabetes, and obesity †¢ McDonalds competitors threatened market share of the company both internationally and domestically †¢ Global recession and fluctuating foreign currencies †¢ Affordability of the competitors products †¢ Similar flavors and products of the competitors †¢ Competitors endorsers are much popular when it compares to McDonalds IV.Market Segmentation Market Segmentation is the process of splitting customer in to different groups, or segment within the customers with similar characteristics have similar needs. Geographical Segmentation Mcdonalds offered their services based on certain country basic food. Like Philippines McDonalds realized that Filipino basic food is rice which with fried chicken as its local basic food. Demographic/Psychographic Segmentation Demographic segmentation divided the market into groups based on variables like gender, age, nationality, religion; family life cycle and family size McDonald offered their services by segmented their customer base on age, religion and family life cycle. To offer the best service McDonalds still concern about variations due to differing tastes and cultural issues for their customer over the world. Behavioral Segmentation Behavioral segmentation focuses on dividing consumer based on their knowledge, attitudes, uses, benefit sought, or responses to company’s product. One of the best forms of segmentation is to divide buyers according to the different benefits that they want to get by purchasing the product. Usually people who look for in their product class or look for each benefit. For example, McDonald provide McDelivery for 24 hours, this is the only one delivery service that not stop even once in a while a day by just call it and order, after that within a minute it comes to your place with the food that still hot and fresh. V. Alternative Marketing Strategies McDonalds has seen recent success through a careful implementation of its â€Å"Plan to Win† strategy, which focuses on several key aspects of the business, namely increasing traffic to restaurants, providing everyday value to customers, innovating the company through the creation of new menu items, re-imaging the company’s look, as well as its marketing campaigns. McDonald’s Plan to Win is based on a core set of four main goals: †¢ Acquire more customers †¢ Get these customers to eat at McDonalds more often †¢ Develop more brand loyalty for the McDonalds brand †¢ Ultimately become more profitable Increasing restaurant visits Current market condition help the appearance of McDonalds as a low cost alternative to eating at more expensive restaurants in the minds of customers, which has consequently led to an increase in foot traffic at McDonalds franchises. McDonalds has addressed these conditions through an increase in advertising, specially displaying the company’s attention toward a diversified menu of low cost items. Such advertising serves to satisfy all four of goals of Plan to win program, drawing customer interest through a short display of the plethora of new menu options recently added, while also helping to change the look and feel of McDonalds in the minds of customers. Providing everyday value In order to create an overall feeling of value for customers to experience, McDonalds has released a modular value meal, where customers have the benefit of both low prices coupled with increased freedom when deciding on a meal. While traditional menu options emphasize a trade-off between ordering freedom and price, the McDonalds value menu provides customers with both all at once, helping customers associate the brand with good value. Innovating new menu items At the same time as their menu choices have become modular and less expensive, McDonalds is also creating value for customers by providing a diverse menu with many more ordering options. Customers can now expect an increase in health-conscious options by adding some vegetables in the burger and also they provide some dessert like apple pie or pineapple pie. McDonalds also provide a mccafe like ice mocha, ice latte, and cappuccino, Americano to provide some different variety of coffee to satisfy the customer. Marketing campaigns As well as considering the important of keeping customers informed of the continuing changes to the company through advertising media and social media dialogues, McDonalds also recognizes the value of maintaining an ongoing support system and training structure for each of its franchise operators. As mentioned above, McDonalds uses well defined, and measurable milestones to help their constituents meet company goals with as few inconsistencies as possible. McDonalds’ training programs have been continuously recognized for their excellence, and with the continuing changes being carried out throughout the company, this attention to the value of training is a terrific asset to the company. Re-imaging the restaurant Directly benefiting the company’s goals of brand development for the company, McDonalds is reenergizing their brand through an understanding of â€Å"brand power†, which is built on the cultivation of four key areas of the brand, brand identity, familiarity, specialness, and authority. Brand identity is defined as the set of characteristics that customers recognize your brand by; in McDonalds’ case these are speed, consistency, value, and variety. Brand identity works with brand familiarity, helping to expand the message that symbols of the company, or even the overall impact of advertisements themselves in reinforcing the identity of the brand in the minds of customers. If carefully managed, McDonalds can use their brand identity to make their investments in advertising go much further. Beyond this, brand specialness and authority continue the process, representing the perceptions of McDonalds as the company appears to customers. Ideally, McDonalds should leverage brand specialness and authority to clearly stand out as a distinct and trustworthy source of value, allowing customers to increase the value of the McDonalds brand through their positive interactions with the company. McDonald’s adopts different strategies to attract customers of different age groups, but still the main target remains to be children. So in order to attract them, McDonald’s use a key tool: the Happy Meals, which seem to fascinate children due to the toys included in the menu. In addition to this, they have a tie up with The Walt Disney Company for the Disney characters included in the menu, in order to make sure that they offer the kids a wide range of toy options. Moreover, McDonald’s provides the children with a special facility, unique for food venues and fast-food restaurants: a playground. This strategy is aimed at making McDonald’s a pleasant and fun environment for both kids and parents. Even the exterior of every restaurant is also strategically designed using bright colors to invite in the customer, especially kids who can easily be influenced by these aspects. So not only that the children like it, it is a chance for the parents to spend some â€Å"quality time† with their kids. Another aspect of their marketing strategy is the fact that every McDonald’s restaurant provides Wi–Fi facilities, a detail that adds to the attractive qualities and is aimed at teenage customers. In addition to this, what is representative for this chain is their clown mascot, Ronald McDonald, who is essential for creating the bond with children and entertaining them. They can even have private birthday parties in the facilities, again part of McDonald’s aim to induce happy memories in children’s minds, and to make them associate the McDonald’s brand and logo with happy moments. VI. Selected Marketing Strategy Product Suppliers are dedicated to providing McDonald’s with top quality material that is continually monitored for freshness and safety. McDonald’s uses regional suppliers to ensure that the freshness is delivered to customers in every product they buy. Food quality is keys at McDonald’s. They seek out fresh lettuce and tomatoes, onions and pickles, quality buns and potatoes, pure ground beef, select poultry and fish and wholesome dairy products. All of the beef, chicken and pork that are used are purchased from federally inspected facilities to ensure freshness, wholesomeness and peak quality when served to customers. Non-Vegetarian Ingredients Chicken The chicken products are made from high quality boned rib and leg meat and are covered in a specially seasoned, lightly battered coating. They are shaped in uniform sizes to ensure consistency in weight and value. Fish The fish products in McDonald’s Filet –O- Fish are 100% pure whole white fillets that are lightly breaded. Their exacting quality standards for fish surpass federal requirements. The ocean-fresh quality of Filet-O-Fish is a result of the process and ability to freeze the fish at sea to maintain freshness. Vegetarian Ingredients Vegetables McDonald’s use freshly shredded lettuce, onions, pickles and tomatoes in their restaurants. All their vegetable products are processed from high quality graded vegetables in a 100% dedicated vegetarian plant. Potatoes McDonald’s French fries are famous around the world. To make French fries, McDonald’s uses only the best potatoes available from their own potato farms. Their potato suppliers make many of the same nationally recognized brands of potato products to make customers feel that they are with their family at home. These potatoes are cut, blanched and processed on state-of-the-art processing lines to ensure maximum retention of nutrients. Their French fries and Potato Wedges are cooked at the plant in 100% vegetables cooking oil. Other Ingredients Cheese and other Dairy Products All dairy products like cheese, McShakes and Soft Serves are made from fresh dairy milk. All dairy products including cheese have a role to play in balanced diet because they contain a wide variety of essential nutrients such as protein, calcium, fat solubles, phosphorus, etc. McDonald’s uses a special blend of pasteurized American cheese to complement the flavor of their sandwiches. Buns McDonald’s uses buns made from locally grown wheat flour. They are baked locally and delivered fresh, several times each week to McDonald’s restaurants. Cooking Oil Food preparations are done in 100% refined vegetable oils at the restaurants plants. They use liquid oil and not hydrogenated oil. This means there are no TFAs or Trans Fatty Acids in the French Fries or any other products. Additionally, these vegetable oils contain some essential fatty acids necessary for growth. Quality Food quality is the crucial element at McDonald’s. Despite extensive and meticulous quality test at the suppliers end, all products are once again carefully scrutinized at the restaurant. Immaculate of quality allow for nothing but the best to reach customer’s tray. Their products are sourced from the highest quality ingredients, prepared hygienically and treated to regular quality checks such as the McDonald’s Inspection Program (QIP). Scope of Product Line Distribution (Place) Place, as an element of the marketing mix, is not just about the physical location or distribution points for products. It encompasses the management of a range of processes involved in bringing products to the end consumer. McDonald’s outlets are very evenly spread throughout the cities making them very accessible. Drive in and drive through options make McDonald’s products further convenient to the consumers. Intensive Distribution Distribution arrangements tend to be long term in nature. Because of this time horizon, channel decisions are usually classed as strategic, rather than tactical or operational ones. Many of McDonalds restaurants are open 24 hours per day which satisfies the customers needs and wants, especially for exists their hunger. This kind of distribution strategy is called intensive distribution, means marking the product available for sale through all possible channels of distribution. Intensive distribution is stocking the product in as many outlets as possible.† Promotion The promotions aspect of the marketing mix covers all types of marketing communications One of the methods employed is advertising, Advertising is conducted on TV, radio, in cinema, online, using poster sites and in the press for example in newspapers and magazines. Other promotional methods include sales promotions, point of sale display, merchandising, direct mail, loyalty schemes, door drops, etc. The skill in marketing communications is to develop a campaign which uses several of these methods in a way that provides the most effective results. For example, TV advertising makes people aware of a food item and press advertising provides more detail. This may be supported by in-store promotions to get people to try the product and a collectable promotional device to encourage them to keep on buying the item. At McDonalds the prime focus is on targeting children. In happy meals too which are targeted at children small toys are given along with the meal. Apart from this, various schemes for winning prices by way of lucky draws and also scratch cards are given when an order is placed on the various mean combos. VII. Conclusion Since the problem of McDonalds is about the customer that keeps on complaining for the quality and freshness of the products that is being served. Therefore I conclude that the company should use the MFY (Made for You) system, so that the food is made or prepared for the customer just in time with a good quality for a reasonable cost. The company should also provide a large number of riders to avoid late delivery.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Ethical Questions in the Stem Cell Debate

Ethical Questions in the Stem Cell Debate The Stem Cell Debate: Ethical Questions The story for the year 1997 was the sacred. We fear a Promethean blunder. We fear that our own human hubris will violate something sacred in our nature; and we fear that nature will retaliate with disaster. To protect ourselves from a possible Promethean blunder by science, we are tempted to stop further research with the commandment: thou shalt not play God! Then, during 1999, we opened the first few pages on chapter two of the cloning controversy story. I will refer to this chapter as the stem cell debate. The debate has only begun. What is not yet clear is just what needs to be debated. Perhaps nothing. Perhaps everything. What is clear is that the fallout from the cloning explosion is still lighting fires here and there. Whether or not the public will add stem cells to the fuel to make those fires burn hotter remains to be seen. Stem cells have become front page news in Australia, as well as in the United States and other countries. On February 4, 1999, the Australian National Academy of Science issued a position statement. Note the structure of Recommendation 1. Council considers that reproductive cloning to produce human fetuses is unethical and unsafe and should be prohibited.However, human cells derived from cloning techniques, from germ cells should not be precluded from use in approved research activities in cellular and developmental biology Here two things are put together. First, disapproval of reproductive cloning for the purposes of making children. Second, approval of research on human embryonic stem cells, approval even in the face of ethical squeamishness regarding embryo research. If this Australian statement is a barometer, we need to ask: what is the cultural weather forecast? What might be coming? In what follows it will be my task to report on the fast-moving frontier of stem cell research within the field of anthropology, agenda questions raised by science that need to be addressed by systematic theologians and public policy makers. I will ask more questions than I am ready to answer. Yet, I believe that such work invested in trying to formulate the relevant question (die Fragestellung) takes us more than just halfway toward a helpful answer. The Human Embryonic Stem Cell Debate Science, Ethics, and Public Policy Edited by Laurie Zoloth Human embryonic stem cells can divide indefinitely and have the potential to develop into many types of tissue. Research on these cells is essential to one of the most intriguing medical frontiers, regenerative medicine. It also raises a host of difficult ethical issues and has sparked great public interest and controversy. This book offers a foundation for thinking about the many issues involved in human embryonic stem cell research. It considers questions about the nature of human life, the limits of intervention into human cells and tissues, and the meaning of our corporeal existence. The fact that stem cells may be derived from living embryos that are destroyed in the process or from aborted fetuses ties the discussion of stem cell research to the ongoing debates on abortion. In addition to these issues, the essays in the book touch on broader questions such as who should approve controversial research and what constitutes human dignity, respect, and justice. The book contains contributions from the Ethics Advisory Board of the Geron Coroporation; excerpts from expert testimony given before the National Bioethics Advisory Commission, which helped shape recent National Institutes of Health policy; and original analytical essays on the implications of this research. Pros and Cons Debates over the ethics of embryonic blastocysts. Latest Developments The most recent research has shown that there are many options available other than working with embryonic stem cells. Stem cells can be obtained from cord blood or derived by manipulating differentiated cells (i.e. skin cells) to revert them to a pluripotent state. These are alternatives that may help broaden the acceptance of stem cell research. Background In November 1998 the first published research paper reported that stem cells could be taken from human embryos. Subsequent research led to the ability to maintain undifferentiated stem cell lines (pluripotent cells) and techniques for differentiating them into cells specific to various tissues and organs. The debates over the ethics of stem cell research began almost immediately in 1999, despite reports that stem cells cannot grow into complete organisms. In 2000 – 2001, governments worldwide were beginning to draft proposals and guidelines in an effort to control stem cell research and the handling of embryonic tissues, and reach universal policies to prevent â€Å"brain-drains† (emigration of top scientists) between countries. The CIHR (Canadian Institute of Health Sciences) drafted a list of recommendations for stem cell research in 2001. The Clinton administration drafted guidelines for stem cell research in 2000, but Clinton left office prior to them being released. The Bush government has had to deal with the issue throughout his administration. Australia, Germany, UK and other countries have also formulated policies. (Continued from Page 1) Pros The therapeutic cloning. Stem cells provide huge potential for finding treatments and cures to a vast array of diseases including different cancers, diabetes, spinal cord injuries, Alzheimers, MS, Huntingtons, Parkinsons and more. There is endless potential for scientists to learn about human growth and cell development from studying stem cells. Use of adult-derived stem cells, from blood, cord blood, skin and other tissues, known as IPSCs, has been demonstrated to be effective for treating different diseases in animal models. Umbilical-cord-derived stem cells (obtained from the cord blood) have also been isolated and utilized for various experimental treatments. Another option is use of uniparental stem cells. Although these cells lines have some disadvantages or shortcomings compared to embryonic cell lines (they are shorter-lived), there is vast potential if enough money is invested in researching them further, and they are not technically considered individual living beings by pro-life advocates. Cons Use of embryonic stem cells for reasearch involves the destruction of blastocysts formed from laboratory-fertilized human eggs. For those who believe that life begins at conception, the blastocyst is a human life and to destroy it is unacceptable and immoral. This seems to be the only controversial issue standing in the way of stem cell research in North America. Where It Stands In the summer of 2006 President Bush stood his ground on the issue of stem cell research and vetoed a bill passed by the Senate that would have expanded federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. Currently, American federal funding can only go to research on stem cells from existing (already destroyed) embryos. Similarly, in Canada, as of 2002, scientists cannot create or clone embryos for research but must used existing embryos discarded by couples. The UK allows embryonic stem cell cloning. Use of stem cell lines from alternative non-embryonic sources has received more attention in recent years and has already been demonstrated as a successful option for treatment of certain diseases. For example, adult stem cells can be used to replace blood-cell-forming cells killed during chemotherapy in bone marrow transplant patients. Biotech companies such as ACT are researching techniques for cellular reprogramming of adult cells, use of amnionic fluid, or stem cell extraction techniques that do not damage the embryo, that also provide alternatives for obtaining viable stem cell lines. Out of necessity, the research on these alternatives is catching up with embryonic stem cell research and, with sufficient funding, other solutions might be found that are acceptable to everyone. On March 9, 2009, President Obama overturned Bushs ruling, allowing US Federal funding to go to embryonic stem cell research. However, the stipulation applies that normal NIH policies on data sharing must be followed. Despite the progress being made in other areas of stem cell research, using pluripotent cells from other sources, many American scientists were putting pressure on the government to allow their participation and compete with the Europeans. However, many people are still strongly opposed Research Ethics and Stem Cells Stem cells show potential for many different areas of health and medical research, and studying them can help us understand how they transform into the dazzling array of specialized cells that make us what we are. Some of the most serious medical conditions, such as cancer and birth defects, are caused by problems that occur somewhere in this process. A better understanding of normal cell development will allow us to understand and perhaps correct the errors that cause these medical conditions. Research on one kind of stem cell—human embryonic stem cells—has generated much interest and public debate. Pluripotent stem cells (cells that can develop into many different cell types of the body) are isolated from human embryos that are a few days old. Pluripotent stem cell lines have also been developed from fetal tissue (older than 8 weeks of development). As science and technology continue to advance, so do ethical viewpoints surrounding these developments. It is important to educate and explore the issues, scientifically and ethically. The discovery, isolation, and culturing of human embryonic stem cells has been described as one of the most significant breakthroughs in biomedicine of the century.1 This description would be warranted by virtue of the biological uniqueness of these cells alone—their ability to self-renew infinitely while retaining a remarkable capacity to differentiate into any form of cell tissue. But as well as this, the culturing of embryonic stem cells holds tremendous potential for the development of new forms of regenerative medicine to treat debilitating or fatal conditions that would not otherwise be curable.2 It is somewhat of an irony that the discovery of cells with such a tremendous potential for improving and prolonging our own lives, should bring with it some of the most trenchant and intractable questions about the value of life itself. The harvesting of embryonic stem cells results in the destruction of the embryos from which they are harvested. It results, in other words, in the expiration of the very beginnings of a possible human life. Issues about the value of life emerge here in perhaps their most stark and poignant form in the question of whether life for those already existing should be improved at the seeming expense of a possible human life that has just come into being. Needless to say, what the most ethically justified response is to this sort of question is far from obvious. It is not immediately apparent, either, just what should count as the appropriate criteria for assessing possible responses to it. Indeed, it is even contentious as to what the right concepts and terminology are for framing the central questions. What is clear, though, is that it would be remiss to fail to engage with these questions in a manner that is commensurate with their depth, complexity and importance. With due regard to that, the following discussion provides a brief overview of some of the core ethical issues arising from the Research Involving Embryos Bill 2002 and to some extent the Prohibition of Human Cloning Bill 2002.3 The public debate has focused mostly on ethical problems associated with the destruction of embryos (in the case of the first Bill), and with the creation of cloned human embryos (in the case of the second Bill). The current paper will confine its primary focus to the first set of problems, since many of the salient ethical issues about cloning will arise, as it turns out, in connection with embryonic stem cell research.4 1 Key Ethical Issues in Embryonic Stem Cell Research The paper takes most of the major ethical concerns in the debate to be encompassed by the following core questions: †¢ What, in principle, is ethically at issue with destructive embryo research? †¢ What is important when it comes to judging the value of the potential consequences of destructive embryo research? †¢ In what does the value of the human embryo consist? †¢ Does the means by which an embryo expires—whether it is destroyed or merely succumbs—make a moral difference? †¢ Is there anything morally worse about using embryos created for research purposes compared to using existing excess or surplus ART (assisted reproductive treatment) embryos? The purpose of the following discussion is to clarify some relevant moral and conceptual distinctions connected with these core questions, and to clarify the basic structure of the major views and argument themes that have been developed by philosophers, bioethicists and theologians in response to these questions. Of course, in their more fully expanded form these distinctions and arguments will involve subtleties and complexities that are beyond the limited scope of this paper to address. Nonetheless, the discussion here will hopefully give an impression of where some of those further complexities and subtleties might lie. The Basic Ethical Problem The possibility of destructive embryo research, particularly embryonic stem cell research, presents us with a moral problem because it appears to bring into tension two fundamental moral principles that we esteem very highly: one principle enjoins the prevention or alleviation of suffering, and the other enjoins us to respect the value of human life. As noted, the harvesting and culturing of embryonic stem cells has considerable potential to bring about remarkable potential benefits in the way of alleviating debilitating medical conditions. So, it satisfies the first principle to a very great degree. On the other hand, there is a case to be made that the harvesting of human embryonic stem cells violates the second principle in that it results in the destruction of human life with value (i.e. human embryos). Accordingly, both principles apparently cannot simultaneously be respected in the case of embryonic stem cell research. The question then is which principle ought to be given precedence in this conflict situation. Should we give more weight to the first, and permit destructive embryonic stem cell research because of its remarkable potential benefits? Or should we give more weight to the second, and prohibit destructive embryonic research because it violates respect for the value of the 2 Key Ethical Issues in Embryonic Stem Cell Research embryo as the very beginnings of a possible human life? This, at bottom, is the ethical problem generated by destructive embryo research. Crude as it may sound, responding to this problem calls for a moral calculation—a decision about how the positive value of destructive embryo research is to be weighted, from a moral point of view, in comparison to the negative value (or disvalue) of destroying embryos. Whatever way that calculation is done, it is important to get a clear idea of what moral weight each side of the equation has. This will involve: (i) developing a sound and accurate picture of what the real value is of the benefits of embryonic research, and (ii) clarifying what the value of embryos might consist in, and what, if anything, may be wrong with destroying them. The rest of this paper outlines some of the ethical arguments and philosophical considerations that have been considered relevant to these two matters. Evaluating the Benefits of Embryonic Stem Cell Research Evaluating the beneficial consequences of embryonic stem cell research is not straightforward. There are complexities associated with assessing how realistic the potential of the benefits is, how alternatives with different combinations of benefits and drawbacks are to be compared, and factoring in all of the sometimes overlooked possible consequences of embryonic research. Judging the Benefits Most attention has centred on the medical potential of embryonic stem cell research and cultivation, particularly somatic gene therapy for genetic disorders5, and the generation of replacement tissues and organs for transplant.6 There is no doubt that these outcomes, once realised, would be highly valuable. It is important to keep in mind, however, that currently these benefits are potential ones. A sound evaluation of stem cell research needs to take account of the likelihood of achieving its beneficial outcomes. In matters of science, and particularly, in areas that are newly developing and comparatively uncharted (such as embryonic stem cell research), it is sometimes difficult to settle on those probabilities with complete confidence. It is the nature of scientific discoveries and progress, that they are not easily predicted. Both advances and impediments to advancement can arise unexpectedly. This uncertainty about how real the potential benefits are, needs to be kept in mind wh en weighing and evaluating the consequences of embryonic stem cell research. 3 Key Ethical Issues in Embryonic Stem Cell Research Comparing the Benefits and Harms of Alternatives to Embryonic Stem Cell Research Adult Stem Cell Research Whether destructive embryonic stem cell research is the right thing to do or not, will partly depend on what the alternatives are, and how their particular benefits and drawbacks balance out. There is another research program involving adult stem cells that are present in and drawn from bone marrow, brain and gut, and other tissues. Some of these stem cells have a capacity to differentiate into a limited number of different cell types, such as blood cells, muscles and neurones (i.e., they are multipotent), but they have not been shown to be pluripotent (able to differentiate into any cell-type) in the way that embryonic stem cells are.7 This limitation means that adult stem cells offer more limited potential benefits in regenerative medicine and gene therapy, at least from the standpoint of our current understanding and available biotechnology. (But with that said, it is worth keeping in mind the points made above about the limited predictability of scientific advances, including the possibility of inducing adult stem cells to differentiate into a greater range of tissue types.) The harvesting and use of adult stem cells for biomedical purposes, however, avoids some of the ethically and biomedically problematic features of using embryonic stem cells. For a start, harvesting adult stem cells does not involve the destruction of embryos. The extent to which that is an advantage will depend on the extent to which that destruction turns out to be a bad thing, (and this will be taken up shortly). Tissues grown from adult stem cells will be immunologically compatible with the person from whom the stem cells are harvested. This means that those tissues can be transplanted into that person without fear of the body rejecting them. Tissues produced from embryonic stem cells for the purpose of regenerative therapy, however, are unlikely to be immunocompatible with the person for whom they are intended. The immunological properties of the tissue are set by the characteristics of whatever embryo the stem cells are derived from. Apart from the ongoing use of immunosuppressant drugs (with its possible serious side effects), two other potential solutions to this immunological limitation have been suggested. The first proposes a tissue bank with a sufficiently large number of different embryonic stem cell types to generate tissue that can be immunologically matched with different recipients. Hall points out, however, that this would require a huge number of human embryonic stem cell lines (the number being a matter of debate). Such an embryonic stem cell bank would be technically difficult and expensive to generate. The number of embryos that would be required to produce the cell bank would probably test public support †¦ 8. The second possible way of overcoming the problem of immunological incompatibility is through what has been called therapeutic cloning. In this process, the nucleus of a human oocyte or egg is removed and replaced with the nucleus of a cell taken from the body of the intended tissue re cipient. The new egg is induced to develop into an embryo, from which immunocompatible stem cells are harvested. The embryo will be a human embryonic clone of the recipient, with all his/her 4 Key Ethical Issues in Embryonic Stem Cell Research exact genetic characteristics. To date, there have only been one or two reported attempts at human cloning that have met with some success. A number of ethical objections have been expressed to therapeutic cloning, all revolving around the creating of an embryo, and moreover, the creating of an embryo for a use that will destroy it. These objections and arguments usually rely centrally on certain views about the value or moral status of the embryo, and these views will be outlined later in the paper. Whatever benefit the pluripotency of embryonic stem cells has in generating immunocompatible tissue, this benefit is likely to be possible only at the cost of having to engage in either the morally contentious practice of human (therapeutic) cloning, or the morally contentious practice of using (and destroying) a large number of embryos to create a sufficient range of embryonic stem cell lines for organ banks. It is especially important to note also, that if the Prohibition of Human Cloning Bill 2002 is passed in its current form, and any kind of human cloning, including therapeutic cloning, is prohibited, there will be less opportunity to maximise the potential benefits of embryonic stem cell research, and embryonic stem cells will effectively have less of the advantage they would otherwise have over adult stem cells. The Inevitable Succumbing of Surplus IVF Embryos The Research Involving Embryos Bill 2002 only permits excess ART embryos existing before 5 April 2002 to be used for research purposes in accordance with a licensing regime. It is a fact about those embryos that they would likely expire or succumb anyway. They would still be destroyed, in other words, but through exposure to natural processes. On the face of it, this looks as if the harm or negative value involved in embryos expiring (whatever it might be) will be the same whether embryo research is allowed or not. In each case the embryo will expire. But this impression can be a little oversimplified. Some philosophers argue that there is a moral difference between acts and omissions, between actively killing something, and passively failing to intervene to stop its death from other causes (when one could have). Even though the outcome is the same in each case, it can be argued that there is something worse, or more morally culpable, about actively bringing about the death oneself. There are different views on what the moral difference between killing and letting die amounts to, and there are those who argue that there is no significant difference. Whichever way one comes out on this, it is not clear that the act-omission distinction maps neatly onto the particular embryo research scenario under discussion. Destroying surplus embryos through research is certainly an act. But so too, some would argue, is removing surplus embryos from the cold storage that keeps them from expiring. They would hold that this looks less like failing to intervene in independently occurring causal processes (that will lead to expiry), than an act that sets those processes in motion. If this is true, then the first impression above will stand. The harm or negative value involved in embryos expiring (whatever it might be) will be the same whether embryo research is allowed or not. 5 Key Ethical Issues in Embryonic Stem Cell Research Some would argue that there is an important logical upshot from this. If the only two alternatives in the circumstances (destroying embryos in research vs making them succumb) involve the same level of harm or disvalue or moral wrongness, but embryo research involves much greater benefits than the other alternative, then it could be argued, it makes sense to opt for the more beneficial embryo research. And indeed, some might construe that as a sufficient case for the moral preferability of that option. (This would change, of course, if the relevant alternatives change—if say, embryos were purpose created for research, which were not pre-existing and destined to be expired).9 Taking into Account all of the Relevant Benefits and Harms The embryonic stem cell debate has been pre-occupied with the biological and medical benefits or drawbacks of that research. Central as these certainly are, there are nonetheless other, often-overlooked non-medical impacts that may be important to factor in. Some of the major among these are possible social impacts including: De-sensitisation to the Destruction of Human Life It is argued by some10 that allowing the destruction of embryos to become an entrenched practice would serve to desensitise the scientific establishment, regulating bodies, and society in general, to the destruction of life in general. An increased social toleration of loss of life, it would be argued, may make it easier for society to accede to (currently) more controversial practices involving the ending of life such as, late term elective abortion, or withdrawal of treatment for severely disabled infants, for example. This slippery slope argument about potential consequences is based on empirical assumptions about the causes and effects of certain social attitudes, and needs to be assessed in the light of their plausibility. Contributions to Social Oppression One strong but minority strand of argument emphasises the impact that biotechnology has on broader social relationships. It has been argued that research should be evaluated not only in terms of its effects on the subjects of the experiment but also in terms of its connection with existing patterns of oppression and domination in society.11 There is a considerable body of writing that explores the impacts of new reproductive technologies (such as IVF) on the interests of women, particularly how those technologies might contribute to oppression.12 In the case of embryonic research, it is sometimes argued that women who donate ova or embryos are at risk of exploitation to the extent that male-dominated medical practice appropriates their reproductive labour for research and commercial benefits. Women are at risk, therefore, of being alienated from their reproductive labour. Moreover, it is argued that womens body parts are at risk of being commodified, and their acts of altruistic dona tion demeaned, if downstream users can develop commercial applications for stem cells developed from their ova and embryos.13 6 Key Ethical Issues in Embryonic Stem Cell Research The Value of the Embryo What weight does the other side of the moral equation have? What is wrong, if anything, with destroying embryos? If there is something wrong with that, is it sufficiently wrong to outweigh or override the benefits of embryo research, and therefore, render that research morally impermissible? Most of the leading arguments about the rightness or wrongness of destroying embryos are based on some view or other about the moral status of the embryo—how the embryo ought to be regarded or treated from the moral point of view, in virtue of it arguably possessing certain morally important intrinsic characteristics. It is relatively uncontroversial to describe embryos as human life (at its very beginnings). It is another thing, however, to describe embryos as persons, or human beings, or potential persons, etc. These descriptions are morally laden in that they carry with them potential implications about what can and cannot be done to embryos from a moral point of view. What those potential implications are, and indeed, whether they are sound ones, will depend on the nature and plausibility of the particular arguments that accompany each view on the moral status of the embryo. There are different views about this moral status. The leading views speculate that embryos have the status of: †¢ persons, or †¢ potential persons, or †¢ divine creations, or †¢ subjects of moral harm, or †¢ the beginnings of human life, with intrinsic value, or †¢ organic material with no more moral standing than other body parts. Each of these will be outlined in turn, with particular attention to (i) what the intrinsic moral characteristics are the each particular view attributes to embryos, and (ii) what these alleged characteristics or moral status are held to imply for our moral treatment of embryos—particularly whether they can ever or never be destroyed. Embryos have Status as Human Beings or Persons Some argue that, despite obvious physical differences between developed humans and embryos, the latter ought still be regarded as human beings or persons. One of the more plausible arguments to this effect relies on pointing out that there is no non-arbitrary point in the physical growth continuum between embryo and developed human that counts as a morally significant dividing line.14 Consequently, if individuals at their fully developed stage are human beings or persons, there is no non-arbitrary ground to think that they should not count as the same at their embryonic stage. Those who hold otherwise, 7 Key Ethical Issues in Embryonic Stem Cell Research according to this argument, need to indicate the developmental point at which personhood, or status as a human being, is acquired. The argument continues that it is a very deeply and commonly held view in modern liberal democracies that individual persons are deserving of especially strong moral respect in certain ways. All individuals, by virtue of being persons, have fundamental rights not to have their basic human interests interfered with in certain ways, and most importantly, their interest in the maintenance of their life and bodily integrity. If embryos have the status of persons, then they too will have rights not to be harmed or killed. Or, put in another way, we will be under a very strong moral obligation not to harm or kill embryos. Most prominent ethicists, philosophers and commentators would agree that persons have a status deserving of strong and special moral respect, protection and dignity. Many, however, would dispute that embryos should be considered persons or human beings in any serious sense. Even if one cannot point to an exact black and white dividing line in human development, it is still reasonable (they hold) to point to the fact that wherever the transition occurs, embryos do not have the psychological, physiological, emotional, intellectual properties that we tend to centrally associate with personhood. Embryos, particularly the very early pre-implantation blastocysts involved in stem cell research,15 do not, for instance, have consciousness, individuality, the ability to reason, or the ability to form courses of action in life and to choose between them.16 Embryos have Status as Potential Persons Some ethicists have a response to the foregoing objection to viewing embryos as persons. It is to concede that embryos do not currently exhibit these properties of personhood, but they will, if allowed to develop and fulfil their potential. To the extent that embryos are potential persons, it is argued, they ought to still be accorded the moral respect and dignity that personhood warrants. This potential person argument Ethical Questions in the Stem Cell Debate Ethical Questions in the Stem Cell Debate The Stem Cell Debate: Ethical Questions The story for the year 1997 was the sacred. We fear a Promethean blunder. We fear that our own human hubris will violate something sacred in our nature; and we fear that nature will retaliate with disaster. To protect ourselves from a possible Promethean blunder by science, we are tempted to stop further research with the commandment: thou shalt not play God! Then, during 1999, we opened the first few pages on chapter two of the cloning controversy story. I will refer to this chapter as the stem cell debate. The debate has only begun. What is not yet clear is just what needs to be debated. Perhaps nothing. Perhaps everything. What is clear is that the fallout from the cloning explosion is still lighting fires here and there. Whether or not the public will add stem cells to the fuel to make those fires burn hotter remains to be seen. Stem cells have become front page news in Australia, as well as in the United States and other countries. On February 4, 1999, the Australian National Academy of Science issued a position statement. Note the structure of Recommendation 1. Council considers that reproductive cloning to produce human fetuses is unethical and unsafe and should be prohibited.However, human cells derived from cloning techniques, from germ cells should not be precluded from use in approved research activities in cellular and developmental biology Here two things are put together. First, disapproval of reproductive cloning for the purposes of making children. Second, approval of research on human embryonic stem cells, approval even in the face of ethical squeamishness regarding embryo research. If this Australian statement is a barometer, we need to ask: what is the cultural weather forecast? What might be coming? In what follows it will be my task to report on the fast-moving frontier of stem cell research within the field of anthropology, agenda questions raised by science that need to be addressed by systematic theologians and public policy makers. I will ask more questions than I am ready to answer. Yet, I believe that such work invested in trying to formulate the relevant question (die Fragestellung) takes us more than just halfway toward a helpful answer. The Human Embryonic Stem Cell Debate Science, Ethics, and Public Policy Edited by Laurie Zoloth Human embryonic stem cells can divide indefinitely and have the potential to develop into many types of tissue. Research on these cells is essential to one of the most intriguing medical frontiers, regenerative medicine. It also raises a host of difficult ethical issues and has sparked great public interest and controversy. This book offers a foundation for thinking about the many issues involved in human embryonic stem cell research. It considers questions about the nature of human life, the limits of intervention into human cells and tissues, and the meaning of our corporeal existence. The fact that stem cells may be derived from living embryos that are destroyed in the process or from aborted fetuses ties the discussion of stem cell research to the ongoing debates on abortion. In addition to these issues, the essays in the book touch on broader questions such as who should approve controversial research and what constitutes human dignity, respect, and justice. The book contains contributions from the Ethics Advisory Board of the Geron Coroporation; excerpts from expert testimony given before the National Bioethics Advisory Commission, which helped shape recent National Institutes of Health policy; and original analytical essays on the implications of this research. Pros and Cons Debates over the ethics of embryonic blastocysts. Latest Developments The most recent research has shown that there are many options available other than working with embryonic stem cells. Stem cells can be obtained from cord blood or derived by manipulating differentiated cells (i.e. skin cells) to revert them to a pluripotent state. These are alternatives that may help broaden the acceptance of stem cell research. Background In November 1998 the first published research paper reported that stem cells could be taken from human embryos. Subsequent research led to the ability to maintain undifferentiated stem cell lines (pluripotent cells) and techniques for differentiating them into cells specific to various tissues and organs. The debates over the ethics of stem cell research began almost immediately in 1999, despite reports that stem cells cannot grow into complete organisms. In 2000 – 2001, governments worldwide were beginning to draft proposals and guidelines in an effort to control stem cell research and the handling of embryonic tissues, and reach universal policies to prevent â€Å"brain-drains† (emigration of top scientists) between countries. The CIHR (Canadian Institute of Health Sciences) drafted a list of recommendations for stem cell research in 2001. The Clinton administration drafted guidelines for stem cell research in 2000, but Clinton left office prior to them being released. The Bush government has had to deal with the issue throughout his administration. Australia, Germany, UK and other countries have also formulated policies. (Continued from Page 1) Pros The therapeutic cloning. Stem cells provide huge potential for finding treatments and cures to a vast array of diseases including different cancers, diabetes, spinal cord injuries, Alzheimers, MS, Huntingtons, Parkinsons and more. There is endless potential for scientists to learn about human growth and cell development from studying stem cells. Use of adult-derived stem cells, from blood, cord blood, skin and other tissues, known as IPSCs, has been demonstrated to be effective for treating different diseases in animal models. Umbilical-cord-derived stem cells (obtained from the cord blood) have also been isolated and utilized for various experimental treatments. Another option is use of uniparental stem cells. Although these cells lines have some disadvantages or shortcomings compared to embryonic cell lines (they are shorter-lived), there is vast potential if enough money is invested in researching them further, and they are not technically considered individual living beings by pro-life advocates. Cons Use of embryonic stem cells for reasearch involves the destruction of blastocysts formed from laboratory-fertilized human eggs. For those who believe that life begins at conception, the blastocyst is a human life and to destroy it is unacceptable and immoral. This seems to be the only controversial issue standing in the way of stem cell research in North America. Where It Stands In the summer of 2006 President Bush stood his ground on the issue of stem cell research and vetoed a bill passed by the Senate that would have expanded federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. Currently, American federal funding can only go to research on stem cells from existing (already destroyed) embryos. Similarly, in Canada, as of 2002, scientists cannot create or clone embryos for research but must used existing embryos discarded by couples. The UK allows embryonic stem cell cloning. Use of stem cell lines from alternative non-embryonic sources has received more attention in recent years and has already been demonstrated as a successful option for treatment of certain diseases. For example, adult stem cells can be used to replace blood-cell-forming cells killed during chemotherapy in bone marrow transplant patients. Biotech companies such as ACT are researching techniques for cellular reprogramming of adult cells, use of amnionic fluid, or stem cell extraction techniques that do not damage the embryo, that also provide alternatives for obtaining viable stem cell lines. Out of necessity, the research on these alternatives is catching up with embryonic stem cell research and, with sufficient funding, other solutions might be found that are acceptable to everyone. On March 9, 2009, President Obama overturned Bushs ruling, allowing US Federal funding to go to embryonic stem cell research. However, the stipulation applies that normal NIH policies on data sharing must be followed. Despite the progress being made in other areas of stem cell research, using pluripotent cells from other sources, many American scientists were putting pressure on the government to allow their participation and compete with the Europeans. However, many people are still strongly opposed Research Ethics and Stem Cells Stem cells show potential for many different areas of health and medical research, and studying them can help us understand how they transform into the dazzling array of specialized cells that make us what we are. Some of the most serious medical conditions, such as cancer and birth defects, are caused by problems that occur somewhere in this process. A better understanding of normal cell development will allow us to understand and perhaps correct the errors that cause these medical conditions. Research on one kind of stem cell—human embryonic stem cells—has generated much interest and public debate. Pluripotent stem cells (cells that can develop into many different cell types of the body) are isolated from human embryos that are a few days old. Pluripotent stem cell lines have also been developed from fetal tissue (older than 8 weeks of development). As science and technology continue to advance, so do ethical viewpoints surrounding these developments. It is important to educate and explore the issues, scientifically and ethically. The discovery, isolation, and culturing of human embryonic stem cells has been described as one of the most significant breakthroughs in biomedicine of the century.1 This description would be warranted by virtue of the biological uniqueness of these cells alone—their ability to self-renew infinitely while retaining a remarkable capacity to differentiate into any form of cell tissue. But as well as this, the culturing of embryonic stem cells holds tremendous potential for the development of new forms of regenerative medicine to treat debilitating or fatal conditions that would not otherwise be curable.2 It is somewhat of an irony that the discovery of cells with such a tremendous potential for improving and prolonging our own lives, should bring with it some of the most trenchant and intractable questions about the value of life itself. The harvesting of embryonic stem cells results in the destruction of the embryos from which they are harvested. It results, in other words, in the expiration of the very beginnings of a possible human life. Issues about the value of life emerge here in perhaps their most stark and poignant form in the question of whether life for those already existing should be improved at the seeming expense of a possible human life that has just come into being. Needless to say, what the most ethically justified response is to this sort of question is far from obvious. It is not immediately apparent, either, just what should count as the appropriate criteria for assessing possible responses to it. Indeed, it is even contentious as to what the right concepts and terminology are for framing the central questions. What is clear, though, is that it would be remiss to fail to engage with these questions in a manner that is commensurate with their depth, complexity and importance. With due regard to that, the following discussion provides a brief overview of some of the core ethical issues arising from the Research Involving Embryos Bill 2002 and to some extent the Prohibition of Human Cloning Bill 2002.3 The public debate has focused mostly on ethical problems associated with the destruction of embryos (in the case of the first Bill), and with the creation of cloned human embryos (in the case of the second Bill). The current paper will confine its primary focus to the first set of problems, since many of the salient ethical issues about cloning will arise, as it turns out, in connection with embryonic stem cell research.4 1 Key Ethical Issues in Embryonic Stem Cell Research The paper takes most of the major ethical concerns in the debate to be encompassed by the following core questions: †¢ What, in principle, is ethically at issue with destructive embryo research? †¢ What is important when it comes to judging the value of the potential consequences of destructive embryo research? †¢ In what does the value of the human embryo consist? †¢ Does the means by which an embryo expires—whether it is destroyed or merely succumbs—make a moral difference? †¢ Is there anything morally worse about using embryos created for research purposes compared to using existing excess or surplus ART (assisted reproductive treatment) embryos? The purpose of the following discussion is to clarify some relevant moral and conceptual distinctions connected with these core questions, and to clarify the basic structure of the major views and argument themes that have been developed by philosophers, bioethicists and theologians in response to these questions. Of course, in their more fully expanded form these distinctions and arguments will involve subtleties and complexities that are beyond the limited scope of this paper to address. Nonetheless, the discussion here will hopefully give an impression of where some of those further complexities and subtleties might lie. The Basic Ethical Problem The possibility of destructive embryo research, particularly embryonic stem cell research, presents us with a moral problem because it appears to bring into tension two fundamental moral principles that we esteem very highly: one principle enjoins the prevention or alleviation of suffering, and the other enjoins us to respect the value of human life. As noted, the harvesting and culturing of embryonic stem cells has considerable potential to bring about remarkable potential benefits in the way of alleviating debilitating medical conditions. So, it satisfies the first principle to a very great degree. On the other hand, there is a case to be made that the harvesting of human embryonic stem cells violates the second principle in that it results in the destruction of human life with value (i.e. human embryos). Accordingly, both principles apparently cannot simultaneously be respected in the case of embryonic stem cell research. The question then is which principle ought to be given precedence in this conflict situation. Should we give more weight to the first, and permit destructive embryonic stem cell research because of its remarkable potential benefits? Or should we give more weight to the second, and prohibit destructive embryonic research because it violates respect for the value of the 2 Key Ethical Issues in Embryonic Stem Cell Research embryo as the very beginnings of a possible human life? This, at bottom, is the ethical problem generated by destructive embryo research. Crude as it may sound, responding to this problem calls for a moral calculation—a decision about how the positive value of destructive embryo research is to be weighted, from a moral point of view, in comparison to the negative value (or disvalue) of destroying embryos. Whatever way that calculation is done, it is important to get a clear idea of what moral weight each side of the equation has. This will involve: (i) developing a sound and accurate picture of what the real value is of the benefits of embryonic research, and (ii) clarifying what the value of embryos might consist in, and what, if anything, may be wrong with destroying them. The rest of this paper outlines some of the ethical arguments and philosophical considerations that have been considered relevant to these two matters. Evaluating the Benefits of Embryonic Stem Cell Research Evaluating the beneficial consequences of embryonic stem cell research is not straightforward. There are complexities associated with assessing how realistic the potential of the benefits is, how alternatives with different combinations of benefits and drawbacks are to be compared, and factoring in all of the sometimes overlooked possible consequences of embryonic research. Judging the Benefits Most attention has centred on the medical potential of embryonic stem cell research and cultivation, particularly somatic gene therapy for genetic disorders5, and the generation of replacement tissues and organs for transplant.6 There is no doubt that these outcomes, once realised, would be highly valuable. It is important to keep in mind, however, that currently these benefits are potential ones. A sound evaluation of stem cell research needs to take account of the likelihood of achieving its beneficial outcomes. In matters of science, and particularly, in areas that are newly developing and comparatively uncharted (such as embryonic stem cell research), it is sometimes difficult to settle on those probabilities with complete confidence. It is the nature of scientific discoveries and progress, that they are not easily predicted. Both advances and impediments to advancement can arise unexpectedly. This uncertainty about how real the potential benefits are, needs to be kept in mind wh en weighing and evaluating the consequences of embryonic stem cell research. 3 Key Ethical Issues in Embryonic Stem Cell Research Comparing the Benefits and Harms of Alternatives to Embryonic Stem Cell Research Adult Stem Cell Research Whether destructive embryonic stem cell research is the right thing to do or not, will partly depend on what the alternatives are, and how their particular benefits and drawbacks balance out. There is another research program involving adult stem cells that are present in and drawn from bone marrow, brain and gut, and other tissues. Some of these stem cells have a capacity to differentiate into a limited number of different cell types, such as blood cells, muscles and neurones (i.e., they are multipotent), but they have not been shown to be pluripotent (able to differentiate into any cell-type) in the way that embryonic stem cells are.7 This limitation means that adult stem cells offer more limited potential benefits in regenerative medicine and gene therapy, at least from the standpoint of our current understanding and available biotechnology. (But with that said, it is worth keeping in mind the points made above about the limited predictability of scientific advances, including the possibility of inducing adult stem cells to differentiate into a greater range of tissue types.) The harvesting and use of adult stem cells for biomedical purposes, however, avoids some of the ethically and biomedically problematic features of using embryonic stem cells. For a start, harvesting adult stem cells does not involve the destruction of embryos. The extent to which that is an advantage will depend on the extent to which that destruction turns out to be a bad thing, (and this will be taken up shortly). Tissues grown from adult stem cells will be immunologically compatible with the person from whom the stem cells are harvested. This means that those tissues can be transplanted into that person without fear of the body rejecting them. Tissues produced from embryonic stem cells for the purpose of regenerative therapy, however, are unlikely to be immunocompatible with the person for whom they are intended. The immunological properties of the tissue are set by the characteristics of whatever embryo the stem cells are derived from. Apart from the ongoing use of immunosuppressant drugs (with its possible serious side effects), two other potential solutions to this immunological limitation have been suggested. The first proposes a tissue bank with a sufficiently large number of different embryonic stem cell types to generate tissue that can be immunologically matched with different recipients. Hall points out, however, that this would require a huge number of human embryonic stem cell lines (the number being a matter of debate). Such an embryonic stem cell bank would be technically difficult and expensive to generate. The number of embryos that would be required to produce the cell bank would probably test public support †¦ 8. The second possible way of overcoming the problem of immunological incompatibility is through what has been called therapeutic cloning. In this process, the nucleus of a human oocyte or egg is removed and replaced with the nucleus of a cell taken from the body of the intended tissue re cipient. The new egg is induced to develop into an embryo, from which immunocompatible stem cells are harvested. The embryo will be a human embryonic clone of the recipient, with all his/her 4 Key Ethical Issues in Embryonic Stem Cell Research exact genetic characteristics. To date, there have only been one or two reported attempts at human cloning that have met with some success. A number of ethical objections have been expressed to therapeutic cloning, all revolving around the creating of an embryo, and moreover, the creating of an embryo for a use that will destroy it. These objections and arguments usually rely centrally on certain views about the value or moral status of the embryo, and these views will be outlined later in the paper. Whatever benefit the pluripotency of embryonic stem cells has in generating immunocompatible tissue, this benefit is likely to be possible only at the cost of having to engage in either the morally contentious practice of human (therapeutic) cloning, or the morally contentious practice of using (and destroying) a large number of embryos to create a sufficient range of embryonic stem cell lines for organ banks. It is especially important to note also, that if the Prohibition of Human Cloning Bill 2002 is passed in its current form, and any kind of human cloning, including therapeutic cloning, is prohibited, there will be less opportunity to maximise the potential benefits of embryonic stem cell research, and embryonic stem cells will effectively have less of the advantage they would otherwise have over adult stem cells. The Inevitable Succumbing of Surplus IVF Embryos The Research Involving Embryos Bill 2002 only permits excess ART embryos existing before 5 April 2002 to be used for research purposes in accordance with a licensing regime. It is a fact about those embryos that they would likely expire or succumb anyway. They would still be destroyed, in other words, but through exposure to natural processes. On the face of it, this looks as if the harm or negative value involved in embryos expiring (whatever it might be) will be the same whether embryo research is allowed or not. In each case the embryo will expire. But this impression can be a little oversimplified. Some philosophers argue that there is a moral difference between acts and omissions, between actively killing something, and passively failing to intervene to stop its death from other causes (when one could have). Even though the outcome is the same in each case, it can be argued that there is something worse, or more morally culpable, about actively bringing about the death oneself. There are different views on what the moral difference between killing and letting die amounts to, and there are those who argue that there is no significant difference. Whichever way one comes out on this, it is not clear that the act-omission distinction maps neatly onto the particular embryo research scenario under discussion. Destroying surplus embryos through research is certainly an act. But so too, some would argue, is removing surplus embryos from the cold storage that keeps them from expiring. They would hold that this looks less like failing to intervene in independently occurring causal processes (that will lead to expiry), than an act that sets those processes in motion. If this is true, then the first impression above will stand. The harm or negative value involved in embryos expiring (whatever it might be) will be the same whether embryo research is allowed or not. 5 Key Ethical Issues in Embryonic Stem Cell Research Some would argue that there is an important logical upshot from this. If the only two alternatives in the circumstances (destroying embryos in research vs making them succumb) involve the same level of harm or disvalue or moral wrongness, but embryo research involves much greater benefits than the other alternative, then it could be argued, it makes sense to opt for the more beneficial embryo research. And indeed, some might construe that as a sufficient case for the moral preferability of that option. (This would change, of course, if the relevant alternatives change—if say, embryos were purpose created for research, which were not pre-existing and destined to be expired).9 Taking into Account all of the Relevant Benefits and Harms The embryonic stem cell debate has been pre-occupied with the biological and medical benefits or drawbacks of that research. Central as these certainly are, there are nonetheless other, often-overlooked non-medical impacts that may be important to factor in. Some of the major among these are possible social impacts including: De-sensitisation to the Destruction of Human Life It is argued by some10 that allowing the destruction of embryos to become an entrenched practice would serve to desensitise the scientific establishment, regulating bodies, and society in general, to the destruction of life in general. An increased social toleration of loss of life, it would be argued, may make it easier for society to accede to (currently) more controversial practices involving the ending of life such as, late term elective abortion, or withdrawal of treatment for severely disabled infants, for example. This slippery slope argument about potential consequences is based on empirical assumptions about the causes and effects of certain social attitudes, and needs to be assessed in the light of their plausibility. Contributions to Social Oppression One strong but minority strand of argument emphasises the impact that biotechnology has on broader social relationships. It has been argued that research should be evaluated not only in terms of its effects on the subjects of the experiment but also in terms of its connection with existing patterns of oppression and domination in society.11 There is a considerable body of writing that explores the impacts of new reproductive technologies (such as IVF) on the interests of women, particularly how those technologies might contribute to oppression.12 In the case of embryonic research, it is sometimes argued that women who donate ova or embryos are at risk of exploitation to the extent that male-dominated medical practice appropriates their reproductive labour for research and commercial benefits. Women are at risk, therefore, of being alienated from their reproductive labour. Moreover, it is argued that womens body parts are at risk of being commodified, and their acts of altruistic dona tion demeaned, if downstream users can develop commercial applications for stem cells developed from their ova and embryos.13 6 Key Ethical Issues in Embryonic Stem Cell Research The Value of the Embryo What weight does the other side of the moral equation have? What is wrong, if anything, with destroying embryos? If there is something wrong with that, is it sufficiently wrong to outweigh or override the benefits of embryo research, and therefore, render that research morally impermissible? Most of the leading arguments about the rightness or wrongness of destroying embryos are based on some view or other about the moral status of the embryo—how the embryo ought to be regarded or treated from the moral point of view, in virtue of it arguably possessing certain morally important intrinsic characteristics. It is relatively uncontroversial to describe embryos as human life (at its very beginnings). It is another thing, however, to describe embryos as persons, or human beings, or potential persons, etc. These descriptions are morally laden in that they carry with them potential implications about what can and cannot be done to embryos from a moral point of view. What those potential implications are, and indeed, whether they are sound ones, will depend on the nature and plausibility of the particular arguments that accompany each view on the moral status of the embryo. There are different views about this moral status. The leading views speculate that embryos have the status of: †¢ persons, or †¢ potential persons, or †¢ divine creations, or †¢ subjects of moral harm, or †¢ the beginnings of human life, with intrinsic value, or †¢ organic material with no more moral standing than other body parts. Each of these will be outlined in turn, with particular attention to (i) what the intrinsic moral characteristics are the each particular view attributes to embryos, and (ii) what these alleged characteristics or moral status are held to imply for our moral treatment of embryos—particularly whether they can ever or never be destroyed. Embryos have Status as Human Beings or Persons Some argue that, despite obvious physical differences between developed humans and embryos, the latter ought still be regarded as human beings or persons. One of the more plausible arguments to this effect relies on pointing out that there is no non-arbitrary point in the physical growth continuum between embryo and developed human that counts as a morally significant dividing line.14 Consequently, if individuals at their fully developed stage are human beings or persons, there is no non-arbitrary ground to think that they should not count as the same at their embryonic stage. Those who hold otherwise, 7 Key Ethical Issues in Embryonic Stem Cell Research according to this argument, need to indicate the developmental point at which personhood, or status as a human being, is acquired. The argument continues that it is a very deeply and commonly held view in modern liberal democracies that individual persons are deserving of especially strong moral respect in certain ways. All individuals, by virtue of being persons, have fundamental rights not to have their basic human interests interfered with in certain ways, and most importantly, their interest in the maintenance of their life and bodily integrity. If embryos have the status of persons, then they too will have rights not to be harmed or killed. Or, put in another way, we will be under a very strong moral obligation not to harm or kill embryos. Most prominent ethicists, philosophers and commentators would agree that persons have a status deserving of strong and special moral respect, protection and dignity. Many, however, would dispute that embryos should be considered persons or human beings in any serious sense. Even if one cannot point to an exact black and white dividing line in human development, it is still reasonable (they hold) to point to the fact that wherever the transition occurs, embryos do not have the psychological, physiological, emotional, intellectual properties that we tend to centrally associate with personhood. Embryos, particularly the very early pre-implantation blastocysts involved in stem cell research,15 do not, for instance, have consciousness, individuality, the ability to reason, or the ability to form courses of action in life and to choose between them.16 Embryos have Status as Potential Persons Some ethicists have a response to the foregoing objection to viewing embryos as persons. It is to concede that embryos do not currently exhibit these properties of personhood, but they will, if allowed to develop and fulfil their potential. To the extent that embryos are potential persons, it is argued, they ought to still be accorded the moral respect and dignity that personhood warrants. This potential person argument