Safety at home for Senior citizens Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Safety at home for Senior citizens - Essay Example So senior citizens today are more and more hesitant to leave the safety of their homes. But how safe are the homes that we live in today. There are many things even at home that can harm us. Burglary, fires, faulty floor work or even a wet floor are just some of the things that can hurt us in the confines of our homes. Elderly people are even more prone to such accidents. This is because ones perception, senses, reflexes and presence of mind decreases as a person grows older. Also senior citizens have a weaker judgement of depth perception (Regnier, 1994). Older people have weaker and brittle bones that make them more vulnerable to accidents. According to the Home Safety Council, there are nearly 20,000 deaths and 21 million medical visits on average each year because of home related accidents. Just by some simple precautions and a few adjustments we can make our homes a much safer place to live in. One out of every five Americans needs help to see, hear, speak, walk, use stairs, or lift objects - and a well-designed space plan can mean the difference between an independent, home-based lifestyle or a severely hampered one (Leibrock, 1994). Mr. James Hall is a 91 year old widower who lives alone. He is my neighbour and suffers from Alzheimer's disease. A man in such a situation can be prone to many harmful situations so it is important that he takes preventive measures and is extra careful. I visited Mr. Hall at his home in an effort to educate him about home safety. My aim was not only to advise him on how to maintain safety but to also make sure that he remembers it and tries to implement the same in the future. At first like most people Mr. Hall did not take things serious and probably thought that he has been doing things for over 90 years and what could a person like me really teach him, but I soon changed his mind and managed to get his attention. I started by explaining Mr. Hall of the general safety measures that all houses must have. To keep focus on the topic I used pamphlets that seemed to interest Mr. Hall even more. I know that the pamphlets were effective since Mr. Hall was able to review them in my presence and he also wanted to keep a few of them for future reference. I next began to explain Mr. Hall about the potential dangers that an old man like himself can face especially when living alone. This I realised made him really pay attention and listen. Then I began to talk and explain of safety measures to avoid harmful situations in general after which I got specific about how safety should be maintained in each room. The following are the safety precautions that I advised Mr. Hall to follow. First the general precautions:- Every telephone in his house should have besides it a list of emergency numbers along with a few of them on speed dial. It would also be advisable to carry a cell phone at all times. In case of a fire I helped devise an exit plan and also asked to make sure each window can be opened easily from the inside. Smoke detectors must also be installed. Door handles must be levers and not circular knobs (Tremblay, 2007). Locks must be easy to operate but not easy to brake or pick. To prevent tripping, door thresholds must be removed or must be low. Also there must not be small rugs or even carpets

Stakeholder Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Stakeholder Management - Essay Example Stakeholder management is a hypothesis of organizational administration as well as business ethics, which makes efforts to address the values and principles in organizational management. Freeman in this article acknowledges and formulates the various stakeholder groups. He also recommends the techniques by which the managers can provide in due consideration of the interests of those in the group (Freeman, 2008; p.123). Blattberg (2004; p. 175), a political ideologist criticises the work of Freeman in regard to stakeholder theory for making assumptions that the welfare of the different stakeholders might be at best balanced or cooperated over each other. He argues that this is an output of its prominence on deliberation as the main mode of discussion for addressing the conflicts that arise due to the varying interests of the stakeholders. Blattberg (2004; p.174) asserts that dialogue is the best method which makes him emphasize what he terms as a â€Å"patriotic† notion of the company as an option to that related with the theory of stakeholders. Moreover, Miles (2012; p. 287) seems to be indifferent to Freeman’s ideas. According to Miles (2012, p. 288), the competitors can at times be considered as stakeholders due to their ability to influence the decisions of the organization. According to Mitchell et al. (1997; p. 861) the derivation or understanding of the meaning of stakeholder is based on the level of influence the decision making of an organization. The power of a stakeholder is often guided by legitimacy, which are the generally accepted and anticipated systems of conduct. Lastly, it is determined by the urgency where sensitivity of time or the seriousness of the claims by the stakeholders is concerned. Therefore, the authors suggest that by assessing the merging of these features in a twofold method, there are about eight types of stakeholders that can be

Effects of Gender Wage Discrimination on Women

Effects of Gender Wage Discrimination on Women The Effects of Gender Wage Discrimination on  Life of Women Contents 1Introduction 2Literature Review 2.1Need for Equal Pay Act and its Impact 2.2Problems faced by Women 3Conclusion 4References Abstract This research is a review for some studies which are focused to highlight discrimination in payment between male and female members. The studies present the data collection methods such as surveys and interviews. All the studies showed that the discrimination in payment against women still exists, but there is a significant decline in the gender wage gap particularly because of the increasing awareness and enforcement of Gender Equity Act. The studies showed that the women recently have gained more experience and higher education which declined racial discrimination against the women. The studies also noted that the women have the right to get equal pay like that of men. Similarly women deserve to have the same employment opportunities as of men. 1 Introduction The equal pay act was signed on the 10th of June 1963 by the President John F. Kennedy (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2014). The enactments of this act were to support and amend the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938. This Act gave attention to unfair practices in paying low wages to female employees than males for the same job. John F. Kennedy highlighted the importance of the Equal Pay Act as â€Å"While much remains to be done to achieve full equality of economic opportunity for the average woman worker earns only 60 percent of the average wage for men this legislation is a significant step forward† (John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, 1963). Kelly Jeanetta, founder of Kelly A. Jeanetta Law Firm LLC, said that the women are still getting only seventy percent of total wages earned by men for the same jobs. She further argues that due to unexamined biases and favoritism systems men are getting higher wages than women which has negatively affected the lives of women (Jeanetta, 2013). The goal of the Equal Pay Act of 1963 was to achieve equality in wages paid to both men and women at workplace. Furthermore the Act was approved keeping in consideration the objective to prevent the discrimination and biasness in jobs and pays in the private sector. Previously a negative notion existed stating that men should get more wages than women if they are on the same job and have same responsibilities. However this shows the obvious discrimination in disbursement to men and women. Jeanetta (2013) further pointed out the law that was enacted in Minnesota in 1969 about Equal Pay for Equal Work, which prohibits employers to discriminate between employees in paying who are doing the same work, the same effort and the same efficiency. This law is a good model to reduce the difference in wage payment between man and woman, and the employer who pays wages on the basis of sex difference is a violation of the law of equality in pay. However to fully implement the rules and regulations of this Act, continuous work is required to be done. Government and NGOs must step ahead to ensure that wages are paid equally to both sexes. The aim of this research is to understand the need for Equal Pay Act and the improvements in the gender wage discrimination during the course of history. Furthermore the paper attempts to find if discrimination exists in disbursement of wages to men and women. Also the research aims to highlight major problems faced by the women with the low wages than their counterparts. 2 Literature Review 2.1 Need for Equal Pay Act and its Impact The basis of Equal Pay Act was to eradicate the discrimination of wage between men and women during the course of their job. Several researches have been conducted to analyze the importance of Equal Pay Act and improvement in the wage distribution as a result of the increased enforcement of the law. Suh (2009) investigated determinants and characteristics of changes in the gender wage gap in the United States of America between 1989 and 2005. The study found that the wage gap between men and women reduced during the study period, from seventy four percent to more than eighty percent. The results of this study show that women tried to close the wage gap by education, working hours and increased experience. This study also concluded that decreasing gender gap is also the result of diminishing level of wage discrimination in the labor market. Although with the passage of time the improvement in the wage gap between men and women occurred, still the distribution is far from equality. Regarding the economic impact on lives of the women due to low wages, the study shows that certainly the economic condition of women was improved as human capital development became the reason for better wages. According to Neumark decomposition the majority of increasing discrimination is because of the increase of influence of men in the workplace (Neumark, 1988). Jake Rosenfeld and Meredith Kleykamp (2012) used the current population survey between 1973 and 2007 to find out the impact of African-Americans to reduce the wage gap in the private sector, and how African-Americans worked with unions to protect themselves from discrimination in the private sector. The survey showed that wage gaps between women, black-white are thirteen to thirty percent lower. The study showed that the important role played by Union to reduce racial inequality (Rosenfeld Kleykamp, 2012). Patrick Mason (2011) presented the paper which studied the changes in the concept of ethnic Americans during the post-Jim Crow era, the study included American families between 1965 and 2006, and the differences between the U.S. region, especially the South. The study noted that men and women regardless of their racial difference, have different opportunities in society and the market and likewise the remuneration also differentiates (Mason, 2011). The study also showed that Oaxaca-Ransom decompositions found there is a big reduction in payment discrimination against African Americans especially for those between the ages of 50 and 59, women are more practice racial equality faster than men. The study also showed that the reduction in the Southern racial disparity is reason for the national improvement among men (Mason, 2011). According to a study carried out by both of Rafael Lalive and Alois Stutzer (2009), women get paid lesser than men for the same work, and the level of their satisfaction with their jobs are lower than men. But the study showed that the wage discrimination against women has decreased significantly, and thats because the high awareness of the act of equal pay between men and women, in addition to experience factor which the women have from the labor market. The reduction in the gap occurred during 1970s due to immediate attention toward the wage discrimination after the resolution of Equal Pay Act. Increase in jobs opportunities in the U.S. labor market occurred during this period because of higher qualification of women. Many European countries have evolved towards decentralization and to determine the minimum wage, which address the problem of the wage gap gender. â€Å"In several European countries the gender pay gap has a low profile both in the public debate and in the policy agenda. Summarizing, one of the main problems is that there is no real owner of the problem, as nobody really feels responsible for closing the gender pay gap. Organizing political support for closing the gap seems to be an important challenge for the near future.† (O’Dorchai, 2008). Liqin Zhang and Xiao-Yuan Dong (2008) used the data from Chinese company to analyze the wage discrimination between male and female in China’s industry. The results of the study showed that there is a relation between low wages for women, and weak production for female workers compared with male workers. The result of this study showed that the women who worked in the public sector get wages equal to the men, but the women who worked in the private sector more like to discrimination in wage. The study noted that the Chinese woman status in the deterioration because of discrimination against them from employers in the private sector, in addition to the failure of the public sector to the protection of women, and failure to impose policies and laws against discrimination in wages. â€Å"In the service sector, women do not encounter gender wage discrimination in state-owned enterprises but do suffer from discrimination in private-owned enterprises. The public sector pays more attention to advocating gender equality while managers of private enterprises have more discretionary power to act out their prejudice against women in wage-setting and employment policies†( Zhang and Dong, 2008). A group of researcher: Ariane Hegewisch, Hannah Liepmann, Jeffrey Hayes, and Heidi Hartmann (2010), they presented a paper to prove the existence of discriminatory wage between the gender by analysis of occupational data during the 1970 and 1980s, and the study noted that can be seen from the occupations that does not require high levels of education, and the jobs which required especial degree. 2.2 Problems faced by Women Discrimination in the pay between men and women is no doubt troublesome for a large population of US workforce, mainly consisting of women. Glynn (2012) says that 50% of all workers of U.S. payrolls are women and majority of them are single mothers working outside their homes. In order to support their families the single mothers and other women are required to have adequate payments. Furthermore gender pay gaps and the discrimination hinder the women to progress up to the top level management positions in the organizations. Even if female workers are qualified and experienced they are paid lesser than their male counterparts. Apart from the single or married women the female workers who are unmarried are also getting lower wages. Recently graduated female staff members are usually paid less than other female staff. Organizations on the other hand save a big chunk of their income by paying less to the female workers. The study noted that the European women are suffering from difficulty in earning with low wages and the discriminatory practices from employers. The study suggested to impose a three polices to protect woman from discrimination at work, first equal pay policies, the legal frame is not the problem, but the problem is enforcement of this policy, second wage policies and third equal opportunities policy. Women are also paid less because they are considered to be best suited for pink collar jobs which offer lesser benefits than other white collar jobs. Furthermore position of women in white collar jobs which demand effective decision making skills is very limited. Few organizations offer top management positions for the women. According to Boushey, Arons, and Smith, among the 19 million families in USA women are the main breadwinner for their families, which makes the women bear the brunt of keeping their jobs and take care of family. Whereas the man is more prone to lose his job, which means that millions of families now rely on a woman’s job to make ends meet. This shows that women’s jobs are more critical for their families than men (Boushey, Arons, and Smith, 2010) and getting paid lesser is no doubt extreme level of discrimination. Nowadays the American parents working very hard to take care of their kids and cover their bills, and women try to find a good job with a good payment to help her family to cover the requirements of family life. So, the discrimination in wage could have a negative impact not only on her life, but also on her family life, â€Å"Nearly two-thirds of mothers are either the breadwinner for their family or share that responsibility with a partner. Women’s earnings therefore are vital to their families’ economic well-being† (Glynn, 2012). 3 Conclusion Previous researches and articles included in the research helped to analyze the facts and figures of the discrimination. Furthermore study of the Equal Pay Act shows how payment discrimination was reduced and more awareness is spread about its implementation. Equal Pay Act helped to reduce the unfairness in the wage disbursement to both men and women. From the studies we can see the reduction in racial discrimination in wages, especially against women. And thats because the increase awareness of the Equal Pay Act. The studies showed that The United States and European Union countries are more pursuant to the Equal Wages Act than Eastern European countries and China. The studies also confirm the importance of supporting of the Equality Act, and make it effective in order to protect women from discrimination and give women the right to equal employment opportunities. The study showed major problems faced by the women when they are paid lesser than their counterpart male workers. As statistics show that women share major portion of US workforce the discrimination of pay has negative impact on their economic condition. Furthermore single, married and single moms face trouble as they are main contributors in the family. Considering the economic and social problems faced by the women due to discrimination in the wages, the need for a strongly established law is obvious. Federal agencies need to play vital role in the establishment and implementation of equal pay system to both sexes. This research can also be extended further to see why organizations do not appoint women in top managerial positions. 4 References Alksnis, C., Desmarais, S. (2008). Workforce Segregation and the Gender Wage Gap: Is â€Å"Women’s† Work Valued as Highly as â€Å"Men’s†?1. ournal of Applied Social Psychology, 1-6. Bacolod, M. P., Blum, B. (2010). Two Sides of the Same Coin U.S. Residual Inequality and the Gender Gap. Journal of Human Resources, 198-242. Glynn, S. J. (2012, August 16). Fact Sheet: The wage Gap for Women. Retrieved from American Progress Organization: http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/labor/news/2012/08/16/12029/fact-sheet-the-wage-gap-for-women/ Hegewisch, A., Liepmann, H., Hayes, J., Hartmann, H. (2010). Separate and Not Equal? Gender Segregation in the Labor Market and the Gender Wage Gap. INSTITUTE FOR WOMEN’S POLICY RESEARCH. Jain, T. (2008). Equal Pay for Equal Work . ICFAI Journal of Employment Law, 1-27. Jeanetta, K. A. (2013). Equal Pay for Equal Work. The Hennepin Lawyer. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. (1963, June 10). Remarks on signing Equal Pay Act of 1963. Retrieved April 27, 2014, from John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum: http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKPOF-045-001.aspx Mason, P. L. (2011). Moments of Disparate Peaks: Race-Gender Wage Gaps Among Mature Persons, 1965–2007. Rev Black Polit Econ, 1-25. Neumark, D. (1988). Employers Discriminatory Behavior and the Estimation of Wage Discrimination . The Journal of Human Resources, 279-295. O’DORCHAI, S. (2008). DOWOMEN GAIN OR LOSE FROM BECOMING MOTHERS? A COMPARATIVEWAGEANALYSIS IN 25 EUROPEAN COUNTRIES. Brussels Economic Review, 1-7. Rosenfeld, J., Kleykamp, M. (2012). Organized Labor and Racial Wage Inequality in the United States. American Journal of Sociology, 1460–1502. Stutzer, A., Lalive, R. (2004). APPROVAL OF EQUAL RIGHTS AND GENDER . Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft. Suh, J. (2009). Decomposition of the Change in the Gender Wage Gap. Research in Business and Economics Journal , 1-18. U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (2014). The Equal Pay Act of 1963. Retrieved April 28, 2014, from U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/epa.cfm Zhang, L., Dong, X.-Y. (2008). Male-female wage discrimination in Chinase industry . Economics of Transition, 85-112.

Metaphysical Premises And Types Of Liberal Ideology: Liberalism As The End And Liberalism As The Way :: Politics

Metaphysical Premises And Types Of Liberal Ideology: Liberalism As The End And Liberalism As The Way ABSTRACT: The problem of choosing the way for our country unavoidably brings us to a discussion of the problem of liberalism. At first glance, this should not be a problem since liberal principles underlie Western society and are the basis of the modern world order. But this opinion is not shared by all intellectuals in Russia. First is the specificity of the Russian mentality, social consciousness and social life. The idea of 'Russia's own way' is much referred to by various political movements of pronounced nationalist color, but we have to study this idea at its deepest level rather than oversimplify reality. Yet even most thinkers who are oriented to the West and have insisted on the adoption of Western values and standards have also strongly criticized European civilization. Secondly, liberalism does not have a simple meaning. It connotes a number of complex ideological systems transformed over time both in theory and in political practice. Therefore, it is important to analyze the metaphysical premises of liberal doctrines and systems. I will examine assessments of liberal ideas made by Russian religious philosophers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries such as P. Struve, N. Novgorodtsev, I. Iliin, and S. Frank who all considered liberalism primarily a metaphysical rather than a legal or political phenomenon, and interpreted it as an empirical manifestation of the deep nature of the human spiritual reality. The problem of choosing the way for our country unavoidably makes us discuss the problem of liberalism. At the first sight, this should not be problem at all, as the liberal principles underlie Western society and so make the basis of the whole modern world order. But such a straight opinion is not shared by all political people here in Russia and there are two major reasons for this. First of the two is specificity of Russian mentality, Russian social consciousness, and generally all Russian social life. The idea of Russia's own way is, true, much used by various political movements of pronounced nationalist color, but we have to study this idea to the most possible deepness to not be oversimplifying the reality. It was common among all political groups and movements to state Russia's special historical fate and ways. Even the most westernly oriented political thinkers, though insisted on the adoption of Western values and standards, strongly criticized European civilization at the same time (so did Hertzen in his late years, for example).

Public Enterprises Essay

What are the Objectives of Public Enterprises? SOUMYA SINGH In India, public enterprises have been assigned the task of realising the objectives laid down in the Directive Principles of State Policy. Public sector as a whole seeks: (a) to gain control of the commanding heights of the economy, (b) to promote critical development in terms of social gain or strategic value rather than on consideration of profit, and (c) to provide commercial surplus with which to finance further economic development. The main objectives of public enterprises in India are as follows: 1. Economic development: Public enterprises were set up to accelerate the rate of economic growth in a planned manner. These enterprises have created a sound industrial base for rapid industrialisation of the country. They are expected to provide infrastructure facilities for promoting balanced and diversified economic structure of development. 2. Self-reliance: Another aim of public enterprises is to promote self-reliance in strategic sectors of the national economy. For this purpose, public enterprises have been set up in transportation, communication, energy, petro-chemicals, and other key and basic industries. . Development of backward Areas: Several public enterprises were established in backward areas to reduce regional imbalances in development. Balanced development of different parts of the country is necessary for social as well as strategic reasons. 4. Employment generation: Unemployment has become a serious problem in India. Public enterprises seek to offer gainful employment to millions. In order to protect jobs, several sick units in the private sector have been nationalised. 5. Economic surplus: Public enterprises seek to generate and mobilise surplus for reinvestment. These enterprises earn money and mobilise public savings for industrial development. 6. Egalitarian society: An important objective of public enterprises is to prevent concentration of economic power and growth of private monopolies. Public sector helps the Government to enforce social control on trade and industry for ensuring equitable distribution of goods and services. Public enterprises protect and promote small scale industries. 7. Consumer welfare: Public enterprises seek to protect consumers from exploitation and profiteering by ensuring supply of essential commodities at cheaper prices. They aim at stabilising prices. 8. Public utilities: Private sector is guided by profit motive. Therefore, it is reluctant to invest money in public utility services like water supply, gas, electricity, public transport. Therefore, the Government has to assume responsibility for providing such services. 9. Defence: Government has to set up public enterprises for production of defence equipment. Supply of such equipment cannot be entrusted for private sector due to the need for utmost secrecy. 10. Labour welfare: Public enterprises serve as model employers. They ensure welfare and social security of employees. Many public enterprises have developed townships, schools, college and hospitals for their workers. Role and Rationale of Public Enterprises The public sector has been playing a vital role in the economic development of the country. In fact the public sector has come to occupy such an important place in our economy that on its effective performance depends largely the achievement of the country’s economic and social goals. Public sector is considered a powerful engine of economic development and an important instrument of self-reliance. The main contributions of public enterprises to the country’s economy may be described as follows: 1. Filling of gaps: At the time of independence, there existed serious gaps in the industrial structure of the country, particularly in the field of heavy industries. Basic and key industries require huge capital investment, involve considerable risk and suffer from long gestation periods. Private sector concerns do not come forward to establish such industries. Public sector has helped to fill up these gaps. The basic infrastructure required for rapid industrialisation has been built up, through the production of strategic capital goods. The public sector has considerably widened the industrial base of the country and speeded up the pace of industrialisation. 2. Employment: Public sector has created millions of jobs to tackle the unemployment problem in the country. Public sector accounts for about two-third of the total employment in the organised industrial sector in India. By taking over many sick units, the public sector has protected the employment of millions. Public sector has also contributed a lot towards the improvement of working and living conditions of workers by serving as a model employer. 3. Balanced regional development: Private industries tend to concentrate in certain regions while other regions remain backward. Public sector undertakings have located their plants in backward and untraded parts of the country. These areas lacked basic industrial and civic facilities like electricity, water supply, township and manpower. Public enterprises have developed these facilities thereby bringing about complete transformation in the social-economic life of the people in these regions. Steel plants of Bhilai, Rourkela and Durgapur; fertilizer factory at Sindri, machine tool plants in Rajasthan, precision instruments plants in Kerala and Rajasthan, etc. are a few examples of the development of backward regions by the public sector. 4. Optimum utilisation of resources: Public enterprises make better utilisation of scarce resources of the country. They are big in size and able to enjoy the benefits of large scale operations. They help to eliminate wasteful completion and ensure full use of installed capacity. Op timum utilisation of resources results in better and cheaper production. 5. Mobilisation of surplus: The profits earned by public enterprises are reinvested for expansion and diversification. Moreover, public sector concerns like banks and financial nstitutions mobilise scattered public savings thereby helping the process of capital formation in the country. Public enterprises earn considerable foreign exchange through exports. 6. Self reliance: Public enterprises have reduced considerably the need for imports by producing new and better products within the country. These enterprises are also earning considerable amount of foreign exchange through exports. 7. Socialistic pattern of society: Public sector is an instrument for realising social objectives. Public enterprises help to check concentration of wealth and private monopolies. These enterprises can serve as powerful means of economic and social change. 8. Public welfare: Public enterprises help in the establishment of a welfare state in the country. These enterprises supply essential commodities at cheaper rates. A proper balance between demand and supply is created to protect consumers against exploitation by profit hungry businessmen. Public enterprises also protect and promote the interests of workers. Criticism of Public Enterprises [Arguments against Public Enterprises] Public enterprises are opposed on account of weaknesses in their organisation and working. These enterprises generally suffer from the following problems: 1. Delay in completion: Often a very long time is taken in the establishment and completion of public enterprises. Delay in completion leads to increase in the cost of establishment and benefits extracted from them are delayed. 2. Faulty evaluation: Public enterprises are in some cases set upon political considerations. There is no proper evaluation of demand and supply and expected costs and benefits. There are no clear cut objectives and guidelines. In the absence of proper project planning there is under- utilisation of capacity and wastage of national resources. . Heavy overhead costs: Public enterprises often spend huge amounts on providing housing and other amenities to employees. Though such investment is useful for employees but it takes away a large part of capital and the project suffers from financial difficulties. 4. Poor returns: Majority of the public enterprises in India are incurring loss. In some of them the profits earned do not yield a reasonable return on huge investment. Lack of effective financial controls, wasteful expenditure and dogmatic pricing policy result in losses 5. Inefficient management: Due to excessive centralisation of authority and lack of motivation public enterprises are managed inefficiently. High level posts are often occupied by persons lacking necessary expertise but enjoying political support. 6. Political interference: There is frequent interference from politicians and civil servants in the working of public enterprises. Such interference leaves little scope for initiative and freedom of action. Public enterprises enjoy little autonomy and flexibility of operations. 7. Labour problems: In the absence of proper manpower planning public enterprises suffer from over-staffing. Jobs are created to fulfil employment goals of the Government. Guarantee of job in these enterprises encourages trade unions to be militant in pursuing their aims. Growth of Public Enterprises in India At the time of independence, public sector in India was confined mainly to railways, communications, defence production and public utility services. Since then the growth of public enterprises has been very rapid. Now public sector consists of public utilities (e. g. , railways, post and telegraph, etc), manufacturing concerns (e. g. , BHEL, SAIL, etc. ), trading organisations (e. g. STC, MMTC, etc. ), service organisations (e. g. , NIDC, RITES, etc. ). SAIL, a Maharatna Company of Govt. of India, is the world’s leading and India’s largest steel producer with an annual turnover of around Rs. 50,348 crore (FY11-12). It operates and owns 5 integrated steel plants at Rourkela, Bhilai, Durgapur, Bokaro and Burnpur and 3 special steel plants at Salem, Durgapur and Bhadravati. As part of its global ambition the Company is implementing a massive expansion plan involving project work of building/adding new facilites with emphasis on state of the art green technology. List of Maharatna, Navratna and Miniratna CPSEs As per available information (as on February, 2013) Maharatna CPSEs Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited Coal India Limited GAIL (India) Limited Indian Oil Corporation Limited NTPC Limited Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Limited Steel Authority of India Limited Navratna CPSEs Bharat Electronics Limited Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited National Aluminium Company Limited NMDC Limited Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited Oil India Limited Power Finance Corporation Limited Power Grid Corporation of India Limited Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited Rural Electrification Corporation Limited Shipping Corporation of India Limited Miniratna Category – I CPSEs Airports Authority of India Antrix Corporation Limited Balmer Lawrie & Co. Limited Bharat Dynamics Limited BEML Limited Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited Bridge & Roof Company (India) Limited Central Warehousing Corporation Central Coalfields Limited Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited Cochin Shipyard Limited Container Corporation of India Limited Dredging Corporation of India Limited Engineers India Limited Ennore Port Limited Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Limited Goa Shipyard Limited Hindustan Copper Limited HLL Lifecare Limited Hindustan Newsprint Limited Hindustan Paper Corporation Limited Housing & Urban Development Corporation Limited India Tourism Development Corporation Limited Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Limited IRCON International Limited KIOCL Limited Mazagaon Dock Limited Mahanadi Coalfields Limited Manganese Ore (India) Limited Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemical Limited Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited MMTC Limited MSTC Limited National Fertilizers Limited National Seeds Corporation Limited NHPC Limited Northern Coalfields Limited Numaligarh Refinery Limited ONGC Videsh Limited Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited Projects & Development India Limited Railtel Corporation of India Limited Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers Limited RITES Limited SJVN Limited Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited South Eastern Coalfields Limited State Trading Corporation of India Limited Telecommunications Consultants India Limited THDC India Limited Western Coalfields Limited WAPCOS Limited Miniratna Category-II CPSEs Bharat Pumps & Compressors Limited Broadcast Engineering Consultants (I) Limited Central Mine Planning & Design Institute Limited Ed. CIL (India) Limited Engineering Projects (India) Limited FCI Aravali Gypsum & Minerals India Limited Ferro Scrap Nigam Limited HMT (International) Limited HSCC (India) Limited India Trade Promotion Organisation Indian Medicines & Pharmaceuticals Corporation Limited M E C O N Limited National Film Development Corporation Limited National Small Industries Corporation Limited P E C Limited Rajasthan Electronics & Instruments Limited

Marketing †product, pricing &description Essay

Initial Product: The Company plans to pursue vigorously and at an accelerated rate the development, production and marketing of artificial lumbar disc . The goal would be apart from being superior to other products it should affordable for the masses in Canada keeping in mind that very few people rely on medical insurances and pay from their own pocket.. Emphasis would be on improving the reliability of the device, and also incorporating digital circuitry or sensors to monitor the position of the device after it has been implanted on to the patient. The company would also like to pay for any revision surgeries for the patients if required. We would also manufacture associated devices/instrumentation required for surgical procedures. Short term Product: In the second year of business the Spinal Dynamics would try to pursue development of a cervical (upper back) artificial disc based on the previous design but much smaller in size. Long Term Product: Plan would be to improve the lumbar artificial disc and come up with better device material, in order to make it more durable and wear resistant. We would also try to incorporate digital circuitry in order to monitor the position of the device post surgically. DESIGN PROTOTYPE The design would be similar to the current Charite disc by Depuy Spine . A polymer sliding core at the middle with two cobalt chrome end plate would be the basic construct design. KEY FEATURES & BENEFITS The strategic product benefit of Prime disc would be its being minimally invasive, ability to alleviate pain and capability to restore normal range of motion. The main benefit would be that the device would be manufactured in Canada, and thus would be first of its kind. Spinal Dynamics would also file for patent protection . It would be economically priced, in order to make it more affordable for the masses in Canada. PRICING PLANS The current market price for an artificial disc implant is approximately 5000USD-10,000USD. The aim of Spinal Dynamics is to minimize the cost of the implant, by manufacturing the implant in Canada at half of the existing price. The price per device would be approximately 1000USD. COMPETITIVE ASSESSMENT Companies Differentiators Medtronic De-puy Synthes Spine. Core Competency brand name Huge range of products Backed by Johnson&Johnson Established brand name Technology/Innovation Highly innovative Highly innovative Specialized in spinal areas Unique distribution NO NO NO PART C: OPERATIONS LOCATION & FACILITIES Spinal Dynamics would be renting a 1500 sq feet area for our office space in Toronto, Canada. The space would be divided into 10 cubicles, with two cabins for the presidents and the senior scientist. 15 Dell Inspiron Desktops would be bought and housed in each cubicle and cabins. An annual license from Abaqus and CATIA would be purchased, which could be renewed from time to time. Apart from these a high speed internet connection, an office LAN would be required. A back up system would be put in place to secure the data files every week. External hard disks and other data storage devices would be bought for this purpose Also a Plotter and two HP Laser printer would be bought. On a parallel level a small office place would be leased in U. S at Toledo, Ohio from where few team members would be working. This group would be dealing with testing and development of experimental protocol for the device. Both the groups would be communicating via emails , phone calls etc. This model would enable Spinal dynamics to save some cost on procuring expensive equipments for testing , and also they can work with various universities in and around Toledo. Apart from this there would be direct communication with experts like Dr Vijay Goel and Lisa Ferrara who all belong to the Advisory committee and currently reside in U. S. R&D Plans: Spinal Dynamics will produce artificial disc implants with the strategic product benefits of being minimally invasive, will alleviate pain and would restore normal range of motion. Spinal Dynamic’s unique product design is based upon extensive market research. Though some reverse engineering concepts would be applied to the pre-existing products in the market, the idea would be to incorporate the best features from all of them. CATIA CAD software in synchronization with ABAQUS an FEA tool would be used for design development. After the design concept is fully developed a prototype will be manufactured. The design team will comprise of 5 team members who will be proficient in CAD/FEA area, this team will be headed by The R&D head Dr Ahmad Faizan. 1) All initial manufacturing work would be done by S&S manufacturing a 3rd party prototype manufacturing company. 2) The design’s functionality would be tested by various experiments, namely using MTS simulator and other biomechanical-cadaveric studies. The protocols would be developed accordingly and approved by the management. The testing could be done at various universities at a much cheaper cost than buying costly equipments initially. 3) Clinical trials would be undertaken through hospitals under the guidance of physicians and patients who would be willing to participate in this trial. Legal aspects would be taken care of, in case the design does not work. The patient’s suitability to the trial would be selected based on the physician’s decision. 4) After the first four stages a pilot manufacturing would be undertaken, and 100 devices would be produced. 5) The device’s testing results would be submitted for FDA and other approvals and accordingly vigorous testing would be undertaken if the need be. 6) After formal approval we would plan to set up a state of art manufacturing shop floor, where the devices would be manufactured and sterile packed. Title Description Start Date Finish Date Remarks Priority/ Sequence Facility development Construction June 2008 Oct 2008 Very important/ First priority Product development Design & prototype June 2009 Should be started as soon as the facility is set up Testing Clinical Trial-short term and long term September 2010 Approvals Obtaining approvals October 2010 Pilot Test Initial Pilot test November 2010 Production Full fledged production.