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Value of Researching and Construction Project Management

Question: Examine about the Value of Researching and Construction Project Management. Answer: Preparatory Construction Management f...

Thursday, October 31, 2019

Health and safety in the organisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Health and safety in the organisation - Essay Example The employers have a moral duty in providing a workplace for the employees that is completely safe and secure and that has no ill effects on their health. A safe and healthy work environment that is conducive to productivity would bring out the highest level of performance of the employees. The employees would be able to concentrate on their work with a relaxed mind free from concern of their health and safety (Burke,  Clarke, and Cooper 58). Also, the employees would believe that the organization is concerned about their welfare which would have the probability to develop a loyal workforce. The organizations are also bound by the rules and regulations to protect the health and safety of their workers. The maintenance of health and safety includes preventive measures against the emission of hazardous substances in the production units, recycling of wastes to reduce the adverse effects of environmental pollution, resolution and sustenance of peaceful work environment with no conflic t between the workers, etc. Inability of the organizations to maintain a safe and healthy work environment may lead to damage of the health of their employees, organizational assets and other stakeholders, clients who are present at the workplace. The families of the employees may also be affected due to such unwanted incidents in the workplace. Such situations may lead to imposition of hefty fines on the organizations by the legal and regulatory bodies. Thus, organizational concern for health and safety has legal implications (Stellman 80). The occurrence of unsafe working environment and damage of health of workers may lead to increase in costs of the organization that include medical insurance, hospitalization expenses due to sickness or injury, etc. The disorder of health and safety would lead to increase in medical leaves, sick leaves, etc. As a result, the organization would face losses of productivity and business. Thus, health and safety in the organizations have financial i mplications as the financial losses would tend to increase in case of accidents occurring due to unsafe work environment. The health and safety in the organizations encompasses a range of other fields including workplace engineering, safety control mechanisms, workplace medicine, workplace hygiene, etc. The organizations allocate proportionate expenditures in these fields with an ultimate aim of ensuring health and safety of the organization. Any drawback in implementation of the health and safety policies of the organization may lead to hazards, which may be biological hazards, chemical hazards, health hazards, psychological issues, etc. The health and safety hazards vary from industry to another. The biological hazards may be due to infectious diseases that spread from one employee to another. The virus and infected bacteria may transmit from one individual to another leading to an epidemic situation. The chemical hazards may occur due to the non-maintenance of the operation units and storage plants. Harmful chemical emission from the production units may lead to damage of health and safety of the workers of the organization. Discriminatory and unequal treatment of labors may lead to

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Current Economic Problems Facing Our Country Essay

Current Economic Problems Facing Our Country - Essay Example During the last four months of 2008, the financial system was on the verge of a meltdown, many banks in the United States went bankrupt, others had to seek government assistance in order to survive, and yet others had a severe impact on their profitability resulting in mergers and takeovers in the subsequent months. To make things worse, there were rumors that banks would default and people would not be able to recover their life savings. The federal bank had to step in immediately in an attempt to prevent a run on the banks, which could possibly result in every individual queuing on the bank counters to withdraw their savings from their respective accounts (Shiller, pp. 92-94). Otherwise, stable banks can go into default in a matter of hours in this scenario. The federal bank stepped in to guarantee deposits below certain limits preventing a complete meltdown. This was just the beginning of a major change in the lives of millions of Americans who had never anticipated such a situation. In the next few days, the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, one of the most renowned global investment banks became apparent. Hundreds of other firms connected to the Lehman Brothers network had to suffer major losses and write-down their loans during the months to follow. One after the other, many banks went into trouble in a matter of just two weeks; the global financial industry had completely changed its dynamics. Bank of America acquired Meryl Lynch and the government had to inject equity into almost all major banks (Soros, pp. 2-4). As a result, in a matter of weeks, the government now owned a majority stake in most financial institutions. Investors lost confidence in the financial system and the number of initial public offerings each month became almost insignificant. The investment banking industry virtually collapsed and went into a wave of downsizing. Many banks terminated their global market operations in order to generate equity injections through sales of their operations elsewhere. The idea of an organization becoming too big to fail became redundant.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Factors That Influence The Selection Process Commerce Essay

Factors That Influence The Selection Process Commerce Essay When Herbert Chong and wife Michelle, founders of Honey Bun, purchased a small bakery in Spanish Court, New Kingston in 1982, their vision was opportunity, growth and family. 29 years later the philosophy still holds true, and is the foundation which has characterised the companys operation. This has enabled Honey Bun to develop into an immensely valued, recognized and loved Jamaican brand, known for freshly baked, premium quality products. Having outgrown a number of locations, the Chongs identified a larger manufacturing space on East Street, redirecting their focus and strategies to serving the mass market. The effort resulted in the development of a comprehensive line of packaged snacks, ranging from donuts and cupcakes to cinnamon rolls, and the brand being recognised as a Jamaican household staple. By 2005, it was clear that Honey Bun had the potential to become one of the leading brands in the market, and the Chongs were again on the move, this time to the companys present location at 26 Retirement Crescent to meet the growing demand. With a modern factory space, retro-fitted with upgraded bakery equipment and a highly specialised team, the company expanded their portfolio with the introduction of another brand, Buccaneer Jamaica. Product development was also a major focus, with Honey Bun being widely recognized as driving the trend for innovative specialty value-added products such as cheese and raisin breads. What had been a small retail bakery with a handful of staff, had evolved into a vibrant 24-hour, 7-day a week wholesale bakery, employing over 200 Jamaicans delivering the brand daily, practicing world class standards throughout its operation. Honey Buns commitment does not end on its production floor, but extends to its strong socially responsible initiatives which include investments in education through its annual School Dayz Campaign, athletic sponsorships and consistent support of the indigent and less fortunate with scheduled meal support. Today the brand is still synonymous with superior quality, superior convenience and superior value. It is widely regarded as Jamaicas number one for taste in baked snack products, as is evidenced by the company being chosen for the National Quality Awards in both 2007 and 2008. With distribution spanning key supermarkets chains, gas stations and small retail outlets locally, and select outlets in the Caribbean, North America and Europe, the company is destined for international growth having been awarded the Jamaica Exporters Association coveted Chairmans Award for Growing Exporters in 2008. Honey Bun is ultimately known in the baked goods market as a little love in every bite and recognized locally and internationally as an example of a strong, world class, brand of Jamaica. Over the last 29 years, Honey Bun has been challenged, and in every situation has risen to the occasion through tremendous growth. Introduction Selection of an individual for a given role is not an easy task. It does not only consist of the communication skills or technical expertise of an individual but a lot of many other parameters such as relevant experience, cultural fitment, personality traits of an individual, education and industry background and etc. After a certain level in an organizational hierarchy companies stop experimenting with people possessing irrelevant or unwanted skills and experiences. At that level, one cannot go and ask for, just one chance or say, if given a chance I can do it. Getting a wrong person in that level can cost an organization much more than the total salary paid to that particular individual. Hence, one must be very careful in selecting an individual and letting him or her cross organizational borders. In this article, we are trying to discuss various factors that affect the selection process. We have tried to cover as many factors as possible but we are afraid that we might not have covered all parameters. Most of the factors and parameters discussed in this article are relevant for experienced professionals and for middle and senior level positions in mid-size to large size local or multi-national and multi-cultured organizations. We have not covered domain specific and industry specific factors and to that extent this article is generic in nature and can be applied across various industries, domains and professions with little modification. Glossary of Key terms Human Resource, Business, Employment, Recruitment, Selection, Assessment. Human resource: 1. The personnel of a business or organization, esp. when regarded as a significant asset. 2. The department of a business or organization that deals with the administration, management, and training of personnel. Business: 1. a persons regular occupation, profession, or trade. 2. An activity that someone is engaged in. Employment: the act or practice of employing something for a particular purpose Recruitment: The act of getting recruits; enlisting people for the army (or for a job or a cause etc.). Selection: 1. The action or fact of carefully choosing someone or something as being the best or most suitable. 2. A number of carefully chosen things. Assessment: The evaluation or estimation of the nature, quality, or ability of someone or something: the assessment of educational needs. Factors that influence the Selection Process Relevant Experience Relevant work experience is likely the most important factor that influences the HR selection method. The relevant work experience required by an employer depends largely on the available job position and the level of skills required to carry out the duties of the position. HR personnel initially look at job candidates relevant work experience by reviewing their resumes. Applicants without relevant work experience are typically eliminated from the job-selection process. Employers desire to hire candidates with relevant experience because it saves the company time and money in training an employee. Employers also seek to reduce employee turnover by hiring qualified applicants. Do you think that you are a master of your profession and can do anything within the preview of that domain? I am sorry but you are wrong in your interpretation. Earlier in this article we mentioned about various roles that falls under the umbrella of HR profession. Let me take one example from that. XYZ which is a multi-national IT company is looking for a HR Manager (Generalist) and they are looking for someone with at least 7 years of experience in the same role of which at least 2 years of experience at the same level and within the industry of their operation. You have 12 years of experience. Three years in Recruitment, before completing your MBA. Post MBA you worked in the training and development department of ABC Company, which is a BPO, for 6 years before moving into the role of employee relations with a mid-size telecom company and you are in this role for the last 3 years. Though you have more experience than the required experience for the role, but neither do you have r elevant experience nor you belong to the same industry. Although you are a qualified HR professional but that doesnt mean you can handle every role and job that fall within the preview of this profession. Requirement of relevant experience is not only a critical requirement for HR profession but in every profession and role. There is little doubt that given a chance you might be able to handle the role of HR-Generalist but no one likes to take any risk or gamble for such a senior role. It will be wastage of time and money, both for you as well as the company. From the companys perspective, they do not like to take any risk and will only hire a person with Education Educational achievements also play a role in a companys hiring decisions. Some job positions require certain industry knowledge that is often obtained through the completion of a degree program. For example, a company desiring to hire a registered nurse will most likely require that candidates possess a nursing degree for employment consideration by the HR department. Educational achievement not only acts as a factor in making hiring decisions, but for some employers, the mode of education is also a factor. Some companies prefer to hire candidates who graduated from certain top-ranking institutions, or a company may prefer not to hire candidates who earned degrees through online-degree. In countries like India and China, education plays an important role in the selection process for all types of white and blue collar jobs. In addition to that, as one moves up in the organizational hierarchy, relevant education, type and mode of education and relevant certifications becomes critical in the selection process. Many people are of the view that although right type of education is required for any role but the type and mode of education is irrelevant. They also feel that companies are discriminating and rejecting their candidature purely for the reason that they earned their degree or diploma through distance mode of education. People also argued that those who have done their MBA through regular mode of education are less experienced or knowledgeable than their counterparts with Distance Mode of Education, who obtained their qualifications in spite of working full-time. Let us expand this argument and provide a logical explanation. In this fast paced world and cut throat competition, no company likes to take any chance or experiment with the required skills, experience level and competence. The order of preference that is followed in many companies at the time of sourcing and screening is as follows: Æ’ËÅ" Full Time MBAs from top 10 institutes in the country or top 25 institutes in the world and with good CGPA and relevant experience. Æ’ËÅ" Full Time MBAs from next 50 ranked institutes in the country but with good CGPA and slightly more experience. Æ’ËÅ" Executive MBA or Part-time MBA (evening classes or weekend classes) from top 25 institutes in the country supported by relevant experience. Æ’ËÅ" Lastly, correspondence MBA or MBA obtained by distance mode of education with good CGPA supported by relevant experience. Secondly, here I am making an attempt to clarify as to why regular (full-time) education gets more value than distance or correspondence mode of education. Obtaining relevant qualification is not about gaining knowledge. It is about grooming you for the right type of role and installing skills that are required for getting success in your profession. It is about, programs. Relocation One of the factors that influence the selection process for the human resource department is the geographical location of the job candidate. Most employees prefer to hire employees living in the local area. Employers prefer to hire local candidates because it hastens the hiring process and saves the employer money on the interviewing process and on relocation fees. Although most employers look to hire local candidates to save time and money, some employers choose to make the application process open to individuals living in other states. If local candidates fail to meet the employers qualifications for the job, HR typically seeks regional candidates next before widening the search to national and global candidates. Whenever there is an open position in any company, the company prefer to source candidates and applicants from the local market. This is done for simple reasons such as; 1. Fasten the selection process and will facilitate face-to-face interviews 2. An individual who is already settled in that particular place, city or state will not face any difficulty in joining the company 3. This saves the company a few extra costs such as excessive interview cost (getting the individual to travel to company site for interview), relocation cost and etc and thereby will minimize the cost per hire, and 4. This also defuses any anxiety or fear in an individual. On the contrary, if a company plans to source an applicant from another city in a state or country, they might need to make arrangements for the following: 1. Travel and hotel arrangements for candidates or selection panel to facilitate face-to-face interview(s); 2. Travel and hotel arrangements for selected candidate (s) to facilitate their relocation; 3. Provide them with suitable relocation cost 4. Process their work permits (if applicable) 5. Assist them in assimilating with new location and culture Hence, hiring a person from the local market surely saves the time and money of the company. But, we are in a global market where the talent market is very volatile yet competitive and hence any company that decides to compromise with skills and talent may lag in the competition. Having the right people available for the right role at a right place and time is not leisure or matter of choice but a perquisite and need to be competitive in the market not only to win the competition but to survive in the competition. Hence, these days companies are open to search for suitable talent in the global talent market. Salary Requirements The salary requirements of a job candidate influence the HR employment-selection process. Employers typically set a maximum salary for an open job position. Candidates who require a salary greater than what the employer offers are typically eliminated from the selection process. Some companies choose to negotiate the salary with attractive candidates because they desire to retain their talents and skills. HR managers also consider the present salary of a job candidate. If the candidates current or previous salary is not competitive enough, an employer may not consider the candidate for the job. Among all the factors that you may consider while accepting or rejecting an offer is the compensation and benefits package in offering. You look for a CTC package that is higher than your current package. But what increase is acceptable to you? Is it 10% or 25% or 50% or 100% or 200% or even more? Have you ever wondered that many times, in spite of having right skills and competence and having performed well in the selection process, they reject your candidature because your present salary is not competitive enough to get you the salary in offering? Although sad and shocking but this is a fact. This is applicable in those job markets where companies hire from the local talent market. However, when hiring nationals of other countries there are many other factors that plays an important role such as cost-of-living, tax structure and etc (we will discuss about those factors at another place and in a different article). Offering substantial increase over the current package or offering a package lesser than the approved salary-band disturbs the internal equity of the company and effects retention strategies of the company. Factors that influence the Recruitment Process Factors Affecting Recruitment General factors that affect recruitment in an organization: Personnel Utilization A company can avoid having to hire new employees by monitoring the skill sets of existing employees. For example, if you are opening a new sales division that focuses on a new family of products, then you may be able to utilize your current sales staff to provide the startup sales professionals the new group will need. The success of the new department will necessitate the need for recruiting outside representatives at some point in the future, but you can save on startup costs by utilizing existing personnel. Outsourcing The concept of outsourcing activities that are not a companys core competency is an internal business practice that affects recruiting. For example, an food processing company would hire an outside IT firm to install and administer the companys computer network because computers are not the food processing companys core competency. When companies outsource, that reduces the need for recruiting new employees. The human resources department will have to shift resources away from recruiting for the outsourced functions, and focus on supplying employment candidates for the companys core business units. Talent Pool A company reaches into its local community to satisfy employment recruiting needs. If the local talent pool changes, then the company may find it more difficult to recruit qualified candidates. For example, if other businesses start to leave the region, then the availability of jobs drops and qualified candidates begin looking for work in other parts of the country. The company is then faced with decisions that involve paying to relocate new employees or opening new locations to access new talent pools. Competition Companies within the same industry are competing for qualified candidates to ensure future growth. There is competition in the recruiting end of your business just as there is in selling products. You need to analyze what your competition is offering new employees, and try to develop a competitive package to lure in the talent that you need. Strategies to reduce the cost of Honey Buns Human Resource First priority Honey Bun could use to cut costs on its human resource, though it is somewhat of a new development for many managers and HR staff personnel, particularly if they had seen laying off staff as the only feasible means to cut cost on human resource would be, is reducing turnover. Turnover is very burdensome on the financial resources of any given company, and if management does not have sound knowledge of the actual cost of turnover, the organization may be in a situation where it is inescapable to reduce it. Another way Honey Bun could improve their human resource management and to cut cost on labour is to ensure that the HR manager designated for recruitment is efficiently trained and certified with the necessary experience in a similar scope of position in a similar company model. A database of CVs of prospective employees could be kept thus ensuring that the HR Manager spends a portion of his or her time on a weekly basis emailing prospective candidates from the searchable CV databases available on job boards. The searchable databases are what HR managers and job recruiters use every day. The company could also institute a referral / finders fee asking their own workers of prospective employees, in the manner as job agencies do. Another strategy they could utilize is to pay key staff 15% above market rates to their star employee this is a nominal strategy seeing that replacing them is 40-50% of their annual salary if you include agency fees possible lost days in training and the employee who has contributed heavily to the overall development of the company walking through the door, probably to the competition. The company could also Reduce Healthcare Costs. Of course, the most intuitive method of reducing healthcare costs involves shopping around for healthcare insurance. For example if they are using an old fashioned broker for years, the current provider of such services will be costly compared to a newer less expensive healthcare company. Before the company cuts down on healthcare offerings for its employees, they must first consider eliminating dental and vision plans. Then after they have right healthcare provider for the company, they can make adjustments to their plan to minimize costs. They should ask direct and concise information that will in turn pose to be beneficial to the company. Switching to a higher deductible health plan is not always the most popular plan amongst the companys employees but striking the right balance between deductible cost and premiums can save the company money while satisfying the needs of its employees without any lost on both parties; Honey Bun on whole should analyze who they are covering under their medical plans especially if the company is providing full insurance coverage for spouses and family members this might just be saving such expenses from competitors and driving a hole in the companies pockets by taking in unnecessary expenses of their own. A strategy most companies are utilizing is they are beginning to demand higher employee contributions for the coverage of their family members who can receive general medical coverage from through the company. Another strategy the company could use is to have the employee pay the full premium for their spouse who can receive coverage at their place of work; this will go a long way to reduce healthcare expenses. Health and Wellness programs are now becoming popular in various business organizations; today most medium and large size businesses with backgrounds in various sectors and employing between 50-85 workers are drifting towards this focus. Implementing the right wellness program for Honey Buns employees can increase employee health and happiness while decreasing costs on pending healthcare cost. Most employers are now seeing the evidence of the success of wellness programs improving their employees happiness and productivity in the workplace and the favorable reduction in money wasted dealing with various health related sicknesses of their staff thus health insurance costs can be documented and proven. Honey Bun can also reduce its cost on human resource by creating a healthy social atmosphere at the workplace as this strategy is shown to increase morale, camaraderie and increase the productivity of the employee. Many companies do this by hosting a number of social events where the employees come together to bask in each others company and share in various activities. Hosting competitive events such as sports competitions for employees can be a defining tool. This allows employees to get to know each other and have a deeper understanding of each others roles and responsibilities and have a deeper appreciation for each others welfare, a team building approach in the work environment, and overall a sense of loyalty for the company this will make them proud they work for a company that encourages its employees to have a friendly and collective approach to their work rather being individualistic in their work relations. This can be the key factor in determining whether an employee joins the company, stays grounded in a team oriented setting, or moving on the competitors company. Improving the hiring practices of Honey Bun through the HR department can save the company much money and time. This would involve analyzing all CVs for a particular candidate who will maximize his or her strengths for the overall development of the company, the first time around, the long-term relationship of the potential employee should be the most vital factor whether he or she is added to the staff at Honey Bun. A detailed, comprehensive job description should be drawn out to highlight the important aspects of the position, as well as all activities that will be under their auspices; add additional requirements for the post including activities not relevant to the post available in order to test the flexibility of the potential candidate . This will ensure that the potential employee is informed of all of their responsibilities before the interview is even conducted. By working strategically at creating a well defined job listing that quantifies the scope of the position it will most definitely yield candidates with higher quality, and thus ensures a job skill match as well. Offering competitive salaries will inevitably draw in higher quality human resource and thus rids the company of the unskilled talents and the pending cost of replacing such. Optimizing HR operations and company policies can reduce costs while increasing employee satisfaction. By offering flexible work schedules for its employees this will increase morale and productivity. If employees are working too many hours, their level of productivity will decrease throughout the day. Allowing them to switch up their hours and come in at different periods of the day will ensure that they are working at their optimum levels and are properly rested. They must be offered competitive salaries as well. If a salary offered is way below industry standards for the same level of responsibility, potential star employees will be lost to the competition. Honey Bun could also provide their employees incentives to boost productivity and encourage employees to take the extra step when trying to make a sale or ensuring quality in their work this will make every employee think twice before slacking off. Another way Honey Bun could cut cost on its human resource is by integrating HR Technology this will save time and money by eliminating costly mistakes and introducing automation to manual processes. It is important to find competent, up to date, and fully integrated software to implement. Implementing integrated time and attendance and employee scheduling software is low-hanging fruit in this department. Time and attendance software in particular has been shown to provide organizations with a significant return on investment (ROI). Reducing the risk of expensive litigation can save Honey Buns financial assets in the long run. The last thing the company would need in a recession type climate is to be sued by a former employee. The company should know the risks, and plan ahead to rid the company of legal pitfalls. Know all of the laws and regulations for the companys industry and following them rigorously. A number of people will jump at the opportunity to sue the company for large amounts of money. To avoid lawsuits, documentation must be a key player in determining the company is caught in a litigation trap; record its defenses, such as warnings given to an employee or the fact that guidelines were given and broken one should not cite concerns, criticisms, or introspects on any particular employee. Honey Bun could also reduce its cost on human resource by not allowing employees to work overtime. The workloads must be objectively and critically analyzed to evaluate the time that is required for tasks to be completed efficiently, identify streamlining opportunities, and improve proficiency amongst individual staff members. Honey Bun could also adhere to a economical phenom most companies are familiarizing themselves with which is the use of contingent workers (people who are hired, as needed, to perform specific tasks, but are not employed by the company) in other words contracted staff, Honey Bun could utilize this as a means cutting cost on human resource seeing that the level of income being paid to contracted staff is way below the market value and at the same time contracted workers are not open to benefits as fulltime staff members.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Jehovahs Witness Essay -- essays research papers

Jehovah’s Witnesses Jehovah’s Witnesses are a people known widely throughout the world. They are well-dressed people who come knocking at your door on different occasions offering religious literature for sale or trying to introduce their beliefs through carefully prepared conversation. People young, old, rich, poor, well educated and non-educated have embraced them. Their enthusiasm as proclaimers of God’s Kingdom has impressed even their harshest critics. Their love toward one another makes some non-witnesses hope and pray that more people would act in that manner. Yet, some may still wonder, who really are the Jehovah’s Witnesses? What is their history, their practices and their beliefs? Why are they the most attacked new religious group today? Even many former group members have written books or created web sites that project a negative perspective on the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Due to the fact that this group has such a large following, it is not surprising that they would be attacked or their faith be denounced. It has been proven that the bigger in numbers of a group, the more controversial the group, and the larger the tension between them and society. Also, the more individuals who belong to a group, the more individuals there are who will denounce that faith and become active apostates. These apostates publish books and establish web sites proclaiming the wickness of the group to whose teachings they once adhered. When looking at it with this point of view, it seems natural that the Jehovah’s Witnesses would be heavily criticized. However, the fierceness of attack is still frightening. My thesis is that based on the questionable characteristics and backgrounds of the Jehovah’s Witnesses leaders and teachings, this criticism are not unfounded. Information on the teaching of the religion and the leaders themselves can be found in the following books: Jehovah’s Witnesses, Teachings of Jehovah Witnesses, Crisis of Conscience, Wha t You Need to Know About Jehovah’s Witnesses, Counting the Days to Armageddon, and Jehovah’s Witnesses: Answered Verse by Verse.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In order to examine the controversies we must examine their history, organization, practices and their beliefs. We must first start at the beginning at the leadership of the Jehovah’s Witnesses with its founder Charles Taze Russell. The Allegheny, Pennsylvania boy had been... ...ir followers into doing what they are told. They have repeatedly changed their doctrines and contradicted previously held beliefs, all while claiming that it alone has the truth. This religion takes a person’s ability to think for himself, his ability to make rational decisions, and his free will.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During my research on the Jehovah’s Witnesses the more material I read the more questions I had. How do they convert even the intelligent and God fearing people? Why are Jehovah Witnesses considerably successful in retaining their children within their belief system? Why are Jehovah’s Witnesses less likely to attend college? Why are 55% of Jehovah Witnesses women? Why would any parent allow their child to die instead of receiving a blood transfusion when their death would not be necessary? Do they put such little value to human life? If your religion causes you to separate from your family is your religion really worth it? These questions and others were raised throughout my paper. However, the fact is that the Jehovah Witnesses and the Watchtower Society are successful in converting people to their religion and have the ability to maintain their membership. Jehovahs Witness Essay -- essays research papers Jehovah’s Witnesses Jehovah’s Witnesses are a people known widely throughout the world. They are well-dressed people who come knocking at your door on different occasions offering religious literature for sale or trying to introduce their beliefs through carefully prepared conversation. People young, old, rich, poor, well educated and non-educated have embraced them. Their enthusiasm as proclaimers of God’s Kingdom has impressed even their harshest critics. Their love toward one another makes some non-witnesses hope and pray that more people would act in that manner. Yet, some may still wonder, who really are the Jehovah’s Witnesses? What is their history, their practices and their beliefs? Why are they the most attacked new religious group today? Even many former group members have written books or created web sites that project a negative perspective on the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Due to the fact that this group has such a large following, it is not surprising that they would be attacked or their faith be denounced. It has been proven that the bigger in numbers of a group, the more controversial the group, and the larger the tension between them and society. Also, the more individuals who belong to a group, the more individuals there are who will denounce that faith and become active apostates. These apostates publish books and establish web sites proclaiming the wickness of the group to whose teachings they once adhered. When looking at it with this point of view, it seems natural that the Jehovah’s Witnesses would be heavily criticized. However, the fierceness of attack is still frightening. My thesis is that based on the questionable characteristics and backgrounds of the Jehovah’s Witnesses leaders and teachings, this criticism are not unfounded. Information on the teaching of the religion and the leaders themselves can be found in the following books: Jehovah’s Witnesses, Teachings of Jehovah Witnesses, Crisis of Conscience, Wha t You Need to Know About Jehovah’s Witnesses, Counting the Days to Armageddon, and Jehovah’s Witnesses: Answered Verse by Verse.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In order to examine the controversies we must examine their history, organization, practices and their beliefs. We must first start at the beginning at the leadership of the Jehovah’s Witnesses with its founder Charles Taze Russell. The Allegheny, Pennsylvania boy had been... ...ir followers into doing what they are told. They have repeatedly changed their doctrines and contradicted previously held beliefs, all while claiming that it alone has the truth. This religion takes a person’s ability to think for himself, his ability to make rational decisions, and his free will.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During my research on the Jehovah’s Witnesses the more material I read the more questions I had. How do they convert even the intelligent and God fearing people? Why are Jehovah Witnesses considerably successful in retaining their children within their belief system? Why are Jehovah’s Witnesses less likely to attend college? Why are 55% of Jehovah Witnesses women? Why would any parent allow their child to die instead of receiving a blood transfusion when their death would not be necessary? Do they put such little value to human life? If your religion causes you to separate from your family is your religion really worth it? These questions and others were raised throughout my paper. However, the fact is that the Jehovah Witnesses and the Watchtower Society are successful in converting people to their religion and have the ability to maintain their membership.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Bcg Matrix Critique

Marketing Critique: BCG Matrix Your Name Here Table of Contents Introduction3 Concept Overview3 Functional Critique5 Intellectual Critique6 Ethical Critique7 Political Critique8 Conclusion8 Bibliography9 Introduction This paper will attempt to provide a broad critique of the Boston Consulting Group Matrix in light of the ideas of Hackley (2009). In his book Marketing:A Critical Introduction, Hackley presents a framework for analysing marketing models.He suggests that well established marketing concepts should be re-evaluated from time to time, to determine if the marketing studies for that area are applicable to current practice, and revisit the functional, intellectual, ethical, and political relevance of the said concept. I opted to evaluate the Boston Consulting Group model, which is an established tool of the strategic management field, used frequently in marketing circles to optimize product mix.Where alternative versions of the matrix have come up in recent studies, the traditi onal BCG Matrix continues to be popular and this paper intends to evaluate whether the support for the model is justified or needs to be rectified. Concept Overview The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix was initially designed in the works of a leading management consulting firm, the Boston Consulting Group. Henderson (1970) first presented the concept of the Product Portfolio Matrix, the framework of which categorized products within a company's portfolio as â€Å"stars†, â€Å"cash cows†, â€Å"dogs†, or â€Å"question marks†.Also called the Growth-Share Matrix, the model presented by Henderson (1970), organized the products as per their respective growth rate, market share, and positive or negative cash flow. The Matrix was said to create further growth opportunities for the firm if more resources were invested in those products which generated positive cash flows. The model described â€Å"Stars† as those which enjoy a large market share in a rapidly growing industry. Where these stars generate cash, the nature of the market mandates the business to invest cash in order to maintain the product’s market share.The model suggests that continued investment in these â€Å"stars† will eventually lead to these products in becoming â€Å"cash cows† â€Å"Cash Cows† are products which have a large market share in a mature industry. Cash cows are therefore well established, and do not require much investment (marketing expenditures) to continue to generate cash flow. As these products generate cash flow, they are highly guarded. Over time, however, these cows may lose appeal in the market and may have to be retrenched. â€Å"Question Marks† are products which have a low market share in a high growth industry.These products require significant cash investments to generate any kind of boost in sales. Strategies in the case of question marks may either lean towards expansion or retrenchment, depend ing on the market share growth enjoyed by the product. Lastly, there are the â€Å"dogs† which are product lines with low market share in low-growth markets. The nature of the market usually results in these products being produced at a cost disadvantage, and as a result, the cash flow generated from these products is negligible. Businesses usually seek to divest these products, unless they serve an alternate strategic aim.Functional Critique The BCG Matrix presents a strong framework as to how products can be managed from a strategic marketing perspective. At the core of it, the functionality of the BCG Matrix is focused around maximizing returns on investment and how best to deploy organizational resources (Cooper, Edgett, Kleinschmidt, 1999). However, there have been several critiques of its applicability (Stalk and Stern, 1998). In particular, the model has been criticized for its polarities with respect to how the market growth and market shares have been presented.In th e real world, products do not have a high or low share, and are often stuck somewhere in the middle (Hambrick, MacMillan, and Day, 1982). The matrix presents no ideas as to what kind of strategies are to be implemented for the product in this case. Further, market growth rate has been cited as an important driver of product development. Contrary to the advice of the BCG Matrix, market growth rate is viable only till the point of saturation, after which point it would be counterintuitive for the firm to be investing in a product that does not enjoy majority stake (Stalk and Stern, 1998).The critical view of the BCG Growth-Share Matrix was also shared by Morrison and Wensley (1991), who claimed that the model was â€Å"myopic† as it prescribed a set of strategic solutions, rather than encourage marketing executives to think creatively with respect to their product lines. On the contrary, Cooper, Edgett and Kleinschmidt (1999) found in their study that firms which centered strat egy on the product portfolio model were not only more financially viable, but marginally outperformed other firms.Therefore, it is safe to conclude that where the applicability of the BCG model may be challenging, the results it produces are enough for strategists to continue using the model. Intellectual Critique Morrison and Wensley (1991) found that the BCG Matrix set a standard for strategic models, and that a plethora of similar matrix style models came about in the years after the BCG Matrix was introduced (Wind, Mahajan, and Swire, 1983). However, this is where the intellectual contribution of the BCG Matrix ends, they argue.They claim that the Matrix oversimplified the nature of marketing strategies, and streamlined product arrangements in a way that was confirmatory rather than innovative, a view shared by Marren (2004). Other researchers tend to believe that the introduction of the BCG matrix brought forth the importance of financial management in marketing. In particular Schoeffler, Buzzell, ; Heany (1974), Wind, Mahajan ; Swire (1983), and Dirkinderen ; Crum (1984) found that the model recalibrated organizations to focus their strategies more around portfolio management and enhancement.The simplicity of the matrix meant that it could be applied to other areas of marketing management, such as product life cycle model (Barksdale ; Harris, 1982), sales force management (Strahle ; Spiro, 1986). Despite the fact that the model faced significant critique from the academia when it was first launched, it is ironic that the BCG Matrix continues to be an inevitable curriculum component in almost every Marketing and Business Management program around the world.In their study, Morrison and Wensley (1991) found that a majority of instructors continued to espouse the benefits of the matrix to their students, despite having some reservations about its applicability. Perhaps the best appraisal of the intellectual value of the BCG Matrix was provided by Henderson, the creator of the model: â€Å"a milestone on the search for insight into business system dynamics, but certainly not the end of the road† (Moore, 2001). Ethical Critique As per Hackley (2009), marketing studies need to examine the ethical and social values which surround marketing practice and theory.In the case of the Boston Consulting Group Matrix, the model is an internal strategic tool which shapes product assortment which is to be deployed to the market. The nature of the model is such that it advocates products with high market share in strong market growth. The ethical quandary posed here is whether the organization should retrench a product line which has low market share, in an industry of low market growth, but the product serves a purpose that is beneficial to society (such as pharmaceuticals).In a similar vein, is it ethical for a company to invest more resources into promoting a product in a growing market, even when the company is aware of the adverse effects of the product (such as cigarettes). In other words, should an organizations product assortment be negligent of social benefits, and be determined solely on market dynamics alone (McDonald ; Leppard, 1992), in a time when businesses are advocating principles of corporate social responsibility?It is also pertinent to note that the BCG matrix encourages organizations to continue investing in profitable ventures (â€Å"cash cows†), whereas it suggests retrenching investment to those products (â€Å"dogs†) which are not responding to market stimulation initiatives. Considering the large research and development expenditures that go into creating and launching a product, it is not clear from the BCG model about how long the company should wait before removing the product from markets altogether (Seeger, 1984).Therefore, users of this model may want to base decisions in the context of net social benefit to continue driving the long term sustainability of the company and soci ety at large. Political Critique As Hackley (2009) indicated, when analysing any marketing tool, it is important to analyse where the concept originated and what institutional forces stood to advantage from its evolution. In the case of the BCG Matrix, as described earlier, the model was originated in the work of Henderson (1970).The matrix was an integral component of the Boston Consulting Group and was used by several influential benchmark companies at the time of its launch. The matrix also enjoyed coverage in the press, despite strong criticism by academia (Morrison and Wensley, 1991). It is clear that the hype around the model stood to benefit the Boston Consulting Group the most, a fact that is confirmed by the fact that the company propagates its use to this very day, despite being aware of its shortcomings.It has also been found that aside from promoting and capitalizing on the â€Å"success† of their models, consultancies go great lengths to ensure that they attract the highest profiled organizations to employ their services, so that they can charge higher consulting fees citing the quality of their past work (O'Shea & Madigan, 1998). Conclusion In conclusion, it is clear that the Boston Consulting Group Matrix is flawed in many respects, but continues to enjoy support in academic circles for its implications of strategy.It also serves to purpose that the model has inspired the creation of numerous other matrices to assist organizations in strategizing better. However, as with any marketing tool, it is important to keep in mind the ethical implications of the decision-making advised by these strategic models. Bibliography Cooper, R. G. , Edgett, S. J. , & Kleinschmidt, E. J. (1999). New product portfolio management: practices and performance. Journal of product innovation management, 16(4), 333-351. Hackley, C. (2009). Marketing: A critical introduction. Sage Publications Limited. Derkinderen, F. G. & Crum, R. L. (1984). Pitfalls in using portf olio techniques—Assessing risk and potential. Long Range Planning, 17(2), 129-136. O'Shea, J. , ; Madigan, C. (1998). Dangerous company: Management consultants and the businesses they save and ruin. Penguin USA. Henderson, B. (1970). The product portfolio. BCG Perspectives series (The Boston Consulting Group, 1970). Hambrick, D. C. , MacMillan, I. C. , ; Day, D. L. (1982). Strategic Attributes and Performance in the BCG Matrix–A PIMS-Based Analysis of Industrial Product Businesses. Academy of Management Journal, 25(3), 510-531.Barksdale, H. C. , ; Harris Jr, C. E. (1982). Portfolio analysis and the product life cycle. Long Range Planning, 15(6), 74-83. Marren, P. (2004). The matrix revisited. Journal of Business Strategy, 25(4). McDonald, M. , ; Leppard, J. W. (1992). Marketing by matrix: 100 practical ways to improve your strategic and tactical marketing. Butterworth-Heinemann. Morrison, A. , ; Wensley, R. (1991). Boxing up or boxed in? : A short history of the Boston Consulting Group share/growth matrix. Journal of Marketing Management, 7(2), 105-129. Schoeffler, S. , Buzzell, R.D. , ; Heany, D. F. (1974). Impact of strategic planning on profit performance (pp. 137-145). Graduate School of Business Administration, Harvard University. Seeger, J. A. (1984). Research note and communication. Reversing the images of BCG's growth/share matrix. Strategic Management Journal, 5(1), 93-97. Stalk, G. , & Stern, C. W. (Eds. ). (1998). Perspectives on Strategy: From the Boston Consulting Group. J. Wiley. Wind, Y. , Mahajan, V. , & Swire, D. J. (1983). An empirical comparison of standardized portfolio models. The Journal of Marketing, 89-99.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Unicef’s Efficiency in the World’s Global Struggles

UNICEF is a world-renowned organization that strives to give a voice to those who go unheard: the children of the world. UNICEF or the United Nations International Emergency Fund was originally created in 1946, following World War II, in an effort to provide assistance to the European children who faced starvation and disease. It was through these efforts that UNICEF began to present itself as one of the nations leading advocacy groups for children’s rights. Then, in 1953, UNICEF was given permanent status by the General Assembly. UNICEF made its mark by assisting the U. N.Commission on Human Rights in the creation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1959, which ensured a child’s right to shelter, education, healthcare, and protection. In 1965, UNICEF added to their ever-growing list of accolades with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1965 for â€Å"the promotion of brotherhood among nations. † Following this, the organization began to devote its time to promo ting proper medication and sanitation for children worldwide. These efforts included encouraging women to breastfeed their children, promoting a breast milk substitute, and helping children obtain proper vaccinations.Throughout their years of service, UNICEF has grown to serve over 190 countries and has developed focus areas to ensure child survival and development, basic education and gender equality, child protection, and HIV/AIDS prevention in children. Each country’s UNICEF office carries out the organizations missions and objectives with help from its government, with its regional offices offering assistance whenever it is needed. The head management of UNICEF and its overall administration reside in the organizations main office in New York.UNICEF has 36 National Committees, which promote the rights of children throughout the world and raises national awareness of issues related to the protection of human rights for children. The Committees also collects funds and devel ops partnerships and affiliations of UNICEF with other organizations and institutions around the world. All the work and programs of UNICEF are monitored by a 36 member Executive Board. The Executive Board ultimately controls the financial basis of the organization, and reviews its policies and procedures.The Board is elected by members of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and primarily serve three terms. UNICEF focuses on making sure children survive their adolescent years and develop into young adults. This is an extremely difficult task due to all the diseases that effect children in less developed countries. While diseases such as malaria and pneumonia will kill millions and millions of young children, these diseases are preventable. Over half of the millions of children that die from these diseases are preventable.UNICEF is using its research and funding to develop low cost innovative technologies to produce vaccines and antibiotics to these developing cou ntries to ensure children can live a full and healthy life. In addition, UNICEF tries to ensure that children have access to basic education so that children can learn about these preventable diseases, along with the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Just implementing organizations which channel basic information to these children can be a successful tool in ensuring that these young children live a healthier and safer life.Education is a human right which every child should be given the right to, and UNICEF is making strides toward achieving this goal. Not only does UNICEF work to facilitate children’s knowledge and learning, but it also works to develop a protective environment for children as well. Hundreds of children in the world face exploitation and are subject to violence. Whether it be exploitation from the labor force or institutions, to brutality and abuse from conflict within communities, children need some form of protection in society.Children have the right to survival and de velopment, and UNICEF advocates for protective measures in governments to provide a safe environment for children. Responses taken by UNICEF towards the fight against child protection include the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Millennium Declaration. These responses taken by UNICEF use legal systems and a given set of standards that governments must respect with regards to the human rights of its children and citizens. The governments and individuals of states cannot take away or violate the rights of its people.The Convention on the Rights of the Child is an important measure towards UNICEF’s fight against child protection. The principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child are legally binding, making it unlawful if a state does not adhere to its protocols. â€Å"The Convention on the Rights of the Child is the first legally binding international instrument to incorporate the full range of human rights. † Governments of states have now taken respo nsibility to guarantee and protect children’s rights.National governments are obligated to implement all the policies and standards of the convention, and must be accountable for their actions if there are cases of children’s rights being disregarded. The convention covers all the basic human rights from the right to survival and protection from violence to the right of a child to grow and develop. UNICEF makes sure that there are standards being met with regards to education, health care and other legal and social services, and that governments are committing to these efforts.UNICEF makes it clear that violence against children is not justifiable, and states must implement and uphold policies and programs to insure the safety and nonviolence among children. This reassures the binding principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which acknowledges that states have the obligation to ensure accountability in all cases of violence. The UNICEF’s worldwid e efforts and initiative to elevate the status of children and give them a voice is a detrimental part of improving the world as a whole.Children are the key to the future. The children of today are going to be tomorrow’s leaders and important figures. Also, in order to fight and reduce the conditions of poverty in the world, children should be looked upon as the first step. Poverty is the root cause of children being denied their rights as a human. Poverty leads to a less protective childhood environment, and less resources for education and health concerns. It hinders the ability of a child to grow and develop.In the end, â€Å"poverty is transmitted from one generation to the next. If there are any intentions of breaking the increasing sequence of poverty, then investments by governments and other private sectors must spent towards children’s health, education and overall development. Investing in the health and safety of the worlds youth can lead to great returns in the future. In the end, the decline of world poverty starts by implementing standards and institutions for the well being of the nations youth.The tasks and goals of UNICEF cover an enormous focus ranging from child education and equality, to child protection and development. These issues entail many programs and much funding, which is why UNICEF is closely connected to many other organizations. Other organizations such as the World Health Organization, the Food and Agricultural Organization, The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and the International Labour Organization are some of the many organizations which are closely connected to UNICEF.These organizations all come together to tackle numerous issues such as disease control, better education and nutritional practices, implementing children welfare services, providing food and health to areas in the developing world and many other functions. UNICEF teams up with numerous other organizations to offer humanitarian aid and development to assist children in impoverished countries. UNICEF also works with the International Red Cross on emergency relief assignments in places like Cambodia which has experienced a domestic upheaval , as well as working to make child rights constitutional in Brazil.UNICEF partners with United Nation agencies and governments to provide support and assistance to children during emergency conditions. During the first weeks of crisis, UNICEF works to assess the situation that children and women are experiencing, provide necessary immunizations and nutrition, support mother-child feeding and monitoring, provide sanitary and safe drinking water, prevent sexual abuse and exploitation, and resume education. In order to facilitate proper assistance, UNICEF has set up an Office of Emergency Programmes (EMPOS), which coordinates UNICEF’s partnership with other agencies, and provides staff support.Within the EMPOS resides UNICEF’s Operations Cent re which serves as a 24-7 information gathering center in order supervise staff, monitor world events, and insure safety of all UNICEF members. UNICEF has successfully provided humanitarian aid and helped improve the welfare of children all around the world. For instance, UNICEF has helped keep peace in Sri Lanka while educating the youth. While Sri Lanka suffered civil war and violence for over a decade, the UNICEF helped to educate children non-violent ways to resolve conflicts and disputes by launching the Education for Conflict Resolution.UNICEF trained principles, teachers and pupils to use innovative techniques to emphasize passivity and nonviolence. In addition, UNICEF aided in achieving community-based health care in Indonesia. In 1973, Indonesia suffered from more than 10 million of its children under five years-old being undernourished. UNICEF countered this epidemic by supplying Indonesia with nutritional first aid packages for the villages, which provided scales to weigh babies as well as rehydration salts and iron supplements. A network of village health posts were formed, here mother could bring their infants for nourishment or go to meetings and receive important information regarding the health of their children. This is much like Mother Centres, which were created under UNICEF in Central and Eastern Europe. This provides woman with a social network to communicate and deal with issues such as poverty. It also provided education to girls and mothers regarding health concerns and gender discrimination. However, UNICEF has also encountered efforts that proved to be unsuccessful.For example, while providing humanitarian aid to the people of Sudan during the civil war, the agency poorly managed the aid operation. UNICEF offered aid to the Sudan people, but failed to make sure the aid was distributed to the Sudan population. As a result, corrupt officials were taking most of the aid, leaving the people and children with little to no resources. Weak m anagement of this massive relief operation led to an unsuccessful distribution of aid for the citizens of Sudan.With all the focus and aid the UNICEF provided among its universal operations, sufficient funding was a key component to its success. The budget of UNICEF was provided primarily through government contributions and donations, along with private donations from numerous interest groups. However, without U. S. involvement and funding, UNICEF would not be as successful as it is today. The United States generous contributions to UNICEF portrays the United State’s worldwide investment in children.Within the last fiscal year (2009), the United States Congress voluntarily contributed 130 million to UNICEF, which is critical to UNICEF’s budget. The U. S. fund for UNICEF consisted of just about a million individual donors along with other organizations and well-know businesses providing contributions to the fund. With the United State’s advocacy and large fundin g of UNICEF, it allows the organization improve its measures of child survival and development internationally throughout the world.Since its conception in 1946 UNICEF has consistently ranked among the world’s strongest charitable organizations. Over these past decades UNICEF has established one of the top charitable business models. In 2008 UNICEF reported total revenues at $453,900,000 yet its administrative and fundraising expenses were less than $42,000,000 thus allowing UNICEF to spend over $400,000,000 on its various international relief efforts. Unlike other charities that face administrative and technical walls, UNICEF is able to use $. 90 of every dollar raised on the world’s most desperate children.In addition to its preeminent business model UNICEF has also perfected its fundraising techniques spending only six cents per every dollar raised. As a result of its successful fundraising and financial planning UNICEF received top ratings for its efficiency and or ganization. While UNICEF maintains itself as a top charity its greatest strength lies within its ability to change. Unfortunately the disasters of the world rarely come with a warning thus requiring organizations to create effective and rapid response programs for such things as natural disasters and wars.Emergency response has become one of UNICEF’s greatest strengths and it has become a world leader in the development of newer, more effective response strategies. UNICEF has also been able to successfully change with the tide of power throughout the world’s hotspots; which tend to be the most desperate. UNICEF, because of its connection with the United Nations, has been able to maintain regional offices and treatment centers throughout Africa, the Middle East, and Southeastern Asia. Since 1946 UNICEF has been a constant light for the children of the world.It has established itself as on the top international charities. As a result of its concrete business model, effic ient fundraising, and ability to change UNICEF will undoubtedly continue to provide relief for all children in need. UNICEF’s success has also created some drawbacks that should be expected with an ever-growing organization. UNICEF’s success has led it towards a results-based management style. Results-based management can be inefficient for it only cares about the bottom line and not necessarily about the means to get the bottom line.This can lead to such inefficiencies as over-spending and a lack of precision in order to get things done quicker. In addition, due to UNICEF’s size, it has become a victim of the bureaucracy and the complexities of a large corporation. Time and money is frequently wasted on simple internal processes that become complex due to a drawn out power structure. UNICEF’s weaknesses lie within its ability to grow. Like any private or government institution UNICEF must continue to adapt and evolve to the constant changes occurring in the 21st century.While conditions are improving for children, there are still millions of children dying each day, especially in areas of the world where there is insufficient leaderships. The HIV/AIDS epidemic is one of the worlds worst catastrophe, and some feel that UNICEF has done enough work to help the countries in Africa that are greatly effect by it. Wendy McElroy, who believes UNICEF’s focus is all wrong, contributes some of its failures to the fact that UNICEF leaders always tend to be American.This, she states, tends to result in the organization to convey and lean towards American interest. However, UNICEF’s strong organization and track record will undoubtedly aid itself in correcting its flaws in the coming years. UNICEF has agencies in more than 150 developing countries with the goal of helping children survive and reach their adolescent years. It looks to implement programs and policies to overcome the everyday obstacles that children is the world strug gle to overcome, ranging from discrimination, violence, inequality, poverty and disease.UNICEF has made fundamental strides in child survival and development with the use of low cost health programs, resulting in child deaths being reduced by 20 percent in the last three years. Also, UNICEF is â€Å"the world leader in vaccine supply and immunization,† helping to protect the world’s youth from preventable diseases. This alone has helped to prevent the deaths of more than 2 million children in the world each year. The promotion of basic education is also a detrimental aspect of UNICEF.UNICEF has helped Afghanistan build more than three thousand schools to educate more than 140,000 children. These are just a few examples of UNICEF’s policies that have helped save millions of children’s lives. However, even with UNICEF’s aid and successes, more than an estimated 9. 2 million children will die this year, many due to preventable diseases. UNICEF has tak en significant measures to shed light upon the issues that effect not only children, but many others throughout the world. This alone has brought about change to millions who suffer in the world today.Protecting the world’s youth who do not have the ability to help themselves is a key step in maintaining a bright and prosperous future, since today’s youth are tomorrow’s leaders. The vision and goals of UNICEF have stayed consistent since its formation in 1946, always striving towards helping reduce hunger, increase vaccinations and treatments, and ultimately protect the rights of children. UNICEF is in no way a perfect organization, but its policies and programs have constructed a world in which children can further develop into the leaders of tomorrow.