Dietrich Bonhoeffer :: Essays Papers

Dietrich Bonhoeffer Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born on February 4th 1906, as a son of a professor of psychiatry and neurology at the University of Berlin. Throughout his early life he was an outstanding student, and when he finally reached the age of 25 he became a lecturer in systematic theology at the University Berlin. Something that is very striking is that when Hitler came to power in 1933, Bonhoeffer became a leading spokesman for the Confessing Church, the center of Protestant resistance to the Nazis. He organized and for a shot amount of time he led the underground seminary of the Confessing Church. His book Life Together describes the life of the Christian community in that seminary, and his book The Cost Of Discipleship attacks what he calls "cheap grace," meaning that grace used as an excuse for moral laxity. Bonhoeffer had been taught not to "resist the powers that be," but he came to a conclusion to believe that to do so was sometimes the right choice. In 1939 his brother-in-law introduced him to a group planning the overthrow of Hitler, and he made significant contributions to their work. (Bonhoeffer at this time was an employee of the Military Intelligence Department.) He was later arrested in April of 1943 and imprisoned in Berlin. After the failure of the attempt on Hitler's life in April of 1944, he was first sent to Buchenwald and then to Schoenberg Prison. Bonhoeffer was almost killed, but was lucky as his life was spared, because he had a relative who stood high in the government; but then this relative was himself implicated in anti-Nazi plots. On Sunday 8 Dietrich Bonhoeffer :: Essays Papers Dietrich Bonhoeffer Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born on February 4th 1906, as a son of a professor of psychiatry and neurology at the University of Berlin. Throughout his early life he was an outstanding student, and when he finally reached the age of 25 he became a lecturer in systematic theology at the University Berlin. Something that is very striking is that when Hitler came to power in 1933, Bonhoeffer became a leading spokesman for the Confessing Church, the center of Protestant resistance to the Nazis. He organized and for a shot amount of time he led the underground seminary of the Confessing Church. His book Life Together describes the life of the Christian community in that seminary, and his book The Cost Of Discipleship attacks what he calls "cheap grace," meaning that grace used as an excuse for moral laxity. Bonhoeffer had been taught not to "resist the powers that be," but he came to a conclusion to believe that to do so was sometimes the right choice. In 1939 his brother-in-law introduced him to a group planning the overthrow of Hitler, and he made significant contributions to their work. (Bonhoeffer at this time was an employee of the Military Intelligence Department.) He was later arrested in April of 1943 and imprisoned in Berlin. After the failure of the attempt on Hitler's life in April of 1944, he was first sent to Buchenwald and then to Schoenberg Prison. Bonhoeffer was almost killed, but was lucky as his life was spared, because he had a relative who stood high in the government; but then this relative was himself implicated in anti-Nazi plots. On Sunday 8

Pharmaceutical Marketing Ethics :: essays research papers

The discovery, development, manufacturing and marketing of medicines always involve questions of ethics. For example increasing pressure by governments to reduce healthcare expenditures potentially creates ethical issues for sales and marketing employees as they work to grow in the business. The healthcare industry is highly regulated and most pharmaceutical companies are committed to operating within the law. They have developed their own policies and guidance to ensure that all employees meet the highest ethical standards in their work. The Code of Conduct explains the standards that are expected from employees and is clearly communicated across each company. An Employee Guide to Business Conduct explains what the Code means in practice. Most pharmaceutical companies are committed to sales and marketing activities that are ethical, responsible, principled and patient focused. They conform to the high, ethical, medical and scientific standards that are set by governments and regulators. On top of the regulatory requirements of governments, they govern their sales and marketing activities through company policy, on Pharmaceutical Marketing and Promotion Activity, and through industry and company marketing codes. Companies believe that it is important to work with governments to contribute to constructive debate on issues surrounding pharmaceuticals and healthcare. Where legal and appropriate they make political donations as part of this engagement. All of their interactions are governed by the Code of Conduct and appropriate Corporate Policies. Most have company wide auditing in place to fully investigate suspected breaches of their company standards and take appropriate disciplinary action, including dismissal where a ppropriate. Never in the history of pharmaceutical marketing have the challenges been so intense and the stakes so high. Threats to growth and profitability have turned up the heat on pharmaceutical marketing teams to do more with less. As a result, pharmaceutical marketers must attain a new level of sophistication and precision to improve performance and maximize return on investments. At the same time, pressure is mounting on all fronts to provide greater value to all customers-including patients, providers and payers.

The Dominance of Gothic Architecture in The High Middle Ages Essay

When one sees the Notre Dame de Paris cathedral in person or in pictures they are likely to be awestruck. The twin towers of the western faà §ade rise high into the sky, seemingly in an attempt to scrape heaven. Spiky arches seem to grow out of the sides and claw at the ground. Inside it is cavernous with colored light filtering in through the large, intricate stained glass windows. All of these physical qualities make Notre Dame a prime example of Gothic architecture. It does not stand alone in that distinction. One is also likely to see several hundred examples of this style on varying scales throughout Europe. Because, despite its humble origins, Gothic architecture became the standard for religious buildings in the early 11th century thanks to innovative use of new and old design techniques which resulted in majestic buildings that symbolized the builder’s version of heaven. To understand the appeal of Gothic architecture at the time, it is critical to start in the small suburb of Paris called St. Denis. There, lived a worldly member of the monastery named Abbot Suger. When he took over as Abbot in 1122, his first priority was to â€Å"fatten the monastery’s purse† (Gilgoff 59). He was able to procure more land for the abbey through royal donations and even won favor for one of the region’s large annual trade events. Thus, with the revenues he had collected, â€Å"he felt justified in spending lavishly† (Gilgoff 59). But, in his heart, he was very religious and sought to create a welcoming environment for his parishioners and saw the need to expand the church because â€Å"The narrowness of the place forced the women to run toward the altar upon the heads of men as upon a pavement with much anguish and noisy confusion" (Gilgoff 59... ...ic lighting thanks to intricate stained glass windows. These glorious structures built by some of the humblest of men have offered a vestige of the divine for people in the past and the present and will carry on into the future. â€Æ' Works Cited Bony, Jean. French Gothic Architecture of the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1983. Frankl, Paul. Gothic Architecture. Yale University Press, 1962. Gilgoff, Dan. "GOTHIC GLOW. (Cover story)." U.S. News & World Report 134.23 (2003): 59. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 12 Apr. 2010. "Gothic architecture and art." Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition (2009): 1-3. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 12 Apr. 2010. Scott, Robert. The Gothic Enterprise: A Guide to Understanding the Medieval Cathedral. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2003.

Avian Influenza in the Media

The article that I chose to discuss is entitled â€Å"Avian Flu: Is the Government Ready for an Epidemic?† and was published on the ABC News website on September 15, 2005. The journalists name was not published. The article opens with the lines â€Å"It could kill a billion people worldwide, make ghost towns out of parts of major cities, and there is not enough medicine to fight it. It is called the avian flu.† Throughout the rest of the article, the journalist goes on about the horrors that could occur if avian flu were to mutate so that it was able to be transferred from human to human, and not just from bird to human as is now the case. The journalist quotes Dr. Irwin Redlener, the director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness as saying â€Å"The tipping point, the place where it becomes something of an immediate concern, is where that virus changes, we call it mutates, to something that is able to go from human to human,† and then states that scientists around the world are now working around the clock as they wait for that tipping point. However, at no time does he inform the reader that all viruses mutate naturally over and over again, and that the chance of the H5N1 strain, mutating into a strain that could pass from human to human is in no way an eventuality, or even a likely outcome. He just takes quotes from various scientists around the world who are expressing a worry about what could happen in the event that H5N1 were to mutate, and uses them to imply that this is a very likely possibility. The journalist also likens an Avian Flu pandemic to Hurricane Katrina, an event that was at the foremost of people’s minds when the article was published and uses purposefully disturbing imagery that has been shown on TV about Hurricane Katrina, such as people dying in the airports and the utter helplessness of the Superbowl, to cause people to panic and worry that bird flu is likely to devastate the country at any second in order to bring to light the Government’s unpreparedness for an outbreak. He then goes on to discuss what he calls an â€Å"inadequate stockpile of medicine† and blames the Government for not having stockpiled enough Tamiflu, which he equates to a miracle drug which will stop H5N1 in its tracks. However, while he is happy to imply, in the beginning of the article, that the H5N1 virus is likely to mutate at any time, he conveniently ignores this when he talks about Tamiflu, and nowhere does he state that while this drug can help people who have contracted bird flu, it is only useful to the current strain of the virus and if it mutates, which he assures us it will, there is no guarantee that it will be of any use to those infected. I feel that these are unforgivable exaggerations of the disease and its dangers and that the journalist was simply interested in sensationalism and causing a public outcry and panic. Expert opinions on the dangers of the H5N1 virus are currently very varied and divided and a lot is still unknown about the disease, but at no time does this article bring that to light. Laura Chang, of the New York Times said it best when she said that journalists shouldn’t â€Å"write articles that might feed a sense of panic, such as telling people to stock up on Tamiflu, or dramatizing how a pandemic would spread through a particular city. Sometimes silence is the best journalism.† Website: http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/Investigation/Story?id=1130392&page=1 MRSA in the media This article on MRSA, or the Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, was published in the British newspaper, the Sunday Metro, under the headline â€Å"Strain of superbug ‘may be new HIV.'† The article opens with â€Å"A deadly new drug-resistant strain of the superbug MRSA could spread rapidly through the gay community, experts have warned.† It then goes on to equate MRSA to the HI virus when it says: The infection is already moving through parts of San Francisco in the same way as HIV and Aids did in the early 1980s. The bug, which can lead to a deadly flesh-eating form of pneumonia, is 13 times more prevalent among the city's gay men than other people. However, at no time does the article explain what MRSA is or that it is not in fact, anything like HIV or AIDS. MRSA is in fact caused by a bacterium, already a vast difference from the virus that causes aids, that is responsible for difficult-to-treat infections in humans. The organism can also be further classified into either Community-Associated MRSA or Hospital-Associated MRSA depending on the circumstances in which the patient acquired the disease. The article goes on to focus on one strain of the disease, a strain known as the USA300 strain and the journalist notes that â€Å"the USA300 bug, is not caught in hospitals but spreads through a community, often by casual contact† which is true, as it is a community-associated strain of MRSA that is spread by skin to skin contact. However, the journalist then goes on to suggest that this strain, which is as a particularly antibiotic resistant epidemic that is responsible for rapidly progressive, fatal diseases, is only likely to affect the gay community. However this is not the case and as MRSA is not a sexually transmitted disease there is no way it could only affect only the gay community. The USA300 strain is passed on by skin-to-skin contact and therefore cannot be liked to HIV which is transmitted only through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected individual. While practicing homosexuals are at risk of being affected by the USA300 strain, the disease has also been reported by people in athletic teams, correctional facilities, military recruits and newborn nurseries. I believe this article is simply an example of sensationalism in the media. It does not focus on any of the facts, and makes purposefully sweeping and false statements about MRSA and its similarity to HIV, which couldn’t be further from the truth. The two are nothing like each other, one caused by a bacteria and one by a virus. One transmitted sexually and the other just by touching someone that has been infected. It was written simply to get people to by the newspaper, and should be ignored. Website: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=83921;in_page_id=34;expand=true

China and India: the Challenge and Opportunity

Sources: Capell, Kerry. â€Å"IKEA: How The Swedish Retailer Became A Global Cult Brand†. BusinessWeek. 14 Nov. 2005: 96-106. Ikea. com CASE 2 CHINA AND INDIA: THE CHALLENGE AND OPPORTUNITY OVERVIEW China and India are the two nations that will transform the global economy as we now know it. China has state-of-the-art manufacturing and India is boosting its competitive edge through innovation hubs. While the United States is deciding if â€Å"Chindia† is a threat or an opportunity the massive low wage, highly educated, and forward thinking work force is transforming these two poor nations into global powerhouses.Yet, all is not perfect. While governments and business pour mass amounts of investments into the countries there are huge obstacles to continued growth. There are social, political, and environmental challenges. Important is keeping growth at a steady pace that will eliminate the unemployment lines. Pollution and environmental challenges, political backlash, de bt and currency crises, inadequate medical care, threats of epidemics, and war are continuing challenges. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1.Discuss the innovation implications for the leading developed nations concerning China’s and India’s rapidly escalating capabilities. 2. Examine the collaboration potential and hurdles of greater collaboration between China and India regarding innovation and other commercial ventures. 3. What are the potential market opportunities for developed nations in China and India? 4. Evaluate the evolving balance of economic power shift from the west to the east. 5. Discuss the future competitive threats of China and India for industries in developed countries.

Key Stakeholders of Sara Lee Company

Stakeholders are often considered the lifeline of a company. They share a common interest in the health and well being of a company and often support a company financially and morally. Within any organization key stakeholders include individuals and groups within the organization that have a ‘stake' in the well-being or overall success of the organization. Stakeholder's aim is to make sure a company deliver positive results and remain viable through its product and service offerings. Stakeholders often have much say in an organizations daily functioning. They may influence the products or services that a company offers and may influence programs or organizational systems. Key stakeholders at Sara Lee come primarily from within the company. They key players at Sara Lee include members of management and employees but also some external clients including suppliers. Other stakeholders that may share a vested interest in the company include community members, investors, internal and external customers and even board members. Each of these groups has a different ‘stake' in the company. For example a supplier group interested in the well being of the company include a group of roughly 5,000 farmers that provide coffee, banana, beans and vanilla to the company from Uganda (Sara Lee, 2005). These stakeholders will continue to profit as long as Sara Lee continues to do well and continues to utilize their services. Since Sara Lee's product market is so diverse and includes food, apparel and household brands (Singh, 2003) the company's stakeholder base is quite large. The multinational corporation has key stakeholders in many other countries across the globe including employees and managers in Europe possibly India in the near future. Joint ventures and acquisitions over time have also increased Sara Lee's stakeholder base to include representatives from companies partnering with Sara Lee such as Consolidated Grocers Corporation, Oxford Chemical Corporation, Adams-Mills Corporation, Nutri-Metics, and Hills Bros. and more (Singh, 2003). As Sara Lee continues to grow and acquire other companies its key stakeholder base will continue to grow. Other important members include board members and investors in the company, as well as the corporation's top managers including the CEO and COO of the company (Singh, 2003). As long as net sales continue to reach new heights, which they do, the company can rest assured that the majority of their stakeholder's interests will be met time and time again. Shareholders are also important stakeholders at Sara Lee (Singh, 2003). The company's shareholder base continues to grow as the company continues to expand into global markets. While internal stakeholders may help provide balance and insight into ongoing operations, external stakeholders including suppliers are equally important because they can information management of emerging challenges or trends within the industry that may have to be overcome. Organizations partnering with Sara Lee may also be considered stakeholders in the organization. The founder of the company Nathan Cummings is also a key stakeholder in the company that continually invests toward the companies continuing success and future (Singh, 2003). Even HP Corporation may be considered a key stakeholder in Sara Lee's success. HP Corporation currently supplies Sara Lee with services and support for more than 300 computer based systems and telecom networks (HP, 2005).

Case Study About Trust Report Essay

Trust is the ability to rely confidently, either on an individual or in this scenario the company’s product. It is judged on three dimensions; namely, the ability to be technically competent, its benevolence, that is, the interests and motives, and, finally, the integrity. Positive judgment is a good reflect on the customers’ will to take part in the organization’s dealings. This act may involve buying the company’s products, investing in its stocks, or being an employee. In case any of the attributes become questionable, it may make the customers wary and reluctant in risk taking (Kourdi & Bibb, 2007). Distrust in the organization may increase inefficiencies of innovation and damage relationships. Causes leading to the loss of trust Toyota Motor Corporation is a Japan based motor manufacturer. Its headquarters are in Aichi, Japan. This corporation was founded in 1937 and had been since among the best performing motor manufacturers and dealers in the world. With more than 3 billion yen as profit in a fiscal year, as per the financial report of 2013, Toyota could be said to be among what Forbes magazine would name the top 100 best corporations (Kourdi & Bibb, 2007). Since the year 2004 to 2010, there had been several complains on Toyota Motors concerning engines and accelerators. On 28 August 2009, a tragic accident occurred in San Diego involving a family travelling in a Toyota Lexus. The car lost control and all the passengers died. Toyota, known for its impeccable repute for reliability and quality products suddenly had to deal with trust crisis. A deficiency in attributes that lead to trust of the company’s products and services in form of a scandal can lead to instant lack of trust (Blackshaw, 2008). An effective response to a trust scandal or failure needs interventions that are aimed at curbing distrust and  rebuilding trustworthiness. Distrust regulation can be done through enforcing controls, conditions, and constraints to employees in order to rectify the failure. Intervening may require the removal of guilty parties, the change of the cultural norms of the organization, and introduction of new or the revision of incentives (Blackshaw, 2008). This is not sufficient. Statements and actions too are needed to demonstrate trustworthiness. Statements that show the company’s compelling ability, integrity, and benevolence are required. Apologies, transparency, and ethical practice are required as well. How effective do you consider the taken mitigation actions? Effective repair of trust should undergo simple steps. The first is immediate response to Toyota Corporation belated communications; belated recalls and public apologies damaged its reputation more than the original accident (Liker, 2004). The company ended up losing its sales, investors, and market share. They also lost customer confidence. Toyota Company expressed concern by realizing a statement where they apologized to the family of the victims. It also pledged to carry out investigations. However, the company, regrettably, did not point out the possible causes. This seems like an effective immediate response but it is required for a company to point out to possible causes. Later, the floor mats were suspected to be the likely cause of two accidents that had occurred earlier, but this did not prompt the company into issuing a customer warning (Liker, 2004). They acted upon the suspicions five days after the analysis of the cause was confirmed. This was nineteen days after the fatal accidents. In order to rebuild customer, employee, and investor trust, Toyota Motors released a statement assuring their customers that the floor mats were in good conditions and safe. They praised them as being among the safest mats. This statement was later challenged by NHTSA who accused the company of releasing misleading and inaccurate reports. In a bid to save itself from further downfall, Toyota Motors reacted by giving a remedy to the sticky floor mats. This action caused discretion among investors who thought of the company to have had unclear motives when they released the first statement (Liker, Hoseus, & Center for Quality People and Organizations, 2008). This further dented the trust of the shareholders. The mitigation process of the Toyota Company took  a long time, hence more damage to be controlled. It was ineffective at the beginning, which was a blow to the shareholders. Although the company founder Akio Toyoda later sent out apologies and through the wall street journal expressed his commitment to reforming the company towards better and safe products with the aim of repairing the damage that had been done (Liker, Hoseus, & Center for Quality People and Organizations, 2008). The company through the court compensated the family that had lost their relatives through the accident. This was a step to convey the company’s acceptance of the guilt. Consequences of not addressing trust issues Failure to respond to issues and address the remedies publicly can lead to severe disciplinary actions on a company. These actions may include its termination and payment of fine; Toyota Company due to its sluggish manner of responding to the claims against its products was fined $16.4million (Pelletier, 2005). This is because the company failed to warn its customers thereafter. Toyota accepted its penance. Do you believe that the company’s reputation can be re-build, or will they suffer the consequences also in the years to come? Despite the tarnishing of Toyota Corporation’s reputation, the customers’ and investors’ trust will be rebuilt. The actions that the company undertook such as restricting the company’s management team and procuring a new safety system have seen the company rise to becoming once again among the most profitable companies in the world (Pelletier, 2005). The company is rebuilding itself since the 2009 failure. It has had numerous innovations and recently announced mass hiring of employees. References Bibb, S., Kourdi, J., & Bibb, S. (2007). A question of trust: The crucial nature of trust – and how to build it in your work and life. London: Cyan. Blackshaw, P. (2008). Satisfied customers tell three friends, angry customers tell 3,000: Running a business in today’s consumer driven world. New York: Doubleday. Liker, J. K. (2004). The Toyota way: 14 management principles from the world’s greatest manufacturer. New York: McGraw-Hill.Top of Form Top of FormLiker, J. K., Hoseus, M., & Center for Quality People and Organizations. (2008). Toyota culture: The heart and soul of the Toyota way. New York: McGraw-Hill. Pelletier, R. (2005). It’s all about service: How to lead your people to care for your customers. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons Bottom of Form Bottom of Form