The Life of a Social Worker - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 2006 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2019/03/18 Category Society Essay Level High school Tags: Social Work Essay Did you like this example? Description of Social Problem Social workers have made a commitment to advocating for and supporting individuals in need regardless of income, race, gender, and other identities (National Association of Social Workers [NASW], 2017). While this is a value of the profession, there is need for more social workers to support specific communities. For example, there seems to be consensus that public healthcare is unable to provide services to all of those in need, more specifically, those who are uninsured (Jacobson, Dalton, Berson-Grand, Weisman, 2005). Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Life of a Social Worker" essay for you Create order There is a disparity in life expectancy between whites and blacks, which has been attributed to segregation, discrimination, and a lack of access to healthcare that accounts for cultural and community differences (Orsi, Margellos-Anast, and Whitman, 2010). In Michigan, these communities include prison populations, low income communities, and migrant farmworkers (Siefort Pimlott, 2001; Shultz Skorcz, 2012; Ayoola et al., 2014; McCullagh et al., 2015). For example, in Detroit, MI, pregnant women in prison require support and education to reduce the high rates of infants born with major health complications (Siefert Pimlott, 2001). Similarly, this issue is not localized to Detroit. Another city in Michigan that experiences high infant mortality rates, specifically for black individuals, is Flint, MI (Shultz Skorcz, 2012). Furthermore, previous research discusses the higher likelihood of women to use poor contraceptive methods in low income communities, particularly if they belong to an ethnic minority (Ayoola, Zandee, Johnson, Pennings, 2014). Pregnant women in prison are more likely to give birth to infants with poor health outcomes, often because of a lack of education and prenatal care (Siefert Pimlott, 2001). Additionally, these women are criminalized, particularly, if they are found to use substances, which is due in part to the construction of the social problem of crack babies (Siefert Pimlott, 2001; Lyons Rittner, 1998). The construction of the crack baby phenomenon criminalized black women, instead of accounting for other factors that may have negative impacts on the health of their children (Lyons Rittner, 1998). While there was a program called Women and Infants at Risk (WIAR) initiated to educate and provide these women with access to care and resources, this program is ultimately selective in nature (Siefert Pimlott, 2001). Women must meet requirements to access these benefits such as having a sentence that is two years or less, no violent charges, and they can not have drug charges that exceed a certain amount on their person (Siefert Pimlott, 2001). However, this problem does not only affect women prisoners, as research has reported a lack of education and contraceptive use among women in low income communities (Ayoola et al., 2014). Thus, research has demonstrated a need for more education and greater access to resources for low income women (Siefert Pimlott, 2001; Ayoola et al., 2004; Shultz Skorcz, 2012). While there is a necessity for social workers to address the education and health of pregnant women prisoners and low-income women, social workers also must prioritize advocating for migrant seasonal farmworkers. One issue preventing this population from receiving adequate healthcare, is the lack of cultural sensitivity from healthcare providers (Schim, Doorenbos, and Borse, 2005). It is essential for healthcare providers to integrate cultural norms and practices in treatment plans to provide the best care for their patients (Schim et al., 2005). Furthermore, migrant farmworkers face other barriers to accessing essential care such as the state residency requirement for Medicaid, which can make receiving health insurance more difficult because they work seasonally (McCullagh, Sanon, Foley, 2015). Additionally, they may be resistant to using the resources and support offered from services because it is unaffordable for them, or it interferes with their ability to work (McCullagh et al ., 2015). Migrant farmworkers often make low wages and are not provided with health insurance through their employment; thus, they have limited access to healthcare services even if they wanted to use them (McCullagh et al., 2015). Social workers also play a key role in connecting legal and medical professionals (Colvin, Nelson, Cronin, 2012). These social workers advocate for patients and ensure they are getting access to the care they need, often bridging the gap between the legal and medical professions (Colvin et al., 2012). Also, according to Spencer, Gunter, and Palmisano (2010) there is a lack of community health workers, who are essential for connecting low income communities to healthcare resources. However, they are not respected by other professions and are often underfunded; thus, their impact is limited (Spencer et al., 2010). Thus, previous research seems to demonstrate that low income communities are the most vulnerable and lack access to essential and culturally sensitive healthcare resources (Spencer et al., 2010). While there are programs in place to attempt to address these needs, they are often selective; thus, many individuals cannot access the benefits of these programs (Siefert Pimlott, 2001; McCullagh et al., 2015). Because of these barriers, social workers must advocate and address these issues so that these populations may access healthcare resources. Implications for Social Work The National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics outlines several ethical guidelines that social workers are committed to following. One of these guidelines is the commitment, social workers challenge social injustice (NASW, 2017). Thus, social workers must advocate on behalf of these individuals to change social policies that prevent them from accessing the care and resources they need. Another key value is the expectation that social workers will acknowledge and respect cultural differences and help empower individuals to address their own needs (NASW, 2017). Therefore, it is imperative that social workers reform policies and address these concerns at the macro and micro levels, so vulnerable and at-risk populations can gain access to healthcare resources essential for survival. The United Nations Declaration of Human Rights also addresses the infringement on the rights of individuals in these communities. One human right is the ability to move and live in states as they so choose (United Nations, 1948, art. 13). However, the residency requirement of Medicaid infringes on this right as individuals must choose between healthcare and employment (McCullagh et. al, 2015). Additionally, another human right is the right to work in fair conditions for all individuals (United Nations, 1948, art. 23). However, migrant farmworkers often work in conditions without the proper knowledge or precaution to prevent health risks associated with employment (McCullagh et al., 2015). Also, another human right that is not being protected for these populations is the right to necessary healthcare (United Nations, 1948, art. 25). As stated by McCullagh et al. (2015), the lack of access to healthcare for farmworkers is an ethical and moral issue (McCullagh et al., 2015). Furthermore , the criminalization of pregnant women who use substances prevents access to the healthcare necessary to ensure their children are born healthy (Siefert Pimlott, 2001). The Role of Social Workers To begin to address the healthcare disparity experienced by low-income individuals, social workers must be aware of the historical context in which current policies were created. For example, the crack baby phenomenon was analyzed by Lyons and Rittner (1998) discussing the implications this social construct had on black women. Black women were punished, especially if their babies were born showing symptoms of addiction, rather than being offered support (Lyons Rittner, 1998). This pattern can be seen in the research conducted at the prison in Detroit that discussed the poor birth outcomes linked to a lack of prenatal care and education (Siefert Pimlott, 2001). On a macro level, social workers can come together to create programs such as the WIAR program, to provide resources and care for vulnerable populations (Siefert Pimlott, 2001). However, social workers must also ensure that these programs are not highly selective as this prevents many people that need care from accessing it (Siefert Pimlott, 2001). On a micro level, social workers can consider the implications that laws and policies have had on the individuals they are serving to better address their needs (McCullagh et al., 2015; Brownstein Allen, 2011). For example, community health workers are key in this role to help social workers connect with hard to reach communities (Spencer et al., 2010). Another approach to educating women to promote better health outcomes, is a community-based approach. Previous research has concluded that educating women on their bodies and changes they may experience with pregnancy as well as providing emotional support, helps promote healthier pregna ncies and infants (Ayoola et al., 2014). Community health workers are essential for providing access to care for underserved communities by educating healthcare providers on barriers these communities face such as language and cultural barriers (Brownstein Allen, 2011). While community health workers have been shown to be essential and effective in providing equal access to healthcare, they face obstacles such as a lack of funding and respect from other professions (Spencer et al., 2010). However, community health workers could benefit underserved communities greatly as seen in research conducted in Detroit, MI, which found that black men with diabetes experienced lower levels of distress after working with community health workers to gain more support from their healthcare providers (Spencer et al., 2006). Thus, it is essential for social workers to advocate for partnerships with community health worker programs, and for them to raise awareness on the support that can be provided by community health workers (Spencer et al ., 2010). Thus, previous research has shown a need for social workers to become more involved in reducing healthcare disparities in low-income communities (Siefert Pimlott, 2001; Ayoola et al., 2014; McCullagh et al., 2015; Spencer et al., 2010). Social workers must advocate for better education and support for pregnant women in prison to reduce the number of infants born with poor health (Siefert Pimlott, 2001). Furthermore, social workers need to advocate for and educate women in low-income communities to support better contraceptive methods among these populations (Ayoola et al., 2014). Also, social workers may reduce the disparities in healthcare by advocating for Medicaid reform and supporting migrant farmworkers in accessing the healthcare they need (McCullagh et al., 2015). References Ayoola, A., Zandee, G., Johnson, E., and Pennings, K. (2014). Contraceptive use among low income women living in medically underserved neighborhoods. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, Neonatal Nursing, 43(4), pp. 455-464. doi:10.1111/1552-6909.12462 Brownstein, J. N., and Allen, C. (2015). Addressing chronic disease through community health workers: A policy and systems level approach. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/dhdsp/docs/chw_brief.pdf Colvin, J. D., Nelson, B., and Cronin, K. (2012). Integrating social workers into medical-legal partnerships: Comprehensive problem solving for patients. Social Work, 57(4), pp. 333-341. Retrieved from: https://ezproxy.msu.edu.proxy2.cl.msu.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.proxy2.cl.msu.edu/docview/1264493244?accountid=12598 Jacobson, P. D., Dalton, V. K., Berson-Grand, J., and Weisman, C. S. (2005). Survival strategies for Michigans health care safety net providers. Health Services Research, 40(3), pp. 923-940. oi:10.1111/j.1475-6773.2005.00392.x Lyons, P., and Rittner, B. (1998). The construction of the crack babies phenomenon as a social problem. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 68(2), pp. 313-320. Retrieved from: https://d2l.msu.edu/d2l/le/content/692043/viewContent/6488615/View?ou=692043 McCullagh, M. C., Sanon, M., and Foley, J. S. (2015). Cultural health practices of migrant seasonal farmworkers. Journal of Cultural Diversity, 22(2), pp. 64-67. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4778556/ National Association of Social Workers. (1999). Code of ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. Washington, DC. NASW Press. Orsi, J. M., Margellos-Anast, H., and Whitman, S. (2010). Black-white health disparities in the United States and Chicago: A 15-year progress analysis. American Journal of Public Health, 100(2), pp. 349-356. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2009.165407 Schim, S. M., Doorenbos, A. Z., and Borse, N. N. (2005). Cultural competence among Ontario and Michigan healthcare providers. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 37(4), pp. 354-360. doi:10.1111/j.1547-5069.2005.00061.x Shultz, C., and Skorcz, S. (2012). African American infant mortality and the Genesee County, MI REACH 2010 initiative: An evaluation of the undoing racism workshop. Social Work in Public Health, 27(6), pp. 567-603. doi:10.1080/19371910903253236 Siefert, K., and Pimlott, S. (2001). Improving pregnancy outcome during imprisonment: A model residential care program. Social Work, 46(2), pp. 125-134. Spencer, M. S., Kiefer, E. C., Sinco, B. R., Palmisano, G., Guzman, R., and James, S. A., et al. (2006). Diabetes-specific emotional distress and diabetes among African Americans and Hispanics with Type 2 Diabetes. Journal of Healthcare for the Poor and Underserved, 17(2), pp. 88-105. doi:10.1353/hpu.2006.0095 Spencer, M. S., Gunter, K. E., and Palmisano, G. (2010). Community health workers and their value to social work. Social Work, 55(2), pp. 169-180. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org.proxy1.cl.msu.edu/stable/23719973 The United Nations. (1948). Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Breast Cancer Cancer And Cancer - 1530 Words

â€Å"Cancer† is the name for a group of diseases that start in the body at the cellular level. Even though there are many different kinds of cancer, they all begin with abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These abnormal cells lump together to form a mass of tissue or â€Å"malignant tumor†. Malignant means that it can spread to other parts of the body or Metastasize . If the breast is the original location of the cancer growth or malignant tumor, the tumor is called breast cancer. (American Cancer Society, 2014, as cited in cbcf.org) Breast cancer is a complex disease that will affect around 1 in 9 Canadian women during their lifespan. According to the latest statistics, it is found that around†¦show more content†¦Ductal carcinoma is when the cells that line the milk ducts have changed to look like cancer cells. The difference between Ductal carcinoma and an invasive cancer is that the cells have not spread outside the walls of the ducts to the surrounding breast tissue. Because it hasn’t invaded, Ductal carcinoma can’t spread or metastasize outside the breast to the rest of the body. DCIS has no signs or symptoms and usually can’t be felt with a routine breast examination. Sometimes, a lump may be found or there might be discharge coming from the nipple. One of the ways to find it early is by having a mammogram done. (American Cancer Society, 2014., National Cancer Institute, 2014., Breastcancer.org, 2014., Canadian Cancer Society, 2014. As cited in cbcf.org) http://www.cancer.org/cancer/breastcancer/detailedguide/breast-cancer-breast-cancer-types Invasive ductal carcinoma is the most common type of breast cancer. Invasive ductal carcinoma starts in one of the milk ducts in the breast, spreads through the wall of the duct and into the fatty tissue of the breast. Once it has spread outside the duct it is possible to spread to other parts of the body through the lymphatic system and blood stream. Some signs and symptoms of invasive ductal carcinoma can include: a lump in the breast tissue or armpit area, redness, thickening, irritation or dimpling, breast pain and or swelling, and nipple changes and or discharge. (American Cancer Society, 2014., National Cancer

The Connection Between Love and Beauty in Romeo and Juliet - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 5 Words: 1463 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/09/11 Category Advertising Essay Tags: Romeo and Juliet Essay Did you like this example? In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare shows that young men often confuse beauty for love. This happens due to the fact that love and beauty are very closely connected. As George Boas says: â€Å"the ultimate object of love is the beautiful† (583). Confusing beauty for love is not good, and can even be deadly, as Romeo seems to have a habit for falling in â€Å"love† with beautiful women, and he dies in the end, out of â€Å"love†. Beauty can be a difficult concept. It changes over time and people have different opinions of what is beautiful and what is not. In Shakespearean times, a woman was considered beautiful if she had pale skin, light hair, bright eyes, and red lips and cheeks (Leed). Women went to extreme measures to achieve these ideal characteristics, plastering their faces with white cream and covering their cheeks in rouge (Leed). A fully made-up woman in Shakespearean times would look rather ridiculous today, and even Shakespeare criticizes â€Å"ideal† beauty in one of his sonnets, Sonnet 130: My mistress eyes are nothing like the sun; Coral is far more red than her lips red: If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Connection Between Love and Beauty in Romeo and Juliet" essay for you Create order I have seen roses damaskd, red and white, But no such roses see I in her cheeks; And in some perfumes is there more delight Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks. I love to hear her speak,yet well I know That music hath a far more pleasing sound; I grant I never saw a goddess go, My mistress when she walks, treads on the ground; And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare As any she belied with false compare. Shakespeare also shows in this sonnet that he does not love a woman for her beauty. He describes her as the opposite of ideal beauty at the time, and yet he still loves her. Shakespeare’s sonnet is similar to Romeo and Juliet because Shakespeare is showing that beauty is not needed for love, and Romeo and Juliet ends in tragedy for Romeo; who sees beauty as love. Although Shakespeare does not find pleasure in his mistress’s beauty, the dictionary. com definition of beauty is â€Å"the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Beauty is simply there to create pleasure (Robinson 74). One reason beauty is mistaken for love is because something can be so beautiful and cause such pleasure, that the pleasure can be mistaken for love. Romeo mistakes beauty for love twice in Romeo and Juliet. The first time he is in â€Å"love† is in the beginning of the story. He is sad and moping around when his cousin Benvolio finds him and asks what is troubling him. Romeo tells of his â€Å"love† for the â€Å"fair† Rosaline. He mourns the fact that she has chosen to be chaste and will not have children to carry on her beauty: â€Å"O, she is rich in beauty; only poor that, when she dies, with beauty dies her store†¦for beauty, starved with her severity, cuts beauty off from all posterity. She is too fair, too wise, wisely too fair, to merit bliss by making me despair† (I. . 214-221). Benvolio tries to comfort Romeo with promises of more beautiful women for him to love. Benvolio also mistakes beauty for love. When the two later learn that Rosaline will be at the Capulet’s feast, Benvolio urges Romeo to go so he can compare her to other beautiful women: â€Å"Tut! You saw her fair, none else being by; herself poised with herself in either eye; but in that crystal scales let there be weighed your ladys love against some other maid that I will show you shining at this feast, and she shall scant show well that now seems best. † (I. ii. 96-101). Benvolio turns out to be correct, as Romeo falls in â€Å"love† the second he lays eyes on Juliet at the feast: O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright! It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night as a rich jewel in an Ethiops ear beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear! So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows as yonder lady oer her fellows shows. The measure done, Ill watch her place of stand and, touching hers, make blessed my rude hand. Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I neer saw true beauty till this night. (I. v. 45-54) Romeo forgets all about Rosaline, the reason he came to the feast in the first place. He only speaks of Juliet’s beauty, which has pleased him so much that he thinks he is in love. Rosaline and her lesser beauty are never mentioned again. Juliet does not seem concerned whether or not Romeo is handsome. She never says anything about his looks, but she does speak of her love for him. She is also more guarded with her love. When Romeo first approaches her, asking for a kiss, she turns the conversation to prayer: â€Å"Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, which mannerly devotion shows in this; for saints have hands that pilgrims hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers kiss†¦lips that they must use in prayer† (I. . 98-103). Although she does give Romeo his kiss, she keeps her feelings hidden as she leaves Romeo to go to her nurse. Her love is only revealed in the balcony scene, when she does not know Romeo is listening. She also makes Romeo swear he will be faithful to her before she will give him her love: â€Å"Dost thou love me? I know thou wilt say ‘Aye,’ and I will take thy word. Yet, if thou swearst, thou mayst prove false. At lovers perjuries, they say Jove laughs. O gentle Romeo, if thou dost love, pronounce it faithfully† (II. ii. 90-94). Juliet knows Romeo might be unfaithful, and she is trying to decide whether or not to give him a chance. Romeo then tries to swear by the moon, which is inconstant and changes every night. He is interrupted by Juliet as he begins to swear by the â€Å"blessed† moon that â€Å"tips with silver all these fruit-tree tops† (II. ii. 107-108). Romeo wanted to swear by the beauty of the moon, once again linking love and beauty. Juliet eventually stops trying to have Romeo swear and she expresses her dislike of how quickly their relationship is happening: â€Å"†¦I have no joy of this contract tonight. It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (II. ii. 16-18). Juliet may love Romeo, but she still wants to progress slowly with him. She knows their families are enemies, and that it is dangerous for them to be together. Juliet never mentions if she thinks Romeo is attractive, as she is more concerned about Romeo being faithful to her; while even after Romeo discovers Juliet dead, he remarks on her beauty: â€Å"†¦Death, that hath sucked the honey of thy breath, hath had no power yet upon thy beauty. Thou are not conquered. Beauty’s ensign yet is crimson in thy lips and in thy cheeks†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (V. ii. 92-95). Romeo and Benvolio’s attitude towards love and beauty is very different from Juliet’s. The men love only beautiful things, while Juliet cares more about the emotional aspects of a relationship. While both Romeo and Juliet lose their lives, Romeo dies due to his false belief that Juliet is dead. He is tricked into killing himself. When J uliet kills herself, Romeo is actually dead. Romeo kills himself so he will not have to live without his beautiful Juliet, while Juliet kills herself to bring them together again. Love of beauty is not good, as it can lead to death for the one who loves beauty and others who love the beauty lover. Works Cited Blomquist, Eric. â€Å"William Shakespeare (1564-1616). † sonnets. org. 29 Oct. 2007. 28 Mar. 2009 https://www. sonnets. org/? index. htm. Boas, George. â€Å"Love. † Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Ed. Donald Borchert. 2nd ed. Vol. 5. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2006. 583-590. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Gale. Pope John XXIII High School, Sparta, NJ. 9 Mar. 2009 https://infotrac. galegroup. com/? itweb/ db=GVRL. Dictionary. com Unabridged. Vers. 1. 1. 22 Mar. 009 https://dictionary. reference. com/? browse/? beauty. Leed, Drea. â€Å"Elizabethan Make-up 101. † Elizabethan Costuming Page. 2008. 15 Mar. 2009 https://www. elizabethancostume. net/? makeup. html. Robinson, Jenefer. â€Å"Aesthetics, Problems of. † Encycopedia of Philosophy. Ed. Donald Borchert. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2006. 72-81. Ga le Virtual Reference Library. Gale. Pope John XXIII High School, Sparta, NJ. 9 Mar. 2009 https://infotrac. galegroup. com/? itweb/ db=GVRL. Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. 1960. Ed. Peter Holland. New York: Penguin Group, 2000.

What s Happening Of Marriage - 884 Words

Marriage is a very common thing in today’s society, but along with the popularity of marriage comes divorces that end marriages. With divorce becoming more common, men may second guess popping the question or women might think twice about saying yes. With divorce making an appearance more often in marriage it is a given that today’s marriages have changed, and there is all time high divorce rate to prove it. In the article â€Å"What’s Happening to Marriage?† by The National Marriage Project, provides possible reasons and answers to why and how today’s marriages differ from past marriages. This paper was constructed with well credible sources and numerous logos appeals. In the beginning of the article â€Å"What’s Happening to Marriage†, NMP discusses issues about the on-going changes in marriages today. In modern day marriages, divorce is becoming more common amongst spouses, leaving the divorce rate at an all time high. NMP go es on to say, â€Å"As an institution, marriage has lost much of its legal, religious and social meaning and authority.† Some spouses still hold original martial values, but a larger quantity of couples have lost those original values of marriage. The article then switches gears and saying that â€Å"Although the divorce rate has leveled off, it remains at historically high levels.† They then go on to say that the kids of divorced parents are less likely to be divorced if they were to marry. 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According to The Washington post, â€Å"59 percent say they support same-sex marriage while 34 percent are opposed†(Craighil, P., Clement). While 59% of the supporting gay is a high number, however that number is skewed. There is a difference between tolerance and acceptance, but the 59% is the total of the both. People

How far was Roosevelt himself responsible for his election victory in 1932 Free Essays

There were several reasons for Roosevelt’s election in 1932 all of which can be placed into three different categories, Roosevelt’s strengths, the opponent’s weaknesses and The Depression. All of these reasons were important in their own ways. The Depression had caused America huge problems. We will write a custom essay sample on How far was Roosevelt himself responsible for his election victory in 1932? or any similar topic only for you Order Now Unemployment had risen to nearly 14 million by 1932. Businesses had had to cut production by in some cases up to 80%. Average wage had fallen from 59 to 49 cents an hour. This meant that people were slowly getting more and more desperate as there seemed to be no action being done by the republican government so people started looking for solutions in the Democratic Party. Hoover was very unpopular. He did not acknowledge the depressions existence he didn’t admit there was a problem as he claimed in his speech delivered on the 26th of October a week after the depression started. This meant that people who were suffering through unemployment and homeless were annoyed that Hoover was not even admitting there was a problem which meant he would not help them. In 1932 United States veterans went on a ‘Bonus March.’ The soldiers from WW1, who had been promised a bonus that would be paid to them in 1945, wanted to receive the bonuses early because of starvation and homelessness. 15000 people streamed into Washington. Hoover refused to pay and brought in the army to deal with the veterans. This made Hoover less popular because people respected those who had fought for their country and when Hoover had attacked them which was a terrible thing to do so people viewed him as a bad person. Hoover believed in ‘Lassiez Faire’ which meant that he believed that the Economy should run itself and not be interfered with. This made Hoover unpopular as it meant he would not offer any support for the workers who were now unemployed or loan money to businesses that needed loans to help them create more jobs. Roosevelt did many things to increase his popularity. Firstly, Roosevelt came up with the ‘New Deal’ which outlined what he was going to do to reverse the depression. Roosevelt offered the public relief, recovery and reform none of these policies were in Hoover’s campaign who was still hoping the problem of the depression would fix itself. This meant that people who were suffering wanted a man like Roosevelt in power who was willing to do something about the depression and give them relief. Roosevelt’s ability to bounce back from his polio inspired Americans. People saw how he could deal with a problem face on and overcome rather than hide from it. This was a very appealing characteristic for a president during the depression as people knew that if he was in power he would be determined to face the problem head on. Roosevelt liked touring the country and meeting people. He talks to the people and lets them get to know him as a person not just a far off distant man like Hoover, who people saw as cold and unfriendly. This meant that people liked Roosevelt as a person and felt they had a bond with him that they didn’t have with Hoover, this increased his popularity. I believe that the depression was the greatest cause for Roosevelt’s victory in the 1932 election. During the 1920’s Hoovers ‘Lassiez Faire’ values worked well, there was a large boom and most of the country benefited. However when The Depression occurred it revealed all the problems with Hoover and made Roosevelt look like a better candidate for the job. How to cite How far was Roosevelt himself responsible for his election victory in 1932?, Papers

Infinity Bank Will the Supermarket Strategy Work Essay Example For Students

Infinity Bank Will the Supermarket Strategy Work? Essay Introduction Infinity bank was one of the 10 largest banks in the UK with over 1800 retail branches. However, due to the change in the nature of the banking industry since the 1980’s Infinity bank had seen a consistent drop in its profitability. Deregulation of the industry had been one of the major changes that had taken place during this time which had increased the competition in the industry. Even though Infinity had followed other major banks in responding to this challenge by cutting costs, closing branches and making use of information technology, its results were far worse than others. Since retail banking was a major source of their costs as well as revenue, they conducted a branch efficiency review which pointed out issues with underperformance and wastage of resources. Another issue that cropped up was that branches did not know which the most profitable products were. After conducting their first costing activity to understand product profitability they found out that Current accounts, which was their main product, were highly unprofitable. Mortgages and Credit Cards on the other hand were profitable. Details of the customer segments are given in Table 1. This led them to devise a strategy called the â€Å"Supermarket Strategy† which made branch manager responsible for their own PL and be rewarded for selling profitable products. Product Combinations| Accounts(in Millions)| Current Account only| 3. 70| Credit Card only| 0. 50| Mortgage only| 0. 11| Current Account + Credit Card| 4. 20| Curent Account + Mortgage| 0. 39| Credit Card + Mortgage| 0. 05| All 3: CA + CC + M| 0. 31| Total Customers| 9. 26| Table 1: Customer Segment Details However, some managers believed that this strategy would not work and that hey needed to sell unprofitable products like Current Accounts to customers in order to build relationships which would lead to the selling of more profitable products later. Accordingly, a customer profitability study was done with a sample of a 1000 customers for each product category and cross-holdings. In the light of this data will the â€Å"Supermarket Strategy† work for Infinity Bank? Analysis of Customer Profit ability Data While it is good to have Customer and Product profitability data, the real value can only be extracted from this data if it can be used to devise a consistent strategy, control systems and operating procedures. Keeping this in mind, it is very important to analyze the Infinity bank customer profitability data to see whether the proposed â€Å"Supermarket Strategy† is really the way to go for them. One way that we can analyze this data is to analyze the distribution of profitability. To do this, we can use the Stobachoff curve (Storbacka, 1998). This curve gives us a graphic view of how many customers are actually profitable. To plot this curve, we order the profitability data from highest to lowest. We then plot the cumulative profitability percentage on the Y-axis and the cumulative customer percentage on the X-axis. Figure A: Interpretation of Stobachoff’s Curve (Raaij, Vernooij, Triest, 2003) Looking at this curve can give us an idea about what percentage of customers are subsidizing others and what are the kinds of risks associated with it. This is summarized in Figure A. The four quadrants are divided by the level of subsidizing effect and the dependence on customers. In the case of Infinity Bank, this curve was plotted for each of the 7 customer segments mentioned in Table 1. These are shown below. 1. Current Accounts Only| 2. Credit Cards Only| 3. Mortgage Only| 4. Current Accounts and Credit Cards| 5. Current Accounts and Mortgages| 6. Credit Cards and Mortgages| 7. Current Accounts, Credit Cards and Mortgages| The Stobachoff curve for Current account customers is shown in Figure 1. If we look at this curve we see that only about 20% of the customers who hold only current accounts are profitable. They contribute 20% to the profitability of current accounts. The rest 80% of these customers are making a 120% of the losses. This kind of a situation looks really bad on paper. But of course, statistics only tell half the story. If Infinity managers were to base their decisions solely on this number then they should probably fire most of their current account holders. This issue will be analyzed further on in the paper when we discuss the recommendations. The story is completely different in the credit cards only segment in Figure 2. As we can see, around 95% of the customers contribute to nearly 170% profitability. There are 5% customers who cause 70% decline in profits. If we put these numbers in the context of Figure A, we see that this curve fits the top right quadrant where a small number of customers are highly unprofitable. International business paln EssayFor example, it might be that even though current accounts are loss making, they act as a great way to acquire a customer for future sales of profitable products. If that is the case then firing current account holders will be the wrong decision. Again the data given is not clear enough about the demographic of the customers. It would be very helpful to do a proper CPA which takes a lot more data into account and also accounts for other factors such as Age, account holding duration, location/branch etc. If these factors are taken into account, we will surely get a lot more insight into the unprofitability/profitability of current accounts. An implementation of a CRM/Business Intelligence system would go a long way in providing the bank with information needed to do a better analysis of customer profitability. Having a good CRM system in place will also ensure a better understanding of the customer. This will mean that when giving out credit cards and loans the bank can be quite certain about the risk of default relating to the customers. One thing that is not taken into account at all here is the cost of customer acquisition. It may be easy to fire a whole lot of customers because they are unprofitable, but to get new customers in the preferred segment might be really costly. This cost has not been accounted for in the data given and may prove really important in Infinity bank’s case. An interesting thing to pursue in terms of getting unprofitable customers to be more profitable is to offer them incentives like attractive interest rates on mortgages and credit cards. This strategy might work better than firing them because of the lifetime value issue. Of course, a better study may reveal that customers who buy profitable products after x years are not really profitable. The bank can start charging them higher rates/fees in these cases. Conclusion So would the Supermarket Strategy work? In light of the analysis done and the recommendations made, I believe Supermarket Strategy might not work that well. The strategy was implement based on product profitability data and did not take into account customer profitability. The major issues that might arise from the strategy would be issues of managers concentrating of short term PL rather than long term relationship building which is very important in the banking business. It would also bring up issues of trying to force products down the customers’ throat which might not work well with their customers. As the data shows us, even though credit cards and mortgages are profitable products, defaulters can bring down the profitability of any product line. We saw in the case of credit cards that 5% of the customers brought down profitability of the entire segment by 70%. Similarly, in case of mortgages, just one customer brought down the profitability by 20%. Right now, Infinity’s exposure to such customers is low with mortgages and credit cards amounting for a small percentage of business. With Supermarket strategy in place managers would be pressurized to sell more of these products to meet targets and the quality of the customers (in terms of credit ratings) might go down. If that is the case, the risk of defaulters would increase manifolds and this can cause an overall decline in profitability instead of an increase as Infinity’s managers envision. References Cognos:An IBM Company. (2008) Customer profitability in real-world banking. Haenlein, Michael, Kaplan, Andreas M. Beeser, Anemone J. (2007) A Model to Determine Customer Lifetime Value in a Retail Banking Context. European Management Journal, 25 (3), 221-234. Kotler, Philip. (1974) Marketing during periods of shortage, Journal of Marketing 38 (3) pp. 20–29. Krakhmal, Vira. (2008) Customer Profitability Accounting: A Constructive Case Study from the Hotel Industry. CAUTHE 2008 Conference. . Available from: http://www. griffith. edu. au/conference/cauthe2008/refereed-papers/RP023. df . Noone, Breffni Griffin, Peter. (1999) Managing the long-term profit yield from market segments in a hotel environment: a case study on the implementation of customer profitability analysis. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 18 (2), 111-128. PricewaterhouseCoopers. (2009) Customer and product profitability analysis Creating new insights to improve company performance. van Raaij, Erik M. , Vernooij, Maarten J. A. van Triest, Sander. (2003) The implementation of customer profitability analysis: A case study. Industrial Marketing Management, 32 (7), 573-583. Ini

De Beers Case free essay sample

De Beers Case Study This case study of De Beers outlines the company’s evolution from its formation in the mid-1800s to year 2000. In these 200 years span of time, De Beers was the leader in the mining of diamonds and their leadership contributed to what the industry is today. As the leader in the industry, De Beers had large stakes in mining fields in South Africa. Their dominance in the country also meant being socially responsible. At the onset, this was difficult to validate because social responsibility for businesses hasn’t been really discovered yet, especially in countries such as Africa. During the great depression of the 1930s, racial tension rose. The depression â€Å"fueled Afrikaner nationalism and the drive for white supremacy and racial separation† (page 12 of case study). By the 1940s, De Beers CEO Ernie Oppenheimer, wanted to promote social progress for black Africans. Their strength in mining diamond unfortunately wasn’t able to curtail the era of apartheid or racial discrimination. We will write a custom essay sample on De Beers Case or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This however, did not stop De Beers to do the socially responsible thing, which was to oppose the apartheid, but also had to do it in a way to not affect its business. The company is successful and essentially has a monopoly in the diamond market. Their success and monopoly didn’t come with heavy criticism from legal entities and local communities. Such criticisms like child and cheap labor. Some of these negative publicities were clouded by some of their contribution to local cities, building schools and living conditions for black Africans. De Beers’ control of the diamond market comes with pressures and challenges from government entities. For instance, De Beers for the longest time could not operate in the U. S. because of indictments issued by the U. S. Justice Department for antimonopoly cases and for refusing to provide industrial diamonds during World War II. De Beers appears to be heading to the right direction, strengthening their governance practices, which was one of their weakest areas. Their review of their corporate strategy in 1998 resulted in a new strategy for the company for the new century. These are business strategies that are sound and also business practices that are ethical and responsible. Post Enron and Arthur Anderson, came Sarbanes-Oxley for U. S. companies and De Beers’ new business strategy and practices seems to be aligned with these rules. Similarly, De Beers seems to be addressing child labor issues, similar to what Gap, Inc. had to address (ABC World News, 10-27-08). This active approach is also aligned with their new strategies, which is to be more sensitive and to adhere to strict social requirements and responsibilities, but to be sensitive to the overall impact of operations on the local community.