Foundation of knowledge and Profesional Skills Essay

Foundation of knowledge and Profesional Skills - Essay Example Objectives. The author aims to establish that contemporary slavery exists and that there is need for more fair trade practices, and to explore how select marketing communications can enhance awareness, influence consumer perceptions and create actions that foment anti-slavery activities, human rights and fair trade in supply chains. The Rugmark and Cafedirect campaigns from the carpet and coffee industries respectively provide model cases for the study. Assumptions. The author's assumption is that, "Changing the nature of the coffee market to introduce fair trade, rather than free trade, would have immediate impact on several stakeholders in the supply chain and symbolic importance" which could "also influence trade practices in other commodities/industries." [pg. 646] Method. An interpretive research design, spread over three years, was adopted covering site visits, interviews, and examination of extant policies, documents and trends. [pg. 646] Eisenhardt's (1989) eight-step procedure for theory development was used. Analysis was done by a process of coding, memoing, and developing propositions, which were then confirmed through triangulation. When ambiguity arose respondents were invited to comment on the author's theoretical developments. The public confusion regarding the terms 'slavery' and 'fair trade' due to interpretations by various agencies is addressed by offering standard definitions. Slavery: People generally believe slavery to be a historical phenomenon abolished years ago. [pg. 648] Contemporary slavery is however a flourishing business despite its obvious cruelty and illegality (Lees, 1995; The Economist, 1996) and a matter of human rights. Anti-Slavery International (ASI) which works to promote 'the basic right of human beings to be subjects rather than objects' (Anti-Slavery International, 1995a) defines slavery as the status of a person on whom the right of ownership is exercised by capture, acquisition, disposal or exchange, tantamount to acts of trading or transportation of the individuals. Fair Trade. Culled from interpretations of several fair trade organisations including the Fair Trade Federation (FTF) the article suggests that when organisations benefit artisans, work with co-operatives employing democratic principles, reinvest profits to benefit communities engaged in production, and work towards moving more processes to the Third World, it constitutes fair trade [pg. 643] and their products display a fair trade label. The Rugmark and Cafedirect Campaigns. The Rugmark Campaign espoused by ASI in 1994 is an illustration within the UK of interconnections between the first and third worlds. A Rugmark label on hand-knotted carpets from India indicates that no child labour was used during production, and that workers were paid the prescribed minimum wages. The author agrees that the ASI initiative was intended more to convey to the developed world the alienation suffered by 'slaves' lacking the basic human right of freedom and how their efforts to merely subsist sometimes impacted environment, making it a green issue also, than an utopian effort to close the North-South divide. [pg. 650] As for Cafedirect, UK's pioneering fair trade coffee brand, its phenomenal success (4% market share since launch in 1992) was attributed to the impact on distributors and

Gay Rights Towards Gay Marriage Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Gay Rights Towards Gay Marriage - Research Paper Example However, whether same sex individuals be allowed to marry is still controversial. This paper argues that gay marriage should be legalized because same-sex parents can prove to be better parents; it reinforces their rights as humans; and, it stabilizes the society through child adoption. Gay marriages should be legalized since same sex couples can prove to be better parents than opposite sex couples. Biblarz and Stacey (3) argue that the gender of parents â€Å"has minor significance for childrens psychological adjustment and social success.† Family instability may take its toll on normal psychological development of children of both straight and same-sex couples, and so, it is not true that only gay parents prove to be bad parents by any means. They may prove to be better parents, states Kurdek (880) in his research. He argues that two men or women can raise kids better in terms of sexual growth, than a man or a woman in a traditional home setting. Kids of gay couples do not have to see one of their parents involved in extra-marital affairs. They do not have to see their moms and dads fighting with each other every day. Kids pay little attention to what the relationship between their parents is, or whether or not their relationship relates to societal norms or not. All they want is love, of parents towards them and also towards each other. So, the relationship between parents has nothing to do with children becoming homo or hetero-sexual. Thus, gay marriages should be legalized without getting concerned about the parenting capabilities of the couples involved. â€Å"Same-sex marriages will offer voluntary support to the institution by allowing freedom in selecting one’s partner†, states Bolte (1). She has focused upon the reinforcement of human rights regarding selection partner through utilitarian arguments.