How Important Are Ethics and Social Responsibility?

The research register for this journal is available at http://www. mcbup. com/research_registers The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at http://www. emerald-library. com/ft How important are ethics and social responsibility? A multinational study of marketing professionals Anusorn Singhapakdi and Kiran Karande College of Business and Public Administration, Old Dominion University, Virginia, USA How important are ethics? 133 Received September 1998 Revised March 1999 June 1999 September 1999 College of Administrative Sciences, Kuwait University, Safat, Kuwait, and School of Business Administration, University of Mississippi, USA Keywords International marketing, Ethics, Social responsibility, National cultures, Consumer behaviour Abstract States that in the present era of global marketing, as more companies enter international markets, ethical problems are likely to increase. As companies and their managers deal with their counterparts in different countries, there is a need to understand the latter's ethical decision-making processes. Divergence in ethical behavior and attitudes of marketing professionals across cultures can be explained by, among other variables, differences in perceptions regarding the importance of ethics and social responsibility in achieving organizational effectiveness. This study investigates the variation in those perceptions among marketing professionals from Australia, Malaysia, South Africa, and the USA. The variation is explained by country differences (cultural differences, differences in the economic environment, and differences in legal/political environment), organizational ethical climate, and selected demographic characteristics of the marketer (gender and age). C. P. Rao Scott J. Vitell Introduction The study of ethics has become increasingly important with global business expansion, because of an increase in ethical and social responsibility  ± concerns that businesses face in different country environments. There exists, however, a wide divergence in the level of importance attached to these two issues in different countries (Czinkota and Ronkainen, 1998). Moreover, vast differences exist from country to country in the economic development, cultural standards, legal/political systems, and expectations regarding business conduct (Wotruba, 1997). In addition, there is great divergence in the enforcement of policies (Mittelstaedt and Mittelstaedt, 1997). The authors would like to thank Mohd. Rashid Ahmed, Universiti Pertanian Malaysia, Malaysia; Nicola Higgs-Kleyn, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa; and Muris Cicic, University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia for their assistance in the data collection for this study. The authors would also like to thank Janet Marta for her comments on the earlier versions of the manuscript. European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 35 No. 1/2, 2001, pp. 133-152. # MCB University Press, 0309-0566 European Journal of Marketing 35,1/2 134 In the business ethics literature, ethical variations among marketers/ managers from different nations are documented in many empirical studies on various types of ethical issues (e. g. Armstrong et al. , 1990; Graham, 1985; Becker and Fritzsche, 1987). Variation in ethics across cultures was evidenced in a cross-national study of industrial salespeople by Dubinsky et al. (1991) where some significant differences in ethical perceptions were found among marketing managers from Japan, Korea, and the USA. A study by Singhapakdi et al. 1994) also revealed that American and Thai marketers differ on various components of their ethical decision-making process. However, international researchers have not investigated differences in the extent to which marketers from different countries believe that ethics and social responsibility are important for organizational effectiveness. An individual's perception about whether ethics and social responsibility contribute to organizational effectivenes s is likely to be a critical antecedent of whether he/she even perceives an ethical problem in a given situation (Singhapakdi et al. 1995). This is a pragmatic view based on an argument that managers must first perceive ethics and social responsibility to be vital to organizational effectiveness before their behaviors will become more ethical and reflect greater social responsibility. This view is consistent with Hunt and Vitell's (1986) depiction of ethical judgment as including a teleological evaluation, when an individual evaluates alternative actions by weighing the perceived probability and desirability of consequences. Essentially, a manager's choice of behavior in a situation that has problematic ethical content will be based on his/her perception of the likelihood that the actions will bring about a desired outcome. This view is also consistent with Jones' (1991) issue-contingent model where it is postulated that the â€Å"probability of effect† which is defined as â€Å"the probability that the act in question will actually take place and the act in question will actually cause the harm (benefit)† (Jones, 1991, p. 75) will affect an individual's ethical decision making. Intuitively, ethics and social responsibility should have a positive impact on the success of an organization, because consumers make ethical judgments that are likely to influence their purchases. As Laczniak and Murphy (1993, p. 5) put it: Consumers over time will normally recognize the organizations that attempt to be responsive to various ethical and social factors in the marketplace. Accordingly, it is vital for marketers to incorporate ethical and social considerations in their work. Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate whether marketers from Australia, Malaysia, South Africa, and the USA differ in the extent to which they believe that ethical and socially responsible practices are important in relation to various aspects of organizational effectiveness such as quality, communication, profits, competitiveness, survival, efficiency, and stakeholder satisfaction. Based on past literature that emphasizes cultural factors, corporate culture, and individual characteristics (e. g. Hunt and Vitell, 1986; Ferrell and Gresham, 1985), the cross-cultural variation in marketers' perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility in achieving organizational effectiveness is explained by country differences (including cultural differences and differences in the economic environment), organizational ethical climate, and selected demographic characteristics of individual marketers. The four countries included were judged appropriate because they are geographically separated and exhibit differences in terms of Hofstede's (1980) five cultural dimensions and the level of economic development, which are used to support the hypothesis about country differences. Theoretical foundation and hypotheses In this section it is proposed that the variations in the perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility as determinants of organizational effectiveness is explained by country differences (including cultural differences and differences in the economic environment), organizational ethical climate, and individual characteristics of gender and age. Figure 1 summarizes the proposed framework. Country differences Cultural differences. Hofstede (1980) and Hofstede and Bond (1988) proposed a typology for classifying cultures based on five dimensions: (1) individualism; (2) uncertainty avoidance; How important are ethics? 135 Figure 1. Theoretical framework European Journal of Marketing 35,1/2 136 (3) power distance; (4) masculinity; and (5) Confucian dynamism. It is hypothesized that these cultural dimensions contribute to differences in the perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility. For example, marketers in collectivistic countries (such as Malaysia) would be expected to be more loyal to their organizations because of greater dependence (Hofstede, 1983), and therefore, concerned for their organization's well-being when making decisions that enhance organizational effectiveness. Consequently, collectivistic cultures would attach more importance to achieving superior organizational performance than to ethics and socially responsibility. Masculine societies encourage individuals to be ambitious and competitive, and to strive for material success (Hofstede, 1980), which may tempt marketers from countries ranking high on masculinity to achieve greater efficiency, at all costs. Therefore, they would attach less importance to ethics and social responsibility than to efficiency, competitiveness, and long-term survival. Individuals from cultures with high power distance (such as Malaysia) usually accept the inequality of power, perceive differences between superiors and subordinates, are reluctant to disagree with superiors and believe that superiors are entitled to privileges (Hofstede, 1983). Consequently, marketers from high power distance countries are likely to perceive a need to minimize disagreement with superiors and satisfy superiors through improved performance. In other words, organizational performance is likely to be relatively more important to them relative to the extent to which a decision is ethical and socially responsible. The risk-taking orientation of marketers from low uncertainty avoiding countries would lead them to believe that it might be worth taking the risk of unethical actions in order to improve efficiency and competitiveness. Therefore, marketers from low uncertainty avoidance countries are likely to attach less importance to ethics and social responsibility in achieving organizational effectiveness. Individuals in countries ranking high on Confucian dynamism tend to adhere to the more future-oriented teachings of Confucius; those from countries ranking low on Confucian dynamism tend to be more present- and past-oriented (Hofstede and Bond, 1988). From the perspective of this study, marketers from cultures ranking high on Confucian dynamism have a strong sense of shame and are likely to be wary of actions that are improper or disgraceful. Marketers from high Confucian dynamism countries (such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea) would, therefore, believe that any actions bringing disrepute and shame to the company would be detrimental to organizational performance. This is also consistent with the greater future-orientation of individuals from these countries. Alternatively, it is also possible that marketers from high Confucian dynamism countries might be sensitive to the shame arising out of inferior performance and might therefore believe that greater efficiency and profits are important at the cost of ethics and social responsibility. In other words, the effects of Confucian dynamism might be expected in both directions. Table I summarizes Hofstede's ranking of the four countries on five dimensions of culture (Hofstede, 1980; Hofstede and Bond, 1988). It is apparent that, in general, Australians, Americans, and South Africans are higher on individualism and masculinity and lower on uncertainty avoidance and power distance than Malaysians. On Confucian dynamism, the USA and Australia rank very close. Although there is no ranking available for South Africa and Malaysia, Malaysians can be expected to rank higher because of a strong Chinese influence, especially in the business sector (Hong Kong and Taiwan rank first and second on Confucian dynamism). Based on individualism, power distance, and uncertainty avoidance, Malaysian marketers would be expected to have lower perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility than marketers from Australia, South Africa, and the USA. Based on masculinity, it would be expected that Malaysian managers will have greater perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility in achieving organizational effectiveness than those from the other three countries, whereas based on Confucian dynamism it is only possible to hypothesize differences. Therefore, based on the cultural differences outlined above, we would expect Australian, Malaysian, US, and South African marketers to attach different levels of importance to ethics and social responsibility in achieving organizational effectiveness. Economic environment differences. Countries also have different economic and business environments, including the legal environment and societal expectations about business ethics in a given country. In developed countries (such as the USA and Australia), the business environment is typically characterized by powerful business enterprises, a legal environment aimed at eliciting ethical behaviors on the part of businesses, and societal expectations that businesses should be more ethical and socially responsible. These environmental forces may make the marketers in developed countries attach greater importance to the ethical and social responsibilities of their respective businesses. In developing countries, on the other hand (e. . Malaysia and South Africa), the business and economic environmental forces are still evolving and hence the marketers' perceived importance of business ethics and social responsibility may be lower relative to their counterparts in developed Country Australia Malaysia South Africa USA Power distance Individualism 36 104 49 40 (41) (1) (36-37) (38) 90 26 65 91 (2) (36) (16) (1) Masculinity 61 50 63 62 (16) (25-26) (13-14) (15) Uncertainty avoidance 51 36 49 46 (37) (46) (39-40) (43) Confucian dynamism 31 (11-12) n/a n/a 29 (14) How important are ethics? 137 Note: a Ranks range from 1-53 for all dimensions except Confucian dynamism 1-20 Source: Hofstede (1980) and Hofstede and Bond (1988) Table I. Scores (and ranks) for the four countries on Hofstede's dimensionsa European Journal of Marketing 35,1/2 138 countries. From another perspective, in developed countries the markets are likely to be more competitive, and therefore, issues of customer service and satisfaction might be relatively more important. Therefore, in making decisions, marketers from developed countries are less likely to take actions that are detrimental to the reputation of the company, fearing regulation as well as consumer dissatisfaction. In the context of this study, marketers from the USA and Australia should place greater importance on ethics and social responsibility as determinants of organizational effectiveness than marketers from South Africa and Malaysia. Differences in legal/political environment. In the Hunt and Vitell (1993) model, legal/political environment is depicted as a variable influencing ethical decision making. The relationship between the legal environment and ethics has been recognized by many business ethics scholars. For example, Beauchamp and Bowie (1993, p. 4) noted that: Law is the public's agency for translating morality into explicit social guidelines and practices and stipulating offenses. DeGeorge (1990, p. 14) noted that: Business is a social enterprise. Its mandate and limits are set by society. The limits are often moral, but they are also frequently written into law. Dunfee (1996, p. 18) stated that the legal system is sometimes required to nurture or implement the moral preferences of society, particularly with reference to universal moral prohibitions against physical harm. He also argued that where moral views have not converged toward a sufficiently broad consensus, the law may help to bring about a change in attitude. In the context of our study, these discussions imply that the legal/political framework within a country can be expected to impact a manager's perceptions about ethics and social responsibility. Business ethics scholars have also noted that the legal/political systems vary across countries (e. g. Vogel, 1992). In his analysis of the USA, Western Europe, and Japan, Vogel (1992) noted that in spite of globalization, the norms of business (as well as business and academic interest) in ethics were substantially higher in the USA than in other advanced capitalist countries. He attributed this to the distinctive institutional, legal, social, and cultural environment in the USA. In the context of this study, differences can be expected in the legal/political environments in the USA, Australia, Malaysia, and South Africa. While in the USA the legal/political systems are relatively well developed (and in Australia to a certain degree), the regulatory environments in Malaysia and South Africa are evolving, and therefore, the existence as well as the specificity of laws may vary across the four countries. The importance of ethics is also influenced by the degree of law enforcement, where we also can expect differences across the four countries. While elaborate legal/political systems prevail for enforcement in the USA, they are relatively less prevalent (and to varying degrees) in Australia, Malaysia, and South Africa. Vogel (1992, p. 32) pointed out that even compared to other advanced countries, the enforcement of law in the USA is more stringent, and gave the following example, In America each new disclosure of business misconduct prompts a new wave of public indignation, accompanied by numerous articles n the business and popular press which bemoan the general decline in the ethical conduct of managers and seek to explain â€Å"what went wrong† in the most recent case. This is frequently followed by Congressional hearings featuring politicians demanding more vigilant prosecution of white-collar criminals; shortly thereafter, regulatory standards are tightened, penalties are increased, and enforcement efforts are strengthened. How important are ethics? 139 It should be recognized that the potential influences of the legal/political environment are more complex than discussed here, because of the range of issues involved as well as the aspects of environment that cannot be measured directly, such as the enforcement of regulatory systems. However, differences exist between the four countries in the legal/political environment, which can be expected to influence managers' perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility relative to organizational effectiveness. In the preceding paragraphs, country differences were analyzed based on three aspects: (1) culture; (2) economic development; and (3) legal/political environment. Overall, based on cultural differences, we expect Australian, Malaysian, US, and South African marketers to attach different levels of importance to ethics and social responsibility in achieving organizational effectiveness. Based on economic environment differences, we expect that marketers from the USA and Australia will place greater importance on ethics and social responsibility than marketers from South Africa and Malaysia. Given that legal and political environments tend to vary between the four countries, we also expect the managers from these four diverse countries to attach different levels of importance to ethics and social responsibility in achieving organizational effectiveness. Thus, the following hypothesis was formulated: H1: Due to differences in culture, economic development, and legal/political environment, there are differences in the perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility among marketers in Malaysia, Australia, South Africa, and the USA. In analyzing country differences, it is evident that multiple aspects of country differences influence marketers' perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility, at times in conflicting ways (as in the effects of masculinity and individualism). Also, since this is the first attempt at investigating crosscultural variation in the perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility as determinants of organizational effectiveness, there is a lack of knowledge regarding the relative importance of differences in cultural European Journal of Marketing 35,1/2 140 dimensions. Consequently, it is not possible to hypothesize the direction of differences, only their existence. Organizational ethical climate In the Hunt and Vitell (1986; 1993) models, organizational ethical climate is included as a background variable that affects a marketer's ethical decision making. Organizational ethical climate refers to the shared understanding regarding what is correct behavior and how ethical issues will be handled (DeConinck, 1992). It helps establish and maintain the standards that delineate the â€Å"right† things to do and the things â€Å"worth doing† (Jansen and Von Glinow, 1985). The ethical climate in an organization affects ethical attitudes and standards of individuals. An organization that seeks to foster an ethical environment will not only have a code of ethics, but also the willingness and commitment to enforce it. Managers consider modifying the morality of their actions not just because of stated organizational concern, but only when specific sanctions are attached for misconduct (e. g. Laczniak and Inderrieden, 1987). The contention that organizational pressures, and not individual moral deficiencies, account for unethical standards is held by several authors (e. . Ford and Richardson, 1994). Weeks and Nantel (1992) found that wellcommunicated codes of ethics led to higher ethical standards and superior job performance of salespeople in the USA. Consequently, marketers in companies with an ethical climate that encourages ethical and socially responsible behavior and that punishes unethical behavior would perceive ethics to be more important for orga nizational effectiveness. Research has shown that when ethical standards of an organization are widely shared, organizational success will be enhanced (Hunt et al. 1989). Relevant to this study, in a recent study of US marketers, Singhapakdi et al. (1995) revealed that marketers in organizations with high levels of corporate ethical values tended to assign a higher level of importance to certain elements of corporate ethics and social responsibility. Therefore, we hypothesize that H2: Irrespective of country, organizational ethical climate is positively related to managers' perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility relative to different aspects of organizational effectiveness. Gender Gender is generally recognized as an important personal characteristic influencing an individual's ethical decisions. For example, Gilligan (1982) argued that men and women differ in their moral reasoning. In particular, men are more likely to adhere to the â€Å"ethic of justice† by emphasizing rules and individual rights. Women, however, are more likely to adhere to the â€Å"ethic of care† by emphasizing relationships and compassion. In a recent meta-analysis, Franke et al. (1997) used data from more than 20,000 respondents in 66 samples nd revealed that women are more likely than men to perceive business practices as unethical. Although there has been no research directly investigating the effects of gender on perceived important of ethics and social responsibility, it has been incorporated in numerous marketing ethics studies. Based on the work of Gilligan (1982) and Franke et al. (1997), it can be argued that â€Å"the ethic of caring† exhibited by w omen would lead them to believe that taking actions in the interest of the customer would enhance company performance and would contribute to a perception of greater importance of ethics in organizational effectiveness. Thus, we would expect women to attach greater importance to ethics and social responsibility as determinants of organizational effectiveness. H3: Irrespective of country, women perceive ethics and social responsibility to be more important relative to different aspects of organizational effectiveness than men. Age Marketing ethics theories generally recognize personal characteristics as determinants of various aspects of a marketer's ethical decision-making process (e. g. Ferrell and Gresham, 1985; Hunt and Vitell, 1986). Age could also directly influence an individual's ethical decision. According to Kohlberg's (1981) cognitive moral development theory, an individual's cognition, emotion, and judgment may change as he/she moves through stages of moral development. Given that an individual moves through stages of moral development and the changes are essentially due to life experiences, intuitively one would expect a positive relationship between age and ethical behavior. In fact, Terpstra et al. (1993) have argued that people tend to become more ethical as they grow older. A good explanation is that as people age they tend to become less concerned with wealth and advancement and more interested in personal growth (Hall, 1976). In other words, older marketers are likely to appreciate the long-term benefits (to organizational performance) of acting in an ethical and socially responsible manner. Accordingly, we would generally expect a positive relationship between a marketer's age and his or her perception about the importance of ethics and social responsibility. H4: Irrespective of country, a marketer's age is positively related to his/her perception of the importance of ethics and social responsibility relative to different aspects of organizational effectiveness. Methodology Sample A self-administered questionnaire was used as the data collection technique for all four groups of marketing practitioners. For the US and South African groups, national mailing lists of professional members of the American Marketing Association (AMA) and the South African Institute of Marketing How important are ethics? 141 European Journal of Marketing 35,1/2 142 Management were used as sampling frames. For the Australian sample, a mailing list of recipients of the Australian Marketing Institute magazine was used. For the Malaysian group, the sampling frame consisted of managers responsible for making marketing decisions for companies listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange. The questionnaire was administered in English for all four samples. Because Malaysia and South Africa are members of the British Commonwealth, English is a well-understood language, particularly in the business setting. The numbers of respondents were: 500 from Australia, 446 from the USA, 256 from South Africa, and 159 from Malaysia[1]. The response rates were 22. 7 percent (USA), 13 percent (South Africa), and 45 percent (Malaysia). Since questionnaires were not directly mailed to the sample in Australia, the response rate could not be assessed. The non-response bias for the USA and South African samples was assessed with an analysis of variance between the early and late respondent groups (Armstrong and Overton, 1977). There were no statistical differences among the two groups for either country[2]. The profiles of the respondents are summarized in Table II. They represent a range of age groups, gender, job titles, industry, and years of experience, with minor differences between the four sets of respondents. Age and gender were included in the analyses. Other variables (such as job title, education, and industry) were not included as control variables because educational systems, industry classifications, and job titles and functions vary from country to country. Measures Singhapakdi et al. (1995) developed a scale for measuring managers' perceptions about the importance of ethics and social responsibility (PRESOR) in organizational effectiveness. Seven of the 14 items from that scale were used, relating to specific aspects of organizational effectiveness such as output quality, efficiency, profitability, communication, long-term survival, competitiveness, and stakeholder satisfaction. Excluded items were statements such as â€Å"Good ethics is good business† and â€Å"Corporate strategy should include ethics and social responsibility†, which do not address specific aspects of organizational effectiveness. The scale items used in the analyses are shown in Table III. The factor structures were found to be similar across the four countries and the reliabilities were generally high[3]. It may be noted that the PRESOR scale has previously performed satisfactorily in terms of reliability, as well as content and predictive validity (Singhapakdi et al. , 1995, 1996). Organizational ethical climate, gender and age. The corporate ethical values (CEV) scale developed by Hunt et al. (1989) was used in this study to measure organizational ethical climate. The scale was designed to reflect â€Å"a composite of the individual ethical values of managers and both the formal and informal policies on ethics of the organization† (Hunt et al. , 1989). The five-item CEV scale[4] was developed to three broad-based perceptions: Characteristics of respondents Gender Male Female Age group Under 30 30 to 39 40 to 49 50 and over 50 Education High school or less Some college Bachelor's degree Master's degree Doctorate Othera Job title CEO/president/MD/director Marketing managers Others Industry USA Wholesale or retail Manufacturer or construction Services Communications Advertising or public relations Marketing consulting Other Malaysiab Consumer products Diversified Construction Trading services Finance Properties Plantation Mining and primary resources Notes: sample; a b Australia (%) Malaysia (%) South Africa (%) USA (%) How important are ethics? 73. 0 27. 0 20. 0 35. 0 29. 0 17. 0 11. 0 15. 0 58. 0 15. 0 1. 0  ± 37. 0 52. 0 11. 0 84. 0 16. 0 11. 0 39. 0 40. 0 10. 0 6. 0 10. 0 43. 0 24. 0 1. 0 16. 0 39. 0 30. 0 31. 0 80. 0 20. 0 4. 0 29. 0 40. 0 27. 0 6. 0 15. 0 30. 0 30. 0 19. 0 2. 0 44. 0 37. 0 19. 0 51. 0 49. 0 17. 0 37. 0 29. 0 17. 0 1. 0 6. 0 43. 0 43. 0 6. 0  ± 47. 0 43. 0 10. 0 143 3. 0 10. 0 20. 0 33. 0 7. 0 17. 0 6. 0  ±  ±  ±  ±  ±  ±  ±  ±  ±  ±  ±  ±  ±  ±  ± 37. 0 4. 0 3. 0 28. 0 11. 0 13. 0 3. 0 1. 0 7. 0 20. 0 25. 0 7. 0 1. 0 5. 0 35. 0  ±  ±  ±  ±  ±  ±  ±  ± 12. 0 17. 0 35. 0 9. 0 7. 0 18. 0 2. 0  ±  ±  ±  ±  ±  ±  ±  ± Other educational qualifications include professional education in the Malaysian This categorization of industries was appropriate in the Malaysian context Table II. Profiles of respondents in Australia, Malaysia, South Africa and USA 144 European Journal of Marketing 35,1/2 Organizational effectiveness dimension Univariate tests Quality: while output quality is essential for corporate success, ethics and social responsibility are not NS Communication: communication is more important to the overall effectiveness of an organization than whether or not it is concerned with ethics and social responsibility 5. 1 0. 0001 Profits: The most important concern for a firm is making profits, even if it means bending or breaking rules 5. 45 0. 0001 Competitiveness: To remain competitive in a global environment, business firms will have to disregard ethics and social responsibility NS Survival: If survival of a business enterprise is at stake, then you must forget about ethics and social responsi bility 21. 25 0. 0001 Efficiency: Efficiency is much more important to the firm than whether or not the firm is seen as ethical or socially responsible 14. 1 0. 0001 Stakeholder satisfaction: If stakeholders are unhappy, nothing else matters 11. 19 0. 0001 Multivariate tests  ± F based on Wilk's lambda (21, 3,673 df) 5. 38 0. 0001 66. 43 28. 62 74. 24 49. 95 39. 79 29. 46 27. 17 0. 0001 0. 0001 0. 0001 0. 0001 0. 0001 0. 0001 0. 0001 Table III. Multivariate and univariate results Country Organizational culture Gender Age 17. 88 0. 0001 3. 68 0. 0552 8. 97 0. 0028 6. 46 0. 0112 17. 63 0. 00001 NS NS 2. 56 NS 0. 0535 NS NS NS NS NS 1) the extent to which employees perceive their managers are acting ethically in their organization (item 1); (2) the extent to which employees perceive that managers are concerned about the issues of ethics in their organization (item 3); and (3) the extent to which employees perceive that ethical (unethical) behavior is rewarded (punished) in their orga nization (items 2, 4, and 5) (Hunt et al. , 1989). The CEV was measured using a nine-point Likert scale with 1= â€Å"completely disagree†and 9= â€Å"completely agree†. For each respondent, the CEV score was obtained by summing all CEV items (with items 1 and 2 reverse-coded). A high CEV score means that the manager works in an organization with higher corporate ethical values. The similarity of factor structures of the CEV scale between the four countries was assessed to be moderate and the reliabilities of the scale were high[5]. The CEV measure has been used in the past (e. g. Hunt et al. , 1989; Singhapakdi et al. , 1995). Gender was measured as a dichotomous variable and age was measured in four categories. Results Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was performed using the seven PRESOR items as dependent variables, and the country of residence, organizational ethical climate, gender, and age as independent variables[6]. MANOVA results show that overall country of residence, organizational ethical climate, gender, and age significantly explain differences between marketers from the four countries in their perception of the importance of ethics and social responsibility in achieving organizational effectiveness (F = 5. 38 based on Wilks' Lambda, p < 0. 001). H1 states that there are country differences in the perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility in achieving organizational effectiveness. Univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) identified significant cross-country differences between marketers on all PRESOR items except output quality and competitiveness. For example, there are differences in the extent to which marketers from the four countries believe that â⠂¬Å"the most important concern for a firm is making profits, even if it means bending or breaking rules† (F = 5. 45, p < . 001). Also, there are differences in the extent to which they agree with statements such as â€Å"if survival of a business enterprise is at stake, then you must forget about ethics and social responsibility† (F = 21. 25, p < 0. 0001), â€Å"efficiency is much more important to the firm than whether or not the firm is seen as ethical or socially responsible† (F = 14. 91, p < . 0001), and â€Å"communication is much more important to the overall effectiveness of an organization than whether or not it is concerned with ethics and social responsibility† (F = 5. 1, p < 0. 0001). Therefore, there is support for H1 (average scores for marketers from the four countries on each of the seven items are given in Table IV). How important are ethics? 145 European Journal of Marketing 35,1/2 146 H2 states that the organizational ethical climate posi tively influences managers' perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility. In fact, results indicate it has a strong influence on all seven dimensions of PRESOR with F statistics ranging from 27. 17 to 74. 24 (with all p ; 0. 0001). Therefore, H2 is supported. Results also indicate gender differences in managers' perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility in achieving organizational effectiveness on the quality, communication, profits, competitiveness, and survival dimensions, but not on the efficiency and stakeholder satisfaction dimensions (F statistics ranging from 3. 68 to 17. 88). Therefore, H3 is generally supported. Also, results related to H4 indicate that, in general, there are no age differences in the perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility in achieving organizational effectiveness. Therefore, H4 is not supported. The lack of significance of age in influencing PRESOR is probably a reflection of the greater impact of environmental factors such as greater societal expectations and awareness about ethical issues. Discussion and implications The current investigation into cross-country variation in perceptions of marketing professionals regarding the importance of ethics and social responsibility as determinants of business success has potential implications for international companies. In the international marketing context, cultural, economic, and other gaps between international buyers and sellers create the potential for conflicts of values, which in turn hinder smooth business interactions between the parties. Whether a marketing organization engages in exporting, importing, joint ventures, licensing agreements or fully owns an overseas operation, the scope exists for conflict of values, especially in the areas of marketing ethics and social responsibility. For example, in recent years, companies in the USA have faced public disapproval of the unethical practices of their overseas suppliers. As businesses all over the world progressively globalize their operations, it becomes necessary that they understand whether there are significant gaps between their ethical and social responsibility perceptions and their overseas partners. Such perceptual gaps need to be systematically investigated and measures taken to reduce or, preferably, eliminate them in the interest of establishing enduring international business Organizational effectiveness dimension Australia 7. 67 6. 16 6. 93 7. 56 7. 22 6. 44 6. 82 Malaysia 7. 61 5. 27 6. 61 7. 27 5. 76 5. 12 5. 79 South Africa 7. 96 6. 40 7. 01 7. 71 7. 05 6. 26 6. 6 USA 7. 82 6. 23 7. 46 7. 69 7. 64 6. 72 7. 08 Table IV. Output quality Mean perceived Communication importance of ethics Profits and social responsibility scores on Competitiveness different dimensions of Survival Efficiency organizational Stakeholder satisfaction effectiveness relationships. This study identified three sources of gaps that can exist between marketers from d ifferent countries in terms of the perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility as determinants of organizational effectiveness. They are: (1) Country differences in culture, economic development, and legal/ political environment. 2) Differences in organizational ethical climate. (3) Gender differences. Similarities and differences were found between countries in terms of the extent to which they find ethics and social responsibility to be important relative to some dimensions of organizational effectiveness. On two dimensions, output quality and competitiveness, there were no significant inter-country differences. It seems that output quality and competitiveness are universal business orientations exhibited by marketing executives, which is consistent with globalization of markets and the accompanying intensification of competition. International companies, therefore, may assume that their counterparts in different parts of the world will be as concerned with output quality and competitiveness (relative to ethical and social responsibility concerns). Hence, these two core business values can provide common bases for successful international negotiations and establishing long-term relationships, which are critical for success in the international business arena. While there are inter-country similarities on these two dimensions, significant inter-country differences were found with regard to other organizational effectiveness dimensions: communications, efficiency, profits, survival, and stakeholder satisfaction. Based on the findings of our study, multi-national companies who transfer employees between these four countries can help them anticipate differences in perceptions about the importance of ethics and social responsibility relative to different aspects of organizational effectiveness. For example, Malaysian companies posting managers in Australia (or South Africa or the USA) might want to educate them about the environmental differences that lead to Australian managers placing greater importance on ethics and social responsibility relative to profitability, efficiency, communication, survival, and stakeholder satisfaction. These perceptual differences can impact ethical attitudes and actions, and therefore, managerial expectations about overseas employees should be altered accordingly. Corporate managers should also give a thought to what can be done to overcome these differences in perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility. The content of ethics training programs can incorporate the findings of this study by developing scenarios and cases highlighting the tradeoffs between ethics and social responsibility, and specific aspects of organizational effectiveness, such as efficiency and stakeholder satisfaction. These scenarios can be extended by including cross-national differences in How important are ethics? 47 European Journal of Marketing 35,1/2 148 culture, economic development, and legal/political environment, as well as differences in perceptions about ethics and social responsibility across countries. Organizational ethical climate positively influenced the perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility across all four countries. Irrespective of the country, organizational ethical climate had a strong influence on all seven dimensions of organizational effectiveness vis-a-vis ethics A and social responsibility. Therefore, we can conclude that organizations from different countries with similar organizational ethical climates can find common ground on issues of ethics and social responsibility. Hence, international companies, when scouting for suitable partners in foreign markets, may look for overseas partners with similar organizational ethical values. This would ensure smoother business relations and interactions especially in the areas of ethics and social responsibility. Also, it is useful for international marketers to know that, in general, women perceive ethics and social responsibility to be more important in achieving organizational effectiveness than men, though there are no differences across age groups. This is particularly relevant given the increase in employment of women in the workplace. Limitations This study has some potential limitations. One concerns the limited number of factors investigated in our study. Ethical decision making is a very complex phenomenon, and exploring cross-cultural differences is even more difficult. For example, in addition to the variables we studied, marketing ethics theories have also specified moral philosophies, personal values, religion, professional environment, and organizational and industrial characteristics as important background factors underlying the ethical decision making of managers (e. g. Ferrell and Gresham, 1985; Hunt and Vitell, 1986). However, the scope of this study is limited to cultural dimensions, economic environment, organizational ethical climate, and selected demographic variables as explanatory factors. It should be pointed out that in this study, some important demographic variables, such as education, were not included because of a lack of conceptual equivalence, as explained in the next section. Another limitation concerns the samples analyzed in this study. Although four relatively diverse countries were studied, the findings can not be generalized to other countries with different cultural characteristics and levels of economic development. Future research avenues This research can be extended in many ways. As a first step, a non-directional hypothesis for country differences was presented. This was necessitated by the fact that this was the first study dealing with the investigation of cross-cultural variation in the perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility as determinants of organizational effectiveness. Future research should investigate the direction of expected differences. A comprehensive framework modeling antecedents and consequences of the perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility can be developed and tested. This will add another dimension to our understanding of ethical decision making. As pointed out earlier, one limitation of this study concerns its limited samples and, consequently, its limited generalizability. Therefore, there is a need to replicate this study using managerial samples from other countries with different cultural characteristics and/or levels of economic development. Given the complexity of the phenomenon under study, future research should investigate other determinants specified in marketing ethics models, such as moral philosophies, personal values, religion, professional environment, and organizational and industrial characteristics. Among demographic variables, education could be an important determinant but was not included because of a lack of conceptual equivalence. In cross-cultural research, conceptual equivalence in terms of the meaning of research concepts, stimuli, and materials must first be established before any meaningful comparisons are made (Malhotra et al. , 1996). In our study, the US sample is predominantly business-educated, which might not be the case with the other three samples. In addition to differences in the educational background of the managers, the lack of conceptual equivalence can also be attributed to: . The educational systems and curricula in the four countries being different. . Differences in the extent to which ethics is required to be emphasized in the curriculum content across different countries (for example, accredited business schools in the USA are required to incorporate business ethics into their curricula, and such requirements might exist to a greater or lesser degree in other countries). . Variation in the extent to which ethics is actually incorporated and emphasized in the curricula. Thus, it is not education per se, but the incorporation of ethics into educational curricula, the actual implementation, and its impact on the managers that is likely to influence their perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility. In the future, the cross-country differences in educational background of the respondents as well as the extent to which ethics is emphasized in education should be measured, and analyzed as a potential factor influencing a manager's perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility. Conclusion To summarize, this research investigated whether marketers from Australia, Malaysia, South Africa, and the USA differ in their beliefs regarding the importance of ethics and social responsibility as determinants of organizational effectiveness. The study was based on an alternative approach to studying perceptions about ethical issues and problems in business. Traditionally cross- How important are ethics? 149 European Journal of Marketing 35,1/2 150 cultural researchers have evaluated ethical perceptions, attitudes, and intentions with regard to specific business/marketing practices involving ethical problems. Here, we investigate differences in the perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility in relation to various aspects of organizational effectiveness such as quality, communication, profits, competitiveness, survival, efficiency, and stakeholder satisfaction. The results of this study are important because perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility has been shown to influence ethical intention, when managers are faced with an ethical situation (Singhapakdi, 1999). Results indicate that differences in the perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility among marketers from the four countries exist because of: . ountry differences in culture, economic development, and legal/political environment; . differences in organizational ethical climate; and . gender differences. There are not any differences due to age. Overall similarities and differences among the four countries emerged on specific dimensions of business effectiveness. On the dimensions of out put quality and competitiveness, there were no differences among the four countries. Inter-country differences were found on the dimensions of communication, efficiency, profits, survival, and stakeholder satisfaction. These findings regarding cross-cultural similarities and differences are useful in furthering our understanding and management of ethics and social responsibility in the international context. Notes 1. For subsequent analysis using LISREL, a sample size of 159 was judged adequate because it is close to the recommended level of ten observations for every parameter estimated (Haire et al. , 1998). 2. For the Australian and Malaysian sample, the non-response bias based on early and late respondents could not be assessed as this information (i. e. dates when the questionnaires were received) was not recorded at the time of data collection. . The similarity of factor structures of the seven-item scale for individual countries was assessed with confirmatory factor analysis. Fit measures for individual countries, including chi-square per degree of freedom (range 1. 87-3. 32), GFI (0. 94-0. 97), AGFI (0. 890. 95), and CFI (range 0. 91-0. 96), for the four countries were high. The reliability of the seven-item scale ranged from 0. 73-0. 76 for the four countries. 4. The five items in the corporate ethical values scale were: . Managers in my company often engage in behavior that I consider to be unethical. . In order to succeed in my company, if is often necessary to compromise one's ethics. Top management in my company has let it be known in no uncertain terms that unethical behaviors will not be tolerated. If a manager in my company is discovered to have engaged in unethical behavior that results in personal gain (rather than corporate gain), he/she will be promptly reprimanded. . If a manager in my company is discovered to have engaged in unethical behavior that results in corporate gain (rather than personal gain), he/she will be promptly reprimanded. 5. The similarity of factor structures of the five-item CEV scale for individual countries was assessed with confirmatory factor analysis. Fit measures for individual countries, including chi-square per degree of freedom (range 2. 00-35. 23), GFI (0. 88-0. 99), AGFI (0. 63-0. 99), and CFI (range 0. 74-0. 99), for the four countries were moderate. The reliability of the five-item scale ranged from 0. 69-0. 87 for the four countries. 6. Since a requirement of MANOVA is that the dependent variables be correlated, the appropriateness of the multivariate technique was tested by Bartlett's test of sphericity (Hair et al. 1998). The test (Bartlett's chi-square = 123. 7 with six degrees of freedom, p = 0. 001) indicated that MANOVA is appropriate for analyzing the data. . How important are ethics? 151 References Armstrong, J. S. and Overton, T. S. (1977), â€Å"Estimating non-response bias in mail surveys†, Journal of Marketing Research, No. 14 No. 3, pp. 396-402. Armstrong, R. W. , Sten ing, B. W. , Ryans, J. K. , Marks, L. and Mayo, M. (1990), â€Å"International marketing ethics: problems encountered by Australian firms†, European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 25 No. 10, pp. 5-19. Beauchamp, T. L. and Bowie, N. E. (1993), Ethical Theory and Business, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ . Becker, H. and Fritzsche, D. J. (1987), â€Å"A comparison of the ethical behavior of American, French and German managers†, Columbia Journal of World Business, Vol. 22 No. 4, pp. 87-96. Czinkota, M. R. and Ronkainen, I. A. (1998), International Marketing, Dryden Press, Orlando, FL. DeConinck, J. B. (1992), â€Å"How sales managers control unethical sales force behavior†, Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 11 No. 10, pp. 789-98. DeGeorge, R. T. (1990), Business Ethics, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Dubinsky, A. J. , Jolson, M. A. , Kotabe, M. and Lim, C. U. (1991), â€Å"A cross-national investigation of industrial salespeople's ethical perceptions†, Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 22 No. 4, pp. 651-71. Dunfee, T. (1996), â€Å"On the synergistic, interdependent relationship of business ethics and law†, American Business Law Journal, Vol. 34 No. 2, pp. 317-28. Ferrell, O. C. and Gresham, L. G. (1985), â€Å"A contingency framework for understanding ethical decision making in marketing†, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 49 No. 3, pp. 87-96. Ford, R. C. and Richardson, W. D. 1994), â€Å"Ethical decision making: a review of the empirical literature†, Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 13 No. 3, pp. 205-21. Franke, G. R. , Crown, D. F. and Spake, D. F. (1997), â€Å"Gender differences in ethical perceptions of business practices†, Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 82 No. 6, pp. 92- 4. Gilligan, C. 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(1988), â€Å"The Confucious connection: from cultural roots to economic growth†, O rganizational Dynamics, Vol. 16 No. 4, pp. 5-21. Hunt, S. D. and Vitell, S. (1986), â€Å"A general theory of marketing ethics†, Journal of Macromarketing, Vol. 6 No. 1, pp. 5-16. Hunt, S. D. and Vitell, S. J. (1993), â€Å"The general theory of marketing ethics: a retrospective and revision†, in Smith, N. C. and Quelch, J. A. (Eds), Ethics in Marketing, Irwin Inc. , Homewood, IL, pp. 775-84. Hunt, S. D. , Wood, V. R. nd Chonko, L. B. (1989), â€Å"Corporate ethical values and organizational commitment in marketing†, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 53 No. 3, pp. 79-90. Jansen, E. and Von Glinow, M. A. (1985), â€Å"Ethical ambience and organizational reward systems†, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 10 No. 4, pp. 814-22. Jones, T. M. (1991), â€Å"Ethical decision-making by individuals in organizations: an issue-contingent model†, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 16 No. 2, pp. 366-95. Kohlberg, L. (1981), The Meaning and Measurement of Moral Develop ment, Clark University Press, Worcester, MA. Laczniak, G. R. and Inderrieden, E. J. (1987), â€Å"The influence of stated organizational concern upon ethical decision making†, Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 6 No. 4, pp. 297-307. Laczniak, G. R. and Murphy, P. E. (1993), Ethical Marketing Decisions: The Higher Road, Allyn & Bacon, Needham Heights, MA. Malhotra, N. K. , Agarwal, J. and Peterson, M. (1996), â€Å"Methodological issues in cross-cultural marketing research: a state-of-the-art review†, International Marketing Review, Vol. 13 No. 5, pp. 7-43. Mittelstaedt, J. D. and Mittelstaedt, R. A. (1997), â€Å"The protection of intellectual property: issues of origination and ownership†, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, Vol. 16 No. 1, pp. 14-25. Singhapakdi, A. (1999), â€Å"Perceived importance of ethics and ethical decisions in marketing†, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 45 No. 1, pp. 89-99. Singhapakdi, A. , Vitell, S. 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Understanding Research Methodology

Understanding Research Methodologyour site – Dissertation TopicsWhat is Research Methodology? The research methodology is an integral part of your study, and explains the methods you are planning to use to prove your thesis or answer your research question. As an example, if you would like to research what customers think about a new product, you will need to design a research methodology that accurately answers the question: either interviews, focus groups, or questionnaires. The purpose of the research methodology chapter is to explain how you will conduct the research, and which data collection/analysis methods you will use. The research methodology will detail: The framework of the research, including philosophies, assumptions, and theories The methods, procedures, and techniques you use to ensure the reliability and validity of the research The philosophical orientation of the research Justification for choosing the given research methodology The ethical considerations and limitations of the selected research method. Designing Your Methodology Research When you write your methodology for your research, you must already have a clear working hypothesis and research questions. Preparing your research design is a challenging task, and involves the following tasks: Defining the basis of information (qualitative, quantitative, or both) Determining the subject matter of the research: basic, or experimental Identifying the research methodology approach: longitudinal or cross-sectional Determining the sample design: Data collection methods The plan for the data collection and analysis Generalisation and interpretation You have to justify your research methodology decisions by showing your understanding of different techniques. You also need to be aware of the risks and limitations of the selected data collection and analysis method, and show your competency in using different data analysis. What to Include in Your Research Methodology We have already covered mixed research methods in a different article, so be sure to check it out, however, in order to inform your readers about the study you have undertaken, you have to include the research strategy, research method, research approach and assumptions, data collection methods and tools, sample selection, research process, data analysis techniques, ethical considerations, and research limitations. Below you can see what to include in each part of your methodology research. Research strategy You need to state how you will gather information, complete your analysis, literature review, and how you will draw conclusions. Research method You must choose between qualitative, quantitative, or mixed research methods. Research approach and assumptions You need to state whether or not your research is based on any assumptions or hypotheses, and how you will approach the topic. Data collection methods and tools Detail the strategy you will use to collect information: surveys, observation, statistics, or interviews, and list the tools and software you will use. Sample selection Provide a sample selection and inclusion/exclusion criteria. In case you complete a research involving people, state the demographics of the sample. Research process Draw up a research process map that lists all the steps you have to ensure that the data will be reliable and delivered in a timely manner. Data analysis techniques State how you will analyse the results, for example software, spreadsheet, or thematic analysis in case you conduct a qualitative research. Ethical considerations Show your understanding of the ethical issues that might arise during the research and state how you will handle them. Research limitations You can state the limitations of the methodology uses, potential bias, or small sample size.Research Methodology ExamplesThe research methodology is needed for most PhD Theses and dissertations. No matter if you are writing about patients’ experiences in a hospital or research new technologies in data protection, this chapter will be essential. Below you will find some examples of using methodology research descriptions the right way.Nursing Research Methodology: Dementia CareThis study details the methods used for literature search for an empirical study focusing on different interventions for dementia care. The structure of this methodology chapter is different, as the study focuses on comparing existing research studies and drawing a conclusion. Check out the nursing research methodology to see the structure.Quantitative Research Methodology SampleWriting a quantitative research methodology chapter should justify the selection of the data collection and analysis tools, and detail the methods, sampling strategy, and instruments used for collecting information. As you can see, this methodology research chapter includes the ethical considerations and the problems and limitations at the end of the section. Read a sample quantitative research methodology chapter.Business Case Study Dissertation Research MethodologyAs you can see, the research methodology chapter is uniquely designed for case studies. In this sample, the author provides dissertation philosophy and a clear description of the research approach: mixed methods research, as well as the research strategy, detailing each step’s aim, sample size, type of questions, and the method of data analysis. The writer also provides a detailed description of the sampling method, primary data collection, and data analysis methods separately for quantitative and qualitative information. Read the full case study methodology chapter.Research Methodology for Quantitative Surveys Including Time HorizonsIn this quantitative survey dissertation methodology chapter, you will find an introduction that justifies the selection of the methods and research strategy, as well as a research philosophy, research approach, strategy, and time horizons. If you take on a large scale research that will take months to complete, it is a good idea to provide a time horizon. In this sample chapter, you can see that the author utilizes both primary and secondary research, and carries out a longitudinal research consisting of multiple phases. Therefore, a timeline helps planning all the steps and gives the reader a clear idea about the work involved in this study.Do You Need Help with Writing Your Research Methodology?If you are still confused about where to start writing your dissertation research methodology chapter, and would like some help selecting the right data collection and analysis methods, you can get in touch with our friendly team at our site, who have already helped many students in the past getting their research finished to a high standard, advising them on topics, methodology, and structure. Submit your question and get professional help from one of our academic researchers.

Introduction to Roles of Army Engineers

CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE NIGERIAN ARMY ENGINEERS TO NATION BUILDING: CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS INTRODUCTION 1. Nations of the world set objectives which they continually strive to achieve. These objectives which are regarded to be of benefit to the citizens of the country are collectively known as national interest. The extent to which a nation can achieve its national interest and indeed the influence it wields in the international community depends largely on its level of development. Nation building literally connotes national development.In a contemporary society, the concept of national development is directly linked to the general well-being of a state and its people. National development or nation building is predicated on indices such as economic stability, peace and security of the state. The essence of any government therefore is to provide security and welfare for the citizenry to achieve stability and peace. Nation building is a continuous process. It represents the process wh ereby changes are effected within any society to generate wealth, create economic opportunities and bring about peace, stability and security. . Over the last half century, some advanced countries like the USA, China and Israel among others have implemented various plans towards development. One of such plans is the use of their military in national development. Historically, military involvement in nation building can be traced to socialist countries like Russia, China, Cuba and Vietnam where the military was engaged in developmental activities such as agriculture and manufacturing.Later in the face of economic challenges, countries like Indonesia, India, Pakistan and Iraq also used their military in nation building through their military engineers for road construction and industrial development. This contributed to the development of their national economy. 3. A nation is defined as ‘a large body of people united by common descent, culture or language, inhabiting a particul ar state or territory’. On the other hand, building is ‘the business or task of constructing houses, factories, bridges and other large structures’.Hence, nation building could be described as a structural transformation of all facets of national lives such as economic, political, social and technological endeavours in order to make a nation more viable for development. 4. Similarly,in developing countries like Nigeria, it has become imperative that the military be actively involved in nation building to compliment the efforts of all other sectors involved in such activities. The NA through the Nigerian Army Engineers (NAE) has been in the forefront of this drive, in addition to its role of the defence of the territorial integrity of Nigeria.The NA also has the responsibility of aiding civil authority in disaster management or civil construction works which are normally carried out by NAE. However, the NAEhas the primary role of helping the NA to live, move and f ight. These include construction of roads and bridges, reconstruction and rehabilitation of facilities and water supply. For example, the NAE constructed the first road to Mambilla Plateau, of the then Northern Region now Adamawa State, in the 1960s. The Corps was also involved in the construction of a bridge across River Rima and the reconstruction of Ayakoromo town in 2010.When the NAE plays these roles, it is inadvertently contributing to nation building. 5. It is pertinent to state that NAE evolved from the Royal West African Frontier Force (RWAFF) which dates back to the early Twentieth Century. The NAE were part of the Royal British Engineers which surveyed and fixed the boundaries of what is now known as Nigeria with the neighbouring French and German colonies. In spite of the contributions of the NAE in nation building, the corps encountered some challenges while performing their functions.These challenges include dearth of equipment, absence of legal backing and shortage of manpower among others. It is against this background that this paper seeks to examine these challenges in order to proffer viable solutions for the NA in supporting the NAE towards efficiently contributing to nation building. It is written for the Director Department of Land Warfare in partial fulfillment for the award of Pass Staff Course. 6. The purpose of this paper therefore is to examine the challenges and prospects of the contribution of NAE to nation building.The paper will discuss an overview of NAE and the contributions of NAE to nation building. It will further appraise the contributions of some other countries to nation building in order to draw lessons for NAE. Finally, it will examine the challenges and prospects of the NAE’s contribution to nation building. This paper will however be limited to NAE‘s contribution to nation building in terms of structural constructions and projects. The aspects of peace and security as part of nation building will not be d iscussed. It is assumed that the reader is conversant with the concept of nation building.This would therefore not be discussed in detail. AIM 7. The aim of this paper is to discuss the challenges and prospects of the contributions of NAE to nation building with a view to making recommendations. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. 1. Encarta Dictionary, 2012. [ 2 ]. 2. Robert B Schulz, The Dynamics of Development in the Engineering Nation, (Canberra, Canberra University Press, 2004). [ 3 ]. 3. Olaniyi AA, Maj Gen, Capability of the Nigerian Army Engineers in National Development, (Unpublished, May 2012). [ 4 ]. 4. Ibid. [ 5 ]. 5.Catherine S, Angus S, The Concise Oxford English Dictionary, Indian Edition, (New Delhi: Oxford University Press Ltd, 2007), P. 952. [ 6 ]. 6. Op. cit. Encarta Dictionary. [ 7 ]. 7. Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999. [ 8 ]. 8. NA, Electrical and Mec hanical Engineering Precis (Nigerian Army School of Military Engineering, 1996), P. 11. [ 9 ]. 9. Abubakar, S, â€Å"How Military Bridge Brought Succour to Sokoto†, Daily Trust (Sokoto), 25 Oct 10, P. 3. [ 10 ]. 10. Olawuni, T, â€Å"Hope Rises for Ayakoromo Community as Jonathan Orders Reconstruction†, Business Day (Lagos), 16 Dec 10, P. 5.

Disaster rescue plan Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Disaster rescue plan - Research Paper Example Disaster rescue plan When more than one approach, strategy or disciple is adopted in handling a particular disaster incidence, we say a multi-disciplinary response has been adopted. According the Karimganj District Resource Inventory (2011), a â€Å"disaster is a sudden, calamitous event bringing great damage, loss, and destruction and devastation to life and property.† Indeed for a large, cargo plane to be on fire prior to its scheduled flight is less than a disaster, which like all other forms of disasters, need rapid and urgent management solutions. As the emergency manager my very first approach towards handling such an aircraft disaster would be to contact all needed resource personnel and agencies whose duties are related to disaster management and control. Even before thinking of who and who would be part of the people to be contacted, I would first have in mind the need to make the agencies and personnel multi-disciplinary. In other words, I would form a multi-disciplinary committee. The n eed for constituting a multi-disciplinary committee lies in the following reasons: firstly, this would provide me the opportunity to tap and enjoy the different expertise and specialization of all the different agencies and personnel who will be contacted. This is because aircraft disasters are caused by a couple of factors, which demand the expertise and knowledge of as many intellectuals as possible. Constituting and multi-disciplinary committee would there put the identification of causes a step further, where by a more holistic approach would be taken by the different agencies. Secondly, a multi-disciplinary response has a greater probability of ensuring efficiency and speedy delivery of mandated task. This advantage is very important because aircraft disasters involve several precious lives and the public would certainly be itchy for information. For this reason, employing the responsibility of finding causes and scrutiny of extent of damage as well as the general management of the disaster into the hands of just a few people or agencies would make the public sit on thorns for long. Finally, a multi-disciplinary response would ensure credibility of findings and management task. This is so to speak because the collective conclusion drawn by many different experts from different backgrounds and with different duties about a single accident is more reliable than a single conclusion drawn by only one agency. Indeed it is for the reason of such advantages of multi-disciplinary response listed above that â€Å"in February 2005, the National Integration Center (NIC) gathered together several emergency management organizations to begin collaborating on NIMS implementation† (Federal Emergency Management Agency, 2007). With the above points in mind, as the emergency manager, I would the following agencies for finding causes into the disaster and managing the disaster. They would include the police, the national fire and rescue service, federal bureau of inve stigation (FBI), Red Cross society and the national media commission. Among these agencies, the national fire and rescue service would be the lead agency when I arrive. The national fire and rescue service would also be responsible for rescuing the crew and mitigating the fire. This is primarily because the fire and rescue service has a core mandate and responsibility of handling fire situations. Apart from the roles mentioned above that would be handed the fire and resc

ANIS 1006B Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

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Finance,measurement.procurement in construction Coursework

Finance,measurement.procurement in construction - Coursework Example on boards on the listed contractors, which will indicate the projects they have accomplished, and the experience in terms of duration of engagement in similar projects. During the invitation to bid, contractors are provided with the questionnaires to fill in information relating to business details, technical competence and ability, financial ability to accomplish the project depending on the value, environmental issues, insurance cover and previous work experience to accomplish similar scope of work. The potential contractors will fill in these details and provide information from their perspective and records as to the expected potential to accomplish the project. As the consultant for the client, I will be able to verify the information provided by the contractors after reading through their respective questionnaires. Financial position of the contracting firm will be revealed from the bank statements while the existence of the business can be found from the list of registration of such companies. Technical ability of the contracting firm is revealed by inspection of their equipment and machinery for the intended work. Representatives do the inspection from the consultants firm visiting the premises of the bidders while listed assets of the contractor can also provide such information. UEL project for L & H is to provide procurement services require high technical ability as well as financial strength. Based on these requirements, the most effective tendering procedure would be restricted tender. Capable contractors can be identified then invited to bid for the works (Amos 2004). Through this process, they will be able to find bids only from contractors with the technical ability, financial backing and previous work experience to successfully accomplish and deliver the works according to the scope of work. The construction of the subway requires technical knowledge and the necessary machine for excavation and setting of the three rail lines required as well

Risk management in British Airways Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Risk management in British Airways - Essay Example The overall process has been designed in a manner that it remains an iterative process wherein the changes and implementation of the existing and new risk management practices are scrutinized on continuous basis.( Goh, 2011). British Airways (BA) has a separate Corporate Risk Management Group in place which not only oversees the organization wide risk management practices of the firm but is also involved in managing internal control systems of the company. The Corporate Risk Group is overseen by a management board and senior key executives to ensure that the involvement of the key senior managers remains so that required improvements could be achieved and the process is managed strategically. The existing risk management practices of BA involve not only the identification of the key risks and their drivers but also their mitigation and management. The overall process is monitored at the Board Audit Committee level and involves senior management to provide an independent review and in sight into the risk management practices of the firm. Current Risk Management Process The current risk management process and its infrastructure within the organization are based on a combination of independence and authority. BA has put in place a separate risk management group which has the overall responsibility of managing the corporate risk affairs of the firm. The group is headed by the Head of Corporate Risk and Internal Controls and oversees different aspects of the risk management process. Further, there is a supervisory management board which comprises of the key senior managers of the firm to provide strategic insight and ownership to the strategic management process within the organization. (Rothwell, 2011). Company maintains a corporate risk register which is actually used for the purpose of identifying the risks and recording them for the purpose of review and assessment. The overall assessment process is based on quarterly reviews wherein the management board as well as the senior managers along with the Corporate Risk Managers evaluate the existing and new risks and determine the future course of action. It is also important to note that this is the highest level within the organization which actually assess and outlines the risk management processes within the organization. The work is further distributed to the individual departments and risk leaders within each department responsible for the management of risk at the departmental and individual level. It is also important to note that the risk at the individual level is measured through an internally developed matrix called Heat Map. Heat Map takes into account each individual risk based on its likely impact and the overall likely scale.1 This therefore allows BA to map its overall risk identification process according to the overall importance and impact of the risk on the organization. Once the different critical risks are identified, mitigating factors for managing the risk are identified and are each risk is individually managed. A report is finally produced which attempt to address different risk issues and responsibilities and accountabilities are than fixed at the individual level to ensure that the overall process is delegated to the lowest level of the organization. It is also critical to understand that this report usually do not contain the mapped results and critical actions required to be undertaken. This is purposefully done by BA in order to

Security versus privacy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Security versus privacy - Essay Example High security standards mean detailed checkup of individuals and hence a privacy concern. We needed to change our policies to cater for the changing threat scenarios. These came with an unavoidable trade-offs to be made between security and privacy, therefore, leaving room for supporters of each value to debate policies and applications. Security, however, should be preferred over privacy, as it ensures smooth functioning of our national system and guards our economic investments. It ultimately provides us with a threat minimized environment to practice our civil rights. Being the major entry or exit points, airports need a filtration system to ensure our own protection. Security should, therefore, be preferred over privacy concerns while checking passengers. However, since the two values are interlinked, a balance must be made to address concerns of privacy while maintaining desired level of security. This balancing must not overrule security requirements, but find ways within proce dures to settle privacy concerns as much as possible. The paper will look into the issue by incorporating sources from the web, reports and personal experiences and takes into account, concerns by advocates of privacy. Security is considered as the most overpowering aspects to any value, such as privacy. Survival is our most quantified preference and we need survival to enjoy any other aspect of our lives. Security measures have far reaching physical and psychological aspects than visible to our naked eye. These measures reduce terror threats and provide us with psychological security to give us the freedom to enjoy our lives. It may be argued that this security comes at a cost of our privacy, but in fact it provides us with psychological freedom to practice our civil rights and freedom privately, at a fraction of inconvenience. Airport security systems are the best examples to evaluate the

Social analysis of urban experience and sustainable tourism Essay

Social analysis of urban experience and sustainable tourism - Essay Example Urbanization in itself is a complex subject and has experienced a lot of social, environmental, commercial and geographical changes in the process of its evolution. Rapidly increasing population and globalised trade policies enforced the states to strengthen their industrial power.Consequently it led to the concentration of country population towards the industrial hubs shaping in big cities with dense population resulting in over exploitation; a major cause, threatening global biodiversity. (Wilcove, Rothstein, Dubow and Losos 1998). The urbanization had often faced anti - urban expressions from contemporary social-theorists. Besides the luxurious life, urbanization erased the originality of the indigenous and traditional system leading to social malfunctioning. It is estimated that a quarter of the endangered vertebrates in the United States of America and half of the endangered mammals is attributed to overexploitation (Primack 2002). 2. Urbanization and Society The process of urb anization deserves credit for its role in initiating Meritocracy ( Kamolnick 2005). Michael Young defined the term as; the rise of the meritocracy favors intelligence, aptitude and merit above all (Young 1958). The increase in the industries, created a large number of job opportunities lowering unemployment. Along with that the concept of capitalism has played a key role in urbanization and development of sophisticated technology in the world. However, these good sides of the urbanization carry equally dangerous ill-effects in the society and environment which is harmful to social system and nature. There is an extreme necessity of the sustainable development, mostly giving emphasis on sustainable tourism. As Pattullo and Orely (2009) asserts, the number of tourist trips in the year 2007 was some 900 million. And by 2020, it is expected to reach 1.6 billion making tourism $8 trillion industry employing 1 of 10 world workers. Simultaneously, such a huge increase in the number of tourists has resulted in some adverse ill-effects in the urban life experience, such as: 1. Cities are filled with mismanaged crowd resulting in over population. 2. Uncontrolled noise and air pollution due to huge nu mber of vehicles in the cities challenging public health in cities. 3. Increase in unmanageable garbage resulting in a dirty city environment. 4. Increase in prostitution and drug dealing, so to fulfill the demand of the tourists. 5. Cultural and ethical values in city life have been endangered due to its frequent exposure to foreign population. 6. Increase in security problems in cites, due to unaccountability of tourists giving easy entry to the terrorists and other criminals. As a result of the above mentioned factors, the urban life has changed into a suffocated one. However, to maintain the economic conditions, people are forced to stay back; otherwise they would have been seeking for peaceful options to live their life. Let us take, India as an example: In 1986, the first known case of HIV was diagnosed. Later that year, sex workers began showing signs of this deadly disease. It is learned that these foreigners were the ones responsible for the first infections (aidsindia 2011 ). At the end of 2009, India had 2.39 million people living with HIV (Times 2010). 3. Urbanization and sustainable development We have already discussed the environmental issues which are serious concern for many countries as urbanization is rooted all over the world. The only need is to construct the urban areas into habitable and sustainable cities. For this, we need to identify the urban problems and its solutions to reform it and also find out the ways to prepare the cities for sustainable tourism. To achieve such aims, there are some key-points to follow: To teach the people about garbage management. To provide more attention to conservation of natural resources. Preferring Eco friendly industries and machines that function without disturbing ecosystem. 4. Role of institutions and

Psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 23

Psychology - Essay Example Teachers tend to select boys more often for special services. There is little information about the effect of family SES on the selection process and it is contradictory. More parental involvement and student engagement have a positive effect on the selection process. The study included 441 girls and 465 boys all in the sixth grade. Teachers and students filled out questionnaires in the classroom. The teachers reported the students’ need for services. They also filled a Teachers Report Form which reported students’ behavior and psychological problems. Additionally they assessed the parents’ interest and their own cooperation with parents. The students reported how satisfied they were with their academic achievement and interest in school. They reported their family SES by the occupation of their parents and whether they had been unemployed in the past six months. The results showed that there was in fact a gap between need for and access to the services. The gap was largest in remedial instruction and smallest in psychological counseling. The only difference according to gender was in the remedial instruction where more boys had not received this remedial instruction and this was because of budget cuts. Only in psychological counseling were there reasons beside budget cuts for the lack of access to the services. In general the study showed the factors that affected each type of service. These were in remedial instruction- lower family SES, lower parental involvement, lower student engagement all predicted a higher need for services; for Special Ed. services- male gender, lower family SES, lower parental involvement, internalizing symptoms and lower student engagement all predicted higher need for services; and for psychological counseling- male gender, lower student engagement and below average academic achievement all predicted higher need for services. Yet the factors that influenced

States and Territories of India and Chandigarh Essay Example for Free

States and Territories of India and Chandigarh Essay Chandigarh is a city and union territory in India that serves as the capital of two states, Haryana and Punjab. The name Chandigarh translates as The Fort of Chandi. The name is derived from an ancient temple called Chandi Mandir, devoted to the Hindu goddess Chandi, near the city.[3] The city of Chandigarh was the first planned city in India post independence in 1947 (pre-independence planned cities include Dispur in Assam, New Delhi in Delhi, Jaipur in Rajasthan, etc.) and is known internationally for its architecture and urban design. [4] The city has projects designed by architects such as Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Jane Drew, and Maxwell Fry. The city tops the list of Indian States and Union Territories with the highest per capita income in the country at Rs.99,262 at current prices and Rs.70,361 at constant prices (2006–2007).[5] The city was reported in 2010 to be the cleanest in India, based on a national government study,[6] and the territory also headed the list of Indian states and territories according to research conducted using 2005 data by Human Development Index.[7] The Union Territory, Chandigarh lies in the foot of the Shivalik Ranges and shares its capital, Chandigarh city with that of Haryana and Punjab. Chandigarh finds Haryana in the East and Punjab in the North, West and South as its neighbours. After independence and partition of India in 1947, the capital Lahore of Punjab state had fallen in Pakistan and hence a need to construct a new capital was felt. Eventually, French Architect Le Corbusier was selected to design the new city, as a result of which, India saw its first planned city, Chandigarh, that acquired its name from the temple of Chandi (goddess of Shakti) and the adjoining garh (fort) to the temple. This cosmo-politan city, Chandigarh represents the flavour of modern India in its architecture, culture and life style. Well planned wide roads, spacious residential colonies and square markets take you to visit a completely different side of India which is affluent, systematic and serene unlike the metros and big cities of the country. The splendid view of Shivalik Hills guarding the city furtively is what makes Chandigarh even more charming.

Global Warming Essay Example for Free

Global Warming Essay Discuss the challenges that global warming presents to both governments and business Introduction (250 word approx.) This essay discusses the challenges that global warming presents to both the government and also how they affect businesses. Many people think global warming is just the weather becoming warmer, but in fact this is not the case. Global warming makes the weather more unpredictable as some places become colder, some hotter, some more drier, some more wetter and so on. Global warming is defined as basically how the greenhouses gasses affect the climate of the earth, which significantly effects agriculture and ecosystems (whatisglobalwarming, 2011). Too much greenhouse gasses have a negative effect for example higher sea levels, higher temperatures and variable climatic conditions. The main cause of greenhouse gasses is the use of fossil fuels. Our usage of fossil fuel is shown from the table 10.1 by Wetherly and Otter (2nd edition) that is linked to the population growth of 3.6bn to 6.1bn from 1970 to 2000. Furthermore, oil, gas and coal also shows that it has increased considerably over the past thirty years. The increase in population and the demand for consumer goods has also lead to the biggest increase in GDP (Gross Domestic Product) by 165% compared to 69% increase in population in the same period (Wetherly and Otter, 2nd edition). The impact on greenhouse gasses has definitely been proven with environmental monitoring showing depletion of the Ozone Layer, the Ice Cap and the increase in the earths temperature, all of these have a knock on effect of the world’s food and water supplies. Impacts on Governments (500 words approx.) The government have put many declarations in place starting off with the Rio Declaration Environment and development. In 1992 the Rio declaration was introduced with 27 principles for the future sustainability and development around the globe (United Nations Environment Programme, n.d). The government also signed an agreement with the new Agenda 21 which is a plan that the United Nations has taken globally in which human’s impact on the environment (UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2009). Kyoto protocol (2005) creates obligatory emission reduction targets below 1990 levels but only for industrialised countries (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, n.d) Why do governments why do they need to do something about  greenhouse gasses Reducing allowance on fossil fuels (limited resource) Reduce reliance on unsafe energy resources (nuclear fukashema2011, Chernobyl1982, exxon valdez1989)all results in death and eco systems. British government European commission (Emissions Trading Scheme) European Union Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EUEPBD) Our government has set itself a target to reduce its c02 emissions to check points at 2020 and one at 2050. Climate change act 2008 (where GB is at) CRCEES climate reduction commitment energy efficiency scheme. They have introduced incentives for renewable energy (feed in tariff FIT, renewable heat incentive RHI. Impacts on Businesses (500 words approx.) Global warming is always an ever- rising significance for business strategies. Manufacturing businesses will be most important with keeping up to date with legislations and laws with the amount of carbon dioxide and other dangerous gases permitted into the atmosphere. The European Unions Emission Trading Scheme has effects on businesses as they have to pay a certain percentage to the government on the amount of harmful gasses they produce into the atmosphere (PUT SOURCE IN). Airlines especially were affected by this. (FIND EXAMPLE) Businesses also have Cooperate Social Responsibility which merges into the global warming aspects. Many customers now expect from businesses ways in which they are keeping the environment green. Marks and Spencer’s introduced there Plan A in 2007 where they set out 100 commitments to achieve within 5 years (Join the Green Shift, 2011). (EXPLAIN MORE MAYBE?) Similarly to Cooperate Social Responsibility, The impact on businesses such as Tesco and there voluntary actions of providing solar panels to a selected few stores gives not just the business money saving on electricity, but also helps the environment. Although  £100 million has been ploughed into sustainable environmental technology (Professional Engineering, 2006), they will also give customers a better experience knowing they are in an eco-friendly store giving them more potential business and gain more market share overall. Cost to them of complying with government legislations Cost saving exercise (recycling) Carbon trust standard ISO 14000(1) Industry labelling, eco labelling Conclusion (250 words approx.) Governments are taking action Governments introduced legislation Performance is what X level, businesses are taking action Businesses are taking action in the economic climate because its saving money Businesses are taking advantages of renewable energy incentives Bibliography: What is Global Warming (2011) What is Global Warming [internet]. Available from: http://www.what-is-global-warming.com/ [Accessed 28th April 2012]. http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?documentid=78articleid=1163 http://www.un.org/esa/dsd/agenda21/ http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/items/2830.php Tim Smedley (2011) JOIN THE GREEN SHIFT. [Internet] June, p24-28. Available from: http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=4hid=19sid=be8cfe39-80ab-4250-b8f6-426c3a8176f4%40sessionmgr10bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=buhAN=61763919 [Accessed 1st May 2012]. Professional Engineering (2006) Tesco to go down the eco-energy route. [Internet] March, Volume 19, p7. Available from: [Accessed 1st May 2012].

Consequences Of Cell Phone Use While Driving English Language Essay

Consequences Of Cell Phone Use While Driving English Language Essay Cell phone use while driving should be illegal everywhere because 1) it causes major distraction, 2) it can cause harm to the driver and others near the driver, and 3) it shows negative influence on young people. In more ways than one, using a cell phone while driving has been proven to be a dangerous thing for people to do. The cases of fatal automobile accidents, related to cell phone use while driving, have risen dramatically over the past few years. The majority of these accidents are younger people, usually 25 years of age and younger. A new study confirms that the reaction time of cell phone users slows dramatically, increasing the risk of accidents and tying up traffic in general, and when young adults use cell phones while driving, theyre as bad as sleepy septuagenarians (Britt). David Strayer, a psychology professor at the University of Utah says if you put a 20-year-old behind the wheel with a cell phone, their reaction times are the same as a 70-year-old driver who is not using a cell phone. Its like instantly aging a large number of drivers (Britt). The use of a cell phone while driving causes more negative incidents than positive incidents. It causes road rage from other drivers, traffic jams, minor accidents and even fatal accidents: According to the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, the journals publisher, cell phone distraction causes 2,600 deaths and 330,000 injuries in the United States every year. . . . Drivers talking on cell phones were 18 percent slower to react to brake lights, the new study found. In a minor bright note, they also kept a 12 percent greater following distance. But they also took 17 percent longer to regain the speed they lost when they braked. That frustrates everyone. . . . Once drivers on cell phones hit the brakes, it takes them longer to get back into the normal flow of traffic. The net result is they are impeding the overall flow of traffic. (Britt) Now, after looking into more research, it seems that cell phone use while driving is more dangerous than most people make it out to be; teenagers seem to be the worst at this. The cell phone has many applications on them now days and some are more distracting than others. For example, a young girl is driving down the road at 55 miles per hour and her cell phone rings. She reaches across the car to grab it, takes a quick look at the screen to see who it is, looks back up and sees she is about to rear end another vehicle. Even though her reaction time is slowed from normal, she slams the breaks on just in time to avoid a major collision. Only minor damage is done to both vehicles and luckily no one is hurt. This young girl only took a quick look off the road, but still put herself and others in danger. Now, another young girl is driving down a road, in a school zone, doing only 15 miles per hour and her cell phone goes off as well, only hers is a text message from her boyfriend. She lo oks down at the screen, eyes off the road, same as girl number one, only her eyes are off the road for a longer period of time. She takes time to read the text, only to briefly look at the road, and looks back at the screen to send a text message back. With one hand on the wheel, one hand on the cell phone, texting, and her eyes on the cell phone, she hits a young child and her mother walking across the street. This accident just so happens to be a fatal one. Next, let us talk about hands free cell phones. People may and probably will argue these are not dangerous or distracting at all, but in fact, they are just as distracting. Whether a person is texting or just talking, their concentration is broken. People think that if they are just talking and listening, with eyes still on the road, not taking them off, that they are just as alert as a driver not talking on a cell phone. According to Strayer and his colleagues, those people are wrong. This is what Strayer and his colleagues found: In 2001, they found that even hands-free cell phone use distracted drivers. In 2003, they revealed a reason: Drivers look but do not see, because they are distracted by the conversation. The scientists also found previously that chatty motorists are less adept than drunken drivers with blood alcohol levels exceeding 0.08. (Britt) A man named Arthur Kramer, who led an Illinois study, stated these words: With younger adults, everything got worse, . . . . Both young adults and older adults tended to show deficits in performance. They made more errors in detecting important changes and they took longer to react to the changes' (Britt). It was documented by Robert Roy Britt, the publisher of this article, that the impaired reactions involved seconds, not just fractions of a second, so stopping distances increased by car-lengths. A study, done by Strayer, showed the following results: The latest study used high-tech simulators. It included people aged 18 to 25 and another group aged 65 to 74. Elderly drivers were slower to react when talking on the phone, too. The simulations uncovered a twofold increase in the number of rear-end collisions by drivers using cell phones. Older drivers seem to be more cautious overall, however. Older drivers were slightly less likely to get into accidents than younger drivers, Strayer said. They tend to have a greater following distance. Their reactions are impaired, but they are driving so cautiously they were less likely to smash into somebody. But in real life, he added, older drivers are significantly more likely to be rear-ended because of their slow speed. (Britt) Not only is it a problem with the younger people using cell phones while driving, but older people as well. Even though, the older people had better reaction time, it is still dangerous, regardless. No matter how cautious a person is, a distraction is a distraction. It takes away from the important things that need to be focused on and still poses threats and dangers to all those involved. Okay, let us focus on texting while driving. As said before, texting while driving takes a lot more concentration than just simply talking. Not only does it take a persons mental concentration away, but physical concentration as well, also known as the eye site. It takes more time to text someone than it does to simply answer a call. People are killed in fatal accidents due to the use of cell phones while driving and the rise in numbers is just ridiculous. In Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, a young girls mother was killed, while driving, but she was not the person using the cell phone, the other driver was. A story, done on this accident, by Doug Warner from News 9, seems to have touched some peoples hearts: Jennifer Smiths mother was killed at a northwest Oklahoma City intersection less than a year ago. You never know how irreplaceable your mother is and how much of you your mother is. The day your mother passes away, youll never be the same, Smith said. Linda Doyle would have turned 62 this past Sunday. But on September 3, 2008, she was hit and killed on Northwest Expressway by a driver who was distracted by his cell phone. Every day I want to yell at people and tell them to put the phone down, Smith said. Now Lindas smiling face is on billboards across the country including one along Interstate 40 near downtown, which towers above drivers who continue to risk Death by Cell Phone. Awareness is always the best approach up front to see if you can get people to change habits, but some youre not going to get to, said David Koeneke with the National Safety Council. Koeneke said the billboards arent the perfect solution but are certainly a step in educating the public to the dangers of mixing cell phones and driving. Smith, who often returns to her native Oklahoma City, hopes to help warn Oklahoma drivers and make a difference in the state by sharing the facts, like how texting and driving is considered worse than drunk driving. I dont want to be on the road with 100 million drunk drivers, Smith said. Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, Colorado, New Mexico and Texas have all passed some level of cell phone restrictions. Missouri and Oklahoma have not. Smith said she isnt sure what Oklahoma is waiting on. In Oklahoma, I know all the bills have been thrown out or squashed, and Im just hoping when they see the neighboring states are doing this, that theyll jump on board, Smith said. It seems like you have to hear the horror stories before changes will be made, Im afraid. Horror stories like Linda Doyles death by a cell phone. My mother is gone and Im only 35, Smith said. Chris Hill, who caused the crash, never served a day in jail, but he said he now lives with a heavy burden for the rest of his life. Right then, I was screaming, witnesses coming up holding me up because I couldnt handle it. I knew what had happened. I knew right then I had killed her, Hill said. After reading a story like this, one would think it would convince more people to take more caution with using cell phones while driving. Sadly, it does not really do anything. People will show sympathy and say things referring to how awful it is that something like that happened, but just as soon as it is all said and done, the majority of them are already back on the road . . . using their cell phones while they are driving. In addition to the previous statements, what other things are said about cell phone use while driving. For instance, the cell phone use, or as some call it, multi-tasking, has been referred to as aggressive driving. Dr. Leon James says this about it: There is a tendency to think that multi-tasking while driving is the cause of driver inattention or distraction. This belief leads to demands for new laws that restrict or ban the use of in-car communication devices such as phones and computers. But the correct argument is that multi-tasking can lead to driver distraction when drivers havent properly trained themselves to use the new car gadgets. This is true for older devices like the familiar radio and CD as well as the new, like GPS, phones, and e-mail. So its true that multi-tasking becomes the occasion for drivers to make more mistakes, when they fail to train themselves properly. This increased training is a joint responsibility of the individual driver and the government. Multi-tasking behind the wheel is a matter of degree and all drivers are responsible for determining when they need additional self-training activities. When drivers overstep this line, they become socially and legally responsible. Drivers who allow themselves to be distracted by their multi-tasking activities are increasing the risk factor for themselves and imposing that dangerous limit on otherspassengers, other drivers, pedestrians. This increased risk to which others are subjected is thus similar to other driver behavior that are considered aggressive and illegal: going through red lights, failing to yield, exceeding safe speed limits, reckless weaving, drinking and driving, driving sleepy or drowsy, road rage, etc. Even though Dr. Leon James believes this: But the correct argument is that multi-tasking can lead to driver distraction when drivers havent properly trained themselves to use the new car gadgets, the so-called multi-tasking should still become illegal. No matter how well-trained a person thinks they are at multi-tasking while driving, their concentration is still broken and taken away from the road. As soon as a person takes their eyes off the road to answer a call or respond to a text, they are automatically putting their lives and everyone elses lives around them, in danger. How many people are going to have to be seriously injured or even killed before people start to realize how dangerous cell phone use while driving actually is? People run red lights, break speed limits and go all over the road when intoxicated. The same things happen when people use cell phones behind the wheel, so what exactly is the difference? The majority of automobile accidents, mainly during the daytime, are caused by the distraction of the cell phone. Jennifer Claerr published an article in May of 2007 about the dangers and effects of cell phone use behind the wheel. Jennifer found this: A recent study has shown that while dialing was found to be the most common cause of crashes (one has to take his eyes off the road to dial) the simple act of talking on a cell phone, even on a headset, was a proven distraction and caused accidents. Cell phone users are four times more likely than non-cell phone users to be involved in an accident. In these studies, the conversation itself was as distracting as dialing or calling up messages. People who talk on a cell phone while driving develop an extremely narrow focus, and become unaware of many of the things happening around them on the road. (Claerr) After taking a look at just this excerpt, it should make people think. There have been many people that have been either cut off, been hit, or have been close to being hit by a driver using a cell phone. Claerr expresses another opinion of her own that most people should most definitely agree with: A lot of advocates of cell phone use while driving cite that some studies have shown the total number of accidents and fatalities from cell phone use is small. However, they miss the point. Cell phone use while driving is a totally unnecessary activity, and if even only one fatality is caused by it, the practice is unacceptable. As a result of people using cell phones while driving, kids, parents, and people of all ages are being hurt and even killed. How do people expect to drive safely when their attention is focused on other things besides the road and other drivers around them? As a result, many people are hurt badly and even killed, on a daily basis because of the distractions caused by cell phones use while driving. How many fatalities are going to happen before people realize how dangerous their habits can be? How many children are going to have to lose their parents, or for that matter, how many parents are going to have to lose their children before this danger can be stopped? No one will ever know the answer. All that can be done, as of now, is to try the best ways that can be done.