Essays about Nation.

Disasters most commonly elicit the response of city, local, state, and federal aid agencies to meet the mitigation of destruction during various phases of an emergency event. Public health legal authority, during a hazardous substance discharge, may call for both public and private agency involvement. Thrusting personnel and materials in the area must operate under the auspices of inter-jurisdictional protocol and legal authority. The objectives in this written exercise are to alert the learner, in anticipation of future professional behavior, about gaining an understanding for legal protocols in public health/hazardous emergencies while maintaining the highest levels of public safety during a disastrous event – involving dangerous substance discharges. In an effort to explore questions pertaining to the assigned case study, this essay seeks to posit descriptions, and explanations for procedural legal authorities in an emergency response situation.

Background: Question 1 & 2

At the outset it is important to present a brief overview of the definition of law, in matters of public health authorizations and preparedness. Kamoie et al. (2008) states that law can be defined “as a rule of conduct derived from federal or state constitutions, statutes, local laws, judicial opinions, administrative rules and regulations, international codes, or other pronouncements by entities authorized to prescribe conduct in a legally binding manner” (p. 23). In the event of a mass-casualty bio-chemical event a Governor can declare an emergency under the legal authority of health agency directives, for types comprising “natural disaster,” or those associated with public health disease/emergencies, according to a document Fact Sheet published by The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (Emergency Declarations, Authorities”). Since according to Kamoie et al. (2008) law is a key component of the legal public health core.

So as the situation warrants, the Governor may declare such given an assessment of the dire urgency in bio-chemical type of disaster. Although, under the Public Health Service (PHS) Act the Feds may establish such declaration. The criteria and procedures for requesting emergency response aid from state/local jurisdictions obviously varies from region to region. However, the general process allows the Governor to: (a) declare the status of emergency for a specific period of time, (b) act within state rules/regulations, and (c) coordinate/request help from neighboring states usually under authority of federal agencies gathering logistical, financial, and “technical assistance” (“Emergency Declarations, Authorities”). The extent of help and exact funding from federal government, must be coordinated.

October 1, Train Derailment: Questions 3 & 4

When multiple jurisdictions are affected by a disaster of the burgeoning greenish-yellow toxic chem-cloud formations (from the train wreck), communications are the key to releasing authorities. Inevitably, the CDC will be involved at the federal level. But as Kamoie et al. (2008) note, “at the state level, the primary legal authority to respond to emergencies has been the police power,” to act as arms of the state to regulate protections for “the health, safety, and welfare of citizens” (p. 24). This might be viewed as a first-line of immediate security. Of course, common sense dictates that some of the key legal concerns regarding first responders and volunteers, would be their safety and legal qualifications. But, just as the case of 9/11 demonstrated, first responders at the local level are on the scene initially. In critical ways, they are the key link to administrating crucial communications to multi-jurisdictional authorities and federal agencies.

The local sheriff’s office will most likely coordinate the police powers and localized actions of authority to secure the area from onlookers, and interested panicked people from further clogging up the access pathways to the areas immediately affected. In coordination of HAZMAT teams, in consideration of the gas plumes quickly proliferating and spreading, a series of communications systems will be implemented, with local Fire Department and local Public Works Department. As demonstrated in a real-life case as documented by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), in a similar train accident, fire, “heat, smoke, and fumes had restricted access to the tunnel for several days” (“Railroad Accident Brief, 2004, p. 1). The conditions involved a similar flooding, with multiple millions of gallons of water having burst from a water main. As in the case pertaining to our case study question, the situation cited in this Railroad Accident Brief which occurred in Baltimore, Maryland, the train of course was in motion at the time of derailment, having had “eight fully loaded tank cars containing hazardous materials” – all of which were “regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)” (“Railroad Accident Brief, 2004, p. 1). As indicated in the initial paragraph of this Question-Section, communications in these types of public health emergencies are critical. Chief dispatchers and communication centers necessitate a variety of coordinated responses including: site evaluations, assessment of toxins, analysis of potential for explosions, prevention of further damage/injuries, and charting clear legal permissions for authorizations to act.

October 1, Health Consequences at Valley High School: Questions 5 & 6

Competencies and responses are at urgency levels when students begin to experience symptoms of toxic poisoning, especially with maximal exposure to chemical contamination from the nearby train derailment. Given the factor that deaths have already ensued, with a plethora of 9-11 calls to the local hospital, obviously the situation calls for immediate action. The Governor must proceed along the proper criteria for declaration of a state of emergency in the area specifically constituting a public health emergency. The actual local procedures for the Governor may demonstrate an urgent approval by the legislative body and/or State executive officers (“Emergency Declarations, Authorities”). Also, within the rubric of the situation it may additionally be necessary to declare an emergency of several types, in the areas of both public health and disaster depending upon how that particular State jurisdiction is established to respond.
What constitutes a public health emergency? According to federal authorities, a public health emergency is defined by the statute under portion 319 of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act as aforementioned. The situation is described as involving disease or any type of urgent public health disorder, which may also include “significant outbreaks of infectious disease or bioterrorist attacks” (“Public Health Emergency Declaration,” 2015). The federal government extensively lists all such examples which may include, but not be limited to, tornadoes, floods, flu outbreaks, hurricanes, or anything threatening to spread contaminants of disease or toxins.

Mutual aid agreements can be used both during an absent an emergency declaration, but smartly responding to the situation within common-sense legal awareness. In the clear absence of an officially authorized emergency declaration, there are options for improvement of legal competencies. In a scholarly journal article on this aspect, Gebbie et al. (2008) that four key issues may outline a framework. Authors Gebbie et al. (2008) explain that the first such area considers an expansion of sectors requiring “competency in public health law and public health legal preparedness” (p. 53). In other words, since legal ramifications can be complex, as well as the involvement of professionals in critical public health roles, each sector of stakeholders should have identifiable competencies. For example, in the case of the people actually dying within four hours of the train accident, the National Guard may need to exercise evacuation at some point, and the CDC and Red Cross may need to exercise their organizational responses. Therefore, mutual aid agreements can be used and applied in the absence of a declared state of emergency, by adhering to local laws so deemed enforceable on the local or State level on the basis and scope of best practices under the locally deemed jurisdictional statutes. Use of all readily available assessment tools, diagnoses, legal/police protections, and quarantines so available must be coordinated by such mutual aid agreements.

October 1, Further Information: Question 7a, 7b, & 7c

At this point, it is understood that the Fire Chief himself has been nearly overwhelmed by the fumes after arrival on the scene. It is also clear at this juncture that communications have been impaired. The legal and operational considerations which influence the decision to call for an evacuation is due to the ‘Red-Alert’ situation. In the case of the nursing home facility being unable to move their elderly for 24 hours, demands that communications seek another immediate route. Since the disaster has, thus far, rendered contamination covering two states an emergency outreach utilizing the communications system (temporarily) of the third adjacent state – which has not, up to this point been affected. The legal and competencies factors should be considered when deciding upon a shelter-in-place for evacuation. For example, reliance upon the professional expertise of the nursing home director who insists that the elderly dwellers cannot be moved before 24 hours, demonstrates his practical certified competency in his field. Another key factor to be considered, is whether the third state (which has not been affected) can lend help with communications while possibly creating an emergency horizontal community of responders. Gebbie et al. (2008) suggest this method to “stimulate the development of best legal practices in public health emergency preparedness for specific communities and specific types of emergency events” (p. 55). Granted, it would have been wise to have formed the coalition before disaster struck, but an urgent cooperative effort is actually beneficial to the entire hinterland, so as to retard the spread of disaster.
The requirements of the elderly and other special-needs populations must be addressed in terms of speed, safety hazards in moving them, and the quality of evacuation location shelters once there. The requirements are addressed by assessing their numbers, and the availability of suitable evacuation locations, and competent medical or care teams, in addition to police protections – until the National Guard may be authorized and deployed. Choosing between mandatory or voluntary evacuation orders is a common-sense call. For example, in the case of Valley High School students, they need to be evacuated immediately – due to the severe and present implications of illness and because of their dangerous proximity in terms of exposure to fumes. Also, they are young and able-bodied enough to more quickly respond to evacuation than the elderly. An alternative measure may need to seal off the nursing home, and administer oxygen masks temporarily until they can be moved.

October 1, Review of Legal Authorities for Evacuation: Question 8

According to FEMA, on the federal level the agencies so designated enforce or authorize an evaluation or actual shelter-in-place order are as follows. FEMA, DHS, and the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy, Health & Human Services, Justice, Transportation, Veterans Affairs, GSA (General Service Administration), American Red Cross, and two others (“Mass Evacuation Index”). Obviously, if no emergency has been declared yet by the Governor in a dire situation the Red Cross may be the best road for immediate action.

October 1, Governor Requests Plan Review & Coordination: Questions 9 & 10

Continuity of the courts and justice system must infallibly and meticulously maintained, despite any emergency disaster situation of the most hazardous nature. The way such legal system of courts and jurisprudence are ensured is to follow the step-by-step guide plan which include typical goals of reducing disruptions to operations, continue court essential function, preserve rule of law, minimize loss of life, help secure preservation of equipment/facilities, and designate specified personnel so that clarity of who is in charge is maintained (“Continuity of Court”). State and national coalitions are in place.
In terms of supplying medical services on the spot, and preservation of an orderly atmosphere at medical care facilities in proximity of the disaster, team members of planning work together with the agency (such as The Red Cross, or FEMA). According to the same aforementioned report, they proceed to “identify possible service providers,” which for example may be the local Department of Health & Human Services division (p. 25). In this way, the logistics can be sufficiently ironed out and kept orderly, by assignment of obtaining additional staff, properly communication channels, and assurance of staff roles and competencies. Competencies are very important in this type of case. When one considers the seriousness of a train and multiple-vehicle derailment over water with leakage of dangerously toxic chemicals, that are airborne, timely coordination and competencies are key.
In fact, in the literature, one journal article breaks down the importance of improving competencies in a public health emergency situation while maintaining focus on legal protocols. Gebbie et al. (2008) indicate that “disseminating competency information to key target audiences,” and “improving measurement and evaluation of practice impact” are two vital areas which must be adamantly addressed in terms of framework for the agenda at hand during such emergency (p. 52). Obviously, when the communications were experiencing trouble in the immediate area of the emergency disaster outbreak in our case study, it was learned that to act quickly with flexibility by using the communication infrastructure of the unaffected state. Once that gap had been closed and control of the situation ensures a smooth recovery of communications, rescue and legal stakeholders may proceed. In this context, the law can function better and decide if isolation or quarantine stipulations must be implemented, in accordance with the right professionals and those authorized to play critical roles in the situation.

October 1, Mass Evacuation Order & Concern for Displaced Persons: Questions 11 & 12

At this point, the Emergency Operations Center along with the Governor has decided to order a mass evacuation. Given assistance by local law enforcement agencies, a house-to-house will be conducted. It is important to know the local legal requirements in the jurisdiction to apply public health emergency management care like food, water, shelter, and medical care. The CDC has mandates for the handling of such. Accordingly, the local government and personnel must abide by the Federal Code of Health and Safety Code Section 34070-34072. This mandates contractual provision for “recognized community organizations” to step up to the plate with provisional shelter, care, and food (“Guide for Local”). The coalition partnership works and functions cooperatively with the Red Cross to help citizens, until (or if) national disaster responders may be mobilized.
Local businesses need safety protections as well. Each local jurisdiction may have slightly differing guidelines in place, in terms of the minute details. But the CDC outlines in its guide the general procedures for ensuring that homes and businesses are safe particularly before allowance that people return home. Local law enforcement agencies and the Fire Department play key roles in assessing the situation, while the probability of federal troop intervention may be deployed to help, depending on governmental agreements in planning.

References

Association of State and Territorial Health Officials – ASTHO. (2015). Emergency Declarations and Authorities [Data file]. Retrieved from http://www.astho.org/Programs/Preparedness/Public-Health-Emergency-Law/Emergency-Authority-and-Immunity-Toolkit/Emergency-Declarations-and-Authorities-Fact-Sheet/
CDC.gov. (2015). A guide for local jurisdictions in care and shelter planning [Data file]. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/ehs/Docs/Guide_for_Local_Jurisdictions_Care_and_Shelter_Planning.pdf
FEMA. (2015). Mass Evacuation Incident Index [Data file]. Retrieved from http://www.fema.gov/pdf/emergency/nrf/nrf_massevacuationincidentannex.pdf
Gebbie, K.M., Hodge, J.G., Meier, B.M., Barrett, D.H., Keith, P., Koo, D., & Winget, P. (2008). Improving Competencies for Public Health Emergency Legal Preparedness. Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 3652-56. doi:10.1111/j.1748- 720X.2008.00261.x
Kamoie, B. Pestronk, R.M., Baldridge, P., Fidler, D., Devlin, L., Mensah, G.A., & Doney, M. (2008). Assessing Laws and Legal Authorities for Public Health Emergency Legal Preparedness. Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 3623-27. doi:10.1111/j.1748- 720X.2008.00256.x
NCSC – National Center for State Courts. (2015). Continuity of Court Operations [Data file]. Retrieved from http://www.ncsc.org/~/media/Files/PDF/Services%20and%20Experts/Areas%20of%20expertise/Emergency%20Preparedness/toolkit.ashx
National Transportation Safety Board. (2004). Railroad Accident Brief [Data file]. Retrieved from http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/RAB0408.pdf
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2015). Public Health Emergency Declaration [Data file]. Retrieved from http://www.phe.gov/Preparedness/legal/Pages/phedeclaration.aspx

Introduction

One among the accepted reality in international relations is the prevailing recognition of the idea that terrorism is the weapon of the weak. This is further reinforced by the shocking turn of events on September 11, 2001 where a group of terrorist coordinated a series of bombing in the United States. However, many political analysts argued that terrorism is not solely associated as resort taken by the weak to get their messages across, rather, it also a means by which the strong impose their will on the former. While this may not be generally accepted, defining terrorism would shed

Abbreviated as DHS, the Department of Homeland Security was specifically created with the goal of responding to terrorist threats within the borders of the United States of America. The development rather the establishment of the DHS followed the terrorist attack that took place on September 11, 2001. Hence, the mandate of the DHS is primarily to protect the territories of the United States including its Ambassadors’ residences abroad. However, the mandate of the DHS extends beyond just terrorism to accommodate instances of natural disasters and man-made accidents (DHS, 2015). The annual budget of the DHS is estimated at between $

Where other global businesses falter, IKEA succeeds. Founded 76 years ago in a small Sweden town, Almhult, the company has become the world’s largest furniture retailer. IKEA’s business model and well-designed home products have been replicated globally en masse. The company’s largest market is Germany, followed by the US, France, the UK, and China. This college essay on IKEA can be viewed as a case study of service excellence, and, consequently, commercial success. After a brief introduction to the company’s history, several questions will be tackled the most salient of which is the following: is IKEA’s success a function of marketing, culture, or human resources? It will be argued that the behemoth of furniture shopping has made multiple successful forays into the global market due to its insistence on the promotion of Swedish culture. The idea of the proud little nation with admirable work life balance and inimitable wholesomeness appeals to consumers around the world. For this reason, IKEA stores are regarded by customers as spaces of acculturation rather than manifestations of corporate greed writ large.

Introduction

The Meaning of Cyberbullying and the Purpose for This Report
Cyberbullying is a new way in which students, and sometimes adults, choose to harass or verbally assault another student or adult. It can take on many forms, like direct messaging on social media sites like “facebook,” “twitter,” or ever growingly more popular “snapchat.” Indirect messages about the victim can be posted on the assailants page without the victim even knowing about it until after the whole school is made aware. Far more rare, moreover far more disgusting, is when a physical attack on the victim occurs, is filmed, and then posted online, or shared via group messages on the phone. To make matters even scarier, the Supreme Court, earlier this year, ruled on a case, virtually making it impossible to make social media, other than email or text messages, to be admissible in any court for the purpose of proving that harassment has occurred.

How This Report Will Affect the Readers

This report will affect the readers in multiple ways. It will help to bring light on a growing problem. Provide students with the information they need to know about cyberbullying, and hopefully provide instructors with enough adequate information to know when cyberbullying may, in fact, be occurring, and arm these instructors with the tools needed to potentially sit down with a student when the signs are recognized to see what is needed to resolve the situation. The Supreme Court (wusa-9.com, 2014) may have ruled that social media is not admissible in courts, but that does not mean that there cannot be consequences in a school setting. Moreover, hopefully by showing the results of the surveys and research conducted, students who have participated on the negative end of cyberbullying can see the harm they have caused, and might want to rethink how they act in the future. Hopefully the victims will know that they are not being ignored.

The Background

It is no longer kids being stupid and knocking over a kids lunch tray, or the after-school fight in the playground. The days of good old-fashioned bullying and abusive hazing are over, and have been replaced by new forms of bullying, forms that completely dehumanize the victim, often times leading to severe injury, severe, self injury, lifelong mental and emotional instabilities, and even suicide.

According to the huge development in the internet in the 21st century, it leads the whole world to the next stage of development, changing everyone’s living habits. When the time that social media became more common to the world, people could contact others with more convenience and more effectively, which prevents the delay from distance, via social media. Moreover, social media allows people to share their thought to their friends and even strangers.

Unfortunately, the increased use of social media as the primary source of communication is directly related to the increased aggression and bullying of others. Based upon the statistics from National Center for Education Statistics, there has a huge increase in numbers of students reported being cyberbullied-from 6.2% in 2009 to 9% in 2011.
The fact that occurs increased in aggression and bullying is the account creating for accessing social media only require few information about the user. People leaving comments with rude and violent without responsibility caused a big wound to the objects. The worst case scenarios end up in suicide. Many of these are by the LGBTQ community. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (c 2015) and Stern (2014), 46 percent of trans men and 42 percent of trans women in the United States have attempted suicide. This is compared to the national average of 4.6%. One of the most notable cases of this was the suicide of Megan Meier, at the age of twelve, because she was being cyberbullied by the parent of a girl who felt Megan was ignoring (Meier Foundation, 2015)

The Way the Issue Will Be Presented

The issue of cyberbullying will be presented to the reader methodically and scientifically, with original methods and data introduced by myself, and I will include reports, statistics, and data from other sources that will substantiate what I have found.
The main objective of my research is to understand why people be more aggressive on the internet atmosphere. The next step is to find out what kind of platform people use most to share their thoughts, via random-order survey questions to analyze the reason why people are more aggressive, and do so with as much accuracy as possible.

With a better understanding of the reason of the aggressive comments in social media, the research will move to the next objective: finding out how many people have ever suffered from the comments on social media, and get a better idea of what kind of comments made them suffer the most in order to help with the last objective be more accurate.
The last objective is find out the possible way to reduce cyberbullying in the future as a result of the research; suggestions will conclude with experts’ professional viewpoints, and from data retrieved from several reliable sources and compared with the results of our testing. From there, we will hedge off a discussion of what can be done, and what absolutely needs to be done, both on this campus, and in a larger context.

METHODS

How the research and Survey Were Conducted
First of all, I will ask the marketing department of Washington State University to help with my surveys since the department has a mature system to provide surveys.
Second, I will collect the data from surveys randomly, on the campus of Washington State University, targeting included students, employees and professors.
Third, I will look at other studies and surveys conducted throughout the country, and inspect to see if anything has been done by the government to control this issue. In addition, I will explore the various mechanisms that sees social media sites have in terms of recourse for abusive conversations.
Fourth, I will contact administrators of difference social media via email, social media and phone call to collect as much as possible about the numbers of people have experienced cyberbullying. The data collected from those social media admins could help with the analysis of my second and last objective mentioned above.
In order to be accurate in the data collection from surveys, it is necessary to get help from the experienced department in the surveys area. Washington State University’s (WSU) marketing department provided a perfect place to students at WSU for getting help on survey constructing.
Constructing an effective survey is always the most important part of work, so that the very first thing I did is arranging a meeting with WSU’s marketing department in order to complete the survey as soon as possible. Fortunately, it took only a short time waiting for the responses from the marketing department. We had the first meeting the day afterward, although the survey completion took extra time because not many people were working in the department. During the meeting with them, I have noticed that the survey I brought was far from perfect, so I rewrote my surveys under their professional suggestion. In addition, the surveys became clearer and shorter which allowed people doing surveys with more enjoyment.

I started the survey collection immediately right after the completion of surveys. Since then, I have gathered data from given out surveys to random people in campus as the plan. So far I have already gathered 753 people’s surveys, yet it was falling behind my plan. However, people in campus was enjoying to do the survey for me since the survey is well written under the recommendation from the meeting with WSU marketing department.
Besides the work on survey construction and data collection via surveys, one of the main progress I presented at the proposal is gathering information about cyberbullying from the administrators from different social media platform. When the time I was arranging meeting with WSU marketing department, I researched the top social media online at the same time. The top social media included Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest, Google Plus, Tumblr, Snapchat, Meetup, etc I tried to contact them with the administrator through the contact they left at the sites. There were a few administrators replied my message. I will definitely look for a new approach.

How Was Data Collected

Random Question Survey:
The Survey contained the following closed ended questions:
What is your status here at WSU?: Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior, Graduate, Post-Graduate, Faculty, Staff
What social media venues are you aware of?: Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, Snapchat, Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn
Have you ever felt bullied over any of these social media outlets? yes, no
What site(s) were you most likely to encounter bullying? (same choices as question 2)
Have you participated in actions that may have been perceived as hurtful via social media (remember this survey is anonymous): yes or no
do you identify as a minority racially? yes or no
do you identify as a member of the LGBT community? yes or no
has any abuse you may have encountered caused you to feel depressed? yes or no
Other:
Approximately twenty hours of online research to see what studies have been done regarding the issue at hand, whether or not there are solid data collection points, and whether there are viable solutions to the problem, such as in-school consequences, grade detriments, etc.

RESULTS

The first problem I met with was efficiency. On campus in the summer session is a lot slower than other times. I planned to complete writing the survey within two days, yet it ended up taking three days because the people working for the marketing department are fewer than the fall and spring semester.
The second issue was also time related and similar as the first problem. As I was already two weeks past my funding permission granted, only 753 surveys were gathered, far behind my expectation when I was writing my proposal. On the basis that the summer session in WSU has a lot fewer students taking classes in campus, I found it difficult to ask people to do surveys for me when the population in Pullman is low, unlike the fall and spring semesters. It absolutely slowed my step in moving to the next stage of my project.
The last problem I encountered is the difficulty of contacting the administrators of different social media. Based upon the platform of social media mostly contained their own mature system of message, it creates a complicated environment for me to contact them via e-mail or phone call. It took a lot more time to find out how to contact those administrators through their platform; in addition, a few social medias required extra time to register accounts in order to send private message to the administrators.

The Findings

What is your status here at WSU?:
Freshman: 38 (5%); Sophomores: 37 (5%); Juniors: 151 (20%) Seniors: 188 (25%);
Graduate: 105 (14%); Postgraduate 151 (20%); Faculty: 75 (10%) Staff: 8 (1%)
What social media venues are you aware of?:
Facebook - 100%, Twitter - 100%, Google Plus - 58%, Snapchat - 47%, Pinterest - 73%, Instagram - 70%, LinkedIn - 20%
Have you ever felt bullied over any of these social media outlets? yes, no
yes - 512 (68%); no - 241, (32%)
What site(s) were you most likely to encounter bullying? (same choices as question 2, only for people who answered yes)
Facebook - 100%, Twitter - 90%, Google Plus - 84%, SnapChat - 70%, Pinterest - 0%,
Instagram - 10%, LinkedIn - 0%
Have you participated in actions that may have been perceived as hurtful via social media (remember this survey is anonymous):
yes - 48%; no - 52%
do you identify as a minority racially?
yes - 32%; no - 63%; no answer - 5%
do you identify as a member of the LGBT community?
yes - 8% no - 79%; no answer - 12%
has any abuse you may have encountered caused you to feel depressed? (for those who answered yes)
yes - 73%; no- 25%; no answer - 2%
Outside Findings:
According to nobullying.com (2015), the main reasons for cyberbullying are as follows:
1- People with weight problems
2- People with Disabilities
3- People who belong to racial or religious minorities
4- People who are LGBTQ or perceived as LGBTQ
This is a great chart indicating what types of bullying take place across a plane of ages, socio-ecomonic classes etc, by Docstoc.com:
What Was Learned
I learned that although there is extensive research done on suicide and its prevention, outside of this study, and probably other university studies/surveys done, not much is really known about the true impact of cyberbullying.
I found that though many people were honest on this very private and quick survey, under other circumstances, cyberbullying goes underreported. I wish that in a broader scope, I could find ways to measure the reasons for why this is so; will add more subjectiveness in discussion.
I learned that cyberbullying is a huge problem here on campus, but questions were not asked regarding whether the bullying took place before or after coming here, and whether the assailants were also people that went to go to school here, though, the the survey indicates, assuming honesty, that at least a good portion of the cyberbullying that may be occurring here.

Conclusion and Discussion of Results

Perhaps the most shocking part of this research is how little concreteness there is regarding cyberbullying. I was saddened that the survey conducted was the most finite we could find, and even then, it was largely inconclusive for the reasons discussed above. I have been a victim of cyberbullying myself before coming to WSU, and when I reported it, I was met with doubt and a feeling of uncertainty on the part of faculty and parents on how to handle what happened. It is very clear that with easier access to other people in a much more personal way, bullying has become easier than ever for the bullies, and it seems to be out of control. Without consequences of some kind, it will continue to be just as big of an issue.

Recommendations

More studies need to be conducted throughout universities, high schools, and even grade schools, so we can come up with more concrete results of how big of a problem cyberbullying is, why is it such a problem.
Psychologists and Sociologists need to be invited into this battle more, to get behind why the targets (those being bullied) are being bullied. Considering the demographics that get bullied, we need to look into the minds of those doing the bullying. Perhaps rehabilitative steps, and harsher consequences will allow for these students to really consider the potential harm they are causing their fellow students.

Not mentioned in the survey results for the sake of this paper already being way too long, is the breakdown of age groups. Those who were in the graduate - faculty and staff range, although making up about half of the survey numbers, also accounted for the least amount of cyber-abuse (and thus were excluded from answering a lot of the more important survey questions), suggesting a gap between educational level and such abuse. Some of the postgraduate students and faculty appeared to be members of my generation, however age was not a question in the survey.

Furthermore, more conclusive results, we can make more suggestions to faculty about how to respond to clear incidents of bullying on college campuses, high schools and grade schools. Having more concrete evidence of the damage done to the individuals who are victims of cyberbullying can lead us to knowing how to better give the support that these victims need, both as fellow students, and as faculty.

Works Cited

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. www.afsp.org. Our effectiveness in preventing
suicide ultimately depends on more fully understanding how and why suicide occurs. 2015. Web. 2015.
Contributors. www.nobullying.com. The Complicated Web Of Teen Lives. 2015 Bullying
Report. June 2015. Web. 2015.
Bohanna I. & Wang X. Media guidelines for the responsible reporting of suicide: a
review of effectiveness. Crisis: Journal of Crisis Intervention & Suicide, 33(4): 190–8. 2012. Print. 2015.
Burdine, N. www.wusa9.com/. Supreme Court hears social media and free speech case.
TEGNA Company (Washington D.C.). Dec. 2014. Web. 2015
Megan Meier Foundation. MEGAN TAYLOR MEIER. Meganmeierfoundation.org. 2015
web. 2015.
Public Domain. www.docstoc.com. Bullying Behavior chart. June 2010. Web. 2015
Stern, M. www.slate.com. What Drives So Many Trans* People to Suicide?. Jan 2014.
Web. 2015.

Abstract

The contemporary globalized environment poses numerous challenges for business to achieve success. In this regard, various dimensions of globalization become more and more entwined and companies need to adapt to these changes. One of the most complex aspects is the socio-cultural dimension which requires systematic and multi-stakeholder involvement. The aim of this paper is to address the case of IKEA and its approach to resolving the issue of child labor used by its suppliers in India. Consequently, the rationale for IKEA’s approach is outlined with further implications for the company and global businesses in general. IKEA’s case demonstrates the new trends in globalization and business conduct which require multi-dimensional cooperation towards the sustainable development as a precondition for the successful business performance of a company. From the perspective of the local population, the primary benefit is long-term commitments of the international corporations and the consequent stability of the local socio-cultural development and economic growth.
Key words: IKEA, child labor, globalization, corporate responsibility.

IKEA’s Response to Global Challenges

In the contemporary globalized and internationalized world, of the company to achieve success it has to address numerous issues except the quality and cost-efficiency of its production. To achieve success, a company has to consider diverse political and cultural aspects of its business conduct and manufacturing of the final products. Although this concern becomes essential in the contemporary business environment, it can be incredibly challenging to fulfill monitoring across various branches located in around the word. On the other hand, in order to preserve a successful and continuous profile, the company has to make sure that its profile is integral across all branches and cooperation with suppliers corresponds to its profile and values. The aim of this paper is to address the issues of globalization and continuity of company’s profile in the example of IKEA and its child labor issue in India.
Although globalization poses numerous economic benefits for a business to expand, optimize its manufacturing capacities in the third world, and reduce cost of the final product, globalization also has numerous threats and challenges that company has to deal with and develop a consistent approach within its strategy (Smith, 2010). In this regard, a company also has to address such dimensions of globalization as political, cultural and ecological. In other words, having a strong public profile in the country of origin is no longer enough for one’s success. The company also has to demonstrate the consistency of its public profile on the global scale. In other words, the company has to abide by the rules and public perceptions of the country of its origin or according to the international standards also in other countries in order not to damage its image (Spinello, 2014).

IKEA had a negative experience of being criticized for some of its carpet supplier from India using child labor in carpets production. The company faced with cultural and political-legal challenges posed by globalization. Moreover, unlike nowadays, when a company has various cases and strategies to follow in resolving such issues, IKEA faced the problem when the issue of child labor was quite new in the business environment and consequent options for its handling were limited (Smith, 2010). In this regard, the available options branch manager Marianna Barner could choose from included cancelling contract with suppliers, withdrawing from the market or addressing the issue in some way. The first two options would mean financial losses, while the last one had very little certainty in its application (Spinello, 2014). On the other hand, the issue could not be ignored since media programs on the subject had already damaged company’s image before.

The primary threat of such issues on the global scale is that the national image of the company can be easily damaged and its core values challenged. For IKEA that placed equal access to its products across various categories of society, equality and humanness were the core of its philosophy. Moreover, the relationship with suppliers was based on the crucial principle of using sources in an unconventional way. Thus, giving up on suppliers would have been damage to that principle and could result in further deterioration of relations with other existing suppliers (Vogel, 2006).

The most functional resolution of the issue is to preserve company’s presence in the country and continue doing business but in a new way. In this regard, the company would have to develop its own way of dealing with the matter in accordance with the international law and company’s concept and values. Barner did the right choice of getting involved with the national and international organizations dealing with the issue of child labor. This gave her and the company the relevant knowledge of the issue and related aspects such as age differences of children allowed working in different countries, local legislature, a relationship between child labor and schooling (Spinello, 2014). In this context, IKEA created a precedent how other companies have to deal with similar issues – promoting the higher standards through cooperation with the local NGOs, international organizations and local suppliers:

organization promoting the well-being of children. Together with UNICEF experts,
local governments and NGOs, IKEA started an ambitious and large-scale project
aimed at improving education, recruiting for schools and raising awareness among
parents that education is important for their children. In order to decrease
dependency on child labor, a microcredit program was started mainly aimed at
strengthening the economic position of women” (Jeurissen, 2007, p. 135).
Moreover, as part of this response, the company introduced zero-tolerance policy regarding suppliers using child labor. For these purposes, monitoring workshops with suppliers in the target countries were introduced and strict rules were imposed. If the instance of child labor was found and not resolved, IKEA would cancel a contract with its supplier and would not conduct business with the anymore (Vogel, 2006).

IKEA’s solution of the issue is incredibly functional in dealing with various dimensions of globalization. It is three-fold in its nature. First of all, the company preserved its image and projected its values on the global scale. Secondly, it demonstrated the Western public that it follows the same standards in all countries were its conducts business, thus the company kept its customers. Finally, IKEA as an international company demonstrated its long-term commitments in the various foreign markets and moreover responsibilities with the local communities (Smith, 2010).

The last aspect is particularly essential since there is a tendency in the global business to demonstrate long-term commitments to the local communities rather than simple gaining profit schemes. In this regard, international companies accept the tendency of merging of different global dimensions and corporate responsibility in terms of development of the local communities (Vogel, 2006). The main benefit for the companies is that they build a functional relationship with the local people and also contribute to the improvement of the sustainable development of these communities. In a long-term perspective, these communities will become more functional labor force with desired skills and also future consumers of the companies’ products.

Stakeholder dialogue and co-operation are important ways for business to shape

their social responsibility, since businesses are often partially responsible for causing
a social problem. However, business cannot solve problems by themselves they did
not cause by themselves, so it is important to seek collaboration with others. An
important mechanism within these partnerships is that different parties can mutually
influence the conditions of their performance” (Jeurissen, 2007, p. 135).
Thus, the essence of IKEA’s response to the child labor issue with its suppliers was to take on board as many stakeholders as possible in order to address the issue in the most systematic and functional manner. A similar approach was taken by Marriott International that placed the cultural differences and traditions in the heart of its global strategy (Spinello, 2014). In this regard, cooperation with various stakeholders aimed at improvement of life through work with Marriott International made it one of the most desired working places in the hospitality business (Vogel, 2006).
Overall, from all mentioned above it can be concluded that with the strengthening of global trends, companies have to pay more attention to their socio-cultural commitments in the communities they do business in. IKEA’s approach was in involving numerous stakeholders and treating the issue in its systematic and contextual complexity. IKEA’s approach became a precedent in the field of child labor and an example to follow by many international companies.

References

Jeurissen, R. (2007). Ethics & Business. Assen: Royal Van Gorcum.
Smith, C. (2010). Global Challenges in responsible Business. Cambridge: Cambridge
Spinello, R. (2014). Global Capitalism, Culture, and Ethics. New York, NY: Routledge.
Vogel, D. (2006). The Market for Virtue: The Potential and Limitations of Corporate Social
responsibility. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution.

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