Product Development Processes and Profitability †MyAssignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about the Product Development Processes and Profitability. Answer: Introduction The following report discusses the business-to-business marketing strategies. Any successful B2B strategies should be geared towards the lead generation. B2B (Business to business) marketing is a marketing of product to business or other organizations for use in production of goods, for the purpose of general business operation. The present report focuses on the B2B marketing of the product called Komatsu excavators PC 5500-6 produced by Komatsu Ltd, which is a Japanese multinational firm that manufactures construction, mining and military equipment. The report presents the target market of the selected product. In order to learn the efficiency of the product a SWOT analysis of the business has been conducted. Likewise, with other strategic management tools each element of B2B marketing has been presented and discussed considering the product. Komatsu excavators PC 5500-6 is one of the largest excavators, which is costlier than other excavators because of its extended features. Moreover, the price is not the only concern in the target market, the maintenance cost is another significant factor that buyer has to consider while purchasing the product. Geographic segmentation- PC 5500-6 is considered to be placed in the Asia-Pacific nations such as Australia, Singapore, Canada, China, Maldives and some other nations that come under Asia Pacific regions. China and Australia are certainly nations with highest economic stability in Asia and because of this economic stability, several large domestic and international firms are running the operation there. Therefore, the focus should be on the large size companies of construction and mining sector of Australia and China. These markets are apt for the proposed product because China and Singapore has the increasing record of successful construction and mining activities (Mller, 2013). Moreover, China and Australia are largely involved in the urban development projects where the construction companies are in the need of such excavator product. Demographic segmentation- Asia Pacific nations are widely involved in the urban development products due to growing and stable economic position. Many large companies are undertaking the large construction and projects. For example, constriction contributed 37265 CNY HML in the third quarter of 2017 from 22326.30 CNY HML, which is certainly a significant opportunity for Komatsu Ltd to produce product that facilitate construction operation in China (Hong et al. 2016). As put forward by Bouchet et al. (2011), increasing in volume in the construction sector, which has been the hit on several fronts. This growth in the construction fuels up the competition from overseas. Target market- Target market of Komatsu Ltds new product is Asia-pacific nations where the economic stability is high. Particularly, the firm should focus on the large size construction and mining firms that undertake long-term projects. Certainly, in order to place and promote the product in the market, the organization Komatsu Ltd. needs to develop a partnership with another established organization in the target market-Asia Pacific. Komatsu could select a firm from the target market that has wide popularity or increasing market acquisition. For example, Komatsu and Cummins partnership could work effectively to promote and place the product in Australia. Cummins has wide presence in the market due to the categories of products such mining trucking, passenger transport, oil and gas, retail and others. Outing the SWOT analysis for the business Strength Unique and extended features of PC 5500-6 differentiate the product from other excavators (Komatsu Ltd 2017). Bucket breakout force and the operating weight makes it possible to conduct large digging operation If the purchasers of the product- large companies have strong presence in the market, Komatsu Ltd finds it easy to promote and sell the product. Weaknesses Small and medium size companies are largely involved in construction and mining projects but due to high purchasing cost and the cost of maintenance, those small and medium size firms will not be able to purchase PC 5500-6 The target market for selling or placing the product is limited. There are many economically developed nations that undertake construction and mining projects and many large firms might need such unique product for their long-term operation. However, as the market reach is limited, the firm Komatsu might not gain the estimated profits. Opportunity The organization might observe a strong and sudden growth in the business, as the launch of Komatsu Excavators contribute to constriction projects of residential building boom in the recent years. Moreover, the large organizations in the construction industry in Australia find a new way to continue the operation with innovative equipments, which again creates a growth opportunity for the purchasers. Eventually, there can be an effective relationship between the purchasers and the supplier. Threats Mining and constructions are one of the growing sectors that extended projects. Thereby, there are several manufacturers in the market and they can produce the substitutes of the product, which can be a biggest threat for Komatsu Ltd. Table 1: SWOT analysis Outlining the marketing objectives for the product The launch of a new product certainly creates operational changes in the organization (McNally, Akdeniz and Calantone 2011). Whenever, an organization is supposed to launch a new product in the market, there should be an effective purpose for the initiative. The following are some of the key objectives for the proposed product. To create some a strong market presence in the target market To increase the market share both in existing and new market To increase the profit margin by launching the product successfully In order to remain active or sustainable in the market, it is necessary for every organization to give or produce something new in the market. An organization could create a strong impression in the market by launching a new service or product. The construction and mining sector in Australia are having a strong base in the recent time. Therefore, the launch of this new product could fulfill the growing needs of the market. Thus, the accomplishment of this objective could create a strong market presence. An organization may not be able to expand the business remaining the same existing market (Dibrell, Craig and Hansen 2011). The organization has to increase the operation in a new market as well. In order to enter a new market, the organization has to produce a new product or service. Therefore, to enter new market regions Komatsu needs to produce a new product that meets the market needs. Thus, it can be anticipated that accomplishment of this objective could help the firm to maximize the market share. To increase the profit margin by launching the product successfully The accomplishment of this particular objective could help to increase the profit margin of Komatsu Ltd because the proposed product is expected to be embraced by the customers in the target market. The organization Komatsu has been following an integrated global strategy for decades, which involved product diversification, price competitiveness and product quality. The proposed product Komatsu Excavators PC-5500-6 has the highest quality features such as the extend size, bucket and Digging capacity and long dimensions that certainly differentiate the product from others. Such useful product contributes to Komatsus long-term globalization strategy, which in turn aims at making the organization a global leader in the sector. Moreover, useful and unique features of PC-5500- 6 remains as its primary strength over the rivals products. Furthermore, the core competency of PC-5500- 6 excavators have been discussed with the help of VRIO Framework in the following. VRIO framework Value Is the product able to meet the market needs and create new ways for increasing customer base? -YES Rarity Is the capability and features of the products rarely observed?- YES Imitability Is the product difficult to imitate? -YES and will there be any firm to create cost advantage by developing or duplicating the product? -NO Organization Is the firm organized, ready and able to exploit the market by launching PC-5500-6? -YES Table 2 : VRIO Framework According to this particular standard of the above-presented analysis, Komatsus internal strength, which distinguishes itself as competencies are its vertical backward integration. Moreover, the launch of the new product remains as the global long-term strategy, which certainly retains a highly competitive position of the organization in many segments against the competent rivals. Target market: The large organizations in the construction industry who are stuck with the traditional digging operation, now can find a new way to speed up the operation, as Komatsu Excavators PC-5500-6 provides unique features, which enables the construction and mining organizations to undertake the long-term projects. Unlike traditional excavator producer, Komatsu Ltd provides a combination of extraordinary features, which remains as the most comprehensive selection of the customers. Core competency: For todays long-term construction project, PC-5500-6 remains as the most needed machine that enables the firm. Unlike the other excavator machine, the capacity of Komatsu Excavator PC-5500-6 is having the digging capacity up to 15300 mm along with the bucket breakout force of 160000 kgf, which certainly distinguishes the product from any other excavator. Reasons to believe: The organization Komatsu Ltd already has a strong presence in the market and the core principle of its manufacturing operation is innovation. Unlike other mining and construction equipments, Komatsu always produce the products that fulfil the essential needs of the market. Formulating the product mix According to Das and Chowdhury (2012), product mix is also known as product assortment, which is the total number of product lines that an organization offers to its customers. An organization may have several products under the same product line as well. Likewise, there are several categories of products are found in Komatsu product portfolio. Width: The width of Komatsu Ltds product mix pertains to two different type of product lines such as Construction, mining and Utility Equipment as well as Industrial Machinery and others. Thus, the product mix width of Komatsu Ltd is two. The construction, mining and utility equipment includes Construction and Mining Equipment, Forklift trucks, recycling equipments, tunneling machines and the forest machines. Depth: The depth of Komatsus product indicates one three different variation for each product category. However, like every other organization, Komatsu depth of product variation includes size, capacity, power and other features. Consistency: Komatsus product mix could be consistent in distribution but largely different in use. For example, construction and mining equipment of Komatsu are many in numbers but they need to be used in a different way. Describing the service strategy for this product Komatsu Excavators PC-5500-6 is a unique product developed for mining and construction and it can undertake any long and depth mining project. The product has two different types of engine and that are Diesel Engine as well as electric engine; therefore, the product certainly needs careful instruction when it would be used. Selling the product to the target customer is not the only job that organization has to do. To build an effective relationship with the customers and guide them about the use of the product, the organization should provide a long-term customer support. In order to implement this, the organization could establish a customer service point where the customers ask for repairing the machine if is damaged or affected. Apart from this, the organization could open up an online customer service portal, which would open for 24X7 for the convenience of the customers. The firm should provide 1 year of customer service, which should be added to the purchasing cost. Detailing the service strategy required to meet the customers service need for Komatsu Excavators PC-5500-6 Offering the complete process- In this particular model, the firm could expand beyond the machinery servicing to cover the entire process in which their equipment should play a leading role. This can be done by specialized expertise to save costs for the customers. A strategy focused on the maintenance: With the help of this particular strategy, the industry strategy can be concentrated in service contracts. Hence, the company should aim to increase the rate of penetration and loyalty of customer contracts. The strategy of the organization should be developing the customer relation providing them with a required customer service. Outlining the marketing channels for this product As put forward by Jiang, Henneber and Naud (2011), marketing channels are mainly the ways that goods and services made available for the use by the consumers. All products and goods go through channels for distribution and the marketing could depend on the way goods are distributed. Thus, to distribute the proposed product Komatsu Excavators PC-5500-6 the following channels have been proposed. Manufacturer to customers: Hence, the organization could make and sell the proposed product item to the customers directly with no intermediary such as a wholesaler agent. For example, Komatsu could directly sell the product to the end-user. This might help the firm to minimize the cost of logistic operation. Manufacturer to wholesaler to consumer- In this channel, the consumer can directly purchase from the wholesaler. However, the wholesaler could break down the bulk packages for the resale to the customers. The wholesaler could minimize some of the cost to the consumer like sales force cost, which could make purchase price cheaper for the customers. In the case of Komatsus new product, the organization who buys the product from the wholesaler may have to buy a membership to purchase directly from the wholesaler. Manufacturer to retailer to consumer: in this particular channel, the retailer should make the purchase from the manufacturer. This means the retailer buys the product from Komatsu Ltd and the sells the product to the consumers. However, this channel might not be effective for the organization as the proposed product of Komatsu Ltd is costlier than any its existing products due to the unique and extended features of the product. There could be hardly any retailer act as the intermediary when it comes to selling a large item. Formulating the pricing strategy for this products For the proposed product Komatsu Excavators PC-5500-6, the firm needs to design market oriented pricing strategy, in which the cost of the product should not be higher or lower than the market price. Hence, the competitive pricing or premium pricing should not developed because the maintenance cost of the product is high. Moreover, if the product is sold out to the existing market, the customers have no reason to buy the product pay high price; they rather prefer the similar one offered by other manufacturers. If the price of the product is kept similar to other in the market, the consumers might give a second thought to buy the product, as they will get some unique features at the same market price. Therefore, the market-oriented price for Komatsu Excavators PC-5500-6 could be an appropriate strategy. Unique features associated with PC-5500-6 might attract the customers when the price is fairly aligned with current market price structure of this particular product. Integrated marketing communication strategy is considered as one of the significant marketing element developed at the time of launching or producing a new product in the market Einwiller and Boenigk (2012). Thus, for the promotion and launch of the product Komatsu PC-5500-6, the organization needs to focus on the digital media channels. The digital media presently is one of the fastest and cost-effect communication channels. Digital media channels are effective to cover wide market and millions of people are regularly involved in the channels. Following are the two significant IMC tools that can be used for promoting and selling the proposed product. Social media tools (YouTube, Twitter and Facebook)- Presently, social media platforms is one of the fastest and largest communication medium. Especially, the social media tools such as Facebook and YouTube are widely popular and millions of people are regularly involved in these platforms. Thus, the organization could develop a video that contains the features and importance of the product- Komatsu PC-5500-6 and the content should be on YouTube and Facebook. In addition, the video can be played as the advertisement on other video content. Printed Advertisement (Posters and Billboards)- Printed advertisement is another significant IMC tool effective for the proposed products. It is effective because in the urban areas hoarding, posters and billboards are presented digitally and the posters take wide areas, which certainly grab the attention of people. The firm could print the features of the product in a hoarding or a billboard and publish them to the construction project area ad crowded areas of the city. Outlining the evaluation plan of the marketing plan 10% increase of market share Increase the customer base in first quarter of the launch of the new product Increase in market awareness 10% increase of market share- After the launch of the product, market analytics department of the organization needs to measure the growth of market share. This evaluation process would help to learn whether the market share has increased or not. The growth should be compared to existing market share of the company. Increase in customer base can be measured comparing with the existing customer base of the company. Once the product is launched in the market, both new and existing customers can buy the products. However, the records of new customers would help to measure the increase in customer base. This is one of the significant KPIs, which can generate new sales. Once the product is launched in the market, market analytics could observe how the market is responding to the launch of the new product. In order to meet the above mentioned KPIs , the organization needs to measure the performance of first six months after the launch of new product. Initially, the firm might not be able to reach the desired position in the market,, which means the increase of market share will not as anticipated. However, with the implementation of promotional and communication strategies, the organization might observe the growth. References and Bibliography Bouchet, P., Bodet, G., Bernache-Assollant, I. and Kada, F., 2011. Segmenting sport spectators: Construction and preliminary validation of the Sporting Event Experience Search (SEES) scale.Sport management review,14(1), pp.42-53. Das, K. and Chowdhury, A.H., 2012. Designing a reverse logistics network for optimal collection, recovery and quality-based product-mix planning.International Journal of Production Economics,135(1), pp.209-221. Dibrell, C., Craig, J. and Hansen, E., 2011. Natural environment, market orientation, and firm innovativeness: An organizational life cycle perspective.Journal of Small Business Management,49(3), pp.467-489. Einwiller, S.A. and Boenigk, M., 2012. Examining the link between integrated communication management and communication effectiveness in medium-sized enterprises.Journal of Marketing Communications,18(5), pp.335-361. Elbashir, M.Z., Collier, P.A. and Sutton, S.G., 2011. The role of organizational absorptive capacity in strategic use of business intelligence to support integrated management control systems.The Accounting Review,86(1), pp.155-184. Eriksson, P.E., 2013. Exploration and exploitation in project-based organizations: Development and diffusion of knowledge at different organizational levels in construction companies.International Journal of Project Management,31(3), pp.333-341. Hong, J., Shen, G.Q., Guo, S., Xue, F. and Zheng, W., 2016. Energy use embodied in China? s construction industry: A multi-regional inputoutput analysis.Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews,53, pp.1303-1312. Hutt, M.D. and Speh, T.W., 2012.Business marketing management: B2B. Cengage Learning. Jiang, Z., Henneberg, S.C. and Naud, P., 2011. Supplier relationship management in the construction industry: the effects of trust and dependence.Journal of Business Industrial Marketing,27(1), pp.3-15 Kapferer, J.N., 2012.The new strategic brand management: Advanced insights and strategic thinking. Kogan page publishers. Komatsu Ltd. (2017).Komatsu Ltd.. [online] Available at: https://home.komatsu/en/ [Accessed 1 Dec. 2017]. McNally, R.C., Akdeniz, M.B. and Calantone, R.J., 2011. New product development processes and new product profitability: Exploring the mediating role of speed to market and product quality.Journal of Product Innovation Management,28(s1), pp.63-77. Mller, K., 2013. Theory map of business marketing: Relationships and networks perspectives.Industrial Marketing Management,42(3), pp.324-335. Wheelen, T.L. and Hunger, J.D., 2011.Concepts in strategic management and business policy. Pearson Education India.

Exam 1 Study Guide free essay sample

What was the 2012 earnings per share? a. $2. 33 b. $0. 40 c. $33. 33 d. $2. 50 6. Use the following data to determine the total dollar amount of assets to be classified as current assets. Koonce Office Supplies Balance Sheet December 31, 2012 Cash$ 130,000Accounts Payable$ 140,000 Prepaid Insurance60,000Salaries Payable20,000 Accounts Receivable100,000Mortgage Payable 160,000 Inventory 140,000 Total Liabilities$320,000 Land held for Investment150,000 Land180,000 Buildings$200,000Common Stock$240,000 Less AccumulatedRetained Earnings 500,000 Depreciation(40,000)160,000 Total Stockholders’ Equity$740,000 Trademarks 140,000 Total Liabilities and Total Assets$1,060,000 Stockholders’ Equity$1,060,000 a. $580,000. b. $430,000. c. $360,000. d. $290,000. 7. Using the following balance sheet and income statement data, what is the total amount of working capital? Current assets$ 14,000Net income$ 24,000 Current liabilities8,000Stockholders’ equity42,000 Average assets 80,000Total liabilities18,000 Total assets 60,000 Average common shares outstanding was 10,000 a. $ 2,000 b. $14,000 . $ 4,000 d. $ 6,000 8. Stockholders’ equity is increased by a. dividends. b. revenues. c. expenses. d. liabilities. 9. McKinney Corporation had beginning retained earnings of $2,292,000 and ending retained earnings of $2,499,000. During the year they issued common stock totaling $141,000. What was their net income for the year? a. We will write a custom essay sample on Exam 1 Study Guide or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page $207,000 b. $ 66,000 c. $348,000 d. $273,000 10. The purchase of an asset by paying cash a. increases assets and stockholders’ equity. b. increases assets and liabilities. c. decreases assets and increases liabilities. d. eaves total assets unchanged. 11. Which of the following accounts has a normal debit balance? a. Accounts Payable b. Prepaid Rent c. Retained Earnings d. Common Stock 12. When a company has performed a service but has not yet received payment, it a. debits accounts receivable and credits revenue from services. b. debits revenue from services and credits accounts receivable. c. debits revenue from services and credits accounts payable. d. makes no entry until the cash is received. 13. When a company receives a utility bill but will not pay it right away, it should . debit Utilities Expense and credit Accounts Receivable. b. debit Utilities Expense and credit Accounts Payable. c. debit Accounts Payable and credit Utilities Expense. d. make no entry until the b ill is paid. 14. In a service-type business, revenue is considered earned: a. at the end of the month. b. at the end of the year. c. when the service is performed. d. when cash is received. 15. The following is selected information from L Corporation for the fiscal year ending October 31, 2011. Cash received from customers| $300,000| Revenue earned | 370,000| Cash paid for expenses| 170,000| Cash paid for computers on November 1, 2010 that will be used for 3 years| 48,000| Expenses incurred including any depreciation| 216,000| Proceeds from a bank loan, part of which was used to pay for the computers| 100,000| Based on the accrual basis of accounting, what is L Corporation’s net income for the year ending October 31, 2011? a. $184,000 b. $154,000 c. $152,000 d. $170,000 16. Boyce Company purchased office supplies costing $5,000 and debited Office Supplies for the full amount. At the end of the accounting period, a physical count of office supplies revealed $1,400 still on hand. The appropriate adjusting journal entry to be made at the end of the period would be: a. debit Office Supplies Expense, $3,600; credit Office Supplies, $3,600. b. debit Office Supplies, $1,400; credit Office Supplies Expense, $1,400. c. debit Office Supplies Expense, $1,400; credit Office Supplies, $1,400. d. debit Office Supplies, $3,600; credit Office Supplies Expense, $3,600. 17. On January 1, 2010, Leardon Inc. urchased equipment for $45,000. The company is depreciating the equipment at the rate of $600 per month. At January 31, 2010, the adjusting entry would be: in Accumulated Depreciation is: a. debit Accumulated Depreciation $600 b. credit Accumulated Depreciation $600 c. cebit Equipment $600 d. credit Depreciation Expense $600 18. The closing entry process consists of closing: a. all asset and liability accounts. b. out the Retained Earnings account. c. all permanent accou nts. d. all temporary accounts.

Free Essays on Sound Waves

Sound Waves Sound is everywhere. It plays an important role in almost everything that we do in our lives and we take it for granted. Whether it’s the sound that the wind makes when it rustles the tree branches or the music coming out of our speakers, all sound is composed of little sound waves that are made by slight vibrations. These slight vibrations in any object move the air particles around the object in an outward motion and cause a sound when these waves hit your eardrums. Sound waves come in many different types, shapes, and sizes but they all share the same principles and characteristics. Sound waves are a part of every noise and they are imperative to sound perception. A wave of sound can be considered as a disturbance that travels through some material called a medium, transporting energy from one location to another. (Henderson) Such waves that seem to be hooked onto one another in a straight line are characterized as mechanical waves. When the first particle is disturbed it then moves the second particle on the line because they are hooked together and touching. Once the second particle starts moving, the third will be disturbed by the second particle’s movement and the fourth particle will be disturbed by the third particle’s movement and so on. The vibration will be passed on consecutively and the energy that was first introduced in the first particle will move on and on from particle to particle in that medium. These mechanical waves can best be described as producing longitudinal waves. In a longitudinal wave, the medium would most commonly be the surrounding air particles that vibrate toward a certain direction. The individual particles of the medium will always move in a direction that is parallel to the direction that the energy is being applied. (Kriz) For instance, if someone is talking to another person, the sound waves produced by the vocal chords will move in a direction in which the person is faced. ... Free Essays on Sound Waves Free Essays on Sound Waves Sound Waves Sound is everywhere. It plays an important role in almost everything that we do in our lives and we take it for granted. Whether it’s the sound that the wind makes when it rustles the tree branches or the music coming out of our speakers, all sound is composed of little sound waves that are made by slight vibrations. These slight vibrations in any object move the air particles around the object in an outward motion and cause a sound when these waves hit your eardrums. Sound waves come in many different types, shapes, and sizes but they all share the same principles and characteristics. Sound waves are a part of every noise and they are imperative to sound perception. A wave of sound can be considered as a disturbance that travels through some material called a medium, transporting energy from one location to another. (Henderson) Such waves that seem to be hooked onto one another in a straight line are characterized as mechanical waves. When the first particle is disturbed it then moves the second particle on the line because they are hooked together and touching. Once the second particle starts moving, the third will be disturbed by the second particle’s movement and the fourth particle will be disturbed by the third particle’s movement and so on. The vibration will be passed on consecutively and the energy that was first introduced in the first particle will move on and on from particle to particle in that medium. These mechanical waves can best be described as producing longitudinal waves. In a longitudinal wave, the medium would most commonly be the surrounding air particles that vibrate toward a certain direction. The individual particles of the medium will always move in a direction that is parallel to the direction that the energy is being applied. (Kriz) For instance, if someone is talking to another person, the sound waves produced by the vocal chords will move in a direction in which the person is faced. ...

Compulsory Purchase and Compensation Literature review

Compulsory Purchase and Compensation - Literature review Example There were statutory warnings and objections that were received during this period. In a 10-year period, there was lower than 25% of confirmed CPOs who went to public inquiry (Shaw, 2011). There were many local projects that have got promotions in the last five years. But the compulsory purchase was routed through different channels. The best examples for this were two: one was the Borders and Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine land acquisition, which was for a major railways project. And the other one was the authorization of the Edinburgh trams through private legislation (Shaw, 2011). This was put in force by the Scottish Parliament instead of a CPO (DETR, 2000). In the current scenario, there are some glaring examples which show the decline of CPO usage. First of all, the number of current compulsory purchase is limited. Second, the local authorities have limited rights for decision making and also acquiring the land. The compulsory purchase deployment will probably be increased in the future also (Shaw, 2011). What’s more, the general expertise of the local authorities requires getting a boost so that they can work effectively and efficiently (DETR, 2000). There is separate procedure legislation for crofting that is put into the Act in Scotland (Rowan & Farquharson, 2009) The various bodies are said to assess the claims for compensation which are related to the matters of crofts (Cuthbertson, 2007). When the acquisition is done through an agreement, then the adjudication is done through the Land Court of Scotland while if the claims arise from any of the compulsory purchases, then they are done through the Land Tribunal for Scotland (Barclay, 2010). If someone is seeking for an agricultural or any business property, then the authority is required to pay special attention to the issues that are related to business and farming. When someone is looking to acquire any

Nature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Nature - Essay Example The product claims that its ingredients are 92 percent natural. The image that the advertisement uses to promote its assumptions is the picture of various plants and herbs that are coming out of its bottle. The word â€Å"Naturals† attached to the product name itself gives an illusion that the product is all natural. It also uses the figure â€Å"92% natural ingredients† as part of its packaging design. To call something â€Å"natural† means â€Å"not altered, treated, or disguised as well as in a state regarded as primitive, uncivilized, or unregenerate† (Joltes , par 7). Joltes goes on further to say that â€Å"natural† products are perceived to be â€Å"unprocessed and comes from unrefined ores, minerals, plant materials, or other "natural" sources† (par 7). â€Å"Natural† products are believed to be safe and pure (Joltes , par 14). â€Å"Unnatural† products are the exact opposites of â€Å"natural† products. These are products which are processed and may contain

Child Adoption In England And Finland Social Policy Essay

Child Adoption In England And Finland Social Policy Essay This essay attempts to illuminate the differences and similarities in issues related to child adoption in England and Finland while offering an examination into the contexts in which social workers and associated professionals have to function. While both England and Finland are states within the European Union (EU), they demonstrate distinct and differing approaches to the adoption of children. In Finland along with other countries in Scandinavia, child adoption and the permanent transfer of parental rights is less of a central a concern, or worry than currently so in England where child adoption is featured prominently across a range of professional, political and popular discourses. In terms of social work practice the involvement of children and families, coupled with certain factors of the adoption process have been handled in a distinctly different way between the two countries. This can be seen where in Finland adult adoptees were allowed to gain access to records regarding th eir adoption or their birth parents far earlier than their English counterparts where this was not permissible until much later earlier through the Children Act 1975 (Triseliotis, 1973, p. 1). According to Lowe (2000) in the late-nineteenth century attempts were made to introduce adoption, but it was not until 1927, subsequent to the Adoption of Children Act 1926, that child adoption became legally recognised in England. Since then many factors including; reports, legislation and case law have all had an impact, this has resulted in refined policy and changes in social work practice. More recently media attention has illustrated social workers alleged shortcomings in relation to child adoption processes. In recent years, adoption policy has been influenced by a number of socio-cultural and political factors. During the Conservative government of the 1990s politicians and policy makers made attempts ineffectively to restructure what were viewed as unsatisfactory adoption procedures (see PIU, 2000, p. 31). These services were impaired because social workers were driven by political correctness (Hopton, 1997). The white paper Adoption: The Future was published In November 1993, representing a common sense approach to adoption (Department of Health, 1993). In 1996, the DoH published a Draft Bill with an emphasis placed on child adoption as an alternative to single parenthood during the consultation period. The Bill failed to progress any further due to the General Election in May 1997. With a change in government, the then Prime Ministers (Tony Blair) Review of Adoption was published in 2000 (PIU, 2000). Followed by a White Paper, Adoption: A New Approach (Department of Health, 2000), wh ich was followed by the publication of the Adoption and Children Bill in 2001. The Bill failed to materialise due to the General Election later in the same year. It was however re-introduced in October 2001 and the Adoption and Children Act received royal assent in November 2002. The first Adoption of Children Act in Finland was in 1925, a year earlier than the English equivalent. The present Finnish Adoption Act stems from 1985 followed by an additional Adoption ruling in 1997 which dealt specifically with adoption counselling and inter-country adoptions. Specific to Finnish adoption system is the role of Save the Children originally created in 1945 following the merging of two previous organisations (Homes for Homeless Children which were practicing adoption since 1922 and Save Finlands Children, which was set up after the Second World War in an attempt to help orphaned children). This organisation is now part of the International Save the Children. Save the Children has had an influential position as a provider of adoption services in Finland. In addition to civic welfare bodies, Save the Children is still the only private child welfare organisation in Finland licensed to provide adoption counselling (Pylkkanen 1995) In Finland, adoptions have dramatically changed during the last 30 years, in 1970, 243 Finnish children were adopted through Save the Children. Over the last few years this has decreased to less than fifty. Partly as abortion became more freely available following the Abortion Act of 1970; the number of unplanned children born to young single mothers fell. (Garrett, 2003 p.21). England too has seen a decrease in adoptions, (PIU, 2000, p.10) This may be attributed to the rise in use of the contraceptive pill and the acceptance of single mothers. According to Lowe (2000) The largest decline is in respect of babies (children under the age of 12 months) put up for adoption; in 1968, 12,641 babies were adopted (51% of all adoptions), but only 195 babies were adopted in 1998 (only 4% of all adoptions) According to Bennett (2009) Only 4,637 children were adopted in 2007, the lowest number since 1999. In both states, adoption is far more likely to involve children in public care-or looked after children (In England under the Children Act 1989) who are older, are child protection concerns, or have disabilities (DoH, 1998). This is in part due to the fact that there are very few healthy babies available for adoption. In England there are approximately 60,000 children looked after. (Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), 2007). 62% of these children were removed, on a compulsory basis, from their family. Approximately 1% of all children under 18 years live in foster care, with about 48% in family foster care, 40% are in childrens homes, and the remaining 12% in new formats of family professional care (Kalland Sinkkonen, 2001). In July of this year these statistics were even worse according to sources obtained by Bennett (2009) who claimed that this figure was now almost three quarters of all adoptions, she agrees with the reasoning behind the removal of children form their families stating The increase in alcohol and drug abuse among parents is also a growing factor in care proceedings, with parents often being given several chances to break their habit before children are removed. It may possibly be argued that many of those children in long-term placements should and probably could be adopted, but this is not the overriding view of Finnish society, indeed the dominant view is that of family preservation. Several contributors share the opinion that childrens best interests are met when every effort is made to keep the family together. If foster care is needed, it should always be of limited duration (Garrett, 2003). These views echo FOX HARDING CHECK WHICH PERSPECTIVE AND MENTION Many of these Finnish children in long-term foster care could have been adopted if they lived in England. Evidently, foster care makes it possible for children to keep some contact with their birth family. Unfortunately, this is not always advantageous for the child because of the severe difficulties including both psychological and behavioural of some parents (Quinton et al., 1997). The placement faces the risk of breakdown where the birth parents have sufficiently dealt or recovered from their difficulties, and desire to be a complete family with the return of their child. This may be successful, but may also be short-lived resulting in endless short-term placements. This will have an adverse effect destroying the childs ability to form any meaningful attachments in adulthood. Adoption would offer the child an opportunity to form a stable relationship but this would cut the connections with the birth family. In Finland adoption against the will of the natural parents is far from th e norm. As a result, there are very few contested adoptions. According to the Finnish Adoption Act, the consent of both biological parents is needed before the adoption can take place. It should be noted that there are two exceptions to this; firstly, adoption can be granted if it is believed that the adoption is definitely in the best interests of the child and the refusal of consent of the parents is not suitably justified, secondly, the parents cannot logically express their will due to illness or disability, or if their whereabouts are unknown. Additionally the mothers consent is only accepted after she has recovered from the birth (no earlier than eight weeks). In Finland the feelings and desires of the child are taken into account, this is according to the age and level of maturity. If the child is 12 or older, their opinions must be taken into account. In recent years England has evolved a degree of openness in the adoption process (DoH, 1999, Ch. 5). This is because traditionally in England, the adoption of children resulted in the cutting off of the relationship with the birth mother and birth family. The developments in this area have been provoked through professionals whose opinion that openness is important for the mental health and identity needs of adoptees (Kirton, 2000, p. 108). The ability for English adoptees and their family to gain access to records is relatively recent, in fact as recent as 1973 Scotland and Finland were the only countries in the Western world where an adopted person could obtain information from official records that could help them trace their original parents Triseliotis (1973, p. 1). The move away from high levels of secrecy can also be attributed to adoptees who wanted to find birth relatives (Campbell et al., 1991), birth mothers also campaigned for larger levels of openness in adoption in Engl and (Logan, 1996). These actions coupled with the Natural Parents Support Group, an organisation of birth mothers, who lobbied the UK parliament for a public inquiry into the injustices which occurred through the mass adoption in the 1950s and 1960s (Rickford, 2000, Fink, 2000). The Children Act 1975 gave adopted people over the age of 18 years the right to apply for access to their original birth certificates. The recent openness has enabled in some instances, contact arrangements between the child and birth family after the adoption has taken place (Lowe, 2000, p. 326-329). The Adoption Act 1976 amended by the Children Act 1989, made it compulsory for the Registrar General to set up an Adoption Contact Register in an attempt to make it possible for adopted people to contact their birth parents and other birth relatives. It the opinion of Hughes Logan (1995) that these measures are in part due to the increasing awareness of the importance of post-adoption services. The view in Fin land however has been far more open indeed; Save the Children has mediated between the adopted child and biological parents since the 1960s. It should be mentioned that large proportions of adopted people in Finland still do not wish to seek contact with their original families, usually those that felt disappointment about being adopted inn the first instance (Garrett 2003). This all means that while the recent drive toward adoption being more open is obviously important, it must be recognised that openness is not simple or straightforward. Kalland et al. (2001) shows that mortality rates in Finland for both sexes on the child welfare registry are in excess compared with the general population. Another Finnish study showed aggressive behaviour, delinquency and attention problems were associated with children and adolescents in childrens homes and that children may also be at risk of sexual abuse in these homes with the person responsible for the act often being an older adolescent (Hukkanen et al., 1999). What is important though is, none of these negative instances can be entirely attributed to poor quality or damaging care that children get whilst in public care. Numerous children arrive in these institutions already suffering from been highly traumatised in some cases due to parental addictions. In short, it is not simply the looked-after experience which leads to poor outcomes. Whereas in contrast concerns about the poor outcomes of children who are looked after (Parker et al., 1991) in England such as; ineffective health provision available for looked after children (Butler Payne, 1997), poor levels of educational achievement (Aldgate et al., 1993, Fletcher-Campbell, 1998), the bullying that takes place in care settings, the high pregnancy rates amongst teenagers in care in 2007 there were 360 mothers aged 12 and over who were looked after, an increase of 15 per cent from the previous year, (Corlyn McGuire, 1998, DCSF, 2007), the disappointingly high number of moves from care environment to care environment (Sone, 1997), and the lack of preparation for those leaving care, and poor after-care support (Biehal et al. , 1995) has led to the English adoption system making wholesale reform In July 2000 the then Prime Minister, Tony Blair published the governments Review of Adoption which contained over 80 recommendations. Four of these recommendations focused on plans to; develop and implement a National Adoption Register, drawing up of new National Standards for local authorities to follow, the setting up of an Adoption and Permanency Taskforce to promote best practice and challenge poor performance, and conducting a rapid scrutiny of the backlog of children that were waiting to be adopted (PIU, 2000, p.4).This was followed in December 2000, with the White Paper, Adoption-A New Approach. The aim of establishing a National Adoption Register and an Adoption and Permanency Taskforce were again set out. A national target was to be set with the aim of increasing the number of looked after children adopted. Other processes highlighted in the consultation paper integrated within the plan were to introduce new National Standards for councils and adoption agencies. To enforce these standards, powers were put in place emergency inspections and special measures to deal with problematic service providers. Other plans included, timescales for children enabling a sound plan for their permanent future, this would be made within six months of their starting to be continuously looked after. When the decision was made that adoption was to take place, a new family should be found within a further six months. In an attempt to aid adoptive parents new plans to support them were briefly set out. Other significant measures included: a new legislative option, called special guardianship, this would provide a sense of stability for the child, but fall short of legal separation from their birth parents. Unlike England there is no National Adoption Register and there are no plans to develop and implement one in Finland, a National Register however, could possibly help in advancing research and practice in a Finnish framework. Likewise an Adoption and Permanency Taskforce similar to that of England would be welcomed by many in Finland. Finlands parliament however, have this year voted to give people in same-sex couples who are registered in an official partnership the legal right to adopt the naturally-born child of their partner.(Finnsson, 2009) No further plans to speed up adoptions of looked after children are planned. This is, perhaps, because as suggested earlier of the dominant position Fox Harding again which places an emphasis on family preservation services. There are very few Finnish waiting to be adopted. There are however in contrast, hundreds of couples waiting to adopt a child. There has been some discussion in the media about the intense frustration of these couples. It may take four or five years to have a child adopted. This has raised the notion of an adoption industry which is fed by the child protection system, Regrettably, in many cases, the emphasis has changed from the desire to provide a needy child with a home to that of providing a needy parent with a child. As a result, a whole industry h as grown, generating millions of dollars of revenues each year, seeking babies for adoption and charging prospective parents enormous fees to process paperwork.(Pragnell, 2008) It is also his view that the interests of the child are now the cause of atrocities committed against children and parents by well-meaning and well-intentioned employees of state and related agencies but whose acts are leading to immense suffering for children.

Should Illegal Immigrants Be Allowed to Receive Social Services

Immigration is a large and controversial topic as far as the United States is concerned. However, there is one subject in question that isn’t quite openly addressed and up for discussion, as say border control. American citizens face many difficulties dealing with the admission of people in the United States illegally. The primary obstacles facing the system today include overcrowding in schools, availability of jobs and the unnecessary usage of Americans’ tax dollars. Unless every immigrant pays taxes, I do not believe they should receive health and social services. Some people argue that although illegal, immigrants still pay taxes (Carabelli 2-3). Numerous immigrants get false Social Security numbers in order to find jobs. Having these Social Security Numbers, employers are able to withhold all types of taxes. According to the internal revenue service, â€Å"†¦ about 6 million unauthorized immigrants file individual tax returns each year [thus confirming] estimates that between 50 percent to 75 percent of unauthorized immigrants pay federal, state, and local taxes† [ (Carabelli 3) ]. However, according to the united States General accounting office, a report they did shows that even if illegal immigrants do pay taxes, benefits provided to them cost more than they contribute, causing the United States a huge loss of money [ (Carabelli 4) ] Referring to Table 1, California spent a total of $1,770 million dollars on education, incarceration, and emergency services for illegal immigrants. In contrast, California only received $732 million in tax money from them. California lost $1038 million dollars. Also, Florida spent $461 million dollars in education, incarceration, and emergency services, losing $184 million dollars (Carabelli 4). (Carabelli 118) California tried to keep a handle on the costs of illegal immigrants by refusing to give social services to them. Illegal immigrants in the state were not supposed to be allowed state funded health care, public education, and other benefits. Some people had issues with this proposition; supporters of it made a point that Californians are suffering from the existence of illegal persons in their area and the violence they cause. Legal citizens have every right to safety and protection against these people who have entered the United States illegally from the government [ (Carabelli 6) ]. One of the biggest issues having to do with education is overcrowding in schools [ (Crisis 1) ]. In California, there have been reports of overcrowding to the point that schools are forced to reject students. Some people say there is a deficiency of teachers, but the truth is there are just too many immigrant students [ (Crisis 1) ]. According to usimmigrationlawyers. com, â€Å"The share of students in the U. S. ho are immigrants or the children of immigrants has tripled in the past 30 years; in 1970, they were only 6. 5 percent of the student body† [ (systems 1) ]. Immigrant students overwhelm around fourteen percent of schools by up to twenty-five percent. To accommodate overcrowding, a lot of schools have come up with alternatives to classrooms such as, portable classrooms, and using other facilities like cafeterias [ (systems 1) ]. Sometimes, having class in foreign rooms or places can be a distraction to students, especially if there are other things going on around them. Many towns and cities have resorted to building new schools because of the amount of students they are gaining [ (systems 1) ]. It is hard to keep track of exactly how many illegal pupils are in the school systems and determine the correct amount of funding needed. Some programs used to help educate non- English speakers; help to keep count as to how many there are [ (Carabelli 9) ]. However, other programs aren’t made specifically to meet the needs of Immigrants. Many schools find the need to hire bilingual staff to help immigrants. They also purchase special tools such as books and computer programs [ (systems 1) ]. One source of education, English Language Learner, needs extra funding to help it function correctly. This makes the teaching of immigrants more expensive, especially in areas where immigrants are dense [ (Carabelli 9) ]. One solution that has been brought to the table many times is amnesty. President Reagan signed the Simpson-Mazoli Act in 1986, which forgave about 2. 7 million immigrants for entering illegally, and allowed them to stay [ (Mcmanus 1) ]. The reason for this generous agreement was the hope that it would stop more illegal aliens from coming into the United States. This accord didn’t exactly help the problem. In fact, it became more intense, and more illegal aliens crossed the borders into our country [ (Mcmanus 1) ]. Since the big amnesty in 1986, the US has let about three million additional immigrants in. The authorities responsible for allowing them to stay neglect to admit it was them who did it because it attracted more newcomers [ (Mcmanus 1) ]. Even if the United States attempted amnesty again, it would fail for the exact same reason. Granting them amnesty is giving them what they want and in the long run, that costs the US more money than just deporting them. During the Second World War, many immigrants came across the borders to take the jobs of those who were a part of the army. When the war ended, service men came back to find that most of their jobs were taken, immigrants were committing many crimes that ruined the communities, and their millions of children were enrolling in school causing them to become overcrowded [ (McGrath 1) ]. A lot of people say that immigrants do all of the dirty jobs no Americans would do. However, a study done shows that if Americans were paid a reasonable, average wage, they would indeed choose to do those jobs as well [ (Immigration:Jobs) ] It is fair to say that immigrants have distorted the way people see jobs today. It used to be that citizens would do construction, bricklaying and other strenuous job like those, now it is not uncommon to find a Hispanic or other immigrant doing those jobs. Employers lowered pay for illegal immigrants because most of them are willing to do work for any amount. Which, in turn, makes the employer happier because they can hire more help for less so of course they would rather have undocumented workers than legal citizens. (Immigration:Jobs) One immigration case the Supreme Court had to face, dealt with schools in Texas turning away immigrant children. In 1975, Texas lawmakers chose to ban the use of state education funds to pay for the education of illegal immigrant students [ (Unmuth) ]. Some schools turned away all illegal immigrants; some accepted them but forced them to pay tuition. One man brought his family to the United States to get them a better education and his children were turned away because they were illegal [ (Unmuth) ]. The family chose to fight this in court with a couple of other people and won with a 5-4 vote. The spokeswoman for the Federation for American Immigration reform stated that people do not want to watch any child be denied an education, but they want to find a way to stop parents from coming over illegally in the first place. Many taxpayers are feeling as though they are being used; they are forced to pay taxes that support and pay for services and education or illegal beings in the United States. The Tyler vs. Doe case has ensured that all people, illegal or not, will be guaranteed an education. Also, under the fourteenth amendment, all illegal immigrants are promised equality and every civil right a natural citizen has (Unmuth). Asking natural citizens of the United States most will admit they do not like the fact that Illegal Immigrants receive benefits paid for by our taxes. Only one out of every four people believes it is okay for immigrants to receive food stamps and Medicaid [ (Staff 2) ]. Also, only eighteen percent are okay with illegal immigrants getting public housing. A little fewer than eighteen percent of citizens that took this poll decided that illegally admitted people should be allowed state grants for college. The goal for the senate is to come up with something to fix border control so more illegal immigrants cannot enter and catch people that employ illegals to stop providing them with jobs. With these laws in hand, hopefully immigrants will stop wanting to enter the United States [ (Staff 2) ]. So far, the United States has not found an effective way to prevent people from entering illegally. The first step that should be taken is being stricter with the borders. Currently, we have a fence along the US-Mexico border to attempt keeping people from crossing. It is 335-350 miles in length along the approximately 1969. 13 mile long border. That leaves around 1,619-1,634 miles of border un-blocked, wide open for crossing. Congress has ordered for the fence to be extended. Considering the fact that there are plenty of issues with land ownership, there are many problems with law faced with extending the fences. In addition to the fences, along the border we have several different types of electronic security systems. There are cameras and sensors that are monitored twenty-four hours a day by border patrol (Practice). Another strategy is worked from the inside. We are trying to prevent illegals from wanting to come over. This is preventing employers from hiring them in the first place. The United States uses a program called â€Å"E-verify†. It helps employers confirm that the people they are hiring are legal citizens. So far, â€Å"A study conducted in May 2008 by the Center for Immigration Studies estimates that the illegal immigrant population of the United States may have dropped by about 11 percent from the previous summer. It suggests that the total illegal immigrant population went from 12. 5 million in August 2007 to 11. 2 million in May 2008. † (Practice). According to writer Roger McGrath, there should be no problems deporting Illegal Immigrants back to their countries. In 1954 the US held a large deportation sending around two million immigrants back to their home countries [ (McGrath 1) ]. He says it was â€Å"done swiftly and cheaply by a relatively small force, proving that arguments we hear today about such an operation being logistically impossible are nothing more than a mask concealing a lack of political will†. I believe that the United States’ immigration problem will never be one hundred percent resolved. We can try building fences, or walls but there is always a way around, under or through those. We can try upping security along the borders with cameras and sensors, but there is a way to seem invisible to those. The matter of fact is that we have to come up with laws that make it impossible to get benefits, impossible to get a job and places to live. If we have to play dirty to get what we want, so be it. The American people worked hard to get where we are today and even with that, we struggle. Illegal is illegal we can’t make excuses to get out of our lives neither should they. I feel bad for those struggling in other countries, we have our problems too. The United States tries to help out other countries as much as they can, it is hard. So why should Americans have to pay for them to come into our country and live? Works cited http://www.usillegalaliens.com/impacts_of_illegal_immigration_jobs.html http://athens.usembassy.gov/dcm_immigration.html