Latino Americans in the Workplace

Latino workers comprise a large sum of the population of workers in America. Particularly in Canada, as many as 244,400 individuals who are of Latin American origin live in Canada in 2001 (â€Å"The Latin American Community in Canada,† 2006). About 64% of adult Latin Americans in 2001 age 15 and above were employed and working, with 71% of these falling under the age category of 45 to 64 (â€Å"The Latin American Community in Canada,† 2006). Further Jorge Brea notes that the population of Latin Americans tripled between the mid 1900s to the early parts of 2000, with the service industry being the primary source of employment in many Latin American nations (Brea, 2003, p.4). These facts reveal the presumption that Latin Americans have a sizeable presence not only in the local workforce but also in international workforce such as those found in Canada. One significant instance with regard to the experiences of Latin American workers is after the time when hurricane Katrina shook America. Prior to the hurricane, approximately 3 percent of New Orleans is Latin Americans. After the hurricane, the population of Latin Americans in the region significantly increased, and most of these individuals sought employment in a city that direly needed the manpower to rebuild it (Agresta, 2006). One can thus have the idea that at least one part of the experiences of Latin American workers reflects the vision of Latin American laborers in a working environment which has the greatest possibility of churning out the most probabilities of landing a job while putting their lives at risk. Not even distance can hinder the Latin American worker from reaching fertile ground. For instance, approximately 435,500 Latin Americans adults live in Japan wherein 70% send money to their families back at home on a steady rate with an average of $600 (â€Å"Remittances to Latin America from Japan,† 2005). It has also been observed that Latin Americans have a strong attachment to their religion which is predominantly Catholic. This can be observed even among the workers, oftentimes carrying small images of Saints in their pockets or wallets, crosses hanging in their necklaces or bracelets, and small prayer pamphlets or booklets in their bags or tool kits just to name a few. It is apparent that the religious yet diverse cultures of Latin Americans largely influence the workplace roles, especially among workers and managers. Hence, potential managers should consider the cultural, religious, and financial backgrounds of Latin Americans in order to maximize their capabilities in the workplace. In essence, potential managers should observe several ‘do's' and ‘don'ts' with regard to their consideration for their Latin American employees. One of the ‘do's' that the potential manager should most likely consider is to give ample space for the Latin American employees to exercise their religious beliefs. That is, managers should allow the observance of religious holidays and other religious events and practices so that the Latin American employees will not be hindered from fulfilling their religious duties. Hindering them from doing so is one of the ‘don'ts' since it will most likely result to a form of religious intolerance wherein the employees are suppressed from exercising their religious obligations and, hence, restricting one of their fundamental rights. In its course, a number of these employees will most likely find ways to go around the religious restriction being imposed which may affect their performance and the growth of the organization. Further, potential managers should nevertheless carefully identify the religious holidays that might lower the performance of the organization. Managers ought to do a balancing act: permit the observance of certain religious holidays without having to sacrifice the performance of the organization or company. Likewise, managers ought to comprehend the fact that most Latino Americans work in companies far from their homes in order to earn a decent wage and provide ample sustenance to their families. Since this is usually the case, company managers should see to it that their Latin American employees are properly compensated while taking into account the financial capabilities of the organization to pay proper wages and other benefits. One way to achieve this is to carefully consider the suitable number of employees, especially Latino Americans, who will operate the essential functions within the organization with respect to the financial status of the company. Managers should also make the most use out of significant and reliable information available such as the most recent trends or patterns with regard to the rate of salaries and benefits and ensure a comparable rate to the Latino American employees. On the other hand, the manager should make it clear to prospective Latino American employees that there too are limitations on the financial capabilities of the company. This ensures that the labor of the employees will be compensated properly in compliance to the financial constraints present. Latin Americans are known to have a history of oppression from other people, a number of which are experienced in the workplace and in other financial institutions. These facts should serve as a reminder to the manager that Latin American workers may have the lingering impression of fear that their history of oppression from other people is not too far from being repeated elsewhere. While the natural response of these employees from the potential harms they may perceive is to stay on guard of their status in the company and the way their superiors treat them, managers should make certain that their Latin American employees are treated decently and professionally in such a way that the environment of the workplace exudes a friendly yet professional feeling. Managers can achieve this end by constantly interacting with the Latin American employees in the workplace, checking and ensuring that their tasks are efficiently met in a friendly yet professional tone. These are just a few of the things that managers should do and should not do in order to have a healthy group of Latino American employees working in the organization. Due importance must be realized and given to these people for the reason that they share a significant portion of the economic and organizational development of the country. Without Latin Americans in the workplace, the economy of the country in general will most likely be affected. This is perfectly exemplified in the movie â€Å"A Day without a Mexican† where the film emphasizes the significance of at least 11 million Latin Americans in California in terms of the various jobs across the region (â€Å"How Do You Make the Invisible, Visible? You Take It Away,† 2004.). The film highlights the absence of Latin Americans which lead to the depreciation in the cleanliness of the state as garbage mounts in the streets of California and in the economic devastation of the state. In both theory and practice, the theme of the film is highly probable. In general, it should be noted that there are crucial Latino American issues in the workplace all over the world. Across America alone, the numbers of issues are significantly present, and that these things pose an important challenge both to managers and potential managers. The delicate balance between the Latino American factors and the disposition of managers and potential managers spells the difference between an efficient and effective workplace and one that is bound to fail. References Brea, J. (2003). Population Dynamics in Latin America. Population Bulletin, 58(1), 3. â€Å"How Do You Make the Invisible, Visible? You Take It Away.†Ã‚   (2004).   ADWAM News. August 4, 2007. . Remittances to Latin America from Japan. (2005). Inter-American Development Bank Multilateral Investment Fund, 2.   

Child Labour Essay

Institute of Communication Studies Punjab University, Lahore Content 1: Introduction 2: Strategies/Plans 3: What can you Do? 4: Target Audience 5: Communication Mode 6: Conclusion 7: Bibliography Introduction Definition of child labour The Article 1 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child defines a child as anyone below the age of 18.â€Å"Child labour† is often defined as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful tophysical and mental development. It refers to work that: * interferes with their schooling by: depriving them of the * opportunity to attend school, obliging them to leave school * prematurely or requiring them to attempt to combine * school attendance with excessively long and heavy work. Forms of child labour Child labour exists in many forms. Sometimes it can be easily observed; sometimes it is hidden from your view. Here is a list of different forms of child labour that includes some of the most widespread forms and some of the worst forms. However, this is not a complete list of all existing forms. Domestic work: Very common and sometimes seen as acceptable, it happens in the family home or outside the home. When domestic work is outside the home, children – almost always girls – work very long hours, have no chance to go to school and are isolated from their family and friends. Agricultural work: A lot of working children are found in agriculture. They often work on the family farm or with the whole family, as a unit, for an employer. Work in industries:   This work can be regular or casual, legal or illegal, as part of the family or by the child on his own for an employer. It includes carpet weaving, gemstone polishing, making garments, chemicals, glassware, fireworks, matches or a range of other products. These tasks expose the children to hazardous chemicals that can lead to poisoning, respiratory and skin diseases, radiant heat, fire and explosions, eyesight and hearing damage cuts, burns and even death. Work in mines and quarries: Child labour is used in small scale mines in many countries. They work long hours without adequate protection and training. Child miners suffer from physical strain, fatigue and disorders of the muscular and skeletal systems. Slavery and forced labour: It is most commonly found in rural areas. It is also frequently linked to the oppression of ethnic minorities and indigenous peoples. Children are often also drawn into armed conflict, forced to be soldiers or to work for armed forces. Prostitution and child trafficking: It is one of the worst forms of child labour. The dangers faced by children are extreme and range from moral corruption to sexually transmitted diseases to death. Work in the informal economy: This includes a whole range of activities such as shoe cleaning, begging, pulling rickshaws, selling newspapers, or collecting rubbish. Some forms are very easily observed while others are hidden from public view. Activities often take place on the streets but also include domestic work. Strategies Participate in the World Day Against Child Labour In 2002, the International Labour Organization (ILO) launched the first World Day Against Child Labour, as a way to highlight the worldwide movement to eliminate child labour. The World Day Against Child Labour is celebrated every year, on 12th June. It provides an opportunity to gain the support of governments, employers and workers’ organisations, civil society and others for the campaign against child labour. 2008 activities will focus and raise awareness on â€Å"Education: The Right Response to Child Labour†. The role of education is highlighted because access to free and compulsory education for poor children is crucial to reducing child labour. The most recent ILO Global Report noted that the establishment of universal schooling to the age of 14 or 15 has signaled the effective end of child labour in a number of countries. Contribute to the 12to12 Portal The 12to12 Community Portal is a networking platform for various groups working against child labour (workers, employers, youth, NGOs, schools, medias†¦). The portal derives its name from June 12th, the World Day Against Child Labour. It aims to create a worldwide network of partners mobilized against child labour and to bring attention to the issue of child labour from June 12th to June 12th, until child labourers are finally given the chance to enjoy their rights as children and one day realize their full potential as the adults that they will become. Get involved in the Decent Work agenda The elimination of child labour is an important aspect of Decent Work. Child labour not only prevents children from acquiring the skills and education they need for a better future, it also perpetuates poverty and affects national economies. Withdrawing children from child labour, providing them with education and assisting their families with training and employment opportunities contribute directly to creating decent work for adults. Decent Work, Decent Life Campaign The Decent Work Alliance, which consists of the the ITUC, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), Solidar, the Global Progressive Forum and Social Alert Intertnational, launched the campaign in January 2007 at the World Social Forum. The campaign aims to place Decent Work at the core of development, economic, trade, financial and social policies at the national, regional and international level. A specific Decent Work, Decent Life Campaign for Women was launched, on 8th March 2008, for the 100th anniversary of the International Women’s Day. Spread the message and build partnerships Trade unions are well placed to influence the attitude of workers families, children and their parents. Raise awareness among your members and among adult workers through publicity, posters, campaigns, workshops or educational events. Develop child labour modules in your programmes, organise seminars or conference on child labour or use the mass media. You can also join forces and work with others, such as employers’ organisations, consumers’ organisations, NGOs, child labourers’ families, teachers and social workers. Monitor the development of child labour Trade unions are well placed to undertake information-gathering and to develop appropriate policies and effective plans to take actions against child labour. Trade unions need to gather detailed information. Collecting  local and national data will help to identify where the worst forms of child labour are to be found and will aid in the evaluation of programmes to combat these forms of child labour. You can for example: * Collect stories, pictures and other evidence of children engaged in labour. * Assess the working environment in which children are working. * Record where child labour is being used. * Organize or take part in surveys. Use the supervisory machinery of international institutions If your country has ratified the ILO conventions, your trade union can use the supervisory mechanisms to pressure your government to take adequate and effective measures: * Get the copies of reports submitted by your government to the ILO and feel free to send comments on them to the ILO. * If you think the law and/or practice does not conform to a convention adopted in your country, consider reporting to the ILO and discuss this with the national and/or international organization to which you are affiliated. Participate in tripartite dialogue Tripartite dialogue is central to social stability and to sustainable growth and development. Use the tripartite dialogue between trade unions, government and employers to improve the legislation and its enforcement, and to define policies and programmes to combat the worst forms of child labour and to monitor their implementation. Collective bargaining to combat child labour Collective bargaining is traditional trade union tool and a way for trade unions to interact with employers. It has served the trade union movement well in improving wages and working conditions, and it has proven to be effective in influencing what occurs in the workplace. Promote the international labour standards As explained earlier in this guide, where the international labour standards are respected, children are far more likely to be in school than at work. Promoting the universal respect of international labour standards is then another way to help tackle child labour not only in your country but also in other countries. Pressure your government for an ILO Convention on Domestic Workers Domestic work is one of the most common forms of child labour. The Governing Body of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) decided in March 2008 to include the item â€Å"Decent Work for Domestic Workers† on the agenda of the 99th session (2010) of the International Labour Conference. If your country is represented at the ILO Governing Body, then with your national center, urge your government to support the proposal to draw up an international convention specifically designed to protect domestic workers. e-Campaigning Internet and new technologies are fast, easy and affordable ways to promote your actions as well as to broadcast your message to a wider audience. There are hundreds of ways to get your message known; the only requirements are to be creative and to reach people where they are online. If you have a camera, record videos of your actions and/or a documentary about child labour, put them on Youtube or similar websites. What can you do? Participate in the World Day for Decent Work On October 7 2008, the trade union movement is organizing a World Day for Decent Work (WDDW). This is an unparalleled opportunity for trade unions and  organizations interested in Decent Work all around the world to join a broad global mobilization involving a large number of people and a wide range of activities. There are three themes that you can connect your activities to on the World Day itself: * rights at work * solidarity * ending poverty and inequality Each of these themes can easily be linked with child labour and should fit into your existing child labour activities. Target Audience Help others to eradicate child labour Child labour may not be a big problem in your own country, but there is always the option of helping some other countries. Help your friends in India or in Democratic Republic of Congo or somewhere else to fight against child labour! Direct support to children When it is possible, trade unions and others can provide direct assistance to working children and their parents to help: * remove children from work; * rehabilitate child-labourers and get them into school; and * develop apprenticeships for former child labourers| Demonstrate Demonstrations, when wisely used, are a very good trade union tool. * Organize a march against child labour and finish it outside a politically strategic building. * Use and display banners, flags and other materials in symbolic or strategic places. Your banners can include slogans, signatures, handprints or drawings. * Organize a child labour information stand in the main shopping street of your city or in other busy public places. Get in touch with your regional or national Global March coordinator The Global March Against Child Labour has a presence in more than 140 countries. Coordinating your efforts with the Global March Communication Channels | 11 | | | | | Communication Mode The main communication channels are: 1- television 2-radio 3-newspaper 4-interactive theatre Television Television is one of the most effective media of our times. Several studies have shown the impact of television on everyday lives of the viewers. Television has proved extremely effective as a channel for conveying development messages. ITA can make use of television in two ways. (a): By liaising with the producers of the television programmes that often comment on economic and social issues and by making efforts to convince them to put child domestic labour on their agenda. (b): By working with local cable operators to ensure that telecast video animation prepared for the project. b) Radio Popularity of radio varies in the urban, suburban and rural areas. After losing its glory in the urban areas of the country, it is staging a comeback in the form of FM stations. However, Radio is a popular medium of information and entertainment in the rural areas. Radio provides an effective and cost effective way to reach the target audiences. Some programmes of Radio Lahore are particularly popular with the target audiences. An effort will be made to use these programmes to convey the message. For this purpose the project staff will meet and keep in touch with the presenters of these programmes. The government has issued licenses for FM radio stations all over the country. The communication staff of the  project will keep a close watch on such a development in the area and will try to make the best use of a communication opportunity if it appears in the form of an FM radio in the country. c) Newspapers Newspaper is an effective source of communication in urban centres. It has different categories like magazine or periodical containing public news, reports of events, and commentaries. The Project team will hold forums, seminars and workshop with media personnel to highlight the issue of child domestic labour. The project team will coordinate with editors of newspapers for an effective media campaign in the form of features, articles and dissemination of information. d) Interactive Theatre Street drama has been a popular folk art in the subcontinent for centuries. Traditionally street theatres were used to dramatise mythical and folk romances. Lately, this medium has been modified to address social issues. A strong case can be made for street theatres as a medium of communicating information about sensitive issues. Plays can be adopted to be culturally appropriate and context sensitive. Theatre provides a public and non-intrusive forum for communication. In addition, theatre is an ideal medium to reach target groups and facilitate immediate feedback. Pre-play entertainment can be used to gather the crowd, followed by a street play. The performance is followed by an interactive session in which audience engage in a discussion about the change in the situation portrayed in the play. Advertisement/ Pamphlet *Public Notice* Concluding Remarks The literature on child labor is an illustration of abundance and anarchy. Theoretical writings on the subject are relatively few though one finds theoretical insights in many unexpected papers and books which may be otherwise purely empirical or descriptive. The empirical writings on child labor are numerous but they are usually not founded on any theory. By bringing together68 the main theoretical ideas, this survey hopes to encourage not just further theoretical research but empirical work which is analytically better founded. Also evident from this survey is the fact that there is no unique prescription. Should child labor be banned outright? Should the WTO be given the responsibility of enforcing restrictions on child labor through the use of trade sanctions? Should there be a legal minimum wage for adults so as to make it unnecessary for parents to send their children to work? The answer depends on the context. It was argued in this paper that there is much that can and ought to be done, but the precise policy to be followed depends on the economic milieu for which the prescription is being sought. The main policy divide is between legal interventions and what may be called collaborative interventions, that is, public action which alters the economic environment such that parents of their own accord prefer to withdraw the children from the labor force. The availability of good schools, the provision of free meals, effort to bolster adult wages, are examples of collaborative interventions. We have discussed examples and given arguments to show that such interventions are, in general, a desirable way of curbing child labor. However, many of these actions may not be feasible. There may not be money enough in the government’s coffers to run better schools or to improve the infrastructure which would result in higher adult wages. In such circumstances, should government resort to legal action to restrict child labor? There seems to be some agreement, that some minimal restrictions, such as children being prevented from working in hazardous occupations or under bonded labor conditions, are worth enforcing legally. It is true that one can always think of some circumstance where even such a minimal law will work to the detriment of the child. Bibliography Link1: http://www.ilo.org/ipec/Campaignandadvocacy/wdacl/lang–en/index.htm Link2: http://www.viewpointonline.net/the-solution.html Link3: http://www.goodweave.org/child_labor_campaign Link4: http://www.alliance2015.org/index.php?id=education Link6: http://stopchildlabor.org/?p=2528 Link7: http://www.globalmarch.org/

A Review of Qualitative Research on Teenage Smoking Habits

A Review of Qualitative Research on Teenage Smoking Habits Grand Canyon University: NRS-433V-O103 Introduction to Nursing Research September 20, 2012 Introduction The purpose of this document is to summarize the contents of the research article, explain the research methods implemented, and offer insight on how the findings contribute to nursing practice. Second, there will be an explanation of ethical considerations associated with the conduct of nursing research. Finally, the source document, â€Å"What Determines Teenagers' Smoking Behaviour? : A Qualitative Study† will be attached for review. SummaryThe articles purpose was to study smoking behavior among Malaysian teens. The specific areas of interest included: smoking initiation, cigarette consumption, intention to stop smoking, and attempts to stop smoking. The first stage of teen smoking behavior begins with casual experimentation and is followed by the maintenance phase when everyday ritual smoking is present. The fut ure dependence on smoking can be predicted by the individual’s actions during experimentation with cigarettes. Curiosity, peer pressure, and parental smoking were all reported reasons that teens decided to try cigarettes.In children less than thirteen year old, it was concluded that parental smoking played the largest role in behavior choices. This finding suggests that children are modeling the parents’ smoking behavior. However, older teens in secondary school reported peer pressure to be the reason for choices regarding cigarettes. Seventy-four percent of the participants reported that they smoked less than five cigarettes daily. This same portion or participants admitted that they smoked because they experienced physical symptoms of nicotine withdraw when they didn’t smoke daily.Consumption of cigarettes in this group was reported as a social activity among friends but mostly in secluded areas, to avoid getting caught. Most all adolescents that were active i n this study reported that they had intended to quit smoking in the future. The majority of participants had no clear plan on how they were going to stop and most had admitted to several failed attempts to stop smoking without help. Aspects to consider: relationships, athletic involvement, health concerns, lack of finances, and parental concern are all reasons that would cause a teen smoker to consider quitting.The participants that were able to stop smoking had a plan and picked a specific quit date. Methods of Study This information was collected and processed through a qualitative study. Specifically, it involved twenty-six teens from three public schools. Twenty-thee members of this sample group were smokers while three of the members had stopped smoking. Information was gathered through three focus group interviews, three in-depth interviews over twenty months, and questionnaires.The questions were asked in a non-formal conversational manner with important points or answers rec orded on a document designed to evaluate and sort information (site). The Social Cognitive Theory was used to organize collection of information and analysis. This theoretical framework was chosen based on the need for an explanation of teen smoking related to individuals, heath behaviors, and environments. The expectation is that Social Cognitive Theory would offer more insight on how these three elements would interact with each other simultaneously.Contribution to Nursing Smoking tobacco continues to be one of the top causes of preventable causes for death in America. There are 430,000 deaths, one point five million years of potential life lost, and fifty billion of lost medical debt related to tobacco use (Hollis, J. , Pollen, N,†¦ 2005). Nurses that identify younger clients at risk for tobacco can contribute to decline in morbidity related to smoking and assist in the decrease of medical debt. â€Å"The younger that youth are when they start using tobacco, the more likely they'll be addicted (CDC, 20012). The study offers insight to nursing practice for specific tailoring of a care plan for teens who smoke, parents who smoke, and how to target the education for quitting. The areas that affected teen’s interest in quitting included: athletic improvement, parents disapproval, health concerns, and lack of finances. Nurses can use the information from this study to reinforce the health promotion and benefits of being a non-smoker. The recognition of how parents affect smoking behaviors will aid the nurse in preparing education that is directed at the entire family to deter childhood and teen smoking.The contribution to patient care can be seen with health promotion assessment use. The conclusions were clear about teens needing a plan to quit after they reached the maintenance phase of smoking. This result alerts nurses to assess smoking in younger adolescence and offer assistance with smoking cessation. Ethical Issues First, The Research and Ethi c Committee of University Kebangsaan Malaysia gave approval before the study was started. Second, The Ministry of Education Malaysia offered authorization for interviews in the school system for children who were not involved in some type of major examination.Third, all of the teens along with parents provided a written and signed consent for participation. The confidentiality of current smoking status was kept intact and privacy was maintained. Lastly, at the conclusions of each interview the teens were offered smoking cession counseling at a doctor’s clinic. To ensure reliability of the study, several schools were used and different types of data collection utilized. There was self-reflexivity in minimizing opinions of the researchers. Validation was offered by minimal prompting, statement clarification, and rephrasing of questions. ConclusionThe study identified factors like nicotine addiction, personal, and environmental issues that influence of smoking behaviors in teens . These areas should be of great priority when developing smoking cessation programs for teens. The Social Cognitive Theory utilized in this study is an aid that helps nurses to understand smoking behaviors in teens and how to address barriers to break those influential factors. Since this study was done in one region of Malaysia, it may not apply to all areas outside of it. This was a very small study that cannot be applied to all cultures, geographic locations, and race.A better perspective would have been attained by selecting a wider group with random geographic location and equal gender participation. The male to female ratio for the study was unequal and this causes a shift in the standard deviation when scrutinizing the study from a statistical view. Having unequal gender numbers could cause a type I or II error which makes the information not entirely reliable (Grove, S. , 2012). References Center for Disease Control. (2012, January). We can make the next generation tobacco- free. Retrieved from http://www. cdc. gov/Features/YouthTobaccoUse/ Grove, Susan K. (2012).Statistics for Health Care Research: A Practical Workbook [1] (VitalSource Bookshelf), Retrieved from http://pageburstls. elsevier. com/books/978-1- 4160-0226-0/outline/11 Hollis, J. , Polen, M. , Whitlock, E. , Lichtenstein, E. , Mullooly, J. , Velicer, W. , & Redding, C. (2005). Teen Reach: outcomes from a randomized, controlled trial of a tobacco reduction program for teens seen in primary medical care. Pediatrics, 115(4 Part 1), 981-989. Tohid, H. , Ishak, N. d. , Muhammad, N. , Hassan, H. , & Omar, K. (2011). What determines teenagers’ smoking behavior? : A qualitative study. International Medical Journal, 18(3), 194-198. 194PSYCHIATRY Article Ititernational Medical Joumal. Vol. 18, No. 3, pp. 194 – 198 , September 2011 What Determines Teenagers' Smoking Behaviour? : A Qualitative Study Hizlinda Tohid†, Noriah Mohd. Ishak^', Noor Azimah Muhammad†, Hasliza Abu Has san^', Farah Naaz Momtaz Ahmad†, Khairani Omar'* ABSTRACT Objective: The study aimed to explore smoking behaviour among Malaysian teenagers that were related to their smoking initiation, cigarette consumption, quit intention, and quit attempts. Methods: It was a qualitative study that used multiple case study design, involving 26 teenagers (23 smokers and three former smokers) from three public schools.Data was collected via questionnaires, three focus group interviews and three in-depth interviews over 20 months, A standardised semi-structured interview protocol was utilised. Results: Among the participants, 74% of them started smoking after the age of 12 years old. The majority (20/23) of the teenage smokers admitted to smoking every day and 74% of them smoked not more than 5 cigarettes a day. All of the smokers had the intention to quit but only 22 out of the 23 teenage smokers had attempted quitting. Sixty percent of these teenagers had more than three quit attempts.In gen eral, this study captured the complexity of the teenagers' smoking behaviour that could be influenced by multiple factors, including behavioural (e,g, nicotine addiction), personal (e,g, conception of smoking and quitting, curiosity, sensation seeking, knowledge about smoking cessation, stress, maintaining athletic performance, and finance,) and environmental (e,g, socialisation, peer pressure, parental smoking, parental disapproval, and boy- or girlfriend aversion) factors. Conclusions: This study described the complex and multidimensional nature of teenage smoking behaviour.The findings also correspondingly matched the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), therefore suggesting the theory's suitability in elucidating smoking behaviour among the Malaysian teenagers, KEY WORDS smoking, teenagers, smoking initiation, cigarette consumption, quit smoking INTRODUCTION Adolescence is a crucial time in which a relatively dependent child transforms into a relatively independent adult. During this transitional period, many teenagers often experiment risky behaviours as a proclamation of their autonomy.This risky behaviour includes cigarette smoking, using illicit drugs and cirinking alcohol. (Epps, Manley, & Glynn, 1995; Kulig, & American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Substance Abuse, 2005) Experimenting with cigarette smoking is an initial stage of teenagers' smoking behaviour before it becomes established. (Nichter, Vuckovic, Quintero, & Ritenbaugh, 1997; Seguire, & Chalmers, 2000; Curry, Mermelstein, & Sporer, 2009) This smoking initiation predicts their long-term tobacco use and heavier levels of dependence. (Breslau, & Peterson, 1996; Escobedo, Marcus,Holtzman, & Giovino, 1993; Chen, & Millar, 1998) Their experimenting behaviour may be influenced by various factors including curiosity, peer pressure, parental smoking, sensation seeking, social norms for smoking, and misconception of smoking (e. g. belief that smoking provides benefits, such as coping, sense of belon ging, style, relaxation, and coolness). (Dijk, de Nooijer, Heinrich, & de Vries, 2007; Naing et at. , 2004; Khairani, Norazua, & Zaiton, 2004; Vuckovic, Polen, & Hollis, 2003; Nichter, Vuckovic, Quintero, & Ritenbaugh, 1997) These factors could cause teenagers to continue smoking.Teenage smoking maintenance is also influenced by nicotine addiction. It has been shown to be substantially significant among teenagers even with low cigarette consumption. (The National Health and Morbidity Survey, 2009; Hammond et al. , 2008; Khairani, Norazua, & Zaiton, 2004; Naing et al. , 2004; DiFranza et at. , 2007; Balch et al. , 2004; Amos, Wiltshire, Haw, & McNeill, 2006) This may be due to a very rapid loss of autonomy over tobacco even with minimal exposure to nicotine in adolescents, as demonstrated by the DANDY study. (DiFranza et al. , 2007; DiFranza et al. , 2002)Consequently, majority of teenage smokers struggle to quit smoking. (Balch et at. , 2004; McVea, Miller, Creswell, McEntarrfer, & Coleman, 2009; Amos, Wiltshire, Haw, & MeNeill, 2006; Seguire, & Chalmers, 2000) Thus, smoking behaviour among teenagers is a complex phenomenon, since it is influenced by multiple factors. This complexity requires great understanding of the behaviour from those who are involved in the care of these teenagers. This comprehension would certainly help the care providers to curb teenage smoking, which is a dangerous, addictive and destructive behaviour. US Department of Health and Human Services, 2004) Therefore, many studies have Received on Augtist 28, 2010 and accepted on November 29, 2010 1) Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Jalan Yaacob Latif, Bandar Tun Razak, 56000 Cheras, Kuala Lutnpur, Malaysia 2) Pusat PERMATApintar Negara, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Bangl, 43600 Selangor, Malaysia 3) Setapak Health Clinic, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Correspondence to: Hizlinda Tohid (e-mails; [email  protected] com) 2011 Japan International Cultural Exchange Foundation & Japan Health Sciences UniversityTobitJ H, et al. 195 Table 1. Participants' gender, status of smoking and types of interviews TYPES OF SCHOOL MALE GENDER FcEeM. . AALIEE SMOKERS STATUS OF SMOKING NON SMOKERS FOCUS GROUP INTERVIEW TYPES OF INTERVIEWS IN DEPTH INTERVIEW SCHOOL 1 URBAN 9 3 9 3 1 3 SCHOOL 2 SEMI-URBAN 7 7 1 SCHOOL 3 RURAL 7 7 1 TOTAL 3 23 3 23 3 3 3 been carried out to examine the phenomenon of teenage smoking. In Malaysia, majority of such studies were quantitative studies. (Naing et al. , 2004; Hoi, & Hong, 2000; Khairani, Norazua, & Zaiton, 2004; Zulkifli, Rogayah, Razian, & Nyi Nyi, 2001)Nevertheless, studies that qualitatively describe Malaysian teenagers' smoking behaviour are still lacking. This deficiency may affect our understanding of the matter in great depth and holistically. Thus, this study aimed to explore smoking behaviour among Malaysian teenagers related to their smoking initiation, cigarette consumption, quit intention, and quit attempts. This information could provide us with better conception about their smoking behaviour, and subse-‘ quently eould help us to identify areas for improvement. METHODSThis study used a multiple case study design, involving 26 teenagers (23 smokers and three former smokers) from three public schools (urban, semi-urban and rural). Data was collected via selfadministered questionnaires, focus group interviews (FGI) and indepth interviews (IDI) over a period of 20 months, between 2008 until 2010. Theoretical framework This study utilised the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) to guide the researchers in data collection and analysis. The SCT was also used for ‘analytieal generalisation' in which findings of the study were mapped against the theory.It was chosen as the study's theoretical framework due to its appropriateness and comprehensiveness in capturing a complex phenomenon of eigarette smoking that is influenced by multiple factors. (Baranowski, Perry, & Parc el, 2002) The SCT describes how individuals, environments and health behaviour interact with each other simultaneously (reciprocal determinism). (Baranowski, Perry, & Pareel, 2002) Study population Twenty six teenagers (23 boys and three girls, as shown in Table I) were selected via purposive and snowballing sampling, based on predetermined criteria.The teenage smokers and former smokers were sampled because their experience in cigarette smoking and smoking cessation was crucial for this study. These teenagers were 16 years old Malays, recruited from three different (urban, semiurban and rural) public schools from 2 states in Malaysia. Recruitment of teenagers Teenagers were recruited with the assistance from school counsellors from eaeh sehool. An agreement for no disciplinary action against teenagers who were willing to participate in this study was made with the counsellors prior to the recruitment.The students' smoking status was also eoneealed from other school staff to avoid s tigmatisation. Twelve teenagers who were selected from one of the schools were introdueed to the main researcher during an informal meeting for study briefing (refer to Table 1). The teenagers were invited to participate and were given parental packages, which comprised of an acknowledgement letter to parents, the study's information sheet, and a parental consent form. Subsequently, dates for tbe FGI and IDI were set. The completed parental eonsents forms were eolleeted prior the interviews by the school counsellor.The other 14 teenagers (7 students from each remaining school, as shown in Table 1) were reeruited by sehools' counsellors, who had training in qualitative research and were well informed about the study. Similar method of obtaining eonsent from their parents was carried out by these counsellors. Data collection Three in-depth interviews and three focus-group interviews were carried out (refer to Table 1). Prior to the interviews, all participants were given a brief overv iew of the study and the process of the interviews. Written eonsents from eaeh partieipant were also obtained.They were then required to answer a brief self-administered questionnaire on their socio-demography, smoking status and smoking behaviour (age of initiation, cigarette consumption, quit intention and quit attempts). The interviews were conducted in Malay language and eaeh interview lasted less than two hours. A semi-structured interview protocol was used to guide interviewers in questioning the participants. Anti-smoking posters and pamphlets were also used to facilitate discussion. Data analysis During eaeh interview, the conversation was recorded using digital voice recorders.The voice recording was subsequently transeribed into text by using Microsoft Office Word 2007. The transcribed text was reviewed against the audio-recordings for several times until the accuracy of the transcripts was ensured. Any uncertainty during the transcription, assistance from other researeher s was sought to ascertain its accuracy and reliability. (Yin, 2003; Yin, 1994) The transcribed text was then imported into NVIVO 7. The main researcher then analysed the data to identify themes and categories (‘thematie analysis') that would explain patterns of pereeption related to teenagers' smoking behaviour.In order to ensure high reliability of the eoding proeess, tbe coded data was eross-checked by two experts in adolescence health. Kappa was calculated by using the Cohen kappa formula to determine the reliability index, which was maintained above 0. 8. The process of transcription and analysis was repeated for every interview and ‘cross-case conclusion' was drawn between the analyses of eases. Findings of the study were also mapped against the SCT for ‘analytical generalisation'. Ettiical issues, reliability and validity Approval from the Research and Ethic Committee of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia was obtained prior to the study.Authorisation for intervie wing teenagers from the schools was also acquired from the Ministry of Education Malaysia that limited interviewing students who were not sitting for any major examination (i. e. exeept students aged 15 and 17 years old). Apart from these, all of these teenagers and their parents were required to provide written eonsents for their participation. The confidentiality of the participants, e. g. obscuring teenagers' status of smoking from the knowledge of their parents and other sehool staffs, was also guaranteed throughout the study.Finally, medical responsibility of the main researcher in preventing smoking-related illnesses, as she was also a medieal doctor, was realised by offering teenagers consultation for smoking eessation at her clinic. This was done at the end of each interview to prevent any biased answers from the partieipants. Validity and reliability of the study were ensured via a number of methods, ineluding; (1) triangulation of sourees of data (teenagers from three diff erent sehools), as well as methods of data collection 196 What Determines Teenagers' Smokitig Behaviour? Table 2. Smoking behaviour of the teenagers who smokedTEENAGERS WHO SMOKED (N = 23) AGE OF INITIATION (YEARS) NUMBER OF CIGARRETTES SMOKED/DAY STAGE OF CHANGE NUMBER OF QUIT ATTEMPTS FGD(n = 21) IDl(n = 2) TOTAL < 12 5 1 6 > 13 16 1 17 20 2 1 3 PRE COMTEMPLATION 5 1 7 CONTEMPLATION 4 4 PLANNING II 12 0 1 1 1-3 7 1 8 S4 13 1 14 (questionnaire, three FGI and three IDI), (2) self reflexivity in minimising biases that the researchers may bring into the study due to our previous involvement in managing problematic teenagers and chronic smokers, (3) ‘procedural validity' via rephrasing of questions, elarifying of statement and minimal prompting as ecessary,(Fliek, 2009) and (4) inter-coder agreement or reliability index of above 0. 8. RESULTS Twenty three boys and three girls were interviewed (referred to Table 1), in which two of the boys and one of the girls were former smokers . The remaining 23 teenagers were smokers at the time of the interviews. These teenagers' smoking behaviour (age of smoking initiation, cigarette consumption, intention to quit and history of quit attempts) is summarised in Table 2. Age and reasons of smoking initiation Six of the 23 (26%) teenage smokers in this study started smoking during primary school (before the age of 13).The youngest age of smoking initiation was 10 years old. Nevertheless, 74% of these teenage smokers started smoking when they were in the secondary school. Most of the teenagers admitted that curiosity [â€Å"Felt curious to try (smoking)†], sensation seeking [â€Å"Just for fun†], parental modelling of smoking [â€Å"Sinee my father smokes†¦ I always watch him smoking. When he smokes, it looks pleasurable†¦ gratifying†], peer pressure [â€Å"Peer influence†], and misconception of smoking [â€Å"Style (because of smoking). Siyle†] were common factors for them to e xperiment with smoking.The teenagers who started smoking before the age of 13 claimed that curiosity and smoking modelling by parents were their main reasons for experimenting with smoking. This is contrary to those who started smoking at the age of 13 years or older. These teenagers admitted that peer pressure was the major factor for them to start smoking. Cigarette consumption Majority (20/23) of the teenage smokers in this study admitted to smoking every day and 74% of these teenagers smoked not more than 5 cigarettes a day.The teenagers believed that their daily smoking behaviour was mainly due to nicotine addiction in which they described substantial physical (e. g. tiredness, lethargy, flu-like symptoms) and psychological (e. g. slow thinking, depressed, craving) withdrawal symptoms that they experienced during smoking abstinence [â€Å"My brain feels slow†; â€Å"(If I stop smoking) I feel restless. â€Å"]. The daily smokers also admitted to smoking when they were with their friends. They claimed this behaviour could be due to a number of reasons: a) sharing the cost of cigarettes with their friends, thus tend to smoke together, as explained by a teenager: Between 14 of us. we shared RMI per person, we can get 2 big boxes of cigarettes. † b) socialisation, as one teenager noted: â€Å"When we hang around (with friends), we smoke, sis† c) peer pressure, as a teenager claimed: â€Å"When we see our friends smoked, the desire to smoke is too intense. † d) sense of belonging, for example: â€Å"We all belong to a gang who shared our cigarettes together† However, three of the current smokers admitted to smoking only once a week. They stated that they particularly smoked during stressful period [â€Å"Especially when I am doing something. When it's hard then I'll smoke. ]. A few of the teenagers reported that the national anti-tobacco policy, as well as the school regulations had restricted their smoking behaviour. These teenagers admitted to commonly smoke in secluded areas outside of public view, such as in school toilets and stairways of shopping malls. The restrictive environment for public smoking was believed to influence tbeir cigarette consumption. Intention to quit All teenage smokers in this study had the intention to quit smoking. However, 7 of them (30%) did not plan to quit within the next 6 months (in the pre-contemplation stage).Twelve of them (52%) were in the planning stage, but none had set their quit dates. The smokers diselosed that a number of factors could influence tbeir desire to quit, which included: a) impaired athletic performance, as one of the teenagers claimed: â€Å"When (I) sprint†¦ I will hecome breathless† b) boy- or girlfriend aversion, for example: â€Å"Maybe (I get the desire to stop smoking) from my girlfriend. If she said â€Å"If you do not stop smoking, we should break-up†. Huh. (I feel like to quit smoking)† c) parental disapprova l, as noted by one boy: If mother scolded me for smoking, until she cried.. I would feel ? ike I want to quit, but it was temporary only. Afterwards.. I continue smoking† d) concern about health, shown by one of the teenagers' excerpt: â€Å"Smoking can make me feel breathless, sis (that's why I feel like to quit)† e) finaneial problems, as a teenager stated: â€Å"(I) think about my parents, sis. My mother and my father are not wealthy, (when I) think about that, it could (trigger my desire to quit)† Similar motivating factors were also reported by former smokers in this study prior to their successful smoking cessation.Nevertheless, these former smokers admitted that only personalised motivating factors could render them to quit successfully. Their personalised motivators were parental disapproval [â€Å"(Parental disapproval) effective, it's effective. I've stopped smoking. â€Å"], maintaining athletic performance [â€Å"(I) stopped smoking (for athletic p erformance). I got selected (to play football for my district) afterwards†]. and saving money /†/ stopped (smoking) to save money to buy a motorbike†]. Previous quit attempts Almost all (22/23) teenage smokers in this study had attempted smoking cessation prior to the interviews.The teenagers deseribed that quitting was very difficult because of withdrawal symptoms that they experienced during the quit attempts [â€Å"(If I stop smoking) I feel restless†]. Sixty percent of the teenage smokers had actually attempted to quit four times or more. All of the teenagers claimed that they never reeeived any professional helps when they made their attempts to quit in the past. Majority of them declared that they sought their friends' advice on how to quit and among the common methods that they had tried were drinking a lot of water, chewing gums and taking sweets, as one of the teenagers said:Tohid H. et al. 197 â€Å"Usuatty (I) asked my friends how to quit. They a dvised me to drink a tot of minerat water. † DISCUSSION In Malaysia, the mean age of smoking initiation among teenage smokers is between 12-14 years old, (The National Health and Morbidity Survey, 2009; Hammond et at. , 2008; Khairani, Norazua, & Zaiton, 2004; Naing et at. , 2004) whieh is concurrent with the findings of this study. The common reasons for smoking initiation, such as curiosity, peer pressure, and parental smoking, reported by tbe participants in tbis study were similar to otber studies. (Naing et at. 2004; Kbairani, Norazua, & Zaiton, 2004) This study also suggested that curiosity and parental modelling of smoking bebaviour could be teenagers' main reasons for experimenting smoking at younger age (less tban 13 years old). In contrary, peer pressure was found to be a major factor for teenagers wbo started smoking at seeondary sehools. However, the significance of tbese associations should be confirmed by future quantitative studies. Cigarette consumption reporte d by teenagers in this study was found to be lesser tban tbose of Malaysian adults, who averagely smoke between 11 to 14 cigarettes per day. World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, 2010) Tbis may be due to a number of factors as suggested by tbese teenagers, such as; (a) insufficient fund to purchase cigarettes, (b) ‘occasional' smoking, and (c) restrictive environment for smoking. Nevertheless, underreporting of smoking behaviour by these teenagers may also explain the lower estimated number of cigarettes smoked by them. Tbis is because teenagers have a tendency to report socially desirable behaviour and attitudes. (Hammond et at. , 2008; Klein, Havens, & Carlson, 2005)Insufficient fund to purebase cigarettes were described by some of the teenagers in this study, who claimed that they had to share their pocket money with their peers to buy cigarettes. Tbis is to ensure their continuous supply of cigarettes and to develop bonding among tbe peer s. (Vuckovic, Polen, & Hollis, 2003; Amos, Wiltsbire, Haw, & McNeill, 2006; Niehter, Vuckovic, Quintero, & Ritenbaugh, 1997; Seguire, & Cbalmers, 2000) Tbis practice in turn increases tbe level of acceptance by peers and promote sense of belonging tbat is pertinent to teenagers' psychosocial development. Mermelstein, 2003; Vuckovic, Polen, & Hollis, 2003; McVea, Miller, Creswell, McEntarrfer, & Coleman, 2009; Nicbter, Vuckovic, Quintero, & Ritenbaugh, 1997; Seguire, c& Chalmers, 2000) However, some teenagers in this study, who had no financial constraint because they had personal income (e. g. from part-time job or significant allowance from parents), admitted to smoke only wben socialising and facing adversities (e. g. relation problems, inability to cope witb academic or part-time job). (Vuekovic, Polen, & Hollis, 2003; Balch et at. , 2004; Amos, Wiltshire, Haw, & McNeill, 2006; Hoi, 8L Hong, 2000;Khairani, Norazua, & Zaiton, 2004; Niehter, Vuckovic, Quintero, & Ritenbaugh, 1997; Seguire, & Chalmers, 2000) These teenagers can be defined as occasional smokers, whose smoking was apparently influenced by peer pressure and tbeir inability to control themselves over smoking or to cope with stress. (Vuckovic, Polen, & Hollis, 2003; Seguire, & Chalmers, 2000; Patten et al. , 2003; Niehter, Vuckovic, Quintero, & Ritenbaugh, 1997; Mermelstein, 2003; McVea, Miller, Creswell, McEntarrfer, & Coleman, 2009; Khairani, Norazua, & Zaiton, 2004; Balch et at. , 2004; Amos, Wiltshire, Haw, & McNeill, 2006; Hoi, & Hong, 2000) Teenagers' smoking in esponse to hardship shows that smoking is their way of coping since it calms them through nicotine effects on the central nervous system. (Niebter, Vuckovic, Quintero, & Ritenbaugh, 1997; Curry, Mermelstein, & Sporer, 2009) In addition, smoking creates a social space in which they can calm down and relieve tension. (Niehter, Vuckovic, Quintero, & Ritenbaugh, 1997; Curry, Mermelstein, & Sporer, 2009) Apart from financial constraint and occasional smoking, restrietive environment for public smoking was also found to be responsible for tbe partieipants' low cigarette consumption in this study.Therefore, these teenagers commonly smoked in secluded areas outside of public view, sucb as scbool toilets and stairways of shopping malls. These findings are consistent with a number of other studies that have found restrictive environment to be effective in reducing teenage smoking. (Wakefield ct at. , 2000; Lipperman-Kreda, & Grube, 2009; Crawford, Balcb, Mermelstein, & Tobacco Control Network Writing Group, 2002) Majority of teenage smokers bave intention to quit. (Khairani, Norazua, & Zaiton, 2004; Krishnan M, 2003; Mermelstein, 2003; Naing ct at. 2004; The National Health and Morbidity Survey, 2009) Tbis was also found by tbis study, in wbich almost all teenagers who smoked eonsidered to quit smoking sometime in the future. They admitted that a number of factors could trigger tbeir quit intention, wbich include; (a) ath letic performance, (b) boy- or girlfriend aversion, (c) parental disapproval, (d) concern about bealtb, and (e) money saving. Tbese faetors were similarly found to motivate teenagers to eease smoking by previous studies. (Vuckovic, Polen, & Hollis, 2003; Mermelstein, 2003; McVea, Miller, Creswell,McEntarrfer, & Coleman, 2009; Balcb ct al. , 2004) However, tbe teenagers reported tbat these extrinsie motivations were insufficient to keep them from total smoking abstinence. Nevertbeless, excerpts made by tbe former smokers in this study suggested that teenagers would only stop smoking when they are desperate to change due to compelling personal reasons. This finding is supported by McVea et al who found only 'emotionally compelling and inescapable quit reasons' were the most motivating reasons for teenagers to stop smoking. (McVea, Miller, Creswell, McEntarrfer, & Coleman, 2009)Even though majority of tbe teenagers in this study had intention to quit smoking, they did not have any quit ting plans, not even setting their quit dates. These findings are similar to those reported by Mermestein. (Mermelstein, 2003) It is possible tbat the teenagers were; (a) not ready to quit (Balch ct al. , 2004) (e. g. some of the teenagers in the eurrent study would only quit when they experience major life transition, such as after graduation and tnarriage), (b) ambivalent about quitting (MeVea, Miller, Creswell, McEntarrfer, & Coleman, 2009; Patten et al. 2003) (e. g. a number of teenagers repetitively answered, â€Å"I am not sure† when they were asked about tbeir plan to quit smoking), and (c) very confident that they could control themselves over smoking (Niehter, Vuckovic, Quintero, & Ritenbaugb, 1997; Amos, Wiltshire, Haw, & McNeill, 2006) (e. g. a teenager assertively admitted that he could stop stroking on his own without relying on helps from other). The later seems to be related to teenagers' belief tbat ‘quitting is just a matter of will power'. (Amos, Wilts bire, Haw, & McNeill, 2006; Balcb el at. 2004) After all, these teenagers' ehanees for successful quit attempts would be reduced if they did not have strategic quitting plans. Multiple unsuccessful quit attempts were also reported by many teenagers in tbis study, in which the findings were concurrent with other studies. (World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, 2010; The National Health and Morbidity Survey, 2009; Klein, Havens, & Carlson, 2005; Balch ct at. , 2004) This could be due to several reasons which can be summarised into three categories; (1) nicotine addiction,(Amos,Wiltsbire, Haw, & McNeill, 2006; Balch et al. , 2004; DiFranza et at. , 2007; DiFranza ct at. , 2007) (2) factors related to environment and situation which could promote teenage smoking (e. g. strong peer pressure, poor support from friends, smoking tnodelling by family members, stress etc, as higbligbted by tbe current study), (Balch et at. , 2004; Crawford, Balch, Mermelstein , & Tobacco Control Network Writing Group, 2002; McVea, Miller, Creswell, McEntarrfer, & Coleman, 2009; Nicbter, Vuckovic, Quintero, & Ritenbaugb, 1997) and (3) personal factors (e. g. oor risk assessment, poor knowledge, poor self efficacy and control, mi,sconception about smoking and quitting, strong belief in unassisted quit attempts etc, as found by this study) (Niehter, Vuckovic, Quintero, & Ritenbaugb, 1997; Balcb ct at. , 2004). These tbree categories appear to matcb tbe model of the Social Cognitive Theory. Overall, this study provides beneficial information for future development of interventions of smoking cessation for teenagers. Nevertheless, appropriate eontext which is similar to tbose of this study should be taken into consideration before applying such information since this is a ease study.Interviewing only teenagers aged 16 years old also limits the findings of this study. This is because teenagers at different stages of adolescence (early, middle and late) may bav e different developmental characteristics which may influence their pereeption and attitude towards cigarette smoking. Teenagers from different stages of adolescence should then be included in future studies as differences in tbeir perception, attitude and bebaviour could be explored. CONCLUSION This study bad captured tbe complexity of tbe teenagers' smoking bebaviour that could be influenced by multiple factors.Tbese faetors included behavioural (e. g. nicotine addiction), personal and environmental factors matched the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT). These 198 What Determines Teenagers' Smoking Behaviour? multiple factors should be considered in developing interventions for smoking cessation suited for teenagers. The corresponding mapping of the findings against the SCT also supports the use of the SCT in helping us to comprehensively understand teenage smoking behaviour and to overcome the influential factors. FUNDING This work was funded by the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia UKM- GUP-TKS-07-12-097 and FF-127-2008). DECLARATION OF INTERESTS All authors declare that they have no conflicts of interests. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors would also like to express gratitude to the Ministry of Education Malaysia, the Ministry of Health Malaysia and the school counsellors who had helped us throughout the study. REFERENCES Amos A. Wiltshire S, Haw S. McNeill A. (2006). Ambivalence and uncertainty: experiences and altitudes towards addiction and smoking cessation in the mid-to-late teens. Heatiti Educ Re. s. 21. 181-191. doi:l0. 1093/her/cyh054 Baick GI.Tworek C, Barker DC. Sasso B. Mermelstein R. Glovino GA. et at. (2004). Opportunities for youth stnoking cessation: findings from a national focus group . study. Nicotine Tob Res. 6. 9-17. doi:l0. 1080/1462200310001650812 Baranowski T. Perry C. Parcel G. (2002). How individuals, environments and health behavior interact. In K. Glanz. B. K. Rimer and F. M. Lewis (Eds. ), hieuttti tiettavior and tieattti education 3rd ed. ( pp. 165-184). Jossey-Bass Inc Pub. Breslau N. Peterson EL. (1996). Smoking cessation in young adults: age at initiation of cigarette smoking and other suspected influences.Am J Public t-teatttt. 86, 214-220. Retrieved from http://ajph. aphapublications. Org/cgi/reprint/86/2/2l4. pdf Chen J. Millar WJ. (1998). Age of smoking initiation: implications for quitting, tiealttt Rep, 9. 39-46. (Eng); 39. Retrieved from http://www. statcan. gc. ca/studies-etudes/82- 003/archive/1998/3685-eng. pdf Crawford MA. Balch GI. Mermelstein R, Tobacco Control Network Writing Group. (2002). Responses to tobacco control policies among youth. Tob Control. 11. 14-19. Retrieved from http://www. bvsde. paho. org/bvsacd/cd26/tc/vl In 1/14. df Curry SJ. Mermelstein RJ, Sporer AK. (2009). Therapy for specific problems: youth tobacco cessation. Annu Rev Psyctwt. 60. 229-255. doi:10. 1146/annurev. psych. 60. l 10707. 163659 DiFranza JR. Savageau JA. Fletcher K, O'Loughlin J. Pbert L. Ockene JK. et at. (2007). Sy mptoms of tobacco dependence after brief intermittent use: the Development and Assessment of Nicotine Dependence in Youth-2 study. Arcii Pediatr Adotesc Med. 161, 704-710. doi:IO. IOOI/archpedi. 161. 7. 704 DiFranza JR. Savageau JA. Fletcher K. Ockene JK. Rigotti NA. McNeill AD. t al. (2002). Measuring the loss of autonomy over nicotine use in adolescents: the DANDY (Development and Assessment of Nicotine Dependence in Youths) study. Arcti Pediatr Adote. sc tvied, 156. 397-403. Retrieved from http://archpedi. amaassn. org/cgi/content/full/l56/4/397 DiFranza JR. Savageau JA. Fletcher K. Pbert L, O'Loughlin J, McNeill AD. et al. (2007). Susceptibility to nicotine dependence: the Development and Assessment of Nicotine Dependence in Youth 2 study. Pediatrics, 120, e974-e983. doi:IO. I542/peds. 2007- 0027 Dijk F. de Nooijer J.Heinrich E. de Vries H. (2007). Adolescents† view on smoking, quitting and health education. Heattti Educ. 107. 114-125. doi:IO. 1108/09654280710731539 Epps R P. Manley MW. Glynn TJ. (1995). Tobacco use among adolescents. Strategies for prevention. Pediatr Clin North Am, 42, 389-402. E. scobedo LG. Marcus SE. Holtzman D, Giovino GA. (1993). Sports participation, age at smoking initiation, and the risk of smoking among US high school students. J Am Med Assoc, 269, 1391-1395. Retrieved from http://jama. ama-assn. org/cgi/reprint/ 269/11/1391 Flick U. Ed. ). (2009). An tntroduction to Quatitative Researcti. Sage Publications Ltd. Hammond D, Kin F. Prohmmo A, Kungskulniti N, Lian TY, Sharma SK. et at. (2008). Patterns of smoking among adolescents in Malaysia and Thailand: findings from the International Tobaeco Control Southeast Asia survey. Asia-Pacific J Public Healtti, 20. 193-203. doi:IO. 1177/1010539508317572 Hoi T. Hong L. (2000). Smoking among students in a rural secondary school. J Univ Mataya Med Cent. 5, 85-88. Retrieved from tutp:lltnyais. fst(ttn. um. edu. myl603HI t/Teti_Kot

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Explain why information systems project management requires careful attention to quality management - Essay Example Second reason is that lack of focus on quality management within information systems project management can result in rework and high number of project changes. Such issues can cause delay in the completion of business processes which can consequently decrease the level of organizational efficiency. This is the reason why experts suggest adhering to the standards of quality while managing any information system project. â€Å"It certainly is a better and safer practice to plan quality in advance than hope that no quality gaps occur† (Mladinov 2012, p. 1). Therefore, we can say that quality management and IT systems project management go side by side in order to reap desired benefits from the projects. Quality planning process refers to the set of tasks that ensure quality of the project during all phases of the project. Some of those tasks include designing and checking the quality standards, using most appropriate resources for the project, and continuously monitoring the efficiency and quality of each of the completed tasks. Quality planning is a systematic process that interprets the policy regarding project quality into a set of measurable targets. The planning includes identification of all objectives and laying down a sequence of steps to meet those objectives. The techniques of quality planning include use of control charts, statistical sampling, flowcharting, designing of experiments, cost benefit analysis, benchmarking, cost benefit analysis, and use of quality management methodologies. The outputs of the quality assurance process include updated project management plan, updated organizational process assets, updated project document, and change requests in accordance with the results of analysis of processes. Mladinov, L 2012, Importance of Quality Management on IT Projects Within the Pharmaceutical Industry, viewed 16 December 2013,

Finance - Personal Financial Planning Assignment

Finance - Personal Financial Planning - Assignment Example You have no plans to increase the size of your family in the near future. Estimate your total insurance needs using the DINK method.   Assume $5,000 for funeral expenses. The Kelleher family has health insurance coverage that pays 80 percent out-of-hospital expenses after a $500 deductible per person. If one family member has doctor and prescription medication expenses of $2,800, what amount would the insurance company pay? Becky Fenton has 25/50/10 automobile insurance coverage. If two other people are awarded $15,000 each for injuries in an auto accident in which Becky was judged at fault, how much of this judgment would the insurance cover? People always   want to achieve different goals in terms of financial achievement. They are the basic rules that one needs to follow to come up with a good and comprehensive finical plan that will not affect his/her income. The first thing you need to know is your current financial income. This will enable you to plan accurately. The second is developing a financial target. This will make you remain focused on what you do. Also one needs to know what are the alternatives one has in case one side fails or an emergency occurs. Every decision you make must have an alternative and a course of action. Creation of financial plan should be another factor. One needs to choose his or her goals clearly either long term or short term ones. For example one can buy things in higher purchases to attain long term goal. Finally is reviewing your plan time and again as it   is dynamic and tend to change now and then .This is to enable accommodation of more factors that come along the

How ERP Can Help Companies Become Lean Coursework

How ERP Can Help Companies Become Lean - Coursework Example In the current economic climate, there is cut-throat competition and a rat race has emerged to capture and retain a large customer base. The larger a firm’s customer base, the stronger it shall become. A firm’s customers are its most valuable asset, as they are the ones who spread positive word of mouth if the company is delivering good value and this in turn drives demand and subsequently the growth of an organization. Firms nowadays recognize the importance of delivering ‘customer delight’ more than ever before and this has led a change in their business strategies whereby companies are striving to eliminate as many costs as possible and streamline their business processes in order to provide better service at lower costs and pass this benefit down to their customers. Availability of information, or rather the lack of it, is often cited as one of the main reasons why delays occur in business processes and often results in two or more departments doing sim ilar paperwork thus duplicating the work, something which is totally unnecessary and only consumes more time and money than necessary. An ERP system in this case shall be an ideal addition to the company’s resources as it makes available information across all functional departments thus ensuring transparency and availability of information at all times. ... fers and are adopting measures to integrate this system into their operations or, in case of those using older computer systems, migrate to the newer ERP platform. The proponents of Lean have recognized that ERP can help organizations achieve the objective of becoming lean. The five basic principles that form the basis of the idea of Lean - value definition and specification, value stream mapping, uninterrupted flow, customer pull and the pursuit of perfection - are â€Å"all supported and enhanced by comprehensive information control and management tools that an end-to-end enterprise software suite delivers.† How an ERP system streamlines a company’s business processes An ERP system can help a company move towards a lean structure in many ways. These include helping reduce waste, moving towards continuous improvement, exploiting and satisfying sales and customer service opportunities, keeping suppliers and production up-to-date with the use of order less manufacturing and Kanban and creating an environment of perfect information and collaboration. Waste Reduction An ERP system, if implemented, becomes the main information carrying artery of a company, carrying data pertaining do day-to-day activities, measuring progress and using metrics to identify opportunities where a company can improve its processes. Some ERP systems also allow companies to conduct ‘What-If’ analyses and help determine activities that have the quickest payback times. A transparent system with perfect information flow allows all departments to visibly see where each activity lies in terms of progress and ensures that duplication of work doesn’t take place. With an ERP system in place, firms can effectively use the most efficient methods of routing and workflow such as using the most

Open Office Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Open Office - Essay Example This project eliminates the helping wizards like in Microsoft office and introduces with a new feature that may be somewhat helps in the styles of the document. The best feature of this Open Office is that it maintains the database in form of bibliography, which later helps in referencing or finding some extra resources for notes. Being a writer Mike Magee emphasizes about the feature comparable to Microsoft Word in Open Office in his article. He after his reviews on different word processors like the Byzantine Wordstar, Lotus Manuscript, Xywrite, Gem First Word Plus and many more including different innumerable Microsoft word processors he prefer Open Office Word Processor. He encloses that Open Office Word Processor by default gives many feature for the document that may be changed and saved as a template document, later all other documents may customize with respect to all favorite style document user saved. The software may read all the Microsoft extensions i.e., .rtf, .txt, etc and may produce HTML files as well. He as a writer likes Open Office as it allows him to switch all the auto options, like auto spell-check, auto sense, auto sniff, auto quotes etc, easily. Moreover, he switches off the option that change his word Icons in OO icons. Open Office is an open source software and are available free on Internet. There are two kind of software, one is open source software and the other is proprietary software. The open source software is found free or for very low cost on Internet or on Compact Disks with their source code for the use. However, proprietary software is same but their code is only with developers or sometimes with the good hackers. Microsoft Explorer is the best example for preprimary software. This software is designed for some particular issues, as developers are not the users and though it lacks with the features and sometimes don't allow enhancing. Contrary to this, open source software holds the source code and can be modified by the user according to its own requirements. Briefing a little more about the proprietary software, that to eliminate bugs and have new functionalities user has to wait for the new version and developers work for this on extra money, despite open source totally oppose it an d though use more cause its bug fixations are continuous and features release are regular to the user to use. Moreover, developers work for open source by volunteering themselves for free to specialize and earn name where as all proprietary software are part of business trade-offs. And though it may conclude that due to open source in hand, user is more flexible with open source rather than proprietary software. Open Source Software is famous and efficient cause their source code is in the hand of user and can modify to respective requirements. Source Code actually is a set of instructions or programs compiled together to run software. Or in other words, source code is the set of statements that is readable to human but not computers and to make computer understand that language it is compiled and changed into machine language. This set of statements seems to be nothing else than a document of text but values whole software. A little change in a text of doc may not allow software to run perfectly and though these source codes of different software are kept out of reach from the users who don't have any idea about computer languages. There are

American history Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

American history - Essay Example The scenario has not much changed. The blacks and ethnic minorities still have to fight for their rights in the twentieth century and struggle to avail privileges that are enjoyed by the white population. Andrew Jackson was the 7th president of America who had made a mark for himself when he had defeated the mighty British army at New Orleans. His great patriotism is backed by his many personal sacrifices. He was one of the most publicly favored presidents who had ‘repolarized American politics’ (Jackson). Those who backed were called democrats and the opponents came to be known as ‘republicans’. Though Jackson had considerably influenced the American politics and was especially hailed for his decision to veto for rechartering of the bank which had vested economic interests of the few, he, nevertheless, cannot be ranked as one of the greatest presidents of America. Jackson, during his military days had not only brutalized Indians but he was also known for his pro-slavery actions and had even bought black slaves for his home! Racial differences were very apparent in southern American states whereas the northern American colonies had considerably moved forward in terms of black population enjoying more rights and privileges. The defeat of the British forces lead to the independence of 13 British colonies of North America which were together called United States of America and in 1789, the first President George Washington took oath under the ratified constitution of America. In 1971, the introduction of bill of rights and other constitutional amendments paved way for abolition of slavery (Washington, internet). The attitude of the native Americans started undergoing rapid transformation as the non white population started asserting for their rights and became more visible in political, religious, social and economic arena. In the contemporary times also, the non white population of America has to fight against racial

The Triangle Factory Fire Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Triangle Factory Fire - Essay Example This paper explores the Triangle Factory Fire in the context of progressive era in three key dimensions: workplace safety before and after the fire, response to socioeconomic problems caused by rapid industrialization and the role of stakeholders in law implementation. During 1990s, corporations had no clear workplace safety laws that could direct their operations. After finishing a day’s work on the March 25, 1911, the workers at the company were caught unaware by fire that was fast engulfing the factory, which was occupying three floors at the pinnacle a 10-story building.1 The owners of the factory together with the office staff occupying the tenth floor, but for one, managed to escape to the adjacent building via the roof.2 Unfortunately, approximately 148 employees who were occupying the ninth and eighth floors were trapped in the burning building. Trapped in the sweatshop, the women tried in vain to force locked doors open while others threw themselves from windows. During the fire, onlookers and firefighters were taken aback to discover that there was no entrance to the building.3 The hoses length could only reach the sixth floor of the building. Other impromptu approaches to rescue the trapped workers yielded no fruit.4 Following th e tragedy, the owners of the company, Isaac Harris and Max Blanck, were arraigned only to be acquitted after two hours. This verdict caused indignation among union organizers like the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (I.L.G.W.U.) representing the plight of female workers across the country. The union pushed for change and demanded the enactment of better safety laws. In order to respond effectively to emerging social and economic challenges resulting rapid industrialization, the progressive regime focused of reforms and law implementation to curb the problems and ensure better lives for Americans. The progressive era (1890-1920) was characterized with numerous swift responses to

Alcohol Advertising to Youth Essay Example for Free

Alcohol Advertising to Youth Essay Many people are unaware of the prevalence of underage drinking in the United States. Every day in the United States, more than 4,750 kids under age 16 have their first full drink of alcohol. More youth in the United States drink alcohol than smoke tobacco or marijuana, making it the drug most used by American young people. Youth who start drinking before the age of 15 are five times more likely to develop alcohol dependency or abuse in their lifetime than those who begin drinking at 21 years or later. All of these facts were published by the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth. They have published many reports on the prevalence of drinking among underage youth. But why do underage youth start drinking alcohol in the first place? According to many studies, alcohol advertising is the main influencer of alcohol consumption among underage youth. Alcohol advertising influences the use of alcohol among youth and increases the likelihood that they will consume alcohol illegally. For example, a study published in 2006 found that for each additional alcohol ad a young person saw (above the monthly youth average of 23), he or she drank one percent more. Also, for every additional dollar spent on alcohol advertising in a local market, underage drinkers consumed three percent more alcohol (Surgeon General, 2007). Because young children are likely to be influenced by alcohol advertisements, there needs to be stricter regulations on the advertising industries ability to advertise alcohol to underage youth. According to the Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent and Reduce Underage Drinking (2007), â€Å"The short-and long-term consequences that arise from underage alcohol consumption are astonishing in their range and magnitude, affecting adolescents, the people around them, and society as a whole. † Therefore, there should be a stricter regulation on alcohol advertising to youth because of the strong influence it has on their behavior and their alcohol consumption patterns. Each year, the alcohol industry spends more than four billion dollars marketing its products (Mosher Cohen, 2012). There have been multiple studies that have correlated underage youth exposure with a greater likelihood of drinking. It is imperative that the government or advertising industry reduces the impact of alcohol marketing on young people. Reducing underage drinking, like smoking, is an important public health goal (Mosher Cohen, 2012). Public health departments in California, Massachusetts, and Florida have made crucial strides in reducing underage smoking rates in their states (Mosher Cohen, 2012). They did this my sponsoring tobacco counter advertising campaigns. This indicates that this type of approach may be effective for reducing underage drinking as well (Mosher Cohen, 2012). The problem with this for alcohol advertising is that there are already responsibility ads, but they are outnumbered by alcohol ads 226-1 (CAMY News Release, 2004). Alcohol product advertising has increased significantly in recent years, while responsibility ads have decreased. According to a new study from CAMY at Georgetown University, the number of responsibility ads dropped by 46 percent from 2001 levels, while the number of alcohol commercials increased by 39 percent. Industry spending on responsibility ads also fell—down 57 percent from 2001. This is unacceptable. According to CAMY Executive Director, Jim O’Hara, â€Å"This minimal amount of responsibility advertising does little to reinforce the message of parents and teachers who are trying to prevent underage drinking. Our children need to receive a more balanced message about alcohol. † According to the same study, for every dollar spent on responsibility ads in 2002, the industry spent $99 on product ads, where in 2001, the ratio was $1 to $35. Alcohol companies should be required to sponsor a certain amount of responsibility ads each year, that is relative to the number of alcohol product ads they place. This would help to increase the amount of responsibility ads underage youth is exposed to and thus, increasing the amount of reinforcement they receive to not drink underage and illegally. According to the CAMY study at Georgetown University in 2002, of 59 alcohol marketers advertising on television, only four places responsibility ads in 2002. Adolph Coors Co, Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc. , SABMiller PLC and Diageo PLC were the four parent companies whose brands placed responsibility ads in 2002. Anheuser-Busch placed the most ads, but they still spent 45 times more on product ads and placed 89 more product ads than responsibility ads (CAMY, 2002). Underage youth were 287 times more likely per capita to see a TV commercial promoting alcohol from 2001 to 2006 (Nielsen Media Research, 2006). Other studies have found that youth exposed to alcohol in movies and to alcohol in signage near schools as well as youth ownership of alcohol promotional items are all associated with a greater likelihood of underage drinking (The Surgeon General, 2007). Therefore, because of youth’s potential to be greatly influenced by alcohol advertisements, this high amount of exposure to alcohol advertisements increases the consumption of alcohol among underage youth. There is opposition to stricter regulations on alcohol advertising; some feel that these regulations will not have any effect on the consumption and use of alcohol among underage youth. According to Marcus Grant, the president and founder of the International Centre for Alcohol Policies said that in many Scandinavian countries where alcohol advertising was banned, the prevalence of alcohol abuse was still high. Also, according to the industry Association for Responsible Alcohol Use (ARA), no evidence exists to support the notion that beverage alcohol advertising has any significant effect on the rate of alcohol abuse. According to the ARA, Denmark has a ban on all broadcast advertising except on low alcohol-content products, as well as various restrictions on print and outdoor advertising. It has one of the highest reported rates of intoxication among young people. Therefore, they feel that increasing the amount of regulations of alcohol advertising, or the banning of alcohol advertising as a whole, will not result in a decline in the rate of alcohol consumption among underage youth. While alcohol marketers have made reforms in their marketing practices, these revisions fall short (Mosher Cohen 2012). In 2006, The STOP Act was passed, requiring that the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services report annually on rates of exposure of youth to positive and negative messages about alcohol in the mass media. Advertisers are aware of the media usage of youth and current alcohol regulations do not do enough to protect underage youth from viewing alcohol advertisements. According to CAMY reports on Youth Exposure to Alcohol Ads, the advertising industry has reduced youth exposure to its advertising in magazines and cut its spending on radio. However, youth exposure to alcohol advertising on television grew by 30 percent between 2001 and 2006 (Mosher Cohen, 2012). Because youth, ages 12 to 20, are only 13. 3 percent of the national TV viewing audience, the current threshold of not placing ads where underage youth are more than 30 percent of the audience allows alcohol advertising on programs where there are more than twice as many youth as the viewing population (Mosher Cohen, 2012). It is obvious that current regulations do not do enough to support the goals of Congress, and of the Surgeon General, to decrease alcohol advertising exposure and alcohol consumption among underage youth. Therefore, stricter regulations need to be put into place to restrict the advertising industry from placing alcohol advertisements within youth-consumed media. CAMY issued a report of eight methods for states to limit and reduce youth exposure to alcohol advertisements. According to CAMY, only 11 states implement more than one â€Å"best practice† policy, a total of 22 states implement no policies at all. It is important for these states to implement all of eight of the methods to ensure that underage youth are not exposed to these ads and the consequences of seeing these ads (Swift, 2011). According to a study conducted by Leslie B. Snyder, Ph. D. , of the University of Connecticut, Storrs, and colleagues, a random sample of young people between the ages of 15 to 26 years old were interviewed. The researchers reported these results: (1) For each additional alcohol advertisement viewed per month, the number of drinks consumed increased by one percent (2) The same percentage increase, one percent per alcohol advertisement per month, applied to underage drinkers (those younger than age 21) as well as legal aged drinkers (3) Youth in markets with high alcohol advertising expenditures ($10 or more per person per month) also increase their drinking more over time, reaching a peak of 50 drinks per month by age 25 and, (4) Young people drank three percent more per month for each additional dollar spent per capita in their market (Buddy T., 2006). This research shows that advertising expenditure had a direct influence on the amount of alcohol consumed by underage and legal aged drinkers. According to Snyder, â€Å"The results also contradict the claims that advertising is unrelated to youth drinking amounts†¦ Alcohol advertising was a contributing factor to youth drinking quantities over time,† (Buddy T. , 2006). The facts cannot be denied; alcohol advertising is effective. The bottom line is, the more advertising young people see, the more they drink (Buddy T. , 2012). CAMY has found that many parents are beginning to become concerned about the overexposure to alcohol advertisements that their children see. Two-thirds of parents believe more ads mean more youth drinking and 75 percent of parents agree that the alcohol industry should do more to limit youth advertising (Buddy T. , 2012). It is unacceptable that nothing more has been done to prevent this while there have been multiple studies done on the correlation between alcohol advertising and underage drinking, and they all have concluded the same results: Exposure to alcohol advertising increase the likelihood for underage drinking and increased alcohol consumption. Alcohol advertisements need to be regulated across all media forms: online, television, magazine and print, radio, etc. Young people should not be exposed to alcohol advertisements, especially within the media channels that they use most. Television alcohol ads should not be allowed to be on shows with certain percentage of underage viewers, the same goes for magazine and radio advertisements. While it will be hard to regulate this, more can be done to make sure the message of preventing underage drinking is reinforced through responsibility ads. If stricter regulations on alcohol advertisements cannot be put into place, then the amount of responsibility ads countering the alcohol ads needs to be dramatically increased. Underage youth need to constantly be reinforced with the message of not underage drinking as well as the warnings of drinking such as drunk driving. In conclusion, more needs to be done to reduce the amount of youth exposure to alcohol product advertisements and to prevent underage drinking. It is the responsibility of the government and of alcohol marketers to make sure they are protecting youth, not corrupting them at a young age. Youth exposure to alcohol advertisements increase the amount of alcohol consumed by underage drinkers and current regulations are simply not doing enough to prevent this. References Alcohol Ads Outnumber Responsibility Ads 226-1. About. com Alcoholism. N. p. , 2002. Web. 11 Dec. 2012. Alcohol Advertising and Youth. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. CAMY. org, Apr. 2007. Web. 11 Dec. 2012. Mosher, James F. , JD Cohen, and Elena N. Cohen. State Laws to Reduce the Impact of Alcohol Marketing on Youth. Camy. org. Alcohol Policy Consultations, 1 May 2011. Web. 11 Dec. 2012. Prevalence of Underage Drinking. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. N. p. , July 2011. Web. 11 Dec. 2012. State Report Update 2012. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. N. p. , 1 May 2012. Web. 11 Dec. 2012. Swift, James. States Not Reducing Youth Exposure to Alcohol Ads. Youthtoday. org. YouthToday. org, 4 May 2012. Web. 11 Dec. 2011. T. , Buddy. Alcohol Advertising Increases Youth Drinking. About. com Alcoholism. N. p. , 19 Jan. 2006. Web. 11 Dec. 2012 T. , Buddy. Teen Drinking Influenced by Alcohol Advertising. About. com Alcoholism. N. p. , 19 Oct. 2012. Web. 11 Dec. 2012. T. , Buddy. Underage Drinking Troubles Parents. About. com Alcoholism. N. p. , 27 Dec. 2007. Web. 11 Dec. 2012. U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Surgeon Generals Call to Action To Prevent and Reduce Underage Drinking. U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Surgeon General, 2007.

Study On Southwest Airlines Management Essay

Study On Southwest Airlines Management Essay The past few decades the airline industry has experienced major setbacks. They went through governmental deregulations in the 1980s where many of the airlines had to file for bankruptcy or close down because they were not making a profit. The ones who survived these series of crises out of deeply in debt, strapped by union regulations, and facing an industry that was highly competitive. Then when the World Trade Center was hit by terrorist late in 2001 these airline companies faced a country that was leery of air travel and as a result these companies often had to fly their planes with empty seats. On top of that these airlines had to incur additional costs due to the rising cost of fuel. The airlines that had survived these earlier disasters finally succumbed to the economic pressures that they were facing. Again, they were forced to either file bankruptcy or merge into other companies. During all of these trials and tribulations when many of these organizations were failing, one carrier grew and prospered throughout this entire period -[this airline is] Southwest Airlines. (Buller, 2006). Company Description Southwest Airlines was founded in the 1960s and since its beginning Southwest has always been the underdog, fighting for its survival. It was approved to fly on February 20, 1968 from the Texas Aeronautics Commission. But it had many legal and political battles to fight over the next few years in order to continue doing business. Braniff, Trans Texas, and Continental fought to keep Southwest Airlines out of the market. Eventually Southwest had to go to the Texas Supreme Court and then to the United States Supreme Court in order to get the approval to continue to operate. Herb Kelleher, who was a law student graduate from New York University and also Southwests CEO, led the fight most of the way and it was through his efforts that Southwest came out of their early legal battles, victorious. From these early battles to the major airline that is now days, Southwests growth can be divided up into three different phases. The first, named Proud Texan phase, took place from 1971 to 1978. It was during this period that Southwest expanded its services within the state of Texas. Since it did not cross state lines the company was not subjected to many of the federal regulations that other airlines had to face, thus saving the company time and money. The second phase is called the Interstate Expansion and it took place from 1978 to 1986. It was during this phase that Southwest Airlines started flying into other states. By the end of the Interstate Expansion Southwest was flying into 14 different airports. Southwest opened into these markets after the deregulation which allowed them to operate on interstate bases without being overburden by the government. The third phase is the National Achievement phase which took pace from 1987 to 1997. During this phase Southwest gained much of its success and notoriety. It was during this phase where Southwest airlines had most of its growth. By looking at the past we can discover important insights about the companys culture and philosophy. In Southwests case after looking at its different stages of growth we can see that the company is careful about how fast it expands. Many airlines have expanded to fast, lost control, and going under. Southwest decided to take a more conservative approach, go-slow, a philosophy which comes from Herb Kelleher. The company has a policy that even if a city offers money to the company they can not enter that market. Rather, the only way Southwest will enter a market is if conditions are favorable to the company, including, but not limited to weather and economic conditions. The way Southwest handles their growth brings up two important points about the company. The first is that the company does not want the growth of their organization to get out of hand. They have watched other companies in the past and have learned from their mistakes This efficient growth strategy is evidenced by the fact that the top 100 most profitable markets for airlines account for 75 percent of Southwests profits. The second is that Southwest airline is an ethical company. They refuse to take bribes from cities and communities that want their business. Both of these points come from Southwest cultures and can be traced to back to Herb Kelleher and management techniques. The CEO Herb Kelleher is a man who must be looked at in order to understand Southwest Airlines. It was Kellehers vision that made Southwest Airlines what it is today and much of the companys fun oriented culture comes directly from him. He took the company from scratch and built it into a major airline company. Kelleher is friendly, participative, deeply involved, and caring approach is revered throughout the organization. He can be described as being both a charismatic and a transformational leader. For Kellehers aura inspires the people of Southwest Airlines and to transcend their own self-interest. (Robbins, 2007). Herb Kelleher has been described time and time again as having charisma. Even though it is hard to put a definition on charisma, Kelleher does fit into Robert Houses four characteristics of a charismatic leader. First, Kelleher has a vision and he articulates that vision of high quality customer service in the mission statement at Southwest airline. Second, he takes personal risks in order to achieve that vision. He showed that he was willing to take personal risk and incur high costs when he was fighting the legal battles at the inception of Southwest Airlines. Third, he is sensitive to his followers needs. Herb Kelleher seems to really care about his employees and their well being. This permeates throughout the whole organization and most of his employees understand his level of empathy for them. Finally, he displays unconventional behavior. This can be seen by looking at Southwest airlines, it seems to do everything unconventional but it has the success to back it up. Herb Kelleher can also be described as a transformational leader. By listening to the stories from Southwest employees a person will soon learn that the culture at Southwest is truly different and that this difference is credited to Herb Kelleher. One of the stories that resonates throughout the company is how one of the Southwest agents babysat a passengers dog for two weeks so that the customer could take a flight on which pets were not allowed. (Buller, 2006). It is this kind of service that can be seen throughout the whole organization. Southwests employees often ask themselves if this is something Herb Kelleher would do? Mission and Objectives Southwest Airlines mission focuses on their employees and customer service. Southwests mission is dedication to the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and Company Spirit. (Buller, 2006). Since Southwest is a no frills airline they gain and keep customers by offering exceptional customer service which is provided through the employees, the cornerstone of the company. Southwest Airline proclaims that We are a company of people, not planes. That is what distinguishes us from other companies.(Buller, 2006). Other companies may have nicer airplanes but they only provide good service to first class ticket holders. Southwest treats all of their customers as if they were all riding first class. Having a mission statement focused on customer service makes Southwests relationship to its customers unique. This is what allows Southwest Airline to dominate the discount airline market. The objective at Southwest are simple; to provide basic services in an efficient effective manner. Southwests flights are safe, low-price transportation with great customer service. Southwest offers some of the industries lowest fares and have one of the industries highest safety ratings. Another main objective of Southwest is to provide arrivals and departures that are consistent and on time. This has been a large problem for many airlines. But because Southwests average turn around time of 15 to 20 minutes helps ensure on-time flights. As long as Southwest continues to achieve its objectives, they will continue to excel in the airline industry. Southwest Strategies The strategy portion of Southwests business begins with its workforce which is carefully selected and trained to reflect the image of the company. It starts with a careful hiring process. Applicants to Southwest are put through a strenuous selection process because the company is focused on obtaining people with the right attitudes for their company. This is because the belief at Southwest is that they can teach skills but they can not teach attitude. Some of the attributes the company is looking for in employees include: positive attitude, positive self image, internal locus of control and highly conscientious. Once the right people are selected for the jobs, the training begins. Kelleher pushes the importance of maintaining a cohesive culture and training is an excellent way of assuring that this is achieved. A major way that employees learn to adhere to the culture of Southwest is through Southwest University which is a training facility where employees learn what it means to be part of the Southwest family. In addition to strenuous hiring and training processes Southwest Airlines invests heavily in treating its employees well. In an industry notorious for labor disputes and bad union relations Southwest Airlines is a rare exception. The majority of their employees, 85 percent, are non-unionized. When the company does have to deal with unions the negotiations are generally friendly. Much of this success comes from a practice of profit sharing with its employees. In this case, profit sharing can be beneficial because it encourages employees to be personally vested in the company and it allows for room for salary negotiations. Southwest also offers excellent medical and dental benefits which are very important in the era of rising health costs. Good salaries, health care programs and profit sharing are tools the company uses to retain the valuable employees it worked so hard to obtain. All of the benefits of working for Southwest directly feed into its corporate culture, which is one of Southwests key strategies. Part of the reason Southwest is so successful is because they strive to make it fun to fly with them. To accomplish this the company created an atmosphere that is fun to work in. This means diminishing the influence of bureaucratic restrictions so the employees feel like the management is working with them, to bring excellent customer service. Southwest creates their desired culture by using: a flat structure, teams, good labor relations and profit sharing to modify employee behavior to be that of a free flowing team versus a bureaucratic dictatorship. Another important way that Southwest works to reinforce its corporate culture is through company mailings. LUV Lines is the company news letter and it contains detailed information about the performance of Southwest as well as other competitors. This is a good tool for flattening the organizational structure because well informed employees are more likely to make the correct decisions. The newsletters helps make sure the employees know where their company stands in relation to the competition which encourages the feeling of ownership that is necessary to create involved employees. Southwest also has an entire book devoted to creating, positively outrageous service. This is crucial because one of the main goals of a cooperative culture is to bring about an environment in which its customers are properly cared for. Structure Largely due to the fact that the planes must operate safely and efficiently, Southwest Airlines structure is like most airlines, formal and centralized. But where Southwest differs is on their loose tight design.(Buller, 2006). They give their employee informal job descriptions concerning customer service. While there is very high standardization regarding operations, it is low with respect to customer service.(Buller, 2006). Southwest empowers its employees to do what is necessary to please their customers. So Southwest follows both the mechanistic model and organic model. On its upper levels, such as the corporate office and the flight crew, the mechanistic model is used. On the companies lower level where safety and time is not as high of a priority, the organic model is used. This gives the employees leeway to try new things on the customer service level while maintaining safety. Human Resource Management Southwests human resource departments mission statement is: recognizing that our people are the competitive advantage, we deliver the resources and services to prepare our people to be winners, to support the growth and profitability of the company, while preserving the values and special culture of Southwest Airlines. (Buller, 2006). Structurally, Southwest places more focus on their human resource department, The People Department than do its competitors. This is a major advantage for Southwest Airlines. Since Southwest Airlines has a reputation for being a great place to work, many people apply to work there. This allows Southwest airlines to be selective in its hiring process and to look for the best fit for both the employees and the company. Southwest rejects about 100,000 applicants a year while maintaining a lower turnover rate than their competition. Having this low turnover rate show that Southwest airline does a good job in their selections and their employees that they do hire have a good fit for their organization. Culture and Control Southwests culture is its most unique attribute. The company focuses on a team-oriented culture and is not distracted by work rules and regulations that most competitors are consumed by. Southwest foregoes the functional structure of its competitors in favor of a more positive equalitarian culture to create a positive equally based culture. This approach contributes significantly to Southwest having the lowest employee turnover rate in the industry and the highest level of consumer satisfaction. Conclusion As was noted above Southwest Airlines has had success while their competitors have gone under. A majority of this success can be credited to Herb Kelleher and the culture that he has created. However, Herb Kelleher is getting close to retiring and he has no clear successor to take his place. It will be interesting to watch and see who Southwest picks as Herb Kellehers successor. This will be an important crossroads in Southwests future as a new CEO can change Southwests whole culture and the direction that the company is going. Only time will tell if the unique culture and organization that Kelleher has created will survive this uncertain future.