Civil Rights vs. Civil Liberties Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Civil Rights vs. Civil Liberties - Essay Example In essence, Civil liberty and Civil rights are envisaged in the constitution and was derived from the declaration of independence and the bill of rights (Walker 481). It is worth to note that close assessment of the two terms offers an insight into the significance of sound socio-economic and political polices towards sustainable growth as has been experienced in United States. The cultural diversity that characterizes United States makes such emphasis on civil rights and civil liberty crucial. Civil rights generally entail having basic rights of being free from unequal consideration on specific characteristics that include gender, race, ethnicity, religious affiliation among others. In the context of other socio-economic provisions like housing, employment among others, civil liberty constitutes unrestricted or biased access. Civil liberty therefore entail guaranteed basic rights that are explicitly addressed by the constitution and defended by the law makers and judicial system. Achieving a united nation has been facilitated by the concentration of socio-economic interest on the constitution and relentless efforts to implement and practice. According to the Bill of rights in the constitution, civil rights and civil liberty are enshrined as the pillars of prosperity and this evident in government efforts to champion for the American dream of equality. Key constituents of civil liberty include; the right to privacy, fair judicial process, marriage, freedom of religion, rig ht to vote among others. Civil liberty and civil rights must be supported through supervised enactment and sub sequent adoption. This means that every individual is subject ted to the highlighted rights and freedom and any breach is taken through legal redress by the court. The aforementioned rights in United States are enforced through documentations on Declaration of Independence and Voting Rights Act of 1965. Voting is key to expressing

Climate change and human health

Climate change and human health Introduction The negative impacts of climate change are numerous and wide ranging. But none are as disturbing as those that pose a serious threat to human health (Smith et al., 2001). Moreover, these negative impacts are extremely complex in nature. Climate change can affect human health in several different ways (Haines Patz, 2004). With a 0.8% rise in the earth surface temperature over the past 30 years ( Solomon et al., 2007) and a further expected increase of 1.1- 6.4 degrees over the next 100 years, climate change would result in volatile global temperatures, fluctuations in the worlds rainfall level, extreme droughts and severe floods all effecting human health adversely (Haines et al., 2005). The effects can be either direct in the form of a life threatening situation or indirect ones, with detrimental consequences for biodiversity integral to human life existence. In addition, climate change can potentially influence the quality and quantity of disease carrying species thereby affecting the pathogens that carry those diseases (Bosello et al., 2006). According to WHO the fluctuations in global temperatures and rainfall have resulted in the deaths of around 150,000 people (Campbell-Lendrum et al., 2003). Furthermore, by 2030 the risk to human health from climate change will almost double (WHO, 2002) Main Threats to Human Health Heat Waves The rise in temperature predicted in future is most likely to cause more severe and prolonged heat waves (Hulme et al., 2002). Increased temperatures usually lead to cardiovascular, cerebral vascular and respiratory diseases, especially in the elderly with high mortality rates (Haines et al., 2006). Heat waves are particularly dangerous for urban areas due to the urban heat effect often resulting in higher temperatures than less crowded rural areas. In the absence of a co-ordinate effort, the threat of a heat wave is all the more real. In 2003 several thousand people died due to heat wave across Europe (Johnson et al., 2005; IVS, 2003). Severe heat can also lead to increase in humidity with negative implications for human health (Haines et al., 2006). Floods Droughts As the frequency and severity of floods and droughts increase, so do their devastating impacts on human health, in a direct and an indirect way. Human life can be threatened or even lost as a result of flooding or injury caused due to it. There are long term negative impacts on the victims mental state associated with flooding (French et al., 1983). Moreover, flooding can cause the release of toxic chemicals thereby constituting a health hazard (Albering et al., 1993-94). Flooding often leaves behind a legacy of diarrhoeal and diseases related to respiration especially in crowded regions. Mental illness like anxiety can creep in after the damages of flooding in a population (Haines et al., 2006). Droughts can lead to infectious diseases, extreme dry conditions which are highly conducive to forest fires and severe food shortages leading to low nutrition (Bouma et al., 1997). Malaria Infectious Diseases Infectious diseases are mostly caused by agents normally in the form of insects. These insects are sensitive to slight temperature variations. With the increase in temperature due to climate change, there is a likelihood that the population of these carrier agents would increase. Temperature isnt the only variable affected by climate change that helps such disease carriers. Factors like humidity, sea level rise, soil moisture and alteration in rain forest can positively affect the numbers of these insects. This can lead to an increase in the overall incident rate as well as an increase in the duration of the transmission season (Kovats, 2003). Addressing the Issue Policy making with regard to assessing the impacts of climate change on human health needs to address two basic notions: vulnerability in future as well as the cost in terms of resources needed to implement the strategies in order to reduce or mitigate the effect of climate change on human health (Ebi, 2008). Successful policies should be able to address the following basic issues: select the most climate sensitive health problems, the relationship between climate change and current health patterns, strategies available to help address the issue of climate change in terms of its costs on human health, and how can we successfully implement the health related climate change strategies (Ebi, 2008). Conclusion The issue of climate change carries enormous significance with respect to its impacts on human health. Several studies indicate a clear linkage between the climate change and its negative effects on human health. Climate change negatively influence human health in numerous ways with severe repercussions. Changes in the different variables associated with climate change help nurture the conditions harmful to human health. Policy making therefore needs to address some of the most sensitive and pressing issues in this regard. We should be able to target the issues in a more economic way as the costs of climate change mitigation are already perceived to be too high. BIBLIOGRAPHY Albering HJ, van Leusen SM, Moonen EJC, Hoogewerff JA, Kleinjans JCS. Human health risk assessment: a case study involving heavy metal soil contamination after the flooding of the river Meuse during the winter of 1993-1994. Environ Health Perspect 1999;107:37-43 Bosello, F., Lazzarin, M., Roson, R., Tol, R.S.J., 2004. Economy-Wide Estimates of the Implications of Climate Change: Sea Level Rise, Research Unit Sustainability and Global Change FNU-38. Centre for Marine and Climate Research, Hamburg University, Hamburg. Bouma MJ, Kovats SR, Goubet SA, St H, Cox J, Haines A. Global assessment of El NinËÅ"os disaster burden. Lancet 1997; 350:1435-8. Campbell-Lendrum, D., Pruss-Ustun, A., Corvalan, C., 2003. How much disease could climate change cause? in: McMichael, A.J., Campbell-Lendrum, D., Corvalan, C., Ebi, K.L., Githeko, A.K., Scheraga, J.S., Woodward, A. (Eds.), Climate Change and Health: Risks and Responses. World Health Organization, Geneva, pp. 133-158. Ebi, K. Burton, I. 2008 Identifying practical adaptation options: an approach to address climate change-related health risks. Environmental Science Policy II, 359-369. French J, Ing R, Von Allmen S, Wood R. Mortality from flash floods: a review of national weather service reports, 1969- 81. Public Health Rep 1983;98:584-8. Haines, A. Patz J. Health effects of climate change. J Am Med Assoc 2004;291:99-103 Haines, A., Kovats, S., Campbell-Lendrum, D. Corvalan, C. ( 2006) Climate change and human health: Impacts, vulnerability and public health. Public Health (2006) 120, 585-596 Hulme M, Jenkins GJ, Lu X, et al. Climate change scenarios for the United Kingdom: the UKCIP02 scientific report. Norwich: Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia; 2002. Institut de Veille Sanitaire. Impact sanitaire de la vague de chaleur en France survenue en aouˆt 2003. De ´partement des maladies chroniques et traumatismes, De ´partement sante ´ environment, Paris; 2003. Johnson H, Kovats RS, McGregor GR, et al. The impact of the 2003 heatwave on mortality and hospital admissions in England. Health Stat Q 2005;25:6-11. Kovats S, Bouma MJ, Hajat S, Worrell E, Haines A. El Nino and health. Lancet 2003;361:1481-9. Shea, K., Truckner, R., Weber, R. Peden, D. 2008 Climate change and allergic disease. Clinical reviews in allergy and immunology Smith, J.B., Schellnhuber, H.-J., Mirza, M.Q., Fankhauser, S., Leemans, R., Erda, L., Ogallo, L., Pittock, B., Richels, R., Rosenzweig, C., Safriel, U., Tol, R.S.J., Weyant, J.P., Yohe, G.W., 2001. Vulnerability to climate change and reasons for concern: a synthesis. In: McCarthy, J.J., et al., (Eds.), Climate Change 2001: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK, pp. 913- 967. WHO, 2002. The World Health Report 2002 Reducing Risks, Promoting Healthy Life. World Health Organization, Geneva.

Why Is The Crucible So Called Essays -- Essay on The Crucible

How is 'The Crucible' appropriately titled? The word 'crucible' is used by Arthur Miller in his play as a metaphor. The first definition of the word crucible is: a melting pot especially for metals. In the play this is first acknowledged during the first act, as we gradually piece together the information concerning the girls dancing. The 'kettle' viewed by Reverend Parris mirrors a crucible. We are told that the girls had made a brew which contained a little frog and blood is therefore viewed by the characters involved as a potent, fearsome mixture and this signifies the beginning of the Salem tragedy. It seems that from this 'brew' a more sinister force is released. The dancing and the contents of the little pot seem to fuel the rumours, lies and tragedy of Salem. From this point onwards, lies which in turn arouse suspicion ending ultimately in the destruction of the Salem community. Even in the next part of the play we observe Tituba create and elaborate lies which is the first we see of the evil which is unleashed by the w itch hunt. There was very little privacy in Salem mainly because the fact that it was a theocracy and crimes were an offence not only against God but also against the community. Therefore there was pressure for neighbours to reveal other's sin. The desire for privacy makes one suspect others because if they do not convict others it looks as if they themselves might have something to hide. It is ironic that Reverend Parris says that the witchcraft investigation might reveal the source of all the community's problems 'Why, Rebecca, we may open up the boil of all our troubles today' because in the end the witchcraft investigation provokes the burning down and destruction of the community. The witch trials are also metaphorically a melting pot, again, for people's grudges, and their seeking of revenge. The play shows us also how people can give into their fear and superstition. The trials are not really about witchcraft, Abigail admits to John in private how the witchery is a hoax 'We were dancing in the woods last night and my uncle leaped out on us. She took fright, is all'. As she says this she is confident and relates the situation with a wicked air of control. This not to say people in Salem do not believe in the supernatural. Although many people in The Crucible believe in witches, many Salem residents simply take advantage of the... ...d but felt very strongly about only taking responsibly directly for his actions and refused to ruin others. He said during his trial 'I could not use the name of another and bring trouble on him… I take the responsibility of everything I have ever done, but I cannot take the responsibility for another human being. Proctor acted very similarly in his trial he said 'I speak my own sins; I cannot judge another'. Proctor and Miller were could see beyond the hysteria concerning ridiculous accusations and were not prepared to betray others to save themselves. In conclusion the Crucible is linked to the play both metaphorically, directly and historically. It is an interesting fact that a crucible is a melting pot especially for metals because the word metals has a homophone, mettle which means natural ardour, spirit, strength or courage. These are some of the qualities John Proctor displays towards the end of the book as his mettle is tested and purified. The title is relevant to most of the themes and issues that the play explores. The title is very effective due the fact it is provocative and encourages one to reflect on the play, its meaning and also its contemporary truth.

The Body Shop Marketing Essay

1) Anita Roddick created the body shop in 1976 with the objective of opening an environmentally conscious cosmetic store. Today, the Body Shop (BS) has grown from being a single â€Å"hippie† store in England to a multinational company with over 2265 stores in 50 countries enjoying sales of ? 820,000 in 2006/2007 period. (mintel 2006) People say that â€Å"one person cannot make a difference† but Anita Roddick proved it wrong by sticking to here ideals and ideas of doing business. This extract from the Body Shop’s mission statement ‘to dedicate our business to the pursuit of social and environmental change’ (www. thebodyshop. co. uk), shows us how she created a new way of dealing with customer needs and wants. She saw it as a better option to put customer and society in the first place and by doing so, gain sales for good conduct. This way of doing business was not only proved to be extremely successful but many marketers followed the BS concepts, attempting to maximise potential profit by imitating Dame Anita Roddick’s set of ideals or values. Throughout this essay, we will investigate how Anita Roddick successfully used marketing tools to promote her chain of shops and her strong principles and see how today’s businesses can follow Roddick’s footsteps in successfully targeting the emergence of new consumer groups in the organic food market. Anita Roddick’s BS has not been an immense success for no reason. An explanation of the BS general success in world markets is that she was one of the pioneers in developing a more ethically based business. We will have a look at how she maximised the 4 P’s (product, place, promotion and price) to promote her chain of shops and strong principles. Product The BS sells and produces cosmetics and toiletries made from natural ingredients all over the world targeting principally women with a medium to high income and with deep social conscience and commitment. Its product range can be divided into eight categories each including a range of quality products. Each body lotion, shampoo, bath & shower gel, etc. comes in different sizes in recycled, recyclable or biodegradable packaging. The Product Life Cycle of the BS is still in the growing stages as competition is still increasing due to an increase in interest in the industry’s potential. Furthermore, the market is continuously evolving as more and more people become more ethically aware. Branding is very important as it differentiates the company from other skincare companies. Anita Roddick managed to create a brand which positioned itself as promoting good environmental ethics at a time where Europe was becoming â€Å"greener†, strongly differentiating itself from companies looking to increase profits at any legal cost to the environment and to society. But since the French cosmetic giant L’Oreal bought the BS, BrandIndex measured a drastic drop in the ratings of BS reputation. Even though, the company promised to keep its ethical cosmetic brand intact, the public’s opinion on the BS did not take long to change. (http://www. brandrepublic. com) Price The Body Shop has been able to set premium prices because of the assumption that people would be willing to pay more for a product which they think is contributing to social and ethical issues. The fact that the BS is involved in issues such as fair trade, animal testing and has strong environmental views gave them the competitive advantage of product differentiation. But since competitors such as Boots or Bath & Bodyworks in the states have started their own natural product range at prices below the BS, profits have decreased in comparison to previous years. From 2002 to 2003 sales grew by only 5% compared with competitors whose sales rose by 27% in the same period. It could also be said that the BS prices are in the mid market pricing range as there are products more expensive such as for example Boots natural-based products but much cheaper than Chanel or Estee Lauder beauty products. Furthermore, the cost of production of the BS products may be higher because of fair trade issues with local communities. But critiques say that the â€Å"Trade not Aid† projects are simply a marketing tool and that not even 1% of the sales go to the projects. (www. mcspotlight. org) Promotion The BS way of advertising has mostly been done through indirect advertising. Indeed, by associating themselves to Greenpeace or the save the whales project or by doing fare trade with indigenous communities for example, journals, newspapers and magazines have written about the company’s products, campaigns and beliefs without the company actually carrying out or spending any money into promotion campaigns. The BS believes that beauty is reality and strongly disagrees on the advertising campaigns trying to glamorise their products – ‘We're saying our products will moisturize, cleanse and polish; they will not perform miracles. (Mrs Galanti, 1997). This was stated in 1997 after the release of a rare mainstream campaign called â€Å"Love your body† due to increased competition in the marketplace. The Body Shop also makes extensive use of its web site, delivery lorries and shop windows to communicate its campaigns and beliefs. Packaging is also a way of promoting a product. By showing consumers that the BS is involved in recycling plast ic bottles used in the packaging of a product for example, it positions itself furthermore in the customers mind as being an environmentally caring organisation. It also tried to push consumers to use refills but the impact of this campaign was minimal. Furthermore the BS also called for more people to recycle their old mobile phone. (Mintel, 2004) Place The BS looks closely at the store location, as customer accessibility to the store is very important. They are usually located on high streets, in department concessions depending on important factors of accessibility such as parking, visibility or even public transport. Stores are usually arranged as a boutique layout with products arranged according to their function. The atmosphere of the BS retail outlets is relaxed and sympathetic, inherent to the overall design of the BS shops. There is plenty of information on ingredients and the origin of the product available to the customer. Furthermore the BS rapid growth and international expansion was helped through franchising. Finally, the rise in demand for ethical products has provided many opportunities for marketers. Dame Anita Roddick, was one of the first to point that out and through product innovation and brand reputation, she managed to build a multinational company from virtually nothing. However, today’s cosmetic market has highly evolved and is far more competitive than it used to be. The challenge for the company is to revitalise its retail outlets, improve their product offer and brand communications in order to grow store sales and invest in employee development and customer service. 2) Markets within an economy rapidly change offering opportunities for companies to increase profit and to expand. The marketer’s job is to react to these changes and put the company in the right direction. The organic food market for example has grown rapidly with consumers increasing spending on â€Å"ethical† food by 800 million to approximately ? 5. 6 billion in 2006 (â€Å"Ethical consumerism report 2006†- Co-operative bank). Furthermore, most developed countries are seeing a rise in organic produce, ‘The organic market has boomed in recent years, growing by 25% annually on average’ – (www. timesonline. co. uk). These figures show us that the organic movement is moving on a global scale with an increase in consumer interest in how and where food is produced. It could be said that the rise in the demand for organic products is due to the rising average age and due to media spotlight. Indeed, media are constantly focusing on the consequences of climate change and on how the earth’s resources are being depleted pushing fellow human beings to act more responsibly and ethically in what food products they buy. This has lead people to believe that by eating organic food, a person will stay healthy – ‘studies in 2006 and 2007 have found higher levels of Vitamin C in organic fruit and 68 per cent higher levels of omega-3 in organic whole milk than non-organic whole milk. (www. bbc. co. uk). On the other hand, with more elderly people in the UK after the baby boom of the early 50’s, the market is likely to see people buying organic/healthy food rather than GM food offering new opportunities to marketers in terms of how to advertise and promote their products. This could be done through promotional campaigns aimed at elde rly people, informing them of the availability of organic food in their respective supermarkets or by associating the organisation to environmentally friendly associations such as Greenpeace and beneficiate of indirect advertising. To be the first to come into a customers mind as being an organisation which cares about the environment would definitely give the company a strong competitive advantage. Two of the major leading supermarkets such as Tesco and Sainsbury have both recognised these changing consumer needs and have introduced organic food and organic policies within their stores – ‘To meet this growing demand Sainsbury’s has re-launched its organic range as Sainsbury’s SO organic and is committed to broadening the appeal of and extending its comprehensive range of organic foods. ’ (www. jsainsburys. co. uk). Additionally, Sainsbury has recently ‘banned the use of palm oil from unsustainable sources in its own-brand products’ which has been argued by Greenpeace as a â€Å"positive first step† towards the end of the destruction of the Indonesian rainforest (www. marketingweek. co. uk). Another way of promoting the organisation could be to introduce fair trade products in our supermarkets aisles. This would not necessarily be done in a profit objective scheme but instead to show customers the organisation’s involvement in helping local communities even though profits could be made if an appropriate marketing strategy was applied. Another important factor to consider is packaging as it can be used for promotional purposes. This could give them an advantage over rival companies that may not sell organic food. Additionally, organisation could also concentrate on creating â€Å"greener friendly† packaging – ‘A UK company has launched a new range of convenience food packs manufactured from biodegradable plastic. ’ – showing their awareness of the influence they have on the environment and their dedication to play a role in conserving the planet. (http://www. foodanddrinkeurope. com). The difficulty for the marketer will be to set attractive and adequate organic packaging at the lowest possible prices. This brings us to price considerations. Organic food is without a doubt more expensive to produce and sell than non-organic food giving the marketer the difficult challenge of setting a competitive price with rivals and at a level that still sees the company being profitable. It is also important that marketers are aware of how much people are willing to pay for organic food in order to maximise profits. Moreover, prices are set to increase as ‘exceptionally high market growth rates are causing demand to outpace supply. (http://www. organicmonitor. com) On the other hand, The Food Standard Agency and scientists still believe that organic food as a whole, is not necessarily healthier for a person than GM food – ‘there is no scientific evidence to suggest organic food is healthier’ (www. guardian. co. uk). Furthermore, Chefs such as Gordon Ra msay argue that organic food is overpriced and questions its authenticity ‘The problem with organic food is that it has become hip and trendy, overhyped, overpriced and inconsistent. Unfortunately there is now a snob factor attached to it. ’ (www. timesonline. co. k) On this point, marketers will have to make sure that they undertake effective advertising campaigns as well as detailed branding and packaging to promote their products as being healthier than other foods in order to maintain high sales. The reason the organic market has grown so much in the last decade is definitely due to a rise in ethical consumerism. Indeed, after some companies were exposed by the media to how they really operated – i. e. illegal sweatshops for example- and the constant media coverage on the damage caused by humans to the earth, saw consumers take a more ethical approach to purchasing. This why it is so important to show consumers that the organisation is active in sustaining the earth and its resources. Today, the image of the company should be of first importance to marketers. Tesco and other supermarkets have already revised their strategy and offer for example to use plastic bags more than once- â€Å"Tesco claimed that shoppers had used one million bags less than they would normally expect. † (www. recycling-guide. org. uk). J Sainsbury’s reacted by cutting back on carbon emissions produced by their outlets- â€Å"We are currently looking at the big picture regarding carbon emissions and the part Sainsbury's play in that. We have been extremely proactive over the last 10 years on all aspects of energy efficiency. † (Alison Austin, 2007). All these supermarket behaviour changes are done in the objective to remain competitive. Marketers understand that if their company is seen to be â€Å"green† then it is likely to be successful in the market. Finally, whichever strategy marketers do choose to adopt, it will eventually determine their level of success in an ever changing society which now focuses on being ethical and more aware of the environment. Bibliography Anon. , November 2007, â€Å"Food matters†, BBC. Anon. , March,2006, Body Shop at a glance, FT. om, London, pg 1. Anon. , June 2003,Anita Roddick, Director, London, Vol. 56(11), pg. 60. Anon. , August 2007, Growth opportunity for organic market, Retail world, Vol. 60(16), pg. 22. Brassington F. and Pettitt S. , 2003, Principles of Marketing. 3rd ed. , Pearson Education Limited. Callan E. , May 2006, L’Oreal says it is c ontent with Bady Shop’s ethics GENERAL REATILERS; 1st Ed. , Financial Times, London (UK), pg. 17. Coles A. , Harris L. , 2006, Ethical Consumers and e-Commerce: The Emergence and Growth of Fair Trade in the UK, Journal of Reasearch for Consumers, Crawley: (10), pg. , 6 pgs. Guthrie J. , September 2007, Activist who inspired a business generation; [LONDON 2ND EDITION], Financial Times, London (UK), pg 21. Marketing Week, September 2007, Ehtical consumerism: Lacking in green conviction, London: pg 28. Marketing Week, January 2007, Market research: Unlock the power of brands, London: pg 23 Jack L. , November 2007, Greenpeace backs Sainsbury’s palm oil ban as a ‘first step’, London, Marketing Week. Hofman M. , April 2001, Anita Roddick: The Body Shop International, established in 1976, Inc. Boston: Vol. 23, Iss. 5; pg. 61, 1pgs. Mintel, 2004, Body Shop campaigns for mobile recycling Mintel, 2006, Company report Mintel, April 2007, Impact of the Environment (The) – UK. The Body Shop International PLC. 2006. Annual report and Accounts. Sample I. , October 2007, Organic food is healthier: study, The Guardian Zink W. , February 1996, The impact of recycling on the cosmetic industry, Drug & Cosmetic Industry, New York: Vol. 158 (2); pg. 42, 4pgs. Web sites Elliot S. , The Body Shop's campaign offers reality, not miracles. [WWW] [Accessed 21 November 2007] The Body Shop. 2005. The Body Shop values report. [WWW] lt; URL: http://valuesreport. thebodyshop. net/pdfs/bodyshop_valuesreport_2005. pdf; [Accessed 22 November] Bidlake S. 2006. Body Shop reputation is battered by sale to L’Oreal. [WWW] [Accessed 22 November] London Greenpeace, What’s wrong with the Body Shop [WWW] [Accessed 18 November] Anon. , 2007, Product news. [WWW] ; URL: http://jsainsburys. co. uk/index. asp? PageID=419==200 5=583; [Accessed 23 November] Anon. , 2006, Tesco Ads Result in Re-Using Plastic Bags. [WWW] [Accessed 22 November] Organic Monitor, 2006, Global Organic Food Industry Facing Supply Challenges. WWW] [Accessed 25 November] Ungoed-Thomas J. , 2007, Eat your words, all who scoff at organic food. [WWW] [Accessed 22 November] Anon. 2007, Company news [WWW] [ Accessed 23 November] Horne M. , 2006, Ramsay lays into organic food snobs. [WWW] http://timesonline. co. uk/tol/newspapers/sunday_times/ireland/ article625714. ece [Accessed 25 November] ElAmin A. , 2006, Biodegradable food packaging launched in UK. [WWW] http://foodanddrinkeurope. com/news/ng. asp? n=69464-natureworks-rpc-bebo-biodegradable-pla [Accessed 22 November] Anon. , 2006, The Body Shop- Body and soul. [WWW] [Accessed 23 November]

A Pestel Analysis of a Clothes Manufacturers and Suppliers

The PESTEL analysis shown in the appendix portrays some of the issues in the external environment that a firm manufacturing and supplying luxury men’s clothing may experience. In all six sections; political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal there are issues that the firm would face. However, some have more significance to others. Although political, technological and environmental factors would have a big affect on the firm, when looking at the three most important issues facing the firm; social, economic and legal come out on top.Firstly, social factors play a massive part in the external environment of the firm. For-fronting the part it plays could be, as brought up in the PESTEL analysis, the men’s clothing market is very dynamic. Fashion has its own cycle, but it very hard to understand, with items coming in and out of fashion quickly. With retailers changing stock usually at least 4 times a year (seasonal clothes) it can be very hard for a m anufacturer to keep up with. Along with this rapid change, there has been seen a raise in men’s fashion consciousness, with more and more premium priced men’s clothing appearing.This portraying the difficulty the firm may have at keeping up with its competitors who have somewhat consolidated themselves in the market. However, with low barriers to entry, thus low initial capital costs to start the business, they may catch up quickly. This along with the a thorough PESTEL analysis may see the firm compete well. Changing fashion has often been led by national social change. A recent form of social change has seen consumers become more ethically driven, with products such as the Fairtrade brand seeing a steep increase in sales, according to their website around ?300m of sales annually (2007 figure).This rise in what is known as the ethical consumer has meant that attention on this front has to be sharply increased. Some companies such as the bath shop have turned focussed solely on a ethical approach. The manufacturing of the firm will not go unnoticed with pressure groups being very much present. Businesses such as Primark and GAP have felt a full force lobby from these interest groups. Primark, who were outsourcing the manufacture of their goods to India, were uncovered by a BBC report. The program showed children working for the outsourced manufacturer and bad working conditions.If the firm was to have bad press too, say from PETA and animal rights activists, who look very closely at fur farming (for luxury clothing), this may have detrimental affects on factors such as their reputation and finances. This shows issues the firm may experience from pressure groups, so work will be needed to keep these people happy and too shareholders with similar views. Demographics mentioned in the PESTEL may too conjure up issues for the firm in the current environment. Demographics include age, race and gender.When looking at the age of the population, the firm will need to address the issue to which age group (target market) to supply this luxury clothing too. According to a recent census males aged 15-64 years old make up 33% of the population, thus a age group within this seems appropriate. However, the lower of the group having lower disposable income and other factors will need to be considered. Race and culture will also bring about some issues to the firm. They will have to consider clothing that will be appealing to all races and not offend any culture.This being a small issue but will need to be watched. Secondly, moving on to economic factors that may affect and bring up issues in the external environment for the firm. Recession comes out as the biggest threat to the firm at the moment, with many businesses falling into liquidation and great times of uncertainty for workers. With Recession comes many problems that the firm will experience. One being unemployment, which according to BBC figures has rose to around 8-8. 9%, these be ing the worse figures since 1992.Rising unemployment along with a falling national disposable income demand in the economy will fall. The firm supplying luxury goods are usually going to be more susceptible to a fall in demand when there is a fall in income. This is because luxury goods are more income elastic. Consumers will be more willing to give up spending on these kinds of goods than say essentials such as toilet paper and drinks. This is an issue to the manufacturer so they will have to hope on considerations such as brand loyalty and correct marketing to push up demand.They may also need to drop their profit margin on clothing to help generate more sales. In this economic downturn there has been a big depreciation in the pound sterling. This has made exports more attractive (however, fall in value of pound means its not exactly positive) and importing more expensive. With the firm mainly supplying the UK market with some operations abroad it will be affected by this. If raw materials are being imported into the UK for use in production then the firm will be paying a higher unit price for these. This of course will add to the unning costs of the business. Also the few countries they firm supplies they will be receiving a lower price for the goods losing out on the bad exchange rate, which has been at its worse for a decade. Both of these are an obvious issue to the firm but are out of their control, so it is just a case of sitting and waiting for the economy to be boosted again. One way the government may try to help the economy recover again is through a policy implemented in times of turmoil called fiscal policy. This comprises mainly of controls on spending and taxation.For example the VAT cut of 2. 5% from 17. 5% to 15% was made in attempt to help businesses stay afloat. Many companies passed these cuts straight onto the consumer in order to stay competitive. Another policy installed is the monetary policy, which looks mainly at money supply and int erest rates. Interest rates, under the Monetary Policy Committee, were brought down to a very low 0. 5% stated on the Bank of England website. This along with other contributors has led banks to be very stingy with lending money to each other, consumers and business.The firm if it finds itself needing to borrow capital from the banks may find this difficult and with such a weak pound investors may be less willing to invest too. This may be a great issue to the firm as with no constant cash flow partnered with a possible fall in demand it may find itself struggling to compete and stay in business. The final factor of the 3 most important issues currently facing the firm is the legal elements. These will have a big impact on the business environment of the men’s clothing sector such as the social and economic considerations have done too.The legal system in the UK is very complex and there are many laws that the firm will need to abide for business to run. The firm is likely to be affected in the two usual ways by legal factors. Firstly, if new procedures and systems have to be developed then it can affect the firm’s costs. Secondly, if the laws affect the likelihood of the customer buying the good, it can affect the firm’s demand. The amount of laws present makes it harder for the firm to run with checks needing to be made along many points of the course of the business.The Health and Safety at Work Act, 1974, is one law that would bring up issues for the business. First, they would need to spend money on ensuring the workplace is safe and suitable under the law, this would avoid any possible suing or bad press. Second, training will need to be provided before an employee can work on the firm’s premise. This will cost the firm and will not see a return until the employee has been working for a good amount of time. Also the risk of employees quitting during training (first few weeks at work is a likely time for one to quite) will mean money is wasted if they do so.Training will not be the only issue cost to the business, things such as reporting all incidents will increase administration costs, as more files are created and submitted for health and safety. The firm may feel under pressure too from other laws such as competition laws and employment laws and issues may arise if they are caught breaking these laws. Competition law will be likely to protect the firm against other manufacturers who may make cartels or predatory price for example.However, it creates pressure on executives and others to keep by these laws and run the business in the â€Å"correct† way. Employment acts such as the Employment Relations Act, 2004, give certain rights to the employees to stop them being â€Å"abused† by managerial personnel. This has left the firm’s employees with a greater authority, allowing them to legally call strikes if they have any concerns. This is made more likely to happen to the firm as it i s sitting in a recession with high inflation.High inflation can lead to employees demanding higher pay, thus being an issue that the firm will need to keep tabs on. All laws, as said make business practice a very much controlled environment to work in, which has shown to cause business various issues, some stated already. These have mainly been issues that affect the firm’s costs. One issue that can affect the demand of the goods may be bad press. Many laws put in place to protect people e. g. employment laws and international agreements on human rights or environmental policy, will create bad press if broken.Emissions levels and road taxes may affect the firm if it is importing its raw materials laws may also make it hard for the business to import all the materials they need too or they may need to pay more for the surplus on the amount allowed. All three factors from the PESTEL analysis show many issues that the firm will face in the external environment of the men’ s clothing market. Overall, social, economic and legal considerations bring about more issues than technological, environmental and political elements. However, they too create issues that the firm will need to analyse and consult.The men’s clothing market is strongly influenced by social and economic happenings and controlled by laws portraying why they create more issues than the other three. All in all, politics do not play a great role in the manufacture of clothes. Also the men’s clothing market being a relatively simple segment in terms of technology, thus low barriers to entry, technological factors do not form many issues. Environmental factors seem to create the most issues to the firm but are closely linked to social and legal and seem more appropriate in these sections.