Friday, December 27, 2019

E-commerce Organisations - Business Strategy of HP, PC World, Comet Free Essay Example, 4000 words

Economic weakness and environment uncertainty have affected the financial performance of HP such as inventory management, revenues etc. Declining consumer and business confidence, decreasing access to credit, increasing unemployment and reducing consumer spending has also affected operations of HPHPEnsuring right forecast has become difficult for HP, however, to reduce economic uncertainty, the company focuses on historical forecasts. However, currency exchange rates, interest rates etc impact HP PC WorldFinance and executive committee regularly review a portfolio of businessIn 2008, defined Renewal and Transformation plan of business (Dixonretails, 2010)CometRevenues of a company have severely affected during the global financial crisisSocialChanging social patterns Changing living styles Changes in income patterns HPThe company believes that its revenues will be affected negatively if customers expectations are not met; therefore, new products are developed to meet their needsPC Wo rldMonitor mystery shopping collects customer exist data and purchase data for analysisFIVES customer service training for all staffContinuous innovationEasy navigation on a website (Dixonretails, 2009)CometCustomer oriented operations as evident from business strategy so that the needs of customers could be metTechnologicalThe technological developments and their trends are particularly high in this industryThe increasing demand for technology is offering more and more opportunities to companies operating in this industryHPThe business strategy of HP focuses on designing and manufacturing products which are according to the latest trends in technology and changing needs and desires of the customersTo meet the changing the needs of customers, a significant amount is being spent on research and development by HP. In 2007, 2008 and 2009, HP spent $3.6 billion, $3.5 billion and $2.8 billion on research and development (HP Annual Report, 2009)PC WorldGood supplier relationship such as a partner with Apple iPads (Dixonretails, 2009)Store transformation and new tech in processesEmphasis on e-commerceCometOnline services, phone services and chat services. We will write a custom essay sample on E-commerce Organisations - Business Strategy of HP, PC World, Comet or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now

Thursday, December 19, 2019

The Theory Of Development Concepts And Applications By...

Sadly, my early years of child rearing were not of heavy observation on my part! Our home was one of somewhat traditional roles in terms of family dynamic. I worked long hours away from the home and didn t have the one on one contact with our children that my wife had, and enjoyed. I of course got the play-by-play from her, but in hind sight, I was deprived of so many beautiful observations. Our text Theories of Development Concepts and Applications by William Crain outlines human development by many theorists. A few of those are John Bowlby, Mary D.S. Ainsworth, and Erik H. Erikson. I couldn t help but reminisce about the stages of my own children’s growth while reading the work of Bowlby, Ainsworth and Erikson. I remember having my young children with me when ever it was possible, but what attachments to them might I have missed while I was busy working or did I miss any at all? Bowlby’s work on attachment gives a compelling argument as to the importance of a ttachment in the first 6 months of a Childs life. Ainsworth’s work is focused on the idea of a child using the parent as a base for further exploration of their surroundings. Erikson’s work on the other hand considers the role of society and culture in development. In reading these works, the theories appear to be easily stitched together to give an all encompassing view of human development over an entire life time and how our attachment to our parents is critical to that development. Let’s furtherShow MoreRelatedThe views of Piaget and Gesell on how development occurs1430 Words   |  6 Pagestheorists have impacted and influenced child development as did the work of Jean Piaget and Arnold Gesell. Although they stand at opposite poles, both have recorded facts useful to parents and professionals alike. This paper presents the highlights of their theories and focuses on their major differences. The views of Piaget and Gesell on how development occursIntroductionIn Psychology, very few theorists have impacted and influenced child development as did the work of Jean Piaget (1896-1980) andRead MoreHow Do the Major Theories of Child Development (Known as the ‘Grand Theories’) Explore the Importance of Social Experiences?1675 Words   |  7 PagesHow do the major theories of child development (known as the ‘grand theories’) explore the importance of social experiences? Social experiences play a vital role in the development of children. Theories of child development have been created to help us to understand how children’s minds develop, taking into account the differences between cultures around the world. Some of these theories explore the possibility that children gain knowledge, develop new concepts and bridge new ideas through interactionRead MoreEssay about Born Into Brothels1821 Words   |  8 Pagesjoin the line, and many express that they want a better life for themselves. The movie highlights the internal conflict of the young girls as developmentally; they begin to acquire a self identity that contradicts social learning or behaviorism theory. Most of the youth want to be their own individual and to better themselves by education, but do disrespect the women and men living these lifestyles. Another theme interwoven into the story and equally compelling was the relationship betweenRead MoreMy Belief As A Teacher Essay3215 Words   |  13 Pagesthe beliefs that I hold about myself as a teacher. I will further touch on the practical and personal experiences that have helped shape who I am. The research that underpins children’s learning and development. Finally it goes to explore the image I hold towards young children’s learning and development. Metaphor is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another, thus making an implicit comparison (Metaphor, n. d.) The metaphor that IRead MorePsychosocial Development Case Study Analysis1998 Words   |  8 PagesPsychosocial Development Case Study Analysis Darryl Albarado Survey of Research in Human Development for Professional Counselors The theory of psychosocial development created by Erik Erikson is perhaps one of the best known personality theories. The theory differs from many others in that it addresses development across the entire lifespan, from birth through death. At each stage, the individual deals with a conflict that serves as a turning point in development. When the conflict is resolvedRead MoreHow Mandela Was Born Into The Madiba Clan2641 Words   |  11 PagesApplying theories to Mandela s life Nature/nurture The study of human development has been plagued by the nature-nurture controversy. It is the debate over the impact of hereditary and environmental influences in shaping different personal traits and characteristic. To what degree does nature-nurture influences an individual? Assessing the impact of this factor cannot be easily explained since both are influential. Mandela’s leadership skills can be attributed to the nature/ nurture theory becauseRead MoreSolution Manual, Test Bank and Instructor Manuals34836 Words   |  140 PagesEstate and Gift Tax with HR Block TaxCut 5e Pratt William 2011 Corporate Partnership Estate and Gift Tax with HR Block TaxCut 5e Pratt William Kulsrud IG+Test Bank 2011 Corporate Partnership Estate and Gift Tax with HR Block TaxCut 5e Pratt William Kulsrud Solution Manual 2011 Corporate, Partnership, Estate and Gift Taxation, 5th Edition_James W. Pratt, William N. Kulsrud (SM+TB+IG w TB) 2011 Individual Taxation, 5th Edition_James W. Pratt, William N. Kulsrud (SM+TB) A First Book of C++, 4th Edition_GaryRead More8 stages of social development6628 Words   |  27 Pagesï » ¿ Contents UNIT 4 Unit 4 Development 4.1 Page No Social Development - 2 Eriksons stages of psychosocial development - 2 , 3 Stages of psychosocial development - 3 , 4 , 5 , Eight Stages of Social Development - 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 References - 13 , 14 SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Social development theory attempts to explain qualitative changes in the structure and framework of society, that help the society to better realize itsRead MoreOpioid Drugs And Their Receptor9764 Words   |  40 Pagesstructure-based approach in opioid drug development (Manglik et al., 2012) 1.1.1. Hyperalgesia Prolonged opioid use can lead not only to the development of tolerance and dependence, but also to hyperalgesia. The latter was defined by Chen et al. (2010) as a lowered pain threshold in response to treatment with opioids (Chen et al., 2010). This group associated development of hyperalgesia with CaMKIIÃŽ ± signalling pathway. Several mechanisms of hyperalgesia development were suggested by Mao and Price (1995)Read MoreCase Studies67624 Words   |  271 Pagesmanagement process to identify and solve organisational problems. Thus, by analysing situations that are described in cases and presenting the results, active learners (that is, students) become skilled at effectively using the tools, techniques and concepts that combine to form the strategic management process. The cases that follow are concerned with actual companies. Presented within the cases are problems and situations that managers and those with whom they work must analyse and resolve. As you

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

The Corporation Law of Australia

Questions: Question 1 Cotton Limited holds 89.5% of the shares in Satin Co Limited. The remaining shares are held by Silk and several other small investors. The Board of Satin wants the company to become a wholly owned subsidiary of Cotton Limited as they expect this will result in both taxation benefits and a saving on accounting fees and administration charges of about $230,000. Cotton Limited offers to buy the shares held by Silk and other minority members but they refuse. Arrangements are made to hold a members meeting to pass a resolution changing the constitution of Satin by inserting a new clause 53 any member entitled to 80% or more of the issued shares may compulsorily acquire all the remaining shares. Silk and other minority members receive written notice of the company meeting together with a proxy form and a valuation certificate stating the shares were worth $2.50 each. Although the offer is fair Silk does not want to sell her shares and wants to start legal action to prevent the proposed alt eration to the constitution. Discuss whether she may succeed in her action. Would your answer be different if the real reason for compulsorily acquiring the shares from Silk was that she discovered operating a business in competition with Satin Co and was using information gained as a member to take away some of Satins business? Question 2 Polyester is a director of Style Pty. Limited involved in making womens clothing. Has she breached any duties under the Corporation Act in the following situations? Situation 1. She arranges with the companys bank to transfer an amount of $65,000 from the company account into a personal bank account held by her in her own name. She uses the funds to finalise some outstanding personal debts. Situation 2. As a director she receives information that the company is in a serious financial position. She arranges to transfer a larger amount of the assets of the company over a new proprietary company that she formed with the intention of caring on the same business. Situation 3. Contrary to a resolution of the Board and notwithstanding established business practice that limits credit to $20,000 she allows a trade debtor (who has a history of bad debts) to exceed its credit limits by $25,000. The debtor fails to pay the outstanding amount of $45,000. Can she rely on the business judgment rule in this situation? Answers: 1. The Legal Position The corporation law of Australia had a strong command over the majority rule among the companies. The companys management is said to be in the hand of the board of director and hence they can run the company as they use their power within approved duties. As a result, the minority shareholders have a little, if any, control or influence over the operations of company. They may also be powerless for influencing the management, development and the direction of company in which they have their money invested. It is possible that the BOD and the shareholders decision are different on same transaction and at that time the BOD and majority of the shareholder can suppress the minority decision purposefully. The law provides protection to such minority shareholders who are purposefully suppressed. As per section 233 the minority shareholder can make an application to demand protection. The court may direct in such case to buy the stake of minority shareholder, also the direction of the winding up of the company. Sections 232 and 233 of As per Sec 233 of the corporation Act 2001, the Court is empowered to order that it may consider it to be appropriate in the situations where the necessities of the Sec 232 are been met. Such power may include the power of making the order that the party may purchase the shares of any another shareholder with the reduction in the share capital of company or in the order in which the company shall be wounded up. The Sec 232 of this Actstates that Court may have it ssole discretion to make such order if: -The affairs of the company is handling in manner or -Proposed move, act to be taken by company or its authorised or - Any resolution passed by class of members That affects shareholders interest or found oppressive on class of shareholders Compulsory acquisition The person who is bidding can also acquire remaining share compulsorily in the class of bid if following fact exist: If the bidder or and its associates hold 90% or more interest in bid class And acquired 75% or more shares as offered in particular class bid. under the takeover bid may also acquire compulsorily any of the remaining shares in the bid class if during the offer period, the bidder or their associates have: Significant interests in at least 90 percent (by number) of the shares in the bid class and Purchased at least 75 percent (by number) of the shares that the bidder had offered to purchase under the bid. Ch 6Astates the requirements for the compulsory acquisition process. Case Law Involved Oppression on the minority shareholder The ruler inthe case of Ample Source InternationalLtd v Bonython Metals Group PtyLtd; Re Bonython Metals Group PtyLtd (No 6)[2011] FCA 1484had held that there were number of cases where minority shareholders are oppressed . This oppression had been brought due to the manner in which the activities of BMG were operated, specifically: The Part management of the BMG in a way which is commercially unfair to the Source; Failure to give the significant information to the Ample Source; The judge ordered that the BMG shall be wind up under the sec 233(a) of the Act. The Given Case Facts And Figures Following are the facts of the given case: 1. Satin Company Ltd is a Subsidiary Company of Cotton Limited which holds 89.5% of its shares and the remaining shares were held by Silk Ltd and other minority shareholders. 2. The board of directors of Satin Ltd wishes that the company shall become a Fully owned subsidiary of Cotton Limited and that the remaining shares held by Silk Ltd and other minority shareholders shall be acquired by Cotton Limited, due to which there would be tax benefits and accounting or administration charges of both the companies, resulting in savings of $230,000. 3. Cotton Limited proposes Silk Ltd and other minority shareholders to sell their shares, but they denied the proposal, as a result of which the board decided to hold a shareholders meeting for passing a resolution to change the constitution of Satin Ltd. 4. Satin Ltd inserted a new clause 53 stating that, any member entitled to 80% or more of the issued shares may compulsorily acquire all the remaining shares. 5. Silk Ltd and other shareholders also received a notice stating that the company shall meet to pass the above mentioned resolution and they also received a valuation certificate stating that the shares $2.50 each. However Silk Ltd is not ready to accept this offer. Identification Of Relevant Issues Following is the relevant issue that aroused in the given case: Silk Ltd wanted to Sue the Satin Ltd for the proposal offering it to sell its shares. Whether Silk Ltd would succeed in this case or would it get a relief from oppression under sec 233 of corporation act 2001. Conclusions To Be Drawn As per Section 232 and Section 233 of Corporation Act 2001, the Court is empowered to order that it may consider it to be appropriate in the situations where the requirements of the sec 232 are been met. Such power may include the power of making the order that the party may purchase the shares of any another shareholder with the reduction in the share capital of company or in the order in which the company shall be wounded up. The Sec 232 of this Actstates that, Court has its sole rights to make such order if: The conduct of the affairs of company; or An proposed or actual act by or on behalf of the company; or A resolution of the members or class of members; is either: Contrary to the members interest as a whole; or Oppressiveto,prejudicialto, ordiscriminatoryagainst, the members whether in such capacity or in any other capacity. Hence, in the given case Silk Ltd has a right to initiate a legal action against Satin Ltd in the lights of Sec 232 and 233 of the Corporation Act 2001. However, the position would differ in case where Silk Ltd uses the Operative information of Satin Ltd i.e. its Competitor, by being its member and thereby getting insider information of the activities and transactions to be performed by Satin Ltd, in which case the court may order Compulsory Acquisition of the shares held by it under the provisions of Corporation Act 2001 as discussed above. 2. The Legalposition Duties Of Directors Under Corporation Act 2001 Directors are the top most authorities in the company and also the key persons for managing the companys affairs. The directors shall know their duties and responsibilities towards the company and its stakeholders. The careless, Ignorant and dishonest directors who do not care for their duties towards the company may lose their reputations and image and the savings and may also be subject to imprisonment, because they do not bother to connect the laid down standards which the law has imposed upon them. General Duties Of Directors Following are various general duties of directors: To bonafidely act towards the companys interest. To exercise the power as a director and shall not use them for any own benefits. Not to be occupied in such position for the conflicting interest. Fiduciary Duties Of Directors Following are some Fiduciary duties of the directors: Not to obtain any illegal benefit for their own selves They shall not utilise any information that they gained during their tenure of directorship to get the undue advantage. They shall put their powers for well-being of the company. They shall call their executives for any personal interest in case of conflicts. The directors may be held responsible towards the company for the gains made by breaching their Professional duties. Such duties are created if: 1. The directors had shown their own likeliness to act as the agent on behalf of the shareholders of company. 2. For a related company, the director having family relation and providing the advices or suggestions for the shares to any family shareholders, then it may create a strong relationship between the director and shareholders. The Conflicting Rule The director should not allow his duties and interests for the company in a conflicting state. He shall ask: For the conflicts that are more than the actual proposal? Should a director end to engage in the arrangement soon after getting a fact that he will have the chance of interests which is conflicting for the company? Is there some sorts of conflict whereby a director held the shares in any another related entity? As per Sec 191(1) the director may also possess a responsibility for notifying the remaining directors that he has a personal interest in the material transactions of the company and that he shall not remain present in the events of such meetings and discussions in which such material transactions are been held, otherwise there will be a conflict of the Professional duties and responsibilities of such director for which he may held guilty for the misconduct under the provisions of this act and may also be held culprit under the Corporation Act 2001. Because of this act, the reputation of the entity may be endangered and that the other directors image may also be affected. Following are various general duties of directors: To bonafidely act towards the companys interest. To exercise the power as a director and shall not use them for any own benefits. Not to be occupied in such position for the conflicting interest. Material Or Personal Interest According to Sec 195(1) the director having a own interest in some transaction, which has been confirmed at any of the meetings of board, may not have any voting right on the resolutions to be passed for such transaction , he will not be able get involved in the meeting where such transactions are considered. However, according to Sec 195(2),all the other directors who do not have anysuch personal interest are allowed to pass a resolution which states that all the directors are happy with even that the rights of particular director does not have power to restrain from attendance of meeting and voting, According to per Sec 195(3), the ASIC can o its own judgment that the said director will attend meeting as well as vote. The Given Case Facts And Figures Following are the facts of the given case: Polyester is a director of Style Pty. Ltd which is involved in making the womens clothing and has performed following activities: 1. Arranges for the transfer of $65,000 from the companys bank account into her personal account and utilises the funds for finalising some outstanding personal debts. 2. Receives information that the company is in serious financial position and that she transfer large amount of assets over a new company which is formed for caring the same business. 3. Allows a debtor having a bad history in past to credit the limit exceeding $25,000 as against the resolution passed by board. Issue Under Consideration The main issue in this case is that, whether Polyester shall be held responsible for negligence of Professional duties in the above cases. Conclusions To Be Made 1. As discussed above, the director who does any act for his personal interest shall be deprived from attending any board meeting in which such transaction is discussed and shall also be held responsible for breach of professional duties. As such in the first instance, Polyester has transferred $65,000 belonging to the company for her own personal interest shall be held liable for Professional misconduct under Corporation Act 2001. 2. In the second case, Polyester has transferred the companys assets to the newly formed business to carry on the companys business for the betterment of company. This act shall be deemed to have been done in good faith and for the benefit of company and thus she shall not to have breached her duties under corporation act 2001. 3. In third case, Polyester has allowed a higher credit to one of the companys Debtor having bad track record and also did not considered the resolution passed by board of directors. In this case also, she is said to have breached her professional duties as a director under Corporation Act 2001. The Compliance with Section 195(1)would not free any of the directors from the obligations of complying with the relevant Law. References: Holding Redlich, 2015, Oppressed Minority Shareholders reviewed on 5 February 2015, https://www.holdingredlich.com/dispute-resolution-litigation/oppressed-minority-shareholders-and-appropriate-relief-is-winding-up-a-solvent-company-an-extreme-step?utm_source=Mondaqutm_medium=syndicationutm_campaign=View-OriginalMark Easton, 2013, Minority Shareholders reviewed on 5 February 2015, https://www.companydirectors.com.au/Director-Resource-Centre/Publications/Company-Director-magazine/2013-back-editions/April/Opinion-Do-not-forget-minority-shareholdersRichard Brockett, 2015, Minority Shareholders reviewed on 5 February 2015, https://epublications.bond.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1434context=blrAustralian Government, 2015, Compulsory Acquisition reviewed on 5 February 2015, https://www.takeovers.gov.au/content/DisplayDoc.aspx?doc=panel_process/summary_of_takeover_provisions_in_australia.htmJohn H Farrar, 2015, Minority Shareholder Remedies reviewed on 5 February 2015, https://epublica tions.bond.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1207context=blrACIS, NT, Directors Duties under The Corporations Act 2001reviewed on 5 February 2015, https://www.acis.net.au/bulletins/Directors_Duties.pdfAustralian Institute of Company Directors, 2014, Roles, Duties and Responsibilities of Director reviewed on 5 February 2015, https://www.companydirectors.com.au/Director-Resource-Centre/Director-QA/Roles-Duties-and-ResponsibilitiesPWC.com, 2011, Directors Duties reviewed on 5 February 2015, https://etraining.communitydoor.org.au/pluginfile.php/608/course/section/95/GuideDirectors_Apr08.pdfASIC, 2014, Directors Duties reviewed on 5 February 2015, https://asic.gov.au/for-business/running-a-company/company-officeholder-duties/your-company-and-the-law/SBDC, 2015, Closing or Winding up a business reviewed on 5 February 2015, https://www.smallbusiness.wa.gov.au/business-life-cycle/exiting-a-business/closing-winding-up/Dibbsbarker, 2014, Corporate governance and Directors duties reviewed on 5 February 2015, https://www.dibbsbarker.com/assets/document/Corporate_Governance_2014.pdfTakeovers Panel, ND, Directors duties reviewed on 5 February 2015,https://www.takeovers.gov.au/content/Resources/parliamentary_reports/social_fuduciary_duties_obligations.aspxFind Law, 2015, Directors duties reviewed on 5 February 2015, https://www.findlaw.com.au/articles/32/directors-duties.aspxCommonwealth of Australia, ND, Directors duties reviewed on 5 February 2015, https://archive.treasury.gov.au/documents/283/PDF/full.pdf

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

The Perils of Affirmative Action an Example of the Topic Economics Essays by

The Perils of Affirmative Action In the very beginning of this nation's history, Americans were under the power of England's monarchy. The Americans were able to overthrow the shackles of bondage and created a Constitution that declares its steadfast belief in the ideals of freedom, equality and the pursuit of happiness. But immediately after the Declaration of Independence and even after the Constitution was signed and accepted by leaders of the new government, not every American citizen is treated fairly. And a good example would be the Negroes and other minorities such as Asians and more so their women. Need essay sample on "The Perils of Affirmative Action" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed This clear violation of the Constitution prompted many to create a landmark law that will turn the tide once and for all. It was Affirmative Action that was supposed to save America from the evils of racism and discrimination but this directive failed and in fact it even backfired and instead of helping the oppressed it made them look less worthy of respect as ever before. Before going any further, a historical background of the United States of America is needed to fully understand where Affirmative Action came from. This nation was created from the union of disparate states and was made possible by two events. The first one is the successful War for Independence wage by patriots like George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. The second, the creation of a piece of a document called the U.S. Constitution and authored by statesmen like Thomas Jefferson and John Quincy Adams. The war that defeated the more superior English army was simply the beginning and enough to give the Union some breathing room to create their own destiny. The U.S. Constitution became the symbol of democracy around the world. The contents of this document was used to straighten the crooked path and when there is no road that will lead to progress and good governance the Constitution provided the necessary tools for great men to do their job. Yet every time the Constitution was used to promote the ideals of freedom, justice, and equality it made men of principles to question the inconsistencies and the glaring hypocrisy. How can the Americans say freedom for all when there are men and women who are treated a little higher than cattle in some territories? How can there be equality when there are those discriminated on the basis of race and gender? Afterwards there was a growing clamor to free the slaves and to be true to the declaration that all men are created equal. After a bloody Civil War that settled the issue of slavery the Negro race was still under a cloud of oppression and discrimination, African-Americans experienced the humiliation of segregation in the South. While the Negro race continued to suffer, America experienced an economic boom that attracted migrants from all over the world. The U.S. also became active in helping other nations and its people to battle tyranny and as a result many Asians left their war torn countries and settled in the land of promise. As a result the Negro race now have companions in misery. America has to be rudely awakened by the Civil Rights Movement to realize that there is still much work to be done with regards to racism in this country. When Martin Luther King, Jr. died, the nation was ready for a major change. Ending segregation in the South and improving the status of the Negro race is now the correct thing to do. It was the late John F. Kennedy, the first U.S. President since Abraham Lincoln who signed another landmark law, a directive that will improve the lives of all African-Americans in this country. Barely a few months in office, JFK issued Executive Order 10925 which created the Presidents Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity. Its main objective was to eradicate discrimination in the U.S. or at least when it comes to the government and its contractors. Every federal contract includes a pledge that the Contractor will not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, or national origin (see Steven Cahn). The JFK administration was calling for an affirmative action and it is simply a government that will no longer pay lip service to the ideals of freedom and equality. They are going to do something deliberate about this issue. In Stanford University, Robert Fullinwider wrote that Affirmative Action simply means taking positive steps to increase the representation of women and minorities in areas of employment, education, and business from which they have been historically excluded. Now, that there is a law that forces the issue then interest groups are encouraged to bring the issue to court and to pressure businesses and employers to comply. In this regard Fullinwider wrote, When those steps involve preferential selection selection on the basis of race, gender or ethnicity affirmative action generates intense controversy (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). So the pendulum has swung to the other side. It is as if the government is trying to make up for a lot of lost ground. It is as if there is a deliberate act of atoning for past sins but the problem is, those who are so passionate about the issue are actually creating a reverse discrimination, instead of discriminating against the Negro for instance there is now discrimination for the Negro (Cowan 5). James Nickel was able to put it succinctly when he wrote: To state the argument in a slightly different way, one might say that if a group was discriminated against on the basis of a morally irrelevant characteristic of theirs, then to award extra benefits now to the members of this group because they have characteristic is simply to continue to treat a morally irrelevant characteristic as if it were relevant. Instead of the original discrimination against these people, we now have discrimination for them, but in either case we have discrimination (4) In one of the more glaring example of affirmative action gone bad was the case of The Regents of the University of California v. Allan Bakke (Dwokin 103). In this particular case the University Of California Davis School Of Medicine has an affirmative action program that was designed to admit more black students. In fact for the 100 slots offered every year there are 16 slots reserved for blacks and other educationally and economically disadvantaged minorities can avail. As it turns out Allan Bakke was forced to compete for the remaining 84 slots but he was rejected. The only problem here is that Bakke has significantly higher scores than the other black students who were admitted to the program, Bakke sued the school and the California Court agreed with Bakke while the school appealed to the Supreme Court. A similar case can be seen in the analysis of SAT scores in the 90s. According to researcher Byron Roth elite US Colleges require a score of over 600 on the verbal portion to be admitted to their program. But Roth found out something that will give a headache to advocates of Affirmative Action and he remarked, blacks represented only 2 percent of those scoring above 600, wile whites represented about 73 percent of those scoring above 600 (265). The same is true for Math scores where only about 3 percent of the total population of black students who took the test scored higher than 600, while 13 percent of whites scored higher than 600 (Roth, 265). If Affirmative Action forces the issue of giving up slots to minorities then how can this action be justified on the basis of fairness and rewarding people according to hard work etc.? Bakke as well as other white folks clearly deserve equal treatment as do members of the minority. There is no excuse for giving preferential treatment to black students or traditionally marginalized groups for this is actually doing them a disservice. Instead of helping them be strong this society is keeping them lame and forever bound to negative connotations of their social status. It is time to punish discrimination and at the same time promote equality in the proper way. A common feature of Affirmative Action is the establishment of quotas such as in employment or in the admission to academic programs etc. This may be a deliberate step to create a level playing field but there are now evidences to prove the contrary. It is even ironic that the same people that are supposed to be assisted from Affirmative Action are the ones who are suffering from the recoil so to speak. For instance there are increasing number of Jews and Asian who are now beginning to feel that Affirmative Action is actually hurting their chances to be admitted to academic programs (Swain, 296). This is because the high number of Asians and Jews who get high scores would simply mean that not all can be included considering that there are already reserved slot for other minority groups. On a final note, there was this documented story of a black man hired as a messenger in the Department of Commerce. It turns out that this man, Leslie Perry actually held a bachelors degree as well as a law degree but was only able to secure a job doing menial tasks (King, 72). There are many stories like that of Perry but there is no excuse for creating an inverse discrimination as experienced by Allan Bakke. No one is arguing the fact that deliberate steps must be done to rectify an injustice that has taken hundreds of years to correct. But discriminating in favor of minorities blacks, Asians, and women is similar to discriminating against them; it is without a doubt a flawed solution for it is not helping them at all. It is similar to a parent not training his children to lift themselves up and be self-sufficient. The child will grow weak and lack the motivation and confidence to succeed in life. No matter how tempting it is to give preferential treatment to members of the minority group in America, there is no excuse not to strive hard and compete just like the rest of the members of the American society. Works Cited Affirmative Action. Ed. Robert Fullinwider. 2005. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Stanford University). 24 March 2008 Cowan, J. L. Inverse Discrimination. The Affirmative Action Debate. Ed. Steven Cahn. New York: Routledge, 2002. 5-7. Dworkin, Ronald. Bakkes Case: Are Quotas Unfair? The Affirmative Action Debate. Ed. Steven Cahn. New York: Routledge, 2002. 3-4. King, Desmond. Separate and Unequal. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. Minchin, Timothy. Hiring Black Worker: The Racial Integration of the Southern Textile Industry. North Carolina: The University of North Carolina Press, 1999.