Farming Problems Essays - Farm, Land Management, Rural Culture

Farming Problems The complexion of farming is changing radically. The land cannot support as many farm families as it did in an earlier time. Small farms are being consolidated into larger ones. General farms, with several kinds of crops and a barnyard of farm animals, are yielding to specialty farms that concentrate on a single major crop. Family farms are declining; corporate farms are increasing. Efficiency is growing. Crops are changing. Techniques are improving. Just as the train, tractor, truck, and airplane changed farm life in the past, the computer and robotics are expected to change farm life in the future (AOL, 1997). And the outcome of this is that during the early 1980's and continuing, the farmer's source of income is indeed being stripped from him. What was once the only means of survival for these farmers, has now become distant memory. Farming techniques are undergoing tremendous changes. Farming will surely become more efficient throughout the world. It will also become more scientific and, in the process perhaps lose some of its romance. People who formerly lived on farms and have fond memories of their rural childhood will barely recognize the new farms. For farmers of the future, it will not be enough to know how to drive a tractor and plow a straight furrow. Farmers must change with the industry, as it becomes increasingly more sophisticated. The farmer must become more of a specialist to compete in the marketplace. This is a reason why many of today's farm families are on a decline; that is, that today's farmers are not able to purchase the latest machinery or equipment, for they have to be cautious about where they put their money. The 1980's sometimes referred to as the "farm crisis" decade of the 1980's, while the 1970's were referred to as the "boom years". It was in this time period that farms expanded in size and farm numbers dropped. But in the 1980's, two unusual things happened. First, older farmers seemed to stay in farming longer. Some who might have retired didn't want to sell their land in a depressed market, unless forced by a lender. Second, some middle aged farm families with children who might succeed them quit, or discourage their children from pursuing a farming career. Other younger farmers who had recently borrowed to start farming or to expand their businesses were caught in the interest rate squeeze and forced out of business (Looker 1996, pp9). This fed the decline of family farms, for children, who grew up on farms, did not wish to take upon a career as a farmer, but venture into the city looking for better work and wages, effects that the farm life couldn't give. The decline of the family farm has been heralded for decades, as growing numbers of people moved from the country top the city, and then to the suburbs. According to an article in the USA Today, a 32-year-old dairy farmer from Fort Plain, N.Y., says " You can get an 8 to 5 job, make a good living and still have (spare) time, and in the dairy business, there are huge cycles in prices. Just about the time you've caught up from a down cycle, another one comes along". This illustrates why young people are leaving the farm in search for better living conditions and money. Both the farmers and the academic experts talk about the key role of money in the decline of the family farm. " The evolution towards larger farms and more sophisticated equipment puts the initial investment far out of reach for most young people". "It's not a small business anymore", says John Scott, farm management and land economics professor at the University of Illinois-Champaign. "And because farming is risky dependant on the weather, at the mercy of crop and livestock diseases and victim of wild price swings-banks are unwilling to lend money to finance startup operations, especially after the disastrous defaults of the late 1970's and early 1980's, when high interest rate plowed under many farms and left lender without uncorrectable debts". (USA Today) This shows us how hard it is for farmers to receive credit, to keep the operation of a farm working. And without this credit, many farmers face the inevitable, that is, closing and selling their farmland. Farmers, however, do receive aid from the Government, to help them with competing prices. According to an article in the Philadelphia Tribune, it says that if "the Congressional Budget Reconciliation Act now awaiting presidential action is enacted, the historical American farm family will

Ethical Problems for New Graduates

Ethical Problems for New Graduates New graduates face different ethical dilemmas every time they join a new organization. Markkula Center of Applied Ethics offers dynamic insights regarding how new graduates should tackle different ethical dilemmas. Most of the advice given in the short videos recommends a scientific approach to handling ethical dilemmas.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Ethical Problems for New Graduates specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More For instance, the videos recommend that new graduates should always understand the background of the ethical dilemma in the organization and review if appropriate actions are normally taken in such situations or not. This is a scientific approach to handling ethical dilemmas. For instance, regarding the accounting dilemma, Markkula Center of Applied Ethics recommends that new graduates should investigate if errors of omission are normally committed in the organization. Moreover, the interviewee (Hanson ) explains that, employees should investigate if action is ordinarily taken in such situations. If it is established that there is a serious ethical problem, Hanson recommends that the problem should be escalated to superior authorities. Based on a friend’s experience, it is normally difficult to escalate an ethical dilemma to a superior authority if an employee is still new to an organization. Often, new graduates have just secured new positions in organizations and ordinarily, their first preoccupation would not be to ask many questions regarding the ethical or unethical conduct of the organization but to get everyone to like them. In extreme situations, most new employees would focus on securing their jobs and refrain from drawing too much attention to themselves by blowing the whistle on a colleague. Such scenarios are common for new graduates and Hanson’s advice of escalating ethical dilemmas to higher authorities fail to represent the real situation facing most n ew graduates in the organization. The above approach of handling the accounting dilemma is also stressed in the ethical dilemma of gender discrimination. Hanson’s advice to women who think they are being discriminated against is defined by a background analysis of the ethical dilemma. He proposes that this background study is crucial to establish if there is substantial ground to assume an employee is being discriminated against (or not). He points out that there are unique situations where an organization may treat an employee differently (such as when an employee is being prepared for an international assignment) and it is therefore important to refrain from unleashing the â€Å"gender† or â€Å"race† card (if a background study of the problem is not done). Hanson’s assessment is an intelligent but cautionary approach to handling gender-based ethical dilemmas because a colleague’s real-life experience shows that this approach is always the best.A dvertising Looking for essay on ethics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More For instance, there was a case where a female employee confronted her supervisor for giving her fewer duties at work because she believed she was given fewer tasks because she was a woman. It turned out that it was the company’s procedure to give fewer duties to new staff until they got acquainted with the organization’s tasks. The female employee had to withdraw her complaint because she did not give herself enough time to learn how the organization operates. Based on the above example, Hanson’s advice to new graduates is well informed Comprehensively, Markkula Center of Applied Ethics provides the right framework for handling ethical dilemmas but Hanson’s advice regarding first time ethical dilemmas is a little shallow. More sensitivity should therefore be given towards the â€Å"real† organizational environme nt facing new graduates (or employees who have just secured employment). For instance, more focus should be made on how new graduates can solve ethical dilemmas without running the risk of losing their jobs or getting their employers in trouble. Such is the recommendation that applies to the accounting dilemma.

I don't care, anything along the lines of engineering. I am doing Annotated Bibliography

I don't care, anything along the lines of engineering. I am doing Industrial engineering if you can find any articles around that - Annotated Bibliography Example I am amazed to see the application of supply chain management in medical and emergency missions, rescue and relief efforts in times of disasters and other societal settings improving the living standards. Thus, I see a great prospect for the supply chain management in the near future. Supply chain management is an important aspect for efficient production because supply chain controls and manages the flow of product. In other terms, supply chain controls the flow of capital in an industrial setting. The title supply chain management encompasses all the activities from planning and control of materials and/or information within different parts of one organization or between different companies. Supply chain management links different portions of industrial activities like manufacturing, purchasing, distribution of commodity and its transportation. Thus, every field of engineering gets integrated with the operation of production efficiency (Reddi and Moon). It is interesting to note that in an industry, important activities like transportation, warehousing, and inventory control, sourcing, procurement and supply management all comes under the single head of supply management. While, outside of the organization, supply chain management includes interactions with suppliers, distributors, carriers, and with customers. Thus, results in increased market share and better competitive advantage. In order to successfully compete in the market company needs two things; first to control the expenditure on the production (i.e., product should be cost effective) and secondly, the product must satisfy the needs or desires of the costumes. In such a way, the company maintains its competitiveness while expanding market share. Pricing, thus, plays an important role in this regard (Zhang, Wang and Li). It’s amazing that the whole world works like a giant supply chain system. Highly developed supply chain necessitates best infrastructures, i.e., roads, railway network,