Human Resource Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Human Resource Management - Research Paper Example The case study is all about the Jet Blue Airways which was founded by David Neeleman in the year 2000. The company has been trying to provide superior service to its staffs and has been constantly struggling for finding the right candidate who could blend with the culture of the organization. Rigorous training was provided to the staffs depending upon the duties and responsibilities. Moreover, the employees or the crew members went out of their way by helping the passengers; and the pilots used to interact with the customers and also engage themselves in activities such as cleaning up the plane for the next flight. The airport manager was found issuing the boarding passes. While recruiting the candidate, the company looked for people who had a positive attitude as the candidate was often asked to do certain things that were not a part of the job description. The airlines basically looked for the five values in the people they hired and these traits were given the first preferences. T he company’s recruitment and selection process have been quite complex. The selection process of the Jet Blue Airways has been focused on the ability of the applicant to handle the situation on several hypothetical situations. Even during the selection process the company tried its best to find the candidates’ abilities to imbibe the values of the Jet Blue. It was also found that despite having revolved around the values of the organization, the employees reported that they were unhappy with the leaders. From the above paragraph, it is evident that the company had a very complex recruitment and selection process. Moreover, it has been focusing more on the values during the selection and the recruitment process. Although, the culture of the organization has helped the company to perform well in the near past, however, it is not always possible for a candidate to have all the five values that the companies look for while recruiting and selecting the candidate. The compan y may face several problems if they have such tight recruitment and selection process. The company also faced problems of leadership and teamwork despite the leaders getting the best training. The company always realized the need to focus on the training of the leaders as they would guide their followers to adhere with the culture of the organization.  

Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Movie Review Example The Associate has pleasantly developed characters such as Dianne Wiest, Tim Daly, Elly Wallach and Goldberg who is a brilliant financial analyst at a big Wall Street but suddenly finds out that having a man opens doors. The fact that brilliant mind such as Laurel’s cannot be recognized because she is a woman is unfortunate. It is further painful when Laurel forces herself to create a fictitious man called Cutty as her invisible partner and he is always out of town or on vacation thus making Laurel to cover for him. The man invented by Laurel turns up to be conspicuously successful in his operations thus making the public to demand to meet him (Petrie Film). It is interesting to watch Laurel enlisting skills of a celebrity impersonator so that she can appear at public events as a white man. The man whom Laurel impersonates does not seem likable and this gives the film its comical taste (Petrie Film). The male conquered society and ladder in the business world receives a blow when Laurel trains a man called Tim Daly who unfortunately gets promotion that Laurel deserves. However, Laurel who is disgusted by Tim Daly’s characters such as closing deals with clients at night decides to start her own firm. It is really amazing to see Laurel succeeding in her business in the name of nonexistent â€Å"Cutty† thus lying to even powerful investors. She is a very outgoing person and an extrovert who will not stop at pursuing what she wants. She is also sly and determined person who is largely daring. She does everything possible in her capacity to ascend to power. Goldberg is very brilliant and studious person who carefully uses her intelligence to perform her tasks in order to succeed. Goldberg does not regard gender issues and she is so bold that she does not care succeeding in a male dominated business world. He is self centered and male chauvinist who takes advantage of other people especially the

Professional Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Professional Development - Essay Example The Aviva ask the candidates to deal company’s clients through telephone line and the candidate’s performance in this process is evaluated by company officials. 1. Communication skill Communication skill is the basic requirement that every employer expects with an applicant regardless of the nature and size of the company. This is highly significant in sectors like insurance industry where group work and customer interaction are inevitable factors. Communication skill is considered as primary requirement for employees as it enables the upward and downward flow of information easily at the organisational level. Obviously Aviva also gives higher importance to this skill as one of the criteria for employee recruitment. 2. ICT skills This is another area of expertise that modern enterprises including Aviva have fixed as employment criterion. According to their recruitment strategy, an employee must possess Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills in order to be employed at their reputed insurance business venture. Aviva’s nature of business includes creation and presentation of plans using graphs and diagrams which necessitate employees’ need of ICT skills. Only a person with good experience in office management and computer applications can meet this requirement. 3. Leadership skills Aviva thinks that leadership quality must be an essential criterion in the employee selection process as their staffs are expected to take charge of projects and be able to work among other group members. Leadership skill in fact involves an array of innate qualities and acquired skills which enable a person to carry out positive interaction with his group members and also with the employer on behalf of his group. From the point of view of Yukl (2003), leadership behavior can be grouped into three such as ‘task-oriented, relation-oriented, and participative leadership’. An individual with leadership skill would come up with innovat ive ideas and normally undertakes the responsibility of his group toward the accomplishment of the given task. All other personal skills including communication skill, knowledge, negotiation skill, and many more add to one’s leadership abilities. 4. Project management skills As mentioned earlier, insurance sector involves wide range of planning activities on their new projects. Therefore, Aviva asks project management skill as another inevitable area of employees’ proficiency. Sometimes, the company would assign specific tasks to its employees and it is not possible to dispose those assignments successfully if the candidate cannot efficiently comply with project management requirements. Although Aviva values math skills, social skills, and work skills, these are not mandatory because the company provides six months basic training to its employees to meet these requirements. 2 Given below are the areas of my proficiency that make me an appropriate candidate at Aviva. I have also specified the area in which I have to further track my excellence. Communication skill must be one of the most important potentials I possess that can meet the employer’s requirements. In addition to the academic knowledge in my majors like Humanities & Social Science and Business Marketing, I have sufficient work experience in marketing field where I had to deal with a wide range of customers. My employment with Samjee International CORP’

Research paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Research Paper Example The painting is an exact mirror image of this city. It shows a jumbled up maze with roads and ladders. New York is considered to be one of the busiest and most expensive cities of the world located in the most advanced country/continent- North America. The Food culture of this city is a mixed culture with Italian, European as well as Chinese food. However because it is a diverse city with people from all over the world, all kinds of food is eaten over here. New York is considered to be the cultural capital of the world, the reason once again being the diversity on cultures ranging from contemporary to modern covering all regions of the world. As for its architecture, New York has the world’s most remarkable and extraordinary architecture with noteworthy buildings mostly made of stone and brick. The city has tall and huge buildings and a rich architectural history. The weather of New York is sub-tropical, and both winters and summers are quite different. Summers being sunny, humid and warm while winters being cold and moist because of rain. Moreover, New York is the center for many activities related to media such as television, music, print media, films and advertising. This amazing piece of art as described by the author as a ‘construction’ rather than just a painting shows a process of building and growing. It is classified as a painting using oil paints on a wood canvas, bright colors with a view that makes it look like separate pieces joined together to portray the process of uncanny structures used to show life in this city. The dimensions of this work are 9 5" x 11 3" x 1 Â ½ and light makes it look brighter. The period in which the painting was made is the CONTEMPORAY period, and the style of the painting is also contemporary, showing the current state of the city. The style flourished since after World War 2 and continues till today. EXPRESSIONISM is prominent in paintings of this era that originated in Germany. The art

The statement of Goals for BSPH Essay Example for Free

The statement of Goals for BSPH Essay Different people have different ambitions in life. These ambitions can either make or break a person. Ever since I was a child, I have always wanted to indulge myself in public health. This volition was strongly influenced by the fact that my grandfather was the chairman of Red Blood, an organization based in Hong Kong. My grandfather impressed me in a lot of ways, especially in terms of his work. He shared with me his insights and the pertinent information necessary to succed in his field of work. After the SARS breakout in Hong Kong in 2003, I became more and more indulged into the field and in helping others. So I decided that I should now go out of my way to widen my knowledge about Public Health. As I indulge myself in this field, I plan to major in the Health Policy and Administration. With the kind of experiences that I have, I am proud to say that I demonstrate the qualities and the experiences required of a good leader. In my college days, I became one of the founding members of the Association of International Business and Economics Research (AIBER). The group aimed to provide students with quality research and information specifically on business and economics. I was then appointed as president of the group after half a year of active involvement. Our society was even recognized as the most outstanding extracurricular society in our college. My thrive to be successful did not stop there. I was also an active member of the leadership society of my college; at the same time, was also the activities director of International Student Association. My dream of becoming successful was finally taking place I was one of the youngest leaders in my school during that time. As persistent as I can be, I honed my craft even after college. I was an office clerk for Manulife Financial Limited in the summer of 2005. The best part of them all was the fact that I was recommended by my school and sent to Singapore to participate in its exchange program. The experience taught me not only to widene my perspective, but also crafted my intrpesonal, communication, and leadership skills. We all know that the health of individuals can be detrimental to the economic stability of ones country. With this in mind, I plan to use all of my acquired knowledge and experiences to the upheaval of my society. Studies will be conducted so as to have an idea on which areas to focus on. From this, new policies and rules will be stipulated so as to resolve the problems, if not totally eliminate them. For others, public administration is very simple and easy and I beg to disagree with them. It may be easy to handle a few people, but when you talk about taking care of a town, a city, or even a country – careful considerations must be given. We should be very careful when dealing with even the smallest detail, because these details may even be the cause of yet a bigger problem. When accepted at _____________________(Please put the name of your college), I know that the knowledge that I have acquired through the many years of experience will be well crafted by this school.

Influences of American Antitrust Principles on Golf

Influences of American Antitrust Principles on Golf Are the Rules of Golf in violation of Antitrust Law? Abstract: Today, the two regulatory bodies for golf, the United States Golf Association (USGA) and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews (RA) establish the technical specifications for golf equipment. Indeed all major sports would have some regulatory body undertaking the same activity. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the extent to which American antitrust principles will influence the application of Australian antitrust (or competition law) canons to the Rules of Golf. In Australia, the rules promulgated by the regulatory bodies are adopted through its national association, Golf Australia, upon a delegation from the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews. The issues specifically raised are whether regulation of golf equipment improperly excludes innovative products from reaching the market place (ss45/4D of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Aus) with this provision somewhat equivalent to  §1 of the Sherman Act 1890 (US)), and second, whether the golf regulators are unfairl y exercising market power (s46 Trade Practices Act 1974 (Aus) this section broadly parallels  §2 of the Sherman Act 1890 (US)). With precedential case law emanating from the United States, it is possible, if not probable, that a manufacturer (be they Australian or international) may look to the Australian courts as a medium by which their innovative and ground-breaking product can reach the hands of avid golfers. This article examines the United States litigation and applies it to the above-mentioned competition law principles. It has particular relevance to a United States audience given that American manufacturers dominate the retail market for golf clubs in Australia. A framework will be presented against which sporting equipment regulators can test the validity of their rules regarding equipment restrictions. Whilst golf will be the background for this critique, the analysis is equally relevant for any sport (if not all), which contain such limitations. Introduction There is no doubting the importance of sport to the human psyche. From an Australian perspective it is an inherent part of the Australian persona, developed as part of our culture. Whether it is our wealth, weather, availability of land or some other reason, many Australians participate in any number of outdoor and indoor recreational pursuits that come within the broad rubric of sports. As one of the most prominent activities, golf occupies a specific niche in the Australian community. With approximately 1.139ml (or 8% of the population) playing, the related employment of 20,000 people, club revenues of $1.1bn, 30ml rounds played annually, at least 20 male players on the United States Professional Tour and the number nine ranked female player in the world (Karrie Webb), Australia is rightfully positioned as the worlds number two golfing nation, behind only the United States of America. However, for every golfer frustrated with a short game that begins off the tee, a putter that uncomfortably yips at impact, or a ball that doesnt respect the modern mantra of mental visualisation, a lingering question remains, to what extent do the technology restrictions imposed by the regulators of golf actually protect the fundamental values that lie behind the game? Perhaps more specifically, do the contemporary developments such as the conformance test for the ‘spring-like effect off clubheads, or the limitations on the distance that a ball can travel serve to protect the skill level of the game, or simply restrict competition amongst innovative manufacturers whilst at the same time exasperating the legion of players in the game. Has tradition been preserved at the expense of progress? Development and growth in sporting equipment is about innovation, (if not in society), and on a simplistic level restrictions prevent competition amongst companies who must create to sell th eir product to the consumer. Subject to normal use, golf clubs will last for many years if not decades. To purchase new equipment, the golfer needs to be convinced that the latest contrivance (such as the redirection of the weight in the head of the club; the redesigning of the geometry of the dimples on the golf ball, or the adjustability of the shaft), will see that golfer move imperceptibly closer to the utopian ideal of swing perfection. But the question remains how can a conventional competition law analysis allow sporting administrators the opportunity to engage the game and its participants with its fundamental values, or does sport (as a fundamental part of Australian society) simply need to mend its way to fit within the competition law ideals promulgated and promoted by governments of all persuasions. United States Litigation The genesis for present day litigation has been the United States of America. In a golfing context, two cases dramatically highlight the antitrust implications of the Rules of Golf: Weight-Rite Golf Corp v United States Golf Association and Gilder v PGA Tour Inc. Weight-Rite Golf Corp v United States Golf Association concerned an action brought by a manufacturer and distributor of (among other things) a particular golf shoe. The plaintiff had designed a golf shoe to promote stability and appropriate weight transference in the swing. The USGA issued a determination banning the shoe alleging that it did not conform to the USGAs Rules of Golf. However, Weight Rite argued that the USGA determination amounted to a group boycott or concerted refusal to deal. In the United States, this is per se unlawful under the Sherman Act (in Australia this would be per se illegal under s45 of the Trade Practices Act 1973), no lessening of competition need be established. As noted by the Court these types of practices are: â€Å"agreements or practices which because of their pernicious effect on competition and lack of any redeeming virtue are conclusively presumed to be unreasonable and therefore illegal without elaborate inquiry as to the precise harm they have caused or the business excuse for their use†. However, in addition, Weight Rite submitted that even if the per se rule was not applicable, the USGAs action violated the rule of reason, that is, its actions lessened competition. Weight Rite was unsuccessful. The USGA had not violated any procedural fairness requirements nor had an unreasonable restraint of trade occurred. The court found that the USGA had an established procedure for the verification of new equipment, whereby golf equipment manufacturers may, prior to marketing a product, obtain a ruling from the USGA as to whether the product conforms to the Rules of Golf. Given that Weight Rite had not availed itself of this procedure, despite notification to do so from the USGA, injunctive relief was not available to the plaintiff. Gilder v PGA Tour Inc Gilder v PGA Tour Inc concerned, at the time, the most popular selling golf club in the world, the ‘Ping Eye 2. This club was developed following an amendment in 1984 whereby the United States Golf Association had permitted the manufacture of clubs containing grooves that were in the shape of a U (as opposed to a V) this rule change coming about because of technical improvements in the way clubs were manufactured, rather than manufacturers seeking to gain an innovative advancement to their clubs. This contrasted with earlier clubs where the grooves were all the shape of a V- a diagrammatic representation from Figure XI of the current rules of golf shown below. In 1985 a number of players complained that the U-grooves had detracted from the skill of the game. The specific allegation was that U-grooves imparted more spin on the golf ball, particularly when hitting from the rough. The USGA conducted further tests and whilst they considered that more spin was added to the golf ball by the U-grooves, not enough information was available to ban clubs with this type of face pattern. However, the USGA did amend how it would measure the spaces between the grooves (the so-called groove to land ratio) and this had the effect of banning the ‘Ping-Eye 2 with this rule applying to all USGA tournaments from 1990. Gilder and seven other professionals, funded by the manufacturer of the ‘Ping-Eye 2 (Karsten Manufacturing Corporation), began proceedings against the PGA (the administrative body for professional golf tournaments in the United States of America) for adopting the rule that led to the banning of the club. They alleged that the actions of the PGA and its directors violated  §1 and  §2 of the Sherman Act and Arizona antitrust laws. To support its case, Karsten presented, in the United States Court of Appeal, economic evidence that there had been no negative impact for the PGA Tour by professionals using the ‘Ping-Eye 2. This included a quantitative study that the percentage of money won by players using the golf club was less than the percentage of players not using the club. Furthermore, there was no proof that Ping golf clubs led to a greater number of players getting their balls to the green in less than regulation. The evidence of the professionals was as expected that changing clubs would adversely hurt their game, with this impacting on prize money won and endorsement income. By contrast, the PGA considered that success for Karsten would irreparably damage its standing as the governing body. If their reputation were diminished, it would then have difficulty formulating rules for the conduct of tournaments under its control. However, the Court in comparing the harm done to the manufacturer and the p layer, as against the PGA Tour found in favour of the manufacturer. The damage done to the prestige and reputation of the PGA paled in comparison with the financial harm to the players and Karsten. An injunction was granted preventing the ban of the club going ahead and with this in mind, both the USGA and the PGA settled the outstanding litigation with Karsten. This saw Karsten acknowledging the USGA as the principal rule making body, the PGA as the administrative organisation in charge of tournaments with an independent equipment advisory committee established to oversee the introduction of innovations. Both sides claimed victory the USGA and PGA retained their positions as the authoritative rule-setters for golf and tournament play, the manufacturer and players able to continue to use the ‘Ping-Eye 2. With this background in mind, this paper will consider the application of Australian competition (or antitrust) law to the restrictions presently imposed by the regulators within the current Rules of Golf. Are these restrictions hampering competition in the market place and serving to dampen the innovative market in golf clubs. Do they prevent ground-breaking products from entering the competitive fray, and will the deference shown to the sporting regulators in the United States (with Gilder v PGA Tour the exception rather than the rule), be followed if Australian litigation was to occur? Specifically, within the Australian context, does ss45/4D (broadly similar to  §1 of the Sherman Act 1890 (US)) and s46 of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (equivalent to  §2 of the Sherman Act 1890 (US)) prevent Golf Australia (the national administrator of Golf in Australia) from endorsing the technology restrictions imposed by the United States Golf Association and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews? The Rules of Golf The USGA and the RA have collaborated to issue a joint statement of principles concerning advancements in technology. With a focus on what is perceived as golfs traditions, the rule-makers indicate a continued preference for a single set of rules and the need for these Rules to enhance the skill of the player rather than the quality of the equipment. With this in mind, the Rules of Golf state: â€Å"4-1(a): The players clubs must conform with this Rule and the provisions, specifications and interpretations set forth in Appendix II.† Appendix II then establishes, over the course of eleven pages, the rules regarding the design of clubs, with, for example, clause 4(c) being of contemporary concern because of its effect in limiting the spring-like effect of golf clubs. â€Å"The design, material and/or construction of, or any treatment to, the clubhead (which includes the club face) must not: have the effect of a spring which exceeds the limit set forth in the Pendulum Test Protocol on file with the R&A; or incorporates features or technology including, but not limited to, separate springs or spring features, that have the intent of, or the effect of, unduly influencing the clubheads spring effect; or unduly influence the movement of the ball.† The Pendulum Test Protocol then sets out that a driving club is to be impacted several times by a small steel pendulum (see diagram 2). The time between the impact of the clubhead on the pendulum is then recorded, with this time directed related to the flexibility of the clubhead. The time cannot exceed certain parameters. Pendulum Test Protocol Mechanism The length golf balls can travel is also restricted. Appendix III, clause 5 provides that the â€Å"The initial velocity of the ball must not exceed the limit specified (test on file) when measured on apparatus approved by the [the regulator].† These rules apply in Australia with the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, through its rules making entity (the RA Rules Limited) delegating to Golf Australia the role of administering the Rules of Golf within Australia. Current Technology Debates As noted the most recent debate between manufacturers and the regulatory bodies concerns the so-called spring-like effect of club faces. The creation and fusion of new materials in the manufacturing process has reduced the distortion that occurs to a golf ball on impact. By reducing this (through the club-face giving slightly and then rebounding), an overall increase in distance was able to be achieved. Until recently, there had been no adequate measure to test this effect, but with the introduction of the Pendulum Test Protocol, the USGA and the RA now have the opportunity to measure this accurately. However, the introduction of these measures led to a sharp decline in the share price of golf club manufacturers, and â€Å"[a]s one investment analyst commented, ‘if a governing body tells a leading-edge technology company that they cant improve technology, it puts them out of business. This debate stands at the fore of golf, with the industry view provided by the President of K arsten Manufacturing: â€Å"If the USGA restricts innovation, it will artificially restrict competition. Golfers will no longer receive the best possible equipment and will incorrectly perceive that all golf drivers are the same and there is nothing new or improved. The lack of excitement from the game will decrease interest in golf†¦Ã¢â‚¬  A second issue concerns the relationship between club face markings and the impact of the ball on the clubhead. As every golfer knows, inexorably connected to driving distance is accuracy. However, recent studies from the regulators highlighted that correlation between driving accuracy and success on the professional tours was no longer high, with further evidence illustrating the combination of current golf balls with a thin urethane cover had significantly increased the spin of the golf ball. This led to the Rules being tightened from January 1, 2008 (with this limiting the width, depth and spacing between grooves). However, non-conforming clubs can be used by non-elite golfers until 2024, with the professional golfers to adopt the rule from 2010. One final contemporary topic concerns the degree to which the club should be able to twist upon impact (the so-called ‘moment of inertia (see diagram 3- this machine able to test how much a club twists upon impact)), the regulators suggesting that technology which limits the clubhead and shaft twisting will reduce the skill component of the game. The rules now provide that when the â€Å"†¦moment of inertia component around the vertical axis through the clubheads centre of gravity must not exceed 5900 g cm ² (32.230 oz in ²), plus a test tolerance of 100 g cm ² (0.547 oz in ²).† As noted by the RA the purpose is to provide for protection â€Å"against unknown future developments†¦whilst allowing some technological evolution.† Moment of Inertia Test Machine Australian Antitrust Law Australian antitrust (or, as it is known, competition law) derives from, though with substantially different wording than, the 1890 United States Sherman Act. Because of this, the previously mentioned litigation from the United States will be of distinct precedential value when the matters are litigated in Australia. In this section an examination is given of the applicability of ss45/4D and s46 of the Trade Practices Act 1974 to the scenario detailed above. Is Golf Australia, through its adoption of the Rules of Golf on a delegation from the regulators in breach of either of these provisions.? The application of ss45/4D of the Trade Practices Act 1974 Section 45(2) of the Trade Practices Act states that: A corporation shall not: (a) make a contract or arrangement, or arrive at an understanding, if: (i) the proposed contract, arrangement or understanding contains an exclusionary provision; or (ii) a provision of the proposed contract, arrangement or understanding has the purpose, or would have or be likely to have the effect, of substantially lessening competition.. The latter part of this legislation can quickly be dismissed. In Australia, golf will not be seen as a discrete market of the purposes of antitrust analysis. For this reason an argument that there is a substantial lessening of competition (s45(2)(a)(ii)) by the imposition of technical restrictions for a particular sport is unsustainable. The per se exclusionary provision prohibition established by section 45(2)(a)(i) is somewhat equivalent to  §1 of the Sherman Act 1890 (US) however, one important difference can be noted. As Weight-Rite and Gilder highlight, the jurisdictional applicability of  §1 of the Sherman Act 1890 cannot be argued. By contrast, it is suggested that this would not be the position in Australia. The critical difference between the Australian legislation and the United States section is that in the former nation, s45(3) of the Trade Practices Act 1974 requires a competitive market or that the cartel parties be in competition with each other. Whilst this does not require all parties to be competitors, with golf regulators not retailing or manufacturing golf clubs, the underlying sense of collusion so critical to s45 litigation is absent. The definition of exclusionary provision in s4D is even more explicit. This requires that the arrangement must be between people who are competitive with each other thus mandating a horizontal component to the understanding. A further reason for the unavailability of s45 is that sporting organisations will often be seen as single economic units, rather than distinct entities. The importance of this if the two bodies are not viewed as separate, collusion is not possible. United States authority supports this reasoning. For example, in Seabury Management Inc v Professional Golfers Association of America Inc., a trade show promoter (Seabury), brought an action against the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) and a member section, the Middle Atlantic Section Professional Golfers Association of America (MAPGA), alleging that a five year contract between Seabury and MAPGA gave Seabury the right to use MAPGAs name and logo to conduct and promote a golf trade show anywhere in the United States. MAPGA claimed, on the other hand, that the contract limited any MAPGA-sponsored golf trade show to an area within the MAPGAs territorial boundaries. The case proceeded to trial with Seabury alleging, among other things, that both the PGA and MAPGA had colluded in violation of  §Ã‚ §1 and 2 of the Sherman Act and of Marylands antitrust laws. Initially the jury returned a verdict for Seabury, finding that the PGA and MAPGA were not part of a single economic unit and that the PGA had conspired with MAPGA (and also with the Golf Manufacturers and Distributors Association) to illegally restrain trade. However, this was overturned on appeal. The Appellate Court concluded that the PGA and MAPGA were incapable of conspiring and that on this issue, judgment as a matter of law in their favour was appropriate. The court said that while the MAPGA is not a wholly-owned subsidiary of the PGA and these entities are separately incorporated, the evidence at trial established that the PGA and its member sections function as a single economic unit with the PGA possessing ultimate control over the actions of individual sections. The court found it significant that the sections are governed by the PGA Constitution, by policies adopted either at PGA annual meetings or by the PGA Board of Directors, and by other pertinent policy documents such as trademark licensing agreements. In addition, the sections actions must be approved by the PGA to ensure that they are in the best interests of the organisation as a whole. For example, when the MAPGA sought to enter into the contract and its amendments with Seabury, the PGA had to approve these actions, and in this instance the PGA did approve the contract. The Application of s46 of the Trade Practices Act 1974 Another basis for possible antitrust breach by Golf Australia (through its unquestioning adoption of the Rules of Golf) is s 46: â€Å"(46) A corporation that has a substantial degree of power in a market shall not take advantage of that power for the purpose of: a) eliminating or substantially damaging a competitor of the corporation or of a body corporate that is related to the corporation in that or any other market; b) preventing the entry of a person in that or any other market; or c) deterring or preventing a person from engaging in competitive conduct in that or any other market.† The purpose of this section is clear. It is about protecting economic aims, promoting the competitive process and through that the consumer. Therefore does the regulatory control of golf equipment by Golf Australia depress competitive outcomes and reduce consumer (golfer) welfare? Have the Rules operated to depress the capacity of existing firms to innovate, and new firms to enter the market? Three elements must be met before s46 can be successfully invoked. i) Market power by a corporation; ii) The corporation must take advantage of that market power; iii) And, the taking advantage must be for a proscribed purpose. Market Power It is suggested that Golf Australia has market power. As the monopolist regulatory agency for Australia (its authority derived from one of the two Leviathans of world golf (the RA in this instance), Golf Australia can act by adopting rules free from the constraints of competition. Market power can also be established by contracts, arrangements or understandings that the corporation has with another party in the case the agreement between Golf Australia and the RA. This is supported by the significant barriers to entry that any new regulatory agency would have to establish most notably affiliation with the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews or the United States Golf Association. One suspects that it simply would not be â€Å"rational or possible for new entrants to enter the market,† golf also not interchangeable with other sports. Has there been a Taking Advantage Assuming that market power has been established, the next query becomes whether there has been a taking advantage of that market power. In Pacific National (ACT) Limited v Queensland Rail, the Federal Court enunciated 10 principles as a guide to the construction of the phrase take advantage in s46 of the Trade Practices Act 1974. 1. There must be a sufficiency of the connection, or a causal connection, between the market power and the conduct complained. 2. If the impugned conduct has an objective business justification, this will go against the existence of a relevant connection between the market power and the conduct. 3. The words take advantage do not encompass conduct that has the purpose of protecting market power but no other connection. 4. In deciding whether a firm has taken advantage, one must ask how it would have behaved if it lacked power and whether it could have behaved in the same way in a competitive market. 5. It may be proper to conclude that a firm is taking advantage of market power where it does something that is materially facilitated by the existence of the power. 6. The conduct must have given the firm an advantage it would not have had in the absence of market power. 7. The test may be whether the conduct was necessarily an exercise of market power. 8. One of the difficulties in dete rmining what constitutes taking advantage stems from the need to distinguish between monopolistic practices and vigorous competition. 9. The purpose of s46 is the promotion of competition — it is concerned with the protection of competition, not competitors. 10. It is dangerous to proceed from a finding of proscribed purpose to a conclusion of the existence of a substantial degree of market power that can be taken advantage of — to do so will ordinarily be to invert the reasoning process. In other words s 46 is not directed at size or at competitive behaviour, as such. What is prohibited, rather, is the misuse by a corporation of its market power. In addition, s46(4)(a) provides that the reference to power in s 46(1) is a reference to market power the power to be taken advantage of must be market power and not some other type of power. A corporation which satisfies the threshold test by reason of its market power is not permitted by s. 46(1) to take advantage of that power for the purpose of one or other of the objectives set out in paras. (a), (b) and (c). The term take advantage in this context indicates: that the corporation is able, by reason of its market power, to engage more readily or effectively in conduct directed to one or other of the objectives in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c); it is better able, by reason of its market power, to engage in that conduct; its market power gives it leverage which it is able to exploit and this power is deployed so as to take advantage of the relative weakness of other participants or potential participants in the market. Whether this is so in a particular case is a matter to be inferred from all the circumstances. In so doing, three critical points must be made: i) In determining whether there has been an objective taking advantage of market power, the phrase is not meant to imply that there must be a hostile or malicious intent to the use of the market power. There is to be no ‘indefinite moral qualification to the phrase ‘taking advantage. Section 46 is not dealing with social policy. ii) To answer the question whether there has been a taking advantage, the counterfactual is explored, that is, would the regulatory authorities have acted in the same way in competitive conditions. Conduct that may not normally be of concern, can â€Å"take on exclusionary connotations when practiced by a monopolist.† iii) The final critical point is that it is not permissible to establish a proscribed purpose and then to reverse engineer from this to find that there has been a taking advantage of market power. Taking advantage is a separate element that must be proven exclusively of any proscribed purpose. To do something other than this is to flaw the analysis. It is not possible to conclude that because one has the proscribed purpose of eliminating a competitor, that they have taken advantage of market power. â€Å"Competitors almost always try to ‘injure each other†¦This competition has never been a tort†¦ and these injuries are the inevitable consequence of the competition s46 is designed to foster.† With these principles in mind, would (or could) Golf Australia have acted in a different way, if the market conditions were competitive? Arguably, the answer is no. Golf is a global sport at both professional and amateur level and with the control, financial influence, and contemporary dominance of the USGA and the RA, Golf Australia would have to act the same way in a competitive market. The potential for Australia, despite our relative success on the world stage, to develop or go it alone in terms of equipment and rule regulation would not exist. With major American companies dominating world golf club manufacture, the presence of a second regulatory body, competing with Golf Australia would not alter the fact that sporting equipment regulation would still be mandated by overseas entities. A new entity, (as with Golf Australia) simply would not have the political or financial strength to act differently than that dictated by the USGA and the RA. For a Proscribed Purpose Assuming that market power and the taking advantage of this was established, the third element is that Golf Australia would have had to have acted for a proscribed purpose. Can it be said that Golf Australia (a non-profit entity) has objectively acted to eliminate, hinder or somehow prevent competition in a market. This requirement is arguably more easily met in the context of ‘for profit organisations. In Monroe Topple Associates v Institute of Chartered Accountants the non-profit nature of the Institute did not necessarily lead to a finding of an improper purpose, but â€Å"[did] tend to point against such a finding.† It is suggested that it would be difficult to establish the purpose element. Golf Australia gains nothing by putting golf equipment manufacturers out of business indeed it would seem to be in the interests of the regulator to promote healthy innovative competition amongst the manufacturers, with this leading to reduced prices for clubs and growth in the number of players. In a different context, a similar conclusion was reached by the Full Federal Court in Australasian Performing Rights Association Ltd (APRA) v Ceridale Pty Ltd. APRA refused to provide a licence for a nightclub unless unpaid fees by Ceridale were paid. While its actions may have led to a nightclub closing, its purpose was not to put the company out of business, but simply to preserve the integrity of its licence system. By analogy, the role of Golf Australia in endorsing the rules of the USGA and the RA is not about putting golf equipment manufacturers out of business, but about preserving what it perceived to be the traditions of the game. An Objective Business Justification Given what has been previously outlined, a breach of s46 appears unlikely. Whilst Golf Australia would have market power, it could not be shown that it would have acted differently in a competitive market (hence no taking advantage of that power), nor could it be demonstrated that it acted for a proscribed purpose. However, it is suggested that there is an even stronger basis by which Golf Australia would be able to defeat any allegation that it had taken advantage of its market power. This relies on Golf Australia establishing an objective legitimate business justification as to why it has accepted and promulgated these technical rules as the basis for regulation of golf equipment in this country. If this justification is accepted, then the conclusion is that there has been no taking advantage of market power the business was simply doing what would normally be done in a competitive market. In essence, it is the flipside of the counterfactual test, but in this context appeals to th e reason why sporting administrators and regulators are needed that is to establish and run fair competitive competitions and to encourage participation in the sport by all, with results determined on skill and not on luck. It seeks to connect the conduct of the market participants to

Consequences of Altered Prenatal Environment

Consequences of Altered Prenatal Environment Discuss the evidence that an altered prenatal environment (e.g. due to maternal nutritional status, stress or exposure to chemicals) has long-term consequences for reproductive function of the offspring. The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) hypothesis focuses on the idea that non-communicable diseases, such as coronary heart disease and diabetes, have origins in foetal development. The embryo or foetus can be exposed to certain challenges during its development that permanently alter the physiological development of that organism and this can show its effects postnatally later on in life (Moore 2017). A lot of focus has been directed towards metabolic dysfunction and problems with the cardiovascular system, but more recently it has become apparent that there are also lifelong effects of the prenatal environment on reproductive function of the offspring. Aspects of the prenatal environment include maternal malnutrition, maternal stress, maternal alcohol consumption, and maternal smoking, amongst others, which can all influence the development of the foetus and its health outcomes later on in life. However, there is a lack of evidence for humans, although offspring o f mothers affected by the Dutch Famine have been followed up throughout their life to see the effects of the acute maternal undernutrition (de Rooij et al. 2016) (Painter et al. 2006), therefore a lot of the experiments are performed on rodent, porcine and ovine models. While there are a number of differences between the mammalian models and humans, such as duration of gestation and sensitivity to the maternal environment, there are periods of exceptional vulnerability that are similar in both mammalian models and humans which allow us to map the effects of an altered prenatal environment from these animals to humans (Zambrano et al. 2014). The incidence of non-communicable diseases in adults significantly increases when maternal nutrition is compromised at vital periods of foetal development (Chavatte-Palmer et al. 2008). During the periconceptional period, it appears that the embryo has a degree of developmental plasticity and it takes advantage of this when being exposed to certain challenges in the maternal environment. This means that it changes the way it develops and adapts to the surrounding environment, which has consequences for later life. This is illustrated by the epidemiological study of female survivors of the Dutch Famine in World War II, which has shown altered reproductive function of their female offspring who were conceived during the famine. The offspring were found to have irregular menstrual cycles, increased risk of breast cancer and a younger age at which they underwent menopause (Sloboda et al. 2011). There was no significant change in the reproductive function in adults whose mothers were expo sed to the famine during late stages of pregnancy when compared to adults who were born before the famine (Painter et al. 2006), which suggests that the time around conception is very sensitive to the maternal environment. The study was conducted by authors who were fortunate to be able to collect the data that they did because, for obvious ethical reasons, a study like this could not be purposefully carried out on humans. As inhumane as the famine was, it has provided us with some useful data to ascertain what is happening in utero when maternal nutrition is compromised. Animal studies of maternal undernutrition have been conducted to add to the findings of the Dutch Famine epidemiology. In ewes, the female offspring had decreased rates of ovulation after experiencing prenatal undernutrition. Even earlier, it was found that the foetal ovary at day 47 already had altered concentrations of oogonia and meiotic arrest in the ovary was delayed even longer than usual on day 62 of foetal life (Sloboda et al. 2011). Growth restricted rats have shown staggered onset of signs of sexual maturation, for example first oestrus, mating and attainment of full fertility were separated in time rather than being simultaneous (Sloboda et al. 2011). Moreover, pregnant ewes on a calorie restricted diet produced offspring who grew up to have reduced ovarian and granulosa cell proliferation and increased apoptosis in their ovaries. This could be due to a change in the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis activity or hormonal environment in the ovary which is regulated by the mothers nutritional status (Sloboda et al. 2011). Furthermore, maternal protein restriction in rats delays seminiferous tubule lumen formation and increases apoptosis of germ cells during the neonatal period. Histological sections of the testes of male offspring show some tubules with no lumen at all at even when they have a control diet after birth (Zambrano et al. 2014). Also, apoptosis in the testes of male neonates at postnatal day 14 is increased in those who have experience maternal protein restriction either during pregnancy, during lactation, or during both (Zambrano et al. 2014). There have been many animal studies done using various mammalian models to produce data that we can apply to humans. So far, the data has been reproducible but it is still early days in this field of science so the longer these experiments are reproduced in different models, the better and more sure we can be when advising mothers of the risk their diet may have on the health and reproductive potential of their offspring. Although poverty and undernutrition remain global crises, it is clear that overfeeding and the obesity epidemic in the Western World come with severe implications on health of the population and future generations. Several studies in animal models have demonstrated that maternal overnutrition can affect the fertility of the offspring later on in life. For example, in pregnant sheep that are overfed, the offspring experience intrauterine growth restriction and are born small for their gestational age, but also the females are born with ovarian retardation (Chavatte-Palmer et al. 2008). Additional studies have been done and have other, similar conclusions for female offspring fertility. A mouse study shows that mothers fed high fat diets during pregnancy produced female offspring with a 4-fold reduction in the number of primordial follicles in their ovaries (Cheong et al. 2014). This could be due to them having an early onset of puberty, similar to the female offspring of mothers who h ad calorie restricted diets. Similarly, the female offspring in this cohort also had fewer (1.4-fold decrease in number) antral follicles developing into Graafian follicles in their ovaries (Cheong et al. 2014). However, the cohort sizes in this study were unfortunately quite small (10-15 mice per group) and it is unclear whether or not the groups were exposed to different nutritional challenges at the same time to ensure that the process was standardised. The results could be improved by repeating them with another cohort of mice and perhaps repeating the study in different species of mice to eliminate species-specific adaptations to maternal nutrition. If the same results are able to be replicated across other mouse species, then it is more plausible that these results might also be seen in humans. Some oestrogenic compounds have been observed to have effects on ovary development in later life of neonatal rodents that were exposed to the compounds prenatally. Two examples are activin and oestrogen derivatives (Woodruff and Walker 2008). Female rats exposed prenatally to oestradiol benzoate had delayed follicle and interstitial development by day 14 of age. By day 21, many of the larger follicles in the ovary were delayed in development at the preantral and small antral follicular stage. This suggests that oestrogens inhibit follicular development (Ikeda et al. 2001). As the rats mature, the inhibited development could delay the onset of sexual maturity in the females and puberty wouldnt occur until later. It is known that steroidogenic factor 1 (SF1-) controls development of the ovary (Hanley et al. 2000), so expression levels of genes that SF-1 regulates were studied in ovaries treated with oestradiol benzoate (Ikeda et al. 2001). It was found that ovarian tissue treated with oestradiol benzoate had downregulated SF-1 as well as genes including StAR and P450SCC, which have their expression controlled under SF-1 activity. This downregulation was present from postnatal day 6-21 and was relative to control ovary. Other genes were found to not change with oestradiol benzoate treatment and some had increased expression after treatment. This results indicate that oestrogen derivatives can influence different genes related to SF-1 to be upregulated or downregulated during development of the ovary (Ikeda et al. 2001). Maternal stress during pregnancy is another important factor affecting development and function of the offsprings reproductive system. Corticosteroids are an important class of steroid hormone involved in the stress response and over exposure to these hormones can elicit changes in the developing reproductive system of the foetus. Administration of dexamethasone during pregnancy in rats is associated with various outcomes, such as delayed onset of puberty in both offspring sexes, less follicles in the ovaries of female pups, and lower blood testosterone levels in male pups (Zambrano et al. 2014). Other corticosteroids, such as betamethasone, have shown impaired sperm quality and fertility in male pups (Zambrano et al. 2014). These findings indicate that maternal stress should be kept to a minimum during pregnancy in order to maximise the reproductive potential of her offspring. Although a certain degree of maternal stress is to be expected during pregnancy, chronic exposure to certai n stress hormones can be detrimental to the developing foetus. Having said this, it is unclear what concentrations of these corticosteroids were administered to the pregnant rats, therefore it is difficult to determine what levels of these in the mother could cause developmental restrictions in the foetus. These results arguably are difficult to translate into humans when thinking about impact of human maternal stress on our offspring. Furthermore, human stress is difficult to control, unlike diet or smoking, so it is unfair to attribute blame to the mother for the relative fertility of her offspring when she perhaps cannot control the changes in her uterine environment if shes become stressed during pregnancy. Evidence in the literature supporting this hypothesis is vast and thus not all evidence has been covered. Even though the evidence provided is mostly from animal models, the results can be translated to humans as well, since there are similarities in physiology and metabolism across all mammalian species. The animal models do have their limitations, such as being more or less sensitive to certain stimuli than humans and having different behavioural adaptations, but they also come baring less ethical issues with their exposure to laboratory experiments. That being said, it should also be considered that these animal models have been exposed to extremes of malnutrition and specific nutrient deficiencies, so when interpreting the results to advise pregnant women they should be presented to show that a balance of nutrition is fundamental to maintain a healthy pregnancy and ultimately healthy offspring with normal reproductive function. References CHAVATTE-PALMER, P. et al., 2008. Nutrition maternelle : incidence sur la fertilità © de la descendance et importance de la pà ©riode pà ©riconceptionelle pour le long terme. Gynà ©cologie Obstà ©trique Fertilità ©, 36(9), 920-929 CHEONG, Y. et al., 2014. Diet-induced maternal obesity alters ovarian morphology and gene expression in the adult mouse offspring. Fertility and Sterility, 102(3), 899-907 HANLEY, N.A. et al., 2000. Steroidogenic factor 1 (SF-1) is essential for ovarian development and function. Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology, 163(1-2), 27-32 IKEDA, Y. et al., 2001. Neonatal estrogen exposure inhibits steroidogenesis in the developing rat ovary. Developmental Dynamics, 221(4), 443-453 MOORE, S.E., 2017. Early-Life Nutritional Programming of Health and Disease in The Gambia. Annals of Nutrition Metabolism PAINTER, R.C. et al., 2006. Early onset of coronary artery disease after prenatal exposure to the Dutch famine. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 84(2), 322-327 DE ROOIJ, S.R. et al., 2016. Prenatal Undernutrition and Autonomic Function in Adulthood. Psychosomatic Medicine, 78(9), 991-997 SLOBODA, D.M., M. HICKEY and R. HART, 2011. Reproduction in females: the role of the early life environment. Human Reproduction Update, 17(2), 210-227 WOODRUFF, T.K. and C.L. WALKER, 2008. Fetal and Early Postnatal Environmental Exposures and Reproductive Health Effects in the Female. Fertility and sterility, 89(2 Suppl), e47-e51 ZAMBRANO, E. et al., 2014. Fetal programming of sexual development and reproductive function. 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