The Moral Acceptability Of Passive Euthanasia

The Moral Acceptability Of Passive Euthanasia This paper will discuss the moral permissibility and acceptability of passive euthanasia, especially with regard to active euthanasia. The aim of the paper is to argue for the thesis that passive euthanasia is morally acceptable under certain conditions. I will present a defense of this thesis by defining its terms, distinguishing the various forms of euthanasia, especially between active and passive, as well as voluntary and non-voluntary euthanasia. I will cite concrete cases and also consider various factors that may affect the euthanasia decision, such as the pain and suffering of the patient. The arguments will be evaluated from utilitarian perspectives, taking into account the views of Kant and Aristotle. Strictly speaking, the term euthanasia refers to actions or omissions that result in the death of a person who is already gravely ill. (Moreno). There are two important features of euthanasia. First, that euthanasia involves the deliberate and premeditated act, of taking away a persons life; and, second, that it is an act of mercy, which is taken for the sake of the person whose life is unbearable from pain or has an incurable disease. This notion of mercy distinguishes euthanasia from most other forms of taking life. Euthanasia is a controversial concept, which evokes heated moral, medical, legal, and social debates. The term has both positive and negative connotations: the fundamental idea is, that a suffering person will be relieved by means of an act of mercy, but at the same time there are numerous abuse cases where people have been killed or murdered under the euthanasia pretext. There are various forms of euthanasia. Although the topic of this paper is the discussion of moral acceptability of passive euthanasia, it is important to distinguish between active and passive forms of euthanasia: actively causing a person to die (for example by intentionally giving some medication) or passively allowing them to die by withdrawing or withholding their treatment, or taking away something they need to survive. Typical examples of passive euthanasia are switching off life-supporting machines, such as feeding tubes, respirators, or not carrying out life-extending operations and treatments or not giving life-extending drugs. Another categorization of euthanasia is along voluntariness or by consent: voluntary and non-voluntary euthanasia are both in the patients interest, freeing him/her from unbearable suffering. The difference between the two lies in the patients ability to make the decision. In the case of voluntary euthanasia (which is also often referred to as assist ed suicide) the terminally ill patient is mentally competent and makes the decision about terminating his/her own life. In the case of non-voluntary euthanasia (which is also often referred to as mercy killing) the patient is not mentally competent to make a decision about his/her fate (for terminal brain damage or coma, for example) and a proxy, the guardian or physician makes the decision on his/her behalf. Finally, involuntary euthanasia though not in the focus of this paper needs to be mentioned as a conceptually different form of euthanasia. In this case euthanasia is administered without the consent, and against the will of the person. In the following I will compare and contrast passive and active euthanasia, discuss whether there is a moral difference between them, and mount a defense of the thesis, that in most cases there is no real moral difference between helping someone die and letting someone die. I will also argue that there is a more profound moral difference between voluntary and non-voluntary euthanasia, and there need to be clear guidelines to ascertain that no one gets killed against his/her wishes. By explaining that there is, in fact, no relevant moral difference between omissions and acts, I will prove that active euthanasia is not immoral and is fundamentally no different than passive euthanasia, and in some cases passive euthanasia is more moral than active. The utilitarians emphasize that when deciding an acts morality we should only consider the consequences (Mill). To validate this point, first, we may argue, that it is not exactly correct to say that omission is a non-act (Rachels). Letting t he patient die is also an act. There is an active decision of not to perform certain other life-saving actions. However, whether it is considered an act or not, the outcomes are the same, thus regarding morality they should be approached in the same way. From a moral perspective pulling the plug of the respirator, withdrawing the feeding tube or withdraw a life sustaining treatment is an act itself, which means, that omission is also an act itself. Thus passive euthanasia is subject to moral appraisal in the same way that active euthanasia, a decision to directly act would be subject to moral appraisal. Since utilitarians are only concerned with the consequences of an action, not with the motives or the action itself, there does not seem to be any reason to distinguish between active and passive euthanasia, since they both lead to the same ultimate conclusion (the death of the patient). If we consider the amount of happiness or pain that either form of euthanasia creates, however, o ne may even argue, that withholding a treatment (passive euthanasia) may take the patient longer to die, and so lead to more suffering, than if more direct actions would be taken (active euthanasia). This suggests, that from a utilitarian perspective once an initial decision not to prolong the patients life and agony has been made, active euthanasia would actually be preferable to passive euthanasia, because it would decrease overall pain. If we examine the difference between passive and active euthanasia from a deontologists (Kants) point of view we can come to a similar conclusion. One of his basic insights is that morality is a matter of motives and intentions, and not a matter of consequences (Kant). If we accept that the intent of an action determines morality rather than the effects, omissions would be subject to the same moral evaluation as acts, since the underlying motives would be similar (to end the patients suffering). This argument also suggests that there is no morally relevant difference between act and omission, that is, between active and passive euthanasia. In fact, if we proceed with this argument and develop the logic that morality is a matter of intentions further, we can conclude, that passive euthanasia leads to more suffering rather than less, and is contrary to the motivation that prompts the initial decision of not to prolong the patients life and agony. Thus, active euthanasia is not only not morally inferior to passive euthanasia, but may indeed be preferable. (Current) So far we have looked at the possible differences between the various forms of euthanasia and came to conclude, that, although there are some valid arguments from the causality perspective, and also the current practices worldwide might allow passive euthanasia, but not, or only very rarely allow active euthanasia, we see no major moral distinction between the two forms. From a utilitarian perspective they both lead to the same conclusion, and we even terminate that in some cases active euthanasia may be preferable to passive form, because it brings less suffering to the patient. We have, however, came to conclude that there is a more significant distinction between voluntary and non-voluntary euthanasia, since in the latter the patients will may or may not be carried out which can lead to potentially killing someone who either wouldnt have wanted to be killed in this way. The subject of euthanasia is filled with room for interpretation. In the analysis above we have proved that there are various and contradictory approaches, and it seems to be difficult to come to a conclusion about the moral rightness of euthanasia. A different approach could be to study the concept of euthanasia case by case and determine the ethical values and the major factors that need to be considered in an attempt to establish some criteria for moral acceptability. In the next part of this paper I will discuss the various factors that influence the euthanasia decision through some concrete cases and evaluate their moral acceptability. Human life itself is commonly taken to be a cardinal good for people, often valued for its own sake. But when a competent, terminally ill patient decides that the best life possible for him/ her with treatment is of such bad quality that it is worse than no further life at all, than continued life is no longer considered a benefit. Human life should not be degraded by reducing the quality of life for the sake of artificially extending the quantity of life. When a person has no quality of life any more because of unbearable pain, then they should not be forced to live, they should be able to choose to die, because at one stage continued attempts to cure are not compassionate any more. However a deontologist would disagree with this argument. Kant emphasizes that it is persons duty to live, even if you have an untreatable illness. You have to act from duty and not give in to the easier path and chose euthanasia. The following example shows how it is possible to think this way and deny euthanasia: I no longer accept this enduring pain, and this protruding eye that nothing can be done about, Chantal Sebire 52 years old French schoolteacher said. I cant take this anymore. I want to go out celebrating, surrounded by my children, friends, and doctors before Im put to sleep definitively at dawn. When she was offered the possibility of passive euthanasia she objected: that passive form of euthanasia was neither dignified, humane, or respectful of me or my children. From these lines we can see how Sebire insists that she stays alive, since it is her duty. In this context euthanasia should be a natural extension of patients rights to life allowing them to decide the value of life and death. Through the next example we will see some difficulties we can come across when trying to enforce non-voluntary euthanasia. Current medical ethics seem to implicitly legitimize or legally accept passive euthanasia in many parts of the world with the moral argument of letting nature (the underlying disease) take its course, and accepting that human active (medical) intervention would simply lengthen this process unnecessarily (Moreno, 1995). This seems to be acceptable if that is what the patient wants (voluntary) or would have wanted (non-voluntary). Of course, the case of voluntary euthanasia is more straightforward: the patient is conscious and can actively give consent and confirm his/her wishes. In the case of non-voluntary euthanasia, however, when the patient is unconscious and incompetent, the decision makers must rely on former statements or comments of the patient where they had indicated they would not want to live hooked up to a machine or when it is hopeless. An example is the well known and much debated Eluana Englaro case. The Italian woman had been in coma for irreversible brain damage that she had suffered in a car accident at the age of 20. For 17 years she was in a vegetative state, while her father, ultimately successfully, fought for passive euthanasia (having her feeding tubes removed), saying it would be a dignified end, and this is what her daughter would have wanted. His argument was that her daughter had visited a friend in coma before her own accident, and stated à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾she did not want the same thing happen to her if she was in the same state (CNN.com, 2009). In absence of such former statements, the consenting proxy (guardian or physician) must rely on their own judgments and that has the possibility to lead to as it is called slippery slopes. This also brings up the problem of involuntary euthanasia, when euthanasia is administered without the consent, and against the will of the person. In our example how can we be sure th at the father is telling the truth? Or is he only saying this to help his own suffering? It is also important to see how the physicians role is crucial. It is them who know the patients condition well, who have access to drugs who have specialized knowledge or appropriate methods, and it is also them who can provide emotional support for the patient and the family. Equally importantly, it is also the physician who has been directly and intimately connected with and responsible for the persons care, and who the patient typically trusts. The physicians role is controversial too. One approach is that euthanasia is fundamentally incompatible with the physicians role as healer. This is one of the main arguments of the anti-euthanasia movements, which often cite the Hippocratic Oath, that clearly states: I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it (Hippocratese) This explicitly forbids killing patients. However, we must understand that Hippocrates did not explicitly say that doctors must preserve life at all costs. Also, we may argue the real word-by-word rel evance of the Oath to modern medicine and to the current rights of patients and doctors. The Oath can also be interpreted as a duty of the physician to alleviate pain and suffering. If there is no other option, the doctor, in fulfilling this duty, should be allowed to actively end the patients life. Throughout this essay we have had a look at the different types of euthanasia, and how different moral approaches accept them. We managed to conclude that morally there is no difference between passive and active euthanasia, and in some cases active euthanasia would even be advantageous. We also saw how it is hard to come up with a universal law how to judge euthanasia, since each case is extremely different and there are a lot of perspectives that have to be considered. Therefore when deciding on the moral acceptability of euthanasia we have to view each case separately and then with regard to each theory decide on its morality.

Mirroring an Exposed World :: Dance Dancing Art Papers

Mirroring an Exposed World I recently saw a photography piece, "Dancer" by Irving Penn on exhibit at the Whitney Museum. The striking thing about the photos was not that they were of a nude Alexandra Beller, but that hers is not what one would typically think of as a naked dancer's body. She's not tall and thin with well-defined muscles and barely developed breasts. No. She's fat. Beller took a big risk posing nude for Penn's camera. She dared people to see her as a dancer, not just a fat woman. She dared people to see her as a sex symbol, not just a fat woman. She dared people to see her as an emotional woman- sensitive, powerful, frightened, bold, shy, loving, rebellious. She owns her body, and she challenges the audience to own their hesitation and move past it to see her exposed for the woman she really is. The exhibit made me immediately curious about Beller and her work. Formerly dancing with Bill T. Jones' company, Beller is now choreographing her own works. When I heard she would be presenting her latest work, It's Not You, It's Me at the Joyce Soho, I got out my umbrella and waited for over an hour in a standby line to see her perform. My friends had teased me for wanting to see Beller's show, saying "Wouldn't it be weird. I mean you saw her naked," and "Do you think she'll dance naked too?" But that was one of the reasons I wanted to see the show. I really identified with Beller in many ways. I was deeply impressed with her confidence to pose nude in the first place. Obesity, seen as repulsive, is despised at best, yet politely ignored. But Beller will not be ignored. I wondered what it was that gave her this confidence in her body. And I wondered what she would express with her body in her dance works. I was compelled by the risks she had taken with Penn, and compelled to see what else she would risk. When I saw It's Not You, It's Me, particularly the last piece, 50 Ways to Find a Mate, I was bombarded by feelings of pain, sadness, confusion that come with rejection, insecurities that are connected with bodies and body images. I got the feeling that Beller, though a beautiful and talented dancer is still an imperfect woman who struggles with her self-confidence, especially in romantic relationships.

Different Wars, Similar Outcome

Wars that lay buried in history and wars present in the world today unite through the most common and blatant reality of war: violence resulting in imminent death. Literature often presents different perspectives of these wars that ultimately tie together and bring forth the actuality of war. Timothy Findley's The Wars and Wilfred Owen's â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† present a precise example of different pieces of literature that connect through the common theme of war. The Wars and â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† offer the unconcealed and harsh violence of war and through vivid imagery, these authors depict life at war. Additionally, both of these works contain the four basic elements of life – earth, water, fire, and air – to reveal that these four basic elements can represent death as well. Moreover, the theme of appearance versus reality impacts both works profoundly through the ruthless truth of war as compared to the credulous beliefs of war. Through these ways, a novel and a poem unify to unveil the truth about war and convince audiences of the violent reality of warfare. The violent nature of war is visibly illustrated in both The Wars and â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est†.Could Cold War Have Been Avoided? Death, the impending result of such violence, is an underlying theme that highlights both literary works and assists audiences in grasping the severe veracity of war itself. In Findley's The Wars, death assists in emphasizing the overall violence imprinted by the war. â€Å"Half an hour later, Rodwell wandered into No Man's Land and put a bullet through his ears. † (Findley, 135) Similarly, Owen's â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† incorporates death to underline the extreme violence caused by war, when in line 15 and 16, the author watches in his â€Å"helpless sigh [as] he plunges at [him], guttering, choking, and drowning. (Owen, 15, 16) The presence of violence is also evident in both works between characters and victims of war. Robert Ross, the main character from The Wars, experiences this violence firsthand when, alone and defenceless, he experiences the brutality of war through rape. â€Å"His legs were forced apart so far he thought they were going to be broken. Mouths began to suck at his privates. Hands and fingers probed and poked at every part of his body. Someone struck him in the face. † (Findley, 174) In Owen's poem, this brutality is described through the â€Å"white eyes† of the â€Å"writhing† victim of the war (Owen, 19). His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin; if [one] could hear, at every jolt, the blood come gargling from the forth-corrupted lungs†¦ † (Owen, 20-22) This dramatic picture painted by both authors displays the terrible and violent effects of war as well as the fatal outcome violence trails behind. The violent results of war are represented through the use of the four elements of life in both works – earth, water, fire, and air. Both Findley and Owen describe the devastating outcome that these four elements that usually symbolize life can bring. Fire implies deep suffering and overall destruction in the battlefield, and as The Wars narrates, fire can become a damaging weapon. â€Å"The nights lit up with flames of a terrible new weapon†¦ it was something called a flame thrower†¦ fire storms raged along the front. Men exploded where they stood†¦ homes fell with their bones on fire†¦ She believed her country was being destroyed by fire. † (Findley, 131-132, 136) Likewise, â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† describes fire as â€Å"haunting flares† and as damaging â€Å"like a man in fire†(Owen, 3, 12). Fire, however, differs greatly from the earth, which embodies a trap in combat that slowly confines its victims. In The Wars, earth is portrayed as a grave in which its victims â€Å"drowned in mud. Their graves, it seemed, just dug themselves and pulled down. † (Findley, 70) Correspondingly, Owen's portrayal of soldiers crossing through this earth is a picture painted with hardships, violence, and suffering. â€Å"Bent double, like old beggars undersacks, knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through the sludge†¦ any had lost their boots, but limped on, blood-shod. † (Owen, 1-2, 5-6) Another element that forms a part of war is water and through Owen's depiction, audiences can see how this element can serve as a life-ending source. † As under a green sea, [he] saw him drowning. † (Owen, 14) The Wars also demonstrates that water can be a powerful element that is capable of engulfing completely its surroundings during times of conflict and war. â€Å"On either side, the ditches are filled with fetid water. Everything is waterlogged. Even bits of grass won't float. (Findley, 69) The final element used in both The Wars and â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† is air and in both works, this holds great value and significance. Owen illustrates that during war, air can serve as a deadly killer that tragically ends one's life. â€Å"Gas! GAS! Quick boys! – An ecstasy of fumbling fitting the clumsy helmets just in time†¦ through the misty panes†¦ I saw him drowning†¦ guttering, choking, drowning. † (Owen, 9-10, 13, 14, 16) The Wars also portrays the fatalities that the usual life-nourishing air can bring forth in times of fighting and loss. â€Å"The smoke from the brazier burned his eye s. He was fearful of the fumes from the coke. Men had died in their sleep down the line in a dugout with no ventilation. (Findley, 90) When all these four elements of life are brought together during times of tension and wars, they can slowly, painfully, and tragically end lives. As seen in The Wars and â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est†, these elements possess enough power to kill the lives of many in just an instant in the battlefield, leaving behind nothing more than fallen corpses and overall suffering. Wars and battles signify great suffering along with substantial loss. Findley and Owen successfully represent these two major themes of war and more importantly, both works are able to illustrate the most unforeseen theme of war: appearance versus reality. Owen flawlessly exemplifies this theme by revealing the cold reality of war and the violence that is â€Å"obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud. † (Owen, 23) â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† brings forth the powerful message that the realities of war are far more destructive than thought by anyone before and if people knew of the unrestrained truth, â€Å"[they] would not tell with such high zest the old lie: dulce et decorum est pro patria mori. (Owen, 26-28) This saying, that it is sweet and right to die for your own country, is viewed as a lie to the author's eyes most likely because he knows the cruel reality of war and not the much talked about and happy reality of war. This happier reality of war is portrayed in The Wars through Robert and his desire to go to war, thinking it was an e scape. â€Å"Robert envied him because he could go away when this was over and surround himself with space. † (Findley, 19) What looked like an escape from the violent death of Robert's sister, however, was in reality a doorway to a brutal path of violence resulting in his own demise. The open space this character dreamed about became his prison and later on lead to his violent death. â€Å"There were flames all around him†¦ looking down at Robert after the flames had been extinguished, he was barely able to recognize that Robert had a face† (Findley, 192). Robert as well as the character in â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† both see the charm of war melt before their eyes and both come to the realization from first-hand experience the cruel realities of war. The callous reality of war is seen throughout the world, whether it is represented through present day wars or wars that complete part of history. Literature presents diverse viewpoints of war that unite through extreme violence resulting in significant deaths. Owen's â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† and Findley's The Wars portray ideal examples of literature connected through the lucid actuality of war. Both works provide a vivid and gruesome description of the massive violence perceived in war. This immense violence carried out in war is represented through the four elements of life – earth, water, fire, and air – which are characterized in the battlefield of each literary work as elements that represent death as well. Furthermore, the theme of appearance versus reality influences both The Wars and â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† intensely through the cruel truth of war as compared to the unsuspecting and naive beliefs of war. Overall, both literary works serve their purpose in depicting the horrid reality about war and both accurately portray the war in a way that audiences can clearly see the violent actuality of war. Unknowingly, these two pieces of literature connect and foil one another in the description of wars and their violent veracity.

Nelson Mandela a Transformation Leader

Nelson Mandela A Transformation Leader This week we are asked to discuss a prominent leader that we admire, Nelson Mandela was an easy choice for me. An effective leader according to the text is â€Å"someone who works with, motivates, and helps followers to attain their common organizational goals† (Weiss, 2011, p. 234). This definition is true of Mandela and his transformational leadership style has impacted his followers and the people around him. I think he is a transformational leader that many leaders should inspire to become more like.Mandela used his ethical, charismatic, authority to inspire his nation to change and exemplifies transformational leadership. The four characteristics of a transformational leader, along with other characteristics like charisma, ethics, and being a servant are all embodied in the leadership of Mandela and make him a true inspiration. A transformational leader according to the text â€Å"influence, inspire move and latterly transform follo wers to achieve organizational goals beyond their self interest’(Weiss, 2011, p. 1). Nelson Mandela freed South Africa from the system of racism and violent prejudice to help the whole nation. He often said that â€Å"Courage is not the absence of fear–it's inspiring others to move beyond it†(Stengel, 2008, par. 5). This is one of the major components of a transformational leader, the ability to inspire others. He used his inspirational motivation to focus efforts and unite the entire nation. Nelson spent his life being the role model he wanted others to follow.When he got out of jail he included the people he despised such as his jailers and the people that imprisoned him in his cabinet because he knows the importance of elevating others. One article stated that Mandela did this because â€Å" leadership is not about helping those who already love you to love you more – it’s about convincing those who doubt you that you can be trusted† (Bar ling, 2010, p. 3). This is the example of idealized influence that Mandela used to be a transformational leader. He also gave individualized consideration to the people that he leads.Mandela was a very hands on leader, he took the time to learn the Afrikaans language so he could communicate with them. According to Stengel â€Å"  By speaking his opponents' language, he might understand their strengths and weaknesses and formulate tactics accordingly. But he would also be ingratiating himself with his enemy† (2008, par. 18). Nelson would attend funerals and call people on there birthdays. In using the personal approach with his followers he demonstrated the characteristics of individualized consideration in transformational leadership.He also has the last characteristic of a transformational leader, intellectual simulation. Mandela helped people even while he was imprison. He encouraged the other prisoners to educate themselves. He also helped to push the freedom charter. Ma ndela shared his knowledge and while he was in prison he would also use his education as a lawyer to help the warders with their legal problems. Mandela used his leadership style to bring changes to his country even at the expense of his freedom. Mandela also demonstrates the qualities of a servant leader.From the very beginning he had one goal of uniting both white and black Africans for the good of the nation, Nelson’s primary goal was helping others. He also was a good listener and would often be the last one to speak in conferences he had with his cabinet, he knew that letting other people think they were leading was often the best way to go. He inspired others through trust when he allowed the same people that imprisoned him to be a part of his presidency. He worked towards feasible goals and when he realized it was not feasible he let it go.For example Nelson wanted to change the voting age to fourteen but when he realized that he did not have support he let the issue g o knowing it would just be a waste of time. Mandela always helped people, even in jail he helped wardens and other inmates. Nelson used his knowledge to help people and never expected anything in return. Another great characteristic was he is authentic, what you see is what you get. Nelson Mandel is a transformational leader with ethical, charismatic, and servant characteristics that helped change a nation with a leadership style that was selfless and committed.He is the example of a leader that I would strive to be like. Having a charismatic, ethical image has helped him reach goals that others thought would not be possible. I would strive to be as inspiring as he has been in some of the tough situations he has faced. I think that he shows how positive a transformational leader can be for a country. References Barling, J. (2010) Transformational Leadership. Retrieved from http://www. iedp. com/Pages/DocumentManager/Transformational%20Leadership%20by%

Goals After Graduation

It's a day to look back and acknowledge the success throughout the year's. Graduation and receiving your diploma is the key to success. Graduates should have a goal in mind of what they want to do with their future. My goal for when I graduate is, to continue my education through college and earn my degree as a medical assistant. The Medical assistant field is always high in demand. And It's one of the top paying field's.I think In order for you to enjoy work you have to find something you are comfortable doing. When setting a goal you have to keep In mind that you have to try to do whatever Is In your hands to achieve that goal. Earning my degree to become a Medical assistant Is my goal because I love helping others. And the fact well paying field Is a plus. Being that I have 5 children and I want the bets for them. I would love to be able to help my husband provide for our children's dally needs.And I know with the help and support of my husband and children I will be able to achie ve my goal of finishing college and earning my degree as a Medical assistant. I know that reaching my goal of earning my degree will take lots of patience and perseverance from my part. But hey nobody said it would be easel Setting goals for after graduating is very important so you can have an I idea of what you want to do with your future. Graduating is already an achieved goal that we all set when we first enter grade school.And that is one of life's most important goal, graduating high school. In conclusion, making goals for after graduating is very important because it helps you have a better planned future. Goals are hard to achieve but are very important in life. Don't let anyone stop you from achieving your goal. Don't matter how old you are with patience and perseverance you will accomplish your goal. I know I will do my best to achieve my goal to earn my degree for Medical assistant.

A real case risk management analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

A real case risk management analysis - Essay Example perience in the provision of helicopter services in over 30 countries, on all seven continents and in most of the major offshore oil and gas producing regions of the world. (Company Annual Report, 2007). Its major operating units include the United Kingdom, Norway, Netherlands, South Africa, Australia and Canada. The company’s European and Global Operations segments enable it to provide helicopter transportation services to the oil and gas industry for production and exploration activities. (Company Annual Report, 2007). In addition, the company also provides helicopter transportation services for emergency medical services (â€Å"EMS†) and search and rescue (â€Å"SAR†) activities, as well as ancillary services such as flight training. Its Heli-One segment, one of the world’s largest non-original equipment manufacturer support company provides repair and overhaul (â€Å"R&O†) services, aircraft leasing, integrated logistics support, helicopter part s sales and distribution, as well as other related services to its flight operations and third-party clients around the world. (Company Annual Report, 2007). The company’s operations depend largely upon the level of activity in the oil and gas industry. The activities are therefore affected to varying degrees by trends in oil and gas prices. Traditional wisdom detects that oil and gas prices have been very unstable in the past and continue to depend to wide fluctuations to changes in the supply and demand for oil and gas, market uncertainty and a variety of additional factors beyond the company’s control. (Company’s Annual Report, 2007). It is difficult for the company to predict the movement of future oil and gas prices. Prolonged declines in oil and gas prices could adversely affect Helicopter’s activity in support of exploration and to a lesser extent, production activity and, therefore, have a material adverse effect on the business, financial condition and results of operations. (Company’s Annual Report,

Identify recent key themes relating to recruitment and selection Essay

Identify recent key themes relating to recruitment and selection. Critically discuss the way in which recruitment strategies and - Essay Example Hiring the wrong person for the job can be costly for the organisation due to which it is essential that the right individual must be recruited and selected for the right job (Leopold, Harris, & Watson, 2005). Recruitment and selection is a vital process of human resource management as it attract individuals to work for the organisation based on qualification to achieve the height of success (Walker, 2009). Thus recruitment is a process to identify the potential candidate from internal and external sources for the right job and at the right time. On the other hand, selection is a process to identify the ideal candidate for the job that will be allowed to work for the organisation in order to achieve the goals and objectives. In simpler words, selection could be said as the process to make decision to â€Å"hire† or â€Å"no hire† regarding the candidates recruited for the job. Both the processes vary from country to country and from job to job. Both these processes are used by organisations to increase the odds of hiring the potential candidate for the right job at the right time to be successful at what they do (Walker, 2009). Recruitment and Selection Strategies In order to gain a competitive edge over the others in the market, organisation relies heavily on the recruitment and selection strategies that could identify and attract the best qualified candidate for the job. ... Organisation can either recruit or select potential applicants from internal or external source which is entirely based on the level of job that needs to be done. For a senior level job, organisation tends to recruit and select employees from internal sources; succession management, and for operational and technical jobs preference is given to external sources (Pilbeam & Corbridge, 2006). The process of recruitment and selection is equally important for organisations as this process helps the organisation to attain and attract qualified personnel through strategies. Getting the right person at the right place and at the right time is essential in recruiting and selection process of an organisation. Recruitment and selection strategies act side by side in order to provide the organisation with the best available personnel to work for the accomplishment of goals and objectives (Redman & Wilkinson, 2006). The recruitment process provides the organisation with a variety of talent pool ba sed on the decision to fill an existing vacancy within an organisation. The first strategy in the recruitment process is the identification of requirement for the job and fitting the job in the organisation. According to Legge (2005) the effectiveness of recruitment and selection strategy could be seen through the reduction in turnover rate and motivation of employees. The focus of recruitment and selection strategies is to match the capabilities and skills of candidates against the requirements and demands for the job (Marchington, M. & Wilkinson, 2008). An organisation can recruit and select professional as well as non-management candidate through different recruitment strategies (Salaman, Storey, & Billsbury, 2005). These strategies include; The use of internet for