Valero Energy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Valero Energy - Essay Example 4. Critically discuss whether Valero Energy has diversified its products and services. Provide 3 recommendations with a timeframe included of how Valero Energy can create better value through diversification of its corporate-level strategy. 5. Critically discuss whether Valero Energy has created and sustained a competitive advantage through its business-level strategy. Provide 3 examples of different environmental influencers that have affected its business-level strategy. [1] Valero is a refiner of oil feedstock. It buys oil from companies that extract them from the ground and Valero turns the stuff into clean fuel and other products like plastics, asphalt, aromatics, etc. that it sells to other companies. Valero’s entrepreneurial philosophy is closer to that of a small family business where all who work for it feel that they have a stake in the success and profitability of the company. In a June 2006 interview with HR Magazine, Valero’s first CEO (who retired in 2005) admitted that the concern of management is basically how to take care of its people so that they improve their operations, increase refining capacity and yield, and help run the company better. Profits usually follow because the people are happy working for the company. Since 1980, the company has taken care of its people – it has not laid off a single employee in the last twenty-nine years – and so has the luxury of getting the best among those who apply for jobs there, rewarding them for their contributions to the company. Process and product innovations at Valero are managed by sharing the R&D expertise of researchers for its four fuel (gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and renewables) and eight specialty (aromatics, asphalt, propane, sulfur, base and process oils, petroleum coke, solvents and natural gas liquids) products following the basic guidelines of being environment-friendly,

Single Importance of Humanity Essay Example for Free

Single Importance of Humanity Essay In the website essay, Special Report: Could Wikileaks Cause World War III or the End of the World? David Gewirtz, the author, discusses about the importance of the bond of trust between the people and their government and also between nations internationally. Although the bond of trust may result in betrayal and pain to others, the bond of trust still have to exist between people to improve the society and to prevent careless mistakes. Gewirtz uses rhetorical strategies such as his diction and organization in his argument to effectively convey his perspective on the bond of trust along with his reasoning and analysis. At the start of the essay, Gewirtz dives into the meaning of trust and its possible consequences in a person-to-person manner by saying â€Å"If you think about it, trust is all that stands between us and terrible circumstance† (Gewirtz). As Gewirtz moves on with his arguments, he also states that â€Å"we have to trust some people† because we cannot simply do everything and it’s definitely â€Å"not possible to do everything yourself† (Gewirtz). From these statements, we can all agree on the fact that no one could do everything on earth himself because then, there is no need for the government and various specialties. To convey this idea to his audience effectively, Gewirtz uses diction that sets the atmosphere into more personal and appealing directly to his audience. Contractions like â€Å"it’s† and â€Å"I’m† lightens the serious atmosphere in the discussion about the gravity of trust and allow the readers to easily follow along. Also, the first-person perspective of this essay allows more attention from greater number of readers since the first-person diction is more personal and less formal, which that eliminates the seriousness and provides easy comprehension for people that does not have any knowledge of politics. Similar to how Martin Luther King Jr. appealed to his audience by using the first-person point of view in the famous I Have a Dream speech. The constant repetition of the â€Å"I have a dream†¦Ã¢â‚¬  statements indicates the strong person-to-person appeal to the audience by providing more thinking through the emotion and moral of his audience. Gewirtz also implements his own opinions of the importance of trust by such extreme word choices such as the term, â€Å"nuclear Armageddon. † The organization of the essay is organized in a way that helps emphasize the word â€Å"trust† by making a separate paragraph with only the word â€Å"trust† in it. Gewirtz utilizes this technique to let his audience know the importance of â€Å"trust† since his main point of this entire essay is about trust. Throughout the essay, Gewirtz also implements his own thoughts and words in parenthetical statements along with his argument in the essay. These include, â€Å"or possibly care,† â€Å"unless, of course, it’s not time to be nice,† and â€Å"yes, pressure† which all of these thoughts are implemented in parenthetical statements along with Gewirtz statements. These implements meant to effectively allow Gewirtz and his audience to â€Å"literally† speak to them face-to-face instead of being formal for the selective fewer audience. Through this rhetorical strategy, reader can conclude that Gewirtz wants his essay to be spoken to the general population and not the selected individuals with the knowledge of politics. At the very beginning and the ending, Gewirtz uses the same format of â€Å"trust† in its own separate paragraph and uses a conclusion that is very similar to his introductory paragraph as his final wrap-up. From this strategy, the reader can infer that not only was Gewirtz tried to maximize his emphasis, but to allow his audience to think differently from when they read his introductory paragraph and what they think about the paragraph at the end of the essay after all of Gewirtz arguments has been made. The arguments made by David Gewirtz strongly appeal to his audience through the use of rhetorical strategies like the diction and organization of his essay. Because of the elaborate use of these rhetorical strategies, the reader can incorporate his or her thoughts into the emotional thinking which Gewirtz purposely intended to do so. Although there are some logos appeals in his essay, he mainly focuses on the pathos approach to fully earn all of the agreements of his audience. Overall, I strongly believe that Gewirtz essay made his audience think twice in another perspective as a means of fully understanding the gravity of the dangers of WikiLeaks and the importance of trust.

The Application Of Clinical Effectiveness In Physiotherapy

The Application Of Clinical Effectiveness In Physiotherapy SCIPS (2006) defined Physiotherapy as a science-based health care profession which emphasises the use of physical approaches in the promotion, maintenance and restoration of an individuals physical, psychological and social well-being through various interventions, supported and influenced by evidence of clinical effectiveness and practitioners may work independently or as members of the health care team. Physiotherapy and rehabilitation services in Oman is still in the young phases where most of our practices follows the traditional method, and evidence based approach involves reading international journals, research papers and attendance to seminars, conferences and postgraduate courses. The services have not been accompanied by a comparable increase in systematic evidence. Few practices have been evaluated either for their efficacy in carefully controlled circumstances or for their effectiveness in typical clinical situations, however to keep abreast with our clinical approach and to attain clinical effectiveness in our services, we need to develop strategies and audits to identify areas of improvement and ways of implementing effective and evidence based care. The essay will demonstrate the action plan by using the quotes of Graham (1996) on clinical effectiveness. The impact of guidelines, auditing and cost- effectiveness will also be discussed within sections of this essay. Clinical Effectiveness NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (NHS QIS 2005) described clinical effectiveness as the extent to which specific clinical interventions do what they are intended to do, i.e. maintain and improve the health of patients securing the greatest possible health gain from the available resources. They further described clinical effectiveness as critical thinking about actions, questioning whether it has the desired result, and about making positive changes to practice. They also continued to describe clinical effectiveness by using the same quotes as Graham 1996. National Health Service (2009) aimed to achieve clinical effectiveness strategy by developing a culture where clinical effectiveness is seen as being integral to the day-to-day provision of clinical care. Furthermore, through the development of an integrated work programme, setting out the structures, priorities, and implementing and monitoring national guidance, standards and policy. Evidence -Based Practice. Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) is the process of systematically reviewing, appraising and using clinical research findings to aid the delivery of optimum clinical care to patients (Belsey J, Snell T(2009). Hospital management.net (2005) in their review of rehabilitating physiotherapy stated that evidence-based practice is currently becoming a basic ethical stand in physiotherapy and other fields of healthcare. The purpose of evidence-based practice is to make any decision-making on diagnosis and treatment proceeds from proven knowledge in the field concerned. Herbert R et al (2005) in their review of practical evidence-based physiotherapy pointed out that research alone is not enough, it is most effective when patients, health professionals and policy makers bring to their decisions a range of values, preferences, experiences and knowledge. Clinical effectiveness as quoted by Graham (1996) the right persons, doing the right thing, the right way, in the right place, at the right time with the right result The philosophy in this essay involves team members collecting knowledge of the available service, and then using evidence from a wide range of sources to inform the outcome, linked to the priorities facing the profession. Also develop frameworks to guide ongoing development such as competency framework, and an integrated care pathway, through implementation of patient care knowledge. The process for development will be timely and detailed, and will be actively disseminated using strategic planning to promote implementation and later will be evaluated. Success for the development of clinical effectiveness and evidence-based care would be for the team to experience a constructive and enabling process that contributes to their continuing professional development and progression of research knowledge and skills. The following sections will apply the parameters of Grahams quote to the practice of physiotherapy and rehabilitation through clinical effectiveness. The right persons-(competence) Epstein and Hundert (2002) defined professional competence as the habitual and judicious use of communication, knowledge, technical skills, clinical reasoning, emotions, values, and reflection in daily practice for the benefit of the individual and community being served The therapist has to be fully qualified and competent to be able to make decisions for therapeutic interventions, identify and analyse the patients condition, a particular clinical problem, should be able to identify and define standards relevant to clinical work, and have the knowledge of the subsequent intervention that might improve outcome. The right thing (evidence based practice resources) Graham (1996) quoted that evidence-based practice is about doing the right things right, and Muir Gray (1997) supported the emphasis on the process rather than on the result. Evidence can be gathered from a range of resources including published guidelines, journals articles, conferences, books, peer reviews, client feedbacks and other recourses from libraries. In order to attain the evidence based practice resources the social value must be identified and the impact of provider values on access to services and quality of care should be understood. Rebecca Broughton (2001) stated that clinical guidelines are systematically developed statements designed to help practitioners and patients decide on appropriate healthcare. It stated that guidelines reduce unacceptable or undesirable variations in practice and provide a focus for discussion among health professionals and patients. Furthermore, Van der Wees P and Mead J(2004) in their study on framework for clinical guideline development in physiotherapy concluded that clinical guidelines are a valuable resource for effective clinical practice and are important tools for clinical effectiveness and evidence based practice, and has the potential to improve the quality of patient care. The right way (skills and competence) The team will work collaboratively to deliver a new policy as per the needs through an evidence based approach system and evaluate new policy in the context of local and national priorities and critically review the nature of evidence in the context of the working environment. The right way to develop skills and competence and the necessary step will be observed such as; time to develop the services, required post training for the therapists, duration of training and resources such as current equipment, the evidence based researched journals and the financial implication. Protocols or specification must be developed and updated by ensuring staff development such as participation in Continuing Medical Education (CMEs) and ensuring confidence of current knowledge and skills through evidence based practice. Patients dignity and privacy must be equally maintained in all contexts of intervention. The right place (location of treatment/services) This will involve team work to audit and identify the geographical regions that need developing and observe the clinical practice, thus includes identifying priority areas of work to deliver the strategy, The performance will be audited to measure the quality of care the patient experienced including the effectiveness of implementing the best available evidence and then benchmarked against pre-set standards, changes will then be implemented where needed. The clinical audit process seeks to identify areas for service improvement, develop and carry out action plans to rectify or improve service provision and then to re-audit to ensure that these changes have an effect. (Wikipedia). The right time (provision of treatment/services) The team will determine and assess the clinical needs of care and interventions so as to develop the appropriate delivery of services as per the requirements and assess the cost effectiveness of the service delivery. The status of the current services, the type of patients, clinical intervention, time process, duration of treatment and location should be reviewed. Hurley et al (2009) in their study on effectiveness and clinical applicability of integrated rehabilitation programs for knee osteoarthritis showed that correct integrated rehabilitation programmes involving exercise and self-management are more clinically and cost effective and may be the best way of managing the large and increasing number of people suffering chronic knee pain. Another example from Santos et al (2004) in their project implementing clinical evidence in the management of coronary care provided a foundation for the development of a management strategy by using a multidisciplinary team approach, involving updating guidelines and resources. A positive outcome of the project was a reduction in hospital admission. An example in our local services was seen in a study of rehabilitation and management of elderly individuals following stroke which required an integrated approach from a multidisciplinary team. This minimised readmission of chronic cases and proved cost effective. Cost-effectiveness analysis should be done to address and ensure the efficient use of recourses and compare the financial costs of therapies whose outcomes can be measured purely in terms of health effect. (Alan Haycox 2009). Ceri. P. (2001) stated that one such method for measuring the extent of health gains is the quantity adjustment life year (QALY). The right result (clinical effectiveness/ maximising health gain) The results should be identified and reported to assess the benefits and patients satisfaction. The appraised research has to have valid and relevant information in the overall results that could be of clinical benefit safe, effective, cost beneficial and when used on the general population will make a difference. Hence health care authorities should develop appropriate use of evidence-based, standardized processes and centers of excellence to support easy reach of health care through a multidisciplinary care team of physiotherapy and rehabilitation. CONCLUSION This essay has discussed the mechanism of clinical effectiveness and evidence based practice in the context of physiotherapy and rehabilitation service. The essay has reflected on the needs and future expectations in the provision of a safe and effective care on a national scale. It has been found that in the context of providing effective rehabilitation, the implementation of up-to-date guidelines, auditing and cost evaluation are all paramount for the assessment of clinical effectiveness. In conclusion, clinical effectiveness in physiotherapy and rehabilitation services uses an integrated approach and can be thought of as the sum of the right person; as being the competent skilled therapist, backed with the right evidence, protocols and guidelines (the right way). In addition, an efficient well equipped environment. An ongoing review of such intervention and approach is required to evaluate and further improve the results of the provided service.

Western Societys Skepticism of Reincarnation :: Religion

Western Society's Skepticism of Reincarnation "As men think so they are, both here and hereafter, thoughts being things, the parent of all actions, good and bad alike, and as the sowing has been, so will the harvest be." It had finally come down to the last of the 500 pieces for the picturesque puzzle. What A major feat for grandma and me! We had worked on it for days straight and kept it hidden under the table cloth on top of the dining room table. Grandma came over and gave me a big hug and kiss. She glanced at the clock and noticed that it was 3:30: time to feed the birds and then to start making dinner. â€Å"Let’s go feed the birds, Stephy†, she said. And we went into her little apartment kitchen, took out the package of old rye bread and headed out to her balcony overlooking Avenue Q in Brooklyn. â€Å"Ya know Stephy, the baby pigeon came by this morning with her mommy. I think she was looking for you.† I gleamed at grandma and started to blush. Grandma passed me a piece of bread to sprinkle on the floor. The ravenous birds started to arrive, one by one. Grandma sat down in her lawn chair. â€Å"When I go Stephy, I wouldn’t mind coming back as the baby pigeon. I ho pe you wouldn’t forget to come out and feed me.† So, what really happens after the last breathe is drawn? Does one go to heaven? Turn to fertilizer? Start the life process over again? There are many different beliefs, but no one knows for sure until it is their turn. Death is one of the most dreaded topics of conversation in Western civilizations. Death has many negative connotations attached. As for Tibetans following the Buddhist religion, they look death right in the face and accept it. The Tibetans do not avoid talking about the inevitable fate which every human being will meet. Rather, they prepare themselves and know that with every passing day they get closer to the end. The Tibetans live by the concept of impermanence. Impermanence states that everyone has a transient existence and that everyone will eventually die. One would think that the Tibetans are a wasteful culture, since they live their lives knowing that they will eventually die, yet it is in fact the opposite. So what motivates them? Reincarnation is the idea that the soul is reborn into a new form. Western Society's Skepticism of Reincarnation :: Religion Western Society's Skepticism of Reincarnation "As men think so they are, both here and hereafter, thoughts being things, the parent of all actions, good and bad alike, and as the sowing has been, so will the harvest be." It had finally come down to the last of the 500 pieces for the picturesque puzzle. What A major feat for grandma and me! We had worked on it for days straight and kept it hidden under the table cloth on top of the dining room table. Grandma came over and gave me a big hug and kiss. She glanced at the clock and noticed that it was 3:30: time to feed the birds and then to start making dinner. â€Å"Let’s go feed the birds, Stephy†, she said. And we went into her little apartment kitchen, took out the package of old rye bread and headed out to her balcony overlooking Avenue Q in Brooklyn. â€Å"Ya know Stephy, the baby pigeon came by this morning with her mommy. I think she was looking for you.† I gleamed at grandma and started to blush. Grandma passed me a piece of bread to sprinkle on the floor. The ravenous birds started to arrive, one by one. Grandma sat down in her lawn chair. â€Å"When I go Stephy, I wouldn’t mind coming back as the baby pigeon. I ho pe you wouldn’t forget to come out and feed me.† So, what really happens after the last breathe is drawn? Does one go to heaven? Turn to fertilizer? Start the life process over again? There are many different beliefs, but no one knows for sure until it is their turn. Death is one of the most dreaded topics of conversation in Western civilizations. Death has many negative connotations attached. As for Tibetans following the Buddhist religion, they look death right in the face and accept it. The Tibetans do not avoid talking about the inevitable fate which every human being will meet. Rather, they prepare themselves and know that with every passing day they get closer to the end. The Tibetans live by the concept of impermanence. Impermanence states that everyone has a transient existence and that everyone will eventually die. One would think that the Tibetans are a wasteful culture, since they live their lives knowing that they will eventually die, yet it is in fact the opposite. So what motivates them? Reincarnation is the idea that the soul is reborn into a new form.

The Variety of Feminisms and their Contributions to Gender Equality by

There are many branches of feministic theorems. As Judith Lorber wrote in her article, The Variety of Feminisms and their Contributions to Gender Equality feminist denominations arose from different views, making many contributions to improve women’s status. Lorber discusses the views of, â€Å"gender reform feminisms, gender resistant feminisms, and gender revolution feminisms†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (1) etcetera, all which have fought to improve women’s rights. Though there are many different aspects of viewing feminism, writer and contributor of owl.purdue.edu, Allen Brizee suggests that the main ideology that holds those aspects together is the oppression of women in general. Though, it is when talking about male dominance, women’s resistance, and women’s social roles, that the views on feminism changes. In the book, The Awakening, Kate Chopin greatly reveals women’s resistance within a male dominated society through her main character Edna Pontellier. Si milarly, in her short, The Story of an Hour, Chopin emphasized the oppression that married women went through with their husbands during the late 1800s. The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman compelled readers, showing how women’s roles seemed insignificant during the early 1900s. The feminist theory suggested by Brizee can be seen within each of these narratives, and their protagonists. Even to present day, the belief of societies being male-centered still stands. Yet, during the late 1800s and early 1900s, it was clearer that the patriarchal lifestyle was happening. Married women of the era were seen as ‘property’ to their husbands. Robert, Edna’s lover from The Awakening, described her as, â€Å"-not free; you were Mr. Pontellier’s wife. I couldn’t help loving you†¦ so long as I went away from y... ... by her difference from male norms and values.† Sadly many women became exactly what the male powered societies want them to be, because unconsciously, those societies have influenced them to also believe it is the right thing for them to do. Works Cited Brizee, Allen. "Welcome to the Purdue OWL." Purdue OWL: Literary Theory and Schools of Criticism. Ed. J. Case Tompkins. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2014. Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. New York: Avon, 1972. Print. Chopin, Kate. The Story of an Hour. Logan, IA: Perfection Learning, 2001. Print. Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. The Yellow Wallpaper. New York: Feminist, 1973. Print. Hall, Donald. Literacy and Cultural Theory. Houghton, Mifflin Co. 2001. 199-213. Lorber, Judith. The Variety of Feminisms and their Contribution to Gender Equality. Roxbury Pub. 1998. 1-15.

America Needs Tort Reform Essays -- How to Fix the Tort System

According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform, â€Å"The tort system is truly broken and in bad need of repair.† Tort cases are becoming an extremely common fight in the nation’s legal system. Since 1986, 38 of the 50 United States have adopted some sort of tort reform. However, with the many flaws of the tort system today, the suffering American economy will continue to fall behind if the American public does not insist on fighting for justice in the legal system. The governing bodies of these states must continue to seek reform and propose strategies to fix the corruption in the tort system. The legal system set up by the founding fathers will experience corruption in the negligence of these governing bodies. Tort law is a branch of civil law that establishes rights to a person when a damaging act is done to either a person or one’s property. Crimes involving tort occur when negligence or intentional civil wrong is done and it does not arise out of a contract or statute. A tort is an act that injures a person mentally, physically, emotionally, or any other way. Acts of tort also include damage to ones property or reputation. Crimes of tort typically seek compensation which usually results in a dollar amount to cover the cost of the damage. Through the tort system, victims seek reimbursement for a wrongdoing done against them, holding the person legally responsible and hoping to prevent the wrong from again occurring. However, because compensation is involved in cases of tort, the system has begun to become more corrupt and the legal system is beginning to experience abuse. Victims are mistreating the legal system and seeking unreasonable reimbursements to cover their injuries. The people United ... ...e/161666/>. "Medical Liability Crisis Fact Sheet." American College of Emergency Physicians. Web. 11 Feb. 2014. . News Staff. "Fear of Malpractice Lawsuits Prompts Doctors to Work Less." Scientific Blogging Science 2.0. ION Publications, 28 Jan. 2010. Web. 11 Feb. 2014. . â€Å"Small Businesses: How the Threat of Lawsuits Impacts Their Operations." Harris International. Harris International Inc., 10 May 2007. Web. 8 Feb. 2014. . Weiss, Larry D. "AAEM President's Message: Tort Reform: Our Permanent Issue." Medscape Today. WebMD, 08 Aug. 2008. Web. 14 Feb. 2014. .

Case Memo as a hired consultant Essay

In this assignment, students will read and analyze a case study. In response to the case study, students will write an analysis in business memo format, addressed to the Board of Directors for the company. The memo is written by the student acting as a hired consultant for the company. The case study to be analyzed, The Case of Plant Relocation, is attached. By completing this assignment, students will meet the outcome(s): identify ethical issues that arise in domestic and global business environments using an understanding of ethical concepts and of legal and business principles; develop and evaluate alternatives to, and recommend solutions for, ethical dilemmas, taking into account ethical and legal requirements and the essential mission of the business enterprise effectively communicate to internal and external business stakeholders the complexities of ethical issues, suggesting and analyzing various solutions in order to ensure appropriate business practices and accountability Requirements of Case Memo #2: Draft memo using the prescribe format (subheadings/sections) prescribed below; All sections must be comprehensive, in-depth and fully justified; Resources from previously assigned course materials or from your own research may be used to justify and support rationale; All in-text citations and resources must be in APA style; Submit the completed case in the Assignment Folder. Memorandum Format: TO: FROM: RE: DATE: Include all the following subheadings/sections in the memo: INTRODUCTION: Brief intro to subject of memo. FACTS SUMMARY: Summarize and explain the facts that are directly significant and relevant to the ethical dilemma in this case. ETHICAL DILEMMA: Discuss either/or ethical dilemma facing the company. ETHICAL ISSUES: Discuss two (2) of the most significant ethical issues related to, and arising from, the ethical dilemma and then, explain each ethical issue and why it is an ethical/moral issue, etc. ALTERNATIVES: List, explain and justify one (1) possible alternative/solution for EACH ethical issue to address and resolve the ethical dilemma and each ethical issue discussed above. Alternatives should be feasible, logical, directly related to resolving the ethical dilemma and addressing the ethical issues in the case. Alternatives are expressed in the form of propositions or prescriptive statements suggesting action and are framed by asking the normative question, what could or should the company do? Consider consequences. Identify relevant stakeholders and the effects on them, pros and cons, etc. of each alternative. Apply ethical theories in context of your evaluations, but don’t over-do this aspect. For example, teleological or consequentialist theorists would examine who the stakeholders are, both internal and external to the company, and the positive and negative consequences for each group, etc. RECOMMENDATION: Recommend one and only one (1) alternative from the two (2) alternatives suggested above. Justify and explain your choice discussing: why you recommend this alternative; how, specifically, the recommendation will address the ethical dilemma and ethical issues; how the recommendation will likely impact relevant stakeholders; pros and cons of your recommendation; feasibility of your recommendation; how the recommendation will be implemented; Apply ethical theories, resources from previously assigned course materials, or resources from your own research to justify and support your recommendation. FUTURE IMPLICATIONS for RECOMMENDATION: Discuss potential implications arising from your recommendation for: the company other businesses within the industry other industries CONCLUSION: Summarize the case and its ethical issues, implications, etc. The Case of the Plant Relocation You are the chief executive of Electrocorp, an electronics company, which makes the onboard computer components for automobiles. In your production plants, complex hydrocarbon solvents are used to clean the chips and other parts that go into the computer components. Some of the solvents used are carcinogens and must be handled with extreme care. Until recently, all of your production plants were located in the United States. However, the cost of production has risen, causing profits to decline. A number of factors have increased production costs. First, the union representing the workers in your plant waged a successful strike resulting in increased salary and benefits. The pay and benefits package for beginning employees is around $15/hour. A second factor has been stringent safety regulations. These safety procedures, which apply inside the plant, have been expensive in both time and money. Finally, environmental regulations have made Electrocorp’s operations more costly. Electrocorp is required to put its waste through an expensive process before depositing it at a special disposal facility. Shareholders have been complaining to you about the declining fortunes of the company. Many of Electrocorp’s competitors have moved their operations to less-developed countries, where their operating costs are less than in the United States, and you have begun to consider whether to relocate a number of plants to offshore sites. Electrocorp is a major employer in each of the U.S. cities where it is located, and you know that a plant closure will cause economic dislocation in these communities. You know that the employees who will be laid off because of plant closures will have difficulty finding equivalent positions and that increased unemployment, with its attendant social costs, will result. However, you are aware of many other corporations, including your competitors, that have shut down their U.S. operations, and it is something that you are willing to consider. You have hired a consultant, Martha Smith, to investigate the sites for possible plant relocation. Ms. Smith has years of experience working with companies that have moved their operations to less-developed countries to reduce their operating costs. Based on your own research, you have asked Ms. Smith to more fully investigate the possibility of operations in Mexico, the Philippines, and South Africa. A summary of her report and recommendation for each country follows: Mexico A number of border cities in Mexico would be cost-efficient relocation sites based on labor and health and safety/environmental factors. Workers in production plants comparable to Electrocorp’s earn about $3 per day, which is the prevailing wage. There is frequent worker turnover because employees complain that they cannot live on $3/day, and they head north to work illegally in the United States. However, a ready supply of workers takes their place. Mexican health and environmental laws are also favorable to production. Exposure to toxic chemicals in the workplace is permitted at higher levels than in the United States, allowing corporations to dispense to some degree with costly procedures and equipment. Mexico’s environmental laws are less strict than those of the United States, and a solvent recovery system, used to reduce the toxicity of the waste before dumping, is not required. The only identifiable business risk is possible bad publicity. The rate of birth defects has been high in many Mexican border towns where similar plants are in operation. Citizen health groups have begun protests, accusing the companies of contamination leading to illness. Philippines Conditions in the Philippines are more favorable than those in Mexico in terms of labor and health and safety/environmental factors. The prevailing wage in the Philippines is about $1/day, and young workers (under 16) may be paid even less. As in Mexico, the workers complain that the rate of pay is not a living wage, but it is the present market rate. The health and safety and environmental regulations are equivalent to those in Mexico, but there have been no public complaints or opposition regarding birth defects, cancers, or other illnesses. South Africa Conditions in South Africa are positive in some respects, but not as favorable in economic terms as in Mexico or the Philippines. The prevailing wage in South Africa is about $10/day. Furthermore, there is a strong union movement, meaning that there may be future demands for increases in wages and benefits. The unions and the government have been working together on health and safety issues and environmental protections. Exposure to toxic chemicals in the  workplace is not permitted at as high a level as in Mexico and the Philippines. Although the equipment necessary to reduce toxic chemicals to an acceptable level is not as costly as in the United States, this expense would not be incurred in the other two countries. Furthermore, there are requirements for a solvent recovery system, which also increases operation expenses. You have to decide how you would like to proceed. Your options are to select an overseas site for relocation or to simply continue all operations within the United States.