Moral Obligation and Legal Duty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Moral Obligation and Legal Duty - Essay Example â€Å"A civilized society's first line of defense is not the law, police and courts but customs, traditions and moral values. Behavioral norms, mostly transmitted by example, word of mouth and religious teachings, represent a body of wisdom distilled over the ages through experience and trial and error†2. Laws are primarily meant to safeguard the moral values of the nation, but this itself raises a number of challenges for the law-making agencies given the morals of a society alter with time depending upon the demands of the time. Coleridge said, â€Å"It would not be correct to say that every moral obligation involves a legal duty; but every legal duty is founded on a moral obligation. A legal common law duty is nothing else than the enforcing by law of that which is a moral obligation without legal enforcement†3. This paper reviews the English medical laws other than the law of clinical negligence with an intent to evaluate whether the extent to which the enforcers of these laws see a moral obligation to their duties. For this, the issues discussed include abortion and euthanasia. If they do so, that would mean that their legal duties are founded on moral obligations. In the last, the recent development of the law of human rights is commented upon from the standpoint of the very issue. Different theories of abortion have emerged over the years. Many people claim that abortion is morally justified since it is a legal procedure. â€Å"There is a subtle type of argumentation here that basically is saying that if it is legal, it is moral; and if it is legal and moral, then it is immoral to oppose it†4. A woman who involves herself in sex voluntarily and without the use of contraceptives, she in a way signs a bond with the fetus. â€Å"A contract entails the demonstrated existence of a reasonably (and reasonable) free will. If the fulfillment of the obligations in a contract between individuals could be life-threatening – it is fair an d safe to assume that no rational free will was involved†5. But a pregnancy happens as a result of rape or forced sex, it is morally feasible to terminate it since the mother never entered the contract willingly, thus rendering it invalid. This in turn justifies all measures taken to terminate the pregnancy before it reaches the stage when doing so would threaten the life of the mother. Judith Jarvis Thomson considers abortion impermissible but not on the grounds that most anti-abortionists base their claims on6 Abortion is not wrong because fetus is a human being and has a right to live, but it is impermissible because a woman carrying her pregnancy to term displays good samaritanism. From a moral standpoint, a woman that carries pregnancy to term generously takes care of the fetus by undergoing pain and labor while the fetus has the needs but not the rights but a woman, who terminates the pregnancy does not show this generosity and accordingly, does not take care of the need s of the fetus. â€Å"It is not the case that abortion violates the requirements of morality, therefore, but rather that continuing to incur the burdens involved in pregnancy goes beyond them†7. A woman’s ethical obligation to the fetus is inevitable irrespective of whether the abortion is legalized or not in a certain country8. One woman’s decision to terminate the pregnancy has a number of social implications, which challenges the perception that it is only

Internal Capabilities of a Company - Strategic Management Essay

Internal Capabilities of a Company - Strategic Management - Essay Example Introduction Marks & Spencer is a globally reputed retailer based in UK. It is one of the many well established retailers in the UK area with over 21 million people visiting the regional stores of Marks and Spencer on a weekly basis. The unique selling proposition or the USP of Marks & Spencer stores are that they offer products which are high on style and also have a high quality. The chain, in an effort to maintain quality, sources the products, mainly foods from a global pool of huge number of suppliers, approximately 2000 in number. As of today’s status, Marks and Spencer has presence all over the globe with an impressive store count of 700. In the UK market, Marks & Spencer is the leading player for women clothing and accessories. The clothing segment sales generally accounts for around 49% of the business handled by Marks and Spencer, while the remaining 51% is generated from the food segment, which comprises of a wide range of products ranging from farm fresh organic pr oduce to partly and fully prepared and packed meals (Marks & Spencer 2012). In an effort to play a leading role in the worldwide green initiative, the chain is focusing on reducing wastage that is generated from handling and packaging of food items (Marks & Spencer-a 2012). Analysis and Findings The analysis and findings would hint on analyzing the internal environment of the business based on two specific models-the SWOT Matrix and the Value Chain Analysis study. Internal Environment Analysis SWOT Analysis Strengths Brand Identity: The most important strength of the retail chain Marks & Spencer is its brand identity. It is the single most supreme asset that the retail chain possesses in the current times. As an effort, to develop the brand further in the UK market, and as an effort to build customer recall for the brand, the brand invested heavily in a branding program in the late 2010. Named as ‘Only At Your M&S’, the branding program highlighted the highly innovative and quality products offered by Marks & Spencer to its customers all the time, by keeping pace with the changing patterns of the retail industry and its related products. As an upshot to this marketing response, the consumers gave a massive positive response, leading to boosting of sales in the year 2011 (Marks & Spencer 2011). Clothing Segment: Marks & Spencer is leading the UK market in the clothing sector and has also successfully increased their market share as compared to the previous year. The increase in market share was attributed to the offering of quality products with respect to the current trend and customer choice. Clothing Segment: In an effort to serve the consumers better, the clothing segment is reorganizing itself by segmenting the stores, with regards to the local demographics. In future, this strategy will generate a positive response among the consumers, as the retail chain is focusing on providing the optimal and exact product mix as desired by consumers of va rious locations, and thereby increasing customer convenience and customer satisfaction. Food Segment: Better waste management in the food division, has helped the retail chain to reduce the cost of its products, while at the same time providing better margins on its food products (Marks & Spencer