Conflict of personal and professional values

Conflict of personal and professional values Conflict of personal and professional values Introduction: It has always been acknowledged that social work practice raises ethical dilemmas on a regular basis. These dilemmas occur due to a conflict of professional and personal values. Social work is involved with the support of people who have a variety of needs, with relationships within the family, with needs ascending from structural influences; such as poverty and conflicts with society. These are individually moral concerns which are integrated into the tradition of society, and are therefore laden with social values. This is where the problem lies, because the views in which are regarded as being acceptable in society, are then accepted by the mass population. They say â€Å"what ought to be the case† (Shardlow, 2003, p.3), consequently initiating the potential for conflict between individuals on bases of belief and conceptualisation. Therefore, social work will always reflect values and will often be disputed because society may not necessarily agree with the aim of social wo rk. The following assignment will look at values at a professional and personal level, while considering the possible conflicts which could arise within practice, why this can happen and what needs to change. The word ‘value’ means the â€Å"Principles or standards of behaviour; one’s judgement of what is important in life† (Oxford Dictionaries, 2014). Every individual has a set of beliefs which influence their actions, some are personal to us, while others are shared beliefs. Our own moral code defines what is of value to us in life and therefore, identifies part of who we are. As a social work student, we are taught to be aware of our own personal values and how they might be different to people of a different culture. Professional values are based on a code of ethics presented by the British Association of Social Workers (BASW). These are split into: human rights, social justice and professional integrity (BASW, 2012). Therefore, social workers are expected to respect all individuals and protect vulnerable people. Likewise, the Northern Ireland Social Care Council (NISCC) issued a code of practice for social care workers to abide by. These highlight standards such as; protecting the rights of service users and carers, maintain trust, promote independence, respect and accountability and responsibility (NISCC, 2002). There are also agency policies, procedures and legislation which governs the way in which a social worker must practice. One dilemma which could prove to be conflicting for a social worker is balancing confidentiality with the duty to protect versus the right to self-determination. A central question with relation to ethics in social work is how a social worker should behave towards a client. What are the boundaries of a client-worker relationship? Let’s say for example, you are a social worker working with a female client, Miss Smyth, within a mental health facility. You have been working with Miss Smyth for three months and she has a son, aged six, who has some behaviour problems. Over the past few months, your relationship with Miss Smyth has strengthened and she now feels she can confide in you and trust you, talking to you about some of her personal problems such as; financial issues and her battle with depression. Working together, you have taught Miss Smyth different ways with which to deal with her son’s behaviour problems and from this, there have been a great deal of improvement s. However, one day during your visit with her, Miss Smyth confides in you about an incident she had with her son, when he was acting out and she pushed him because she was frustrated, but this caused him to bang his head as he fell over; leaving him with a bruise. Miss Smyth pleads with you not to tell anyone, but the problem here is that the law requires you to report what has happened. You understand that Miss Smyth and her son have improved greatly and continue to make progress, however, if you report this incident, then your progress with both Miss Smyth and her son will likely be permanently affected. What do you do? The above case highlights some of the difficulties social workers face: a dilemma of social work values. Values such as respecting the client’s right to self-determination and confidentiality, can be a complex process, since there are particular circumstances where breaching confidentiality is sanctioned by the law and professional values. For example, â€Å"†¦confidentiality may be breached with or without the client’s consent in order to report instances of neglect and abuse† (Saxon et al. 2006). This is a conflict of personal and professional values, referred to as an ethical dilemma. An ethical dilemma is â€Å"..a situation in which professional duties and obligations, rooted in core values, clash† (Reamer, 2006, p.4). ‘Confidentiality’ in terms of social work means â€Å"a system of rules and norms applied to information given by clients to social workers†¦social workers will not divulge this information to others except in ce rtain circumstances† (Hugman and Smith, 1995, p.67). As established, it is clear that the majority of professionals agree that it is acceptable in particular situations to break confidentiality, yet, the principles surrounding the importance of maintaining confidentiality are considered as significant in gaining the clients trust. Jonathan Coe, chief executive of Witness, states â€Å"I don’t think anyone has got the boundaries right in all circumstances. Things will always come up and people need to be able to articulate these challenges and discuss them with supervisors and managers..†(Sale, 2007). He added â€Å"You cannot have an absolute list of do’s and don’ts when it comes to professional boundaries†¦you would end up with a situation where workers become so remote and distant from clients they would be unable to engage with them†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Sale, 2007). As a result, there is no perfect solution. However, it could be highlighted that the BASW code of ethics fails to provide sufficient guidance for social workers in the day to day conflicts of values and their responsibilities. Additionally, another conflict which could be highlighted is social work valued based practice versus core value, such as; working with sex offenders. A characteristic of social workers is personal resilience, and this is particularly fundamental for those working with sex offenders. This profession requires a practitioner to help empower people, to see an individual’s strengths and build on them. There have been many conflicting debates on the view of sex offenders, especially paedophiles. Naturally, societies view has been that paedophiles are ‘monsters’ while fuelling fear into parents over the safety of their children, with the media hyping up public speculation by releasing stories such as; â€Å"Warning over paedophiles ‘grooming’ primary school children..† (Harris, 2012). Further stories involving respected individuals within the public, shocked society with articles featuring; â€Å"Irish Catholic church child abuse: A cruel and wicked system† (McDonald, 2009). Therefore, strengthening society’s negative view of sex offenders. However, in recent years, there has been an increasingly oppositional view of these offenders. Sarah Goode, published by Damian Thompson, in the Telegraph (2013), states â€Å"Adult sexual attraction to children is part of the continuum of human sexuality; it’s not something we can eliminate†¦if we can talk about this rationally†¦we can maybe avoid the hysteria†. Likewise, a recent television documentary: ‘The Paedophile next door’ (Channel 4, 2014) showed a rise in public debate. The documentary attempts to discover why legislation has failed to protect children from sexual abuse, and investigates drastic and controversial alternatives. Peter Saunders, founder of the National Association of People Abused in Childhood, told Metro â€Å"We have to tackle these sordid issues head on and if someone is seeking help, better we do that before they offend rather than after† (Binns, 2014). Statements like these reinforce the fact that awareness has increased and that there is more evidence in support of assistance for sex offenders to change. Therefore, viewing the offender as a person and not focussing on their offence. As a result, there are ways in which a social worker can control the conflict of values and dominate the mixture of feelings which are triggered by these offences. These include; not labelling, recognising and validating experienced trauma, understanding attachment difficulties and understanding the pathway an individual has undergone to get where they are (Hebb, 2013). This approach can help to encourage the individual to believe that they can lead a purposeful life and achieve goals without posing a threat to others. As a social work student, I know I will find some situations more challenging than others. My personal beliefs have been instilled into me from a young age, therefore, training to be a social worker and having to learn new values which I have to take into account will be difficult. The code of practice clearly states that all â€Å"social workers must protect the rights and promote the interests of service users and carers† (NISCC, 2002), therefore it is important to recognise that the appropriate action is to assess someone’s needs while working at a professional level. Furthermore, social workers operate from a ‘Framework for Theory and Practice’ (Dalrymple and Burke, 2006) that understands the presence of inequality and oppression that exists in society. Therefore, using this framework will help to develop the skills required within practice without causing oppression or inequality. These skills will also help to improve working relationships with multi- agency and multi-disciplinary groups. These can be applied to my practice and will strengthen my ability as a social worker. . Conclusion: As previously stated, social workers regularly make difficult decisions, where there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answer. This essay supports the argument that social work values, such as, client self-determination and sustaining confidentiality can create an uncertain process, causing confusing between values and process, therefore resulting in the inability to find the ‘correct’ response. A clients concerns are often complex and have many aspects, therefore, it could be suggested that the greater the knowledge and skills that a practitioner is able to develop in ethical decision making, the more effective this would be for a social worker in practice. Additionally, the foundations of good social work practice is knowing your values and principles, how you’ve learned to interact with people, your knowledge and skills learned. I have always considered myself to be an empathetic person, who listens well, does not judge others and is sensitive to the feelings of others. But, I am aware that there are still some areas I need to strengthen. For example; the ability to work with a person that has abused a child, I have always focused on the areas I would like to work and never considered being placed with a person or group of people I might struggle to accept or work with. This will be a conflict of my personal and professional values, however, through consistent training and development, I will be able to further develop in the profession of social work based on a commitment in practice to key values and principles. Word count: 1806 Reference Section BASW (2012) The Code of Ethics for Social Work: Statement of Principles. [pdf] BASW. Available at cdn.basw.co.uk/upload/basw_112315-7.pdf [Accessed 13 November 2014] Binns, D., (2014) Paedophile to out himself in channel 4 documentary. Metro. [online] Available at metro.co.uk [Accessed 28 November 2014] Dalrymple, J., and Burke, B., (2006) Anti-Oppressive Practice: Social Care and the Law. McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Harris, S., (2012) Warning over paedophiles ‘grooming’ primary school children on Club Penguin and Moshi Monsters website. Daily Mail Online [online] Available at www.dailymail.co.uk [Accessed 21 November 2014] Hebb, J., (2013) ‘Social work values are essential in my work with high risk offenders’. Community Care. [online] Available at www.communitycare.co.uk [Accessed 30 November 2014] Hugman, R. and Smith, D. (1995) Ethical Issues in Social Work. United Kingdom: Taylor Francis, Inc. McDonald, H., (2009) Irish Catholic Church child abuse: ‘A cruel and wicked system’. The Guardian [online] Available at www.theguardian.com [Accessed 22 November 2014] NISCC (2002) Codes of Practice for Social Care Workers and Employers of Social Care Workers. [pdf] NISCC. Available at www.niscc.info/files/Codes/2002Sep_NISCCCodesOfPracticeWordVersionEnglish_Publication_Approved_AFMCK.pdf [Accessed 15 November 2014] Oxford Dictionaries: Language Matters (2014) Oxford Press. [online] Available from www.oxforddictionaries.com [Accessed 13 November 2014] Reamer, G. F., (2006) Social Work Values and Ethics. New York: Columbia University Press. Sale, A. U., (2007) How to maintain proper relations between practitioner and service user. Community Care. [online] Available at www.communitycare.co.uk [Accessed 30 November 2014] Saxon, C., Jacinto, A. G., and Dziegielewski, F, S., (2006) ‘Self-Determination and Confidentiality: The Ambiguous Nature of Decision-Making in Social Work Practice’. Journal of Human Behaviour in the Social Environment, 13 (4) p. 56. Shardlow, S., (2003) The Values of Change in Social Work. Routledge. The Paedophile Next Door (2014) [TV programme] Channel 4, 25 November 2014 21:00 Thompson, D., (2013) Guardian: Paedophiles are ‘ordinary members of society’ who need moral support. The Telegraph [online] Available at http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/damianthompson/100196502/guardian-paedophiles-are-ordinary-members-of-society-who-need-moral-support/ [Accessed 23 November 2014] 1

Admire: God and Long Black Hair Essay

Everyone has his own idol. They can be a singer, film-star or superrich person for example. But to me, my mother is the person I love and admire the most. My mother still looks quite young although she is forty now. She possesses a little fat figure, round face, and a long black hair which is naturally straight to her shoulder. However, those are not the impressive things that draw people’s attention, but her figure and her eyes. She looks rather small and thin. To look at her, you will never think that she has been a mother of three children although she doesn’t dress gaudily or fashionably. My mother has very deep sad eyes which are watery. That reminds me of a lake on a stormy day. See more: The stages of consumer buying decision process essay I love her for her sacrifices to the family. She loves us very much. She never gets angry with her children. She teaches us how to become a good person and how to distinguish good and bad things. Besides she is also a good cook. So I never missed a family meal. She works very hard from the early morning till late at night. I never think that any woman could manage to do such an enormous amount of work like that. I am indeed very indeed proud of my mother. To me, she is not a good wife but a good mother as well. By looking at her small figure and the way she works hard, it is easily that she is trying her best to bring all the good things to her children, the only source of joy left in her life. Thanks God for having given her to us, the most priceless gift I have ever had.

Color of Water Rhetorical

Racism was a great dilemma for African Americans in the past. James McBride, who was the writer The Color of Water, is a great example on the hardships of racism. McBride tells us of how he and his mother were faced with struggles and still prospered though because It does not matter if he is considered Jewish or Christian; It does not matter if he is considered black or white, all that matters is that you must advance. James begins his life with confusion, not knowing which side to settle with and at the end of the story he is calm and has accepted his identity. He begins with memories about his father's death, about the lack of space in their house, about the hobbies his mother took up after his father's death and about how he was embarrassed by his Jewish mother. On one side he is profoundly in touch with his black side and on the other he despises it. For example, he is teased by the white, and is sent to a Jewish school. He switches between the two sides frequently. When his father dies, he pushes his family away and lives with his step sister and sees the real black life through encounters with the Chicken Man and others. On the other hand, he also traces out his white Jewish roots through his mother. He understands his mother's struggles and identifies with them. He begin to realize that she controlled her life, not her religion or her race and as he reaches this realization through his struggles as a black son of a white mother, as a Christian son of a Jewish mother, he understands that it doesn’t matter. He is what he makes of himself: the color of water. His best friend is a Jew and he becomes the best man at his wedding and McBride's mother attends his wedding and fully participates in it. These events marks the climax of all the struggles, religious and ethnicity, of the McBride family; the son's life rising from confusion and ambivalence. James asks his mother whether God is black or white, when he is a boy living in a black community with a mother who is white, and is doing so because he is confised about his personal race and who he is. Adding to the confusion, his mother responds that she is â€Å"light-skinned†. When his mother explains that God doesn't have a color, and that God is â€Å"the color of water†, he begins to grasp the concept of god being within us. Racism, in this time, affected many African American childrens goal in life. During my residency in Florida, I had a African American freidn who I was not allowed to speak to due to racial discrimination. Some individuals fear them or are provoked by the color, which to me is in-humane. When will we see equality among different races? Racism can be defined as a discrimination or prejudice, based on race and a belief that a particular race is superior to others. According to Christian beliefs, all humans have two ancestors, Adam and Eve. All humans are brothers and sisters but the unique in their own separate ways. Combine this with ignorance and it gives rise to racism. Racism has been around for a long time, and its effects are still being seen. James McBride and his mother stuggle during segregation in 1940-1970's. To this day racisms still exist. It may not be as worse as in the olden days, but it is still affecting individuals around the world. McBride reveals to us of how his life, during racism, was a complete struggle but still is able to prosper.

The Harlem Renaissance Movement By Zora Neale Hurston,...

Known as one the most impactful movements on African American arts, the Harlem Renaissance Movement represented a period of artistic and intellectual change that initiated a new identity on black culture. Often called the â€Å"New Negro† Era, the Harlem Renaissance opened doors for African American to express themselves in the form of visual arts, musical elements, and even performing arts during the 1920s. Due to this movement, Harlem became the city that â€Å"gave African Americans a physical cultural center.† [1] Renowned black artists such as Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, and Ralph Waldo Ellison were primary figures that became well-known for their many artistic and creative pieces during this popular time. Created by a class of English teachers in April of 2003, a Wikipedia page was made in dedication of the Harlem Renaissance Movement. In comparison to the beginning, numerous edits and additions have been made to the page that has included a tremendous ab out of information and important events that took place during such a popular era. The initial contributors to the page only defined this period as an â€Å"arts movement in Harlem, New York in the 1920s. However, later editors included information with regards to what defined the period, the transformation of Harlem into a black community, and ways the movement was used to create a new identity for blacks. The English teachers, first editors of the Wikipedia page, chose to only define the Harlem Renaissance as an artsShow MoreRelatedBrief Survey of American Literature3339 Words   |  14 Pagesor, The History of Eliza Wharton; A Novel; Founded on Fact. By a Lady of Massachusetts (1797) The Romantic period: 1820—1865 Romanticism As an approach in literary creation, romanticism is ever present in literature of all times. As a literary movement, it occurred and developed in Europe and America at the turn of the 19th century Under the historical background of the Industrial Revolution around 1760 and the French Revolution(1789—1799) Romantic vs. Neoclassic (1) Neoclassicism: - reason

African American Economy African Americans - 909 Words

African American Economy The unemployment rate in the African American community is higher than any other group in American society. Institutionalized racism and unequal education opportunities have contributed to the unemployment rate. There are various reasons why the unemployment rate is greater in the African American communities. Consequently, Blacks are attaining higher education at a rate lower than other groups in society, and lack opportunities in the workforce. These are just two of the elements that cause the wealth gap between Blacks and Whites in America’s financial system. African men and women were brought to America for slavery. Once the slaves were freed, they had to find work and enter into the American workforce with little or no education. Therefore, countless Blacks were forced to take lower level jobs in American society. As a result, racism and inequality became institutionalized injustices that widen the wealth gap. Scores of Blacks were denied the opportunity to purchase prope rties and to attain assets and wealth. The majority of Whites do not know Black people’s reality and financial obstacles because White people do not face housing discrimination or scrutiny in the workplace. White people have benefited from the inequality that minorities face in the United States financial system. According to Hilary Shelton Deputy Director, Washington Bureau, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People â€Å"because of affirmative action, fairness isShow MoreRelatedAfrican American Of African Americans1491 Words   |  6 PagesAfrican Americans have witnessed much discrimination throughout the years. The issue of reparations for all African Americans is argued by one scholar and a credible newspaper. The debate about reparations started with the agreement side from the opinion of Robert Allen. 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Du Bois was born as a freeman in Massachusetts, he studied at Harvard University and became the first African American to earn a doctorate from Harvard. . Washington was born as a slave in Virginia, he worked in the salt mines while attending school, and later attended the Hampton Institute to learn trade skills. Although Du bois and Washington had the same goalRead MoreEqual Pay For Whites And Blacks Essay1333 Words   |  6 PagesMany of these Americans have a set idea and mentality that blacks deserve less. As Borbely explained I would have to agree with him. I believe that in order for equal pay for both whites and blacks who have all worked the same should be treated equally. I have a good feeling that whites want to remain on top only so that they can have the power and self satisfying feel. That way they know that things go their way or no way at all. I wa nt to believe that one day everyone will come to the realization

Operation Paperclip The Secret Intelligence Program

Although the book, Operation Paperclip: The Secret Intelligence Program that Brought Nazi Scientists to America, by Annie Jacobsen, and the documentary film, The Last Days in Vietnam both give insight and awareness to different events in history, they both share a political economic theme in reference to the question, â€Å"what does it mean to be human?† So, what does it mean to be human? There are many interpretations as to how one can answer this question. One answer would be equality. Equality is one of the underlying foundations that make up our society. With a lack of equality, the world begins to break out in wars and conflicts. Because of this, people are treated unfairly and even discriminated against. With equality, we can be assured that no one would be denied anything based on their race, gender, or economic makeup. A second would be fairness. Of course, we all want to be fair and treat all equally. Who wouldn’t love a society where we could reverse all the differences among all people? That would mean that all would have to be â€Å"good† and not â€Å"evil†. Good people have definite traits like kindness, altruism and compassion. Evil people possess characteristics that are more wicked and immoral. If we owned behaviors that were only good in nature, would that help us to be the people we nee d to live up to society’s views. We would be human. The book, Operation Paperclip: The Secret Intelligence Program that Brought Nazi Scientists to America, by Annie Jacobsen, wasShow MoreRelatedOperation Paperclip s Modern Effects1448 Words   |  6 PagesOperation Paperclip’s Modern Effects It was the middle of the 20th century, the world was in disorder yet peace as it did its best to recover from World War II. 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Boohoo - a Dotcom Story free essay sample

Under these circumstances the downfall of the company was pretty much a foregone conclusion, although it is tempting to think about the many what if? scenarios it presents in our minds. Boo. com was overwhelmed with problems and mismanagement from the start. Its website relied heavily on Javascript and Flash which was really slow to load at a time when dial-up internet usage was the norm among the populace round the world. Boo. com spent a lot to market itself as a global company but then had to deal with different languages, pricing, and tax structures in all the countries it launched its website. The company also mysteriously decided to pay postage on returns, but even more importantly, sales never reached expectations. The company spent $135 million of venture capital in just 18 months and it was placed into receivership on 18 May 2000 and liquidated. The company’s goals to dominate the world’s global online retail sales with its virtual doors open throughout Europe and America fell through the roof by the end of its 1st year since launched globally. Malmsten (2001): â€Å"The ‘BOO’ brand name originated from film star Bo Derek; best known for her role in 1979 Blake Edwards film 10. The domain name ‘bo. om’ was unavailable, but adding an ‘o’, they managed to procure the domain ‘boo. com’ for $2,500 from a domain name dealer. † Rob Talbot, director of marketing for Boo. com: â€Å"Boo were â€Å"looking for a name that was easy to spell across all the different countries and easy to remember something that didnt have a particular meaning†. ANALYSIS: The market for clothing was viewed as very large venture at that time, so the idea was to capture only a small part of this market, which guaranteed success in the founders mindset. They listed brands like Polo Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Nike, Fila, Lacoste and Adidas. The proposition involved sports and fashion goods alongside each other. The market on the basis of imminent success was indicated by New Media Age (1999) where it was described as: â€Å"The $60b USD industry is dominated by the Gen-Xers who are online and according to market research in need of knowing what is in, what is not and a way to receive such goods quickly. If Boo. com becomes known as the place to keep up with fashion and can supply the latest trends then there is no doubt that there is a market, a highly profitable one at that for profits to grow from. † The growth in market was also supported by retail analysts, with Verdict redicting online shopping in the United Kingdom to grow from ? 600 million in 1999 to ? 12. 5 billion in 2005. Boo. com wanted to develop an easy to use experience which re-created the offline shopping experience as far as possible; which included gimmicks such as: A virtual salesperson, â€Å"Miss Boo† would guide users through the sit e and give helpful tips. When selecting products, users could drag them on to models, zoom in and rotate them in 3D to visualize them from different angles, rejecting basic ideas like set-up cost, internet speed and user friendly windows. In 1999 if you were a MAC user; BOO. COM was inaccessible. $6 million was spent on content about spring/summer fashion ware. $200 to photograph each product, representing a monthly cost of more than $500,000. Analyst Nik Margolis writing in New Media Age (1999) said: â€Å"What I saw at boo. com is simply the most clever web experience I have seen in quite a while. The presentation of products and content are both imaginative and offer an experience. Sure everything loads up fast in an office but I was assured by those at Boo. com that they will keep to a limit of 8 seconds for a page to download. Eight seconds is not great but the question is will it be worth waiting for? † Of course, today, the majority of European users have broadband, but in the late 1990s the majority were on dial-up and had to download a specific software to view products. MORALE: WHAT WENT WRONG? 1. Ambition The problem was that they were following an extremely aggressive growth plan, launching simultaneously in 18 different countries. This plan was founded on the assumption of the ready availability of venture capital money to see the company through the first few years of trading until sales caught up with operating expenses. . Problems with user experience The website was poorly designed for its target audience. The site relied heavily on  JavaScript  and Flash  technology to display pseudo 3D views of products as well as â€Å"Miss Boo. † The complicated design required the site to be displayed in a fixed size window, which limited the space available to display product informatio n to the customer which was overlooked by domain designers. Its interface was also complex with a hierarchical system that required the user to answer four or five different questions before products in stock in a particular sub-section. . Message communication Boo. com wanted to arrive on the scene with a bang. They tried to do the unorthodox; by aggressively attacking the mind of their target audience. Also their norm paradox: Adverts, were often obnoxious and outrageously portrayed. Creditors, most of whom were advertising agencies, were owed around ? 12 million. Over 400 staff and contractors were made redundant in London and around the world, and many not being paid for several months. Fashionmall. com, which has been operating since 1994, bought the remains of Boo. om which included brand, Web address and advertising materials but this deal did not include any physical assets, software or distribution channels. Less than $2 million was earned by selling all Boos remaining asse ts. As late as 2003, stickers from their  revolutionary marketing  campaigns could still be seen in London, with the slogan Fashion never dies! â€Å" In 2005  CNET  called Boo. com the sixth greatest dot-com flop in the history. Annotated Bibliography References include: Primary sources Secondary sources Website Peer reviewed Journals Primary sources: Brand Failures : The Truth About the 100 Biggest Branding Mistakes of All Time by Haig, Matt, 2011 Page-187 http://reader. eblib. com. au. ezproxy. lib. rmit. edu. au/(S(ztukcb3bwkhlzajzqf2c5bt5))/Reader. aspx? p=692439o=116u=3UEHHNV80FV000KaQsBEeQ%3d%3dt=1333420628h=53FFAD78FA4C29E3BFDD3BF28338616DE440A5ECs=5577301ut=337pg=1r=imgc=-1pat=n# This is the first examination of the worlds top 100 spectacular brand disasters. Its not just smaller, lesser-known companies that have launched dud brands. On the contrary, most of the worlds global giants have launched new products that have flopped spectacularly and at great cost. Brand Failures is a fascinating look at how such disasters occur. It describes those brands that set sail with the help of multi-million dollar advertising campaigns, only to sink without trace. In a highly readable and entertaining style, Matt Haig starts with classic examples from every era of branding and moves towards more recent brand failures. The book also has great practical value: each brand scenario includes a checklist of lessons learnt, so providing how not to advice. Secondary sources: Venture Capital Funding : A Practical Guide to Raising Finance by Blommfield, Stephen, 2008 Aimed at SMEs looking to raise new finance, Venture Capital Funding provides a detailed examination of the funding options available, the most effective approaches to venture capitalists, and new material on the legal and regional perspectives. The business of helping firms to become investment ready has long been seen as vital to the long-term development of any economy, but the process of identifying and attracting the right kind of investor can be a difficult process for many small- and medium-sized businesses. Venture Capital Funding gives you a detailed, step-by-step guide to obtaining venture capital from building a management team, through to the maze of due diligence procedures and necessary legal procedures. Wikipedia: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Boo. com Wikipedia helps summarize the whole dot com story with many references, names and dates. Marketing the e-Business http://reader. eblib. com. au. ezproxy. lib. rmit. edu. au/(S(vptr54qn1ri3in02qmgt3kb3))/Reader. aspx? =180605o=116u=3UEHHNV80FV000KaQsBEeQ%3d%3dt=1333423108h=9F25EDD82AACABC89AFDF7D52FF25F5D3FA9B8EEs=5577876ut=337pg=143r=imgc=-1pat=n by Harris, Lisa; Dennis, Charles This e-book refers to ways of improving marketing effectiveness through electronic means. Looks at the main marketing themes (product, price, promotion, place) and the bigger e considerations, for example legislation, data protection and ethics. Never Bet the Farm : How Entrepreneurs Take Risks, Make Decisions and How You Can, Too by Iaquinto, Anthony; S pinelli, Stephen|2010 Anthony Iaquinto and Stephen Spinelli, turn much of the so-called expert advice for entrepreneurs on its head. They show that by preparing for setbacks and using a framework that can help reduce risks and simplify decision making, entrepreneurs can increase their probability for success http://www. australianhumanitiesreview. org/archive/Issue-September-2002/lovink. html Peer reviewed journal After the dotcom failure in the early 2000, some accounts by people who were at the center of the dot called internet. Website: www. boo. com gt; http://www. ostelworld. com/ In May 2007 Web Reservations International turned boo. com into a travel site with reviews and listings. Since october 2010, it redirects you the its sister site; hostelworld. com http://www. londonspeakerbureau. com/speaker-profiles/ernst-malmsten? PHPSESSID=147f99af0063c51b542a9e22bf70aa7f Profiling Ernst Malmsten http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Dan_Wagner Gives an insight to the sponsors and the investors of the British owned Internet company. http://www. guardian. co. uk/technology/2005/may/16/media. business retrieved- 01/04/2012