In Plato’s work Crito, Socrates argues with his friend about the escape from prison. Crito has come to free him, but Socrates does not want to follow his friend’s advice and chooses to stay waiting for his punishment. Both Crito and Socrates present their arguments in support of their ideas. Tomas Aquinas writes a lot on imperfect human laws in comparison with just natural laws in his works. In his point of view, people should follow the law only if it is morally acceptable. Socrates has a possibility to doubt the morality of his conviction but decides that the laws of Athens are just. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the strength of claims by Socrates, Crito, and Aquinas and examine whether Socrates should have disobeyed the terms of his conviction and escaped prison from Aquinas’ point of view.
Socrates was imprisoned for the impiety and corruption of the youth. He was accused of refusing to show respect to the existing gods and in speaking about new deities. The Athenians leave him in prison to wait for his death sentence. His wealthy friend, Crito, bribes the guards and offers Socrates to escape and hide in another town. Nevertheless, Socrates refuses to follow his friend’s advice and stays in his prison cell. Crito presents three arguments to persuade his friend to go with him. First of all, he tells that the death of Socrates will hurt him as well. He does not want to lose a good friend, and his reputation will be harmed when people will know that he has not helped Socrates. Crito implies that it is unworthy to act in a way that will harm a friend. These arguments are weak because they are connected only to the life and prosperity of Crito.
In continuation of his argumentation, Crito tells Socrates that he should not be worried about the consequences of his escape for his friends. Everybody wants to help Socrates, and it is easy to bribe the guards and everyone else to hide him. Nevertheless, Socrates remains unconvinced and questions the morality of bribery later. Crito makes a stronger argument telling Socrates about his parental responsibility to his children. In Crito’s view, he should free himself from prison and raise his children for them to become educated and well brought up.
Crito underlines that it is easy to do nothing and stay in prison, waiting for nothing. Socrates needs the courage to escape and help his children to become better people. This argument touches Socrates, he wants his children to be educated and well brought up, but he points on the erroneous nature of Crito’s assumptions. Socrates argues that his friends will bring up his children in a better way because, after the escape, he would need to hide. The life of foreigners will not be good for the development and education of children. Socrates says that his friends should take care of his children in Athens. There is no difference if he dies or if he escapes because he will not have the possibility to see his children.
Socrates responds to Crito also by three arguments, speaking about the opinion of the majority to his friend, the possible outcomes of his escape, and the justification of his actions. He underlines that it is crucial for him to live following the rules and principles adopted in the society: “For I am and always have been one of those natures which must be guided by reason, whatever the reason may be which upon reflection appears to me to be the best; and now that this fortune has come upon me, I cannot put away the reasons which I have before given: the principles which I have hitherto honored and revered I still honor, and unless we can find other and better principles on the instant, I am certain not to agree with you; no, not even if the power of the multitude could inflict many more imprisonments, confiscations, deaths, frightening us like children with hobgoblin terrors” (Plato).
Crito is very concerned with the opinion of the majority in his arguments. Talking about the escape, he mentions that its outcome will affect his reputation. Crito supports his arguments with the opinion of their mutual friends who are ready to help Socrates. He talks that nobody among them will accuse Socrates in dealing with harm to them by his escape. Socrates answers that the opinion of the majority cannot be better than advice from a professional.
He illustrates his argumentation with an example of a sportspeople training according to the recommendations of their coaches: “And he ought to live and train, and eat and drink in the way which seems good to his single master who has understanding, rather than according to the opinion of all other men put together?” (Plato). He underlines that if the opinion of the majority can be harmful for a person in sports, it will be so in other aspects of life as well. Socrates claims that a person will harm his soul with his body listening to the crowd. Only his own decisions based on rules and regulations adopted by the authorities can lead to the prosperity of the society.
Socrates agrees that a majority can put a person in prison and sentence him to death but the most important thing for all people is not only to live but also to conduct in a moral righteous way. He implies that it is worth to give away something to ascertain a better life for society as a whole even if one needs to sacrifice his life. He is sure that citizens should support the laws to keep the order in the society. Therefore, he disapproves of bribery and escape. Socrates supposes that the laws of the Athens will be destroyed if he escapes what can result in anarchy.
Moreover, Socrates implies that the breach of law will harm his soul. He will not be happy living with a thought that he disturbed the order of the city by his escape. For him, it is better to die sentenced to death by the law than to live with a broken soul feeling remorse every day. Justice is crucial for Socrates in all his deeds. He has made an agreement with the city, and he is ready to fulfill his part even if it will cost him his life. The breach of agreement is an unjust action and should be punished by the society. Therefore, it is better for him to stay in prison and wait for his punishment.
Socrates supports his argumentation with good examples and logical conclusions. Nevertheless, Thomas Aquinas can easily put his assumptions to doubt because of the controversial nature of human laws. For Aquinas, all laws in the society derive from higher natural law. According to Bradley, “The dilemma is that man may not disobey the higher law, yet he is bound to obey the laws of the civil authorities because their right to make laws and expect obedience to them is ultimately from God” (49).
Acknowledging the issue of unjust laws, Aquinas presents a solution, implying that people should refuse to follow the laws contrary to the natural law. According to O’Connell and Day, “the history of natural law thought from Ancient Greece to today’s global community reveals three integral elements in the method employed to produce explanations of extra-positive features of the law.” These elements include reason, reflection on nature, and openness to transcendence (O’Connel and Day). Every law should include these features to be used by the society without harm to the divine good.
This approach supports the claim of Socrates that he should live according to reason. Therefore, when a human law is unjust and leads to the harm of the divine good, people should repel them. Thomas Aquinas sees no harm in refusing to follow the laws imposed by tyrants. Nevertheless, he underlines that disobedience to the law should not result in disturbances in the society. It is always important to evaluate all possible outcomes of the actions by authorities and citizens. Following these assumptions, Socrates should have decided for himself which laws of the city are just and which of them can harm the divine good. Instead, he chooses to accept the decision of the authorities, analyzing only the impact of his breach of the human laws.
The dialogue between Crito and Socrates presents a good example of argumentation for the obedience to the human laws and against it. Their speeches touch upon many important themes such as the opinion of the majority, personal prestige, upbringing of children, and friendship. Nevertheless, the leading issue is the importance of the laws and the right of people to break them. Thomas Aquinas argues that only the natural law should be obeyed. All human laws that contradict it should be repelled by the society. Reason, openness to transcendence, and reflection on nature should be the key elements of any human law. Therefore, Socrates should have analyzed not only his decisions but also the decision of the authorities.
Works Cited
Bradley, Raymond. “The Relation Between Natural Law and Human Law in Thomas Aquinas.” The Catholic Lawyer, vol. 21, no.1, 2017, pp 42-55.
Plato. “Crito.” Classics.
O’Connell, Mary Ellen, and Caleb M. Day. “Sources in Natural Law Theories: Natural Law as Source of Extra-Positive Norms.” SSRN,
Proude Company’s Case: Product Life Cycle
The Proude family sells quality footwear. They specialize in the functional, stylish, and orthopedic types of shoes. It is critical for Proude to apply the Product Life Cycle to determine at what stage the shoes are in the cycle. The PLC has five stages which include the product development, introduction, growth stage, maturity and decline.
The product development stage is when the store introduced the products in the market. At this stage the shop should use direct marketing, Television and radio advertisements. At the introduction stage, there are no profits and the sales are slow. More Television advertisements, radio and magazine prints should be applicable for marketing. The products gains acceptance at the growth stage and the business can mainly use the customer service and customer reference as the channels for marketing.
The product achieves acceptance at the maturity stage and profits maintain or drop. It is because of intensive marketing to sustain the product in the market against competition. At the decline stage there are very minimal sales and profits keep declining. It is time to stop or minimize the marketing strategies because it is approaching its end in the market. But Proude can reinvigorate the marketing strategies with some promotions to sustain it in the market.
The Growth and Benefits of Direct Marketing
Direct marketing involves Proude’s business dealing directly with carefully selected segments or individual customers. It is like personal selling. Consumers respond immediately and directly due to the one on one communication with them. it is convenient for the buyers and more private. They also have a range of comparisons of the products. It would enhance the customer relationship with the Proude’s business. It also helps to reduce marketing costs.
Sales Promotions
It is the application of short term incentives to enhance the purchase or sale of the shoes in Proude’s shop. They target the consumers who buy the shoes. They involve the cash refunds where Proude’s can offer price reductions after purchases. Proude’s can also cut down cents on the shoes and indicate the reduction on the labels. The shop can also offer premiums at low costs to increase sales. Promotional products can be available for the customers who frequent the shop and one-off buyers. They can include calendars, T-shirts, and key rings. Proude’s can use these promotions and additional ones to boost the sale at the growth stage and at the decline stage.
Personal Selling Processes and Application to Proude’s
Personal selling helps the business to get new customers and enquiries, and ensure they place orders to the business. It involves seven steps. Prospecting is identifying potential buyers. It starts by having many people and narrowing down to the rightful buyers and marketing to them. The preaproach stage involves the salesperson establishing the organizational needs from the customers. It is a preparation moment where one has to gather enough information for the approach. At the approach stage, the salesperson needs to know how make a formal introduction and excite passion in the potential buyer. His or her appearance must be exemplary as the company’s representative. The next step is about presentation and demonstration. There has to be the value presentation of the company and the product.
The salesperson can give critical selling points about the company’s urge to meet the potential buyer’s need. The next item is to describe the product and explain how it affects the needs of buyers positively. The salesperson needs to have good interpersonal skills and communication prowess. It is critical also to know how to handle the customer’s objections at the fifth stage. The salesperson should use a positive approach and seek to know from the buyer if there are questions. At the sixth step, the salesperson closes the sale. It is the time when he or she asks for the specific details of the order form the customer.
The customer may want some help in filling out the order forms or understanding a few details. The salesperson must be ready to clarify and even provoke the customer through questions to see if there is anything he or she needs to know. The last step is the follow-up where the customer buys the product and the salesperson may want to ensure that the customer is satisfied. The salesperson should clear up any delivery details and nay other pending matters. Proude’s can use these steps to ensure that the salespersons are closely engaged and that the customer ends up being satisfied. Successful selling processes would ensure that Proude’s gets repeat buyers.
Trends in Retailing and how they might Affect Proude’s
Retailing has its ups and downs. During the time when the economy is performing below perceptions most retailers suffer due to buyers cutting down on expenses. But large stores like the McDonald’s use bargain prices and promotions to increase their sales. Today, there are megaretailers growing from the small stores through vertical acquisitions, horizontal mergers, and capital injections. There is also the development of the non-store retailing where customers receive their orders via mail.
They can also place online orders or use phone calls. Proude’s can use this to gain from the customers who may not have the time to visit the shop. it would greatly increase the sales. The direct and online channels can help Proude’s to save on the cost of marketing since online marketing is cheaper. There is also the need for concern for the environment. It has led to the green retailing. Proude’s can use this kind of marketing to ensure that the shop gains more credibility from environmentalists. Major retailers are also expanding globally. Proude’s can also think of going global with the shoes products to enhance its sales capacity.
Disaster Plan Activation And Healthcare Staff
All hospitals are required to have a comprehensive disaster management plan which is aimed to minimize deplorable consequences (e.g. disruption of patient care, physical damage to the building, injured and killed people, etc.) of a disaster by specifying the course of action a facility should take to respond and recover from an emergency regardless of its nature (Usher et al., 2015). The nurse plays one of the major roles in assessing and increasing the effectiveness of the emergency plan as he/she is involved in the management of all possible kinds of disasters including tornadoes, hurricanes, fires, floods, droughts, earthquakes, landslides, terrorist attacks, etc. and contributes to a positive outcome of the recovery process (Cherry & Jacob, 2016). The paper at hand is going to dwell upon the content of the disaster plan as well as the role of health care staff in its activation.
Activation of the Plan
Before approving the plan, it is essential to identify who is going to be involved in the implementation process at all levels of the facility’s organization. The activation team should consist of (Dolan & Holt, 2013):
- the disaster management body (which can be Incident Command System, Hospital Emergency Committee, etc.) featuring a comprehensible structure, high flexibility allowing to deal with both minor and severe accidents, non-interrupted reporting line, clear-cut division of duties, well-defined goals, and a designated leader (Incident Commander);
- providers of essential services (such as suppliers of water, food, electricity, medications, waste collectors, etc.)
- functional teams with clear responsibilities in such areas as infection control, clinical care, security provision, logistics, information, physiological help, social interactions, etc.; to control the activities of the teams, it is recommended to appoint officers in each section (Information Officer – responsible for the spread of data, Safety Officer – managing developing hazards, Liaison Officer – ensuring coordination of different agencies, etc.)
- teams responsible for relations with media through various communication channels; the teams are supposed to develop effective strategies to establish connections with health authorities;
- control team responsible for monitoring the implementation of the plan and evaluating its effectiveness and compliance with control protocols;
- psychological support team responsible for the provision of psychological services to victims and their relatives.
The plan is activated through the following steps (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2015):
- assessing the situation (the gravity of the disaster, preparedness of the plan, health care facilities, etc.);
- clarifying national and local policies connected with disaster management (identifying emergency preparedness of the region, mechanisms of coordination with all the key stakeholders, supply distribution plan, etc.);
- adapting the framework of disaster preparedness to the local conditions (applying national policies and existing guidelines to the actual situation);
- establishing all the required teams for health care and supplies provision, information dissemination, security control, etc. (selecting people with an appropriate level of knowledge and skills in disaster preparedness);
- planning at each facility (ensuring participation of the community and stakeholders);
- compiling preparedness plans both at the local and national levels (integrating plans to come out with practical guidelines);
- monitoring the implementation of the plan (ensuring feedback and support revisions of the disaster site).
Criteria to Establish the Command Center
The first step of the disaster plan implementation is the establishment of the command center. Before identifying where it should be located, it is necessary to divide the space into three zones: 1) hot zone (a hazardous closed area where the disaster occurred); 2) warm zone (a less dangerous area accessible to the personnel); 3) cold zone (a relatively safe part of the site) (Rokkas, Cornell, & Steenkamp, 2014).
The command center should be located upwind and upstream of the hot zone in the cold zone to be accessible for supply providers and the media. The distance between the center and the hot zone should be determined by the conditions specific to each particular emergency (Maurer & Smith, 2013). The establishment of the command center concerning the disaster site should align with the following criteria (Nies & McEwen, 2014) :
- physical and topographical characteristics of the area;
- the weather and direction of the wind;
- the amount of air and land contaminants;
- the presence of various chemicals and their characteristics (physical, toxicological, etc.)
- accessibility for transportation systems;
- potential threats (fire, explosion, flood, etc.)
- power and water sources.
Communication of the Plan to the Staff
After the emergency response program has been launched, the health care staff must be immediately informed about the plan for further actions and their responsibilities in its implementation. The following recommendations may help communicate the plan to internal and external stakeholders (Berkes, & Ross, 2013):
- stakeholders must be informed via email or telephone before a personal meeting to have time to get acquainted with the emergency plan;
- each member of the staff should be aware of the plan and ways it is going to affect him/her individually;
- a comprehensible protocol of communication must be established (e.g. regular email updates or meetings);
- credible sources should be identified and resorted to for the staff to be sure that the information they receive is up-to-date;
- all accessible information channels must be used (bulletin boards, internet, phone, etc.);
- any changes in the plan need to be communicated to all stakeholders as soon as possible.
When the plan has been debriefed or called off, it is important to ensure feedback from stakeholders. Staff members and external stakeholders should discuss how well they managed to act under pressure, what mistakes were made, which parts of the plan were especially successful, and which require further improvement, etc. (Schneider, 2016).
Potential Threats to Quality Care Delivery in a Disaster
The following threats can undermine the quality of health care provision (Schneider, 2016):
- lack of personnel (few professional doctors and nurses and too many people needing help);
- insufficient water or food supplies (may be caused by the nature of the region or its economy);
- interruptions of the supply chain (problems with transportations or roads after the disaster);
- low-quality resources;
- poor qualifications of the staff;
- weather conditions (some natural disasters are followed by climatic changes);
- lack of communication with local authorities (lack of initiative on their behalf);
- the reluctance of the population to go into contact (distrust for cultural reasons);
- lack of space in hospitals.
Measures and Suggestions
The following measures are implemented in the plan to ensure that quality care is administered (Allender, Rector, & Warner, 2013):
- disaster preparedness teams encourage feedback from the population to make sure that all the needs are satisfied;
- essential services are prioritized to prevent aggravation of the situation;
- the staff is tested for having all the required skills;
- potential problems are discussed and addressed in advance;
- all the actions of the personnel are monitored and assessed using checklists;
- the plan is reviewed in case any changes occur.
It can be suggested to:
- support the connection with federal authorities in case of lack of resources;
- develop plan B to be prepared for a possible failure of plan A;
- encourage cooperation with the community;
- launch volunteering programs to obtain extra staff;
- collaborate with charity organizations;
- attract investors that can advertise their services donating money for disaster victims;
- relocate victims to the other region in case hospitals are full;
- increase awareness of the population of the possible emergencies in the area.
References
Allender, J., Rector, C., & Warner, K. (2013). Community & public health nursing: Promoting the public’s health. Baltimore, MD: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Berkes, F., & Ross, H. (2013). Community resilience: Toward an integrated approach. Society & Natural Resources, 26(1), 5-20.
Cherry, B., & Jacob, S. R. (2016). Contemporary nursing: Issues, trends, & management. New York, NY: Elsevier Health Sciences.
Dolan, B., & Holt, L. (Eds.). (2013). Accident & Emergency: Theory and Practice. New York, NY: Elsevier Health Sciences.
Maurer, F. A., & Smith, C. M. (2013). Community/public health nursing practice: Health for families and populations. New York, NY: Elsevier Health Sciences.
Nies, M. A., & McEwen, M. (2014). Community/public health nursing: Promoting the health of populations. New York, NY: Elsevier Health Sciences.
Rokkas, P., Cornell, V., & Steenkamp, M. (2014). Disaster preparedness and response: Challenges for Australian public health nurses. Nursing & Health Sciences, 16(1), 60-66.
Schneider, M. J. (2016). Introduction to public health. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Stanhope, M., & Lancaster, J. (2015). Public health nursing: Population-centered health care in the community. New York, NY: Elsevier Health Sciences.
Usher, K., Redman-MacLaren, M. L., Mills, J., West, C., Casella, E., Hapsari, E. D.,…Amy, Y. Z. (2015). Strengthening and preparing: Enhancing nursing research for disaster management. Nurse Education in Practice, 15(1), 68-74.